According to Robert Matthews, there is no missing the fact that John the Baptist was one of the most divinely heralded and preannounced figures of history. Very few persons have been so singled out and categorized in advance by the sacred writings. Not only was his name specified beforehand by revelation, but much information about his activities, geographical location, and eating habits, and even the precise words and topics of his preaching were revealed to various prophets before his birth. The earliest allusion to John the Baptist is found in Isaiah 40:3-5 (approximately 700 B.C.). Matthew, Mark, and Luke each interpret this prophecy as having reference to John the Baptist (Matthew 3:1-3; Mark 1:2-3; Luke 3:4-6), while John implies that the Baptist himself is quoted as saying that he is the one of whom Isaiah spoke (John 1:22-23). Mark infers that Malachi also spoke of John the Baptist's mission (Mark 1:2). The passage, although not specifically identified by Mark, is actually found in Malachi 3:1. Matthew and Luke imply that Jesus himself declared that John the Baptist was indeed the very one who Malachi had predicted would come (Matthew 11:10; also Luke 7:27).
A few months before John's birth into mortality, the angel Gabriel came to Zacharias and announced that he latter would become the father of a son (Luke 1:13-17; see also Luke 1:76-77, 79). In these words of the angel are several especially significant pronouncements:
(1) the child should be named "John";
(2) many should rejoice at this birth;
(3) he should be great in the sight of the Lord;
(4) he should be filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mother's womb;
(5) he should turn many people to the Lord;
(6) he should go forth in the spirit and power of Elias.
In the Book of Mormon John the Baptist is not mentioned by name, but his mission is discussed with considerable detail in at least three instances:
(1) Lehi spoke concerning his mission (1 Nephi 10:7-10)
(2) Nephi saw in vision the work of John (1 Nephi 11:27); and
(3) Nephi later enlarged upon this part of his vision (2 Nephi 31:4, 8)
The ancient prophets could not have spoken so definitely of John's forthcoming mission if it had not already been known and arranged in heaven. Concerning the matter of pre-earth appointment the Prophet Joseph Smith explained: "Every man who has a calling to minister to the inhabitants of the world was ordained to that very purpose in the Grand Council of heaven before this world was." (Teachings, p. 365). One cannot avoid the conclusion that John particular mission of being forerunner, baptizer, and witness for the Redeemer of the world was assigned to him in the Grand Council of heaven, and that such a mission could be entrusted only to a special person capable of carrying out the responsibility.
In the selection of the mortal lineage through which John would come to earth, there was some ancient law and procedure to be followed, for in order to be legally entitled to the priesthood of Aaron and to function as a priest under the law of Moses one had to be a literal descendant of Aaron (see Exodus 30:30-31; 40:15) The things of the law of Moses, especially with regard to the qualifications of the priests and their functions in the offering of various animal sacrifices, were designed by revelation to prefigure and typify the Messiah and to bear witness of him. Heavy penalties were affixed to the performance of sacred rites and duties without the proper authority (see Numbers 16:1-40; 1 Chronicles 13:7-10; 2 Chronicles 26:16-21) It was, therefore, essential that when the Messiah came in person as the Lamb of God, John, the forerunner and witness of the Lamb, should be of the proper lineage to qualify him for the mission. If it was necessary for a priest to be of the lineage of Aaron in order to labor with the sacrificial symbols, which were only prefigures of the Messiah, how much greater the necessity that John, the forerunner of the Messiah in person, be of the proper priestly lineage and authority. The Lord, therefore, chose Zacharias, a priest of the family of Aaron, and Elisabeth, his wife, one of the "daughters of Aaron" (Luke 1:5) to be the mortal parents who would provide the right lineage to complete the inheritance.
In an interesting sidenote, one finds that Zacharias literally sacrificed his own life (putting in force the covenant he made with the Lord) that John would be able to complete his mission. Matthews comments that in order to rid himself of the child that was born "King of the Jews" he "sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old, and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men" (Matthew 2:16). How Jesus escaped this slaughter is familiar to us all: Joseph was warned in a dream to take Mary and Jesus into Egypt until Herod was dead. But how did John the son of Zacharias escape? John was approximately the same age as Jesus and lived in the approximate area of Bethlehem. The common knowledge that was had of the miraculous events attending his birth and the prospect of his future mission would surely have placed him under the suspicion of Herod and made him subject to the king's envy. The scriptures do not discuss John's relationship to Herod's edict, but the Prophet Joseph Smith did, and his words enlighten us considerably:
We will commence with John the Baptist. When Herod's edict went forth to destroy the young children, John was about six months older than Jesus, and came under the hellish edict, and Zacharias caused his mother to take him into the mountains, where he was raised on locusts and wild honey. When his father refused to disclose his hiding place, and being the officiating high priest at the Temple that year, [he] was slain by Herod's order, between the porch and the altar, as Jesus said. (Teachings, p. 261).
This very interesting explanation by the Prophet Joseph throws light on an otherwise mysterious passage in Matthew 23:35, wherein Jesus said:
That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
Bible commentators have been at a loss to identify the "Zacharias" referred to in Matthew 23:35, but in the light of the Prophet's identification of the man as the father of John the Baptist, the passage takes on considerable historical meaning.
There is an ancient tradition about the death of Zacharias that is similar to the foregoing explanation by the Prophet Joseph Smith. This is referred to by Anna Brownell Jameson in her book, The History of Our Lord as Exemplified in Works of Art:
There is a very old tradition, as old at least as the 2nd century, that Herod also sought to destroy at the same time the son of Zacharias and Elizabeth--the young St. John, whose greatness had been foretold to him; that Elizabeth escaped with her son from amid the slaughter, and was afterwards miraculously preserved, and that Herod, in his rage at being thus baffled, sent and slew Zacharias between the altar and the Temple.
The legend is also mentioned in New Testament apocryphal materials:
Now Herod sought for John, and sent officers to Zacharias, saying: Where hast thou hidden thy son? And he answered and said unto them: I am a minister of God and attend continually upon the temple of the Lord: I know not where my son is. And the officers departed and told Herod all these things. And Herod was wroth and said: His son is to be king over Israel. And he sent unto him again, saying: Say the truth: where is thy son? for thou knowest that thy blood is under my hand. And the officers departed and told him all these things. And Zacharias said: I am a martyr of God if thou sheddest my blood: for my spirit the Lord shall receive, because thou sheddest innocent blood in the fore-court of the temple of the Lord. And about the dawning of the day Zacharias was slain. And the children of Israel knew not that he was slain. (Montague Rhodes James, trans., The Apocryphal New Testament (Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1953), p. 48. The Book of James, or Protevangelium, Chapter 23, verses 1-3)
[Robert J. Matthews, A Burning Light: The Life and Ministry of John the Baptist, pp. 3-8, 17-18, 24-26]
1 Nephi 10:7 A prophet [John] who should come before the Messiah ([Illustration]): John Preaching in the Wilderness. [The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Gospel Art, #207]
1 Nephi 10:8 The Wilderness ([Illustration]): Wilderness of Judea, near the northwest shore of the Dead Sea. The wilderness of Judea covers an area approximately thirty miles long by ten miles wide. The Negev dessert surrounds it on the south, the hill country of Ephraim on the north, The Dead Sea on the east, and the hill country of Judah on the west. This wilderness receives very little rainfall, providing meager forage for flocks and very little water for Bedouin who still pitch their tents there. John the Baptist probably taught the gospel in this wilderness, and Jesus fasted here for forty days. Photograph by Tana and Mac Graham. [Donald W. Parry, Visualizing Isaiah, p. 63]