John the Baptizer

The life and times of John the Baptist are chronicled in the Gospels. From his birth to his death, his life is played out in concert with Christ, to a point. He was born to a priest and raised in the atmosphere of religious Jerusalem. Being around the temple he might be considered today to be a PK (priest kid?). Rebellion against the system is often reflected in the life of one raised under this pressure. I know a little about that seeing I was a southern Baptist PK myself. It is hard not to "kick against the pricks", that old KJ is funny (actually this phrase is a variant).  But anyway it seems John may have had a little rebel in him. Some think he might have joined the Qumran rebels on the shores of the dead sea. This group called for the purity to return to the temple and castigated the Pharisees of that day.  John called "all of Jerusalem" to repentance. And instead of priestly garb which according to heredity he should be wearing he put on the coat of a camel and ate wild honey (as opposed to tamed) and locust (Matthew 3:4).
 I am not sure Zacharias had this in mind when the angel told him that John was going to be like Elias (Elijah). But maybe he did. He quoted Malichi and Isaiah to Zac.  Anyway, John's father had a hard time believing. Maybe the apple does not fall far from the tree. John had the same problem. How did he come to deny that he was Elijah? The angel clearly spoke. Christ said he was Elijah.  His dad had trouble believing too. Maybe he was made dumb so he could not spread unbelief. Mom was right. "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all". So did John inherit this family trait? We see him denying who he was almost right away. Did this have an affect on his fatih? Is this one reason he did not fully accept Jesus as the Messiah?
 Why did he not believe this?
 Was John too focused on the natural? Was he looking for a Messiah who would manifest his power and kingdom in the natural realm. Our description of John from the beginning had a lot to do with natural things, the clothes, the food, no wine, no women, probably no song. John spoke against the rulers of his day. He was acting like an OT prophet. He died at the hands of a ruler that he was criticizing. Christ went about things differently. Maybe it was too different for John.
I sometimes think what a great testimony John would have been if had become a disciple of Christ. Why didn't he? Maybe we are missing Christ in similar ways. That is maybe we are too focused on the natural or expecting Christ to appear in the way we want. What if he chooses how he is going to appear? Will we be ready to see him? In a This Week volume 12 entitled Hardness, John Stevens notes that "when Christ appeared to the disciples after His resurrection, He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart … Mark 16:14b. You would think that after all they had been through, they would be in a humility and brokenness of spirit, yet Christ still had to reproach them at the depth-level of their heart, because their hearts were hard.
Every one of us should be searching our hearts, looking to God and saying, “Don’t let me be deceived, Lord. I want my heart to be tender toward You.” After all, what is the whole purpose of our serving God? It is to fulfill what He demands. And what does He demand? Deuteronomy 6:5 says, And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. This is the whole key."
So I guess we should not be too hard on the Baptizer. Maybe we should look to our own hearts. Easter is  just around the bend. The time we celebrate his resurrection. I know I what Him to find faith when He appears.