How did John not know Jesus? How could he not know the prophecies spoken by his own mother Elizabeth regarding Mary’s child and calling Mary ‘the mother of my Lord’ (Luke 1:43)? And how could he not know the words of his father Zacharias who had prophesied concerning John, ‘Thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways’ (Luke 1:76)? It must be remembered that the family of John lived in the hill country in a city of Judah (Luke 1:39) and in addition John had lived ‘in the deserts till the time of his shewing to Israel’ (Luke 1:80). It is suggested that John may not be speaking of a mere physical acquaintance, but of a certainty that Jesus was the Messiah. However, since he knew his parents’ prophecies, and since he was well aware that the Messiah was soon to appear, it does seem that the issue was one of physical identification.
If John did not know the identification of the Christ until after Jesus’ baptism when he saw the sign God had told him to expect – the Holy Spirit descending on him and remaining on him – then why does Matthew tell us that John at first refused to baptize Jesus, knowing already that he was the Christ (Matthew 3:14)? We must conclude that God had already communicated to John that Jesus was the Messiah – for he was a prophet – but that the formal sign indicating this came after his baptism. This sign not only identified Christ to John but revealed something of his glory.