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Malachi 3:1
“ See, I am going to send my messenger, and he will clear the way before me. Then the Lord you seek will suddenly come to his temple, the Messenger of the covenant you delight in— see, he is coming,” says the LORD of Armies.
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John 1:33
I didn’t know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water told me,‘ The one you see the Spirit descending and resting on— he is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’
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John 3:28
You yourselves can testify that I said,‘ I am not the Messiah, but I’ve been sent ahead of him.’
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Acts 13:24
Before his coming to public attention, John had previously proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
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Isaiah 40:3-5
A voice of one crying out: Prepare the way of the LORD in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert.Every valley will be lifted up, and every mountain and hill will be leveled; the uneven ground will become smooth and the rough places, a plain.And the glory of the LORD will appear, and all humanity together will see it, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
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Luke 1:61-63
Then they said to her,“ None of your relatives has that name.”So they motioned to his father to find out what he wanted him to be called.He asked for a writing tablet and wrote,“ His name is John.” And they were all amazed.
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Luke 1:13
But the angel said to him,“ Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John.
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Matthew 11:10
This is the one about whom it is written: See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way before you.
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Luke 1:76
And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
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Malachi 4:5-6
Look, I am going to send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the LORD comes.And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.”
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Matthew 3:1-11
In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judeaand saying,“ Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near!”For he is the one spoken of through the prophet Isaiah, who said: A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord; make his paths straight!Now John had a camel-hair garment with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.Then people from Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the vicinity of the Jordan were going out to him,and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them,“ Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance.And don’t presume to say to yourselves,‘ We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones.The ax is already at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.“ I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to remove his sandals. He himself will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
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Matthew 21:25
Did John’s baptism come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” They discussed it among themselves,“ If we say,‘ From heaven,’ he will say to us,‘ Then why didn’t you believe him?’
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Luke 3:2-20
during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, God’s word came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.He went into all the vicinity of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah: A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord; make his paths straight!Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be made low; the crooked will become straight, the rough ways smooth,and everyone will see the salvation of God.He then said to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him,“ Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance. And don’t start saying to yourselves,‘ We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones.The ax is already at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”“ What then should we do?” the crowds were asking him.He replied to them,“ The one who has two shirts must share with someone who has none, and the one who has food must do the same.”Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they asked him,“ Teacher, what should we do?”He told them,“ Don’t collect any more than what you have been authorized.”Some soldiers also questioned him,“ What should we do?” He said to them,“ Don’t take money from anyone by force or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”Now the people were waiting expectantly, and all of them were questioning in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah.John answered them all,“ I baptize you with water, but one who is more powerful than I am is coming. I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.His winnowing shovel is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with fire that never goes out.”Then, along with many other exhortations, he proclaimed good news to the people.But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the evil things he had done,Herod added this to everything else— he locked up John in prison.
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Mark 1:1-8
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way.A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord; make his paths straight!John came baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.John wore a camel-hair garment with a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey.He proclaimed,“ One who is more powerful than I am is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the strap of his sandals.I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
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Luke 1:15-17
For he will be great in the sight of the Lord and will never drink wine or beer. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit while still in his mother’s womb.He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to make ready for the Lord a prepared people.”