Lesson 16 - Elementary

Memory Verse

"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased"  (Matthew 3:17).

Notes

The Parents of John the Baptist

John's father was in the Temple doing his work as a minister, when an angel came to him. Zechariah, John's father, was afraid when he saw the angel, but he told Zechariah not to be afraid. He said God had heard the prayer of Zechariah and his wife for a son, and God was going to give them a son. The angel said they should call him John. The angel told Zechariah that his son would make his parents very happy and make many other people happy.

The angel said John should never take any strong drink. He should do much good work for God.

John's Great Work

It must have been a very lonely place where John lived and worked many years. His clothes were made from camel's hair, and his food was honey and locust, a species of grasshopper.

John told the people to be sorry for their sins, ask God to forgive them, and be ready when Jesus came, for Jesus was coming to teach them many things very soon.

The Baptism of Jesus

John baptized people with water. But one day he was surprised to see Jesus coming to him and asking John to baptize Him. John felt that it would be much better for Jesus to baptize John, and that Jesus did not need to be baptized; but Jesus asked John to do it and John obeyed Him. Jesus did not need to be baptized, but He wanted to do everything that God had told the people to do, and He perhaps wanted to teach the people to obey God.

When Jesus went into the river to be baptized something wonderful came down from Heaven, like a dove, and settled on Him, and a Voice from Heaven said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

John Praised by Jesus

John was a very good man, and Jesus said that there was no one better than he. He loved God; and God loved John because John always did the things that God told him to do. God is always pleased with those who love and obey Him.

Questions

1. Did Zechariah believe what the angel promised him? [LUK:1:18].

2. How was he punished for not believing? [LUK:1:20].

3. What kind of clothes did John wear? [MAT:3:4].

4. What did he eat? [MAT:3:4].

5. What was his work? [MAT:3:1-2].

6. Did he feel worthy to baptize Jesus? [MAT:3:14].