Tim Maas Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

I would say that the very words that John the Baptist spoke to Jesus in the verse cited in the question indicate that he did indeed know who Jesus was when Jesus came to him at the Jordan River to be baptized.

John's words in other gospel accounts (such as Mark 1:7-8; Luke 3:16; and John 1:29) likewise indicate that he knew who Jesus was before He even came to him, and that Jesus had greater authority than had been given to him, since he baptized only with water, whereas Jesus had the power to baptize with the Holy Spirit.

August 23 2019 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Gary Wofford

Mary Visits Elizabeth Luke 1:39-55 Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

Elizabeth, John's mother recognized who Mary was carrying. She was filled with the Holy Spirit, something that only Jesus could do. 

John leaped in Elizabeth's womb, so even in the womb, there was some reaction to being near Jesus. It doesn't specifically state that John recognized Jesus, but there was some clear joyful reaction to the presence of Jesus.

When you read the genealogy of Zacharias in the same Luke passage as above, you will see that he was of the House of David. As such, he had to go to Bethlehem for the census, just like Mary and Joseph (and Jesus) did. So John was very likely at the birth of Jesus. If not, at least he was in the same city for the same reasons and certainly should have gone by to see Jesus while they were in close proximity. 

Each year, they all had to go to Jerusalem for the Passover. When Jesus was 12 years old, they traveled again with family and Luke states that they went there every year. Traveling with family, John and Jesus almost certainly played together and got to know each other very well as kids. It would be unthinkable for John's parents to forbid him to be around Jesus on those long trips together, so they almost certainly got to know each other well as kids. 

By the time Jesus was preparing to start his ministry, John's job was to "make straight the way for Him" (the coming Messiah). So he had likely spent several years preaching and teaching about the coming Messiah.

When Jesus approached the Jordan River, john exclaimed, "Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world." And, "He must become greater and I must become less." So John clearly knew Jesus by that time and recognized their dominant and submissive places in the Kingdom. 

To simply answer your question, there is no doubt that by the Jordan meeting of John and Jesus, they clearly knew each other very well.

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