john was born into the family of the priest zechariah and the righteous elizabeth. as the evangelist luke narrates, the archangel gabriel announced the birth of a son to zechariah, saying that many about the birth his will rejoice, for he will be great before the lord, will not drink wine or axe, and will be filled with the holy spirit even from his mother's womb. saint john. escaped death among the thousands of infants killed by herod, he grew up in the wild desert, preparing himself for great service in fasting and prayer, or rather, divine providence itself prepared him for this, saint john wore rough clothes, secured with a leather belt, ate wild honey and locusts, a kind of locust, at the age of three... to receive the expected messiah and performing water baptism over them. this baptism was not still a blessed christian sacrament, but prepared the people for the future baptism with water and the holy spirit. when christ the savior himself came to the jordan river, the prophet john baptized him with water and became a witness to the miracles of the epiphany. fu