He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God — John's mission is described in the language of the prophets' call to return (epistrepsai, to turn back). Bringing back many to the Lord their God is the mission of the great prophets — Elijah's confrontation of Baal worship, Isaiah's call for return from exile. John will perform in the spiritual realm what the prophets had demanded in the historical realm: the return of Israel to covenantal faithfulness.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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