John the Baptist assesment

Other people have many prophecies about John. When his father, Zecheriah, hears that his wife Elizabeth will conceive a son, the angel Gabriel proclaims that the son, "will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God." This foreshadows that Jesus will be teaching a whole new radical message. John's job is to bring people back to the basics of God and to bring back people's faith in God so they will be open to a whole new message. When John becomes a baptist, this is exactly what he does. He tells the people to "produce good fruits as a sign of repentance... and every tree who does not produce good fruit will be thrown into the fire." He wants the people to begin doing God's word by helping others and to seek God's forgiveness for their past sins. This way they can all begin on a new slate for Jesus' radical message.
Based on this part of the Bible, Jesus' teaching will be based on coming back to the basics of God's message. Jesus will teach his message to all those who have open hearts to God. If people have faith in God, then they will listen to God's message although it will be a radical and authority-defying one. John states that Jesus will come and baptize the people, "with the holy spirit and fire." Fire is a strong and rebellious image, showing that Jesus message will be very strong and controversial. John the Baptist baptizes with water, suggesting that he is cleansing the people for these new ideas.