[29-6] Concerning the ministry of Jesus Christ and John the Baptist! (Malachi 4:5-6) (Matthew 11:12-14)

Why did Jesus speak about the ministry of John the Baptist at the beginning of the four Gospels?

         John the Baptist was a person who stood on the boundary between the Law and the Gospel. He was the last prophet of the Old Testament and at the same time the one who opened the door of the New Testament, pointing to the turning point from the age of the Law to the age of the Gospel.
Jesus’ receiving baptism from John was the fulfillment of the Word of the Law concerning the sins of mankind.
This baptism was not a mere ritual, but the work of salvation in which the sins of mankind were transferred to Jesus through John, and through this, God’s plan of salvation began to be realized.

         The event of Jesus’ being baptized by John was the starting point for accomplishing the righteousness of God.
In Matthew 3:15, Jesus said, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” This word shows that the baptism of Jesus was not a mere religious act, but the first step toward the fulfillment of God’s righteousness—that is, the completion of the salvation of mankind.
Therefore, the mention of the ministry of John the Baptist at the beginning of the Gospels serves as an introduction proclaiming that Jesus was not merely one who performed miracles but the Savior who fulfilled the righteousness of God.

         The baptism of repentance by John and the baptism of remission of sins by Jesus are essentially different.
John’s baptism was a baptism symbolizing repentance, but the baptism that Jesus received was the work of salvation to bear upon His body the sins of all mankind.
The placement of the ministry of John the Baptist at the beginning of the four Gospels was to show how important his ministry was.
God always opens the way of repentance before opening the door of salvation.
The ministry of John the Baptist was the ministry of a servant of God who exposed the sins of man and caused them to kneel before the righteous work of Jesus Christ.

When God sent John the Baptist to this world, what was the reason He sent him six months ahead of Jesus?

Why did John the Baptist have to be born as a descendant of the house of Zechariah?

It was because, in order for John the Baptist to carry out the duty of the last priest of the Old Testament, it was necessary that he be born from the lineage of the high priest — a choice determined by bloodline. This was for the purpose of connecting the priestly system of the Old Testament with the voice crying in the wilderness of the New Testament.
This fact becomes even clearer when we connect the background of John the Baptist’s birth with the baptismal ministry of Jesus.

         First, the reason John the Baptist had to be born from the priestly family of Zechariah was to fulfill the word of prophecy that God had spoken through the prophets.
John the Baptist was the one who was to carry out the mission of a priestly successor within the sacrificial system of the Old Testament.
John’s father, Zechariah, was a priest of the division of Abijah, and his mother, Elizabeth, was a descendant of Aaron (Luke 1:5).
This shows that John the Baptist belonged to the legitimate lineage of the high priests.
Through John the Baptist, God intended to accomplish the fulfillment of the prophetic promise — that is, the “sacrificial law of the transfer of sins” prefigured in the priestly system of the Old Testament.

         In the Old Testament, the high priest was the one who laid his hands on the head of the sin offering to transfer the sins of the people to it (Leviticus 4:27–31).
In the age of the Old Testament, only the high priest had the authority to lay his hands on the head of the sacrificial animal and transfer the sins of the people onto it.
Therefore, God caused John the Baptist to be born into the lineage of the high priest so that he might carry out the mission of transferring the sins of the world onto the body of Jesus.

         The ministry of Jesus receiving baptism from John in the Jordan River was the work of transferring the sins of mankind onto Jesus to remove them.
The words, “When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened” (Luke 3:21), show that Jesus, by being baptized by John, took upon Himself the sins of the world.

         Secondly, John the Baptist was the last priest of the age of the Law and the one who, in the age of the New Covenant, was acknowledged by Jesus as the greatest among those born of women.
In the Old Testament, the priest laid his hands on the head of the sacrificial offering to transfer the sins of his people, and in the New Testament, John the Baptist baptized Jesus, thereby transferring the sins of mankind onto His body.
Thus, John the Baptist became the one who fulfilled the mission of the last priest of the sacrificial system of the Old Testament.
In Luke 16:16, Jesus said, “The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached.”
John the Baptist was born into the priestly family of Zechariah because he was the servant whom God had sent to fulfill this word.

         Thirdly, John the Baptist held the office of a high priest because he had to be qualified to baptize the head of Jesus.
Although Jesus was God, He came in the body of a man and had to fully obey the will of God the Father in order to fulfill the prophetic word written in the Law.
Therefore, Jesus’ going before John and willingly receiving baptism was an act through which He took upon Himself all the sins of the world at once.
The words, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15), mean that, just as in the Old Testament the sins of the sinner were transferred to the sacrificial offering through the laying on of hands, Jesus, by being baptized by John, received the sins of the world, was crucified, and shed His blood, thereby saving those who believe in Him from their sins.
Because John the Baptist was born as a descendant of the priestly family of Zechariah, and because Jesus was the High Priest of the Kingdom of Heaven, it was possible for Him to become the Savior by taking on the sins of sinners, in obedience to the will of His Father, through the ministry of being baptized by John.

         Fourthly, the lineage of John the Baptist was the family of Zechariah, who had inherited the line of the high-priestly office before God. 
His father, Zechariah, heard good news from the angel Gabriel while burning incense in the Temple (Luke 1:8–13). 
This scene shows that the Old Testament era, when sacrifices were offered with the burning of incense inside the Temple, had ended, and now a new era of grace had begun. 
This tells us that God no longer desires the sacrifices offered with the blood of sacrificial animals of the Old Testament, but that it has become the era where Jesus Christ, who received the transfer of the world’s sin through baptism by John, saved sinners from sin by being crucified and shedding His blood. 
It demonstrates the fact that Jesus Christ became the Savior by receiving the transfer of the world’s sin through baptism from John the Baptist and shedding His blood on the cross.

         Fifthly, this process of Jesus receiving the transfer of the world’s sin also did not proceed in a disorderly manner, but was accomplished within the prophetic word of God’s covenant. 
Since John the Baptist was born as a descendant of the priestly family and baptized the head of Jesus at the age of 30, it was recognized as an act fulfilling all the prophetic words promised by God.
As a result, God immediately opened the heavens, and the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus like a dove (Matthew 3:16). 
This was God the Father personally testifying that the ministry of John the Baptist and the ministry of Jesus Christ were both works of salvation fitting the will of heaven.

Why did Jesus want to be baptized by John the Baptist?

The question of why Jesus had to be baptized by John is the same as showing through what process the righteousness of God was fulfilled in this world.
It was because Jesus, by receiving baptism from John, took upon Himself the sins of the world and intended to become the Savior of sinners by shedding His precious blood on the Cross.

         First, the reason Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist was to transfer the sins of mankind onto His own body.
In Matthew 3:15, Jesus said, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”
Here, “all righteousness” refers to the righteousness of God’s redemption — that is, it means that Jesus received baptism from John to take upon Himself the sins of the world in order to remove the sins of sinners.
Just as in the Old Testament the high priest laid his hands on the sacrificial offering to transfer the sins of the people, John the Baptist was the one appointed to carry out the mission of transferring the sins of mankind onto Jesus.

         By being baptized by John in the Jordan River, Jesus took upon Himself the sins of the world onto His body. Therefore, Jesus’ baptism by John was not a mere formal ritual.
It was to show the actual redemption in which all the sins of mankind were truly transferred onto the body of Jesus through baptism.
After this event, John the Baptist could proclaim, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).
This shows that John the Baptist himself carried out the priestly office of transferring the sins of mankind onto Jesus.

         Secondly, the baptism of Jesus was the work that fulfilled the atonement sacrifice of the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, in order to receive the remission of sins, one had to lay hands on the sacrificial offering to transfer the sin (Leviticus 4:27–31; 16:21).
However, in the time of Jesus, it was not a sacrifice inside the tabernacle, but through the baptism that Jesus received from John the Baptist in the Jordan River that the sins of the world were transferred onto the body of Jesus.
The baptism that John gave to Jesus was not a mere symbol of repentance, but the act of transferring the sins of the world through the laying on of hands.
In the Old Testament, the priest laid his hands to transfer the sins, but in the New Testament, John had to baptize Jesus to transfer the sins of the world.
In this way, Jesus took upon Himself all the sins of the world, and as the price for those sins, He shed His blood and bore death on the Cross.

         Thirdly, Jesus Christ, who received the baptism that John the Baptist administered, was the One who participated in and obeyed the work of fulfilling all the righteousness of God.
Although Jesus was fundamentally without sin, in accordance with God’s plan of salvation, He humbled Himself and obeyed the work of receiving the transfer of the world’s sin onto His body through baptism from John the Baptist, the representative of humanity.
The words, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” speaks of Jesus humbling Himself and standing in the position of the Lamb of God.
Jesus Christ is the one who took on the sins of humanity through baptism and stood in the position of the Lamb of God by shedding His blood on the cross.
The righteousness of God was the work of salvation accomplished within God’s plan.

         Fourthly, the baptism that Jesus received from John was the work that revealed the truth of salvation — that He would bear the sins of the world, be crucified, and shed His blood.
Romans 6:3 says, “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?”
When Jesus was baptized by John, His being immersed in the water spoke of death, and His coming up out of the water spoke of resurrection.
The baptism that Jesus received from John speaks that Jesus took upon Himself the sins of the world and washed them away.
In other words, the work of the baptism that Jesus received from John was the ministry in which He bore the sins of the world to save sinners from sin, shed His blood on the Cross, and Himself became the Savior of sinners.

         Fifthly, the baptism Jesus received from John was the fulfillment of God’s covenant, achieving the will of heaven on earth. 
As soon as Jesus was baptized and came up out of the water, the heavens were opened, the Holy Spirit descended like a dove, and the voice of God was heard from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). 
This scene shows that the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—were all completing the work of humanity’s salvation together. That is, Jesus Christ receiving baptism from John showed the process by which God’s covenant of salvation was fulfilled. 
From that time on, Jesus, having received baptism from John and taken on the sins of the world, became the Savior to those who believe by being crucified and shedding His blood.

         Lastly, the baptism Jesus received from John made Him the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. 
Jesus Christ eventually shed His blood on the cross and completely paid the price for the sins of humanity once and for all, thus saving those who believe. 
Therefore, the baptism Jesus received from John in the Jordan River became the truth of salvation that brought true salvation to believers by receiving the transfer of the world’s sin, being crucified, and shedding His blood. 
The reason the authors of the Four Gospels recorded these two events at the beginning was precisely this.

The ministry of John the Baptist appeared as the ministry of crying out for repentance and of baptizing Jesus—why did it have to be so?

These two ministries of John the Baptist were by no means separate, but showed the point of intersection within God’s plan of salvation where the Law and the Gospel, human repentance and God’s righteousness meet.
In other words, the ministry of John the Baptist was not a mere religious movement, but necessarily had to be so as the channel of the truth of salvation through which the sins of mankind were transferred to Jesus.

         First, John the Baptist’s cry for repentance made people aware of their sins.
God sent John and made him cry out, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2).
This cry was not merely a call for moral renewal, but the performance of the work of the Law.

         The Law reveals human sin (Romans 3:20), and makes those who regard themselves as righteous realize their helplessness and sinfulness, leading them to look only to God’s salvation.
And the cry of John the Baptist fulfilled precisely that role. He warned the people of Israel, saying, “Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’” (Matthew 3:8–9).
That is, through the mouth of John the Baptist, God exposed the sin of man and humbled their hearts to prepare them to receive the Messiah.
Because a sinner cannot enter into the salvation that Jesus gives without first undergoing repentance.
Therefore, the cry of John the Baptist was a part of the process by which the righteousness of God was fulfilled.

         Second, the baptismal ministry of John was the channel for the transference of sin.
If the ministry of John the Baptist had ended only with the cry for repentance, it would have remained within the function of the Law.
However, God established him as “the one who baptizes,” because baptism was the work of God’s salvation that signified the transference of sin. 

         In the Old Testament, the priest laid his hands on the offering to transfer the sins of the people (Leviticus 4:27–31).
In the New Testament, John the Baptist baptized Jesus and transferred the sins of the world to Him (Matthew 3:13–16).
The baptism of John was not a mere ritual, but was to fulfill the prophecy concerning the laying on of hands in the Old Testament.
Thus, John the Baptist became the one who, by baptizing Jesus, transferred the sins of the world to Him.
After completing this work, John the Baptist bore witness of Jesus, saying, “Behold! the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).
That declaration showed that the ministry of repentance of John the Baptist served as the bridge that connected to the ministry of salvation of Jesus.

         Third, repentance and baptism were the connecting link between the Law and the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
The reason God caused John the Baptist to cry out for repentance was that mankind could not accept the gospel of salvation without first realizing their sins.
Jesus said, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (Luke 5:32).
Repentance is the human response of realizing sin and turning back, and baptism was the righteous act that transferred the sins of mankind to Jesus so that they might receive the remission of sins.
God connected these two processes through John the Baptist and Jesus.
Therefore, the ministry of John the Baptist was the process of transferring the sins of the world to Jesus, and Jesus, having taken upon Himself the sins of the world, was crucified and shed His blood, becoming the righteous sacrifice who saved sinners.
Therefore, we must, by faith, believe in the ministry of John the Baptist and the righteous work of salvation of Jesus, so that we may receive the remission of our sins and become those who receive the blessing of God.

         Fourth, the two ministries of John the Baptist were like plowing the field of the heart and sowing the seed of the gospel.
John the Baptist’s proclamation of repentance was like plowing up the hardened hearts of people.
He broke their religious pride and formal faith and made them humbly bow down before God.
And when he baptized Jesus, he sowed the seed of salvation by transferring the sins of the world onto His body.
The repentance proclaimed by John the Baptist was the plowing of the field, and the baptism of Jesus was the act of receiving the sins of mankind onto His body.
Thus, these two ministries were necessary to accomplish one inseparable work of salvation.

If people regard John the Baptist as a failure of faith, what kind of result would it bring?

If people see John the Baptist as a failure of faith, that means they are denying the plan of salvation that God established, and eventually it leads to the result of denying the very beginning of the gospel itself.
Since the ministry of John the Baptist was the process of transferring the sins of the world to Jesus Christ, his ministry as the first step of the gospel was never something personal, but it became a decisive matter in understanding and believing in God’s great work of salvation.

         First, to regard John the Baptist as a failure is to deny the work of salvation that God Himself established.
When God accomplished the work of saving mankind from sin, He never did it without any plan.
Within His plan of salvation, God beforehand gave the words of prophecy through the prophets of the Old Testament, and He fulfilled all things according to those words.

         The order in which God saves us from sin begins with the proclamation of repentance by John the Baptist, then the transfer of sin through the baptism of Jesus, the shedding of blood and death on the Cross, and finally the history of the blessing of the remission of sins that comes upon those who believe in His resurrection.
Among these, the first step was the ministry of John the Baptist baptizing Jesus.
Therefore, if people call John the Baptist a failure, they become like those who pull out the first button of God’s plan of salvation.
Then they cannot pass their sins over by faith in the word of the baptism that Jesus received from John, and thus they end up remaining sinners. 
In that way, they become cursed lives, religious people who know and believe only in the Cross of Jesus.

         Jesus said, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). 
This word reveals the process by which God’s righteousness is fulfilled through the baptism that John the Baptist performed on Jesus. 
Therefore, to regard John the Baptist as a failure is to deny ‘all the righteousness of God’.

         Secondly, those who see John the Baptist as a failure become those who cut off the link between ‘the Law’ and ‘the Gospel of water and the Spirit’. 
John the Baptist was the last priest of the Law and the one who baptized Jesus’ body, thereby fulfilling the office of the Old Testament’s last priest. 
Jesus said, “The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it” (Luke 16:16).

         The moment you mistakenly regard John the Baptist as a failed believer, you become someone who loses the ladder that allows one to cross over to the Gospel of salvation that saves us from the curse of the Law. 
Jesus received the world’s sin imputed through His baptism by John, was crucified, shed His blood, and became the true Savior for us. 
We must become those who are saved by believing in this act of John the Baptist imputing the sin of the world to Jesus’ body through baptism and the sacrifice of Jesus being baptized and shedding His blood on the cross.

         Thirdly, a faith that views John the Baptist as a failure soon becomes an act of disparaging Jesus’ baptismal ministry. 
Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist because He was taking the sins of mankind upon His body through the transfer. 
However, if John the Baptist is said to be a failed person, then his ministry becomes meaningless to you, and you become someone unrelated to Jesus. 
In that case, you become a person who does not believe in the efficacy of sin-bearing through Jesus’ baptism by John, and your sins remain in your heart. 
Consequently, your faith becomes a dead faith, and the shedding of Jesus’ blood and His death on the cross become the Gospel word of truth that has no meaning for you.

         Asserting John the Baptist’s failure soon becomes an act of denying Jesus’ baptism and His entire work of atonement. 
When John the Baptist proclaimed, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29), he was able to boldly testify that Jesus was the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world because he believed in the ministry of baptism that he performed. 
This word is precisely because John the Baptist’s ministry became true salvation in Jesus Christ, who is the Lamb of God.

         Fourthly, the one who views John the Baptist as a failure will result in holding onto human righteousness instead of God’s righteousness. 
John the Baptist’s ministry was the starting point for fulfilling the Old Testament sacrificial law of transferring human sin to Jesus. 
However, if they view him as a failure, people will be the ones who try to fill that void with their own righteous acts and prayers of repentance. 
In that case, it will degenerate into a “worldly religious faith of salvation through self-repentance and resolution” instead of the “Gospel of water and the Spirit that makes one righteous by faith.” 

         This is precisely the spiritual ignorance that is taking place among many religious people today.
People say that they believe in the Cross of Jesus, yet they do not know or believe the fact that Jesus received baptism from John and took upon Himself the sins of the world.
As a result, they have become those who still bear their own sins and live with them. They have become people who, through their prayers of repentance, try to make themselves righteous.

         Fifthly, one who sees John the Baptist as a failure becomes one who distrusts the ministry of righteousness of Jesus.
Jesus Himself highly praised the ministry of John the Baptist. He said, “Among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11).
Jesus did not call him a failure, but rather said that he was the greatest among all the prophets. Then why do you call John the Baptist a failure?
From whom did you learn such a wrong belief? Did you learn it from God? Or did you learn it from those who believe in the Nicene Creed?
From whomever you learned it, such belief and knowledge have fallen into the sin of slandering John the Baptist, whom Jesus is praising.

         Now, I hope that you acknowledge your wrong belief, return to the ministry of John the Baptist which the Lord acknowledges, have your sins washed away, and become the people of God.
John the Baptist, as the last priest of the Old Testament, was the one who, by giving baptism to Jesus, transferred the sins of the world onto the body of Jesus.
John the Baptist was the one who brought the age of the Law to an end and fulfilled the ministry of opening the age of the gospel. But if people call him a failure, that is to deny the very words and evaluation of Jesus Himself, and it ultimately leads to opposing Jesus.

         In the end, a faith that sees John the Baptist as a failure becomes one who cannot receive the salvation that Jesus gives.
If one denies his ministry, the connecting cord between the Old Testament and the New Testament becomes severed.
Moreover, a faith that emphasizes only repentance makes one’s life a cursed life that cannot receive the remission of sins. One becomes a person who does not believe that Jesus is the Savior of sinners.
As a result, one ends up becoming a religious person who emphasizes only the doctrines of worldly religion, not the gospel of water and the Spirit.

         Therefore, seeing John the Baptist as a failure of faith gives birth to a serious crime that overturns the providence of God.
If that happens, the righteousness of God disappears and human righteousness enters, and one becomes a believer of repentance who has no assurance of salvation.

Was John the Baptist faithful to his ministry?

The Bible clearly testifies to the ministry of John the Baptist at the beginning of the four Gospels.
John the Baptist was a person who completely, and faithfully, carried out the mission entrusted to him by God.
His ministry is not evaluated by human success or worldly glory, but within God’s word of prophecy, it became a work that was acknowledged.

         Firstly, John the Baptist was a messenger whom God sent directly. His mission was not something that originated from human decision or zeal, but was a ministry that began according to God’s plan and prophecy.
In Malachi 3:1, God said, “Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me.” and John 1:6 testifies, “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.”

         John the Baptist did not work by his own will. He became one who was used to fulfill the righteousness of God by obeying the priestly law established by God and, as Jesus commanded, giving baptism upon Jesus’ head.
Administering the baptism of repentance to the people at the Jordan River and preparing the way of the Messiah was not from his own thought or passion, but was a ministry of obedience according to God’s command.
He, confessing, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said” (John 1:23), was a person who clearly knew who he himself was and what role he had undertaken.

         Secondly, John the Baptist knew his position precisely and was humbly faithful to the end. His greatness was that he was one who submitted to the ministry of Jesus according to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
When Jesus appeared, he knew it was time for him to step back and confessed as follows: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).
This confession was not merely a word of humility, but was because he recognized himself as a servant of God.

         John the Baptist did not covet the position of the Messiah, and he worked with the attitude of only preparing His way.
He kept the ministry entrusted to him before God until the end, and when his role was over, he disappeared from the stage himself.
This is the true faithfulness and completion of mission before God.

         Thirdly, the ministry of John the Baptist signified the completion of the Old Testament priesthood.
He was born as the son of Zechariah the priest and was the last figure in the Levitical priestly lineage. However, his priestly duty was no longer a sacrifice of shedding the blood of animals inside the temple.
He cried out for repentance at the Jordan River and was one who was faithful in transferring the sins of the world to the body of Jesus by giving Him baptism.

         Therefore, when he finally administered baptism to Jesus, he became the one who put a final period on the priestly ministry of imputing all the sins of humanity to Jesus.
The moment Jesus said, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15), the ministry of John the Baptist was used as a channel to fulfill the righteousness of God and reached its completion.

         Fourthly, John the Baptist was the one who carried out the ministry as the last prophet of the Law and the one who opens the door to the gospel of salvation.
Jesus said, “The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it” (Luke 16:16). 
John the Baptist was one who took part in closing the age of the Law and opening the age of the gospel. His ministry was a bridge connecting the end and the beginning; he was the finisher of the Law and the one who brought the last priesthood of the Old Testament to a close.

         Fifthly, John the Baptist’s life, when viewed from a human perspective, seems like a tragedy, but spiritually, it reached completion.
He was imprisoned and was beheaded (Matthew 14:10). From a worldly perspective, he may seem like a failure. However, God acknowledged him as a faithful servant who had completed his mission.
Jesus evaluated John the Baptist’s ministry as complete, saying, “Among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11). 
He did not seek honor or dignity, but only fulfilled his mission to the end in the place God had entrusted to him. 
This shows that he was a truly faithful one and a loyal servant of Jesus Christ.

         Lastly, John the Baptist’s faith was brought to completion by the testimony of Jesus.
At the very place where Jesus was being baptized by John, the heavens were opened, the Holy Spirit descended like a dove, and the voice of God the Father was heard, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). 
This scene was the moment when the ministry of Jesus Christ and the ministry of John the Baptist were acknowledged by God. 
He (John) lifted his hand and bestowed baptism upon the body of Jesus, and through his (John’s) ministry, Jesus took on the sins of the world, carried those sins, was nailed to the cross, shed His precious blood, and became the Savior for us who believe.

How did Jesus evaluate the ministry of John the Baptist?

It is, in other words, an inquiry into God’s direct evaluation of the starting point of the gospel. 
If we look at the four Gospels of the New Testament as a whole, Jesus never once spoke of John the Baptist as a failure or an incomplete person. 
Rather, He highly evaluated him as the greatest prophet and as one who ministers to the ministry of God’s salvation.

         Jesus evaluated John the Baptist as “the greatest among those born of women.” 
“I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11, Luke 7:28). 
This saying is a word that declares the greatness of the redemptive-historical position in which the prophetic word concerning John the Baptist is fulfilled in the ministry of Jesus. 
‘Those born of women’ means all people born as human beings, and the reason why John the Baptist, among them, was called the greatest is because he became the one who actually met the Messiah whom all the prophets had spoken of only in prophecy, and, by giving baptism to Him directly, transferred the sins of the world to the body of Jesus. 
Abraham received the promise of God, Moses delivered the Law, and David foreshadowed the kingdom of the Messiah, but John the Baptist was the one who, by baptizing the Messiah Jesus Christ, carried out the work of transferring the sins of the world. 
This is the reason why Jesus called him the greatest.

         Furthermore, Jesus acknowledged John the Baptist as the messenger promised by God. 
“It is written, ‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You’” (Matthew 11:10, Malachi 3:1). 
Jesus confirmed John the Baptist as the messenger of God whom the prophet Malachi had prophesied. 
John the Baptist did not call himself a prophet, but Jesus Himself acknowledged him as the messenger who fulfilled the prophecy of God. 
His ministry was not human zeal, but a part of the plan of salvation that God had prepared in advance.
He was not a mere preacher of repentance, but a great servant of God who ministered to the completion of the providence of God’s salvation and lived to glorify God.

         Jesus declared the ministry of John the Baptist to be the conclusion of the Law and the Prophets and the beginning of the gospel.
“The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it” (Luke 16:16).
This word shows that John the Baptist was the last prophet of the Law and the one who opened the first door of the gospel age.
Through the ministry of John the Baptist, the age of the Law came to an end, and the kingdom of God—that is, the age of the gospel—began.
Therefore, the ministry of John the Baptist was not a failure but the perfect point of transition that opened the righteousness of God.
The words he cried out, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” were the same words that Jesus Himself later proclaimed.
This proves that the ministry of John the Baptist was perfectly connected to the ministry of Jesus.

         Jesus evaluated John the Baptist as one who was like a lamp. “He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light” (John 5:35).
Jesus compared John the Baptist to a lamp that first shone light in the midst of darkness.
He was not the light himself, but he was the one who faithfully fulfilled the mission of leading people to the true light, Jesus.
The ministry of John the Baptist was like the light of the morning star that shines just before the end of the night.
In the darkness of the world, he proclaimed the coming of the Messiah and opened the way, and when his mission was completed, he fully handed over that light to Jesus.
This evaluation by Jesus clearly shows that the ministry of John the Baptist was not interrupted, but fulfilled.

         Jesus rebuked those who denied the ministry of John the Baptist.
“For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by her children” (Matthew 11:18–19).
Jesus declared that those who criticized John the Baptist were people who did not understand the will of God.
To reject the ministry of John the Baptist is to reject the gospel itself, for he was a necessary servant established within the wisdom of God.

         Also, when John the Baptist was imprisoned and asked, “Are You the One who is to come, or do we look for another?” (Matthew 11:3), Jesus did not rebuke him.
Rather, through that question, He proclaimed to the people that John the Baptist was indeed the prophet whom God had promised.
Jesus did not find fault with his human weakness, because within the ministry of Jesus it had already been accomplished.
His ministry was fulfilled through obedience to the will of God.

         In conclusion, Jesus evaluated John the Baptist as the last priest of the Law and the greatest prophet who served the gospel.
He was not a failure but a servant of God who stood faithfully in the place where the righteousness of God began.

         Hallelujah! Now we also give thanks that through the ministry of John the Baptist, who baptized Jesus, the sins of the world were transferred onto the body of Jesus, and through the shedding of His blood on the Cross, He became our Savior. Amen. Hallelujah!

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