There camea mansentfrom God,whosenamewas John.
"Behold,I am going to sendMy messenger,and he will clearthe waybeforeMe. And the Lord,whomyou seek,will suddenlycometo His temple;and the messengerof the covenant,in whomyou delight,behold,He is coming,"saysthe LORDof hosts.
"Thisis the one aboutwhomit is written,BEHOLD,I SENDMY MESSENGERAHEAD OF YOU, WHOWILL PREPAREYOUR WAYBEFOREYOU.'
"The baptismof Johnwas from what[source], from heavenorfrom men?"And they [began] reasoningamongthemselves,saying,"Ifwe say,'From heaven,'He will sayto us, 'Thenwhydid you not believehim?'
But the angelsaidto him, "Do not be afraid,Zacharias,for your petitionhas been heard,and your wifeElizabethwill bearyou a son,and you will givehim the nameJohn.
"And you, child,will be calledthe prophetof the Most High;For you will goon BEFORETHE LORDTO PREPAREHIS WAYS;
"I did not recognizeHim, but He who sentme to baptizein watersaidto me, 'He upon whomyou seethe Spiritdescendingand remainingupon Him, thisis the One who baptizesin the HolySpirit.'
"You yourselvesare my witnessesthat I said,I amnot the Christ,'but, 'I have beensentaheadof Him.'
after Johnhad proclaimedbeforeHis cominga baptismof repentanceto allthe peopleof Israel.
