John the Baptist
John the Baptist was a first century C.E. Jewish prophet who Christians regard as being a forerunner of the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. According to the Gospels, John the Baptist prophecized to the Jews that the Kingdom of God was immanently at hand, thus preparing them for Jesus' arrival. It is said that he also baptised Jesus in the river Jordan. Jesus himself testified regarding John that he was "burning and a shining light..." (John 5:35). Indeed, the Gospels suggest that the prophesied coming of Elijah was realized in none other than John the Baptist:
- Jesus said, "I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not know him, but did to him whatever they pleased..." Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist. -Matt.17:12-13
According to the Biblical prophecy found in Malachi 3:1, Elijah was to "come first" to herald the coming of the Messiah. Malachi 3:1 reads: "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts."
According to the New Testament John's ministry began in the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius but was cut short when he was beheaded at the command of Herod, at the request of Herodias in the year 31 C.E. or early AD 32 c.e..
The Roman Catholic Church venerates John the Baptist as a saint and remembers him on two separate feast days: June 24 (The Birth of St. John), and August 29 (The Decollation-Beheading of St. John). While most Christians see John as the forerunner of Jesus, and generally view him quite positively, it is also true that some Christians wonder why John did not dedicate himself more fully to his own assertion that Jesus was the Messiah. Thus, his actions and commitment to Jesus are seen as an ambigious and half-hearted by some.
John the Baptist in the New Testament
Nativity
The Gospel of Luke provides the only account of the infancy of John the Baptist. It states that John was the son of Zacharias and Elisabeth; his birth, name, and office, being foretold by Gabriel (Angel) to Zacharias, while Zacharias was performing his functions as a priest in the Temple of Jerusalem. According to Luke, Zacharias was a priest of the course of Abia, and his mother, Elisabeth, was of the Daughters of Aaron (Luke 1:5), and consequently John automatically held the priesthood of Aaron, giving him authority in Jewish eyes to perform baptisms of God.
John the Baptist was also a relative of Jesus. According to Luke, John was born about six months before Jesus, and that Zacharias' disbelief over the birth of his son rendered him mute, which was restored on the occasion of John's circumcision (Luke 1:64}.
Public ministry
Luke states that John was a Nazarite from his birth (Luke 1:15), and the synoptics agree that he spent his early years in the mountainous tract of Judea, lying in the wilderness between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea (Matthew 3:1-12). The Synoptic Gospels add that he led a simple life, clothed only with camel's hair and a leather girdle about his loins, and eating little more than just locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:4). Chrysostom and Jerome believed that John had been brought up from his infancy in this manner, as (Matthew 11:18) describes.
According to the Gospel of John, when John the Baptist was thirty years of age, God manifested him to the world, in the fifteenth year of Tiberius, 28 c.e.. And the Gospel of John states that his ministry began with him publishing the approach of the Messiah, in the country along and beyond the Jordan river, preaching repentance and the turning away from selfish pursuits. The synoptic gospels make no such claim, but agree with the Gospel of John that John the Baptist gathered a large following, and induced many persons to confess their sins, who he baptised in the river Jordan; which John argues was a baptism with the Holy Ghost and with fire.
He denounced the Sadducees and Pharisees as a "generation of vipers," and warned them not to assume their heritage gave them special privilege (Luke 3:8). He warned tax collectors and soldiers against extortion and plunder. His doctrine and manner of life stirred interest, bringing people from all parts to see him on the banks of the Jordan River. There he baptized thousands whom repented. Many persons became his disciples exercising themselves in acts of repentance and urging others to do so.
According to the Gospels, John baptised Jesus. According to the Gospel of John, but not the Synoptic Gospels, John initially excused himself, saying "I need rather being baptized by you", but Jesus declaring that it became them to fulfill all righteousness, John complied. The Gospel of John states that the next day John publicly announced Jesus as the Lamb of God, that takes away the sins of the world (John 1:19-29), and that John's office as forerunner ended with the baptism of Jesus, though he continued for a while to bear testimony to the Messiahship of Jesus. The other three Gospels state that John baptised Jesus shortly after Jesus presented himself, and they make no indication that John's ministry had ended, even making further references, later in the text, to John the Baptist continuing to have followers that were independent to those of Jesus.
John's imprisonment and beheading
His public ministry was suddenly brought to a close — after about six months — when he was cast into prison by Herod, who he had reproved for taking to himself his brother Philip's wife Herodias (Luke 3:19). He was imprisoned in the Machaerus fortress on the southern extremity of Peraea, nine miles east of the Dead Sea. Here he was beheaded at Herodias's instigation around 31 C.E. or early 32 c.e.. It is said that John the Baptist's head was brought in on a platter & given to Herodias, who carried it to her mother. His disciples, after consigning his headless body to the grave, told Jesus all that had occurred.(Matt. 14:3-12) John's death apparently came just before the third Passover of Jesus' ministry.
The Gospels do not say where John was buried. In the time of Julian the Apostate, however, his tomb was shown at Samaria, where the inhabitants opened it and burned part of his bones. The rest were saved by some Christians, who carried them to an abbot of Jerusalem named Philip. According to Shia Muslim tradition maintains that the head of John the Baptist is interred in the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria. In later times, it was said that the Knights Templar also had possession of the head of St. John. [1]
Josephus
Flavius Josephus in Jewish Antiquities book 18, chapter 5, paragraph 2 records the following:
- Now some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod's army came from God, and that very justly, as a punishment of what he did against John, that was called the Baptist: for Herod slew him, who was a good man, and commanded the Jews to exercise virtue, both as to righteousness towards one another, and piety towards God, and so to come to baptism; for that the washing [with water] would be acceptable to him, if they made use of it, not in order to the putting away [or the remission] of some sins [only], but for the purification of the body; supposing still that the soul was thoroughly purified beforehand by righteousness. Now when [many] others came in crowds about him, for they were very greatly moved [or pleased] by hearing his words, Herod, who feared lest the great influence John had over the people might put it into his power and inclination to raise a rebellion, (for they seemed ready to do any thing he should advise,) thought it best, by putting him to death, to prevent any mischief he might cause, and not bring himself into difficulties, by sparing a man who might make him repent of it when it would be too late. Accordingly he was sent a prisoner, out of Herod's suspicious temper, to Macherus, the castle I before mentioned, and was there put to death. Now the Jews had an opinion that the destruction of this army was sent as a punishment upon Herod, and a mark of God's displeasure to him. (Whiston Translation) [1]
From the context, it would seem that in Josephus's account John was executed around 36 c.e.. Divergences between Josephus's presentation and the Biblical account of John include the following:
- John's Baptism is not for the repentance of sins, as opposed to Mark 1:4.
- John is executed to prevent "mischief," rather than to please Herod's wife's daughter.
- Jesus is not mentioned in relation to the Baptist.
Josephus's passage is quoted by Origen in Contra Celsum in the early third century, and again by Eusebius of Caesarea in the fourth century.
Prophecies Pointing to John the Baptist in the Hebrew Scriptures
Malachi
The book of Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament canon and the last book of the Neviim (prophets) section in the Jewish editions. Malachi 3:1 reads: "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts."
Most Jews, whether in the times after Malachi or in modern times, look for a messenger to prepare to way of the Lord immediately before his coming. The long succession of prophets finds its ending in Malachi, and the concluding words of the book of Malachi, subjoined with an admonition to remember the law of Moses, import that the next prophet would be the messenger or forerunner of the Messiah. Christians believe John the Baptist is the forerunner or precursor to the Messiah.
Isaiah
Isaiah 40:3-5 is commonly read by Christians as a prophecy of John, see also the Gospel of Matthew 3:3.
John the Baptist in Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox believe that John was the last of the Old Testament prophets, thus serving as a bridge figure between that period of revelation and Jesus. They also embrace a tradition that, following his death, John descended into Hell and there once more preached that Jesus the Messiah was coming.
The Eastern Orthodox Church remembers Saint John the Forerunner on six separate feast days, listed here in order of the church year which begins on September 1:
- September 23 - Conception of St. John the Forerunner
- January 7 - The Commemoration of St. John the Forerunner (main feast day, immediately after Epiphany on January 6)
- February 24 - First and Second Finding of the Head of St. John the Forerunner
- May 25 - Third Finding of the Head of St. John the Forerunner
- June 24 - Birth of St. John the Forerunner
- August 29 - The Beheading of St. John the Forerunner
The Roman Catholic Church remembers St. John the Baptists on two separate feast days:
- June 24 The Birth of St. John
- August 29 The Decollation (Beheading) of St. John
St John's parents are commemorated on the day the Eastern Church celebrates his conception.
- September 23 Zechariah and Elisabeth, parents of St John, the Lord's Precursor.
John the Baptist as a patron saint
Saint John the Baptist is the patron saint of French Canada. The Canadian cities of Saint John, New Brunswick and St. John's, Newfoundland were both named in honour of Saint John. His feast day is June 24, celebrated in Quebec as the Fête nationale du Québec.
He is also counted as the Patron of the Knights Hospitaller of Jerusalem.
Mandaean view
Mandaeans believe John the Baptist, called Yahya in the Sidra d-Yahia (Book of John), was the last and greatest of the prophets. While Mandaeans agree that he baptized Jesus (Yeshu), they reject the latter as either a saviour or prophet. And they viewed John as the only true Messiah.
According to the text of the Ginza Rabba, John died at the hand of an angel. The angel appeared as a three-year-old child, coming to John for baptism. John knew the angel for what it was, and that once he touched its hand, he would die immediately. John performed the baptism, anyway, and died in the process. Afterwards, the angel covered John's body with mud.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Latter-day Saints believe that John the Baptist appeared in Pennsylvania, as a resurrected being, to Joseph Smith, Jr. and Oliver Cowdery on 15 May 1829, and gave them the Aaronic Priesthood. They also believethat John's ministry was foretold by two prophets in the Book of Mormon: Lehi (1 Nephi 10:7-10) and his son, Nephi (1 Nephi 11:27; 2 Nephi 31:4-18).
External links
- Catholic Enclopedia on John the Baptist
- Greek Orthodox web site's page on John the Baptist
- First and Second Finding of the Head of John the Baptist (Greek Orthodox)
- Third Finding of the Head of John the Baptist (Greek Orthodox)
- Jewish Encyclopedia: John the Baptist
- The Witness of John the Baptist
- John the Baptist historical person
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Exposition of the Divine Principle, HSAUWC 1996 ISBN 89-7132-127-X 0320
pages 122,126,127,129
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- ↑ Eccl. lib. iii. cap. 3 Chronic. Alex, p.686)
