If you misplace John, you will misplace the Day he announced.
He stands in the wilderness with axe and winnowing fork, not with a millennia-long rain check.
Matthew opens public ministry with John, then lets Jesus interpret John as Elijah and as more than a prophet.
John’s generation is the generation that saw both the Lamb and the fall of the house he warned.
The forerunner has finished his course. The Lord he named is the Lord of the New Creation.