Scripture tells us that the mothers of John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus were cousins.  We read of Mary in Luke 1:35-36, “And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.”  To read of Mary’s visit with Elizabeth, I encourage you to read Luke 1:39-47. 

We have no record of John the Baptist from that point until we read of his ministry in the wilderness in Mark 1:6-8 which says, “And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey; And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.”  John said of himself, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.” (John 1:23).  John is referred to as the forerunner of Christ, one who was sent to announce the Lord’s presence to the nation of Israel.  We read in John 3:28, “Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him.” 

Now, let’s read John 1:29-36, “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. AND I KNEW HIM NOT: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God. Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!”

It is John who announced the Lord Jesus as the “Lamb of God” in verse 29.  This takes us back to Abraham and Isaac as we read in Genesis, chapter 15.  The Lord commanded Abraham to travel to the land of Moriah, there to offer his son, Isaac to Him as a burnt offering.  As they were approaching the proper spot, we read in Genesis 22:7-8, “And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, GOD WILL PROVIDE HIMSELF A LAMB for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.”  This incident, while it is a true story, is a type or picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, the perfect “Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”  Upon seeing the Lord Jesus walking, John proclaimed who He was and what He came to do.

Yet, John said he did not know the Lord.  Why?  There seems to be a couple of logical explanations.  It might have been that the Lord Jesus and John did not grow up around each other.  They may not have seen each other even though they were related to each other.  John was in the deserts, until the day of his ministry unto Israel began, and the Lord dwelt with his parents at Nazareth.  Possibly, John did not realize who Jesus was until the Lord revealed Him by allowing John to see the Spirit coming down as a dove and remaining on the Lord Jesus. 

Another thought is that John might have known the Lord personally, but did not realize that He was the Messiah until God manifested it to him by showing the Spirit residing upon Him.  Either way, it is important to realize that John’s remarks eliminated any thought that he pointed out the Lord Jesus because He was related to him.  No, John proclaimed the Lord Jesus because of the signs the Lord gave him to authenticate His person.  After witnessing the Spirit descend upon the Lord, John was now sure, “And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.”  (CC)  (568.6)