John the Baptist was a relative of Jesus. Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, were cousins. Mary and Elizabeth were quite close- when Mary was scared about being pregnant with Jesus, she went to see Elizabeth for counsel. Yet, John the Baptist claims that he did not know Jesus as the Son of God. Can you imagine that? John and Jesus probably knew who each other were, and may have even played together as children, but when it comes to recognizing Jesus for who He really is, John did not recognize Him right away.
The baptism, though, removed all doubt (or at least most doubt). In most of the Gospels, we witness the baptism of Jesus through the lens of the crowd- we see what they saw. But in John, we get the perspective from John the Baptist, who found the baptism of Jesus to be a most profound event. It changed his life and now he testifies that his little cousin is the Son of God.
I pray that you would have an experience of God through the Holy Spirit that will encourage you and draw you closer to the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Amen.
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