Yochanon, The Immerser

There was a man who came from God, sent to announce Yeshua’s arrival to Israel.  His name is Yochanan, also called “The Immerser”. 

Who is Yochanon The Immerser? Why is it important that we know him?

The Prophet Isaiah spoke to Israel these words about the coming Messiah: 

Comfort, Proclaim Good News

“Comfort, comfort My people,”

says your God.

Speak kindly to the heart of Jerusalem

and proclaim to her

that her warfare has ended,

that her iniquity has been removed.

For she has received from Adonai’s hand

    double for all her sins.”  – Isaiah 40:1-2 TLV

This prophecy is announcing the Good News to Israel of the coming Messiah who will bring comfort, peace and the complete removal of iniquity after the great punishment we received for our sins – the exile out of our own land to Babylon. 

The text goes on to tell us that there will be a man that comes out of the wilderness who will be a sign to the people, announcing the arrival of Messiah, The Lord! 

“A voice cries out in the wilderness,

“Prepare the way of Adonai,

Make straight in the desert

    a highway for our God.” – Isaiah 40:3 TLV

All four Gospels tells us that Yochanon came to Judea, preparing them for the arrival of Yeshua, the One who would come after him: 

“Yochanon testifies about Him. He cried out, saying, “This is He of whom I said, ‘The One who comes after me is above me, because He existed before me.’” Out of His fullness, we have all received grace on top of grace. “ Torah was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Yeshua the Messiah.”  – John 1:15-17

Yochanon literally means, “GOD gives Grace”.

Names are a powerful way that God communicates the plan and purpose of a person’s life. This is why God changed Abraham’s name from Avram to Avraham, because he was to become the Father of many nations and his name change reflected his purpose. 

Yochanon announces the Grace of God given to us in Yeshua the Messiah. This was the purpose of Yochanon’s life, to announce Yeshua (God’s Salvation) to Israel! 

Yochanon also fulfills the words of the Prophet Malachi who told Israel this:

“See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.  He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.” – Malachi 4: 5-6 NIV

Yochanon lived his life in the wilderness, away from the city of Jerusalem.  When he came to Israel he arrived dressed in the same raiment as the Prophet Elijah: “John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.” – Matthew 3:4 NIV

In the Book of Kings, we meet the Prophet Elijah this way: “They replied, “He wore a hairy garment with a leather belt around his waist.” “It is Elijah the Tishbite!” he exclaimed.” – 2 Kings 1:8 NAB

Every Jewish person today still keeps the tradition of putting out a glass of wine at the Passover Seder for the spirit of Elijah the Prophet. We do this because Elijah brings with him the message of the coming of the Lord! 

The Immerser

Yochanon immersed people in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins; throughout the Hebrew scriptures the immersion of water is a symbol of being cleansed of sin and the birth of a new life. It happened with Noah’s family in the Ark when the whole earth was cleansed of sin, destroyed by water in the flood. Only Noah and his family survived to give new life to humanity.  Israel’s final deliverance out of Egypt was at the Red Sea where God led us through on dry land yet drowned our enemies behind us, birthing us into our new life as the nation of Israel. After 40 years in the wilderness, we crossed over the Jordan River into the promised land. This was another miraculous parting of the waters God performed through Joshua who led Israel after the death of Moses. This is yet another mystery revealed in God’s story; the life of Moses represents the Torah which by itself cannot save us. We need the Spirit of God, who is Living Water! Joshua is a foreshadowing of Yeshua, who would come as our Messiah and lead the people by the Power of the Holy Spirit into the eternal promised land of God. HaShamayim!

Messiah means “Anointed One”, the One who comes immersed in the power of The Holy Spirit. Yochanon not only announced the physical arrival of the Messiah, but the promise of the Holy Spirit being given to us through Him:

“The next day, John sees Yeshua coming to him and says, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is the One about whom I told you, ‘He who comes after me is above me, because He was before me.’  I didn’t know Him, but I came immersing with water so that He might be revealed to Israel.”

Then John testified, “I have seen the Ruach coming down like a dove out of heaven, and it remained on Him.  I did not know Him; but the One who sent me to immerse in water said to me, ‘The One on whom you see the Ruach coming down and remaining, this is the One who immerses in the Ruach ha-Kodesh.’  And I have seen and testified that this is Ben-Elohim.” – John 1:29-34 TLV

You see, Yochanon was given as a sign to Israel as the fulfillment of prophecy to announce the arrival of the Messiah, our Savior! This was the purpose of his life.

The Bible tells us that God knew us before we were born and that we are all of us, living epistles. An epistle is a poem or literary work, which is in the form of a letter or series of letters. Psalm 139 specifically tells us that we have a book written about us in Heaven which contains all the number of our days; God created us with a plan and purpose that can only be fulfilled by knowing Him through the Messiah. You are a story, planned in advance and written by God.

Sh’ma Yisrael! The message is this:

Return to God and be cleansed from your sins; God gives Grace (Yochanon) and Salvation (Yeshua) through the Messiah, Yeshua. Be immersed in water for the repentance of sins and birthed into new life in the Messiah who came to lead us home. Yeshua, the Anointed One, will immerse you in the power of The Holy Spirit; He will be with you always, by the Power of The Holy Spirit, guiding you as you walk with Him daily in fulfilling your destiny and purpose here on earth; we must be born again to new, eternal life by the Spirit of God to be saved from sin and death. 

Salvation is found in One Name alone: 

Y E S H U A 

“ADONAI is my strength and my song, and He has become my Yeshua.” – PSALM 118:14