Bible Personality Profile: John the Baptist

There is no getting around it John the Baptist was unique. He wore odd clothes in eight strange food and preached in unusual message to the Judeans who went out to the wastelands to see him.

But John did not aim at uniqueness for its own sake. Instead, he aimed at obedience. He knew he had a specific role to play in the world announcing the coming of the savior and he put all his energies into this task. Luke tells us that John was in the wilderness when God's word of direction came to him. John was ready and waiting. The Angel who had announced John's birth to Zacharias had made it clear this child was to be a Nazirite--one set apart for God's service. John remained faithful to that calling.