John was a pious man, and bid the Jews who practiced virtue and exercised righteousness toward each other and piety toward God, to come together for baptism . Baptism was John"s means of bringing the community together to wait "hand-in-hand," pure from evil, and filled with righteousness for the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

             The baptism of Jesus was done to fulfill the will of God (Mt. 3:13-17) although John considered himself unworthy to baptize Jesus. At this moment, John saw the "Spirit of God" descending as a dove" upon Christ (Mt. 3:16; Mk. 1:10; Lk. 3:22; Jn. 1:32) as a "visible manifestation of the presence of the Holy Spirit in the soul of Christ , and heard the voice of the Father saying: "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Mt. 3:17). This is John"s most important baptism, and it thus reveals the arrival of the Messiah. The event also shows that Jesus is mightier than John, who prepared the way for the Messiah (Mk. 9:11-13), while Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit rather than with water (1:1-8). It thus shows that John is the prophet (Elijah) of Jesus and prepared the coming of Jesus, while Jesus knowingly regards John as Elijah, the greatest human before Jesus .

             Living in the wilderness at the time, there was a limited supply of food or any necessity. Fasting is another attribute that makes John very significant to the time of Jesus. Although it is very tough to fight the temptations during fasting, one can see that his fasting was associated with repentance. Fasting shared with baptism the exemplary character that made it worthy of repentance . He also showed that he was a man that didn"t need the fancy things in life. He was an ascetic; he wore garments of coarse, camel hair and leather belt.a legal purist that at the uncontaminated food available in the wilderness . John"s simple dress and ritually pure diet bespoke his rejection of the corrupt society of his time and his strict adherence to the laws of Moses .