Luke 1: 80:“And the child continued to grow, and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.” John’s ministry was not going to be an easy one, and he could not depend upon any of the normal teachers of his day to prepare him for it. Aside from his father and mother, who understood that he was the forerunner promised by Isaiah and Malachi, no one else knew who he was. So, he had to be hardened in body to live without life’s comforts, and trained by the Holy Spirit to hear God’s voice. What better place for such training than the desert? Jesus seemed to think it worked (Matthew 11: 7-9). John was no shaking reed or fashionista.
