John the Baptist
Pre-Congregation | |
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Major shrine |
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Feast | |
Attributes | Camel-skin robe, cross, lamb, scroll with words "Ecce Agnus Dei-", platter with own head, pouring water from hands or scallop shell |
Patronage | See Commemoration |
John the Baptist
John is mentioned by the Roman Jewish historian Josephus[25] and he is revered as a major religious figure[26] in Christianity, Islam, the Baháʼí faith,[27] the Druze faith, and Mandaeism, the latter in which he is considered to be the final and most vital prophet. He is considered to be a prophet of God by all of the aforementioned faiths, and is honoured as a saint in many Christian denominations. According to the New Testament, John anticipated a messianic figure greater than himself,[28] and the Gospels portray John as the precursor or forerunner of Jesus.[29] According to the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus himself identifies John as "Elijah who is to come",[30] which is a direct reference to the Book of Malachi (Malachi 4:5),[31] as confirmed by the angel who announced John's birth to his father, Zechariah.[32] According to the Gospel of Luke, John and Jesus were relatives.[33][34]
Some scholars maintain that John belonged to the Essenes, a semi-ascetic Jewish sect who expected a messiah and practised ritual baptism.[35][36] John used baptism as the central symbol or sacrament[37] of his pre-messianic movement. Most biblical scholars agree that John baptized Jesus,[38][39] and several New Testament accounts report that some of Jesus's early followers had previously been followers of John.[40] According to the New Testament, John was sentenced to death and subsequently beheaded by Herod Antipas around AD 30 after John rebuked him for divorcing his wife Phasaelis and then unlawfully wedding Herodias, the wife of his brother Herod Philip I. Josephus also mentions John in the Antiquities of the Jews and states that he was executed by order of Herod Antipas in the fortress at Machaerus.[41]
Followers of John existed well into the 2nd century AD, and some proclaimed him to be the
Gospel narratives
John the Baptist is mentioned in all four canonical Gospels and the non-canonical Gospel of the Nazarenes. The Synoptic Gospels (Mark, Matthew and Luke) describe John baptising Jesus; in the Gospel of John this is inferred by many to be referred to in John 1:32.[46][47]
In Mark
The Gospel of Mark introduces John as a fulfillment of a prophecy from the Book of Isaiah (in fact, a conflation of texts from Isaiah, Malachi and Exodus)[48] about a messenger being sent ahead, and a voice crying out in the wilderness. John is described as wearing clothes of camel's hair, and living on locusts and wild honey. John proclaims baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sin, and says another will come after him who will not baptize with water, but with the Holy Spirit.
Jesus comes to John, and is baptized by him in the river Jordan. The account describes how, as he emerges from the water, Jesus sees the heavens open and the Holy Spirit descends on him "like a dove", and he hears a voice from heaven that says, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased".[49]
Later in the gospel there is an account of John's death. It is introduced by an incident where the Tetrarch Herod Antipas, hearing stories about Jesus, imagines that this is John the Baptist raised from the dead. It then explains that John had rebuked Herod for marrying Herodias, the ex-wife of his brother (named here as Philip). Herodias demands his execution, but Herod, who "liked to listen" to John, is reluctant to do so because he fears him, knowing he is a "righteous and holy man".
The account then describes how Herodias's unnamed daughter dances before Herod, who is pleased and offers her anything she asks for in return. When the girl asks her mother what she should request, she is told to demand the head of John the Baptist. Reluctantly, Herod orders the beheading of John, and his head is delivered to her, at her request, on a plate. John's disciples take the body away and bury it in a tomb.[50]
The Gospel refers to Antipas as "King"[51] and the ex-husband of Herodias is named as Philip, but he is known to have been called Herod.[52] Although the wording clearly implies the girl was the daughter of Herodias, many texts describe her as "Herod's daughter, Herodias". Since these texts are early and significant and the reading is 'difficult', many scholars see this as the original version, altered in later versions and in Matthew and Luke.[52][53][54] Josephus says that Herodias had a daughter by the name of Salome.[55]
Scholars have speculated about the origins of the story. Since it shows signs of having been composed in Aramaic, which Mark apparently did not speak, he is likely to have got it from a Palestinian source.[56] There are a variety of opinions about how much actual historical material it contains, especially given the alleged factual errors.[57] Many scholars have seen the story of John arrested, executed, and buried in a tomb as a conscious foreshadowing of the fate of Jesus.[58]
In Matthew
The Gospel of Matthew account begins with the same modified quotation from Isaiah,[59] moving the Malachi and Exodus material to later in the text, where it is quoted by Jesus.[60] The description of John is possibly taken directly from Mark ("clothing of camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey"), along with the proclamation that one was coming who would baptize with the Holy Spirit "and fire".[61] The book of Matthew next has Jesus coming to John to be baptized, but John objects because he is not worthy because Jesus is the one that brings the baptism in the Spirit.[62]
Unlike Mark, Matthew describes John as critical of Pharisees and Sadducees and as preaching "the kingdom of heaven is at hand" and a "coming judgment".
Matthew shortens the account of the beheading of John, and adds two elements: that Herod Antipas wants John dead, and that the death is reported to Jesus by his disciples.[63] Matthew's approach is to shift the focus away from Herod and onto John as a prototype of Jesus. Where Mark has Herod killing John reluctantly and at Herodias' insistence, Matthew describes him as wanting John dead.[64]
In Luke and Acts
The
Elizabeth is described as a "relative" of Mary the mother of Jesus, in Luke 1:36.
Post-nativity
Unique to the Gospel of Luke, John the Baptist explicitly teaches charity, baptizes tax-collectors, and advises soldiers.
The text briefly mentions that John is imprisoned and later beheaded by Herod, but the Gospel of Luke lacks the story of a step-daughter dancing for Herod and requesting John's head.
The
In the Gospel of John
The fourth gospel describes John the Baptist as "a man sent from God" who "was not the light", but "came as a witness, to bear witness to the light, so that through him everyone might believe".[77] John confirms that he is not the Christ nor Elijah nor 'the prophet' when asked by Jewish priests and Pharisees; instead, he described himself as the "voice of one crying in the wilderness".[78]
Upon literary analysis, it is clear that John is the "testifier and confessor par excellence", particularly when compared to figures like Nicodemus.[79]
Jesus's baptism is implied but not depicted. Unlike the other gospels, it is John himself who testifies to seeing "the Spirit come down from heaven like a dove and rest on him". John explicitly announces that Jesus is the one "who baptizes with the Holy Spirit" and John even professes a "belief that he is the Son of God" and "the Lamb of God".
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.[80] In this debate John argued that Jesus "must become greater," while he (John) "must become less."[81][82]
The Gospel of John then points out that Jesus' disciples were baptizing more people than John.[83] Later, the Gospel relates that Jesus regarded John as "a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light".[84]
Comparative analysis
All four Gospels start Jesus' ministry in association with the appearance of John the Baptist.[85] Simon J. Joseph has argued that the Gospel demotes the historical John by depicting him only as a prophetic forerunner to Jesus whereas his ministry actually complemented Jesus'.[86]
The prophecy of Isaiah
Although the Gospel of Mark implies that the arrival of John the Baptist is the fulfilment of a prophecy from the
Baptism of Jesus
The gospels differ on the details of the Baptism. In Mark and Luke, Jesus himself sees the heavens open and hears a voice address him personally, saying, "You are my dearly loved son; you bring me great joy". They do not clarify whether others saw and heard these things. Although other incidents where the "voice came out of heaven" are recorded in which, for the sake of the crowds, it was heard audibly, John did say in his witness that he did see the spirit coming down "out of heaven" (John 12:28–30, John 1:32).
In Matthew, the voice from heaven does not address Jesus personally, saying instead "This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased."
In the Gospel of John, John the Baptist himself sees the spirit descend as a dove, testifying about the experience as evidence of Jesus's status.
John's knowledge of Jesus
John's knowledge of Jesus varies across gospels. In the Gospel of Mark, John preaches of a coming leader, but shows no signs of recognizing that Jesus is this leader. In Matthew, however, John immediately recognizes Jesus and John questions his own worthiness to baptize Jesus. In both Matthew and Luke, John later dispatches disciples to question Jesus about his status, asking "Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?" In Luke, John is a familial relative of Jesus whose birth was foretold by Gabriel. In the Gospel of John, John the Baptist himself sees the spirit descend like a dove and he explicitly preaches that Jesus is the Son of God.
John and Elijah
The Gospels vary in their depiction of John's relationship to
The following comparison table is primarily based on the
Matthew | Mark | Luke–Acts | John | Josephus | |
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Prologue | Luke 1:5–80
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John 1:6–18 | |||
Ministry | Matthew 3:1–17
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Mark 1:4–11
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Luke 3:1–22; Acts 1:5, 1:21–22, 10:37–38, 11:16, 13:24–25, 18:25, 19:3–4
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John 1:19–42, 3:22–36, 4:1
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Jewish Antiquities 18. 5. 2.
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Prison | Matthew 11:2–7, 14:6–12
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Mark 1:14, 6:17–29
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Luke 3:19–20, 7:18–25, 9:9
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John 3:24
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Jewish Antiquities 18. 5. 2.
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Epilogue | Matthew 14:1–6
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Mark 6:14–16
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Luke 9:7–9
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John 5:30–38
John 10:40–42
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Jewish Antiquities 18. 5. 2.
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In Josephus's Antiquities of the Jews
An account of John the Baptist is found in all extant manuscripts of the
Now some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod's [Antipas'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.[91]
According to this passage, the execution of John was blamed for the defeat Herod suffered. Some have claimed that this passage indicates that John died near the time of the destruction of Herod's army in AD 36. However, in a different passage, Josephus states that the end of Herod's marriage with Aretas's daughter (after which John was killed) was only the beginning of hostilities between Herod and Aretas, which later escalated into the battle.[92]
Biblical scholar John Dominic Crossan differentiates between Josephus's account of John and Jesus, saying, "John had a monopoly, but Jesus had a franchise." To get baptized, Crossan writes, a person 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.[93]
Relics
Matthew 14:12 records that "his disciples came and took away [John's] body and buried it."[94] Theologian Joseph Benson refers to a belief that they managed to do so because "it seems that the body had been thrown over the prison walls, without burial, probably by order of Herodias."[95]
The fate of his head
What became of the head of John the Baptist is difficult to determine. Ancient historians Josephus, Nicephorus[96] and Symeon Metaphrastes assumed that Herodias had it buried in the fortress of Machaerus.
An Eastern Orthodox tradition holds that, after buried, the head was discovered by John's followers and was taken to the Mount of Olives, where it was twice buried and discovered, the latter events giving rise to the Orthodox feast of the First and Second Finding of the Head of St. John the Baptist. Other writers say that it was interred in Herod's palace at Jerusalem; there it was found during the reign of Constantine, and thence secretly taken to Emesa (modern Homs, in Syria), where it was concealed, the place remaining unknown for years, until it was manifested by revelation in 452,[97] an event celebrated in the Orthodox Church as the Third Finding.
Two Catholic churches and one mosque claim to have the head of John the Baptist: the Umayyad Mosque, in Damascus (Syria); the church of San Silvestro in Capite, in Rome; and Amiens Cathedral, in France (the French king would have had it brought from the Holy Land after the Fourth Crusade). A fourth claim is made by the Residenz Museum in Munich, Germany, which keeps a reliquary containing what the Wittelsbach rulers of Bavaria believed to be the head of Saint John.[98]
Right hand relics
According to the Christian Arab Ibn Butlan, the church of Cassian in Antioch held the right arm of John the Baptist until it was smuggled to Chalcedon and later to Constantinople.[99] An Orthodox Christian monastery in Cetinje, Montenegro, and the Catholic Cathedral of Siena, in Italy, both claim to have John the Baptist's right arm and hand, with which he baptised Jesus.[100][101] According to the Catholic account, in 1464 Pope Pius II donated what was identified as the right arm and hand of John the Baptist to the Siena Cathedral.[102] The donation charter identifies the relic as "the arm of blessed John the Baptist. And this is the very arm that baptized the Lord." The relic is displayed on the high altar of the Siena Cathedral annually in June.
Topkapi Palace, in Istanbul, claims to have John's right hand index finger.[101]
Various relics and traditions
Right hand – St. John the Baptist Church of Chinsurah (India)
The saint's right hand is allegedly preserved in the Armenian Apostolic Church of St. John at Chinsurah, West Bengal, in India, where each year on "Chinsurah Day" in January it blesses the Armenian Christians of Calcutta.
Decapitation cloth
The decapitation cloth of Saint John, the cloth which covered his head after his execution, is said to be kept at the Aachen Cathedral, in Germany.[103]
Historic Armenia
According to Armenian tradition, the remains of John the Baptist would in some point have been transferred by Gregory the Illuminator to the Saint Karapet Armenian Monastery.[104][105]
Bulgaria
In 2010, bones were discovered in the ruins of a Bulgarian church in the St. John the Forerunner Monastery (4th–17th centuries) on the Black Sea island of Sveti Ivan (Saint John) and two years later, after DNA and radio carbon testing proved the bones belonged to a Middle Eastern man who lived in the 1st century AD, scientists said that the remains could conceivably have belonged to John the Baptist.[106][107] The remains, found in a reliquarium, are presently kept in the Sts. Cyril and Methodius Cathedral in Sozopol.[106][108]
Egypt
The Coptic Orthodox Church also claim to hold the relics of Saint John the Baptist. A crypt and relics said to be John's and mentioned in 11th- and 16th-century manuscripts, were discovered in 1969 during restoration of the Church of St. Macarius at the
Nagorno-Karabakh
Additional relics are claimed to reside in
Purported left finger bone
The bone of one of John the Baptist's left fingers is said to be at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri. It is held in a Gothic-style monstrance made of gilded silver that dates back to 14th century Lower Saxony.[110][111]
Halifax, England
Another obscure claim relates to the town of Halifax in West Yorkshire, United Kingdom, where, as patron saint of the town, the Baptist's head appears on the official coat-of-arms.[112] One legend (among others) bases the etymology of the town's place-name on "halig" (holy) and "fax" (hair), claiming that a relic of the head, or face, of John the Baptist once existed in the town.[113]
Religious views
Christianity
The Gospels describe John the Baptist as having 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."[114] In Luke 1:76 as "thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways"[115] and in Luke 1:77 as being "To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins."[116]
There are several passages within the Old Testament which are interpreted by Christians as being prophetic of John the Baptist in this role. These include a passage in the Book of Malachi 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[117]
Also at the end of the next chapter in Malachi 4:5–6 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 present day 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?"[118] 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.
— Matthew 17:11–13 (see also 11:14: "...if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who was to come.")
These passages are applied to John in the Synoptic Gospels.[119][120][121] But where Matthew specifically identifies John the Baptist as Elijah's spiritual successor,[122] the gospels of Mark and Luke are silent on the matter. The Gospel of John states that John the Baptist denied that he was Elijah.
Now this was John's testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not deny, 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
Influence on Paul
Many scholars believe there was contact between the early church in the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church commemorates Saint John the Baptist on two feast days:
- 24 June – Nativity of Saint John the Baptist
- 29 August – Beheading of Saint John the Baptist
According to Frederick Holweck, at the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to his mother Elizabeth, as recounted in Luke 1:39–57, John, sensing the presence of his Jesus, upon the arrival of Mary, leaped in the womb of his mother; he was then cleansed from original sin and filled with the grace of God.[126] In her Treatise of Prayer, Saint Catherine of Siena includes a brief altercation with the Devil regarding her fight due to the Devil attempting to lure her with vanity and flattery. Speaking in the first person, Catherine responds to the Devil with the following words:
[...] humiliation of yourself, and you answered the Devil with these words: "Wretch that I am! John the Baptist never sinned and was sanctified in his mother's womb. And I have committed so many sins [...]"
Eastern Christianity
The
The Eastern Orthodox Church remembers Saint John the Forerunner on six separate feast days, listed here in order in which they occur during the church year (which begins on 1 September):
- 23 September – Conception of the Honorable Glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John[129]
- 12 October – Translation from Malta to Gatchina: of a Particle of the Life Giving Cross, the Filersk Icon of the Mother of God, and the relic of the Right Hand of John the Baptist
- 7 January – Theophany on 6 January (7 January also commemorates the transfer of the relic of the right hand of John the Baptist from Antioch to Constantinoplein 956)
- 24 February – First and second finding of the Honorable Head of the Holy Glorious Prophet, Forerunner, and Baptist of the Lord, John
- 25 May – Third Finding of the Honorable Head of the Holy Glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John
- 24 June – Nativity of Saint John the Forerunner
- 29 August – The Beheading of Saint John the Forerunner, a day of strict fast and abstinence from meat and dairy products and foods containing meat or dairy products
In addition to the above, 5 September is the commemoration of
The Russian Orthodox Church observes 12 October as the Transfer of the Right Hand of the Forerunner from Malta to Gatchina (1799).
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that modern revelation confirms the biblical account of John and also makes known additional events in his ministry. According to this belief, John was "ordained by the angel of God" when he was eight days old "to overthrow the kingdom of the Jews" and to prepare a people for the Lord. Latter-day Saints also believe that "he was baptized while yet in his childhood."[130]
Joseph Smith said: "Let us come into New Testament times – so many are ever praising the Lord and His apostles. We will commence with John the Baptist. When Herod's edict went forth to destroy the young children, John was about six months older than Jesus, and came under this hellish edict, and Zecharias caused his mother to take him into the mountains, where he was raised on locusts and wild honey. When his father refused to disclose his hiding place, and being the officiating high priest at the Temple that year, was slain by Herod's order, between the porch and the altar, as Jesus said."[131][132]
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints teaches that John the Baptist appeared on the banks of the
Unification Church
The Unification Church teaches that God intended John to help Jesus during his public ministry in Judea. In particular, John should have done everything in his power to persuade the Jewish people that Jesus was the Messiah. He was to become Jesus' main disciple and John's disciples were to become Jesus' disciples. Unfortunately, John did not follow Jesus and continued his own way of baptizing people. Moreover, John also denied that he was Elijah when queried by several Jewish leaders,[138] contradicting Jesus who stated John is Elijah who was to come.[139] Many Jews therefore could not accept Jesus as the Messiah because John denied being Elijah, as the prophet's appearance was a prerequisite for the Messiah's arrival as stated in Malachi 4:5.[140] According to the Unification Church, "John the Baptist was in the position of representing Elijah's physical body, making himself identical with Elijah from the standpoint of their mission."
According to Matthew 11:11, Jesus stated "there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist."[141] However, in referring to John's blocking the way of the Jews' understanding of him as the Messiah, Jesus said "yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." John's failure to follow Jesus became the chief obstacle to the fulfillment of Jesus' mission.[142][143][144]
Syrian-Egyptian Gnosticism
Among the early Judeo-Christian Gnostics the
Mandaeism
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John the Baptist, or Yuhana Maṣbana (
Enišbai (Elizabeth) is mentioned as the mother of John the Baptist in chapters 18, 21, and 32 of the Mandaean Book of John.[169][153]
Islam
John the Baptist is known as Yaḥyā ibn Zakariyā (
Quranic mentions
The
In the
˹The angels announced,˺ "O Zachariah! Indeed, We give you the good news of ˹the birth of˺ a son, whose name will be John—a name We have not given to anyone before."
He wondered, "My Lord! How can I have a son when my wife is barren, and I have become extremely old?"
An angel replied, "So will it be! Your Lord says, 'It is easy for Me, just as I created you before, when you were nothing!'"
Zachariah said, "My Lord! Grant me a sign." He responded, "Your sign is that you will not ˹be able to˺ speak to people for three nights, despite being healthy."
John was exhorted to hold fast to the
˹It was later said,˺ "O John! Hold firmly to the Scriptures." And We granted him wisdom while ˹he was still˺ a child,
John was a classical prophet,[183] who was exalted high by God for his bold denouncing of all things sinful. Furthermore, the Quran speaks of John's gentle piety and love and his humble attitude towards life, for which he was granted the Purity of Life:
as well as purity and compassion from Us. And he was God-fearing,
and kind to his parents. He was neither arrogant nor disobedient.
Peace be upon him the day he was born, and the day of his death, and the day he will be raised back to life!
John is also honored highly in
Druze view
Druze tradition honors several "mentors" and "prophets", and John the Baptist is honored as a
Baháʼí view
The
O followers of the Son! We have once again sent John unto you, and He, verily, hath cried out in the wilderness of the Bayán: O peoples of the world! Cleanse your eyes! The Day whereon ye can behold the Promised One and attain unto Him hath drawn nigh! O followers of the Gospel! Prepare the way! The Day of the advent of the Glorious Lord is at hand! Make ready to enter the Kingdom. Thus hath it been ordained by God, He Who causeth the dawn to break.[191]
John is believed to have had the specific role of foretelling and preparing the way for Jesus. In condemning those who had 'turned aside' from him, Bahá'u'lláh compared them to the followers of John the Baptist, who, he said, "protested against Him Who was the Spirit (Jesus) saying: 'The dispensation of John hath not yet ended; wherefore hast thou come?'" Bahá'u'lláh believed that the Báb played the same role as John in preparing the people for his own coming. As such, Bahá'u'lláh refers to the Báb as 'My Forerunner', the Forerunner being a title that Christians reserve for John the Baptist.[192] However, Baháʼís consider the Báb to be a greater Prophet (Manifestation of God) and thus possessed of a far greater station than John the Baptist.[citation needed]
Scholarship
Scholars studying John the Baptist's relationship with Jesus of Nazareth have commented on the differences in their respective approaches.
James F. McGrath writes "In the first half of the 20th century, the Mandaeans received significant attention from New Testament scholars who thought that their high view of John the Baptist might mean they were the descendants of his disciples. Many historians think that Jesus of Nazareth was a disciple of John the Baptist before breaking away to form his own movement, and I am inclined to agree."[193]
L. Michael White says John the Baptist should be thought of "...primarily as one who was calling for a return to an intensely Jewish piety [...] to follow the way of the Lord [...] to make oneself pure... to be right with God [...] And it seems to be that he calls for baptism as a sign of rededication or repurification of life in a typically Jewish way before God."[194]
John Dominic Crossan sees John the Baptist as an apocalyptic eschatologist, whose message was that "God, very soon, imminently, any moment, is going to descend to eradicate the evil of this world in a sort of an apocalyptic consummation..."[194] When Jesus says John is the greatest person ever born on earth, but the least in the Kingdom of God is greater than John, it means Jesus is changing his vision of God and the Kingdom of God from what he has taken from John. For Crossan, Jesus is an ethical eschatologist that sees "...the demand that God is making on us, not us on God so much as God on us, to do something about the evil in the world."[194]
Michael H. Crosby, O.F.M.Cap. states there was "no biblical evidence indicating that John the Baptist ever became a disciple of Jesus." He believes that John's concept of what a messiah should be was in contrast to how Jesus presented himself, and kept him from becoming a disciple of Jesus. Crosby states, "an unbiased reading leaves us with the figure of John the Baptist as a reformist Jew who also may have wanted desperately to become a believer but was unable to become convinced of Jesus' messiahship..."[195] Crosby considers John's effectiveness as a "precursor" in encouraging others to follow Jesus as very minimal, since the scriptures record only two of his own followers having become Jesus' disciples.
Professor Candida Moss noted that John and Jesus become "de facto competitors in the ancient religious marketplace." Even after baptizing Jesus, John did not follow Jesus but maintained a separate ministry. After John's death, Jesus' followers had to differentiate him from the executed prophet, "countering the prevalent idea that Jesus was actually John raised from the dead." Moss also references the incident in Matthew 16 where disciples indicated some people believed Jesus was John the Baptist.[196]
Pastor Robert L. Deffinbaugh views John's sending two of his disciples to ask Jesus if he were the Messiah or whether another should be sought as the Baptist's issuing a public challenge since the message was presented to Jesus while he was with a gathered crowd. Deffinbaugh suggests that John might have been looking for inauguration of the kingdom of God in a more dramatic way than what Jesus was presenting, as John had previously warned that the "Messiah would come with fire." Jesus answered by indicating his miracle works and teachings which themselves gave evidence of his identity: "The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor".[197][198]
Harold W. Attridge agrees with Crossan that John was an apocalyptic preacher. Attridge says most contemporary scholars would see the idea of John as the "forerunner" of Jesus as a construct developed by the early church to help explain the relationship between the two. "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, and thereby proclaimed some sort of subordination to him, some sort of disciple relationship to him..."[194]
Barbara Thiering questions the dating of the Dead Sea Scrolls and suggests that the Teacher of Righteousness (leader of the Essenes) preached coming fiery judgment, said "the axe is laid to the roots of the tree", called people "vipers", practiced baptism and lived in the wilderness of Judea. Due to these reasons, she believes there is a strong possibility that the Teacher of Righteousness was John the Baptist.[199]
In art
Early Christian art
The earliest depictions of St John are found in the
Byzantine and Eastern Orthodox art
In Byzantine and later Eastern Orthodox art, John the Baptist and the Holy Virgin Mary often flank Jesus on either side. The composition of the
In
Western art
After the earliest images showing the Baptism of the Lord follow ones with St John shown as an ascetic wearing camel hair, with a staff and scroll inscribed (in Western art) "Ecce Agnus Dei", or bearing a book or dish with a lamb on it.[19]
The Baptist is very often shown on altarpieces designed for churches dedicated to him, where the donor was named for him or where there was some other patronage connection. John the Baptist is the
A number of narrative scenes from his life were often shown on the
His birth, which unlike the
Salome bearing John's head on a platter equally became a subject for the
As a child (of varying age), he is sometimes shown from the 15th century in family scenes from the life of Christ such as the
John was also often shown by himself as an adolescent or adult, usually already wearing his distinctive dress and carrying a long thin wooden cross
A remarkable
-
St. John the Baptist (c. 1513–1516), Leonardo da Vinci
-
John the Baptist in the desert (1577–1621), Cristofano Allori
-
John the Baptist (17th century), Michele Fabris
-
The Beheading of St John the Baptist, c. 1869,Puvis de Chavannes
In poetry
The Italian Renaissance poet Lucrezia Tornabuoni chose John the Baptist as one of the biblical figures on which she wrote poetry.[216]
He is also referenced in "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S. Eliot in stanza 12.
In music
This section needs additional citations for verification. (February 2019) |
- Ut Queant Laxis uses the first syllable for each line – Ut (later changed to Do), Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Si. The teaching is also known as the solmizationsyllable.
- Tudor composer Orlando Gibbons is a well-known part-setting of the Gospel of John for solo voice, choir and organ or violaccompaniment.
- The reformer feast day on 24 June, Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam, BWV 7(1724).
- S. Giovanni Battista (St. John the Baptist) is a 1676 oratorio by Alessandro Stradella.
- The well-known Advent hymn On Jordan's Bank the Baptist's cry was written by Charles Coffin.[217]
- John the Baptist (Jokanaan), Baritone, is a character in the opera Salome by Richard Strauss, premiered 1905 in Dresden. The text is from Oscar Wilde's French play, translated into German by Hedwig Lachmann.[218]
- In popular music, Bob Dylan dedicates four lines to John the Baptist in "Tombstone Blues", the second track of his 1965 album Highway 61 Revisited. He sings: "John the Baptist after torturing a thief/Looks up at his hero the Commander-in-Chief/Saying, "Tell me great hero, but please make it brief/Is there a hole for me to get sick in?".[219]
- The song "John the Baptist (Holy John)" by Blood, Sweat & Tears 4.
- The 1972 album Dreaming with Alice by Mark Fry features several verses spread throughout the album retelling the story of the beheading of John the Baptist.
- In his song "Everyman Needs a Companion", the closing track to his album Father John Misty sings about the friendship between John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth: "John the Baptist took Jesus Christ/Down to the river on a Friday night/They talked about Mary like a couple of boys/With nothing to lose/Too scared to try."[220]
- John the Baptist is referenced in the music of American heavy metal band Om in their 2009 song "Meditation Is the Practice of Death".[221] As well as this, John the Baptist is depicted on the cover art of Om's 2012 album, Advaitic Songs.
In film and television
John the Baptist has appeared in a number of screen adaptations of the life of Jesus. Actors who have played John include James D. Ainsley in
Snapaka Yohannan (John the Baptist), a 1963 Indian Malayalam-language film depicts life of St. John the Baptist and his death at the hands of Salome, Herod Antipas and Herodias.[229][230]
Commemoration
Denominational festivals
Christian festivals associated with Saint John the Baptist and Forerunner are celebrated at various days by different denominations and are dedicated to his conception,
Association with summer solstice
The Feast of Saint John closely coincides with the June solstice, also referred to as Midsummer in the Northern Hemisphere. The Christian holy day is fixed at 24 June; but in most countries festivities are mostly held the night before, on Saint John's Eve. "In England, 'Saint John's Tide' is combined with a midsummer celebration. Instead of the date of the summer solstice, they chose June 24. This may be because of the Baptist's own words, 'He must increase, but I must decrease' (John 3:30). John was, of course, referring to Jesus. John's day comes at the time when the sun is beginning to decrease..."[231]
Patron saint and local festivals
Middle East
Saint John the Baptist's beheading is said to have taken place in Machaerus, in central Jordan.[232][233][234]
Europe
In Spain, Saint John was venerated during the feast of the Alhansara in Granada, and also in Gaztelugatxe[235]
In the United Kingdom, Saint John is the patron of Penzance, Cornwall. In Scotland, he is the patron saint of Perth, which used to be known as St. John's Toun of Perth. The main church in the city is still the medieval Kirk of St. John the Baptist and the city's professional football club is called St Johnstone F.C.
Also, on the night of 23 June on to the 24th, Saint John is celebrated as the patron saint of
As patron saint of the original Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John, he is the patron of the Knights Hospitaller of Jerusalem, Malta, Florence, Cesena, Turin and Genoa, Italy; as well as of Malta as a whole and of Xewkija and Gozo in Malta, which remember him with a great feast on the Sunday nearest to 24 June.[citation needed]
Americas
Saint John the Baptist is the
He is also a patron saint of
He is also patron of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston, which covers the whole of South Carolina in the United States.[240]
Southeast Asia
Orders and societies
A number of
John the Baptist is the name-giving patron of the Knights Hospitaller, or Knights of Saint John.[241]
Along with John the Evangelist, John the Baptist is claimed as a patron saint by the fraternal society of Freemasons.[242]
See also
- Basilica of St. John the Baptist, Berlin
- Biblical and Quranic narratives
- Chronology of Jesus
- Historical background of the New Testament
- Legends and the Quran
- List of biblical figures identified in extra-biblical sources
- Lyon Cathedral
- Messengers from John the Baptist
- John the Baptist, patron saint archive
- St. John the Baptist Cathedral (disambiguation)
- Saint John the Baptist Church (disambiguation)
- St. John Baptist Church (disambiguation)
- Statue of John the Baptist, Charles Bridge
- Christians of Saint John
Further reading
- Mandaean Book of John, A complete open-access translation, published in 2020, edited by Charles G. Häberl and James F. McGrath
- Bellarmine, Robert (1902). . Sermons from the Latins. Benziger Brothers.
- Friedrich Justus Knecht (1910). . A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture. B. Herder.
- Souvay, Charles Léon (1910). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company. . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).
Notes
- ^ For more see in this article at "Religious views: Christianity", under "Catholic Church" and "Eastern Christianity".
References
Citations
- ^ Luke 1:36 indicates that John was born about six months before Jesus, whose birth cannot be dated later than early in AD 4, L. Morris, "John the Baptist", ed. Geoffrey W Bromiley, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1938–1958), 1108.
- ISBN 9780199743919.
Herod beheaded John at Machaerus in 31 or 32 AD.
- ISBN 9780195176100. Archivedfrom the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
Herod beheaded John at Machaerus in 31 or 32 AD.
- ^ Kokkinos, The Herodian Dynasty, pp. 268, 277.
- ISBN 9004172548p. 380 – "33/34 AD Herod Antipas's marriage to Herodias (and beginning of the ministry of Jesus in a sabbatical year); 35 AD – death of John the Baptist"
- ^ "born 1st decade BC, Judaea, Palestine, near Jerusalem—died 28–36 AD; feast day June 24"- St. John the Baptist Encyclopædia Britannica online Archived 23 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine
- ISBN 978-1442246171.
- ^ Lang, Bernhard 2009 Page 380
- ^ "Ορθόδοξος Συναξαριστής :: Άγιος Ιωάννης Πρόδρομος και Βαπτιστής (Σύλληψη)" (in Greek). Saint.gr. 23 September 2012. Archived from the original on 22 January 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
- ^ "H ΕΚΚΛΗΣΙΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ : Επιτροπές της Ιεράς Συνόδου – Συνοδική Επιτροπή επί της Εκκλησιαστικής Τέχνης και Μουσικής" (in Greek). Ecclesia.gr. Archived from the original on 30 June 2004. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
- ^ παπα Γιώργης Δορμπαράκης (26 January 2012). "ΑΚΟΛΟΥΘΕΙΝ: Η ΣΥΝΑΞΙΣ ΤΟΥ ΑΓΙΟΥ ΕΝΔΟΞΟΥ ΠΡΟΦΗΤΟΥ, ΠΡΟΔΡΟΜΟΥ ΚΑΙ ΒΑΠΤΙΣΤΟΥ ΙΩΑΝΝΟΥ (7 ΙΑΝΟΥΑΡΙΟΥ)" (in Greek). Pgdorbas.blogspot.com. Archived from the original on 11 January 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
- ^ Wetterau, Bruce. World history. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994.
- ^ a b "يوحنا المعمدان – St-Takla.org". st-takla.org (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 2 October 2006. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
- ^ "النبي السابق يوحنا المعمدان". Antioch (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
- ^ "سيرة يوحنا المعمدان ابن زكريا الكاهن". www.thegrace.com (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 6 October 1999. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
- ^ ISBN 9780958034630. Archivedfrom the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
- ^ Treats, Jewish. "The Hebrew Name John". Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
- ^ Harper, Douglas. "John". Online Etymology Dictionary.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-280290-3. Archivedfrom the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
- ^ "St. John the Baptist | Facts, Feast Day, & Death | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Archived from the original on 23 June 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
- ^ Cheek, John C., New Testament Translation in America Archived 8 August 2019 at the Wayback Machine, Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 72, No. 2 (Jun. 1953), pp. 103–114
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- ISBN 9780888730527. Archivedfrom the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
- ISBN 9781605062105. Archivedfrom the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
- ^ Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 18.5.2
- ^ Funk, Robert W. & the Jesus Seminar (1998). The Acts of Jesus: The search for the Authentic Deeds of Jesus. San Francisco: Harper; "John the Baptist" cameo, p. 268
- ^ ISBN 978-81-85091-46-4. Archivedfrom the original on 28 October 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
- ^ Funk, Robert W. & the Jesus Seminar (1998). The Acts of Jesus: the search for the authentic deeds of Jesus. San Francisco: Harper. "Mark", pp. 51–161.
- ISBN 978-0-385-46992-0.
- ^ "Bible Gateway passage: Matthew 11:14 – New King James Version". Archived from the original on 3 October 2019. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
- ^ Malachi 4:5–6
- ^ "Bible Gateway passage: Luke 1:17 – New King James Version". Bible Gateway. Archived from the original on 2 June 2007. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
- ^ "Bible Gateway passage: ΚΑΤΑ ΛΟΥΚΑΝ 1:36 – SBL Greek New Testament". Archived from the original on 26 September 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
- ^ "NETBible: Luke 1". Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
- Harris, Stephen L.(1985). Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. p. 382
- ISBN 978-0-85110-636-6.
- ^ Edward Oliver James, Sacrament in Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 20 May 2009, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/515366/sacrament Archived 4 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Charles M. Sennott, The body and the blood, Public Affairs Pub, 2003. p 234 Google Link Archived 6 September 2022 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Jesus as a figure in history: how modern historians view the man from Galilee. Mark Allan Powell, published by Westminster John Knox Press, p. 47 "Few would doubt the basic fact...Jesus was baptized by John" Archived 26 June 2019 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Harris, Stephen L. (1985) Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield John 1:36–40
- ^ Flavius Josephus: Antiquities of the Jews Book 18, 5, 2 Text at Wikisource
- ISBN 978-0-88414-241-6. Archivedfrom the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
- ^ a b c Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2002), The Mandaeans: ancient texts and modern people (PDF), Oxford University Press, ISBN 9780195153859
- ^ a b Drower, Ethel Stefana. 2002. The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran: Their Cults, Customs, Magic Legends, and Folklore (reprint). Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press.
- ^ "Do we celebrate the birth of St. John the Baptist?". 23 June 2020. Archived from the original on 24 June 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
- ^ John 1:32–1:34
- ISBN 978-0-310-86615-2. Archivedfrom the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
- ^ a b Carl R. Kazmierski, John the Baptist: Prophet and Evangelist (Liturgical Press, 1996) p. 31.
- ^ Mark 1:11
- ^ Mark 6:17–29
- ^ John R. Donahue, Daniel J. Harrington, The Gospel of Mark (Liturgical Press, 2006) p. 195.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8146-5108-7. Archivedfrom the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ Geoff R. Webb, Mark at the Threshold: Applying Bakhtinian Categories to Markan Characterisation, (BRILL, 2008) pp 110–11.
- ^ John R. Donahue, Daniel J. Harrington, The Gospel of Mark (Liturgical Press, 2005) p. 198.
- ISBN 978-0-8254-2924-8. Archivedfrom the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
- ^ Gillman 2003, p. 80.
- ^ Gillman 2003, pp. 81–83
- ^ Geoff R. Webb, Mark at the Threshold: Applying Bakhtinian Categories to Markan Characterisation, (Brill, 2008) p. 107.
- ^ "Isaiah 40.3 NRSV – A voice cries out: "In the wilderness". Bible Gateway. Archived from the original on 16 January 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
- ISBN 978-1-4412-3749-1. Archivedfrom the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ Matthew 3:1–12
- ISBN 978-1-317-72224-3. Archivedfrom the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
- ISBN 978-0-521-03130-1. Archivedfrom the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ Robert Horton Gundry, Matthew: A Commentary on His Handbook for a Mixed Church Under Persecution (Eerdmans, 1994) p. 286.
- ^ Libby Ahluwalia, Understanding Philosophy of Religion (Folens, 2008), p. 180.
- ISBN 978-0830814886
- ^ Luke 1:7
- ^ Luke 1:5
- ISBN 0-86554-299-6; p. 1
- ISBN 978-1-56619-516-4.
- ^ Luke 1:36
- ^ Brown, Raymond Edward (1973), The Virginal Conception and Bodily Resurrection of Jesus, Paulist Press, p. 54
- ^ Vermes, Geza. The Nativity, p. 143.
- ^ Freed, Edwin D. (2001), The Stories of Jesus' Birth: a Critical Introduction Continuum International, pp. 87–90.
- ^ 'lActs 18:24–19:6
- ^ John 1:35–42
- ^ John 1:6–8
- ^ John 1:19–23, compare Isaiah 40:3
- ISSN 0360-8808
- ^ John 3:22–36
- ^ John 3:30
- ^ Latin Vulgate:Ioannes|3:30|VULGATE|illum oportet crescere me autem minui
- ^ John 4:2
- ^ John 5:35
- ISBN 978-0-310-52868-5. Archivedfrom the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
- ISBN 978-3-16-152120-1. Archivedfrom the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
- ^ Luke 1:16–17
- ^ "Online Bible – New International Version". Biblehub.com. 2011. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
- Flavius Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 18. 5. 2. (Translation by William Whiston). Original Greek.
- ^ "Josephus, Flavius." In: Cross, F. L. (ed.) (2005) The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd ed. Oxford University Press
- Flavius Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 18. 5. 2. Archived 1 September 2000 at the Wayback Machine (Translation by William Whiston). Original Greek Archived 1 September 2021 at the Wayback Machine.
- ISBN 9780310877103. Archivedfrom the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
- ^ Crossan, John Dominic (2007), God and Empire, London: HarperCollins, p. 117 ff
- ^ Matthew 14:12
- ^ Benson's Commentary Archived 9 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine on Matthew 14, accessed 17 January 2017
- ^ Nicephorus, Ecclesiastical History I, ix. See Patrologia Graeca, cxlv.–cxlvii.
- ISBN 978-1-57607-919-5. Archivedfrom the original on 23 September 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
- ^ "The Relics of Munich Residenz". Atlas Obscura. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
- ISBN 978-1-317-54041-0. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ Hecker, Francesca (21 May 2020). "The Holy Finger at the Nelson-Atkins is an unusual piece of biblical history". Columbia Missourian. Archived from the original on 27 September 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
- ^ a b Hooper, Simon (30 August 2010). "Are these the bones of John the Baptist?". Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. Archived from the original on 2 July 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
- ^ Pula, Milena Joksimović (2017). "Pope Pius II's charter of donation of the arm of St John the Baptist to Siena cathedral" (PDF). Zograf. 41: 95–105. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 April 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
- ^ "The relics | Heiligtumsfahrt 2021". heiligtumsfahrt-aachen.de. Archived from the original on 14 August 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
- ^ ISBN 978-3-942755-12-2. Archived from the original(PDF) on 3 January 2015.
The Saint Karapet Monastery is one of the oldest Armenian monasteries in Moush Valley, dating back to the 4th century when Gregory the Illuminator, founder of the Armenian Apostolic Church, is believed to have buried the relics of Saint John the Baptist (Karapet) here.
- ^ a b Avetisyan, Kamsar [in Armenian] (1979). "Տարոնի պատմական հուշարձանները [Historical monuments of Taron]". Հայրենագիտական էտյուդներ [Armenian studies sketches] (in Armenian). Yerevan: Sovetakan Grogh. p. 204. Archived from the original on 7 November 2014. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
...ըստ ավանդության, Գրիգոր Լուսավորիչը ամփոփել է ս. Կարապետի և Աթանագինե եպիսկոպոսի նշխարները։
- ^ a b Ker Than (19 June 2012). "John the Baptist's Bones Found?". National Geographic. Archived from the original on 27 July 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
- ^ Moss, Candida. National Geographic: Search for the Head of John the Baptist. Archived 26 September 2014 at the Wayback Machine 19 April 2014.
- ^ Old Town Sozopol – Bulgaria's 'Rescued' Miracle and Its Modern Day Saviors. Archived 7 September 2022 at the Wayback Machine Sofia News Agency, 10 October 2011.
- ^ "The Monastery of St. Macarius the Great". Stmacariusmonastery.org. Archived from the original on 9 July 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
- ^ Hecker, Francesca (21 May 2020). "The Holy Finger at the Nelson-Atkins is an unusual piece of biblical history". Columbia Missourian. Archived from the original on 8 June 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
- ^ "Monstrance". art.nelson-atkins.org. Archived from the original on 4 April 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
- ^ "Heraldry of the World; Civic heraldry of the United Kingdom; Halifax (Yorkshire)". Ralf Hartemink. Archived from the original on 17 February 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
- ^ Roberts, Kai (19 June 2010). "The Holy Face of Halifax". Omnia Exeunt in Mysterium. Archived from the original on 15 February 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
- ^ Luke 1:17
- ^ Luke 1:76
- ^ Luke 1:77
- ^ Malachi 3:1
- ^ Matthew 17:10
- ^ Matthew 3:3
- ^ Mark 1:2–3
- ^ Luke 1:16–17
- ^ Matthew 11.14, 17.13
- ISBN 978-0-19-508450-4.(subscription required)
- ISBN 978-0-19-506512-1.(subscription required)
- ^ Acts 19:1–7
- ^ This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Holweck, Frederick. "Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 23 December 2018
- ^ Treatise of Prayer Archived 23 January 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 1-15-2012.
- ^ The Dialogue of Saint Catherine of Siena Archived 8 April 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 1-15-2012
- Ecclesiastical Year; see Archbishop Peter (L'Huiller) of New York and New Jersey, "Liturgical Matters: "The Lukan Jump" Archived 30 June 2017 at the Wayback Machine", in: Newspaper of the Diocese of New York and New Jersey, Fall 1992.
- ^ "Doctrine and Covenants 84:27–28". churchofjesuschrist.org. Archived from the original on 20 June 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
- ^ "Section Five: 1842–1843". Archived from the original on 10 June 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
- ^ Teaching of The Prophet Joseph Smith Section Five 1842–43, p. 261
- ^ [D&C 13]; D&C 27:7–8
- ^ Joseph Smith History 1:68–72
- ^ 1 Nephi 10:7–10
- ^ 1 Nephi 11:27
- ^ 2 Nephi 31:4–18
- ^ John 1:21
- ^ Matthew 11:14
- ^ Malachi 4:5
- ^ Matthew 11:11
- ^ "Exposition of the Divine Principle, 1996 Translation, Chapter 4". unification.net. Archived from the original on 17 June 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
- ^ "Divine Principle – PART I – CHAPTER 4. ADVENT OF THE MESSIAH". www.unification.net. Archived from the original on 22 January 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
- ^ 5. The Fact That Jesus of Nazareth Was Not Accepted as Messiah Was Not Due to the People's Lack Of Faith In God. https://www.tparents.org/Library/Unification/Publications/Other-Pub/Uc-jewsh.htm Archived 20 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine
- ISBN 3-16-148094-5, p. 188 "The vegetarianism of John the Baptist and of Jesus is an important issue too in the Ebionite interpretation of the Christian life. "
- Rechabite' or 'Nazarite' and vegetarian", p. 264 – "One suggestion is that John ate 'carobs'; there have been others. Epiphanius, in preserving what he calls 'the Ebionite Gospel', rails against the passage there claiming that John ate 'wild honey' and 'manna-like vegetarian cakes dipped in oil. ... John would have been one of those wilderness-dwelling, vegetable-eating persons", p. 326 – "They [the Nazerini] ate nothing but wild fruit milk and honey – probably the same food that John the Baptist also ate.", p. 367 – "We have already seen how in some traditions 'carobs' were said to have been the true composition of John's food.", p. 403 – "his [John's] diet was stems, roots and fruits. Like James and the other Nazirites/Rechabites, he is presented as a vegetarian ..".
- ^ James Tabor, The Jesus Dynasty p. 134 and footnotes p. 335, p. 134 – "The Greek New Testament gospels says John's diet consisted of "locusts and wild honey" but an ancient Hebrew version of Matthew insists that "locusts" is a mistake in Greek for a related Hebrew word that means a cake of some type, made from a desert plant, similar to the "manna" that the ancient Israelites ate in the desert on the days of Moses.(ref 9) Jesus describes John as "neither eating nor drinking," or "neither eating bread nor drinking wine." Such phrases indicate the lifestyle of one who is strictly vegetarian, avoids even bread since it has to be processed from grain, and shuns all alcohol.(ref 10) The idea is that one would eat only what grows naturally.(ref 11) It was a way of avoiding all refinements of civilization."
- ISBN 978-0-19-514183-2. p. 102 – "Probably the most interesting of the changes from the familiar New Testament accounts of Jesus comes in the Gospel of the Ebionites description of John the Baptist, who, evidently, like his successor Jesus, maintained a strictly vegetarian cuisine."
- ISBN 978-3-16-148460-5, pp. 19–21
- ISBN 978-1-60506-210-5. Archivedfrom the original on 13 March 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2011. p. 104 – "And when he had been brought to Archelaus and the doctors of the Law had assembled, they asked him who he is and where he has been until then. And to this he made answer and spake: I am pure; [for] the Spirit of God hath led me on, and [I live on] cane and roots and tree-food."
- ^ Tabor (2006) Jesus Dynasty p. 334 (note 9) – "The Gospel of the Ebionites as quoted by the 4th-century writer Epiphanius. The Greek word for locusts (akris) is very similar to the Greek word for "honey cake" (ekris) that is used for the "manna" that the Israelites ate in the desert in the days of Moses (Exodus 16:32)" & p. 335 (note 11) – "There is an old Russian (Slavic) version of Josephus's Antiquities that describes John the Baptizer as living on 'roots and fruits of the tree' and insists that he never touches bread, even at Passover."
- ISBN 978-0-19-514182-5. p. 13 – Referring to Epiphanius' quotation from the Gospel of the Ebionites in Panarion 30.13, "And his food, it says, was wild honey whose taste was of manna, as cake in oil".
- ^ OCLC 1000148487. Archivedfrom the original on 5 March 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
- ISBN 978-0-19-280290-3), article Mandaeans
- ^ Drower, Ethel Stefana (1953). The Haran Gawaita and the Baptism of Hibil-Ziwa. Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana.
- ^ Drower. P3
- ISBN 978-0-834-82414-0page 550
- ^ Brikhah S. Nasoraia (2012). "Sacred Text and Esoteric Praxis in Sabian Mandaean Religion" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
- ISBN 9781451416640. Archivedfrom the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2022.(pp94-111). Minneapolis: Fortress Press
- ^ R. Macuch, "Anfänge der Mandäer. Versuch eines geschichtliches Bildes bis zur früh-islamischen Zeit," chap. 6 of F. Altheim and R. Stiehl, Die Araber in der alten Welt II: Bis zur Reichstrennung, Berlin, 1965.
- ^ Zinner, Samuel. "Comparative Studies in Mandaean History and Theology". Archived from the original on 21 November 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2021 – via www.academia.edu.
- ^ Drower, Ethel Stephana (1960). The secret Adam, a study of Nasoraean gnosis (PDF). London UK: Clarendon Press. xvi. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 March 2014., p. xiv.
- ^ Thomas, Richard. "The Israelite Origins of the Mandaean People." Studia Antiqua 5, no. 2 (2007). https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/studiaantiqua/vol5/iss2/4 Archived 16 September 2021 at the Wayback Machine
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- ^ Lidzbarski, Mark 1915 Das Johannesbuch der Mandäer. Giessen: Alfred Töpelmann.
- ^ Macuch, Rudolf A Mandaic Dictionary (with E. S. Drower). Oxford: Clarendon Press 1963.
- ^ Smith, Andrew Phillip. John the Baptist and the Last Gnostics: the Secret History of the Mandaeans. Watkins, 2016.(p155)
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- ^ Häberl, Charles G.; McGrath, James F. (2019). The Mandaean Book of John: Text and Translation (PDF). Open Access Version. Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
- ^ "Prophet John". Archived from the original on 10 July 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
- ^ "Yahya", Encyclopedia of Islam
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- ^ A. Geiger, Judaism And Islam (English translation of Was hat Mohammed aus dem Judenthume aufgenommen?), 1970, Ktav Publishing House Inc.: New York, p. 19.
- ^ "And No One Had The Name Yahya (= John?) Before: A Linguistic & Exegetical Enquiry Into Qur'an 19:7". Islamic-awareness.org. Archived from the original on 17 August 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
- ^ Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη (1894 Scrivener NT). Luke 1:59, 1:5, et al. https://biblia.com/books/tr1894mr/Lk1?embeddedPreview=False Archived 6 August 2021 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Bible Luke 1:59–1:63
- ^ a b Lives of the Prophets, Leila Azzam, John and Zechariah
- ^ a b A–Z of Prophets in Islam and Judaism, B. M. Wheeler, John the Baptist
- ^ Quran 19:12
- ^ Tabari, i, 712
- ^ Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an: Text, Translation and Commentary, Note. 905: "The third group consists not of men of action, but Preachers of Truth, who led solitary lives. Their epithet is: "the Righteous." They form a connected group round Jesus. Zachariah was the father of John the Baptist, who is referenced as "Elias, which was for to come" (Matt 11:14); and Elias is said to have been present and talked to Jesus at the Transfiguration on the Mount (Matt. 17:3)."
- ^ Encyclopedia of Islam, Yahya ibn Zakkariya, Online web.
- ^ Whereas the Quran itself gives blessings of peace to John (Quran 19:15), Jesus, in contrast, gives himself the blessings of peace. (Quran 19:33)
- ISBN 9781598846553.
They included Jesus, John the Baptist, Moses, and Mohammed—all teachers of monotheism
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transmigration of the soul is a Druze tenet, and Druze believe that El Khidr and John the Baptist are one and the same. (Gibbs, 2008) The mythology of Khizr is thought to go back even further than the time of John the Baptist or Elija
- ISBN 9781936296323.
transmigration of the soul is a Druze tenet, and Druze believe that El Khidr and John the Baptist are one and the same. (Gibbs, 2008) The mythology of Khizr is thought to go back even further than the time of John the Baptist or Elija
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- Latin for "his name is John", from Luke 1:63. Luke 1:63
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{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "N.L. ditches 'Discovery Day' holiday criticized for erasing Indigenous presence". Atlantic. 18 June 2020. Archived from the original on 10 August 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
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Sources
Books on John the Baptist
- ISBN 978-0-393-06947-1
- Murphy, Catherine M. (2003) John the Baptist: Prophet of Purity for a New Age. Collegeville: Liturgical Press. ISBN 0-8146-5933-0
- Taylor, Joan E. (1997) The Immerser: John the Baptist within Second Temple Judaism. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. ISBN 0-8028-4236-4
- W. Barnes Tatum (1994) John the Baptist and Jesus: A Report of the Jesus Seminar, Sonoma, California: Polebridge Press, 1994, ISBN 0-944344-42-9
- Webb, Robert L. (1991) John the Baptizer and Prophet: a Socio-Historical Study. Wipf and Stock Publishers. ISBN 978-1-59752-986-0(first published Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1991)
Iconography
- Hall, James, Hall's Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art, 1996 (2nd edn.), John Murray, ISBN 0719541476
Islamic view
- Rippin, A. "Yahya b. Zakariya". In P.J. Bearman; Th. Bianquis; C.E. Bosworth; E. van Donzel; W.P. Heinrichs (eds.). ISSN 1573-3912.
- J.C.L Gibson, John the Baptist in Muslim writings, in MW, xlv (1955), 334–345
Passages in the Quran
External links
- Jewish Encyclopedia: John the Baptist
- Prophet John (Yahya) Archived 10 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- Mandaean Book of John translation project
- Saint John the Baptist at the Christian Iconography website
- Caxton's translation of the Golden Legend chapters on The Decollation of John the Baptist and The Nativity of Saint John Baptist