Jesus replies that he must "be in his father's house" (). The Synoptic accounts of Jesus' baptism are all preceded by information about John the Baptist. They show John preaching penance and repentance for the remission of sins and encouraging the giving of alms to the poor () as he baptizes people in the area of the Jordan River around Perea and foretells () the arrival of someone "more powerful" than he. Later, Jesus identifies John as "the Elijah who was to come" (, ), the prophet who was expected to arrive before the "great and terrible day of the Lord"
John the Baptist John the Baptist John the Baptist ( "Yokhanan HaMatbil", , "Iōánnēs ho baptistḗs" or Ἰωάννης ὁ βαπτίζων, "Iōánnēs ho baptízōn", , ; Late 1st century BC – 28–36 AD) was a Jewish itinerant preacher in the early first century AD. John is revered as a major religious figure in Christianity, Islam, the Bahá'í Faith, and Mandaeism. He is called a prophet by all of these faiths, and is honored as a saint in many Christian traditions. Other titles for John include John the Forerunner in Eastern Christianity and "the prophet John" ("Yaḥyā") in Islam. To clarify the meaning of "Baptist",