John the Baptist (Hebrew: יוחנן המטביל, Yo-khanan ha-matbil, Arabic: يحيى Yahyá or يوحنا المعمدانYūhannā al-maʿmadān, Aramaic: ܝܘܚܢܢ Yokhanan)[1] was an itinerant preacher[2] and a major religious figure[3] who baptized Jesus Christ and led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River.[4] John was a historical figure[5] who followed the example of previous Hebrew prophets, living austerely, challenging sinful rulers, calling for repentance, and promising God's justice. John is regarded as a prophet in Christianity, Islam,[6] the Bahá'í Faith,[7] and Mandaeism. Some scholars maintain that he was influenced by the Essenes, who were semi-ascetic, expected an apocalypse, and practiced rituals conferring strongly with baptism,[8] although there is no direct evidence to substantiate this.[9] John's baptism was a purification rite for repentant sinners, performed in "living water" (in this case a running river) in accord with Jewish custom. John anticipated a messianic figure who would be greater than himself.[10] Jesus may have been a follower of John.[4][11] Herod Antipas saw John as a threat and had him executed.[3]Many Christian theologians believe that the ministry of Jesus followed John's, and some of Jesus' early followers had previously been followers of John.[12] Both John and Jesus preached at times of great political, social, and religious conflict.
Accounts of John in the New Testament may not be compatible[Need quotation to verify] with the account in Josephus, whose authority is disputed by some.[13] In the New Testament Jesus is the one whose coming John foretold. Herod has John imprisoned for denouncing his marriage, and he is later executed.[2] Christians commonly refer to John as the precursor or forerunner of Jesus,[14] since in the Gospels, John announces Jesus' coming. He is also identified with the prophet Elijah,[12] and is described by the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus (Jesus' mother, the Virgin Mary, was a cousin to John's mother, Elizabeth).[15]
Because Scripture described John as endowed with prenatal grace, the feast day of his birth (June 24) became celebrated more solemnly than that marking his martyrdom (August 29).[2] In art, John's head is often depicted on a platter, which represents the request of Herod's stepdaughter, Salome.[16] A theme of Christian art is the beheading of St. John the Baptist.[1]He is also depicted as an ascetic wearing camel hair and with a staff and scroll inscribed "Ecce Agnus Dei", or bearing a book or dish with a lamb on it.[2] In Orthodox icons, he often has angel's wings, since Mark 1:2 describes him as ἄγγελος (angelos) (messenger).[13]
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[edit]In the Gospels
All four Gospels record John the Baptist's ministry as does the Gospel of the Hebrews. They depict him as proclaiming Christ's arrival. In theSynoptics (Mark, Matthew, and Luke), Jesus is baptized. In Matthew and John, John the Baptist recognizes Jesus as the one he had foretold.
[edit]Birth and infancy
The Gospel of Luke includes an account of John's infancy, introducing him as the son ofZachariah, an old man, and his wife Elizabeth, who was sterile.[17] According to this account the birth of John was foretold by the angel Gabriel to Zachariah, while Zachariah was performing his functions as a priest in the temple of Jerusalem; since Zachariah is described as a priest of the course of Abijah, and his wife, Elizabeth, as one of the daughters of Aaron[18] this would make John a descendant of Aaron on both his father's and mother's side.[19]
The Gospel of Luke states that Jesus was conceived when Elizabeth was about six months pregnant; when her cousin, the Virgin Mary, came to tell her about her news, Elizabeth's unborn child 'jumped for joy' in her womb.[20] Zachariah had lost his speech at the behest and prophecy of the angel Gabriel,[21] and it was restored on the occasion of Zachariah naming John.[22] On the basis of Luke's account, the Catholic calendar placed the feast of John the Baptist on June 24, six months before Christmas.[23] According to Luke, Jesus and John the Baptist were related, their mothers being cousins;[15] there is no mention of this in the other Gospels, and the scholar Raymond E. Brown has described the relationship as 'of dubious historicity';[24] Géza Vermes has called it 'artificial and undoubtedly Luke's creation'.[25]
The many similarities between the accounts of the birth of Samuel in the Old Testament have led scholars to suggest that this is the model for the Gospel of Luke story of the birth of John and of the annunciation and birth of Jesus.[26]
[edit]Ministry
All four canonical gospels relate to John's ministry, his preaching and baptism in the River Jordan. Most notably he is the one who recognized Jesus as the Messiah, and on Jesus' request, baptized him. The baptism marked the beginning of Jesus' ministry. The Gospels of Mark,Matthew and (most clearly) Luke relate that Jesus came from Galilee to John and was baptized by him, whereupon the Spirit descended upon him and a voice from Heaven told him he was God's Son. Their lives (e.g., births) are believed to have been similar, although in Christianity, John is thought of as the last prophet and Jesus as the Messiah.
Considered by Christians to be without sin, Jesus nevertheless received John's baptism, which was for the repentance of sins (Mark 1:4[27]). This is addressed in the Gospel of Matthew's account, which portrays John's refusal to baptize Jesus, saying, "I need to be baptized by you." Jesus persuades John to baptize him nonetheless (Matthew 3:13-15[28]). In the Gospel of John, John does not baptize Jesus but introduces Jesus to his disciples as the "Lamb of God" (John 1:29-36[29]).
The Gospel of John reports that Jesus' disciples were baptizing and that a debate broke out between some of the disciples of John and another Jew about purification with John explaining that Jesus "must become greater" while he, John, "must become less" (John 3:22-36[30]). The Gospel of John then points out that Jesus' disciples were baptizing more people than John (John 4:2[31]). Later, the Gospel relates Jesus regarding John as "a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light". (John 5:35[32]).
The book of Acts portrays the disciples of John as eventually merging into the followers of Jesus (Acts 18:24-19:6[33]), a development not reported by the Gospels except for the early case ofAndrew, Simon Peter's brother (John 1:35-42[34]). On various occasions the Gospels relate John's denying any claim to be the Messiah and clearly acknowledging his inferiority to Jesus. However, scholars such as Harold W. Attridge contend that John's status as a "self-conscious and deliberate forerunner of Jesus" is likely to be an invention by early Christians, arguing that "for the early church it would have been something of an embarrassment to say that Jesus, who was in their minds superior to John the Baptist, had been baptized by him."[35]
[edit]John the Baptist and Old Testament prophecy
Christians believe that John the Baptist had a specific role ordained by God as forerunner or precursor of Jesus, who was the foretold Messiah. The New Testament Gospels speak of this role. In Luke 1:17 the role of John is referred to as being "to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." In Luke 1:76 as "...thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways" and in Luke 1:77 as being "To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins."
There are several passages within the Old Testament which are interpreted by Christians as beingprophetic of John the Baptist in this role. These include a passage in the Book of Malachi 3:1 that refers to a prophet who would prepare the way of the Lord:
- 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. — Malachi 3:1[36]
and also at the end of the next chapter in Malachi 4:5-6 where it says,
- Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
The Jews of Jesus' day expected Elijah to come before the Messiah; indeed, some modern Jews continue to await Elijah's coming as well, as in the Cup of Elijah the Prophet in the Passover Seder. This is why the disciples ask Jesus in Matthew 17:10, 'Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?.' The disciples are then told by Jesus that Elijah came in the person of John the Baptist,
- Jesus replied, "To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands." Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist. — Matt. 17:11-13
These passages are applied to John in the Synoptic Gospels[37][38][39]. The Gospel of Johnindicates that John the Baptist did not fully appreciate his status,
Now this was John's testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, "I am not the Christ." They asked him, "Then who are you? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" He answered, "No." - John 1:19-21
[edit]Josephus
An account of John the Baptist is found in all extant manuscripts of the Jewish Antiquities (book 18, chapter 5, 2) by Flavius Josephus (37–100):[40]
- 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.[41]
As with other passages in Josephus relating to Christian themes concern remains over whether the passage was part of Josephus's original text or instead a later interpolation. Skeptical writer Frank Zindler argues that the passage is an interpolation by a Sabian.[42] The passage dates back to at least the early 3rd century as it is quoted by Origen in Contra Celsum. It was also quoted by Eusebius of Caesarea in the 4th century.
According to this passage, the execution of John was blamed for a defeat Herod suffered ca. 36 CE. Divergences between the passage's presentation and the Biblical accounts of John include baptism for those whose souls have already been "purified beforehand by righteousness" is for purification of the body, not general repentance of sin (Mark 1:4[27]). Biblical scholar John Dominic Crossandifferentiates between Josephus's account of John and Jesus like this: "John had a monopoly, but Jesus had a franchise." To get baptized, Crossan writes, you went only to John; to stop the movement one only needed to stop John (therefore his movement ended with his death). Jesus invited all to come and see how he and his companions had already accepted the Government of God, entered it and were living it. Such a communal praxis was not just for himself, but could survive without him, unlike John's movement.[43]
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