Jesus the Christ, the Son of God,
speaking to a multitude of people
And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? a reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings' courts. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet. This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him. And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like? They are like unto children sitting in the the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept. For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil. The Son of Man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold, a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! But wisdom is justified of all her children.-Luke 7:24-35***The divinely inspired Scriptures of the Holy Bible reveal that the angel Gabriel appeared to elderly Zechariah (Zacharias) the priest and told him that his prayer was heard and told him about the conception, birth and purpose of the son who would be born to Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth (Elizabeth). The angel Gabriel told Zechariah to name the child John, and said the birth of John was going to cause rejoicing and gladness, and John would be great in the eyes of the Lord, and would be filled with the Holy Spirit (Holy Ghost) from birth, and would bring many Israelites back to the Lord, and prepare people for the Lord. During the 6th month that elderly Elizabeth was carrying John the Baptist in her womb, the Lord God sent the angel Gabriel to Elizabeth's relative Mary, a virgin. The angel Gabriel said Mary was favored with grace, and the Lord was with Mary, and Mary was blessed among women. The angel Gabriel told Mary not to fear, and said Mary had favor with the Lord God, and said Mary would give birth to a Son, and Mary was to name the Son Jesus, and Jesus, the Son of the Highest (the Most High) would be conceived of the Holy Spirit in Mary's womb, and the angel Gabriel revealed that Mary's relative Elizabeth was 6 months pregnant. After Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit in Mary's womb when Mary was a virgin, Mary went to visit Elizabeth, and Elizabeth heard Mary's voice, and John the Baptist leaped in Elizabeth's womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Joseph was the craftsman pledged to wed Mary. An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph when Joseph was asleep and dreaming and told Joseph not to be afraid to receive Mary as his wife, and said that the child in Mary's womb was conceived of the Holy Spirit, and Joseph was to name the Son Jesus. Months after John the Baptist was born into the tribe of Levi to Elizabeth and Zechariah, descendants of Abraham (Abram the Hebrew) and Sarah (Sarai), Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob (Israel) and his 1st wife Leah, and Jacob and Leah's 3rd born son Levi, Jesus the Christ was born in Bethlehem, Judea, into the tribe of Jacob and Leah's 4th born son Judah to Mary and her husband Joseph when Mary was a virgin. John the Baptist lived as a Nazirite (Nazarite), set apart unto God, and spent some of his life in the wilderness, and ate locusts and honey, and never consumed alcoholic beverages or large quantities of food, and wore a garment made of camel's hair, and a leather belt around his waist. John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. John the Baptist baptized repenters with water unto repentance in the Jordan River, and in Bethany (Bethabara) on the other side of the Jordan River, and in the wilderness, and in Aenon, and told those listening to believe in the One coming after him, and said that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Over 1,500 years before John the Baptist and Jesus the Christ were born, Miriam and her younger brothers Aaron and Moses were born into the tribe of Levi. When Moses was 80 years old and Aaron was 83, the Lord God sent them to speak to the Israelite elders and Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. After the Lord God brought the 10th and final plague upon Pharaoh and Egypt, Moses and Aaron led the Isaelites, and those with them, away from Egyptian slavery, across the divinely parted Red Sea, and into the desert wilderness of Shur. In the desert wilderness of Sinai, in the region of Mount Sinai, the Israelites heard the voice of the Lord God proclaim the Ten Commandments to them, and the Lord God began giving Moses judgments, statutes and laws for the Israelites, and the Lord God made a covenant with the Israelites, and the Israelites said they would obey the words of the Lord God. When Moses was upon Mount Sinai 40 days and nights with the Lord God, the Lord God gave Moses commands about the offering willing Israelites were to bring, and the Lord God described to Moses and showed Moses the likeness of the tabernacle, and the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and the other sacred items that the Israelites were to make, and the Lord God told Moses that only Aaron and Aaron's sons and the sons born to their descendants were to serve the Lord God as priests. Before the Israelites journeyed away from the Sinai region, the Lord God spoke to Moses about the Nazirite laws and vows. During their 40-year journey to Canaan, the Promised Land, Miriam the prophetess died and was buried in Kadesh, in the desert wilderness of Zin. Upon Mount Hor, 123-year-old Aaron the high priest died. When Moses went upon Mount Nebo, the Lord God showed Moses the Promised Land, and 120-year-old Moses the prophet died, and was divinely buried. Joshua, Moses' aide and successor from the tribe of Ephraim, led the Israelites across the divinely parted Jordan River and onto the land that the Lord God promised to give to Abraham, and Isaac, and to Jacob, and their descendants. At least 200 years after 110-year-old Joshua died, and was buried in his tribe's portion of the Promised Land, Manoah was born into the tribe of Dan, descended from Jacob and maidservant Bilhah and their firstborn son Dan. Manoah and his wife were childless when the angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah's wife and told her about the son who would be born to her and Manoah, and told her about the beverages and food she must not consume, and the razor she must not use on the child, and told her the child was to be a Nazirite, and explained the child's purpose. Manoah's wife went to Manoah, and Manoah prayed to the Lord God and made a request, and Manoah spoke to the angel of the Lord. After the baby boy was born, Manoah's wife named the child Samson, Elkanah was an Israelite from the tribe of Levi. Children were born to Elkanah and his wife Peninnah, while no children were born to Elkanah's wife Hannah. At the tabernacle complex in Shiloh, Hannah prayed to the Lord God and made a vow about the son she wanted to be born, and vowed to give the son to the Lord God. Eli the priest saw Hannah and made an accusation before he heard Hannah's reply and spoke assuredly to Hannah. After the baby boy was born, Hannah named him Samuel. After Samuel was weaned, Hannah took him to the tabernacle complex to live. King Ahab was the 7th king to rule over all of the Israelites in the northern nation of Israelites in the Promised Land. During Ahab's 22-year reign, and during the 2-year reign of Ahaziah, a son born to Ahab and his wife Jezebel, Elijah the prophet proclaimed the words of the Lord God to the Israelites. Elijah was known for his hairy appearance and the leather belt he wore. Over 800 years after Ahab and Jezebel's son Jehoram (Joram) became the 9th king to rule over all of the Israelites in the northern nation of Israel, and Elijah was at the Jordan River and went up into heaven by a whirlwind, the angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah. After Joseph, Mary and Jesus briefly stayed in Egypt, they began living in Nazareth, Joseph and Mary's hometown in Galilee, and other children lived in the household. The inhabitants of Nazareth were identified as Nazarenes. Jesus was not a Nazirite, and was not under the dietary restrictions of a Nazirite. Approximately 30 years after John the Baptist and Jesus the Christ were born, Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. Jesus having prayed, the heavens tearing open, the Holy Spirit descended as a dove and lit upon Jesus. The Lord God in heaven audibly acknowledged his Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert wilderness. Jesus fasted 40 days and nights and was tempted. Afterwards, Jesus was tended to by angels, and Jesus went to the area near John the Baptist, and John the Baptist proclaimed Jesus to be the Lamb of God taking away the sin of the world, and testified that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus proclaimed the gospel of God, and told listeners to repent and believe in the gospel, and said that the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near, and the time has been fulfilled. In Galilee, Jesus told specific Israelite men to follow him, and Jesus began to preach, teach and perform miracles among the Israelites, including publicans (tax collectors) and Pharisees.-Genesis 11:26-50:26, Exodus, Numbers 6:1-27, 20:1-29, 27:12-23, Deuteronomy 31:1-30, 32:44-52, 34:1-12, Joshua 1:1-4:24, 23:1-24:33, Judges 1:1-16:31, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings 1:1-2:12, 1 Chronicles 1:1-34, 2:1-17, 3:1-24, 6:1-81, 7:20-29, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts 1:1-26