Saint John The Forerunner

Grace and Repentence

"Neither repentance avails without grace, nor grace without repentance; for repentance must first condemn sin, that grace may blot it out. So then John, who was a type of the law, came baptizing for repentance, while Christ came to offer grace." -- St. Ambrose

Saint John The Forerunner

"Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John came; and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. Let anyone with ears listen!" -- Matthew 11:11-15 (NRSV)

Pay particular attention to verse 14:

For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John came; and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.

This fulfills the prophecies concering the Jewish Messiah which state that Elijah must return before the Messiah. Jesus identifies John as Elijah. For those who demand that the Bible be taken strictly literally this verse indicates that such an approach is in error.

Also notice where this comes from.

"Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse." -- Malachi 4:5.6 (NRSV)

This shows us that the day of the Lord is now, not in some future time. -- Wcrowe 2008

John Greater than the Other Prophets and an Angel

"John the Baptist is greater than the other prophets for this reason: the other prophets predicted to John that someone was to come, but John pointed out with his finger that he had indeed come, saying, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world." And he reached not only the rank of a prophet but even to that of Baptist, by baptizing his Lord. This heightened his significance. He thereby fulfilled the prophecy of Malachi in which an angel is foretold. John belonged to the order of the angels not by nature but by the importance of his task. It means he was the messenger who would announce the coming of the Lord." -- St. Jerome, Commentary on Matthew 2.11.9