Significance of John the Baptise

The significance of John the Baptist is that he is the reincarnation of Elias. At the beginning of St Matthew chapter 3, John is telling those who have committed sin to repent because the kingdom of God has come and he then goes on to baptize Jesus Christ. In St Matthew 11 Jesus recognizes this devotion that John has to his faith and says “among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist”. In St Matthew 17 is when we learn that John is the reincarnation of Elias and that the people did not recognize or know that it was him and that is why they ended up beheading him.