6. That the child grew and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel;[18] that he had his raiment of camel's hair; a leathern girdle about his loins; that his food was locusts and wild honey[19] is all we know of him until the word of the Lord came to him in the wilderness[20] commanding him to cry repentance, and proclaim the coming of the kingdom of heaven. 7. The Voice from the Wilderness.--The burden of John's message consisted of three great declarations: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand; prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight; there cometh one after me mightier than I am, whose shoe latchet I am unworthy to loose, he will baptize you with fire and with the Holy Ghost. 8. When the multitude flocked to hear the teaching of John the Pharisees and Sadducees came also--with guile in their hearts and deceit on their lips, he rebuked them, called them a generation of vipers and told them to bring forth fruits meet for repentance, and not to pride themselves on being the children of Abraham, for God was able of the very stones about {37} them to raise up children unto Abraham. He warned them that the ax was laid at the root of every tree, and that tree which brought not forth good fruit was to be destroyed. 9. That was a strange voice to the people of that generation, accustomed as they were to hear only the accents of flattery or subserviency. Without a tremor of hesitation he rebuked the tax gatherers for their extortion; the soldiers for their violence; the Sadducees and Pharisees for their pride and formalism; and warned the whole people that their cherished privileges were worse than valueless if without repentance they regarded them as a protection against the wrath to come. 10. So unusual a teacher as John the Baptist could not fail to attract attention in Judea where all men were anticipating the coming of a deliverer. Hence, as the Jews listened to his teachings so inspired with the power of God, they wondered if he were not the Messiah. This he denied. They asked him then if he were not Elias. This too he denied (see note 5, end of section); and claimed only to be the voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Make straight the way of the Lord." [21] 11. The Baptism of Jesus.--When John came into the region about Bethabara [Beth-ab-a-rah], on the Jordan,[22] among others who came to be baptized was Jesus. When John saw him he hesitated, and knowing by the inspiration within him what he was soon to know by a more splendid manifestation of God's power, _viz._, that this was the Son of God, he said: "I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?" "Suffer it to be so now," replied Jesus, "for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness." [23]