Luke 1:11-17
A Messenger in the Spirit of Elijah
11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. 16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
John 1:19-34
19 Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”
21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”
24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26 “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”
28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”
32 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33 And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”
22 After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. 23 Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized. 24 (This was before John was put in prison.)25 An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. 26 They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”
27 To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ 29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 30 He must become greater; I must become less.”
31 The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. 33 Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. 34 For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. 35 The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.
John 14:15-17
15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
Matthew 11:1-15
John the Baptist is Prison Wondering About Jesus
1 After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee.
2 When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples 3 to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”
4 Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 6 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”
7 As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? 8 If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. 9 Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is the one about whom it is written:
“‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way before you.’
11 Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence, and violent people have been raiding it. 13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. 15 Whoever has ears, let them hear.
The Holy Spirit is a mystery to me...And the Holy Spirit comes from God, and Jesus can request and ask for it from His Father...And Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would be in His Disciples forever...We learn a little about the Holy Spirit from the John the Baptist Story...We learn that God can put the Holy Spirit in us at anytime and at any age...
We are told in St. Luke's Gospel that John the Baptist will be a joy and delight to his father Zechariah, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord...John was never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he would be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born...He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God...And he will go on before the Lord, in the Spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”...John the Baptist would play an important role in Jesus' ministry...John would be the messenger before Jesus started His ministry...John would pave His way, and introducing Jesus to others and to the world...
One thing very interesting, to me, is that John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born...We are alive in our mother's womb, and God put the Holy Spirit in John, at that time...So, John would not only have the Holy Spirit at birth, but before he is even born...This shows us that John the Baptist would be special to God...John the Baptist was and is a special and Holy Prophet, who announced Jesus' upcoming ministry...This is quite an honor...Being filled with the Holy Spirit before birth shows that John would have a commitment to God...That he would have this commitment for life...John was focused on God...And John would later become focused on Jesus...The Holy Spirit would allow John the Baptist to stay focused on God...And to a large extent John was focused on Jesus, and being His messenger...John's work would be directed by God...And John would have the Holy Spirit before he was born, so he was God's chosen messenger for His Son even before he was born...
But the flesh is weak, and while the Baptizer was in prison, he had questions for Jesus...He was probably wondering why he was still in prison since he introduced the Messiah to the world...After all, John had given this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on Him...And I myself did not know Him, but the One who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The Man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the One who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’...I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”...John the Baptist testified earlier that Jesus was the One to come...Jesus is the Messiah...John was a follower of Jesus after this and his disciples left him to follow Jesus, the real Messiah...And as John baptized with water, Jesus would baptize us, according to John the Baptist, with the Holy Spirit...
Some theologians say that John never doubted that Jesus was the Messiah...John wanted to know from Jesus if He was the One who would take away the sins from the world, or would He have another do that...Or maybe knew John was near his death, and he sent his personal disciples to listen and see Jesus, so that after his death, they would know and follow Jesus...This makes sense, because John the Baptist was so close to Jesus, as well as a relative (Luke 1:35)...And John's disciples might need to strengthen their faith, after his death...And they would need a new Master and Teacher...John had to become lesser, and Jesus had to become greater...That was to be, and that did, in fact, come to be...
But the question remains, if John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit (and the Holy Spirit was with him in prison), even before his birth, would he doubt Jesus?...Does the Holy Spirit push out all doubt in our faith, even for those who God has prepared and appointed...Or does the Holy Spirit not have anything to do with feelings and doubt, but is an indwelt Spirit only guiding us to Jesus and the Truth?...Is the Holy Spirit more of a matter of fact Spirit?...Does the Holy Spirit while guiding us, have an emotional feel to it?...Or is the Holy Spirit, the small voice we hear that is a mystique from God?...Jesus never says what or how we will feel when the Holy Spirit or Advocate comes to us...This receiving of the Holy Spirit and having it indwelt in us may not be a feeling at all...Maybe the gift of grace is something like the Truth...Jesus lives, so He exists, and we can believe that or we do not have to...It is the Truth...One may not have an emotion feeling that He exists, because He is a Universal Truth...But I do think that some people can be emotional, when they feel God's Presence through the Holy Spirit...But through all of these questions and Its mystery, the Holy Spirit is very much related to our faith...The Holy Spirit is very much related to faith and Truth...As the Holy Spirit guides us to Truth, it is helping us with our faith...
But it seems, we can have doubts even when the Holy Spirit is with us...I think even the Prophets sometimes have and had doubts...But I think God and Jesus make that purposeful...When Jesus answers the Disciples of John the Baptist, He does not give John the answer, "Yes, I AM the Messiah" or "Yes I AM the One who was to come and sent by God."...Jesus tells John's disciples, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor...Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”...Jesus does not say He is the One who is to come, and He does not tell them He is not...Jesus leaves that open for our faith and John the Baptist's faith to decide...