The Witness of the Baptist

Another way of proving that Jesus has always possessed the name Jehovah is by seeing how John the Baptist described himself:

“He said: ‘I am a voice of someone crying out in the wilderness, “Make the way of Jehovah straight,” just as Isaiah the prophet said.’” — John 1:23

Here the Baptist identifies himself as that voice in the wilderness whom the prophet foretold would herald the coming of Jehovah God Almighty:

“A voice of one calling out in the wilderness: ‘Clear up the way of Jehovah! Make a straight highway through the desert for our God. Let every valley be raised up, and every mountain and hill be made low. The rough ground must become level, and the rugged ground a valley plain. The glory of Jehovah will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together, for the mouth of Jehovah has spoken.’ … Go up onto a high mountain, you woman bringing good news for Zion. Raise your voice with power, you woman bringing good news for Jerusalem. Raise it, do not be afraid. Announce to the cities of Judah: ‘Here is your God.’ Look! The Sovereign Lord Jehovah will come with power, and his arm will rule for him. Look! His reward is with him, and the wage he pays is before him. Like a shepherd he will care for his flock. With his arm he will gather together the lambs, and in his bosom he will carry them. He will gently lead those nursing their young.” — Isaiah 40:3‑5, 9‑11

Note that Isaiah did not say that the envoy would pave the way for an agent of Jehovah who acts on Jehovah’s behalf. Rather, the prophet made it explicitly clear that it is Jehovah Himself, Israel’s very own God, who would appear in visible glory to save and shepherd His people.

And yet according to the Baptist, the God whose way he came to prepare, and whose glory would be seen by all flesh, was none other than Jesus Christ!

“So the Word became flesh and resided among us, and we had a view of his glory, a glory such as belongs to an only‑begotten son from a father; and he was full of divine favor and truth. (John bore witness about him, yes, he cried out: ‘This was the one of whom I said, “The one coming behind me has advanced in front of me, for he existed before me.”’) … John answered them: ‘I baptize in water. One is standing among you whom you do not know, the one coming behind me, the lace of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.’ These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and he said: ‘See, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one about whom I said: “Behind me there comes a man who has advanced in front of me, for he existed before me.” Even I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing in water was so that he might be made manifest to Israel.’ John also bore witness, saying: ‘I viewed the spirit coming down as a dove out of heaven, and it remained upon him. Even I did not know him, but the very One who sent me to baptize in water said to me: “Whoever it is upon whom you see the spirit coming down and remaining, this is the one who baptizes in holy spirit.” And I have seen it, and I have given witness that this one is the Son of God.’ Again the next day, John was standing with two of his disciples, and as he looked at Jesus walking, he said: ‘See, the Lamb of God!’” — John 1:14‑15, 26‑36

John’s Gospel isn’t the only inspired writing that identifies the Baptist as the herald prophesied by Isaiah, or of Jesus being that very Jehovah whom the Baptist was sent ahead of to prepare His way:

“In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying: ‘Repent, for the Kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.’ This, in fact, is the one spoken of through Isaiah the prophet in these words: ‘A voice of one calling out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of Jehovah! Make his roads straight.”’ … ‘I, for my part, baptize you with water because of your repentance, but the one coming after me is stronger than I am, whose sandals I am not worthy to take off. That one will baptize you with holy spirit and with fire. His winnowing shovel is in his hand, and he will clean up his threshing floor completely and will gather his wheat into the storehouse, but the chaff he will burn up with fire that cannot be put out.’ Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, in order to be baptized by him. But the latter tried to prevent him, saying: ‘I am the one who needs to be baptized by you, and are you coming to me?’ Jesus replied to him: ‘Let it be this time, for in that way it is suitable for us to carry out all that is righteous.’ Then he quit preventing him. After being baptized, Jesus immediately came up from the water; and look! the heavens were opened up, and he saw God’s spirit descending like a dove and coming upon him. Look! Also, a voice from the heavens said: ‘This is my Son, the beloved, whom I have approved.’” — Matthew 3:1‑3, 11‑17; cf. Mark 1:1‑11; Luke 3:1‑6, 15‑17, 21‑22

“Paul said: ‘John baptized with the baptism in symbol of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.’” — Acts 19:4

This also helps us appreciate why Jesus is said to be the One who is shepherding His flock and who will come to repay each man according to his deeds:

“I am the fine shepherd; the fine shepherd surrenders his life in behalf of the sheep. The hired man, who is not a shepherd and to whom the sheep do not belong, sees the wolf coming and abandons the sheep and flees — and the wolf snatches them and scatters them — because he is a hired man and does not care for the sheep. I am the fine shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I surrender my life in behalf of the sheep. And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; those too I must bring in, and they will listen to my voice, and they will become one flock, one shepherd.” — John 10:11‑16

“For the Son of man is to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will repay each one according to his behavior. Truly I say to you that there are some of those standing here who will not taste death at all until first they see the Son of man coming in his Kingdom.” — Matthew 16:27‑28

Even though these happen to be the very functions which Isaiah’s prophecy attributes to Jehovah alone.

What all of this proves is that Jesus is that very Jehovah God Almighty whom Isaiah foresaw coming to reveal His glory to all mankind.

Breakdown of the Evidence

• Jesus is the Jehovah God whom John was sent ahead of to prepare His way.
• Jesus is also a flesh‑and‑blood Israelite, which means that He is Jehovah God Incarnate.
• This shows that Jesus is one eternal divine Person who possesses two distinct natures — God and Man at the same time.
• Jesus is not the Father or the Holy Spirit, but is the Son of God upon whom the Holy Spirit descended in visible form to assist Him in His mission.
• The Father is not the Holy Spirit but is the One who sent forth His Spirit to accompany His beloved Son.
• Therefore, the one true God Jehovah eternally exists as three distinct, yet inseparable divine Persons.