Saint John the Baptist Preparing the Way for Christ in Life and in Death

Centuries before Christ, the prophet Isaiah prophesied:

“A voice proclaims:  In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD!  Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God! Every valley shall be lifted up, every mountain and hill made low; The rugged land shall be a plain, the rough country, a broad valley.  Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”  (Isaiah 40:3-5)

Saint John the Baptist is the fulfillment of Isaiah’s ancient prophecy.  Before Christ, there was the Baptist, preparing the way for the Christ, preaching repentance and calling people back to God.  

 
In June 2006, Pope Benedict XVI said that St. John the Baptist is  “…the only saint whose birth is commemorated because it marked the beginning of the fulfillment of the divine promises:  John is that "prophet", identified with Elijah, who was destined to be the immediate precursor of the Messiah, to prepare the people of Israel for his coming (cf. Mt 11: 14; 17: 10-13).”  (See https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/angelus/2006/documents/hf_ben-xvi_ang_20060625.html ) 

 
“Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he,” Jesus told his Apostles. (Matthew 11:11)

 
The Holy Rosary recounts the important role that St. John the Baptist played in the life of Christ on Earth.   In the Second Joyful Mystery, Our Blessed Mother visits her cousin St. Elizabeth who is with child, ie. St. John the Baptist.  “For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy,” St. Elizabeth says to her cousin and her pre-born child (Luke 1:44).  

 
We next see St. John the Baptist as an adult, fulfilling his Divine Mission in the First Luminous Mystery.   He is baptizing in the River Jordan when Jesus approaches him to be baptized.  At first, St. John the Baptist objects, citing that Jesus should baptize him instead.  Jesus answers him, saying ““Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”   After St. John baptizes Jesus, the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove descends upon Jesus and a voice from Heaven proclaims “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”    (See Matthew 3:13-17)

 
The Third Luminous Mystery is Jesus’s Public Ministry.  If we look close enough in this mystery, we can see St. John the Baptist here as well.  St. John the Baptist prepares the way for Jesus’s public ministry.  To those who thought that he was the promised Messiah, St. John tells them, “One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the holy Spirit.”  (Mark 1:7-8).  

 
In the 7th Chapter of St. Luke’s Gospel, we see a fascinating exchange between Jesus and several messengers sent by St. John the Baptist to inquire if Jesus was the Messiah.  Jesus directs these messengers:  “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the good news proclaimed to them. And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.”  (Luke 7:22-23).  

 
St. John the Baptist not only precedes Jesus in his Earthly Ministry; he also precedes Jesus in martyrdom.  St. John the Baptist dies fulfilling his mission of preparing the way for Jesus; Jesus dies fulfilling his mission of preparing the way to Heaven for us.