Q&A Home > S > St. John the Baptist

Why did St. John the Baptist have to be the person he was, who came from the desert, as a new kind of prophet that the Jews were not used to seeing?

St. John the Baptist had to escape to the desert. Living in the wilderness was not a choice initially made by this saint to accommodate a lifestyle desired by him.

When King Herod discovered that the Wise Men from the East had deceived him, he was so angry , that he ordered that all male children who were in Bethlehem and all its districts from two years old and under, to be put to death. While the Holy Family fled to Egypt, St. Elizabeth took St John and escaped to the wilderness for the sake of safety.

When the soldiers came to take St. John, they could not find the saint in his father's home. They then sought out St. John's father Zechariah, in the Temple, and killed him instead of St. John. Following this, St. John and his mother remained in the wilderness together until St. Elizabeth’s death.

St John remained in the desert after the death of his mother and lived alone in God's care until the day designated for him to appear to Israel. While alone, St John clothed himself with what was at his disposal, camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food consisted of locusts and wild honey. While in God's care in the wilderness, St John was focused upon God not upon his clothes or meals.

When he came out of the desert, St. John's work was crucial to the Lord Jesus Christ's Ministry.