He was born Yochanan bar Zachariah — John, son of Zachary. Following the miraculous events surrounding his birth, he grew up in the love of his elderly parents. It was likely after their deaths that he retreated to the desert to devote himself to God and prepare for his vocation.

It has long been proposed that John became a member of the Essene community at Qumran, near the north shore of the Dead Sea. This rigorous Jewish sect considered itself the true remnant of Israel, the present kingdom and priesthood being corrupted beyond saving. Its members awaited the Messiah, living ascetic lives devoted to prayer and scriptural study, notably centered on the prophecies of Isaiah. 

In his superlative study, Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls: Revealing the Jewish Roots of Christianity (Image, NY, 2019), Dr. John Bergsma points out that there are striking similarities between the teaching and lifestyle of John the Baptist and those of the Qumranites (people of Qumran). John may have been raised or formed by the community and then left to pursue a ministry to a wider audience.

Dr. Bergsma also describes the practice of the Essenes to initiate members with a special mikvah, a baptism offered exclusively to Jews.

John came to a different conclusion. In Isaiah 66:18-21 he felt stirred to fulfill verses 18, 19 especially: “I am coming to gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and shall see My glory, and I will set a sign among them.” Reading this in Isaiah, along with similar predictions in Malachy and other prophets, John became more inclusive. 

Leaving the Essenes, John saw himself as the sign of the salvation coming for both Jew and Gentiles. He was to fulfill the prophecy made by Gabriel the Archangel, that he would touch the hearts of men, bringing them back to God “with the spirit and power of Elijah” (Lk 1:17).

His appearance was electrifying. Lean and sunbaked, he wore a camel hair tunic girded by a humble leather strap. It was the garb of Elijah the Tishbite, the austere, uncompromising prophet of God; the man who withstood the anger of the thieving Ahab, apostate King of Israel, and the treachery of Jezebel, his murderous wife, in the days after the northern kingdom had separated itself from the Kingdom of Judah (see 1 Kgs 17). 

John, too, was an ascetic, living on food found in the wastes of the Judaean desert — locusts and honey from the nests of wild bees. His attire was a sign to the chosen people that, after 400 years of silence from heaven, a prophet of God was again among them. And this one, the herald of the Lord’s Anointed, the Messiah-King.

“The word of the Lord came unto John, the son of Zachary in the desert” (Lk 3:2). He set up shop at “Bethany beyond the Jordan” (Jn 1:28) — and for good reason. He would be near where the river spills into the Dead Sea; a few miles northeast of Qumran; a few miles southeast of Jericho; about 15 miles east of Jerusalem. 

Judaean travelers wishing to avoid the bandits infesting the inland route leading to Galilee through Samaria, often betook themselves to travel along the Jordan River. Wanting to reach crowds John chose a location amid the lush vegetation of the Jordan valley where it was cool and inviting. 

In addition, this heavily traveled area was beyond the reach of Pontius Pilate. Announcing the coming of the Messiah might cause trouble with the Romans.

And then, there was the priesthood. The Essenes had informed John fully about the corruption of Annas and Caiphas, who also dominated the ruling Sanhedrin where John, son of a priest, stood a good chance of being declared a renegade apostate. 

So, the Baptist remained in Peraea, a wide strip of land following the length of the Jordan and continuing along the east side of the Dead Sea. It was a province larger than Galilee, both districts forming the tetrarchy governed by Herod Antipas, carved out of the kingdom of Herod the Great, his father. 

Making his way along the southern stretch of the river, multitudes flocked to hear “the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight His paths … And all flesh shall see the salvation of God (Lk 3:4, 5). 

The region soon rang with his renown, and John attracted young men as pupils who wished to learn more about God. He taught them how to live according to the Commandments, and how they might better pray to God. 

Reminding all that he was only the forerunner, John was eloquent, dynamic and heartening, “preaching the baptism of penance, unto the remission of sins. And there went out to him all the country of Judaea, and all they of Jerusalem, and were baptized by him in the Jordan river, confessing their sins” (Mk 1:4, 5).

His message was simple, his humility always showing through: “I baptize you with water; but He who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Lk 3:16).

John, aware of the extortion, coercion and contempt which lay in many hearts, looked kindly on the contrite, advising them to practice fraternal sharing: “If you have two tunics share with him who has none; and let him who has food do likewise." Repenting tax collectors were told, "Exact no more than what has been appointed you." Soldiers from Rome, who ordinarily treated Jews like vermin, esteemed this extraordinary man, who told them, "Plunder no one, accuse no one falsely, and be content with your pay" (Lk 3:11. 13, 14). 

As compassionate as John was to penitents. to Pharisees and Sadducees sent out to spy on him for the Judaean authorities, he thundered, "Brood of vipers! who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” And he cautioned them, “Even now the axe is laid at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that is not bringing forth good fruit is to be cut down and thrown into the fire” (Mt 3:7, 11). 

After a year or so, Jesus appeared for baptism. John, sanctified by the Holy Spirit in his mother’s womb, was incredulous. “I should be baptized by You, and yet You come to me?” Assured that it was God’s will, John “saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit, like a dove, descending on Him. And a Voice came from heaven, ‘You are My beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased'” (Mk 1:10, 11).

Following His temptations Jesus returned to the Jordan. Catching sight of Him, John declared his cousin’s task and eternal divinity, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, 'After me there comes One Who has been set above me, because He was before me.' (Jn 1:29, 30).

John continued his ministry, but Jesus soon began His own. Simon Peter, Andrew, James, Nathanael and others in His retinue began baptizing as John did. This caused some hard feelings among John’s disciples, but the Baptist was serene. Reminding his followers that he was only the precursor of the Messiah, John compared himself to the best man at a wedding. 

"He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices exceedingly at the voice of the bridegroom.” John, having achieved success and fame, knew his part in the plan of redemption was ending. Displaying acceptance of God’s will, he continued with humble poignancy, “This my joy, therefore, is made full. He must increase, but I must decrease" (Jn 3:27-30).

John would go on to denounce the adulterous union of Herod Antipas, newly returned from Rome with his brother’s wife, Herodias. He would be apprehended and imprisoned. As the price for a young girl’s dance, Herodias, her mother, would demand the head of the Baptist for daring to call her an adulteress. 

St. Jerome recounted a story he’d come across: “The frenzied Herodias repeatedly stabbed the tongue of the prophet with a needle and buried his holy head in a unclean place. But the pious Joanna, wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, buried the head of John the Baptist in an earthen vessel on the Mount of Olives” (Orthodox Church in America website).

May the example of the bold, outspoken prophet and forerunner, St. John the Baptist, teach us and all Christians that being humble is not being a milquetoast but that we always bow down to and accept the will of God.