Luke's comment on John's personal development shows his interest in human beings, which characterizes this Gospel (cf. 2:40, 52). John's spirit here corresponds roughly to his character and personality (cf. 1 Sam. 2:21).
There has been considerable speculation about whether John became a member of the ascetic Essene community at Qumran because he lived in the deserts.73There is no way to prove or to disprove this theory presently. The factors in its favor are their common eschatological expectations, their use of Isaiah 40:3, and their use of ritual washings. Against it is John's connection with the Jerusalem temple through his father that the Essenes repudiated.74Probably John went into the deserts to commune with God to be free of the distractions of ordinary life.
Thus John gives way to Jesus in the text.
