JOHN the BAPTIST. a 1St-Century Jewish Oracular Prophet Significant in the NT As a Precursor of Jesus. John the Baptist Was an A

1 JOHN THE BAPTIST. A 1st-century Jewish oracular prophet significant in the NT as a precursor of Jesus. John the Baptist was an ascetic, and conducted a ministry in the Judean wilderness that involved preaching and baptism. His popularity and the revolutionary possibilities of his message of social justice led to his arrest, imprisonment, and execution by Herod Antipas, probably in A.D. 28 or 29. A. The Sources, Their Character, and Their Use 1. Josephus 2. Mark 3. Matthew 4. Luke-Acts 5. John B. A Reconstruction of John’s Mission 1. The Origin of John the Baptizer 2. John’s Prophetic Mission C. Summary A. The Sources, Their Character, and Their Use There are two forms of John’s title in the NT: ho baptistēs “the baptist” is a formal title; ho baptizōn “the baptizer” is an epithet. Grammatically, the latter form is a present active participal in which the verbal meaning of habitual behavior rings strongly; it most likely was the earlier form, historically speaking. The primary sources for determining the history of John the Baptist are the NT and Josephus. In the NT John is referred to in all four gospels and in the book of Acts, while in Josephus there is one short but suggestive passage. This passage is especially important because it is the only extrabiblical source. However, we cannot use either of these sources without weighing their historical reliability. All ancient historical documents are biased in one way or another by special interests and apologetic concerns. This judgment applies to Josephus as well as to the NT. The distinctive character and perspectives of each of the gospels and Acts have been greatly illuminated through tradition criticism, redaction criticism, the new literary criticism, and social science criticism. Likewise the interests (both social and personal) that govern Josephus’ histories have come under closer scrutiny. All of this newer understanding (as well as older methods of scholarship) must be considered as we try to determine the history of John the Baptizer. How does John appear in each of the sources? The sources will be examined in the order Josephus, Mark, Matthew, Luke-Acts, John. (Neither at this point, nor elsewhere in this study, is any single theory of gospel origins assumed.) 1. Josephus. Josephus’ Jewish Antiquities is a work of 20 books relating the history of the Jews from creation to the Jewish-Roman war of 66–70 C.E. The immediate context of Josephus’ report about John is an account of events during the early 1st century C.E., beginning with the assessment of property in Judea by the governor of Syria, QUIRINIUS (see also CENSUS, ROMAN). This occasioned an uprising under Judas 2 the Galilean, the narrating of which leads Josephus to describe the three “philosophies” of Judaism (the PHARISEES, SADDUCEES, and ESSENES), as well as the “fourth philosophy” (the ZEALOTS) started by Judas. He reports among other events the building of Tiberias by Herod Antipas and various indiscretions by Pilate, who was procurator of Judea. Especially important is the report of Jesus’ life and death in a paragraph (Ant 18.3.3) a bit shorter than the one about John, a paragraph whose authenticity has been hotly disputed in modern times. The paragraph about John the Baptist is immediately preceded by an account of Herod’s divorce from the daughter of Aretas, king of Petra, and of the latter’s retaliation by making war on Herod. Aretas defeated Herod, and the paragraph on John picks up from that defeat, which some Jews believed was caused by God as just vengeance on Herod for his execution of John. He had executed John even though the latter was said to be a good man who exhorted his fellow Jews to live righteously and practice justice and piety. Josephus observes that John baptized people as bodily parallel to inward cleansing. But the size of John’s movement frightened Herod and so he struck preemptively by executing John at the fortress of Machaerus. The text of Josephus’ account of John the Baptist follows: But to some of the Jews the destruction of Herod’s army seemed to be divine vengeance, and certainly a just vengeance, for his treatment of John, surnamed the Baptist. For Herod had put him to death, though he was a good man and had exhorted the Jews to lead righteous lives, to practice justice toward their fellows and piety towards God, and so doing join in baptism. In his view this was a necessary preliminary if baptism was to be acceptable to God. They must not employ it to gain pardon for whatever sins they committed, but as a consecration of the body implying that the soul was already thoroughly cleansed by right behavior. When others too joined the crowds about him, because they were aroused to the highest degree by his sermons, Herod became alarmed. Eloquence that had so great an effect on mankind might lead to some form of sedition, for it looked as if they would be guided by John in everything that they did. Herod decided therefore that it would be much better to strike first and be rid of him before his work led to an uprising, than to wait for an upheaval, get involved in a difficult situation and see his mistake. Though John, because of Herod’s suspicions, was brought in chains to Machaerus, the stronghold that we have previously mentioned, and there put to death, yet the verdict of the Jews was that the destruction visited upon Herod’s army was a vindication of John, since God saw fit to inflict such a blow on Herod. (Josephus Ant 18.5.2 §116–19) The following observations concern this report. Points 1–3 concern Josephus as an author; points 4–7 are about John’s life. 1. Josephus did not have to report the connection between John and Herod’s death in order to tell the history of Herod. Why did he report it? 2. Josephus judged John favorably as a good man. (Thus John was good grist for Josephus’ apologetic mill.) 3 3. Josephus knew John’s “theology.” Baptism was a bodily action parallel to and expressive of soul cleansing and righteous behavior. 4. John exhorted people to live uprightly and to practice just acts toward others and piety toward God. 5. John baptized people who responded to his exhortations. 6. John was popularly known after his death to the degree that people could connect him with Herod’s defeat by Aretas, king of Petra. John had a high degree of prominence. 7. Herod killed John preemptively because he became suspicious of and alarmed by the size and enthusiasm of John’s following. 2. Mark. At the beginning of Mark’s story of Jesus, John appears prominently as a preacher and baptizer to whom many people—including Jesus of Nazareth—responded. As Jesus is baptized, God tells him that he is his son. After John is arrested, Jesus begins his own preaching mission in Galilee. However, the narrative of John’s arrest and execution (6:14–29) is held until about one-third of the way through the gospel. A previous narrative concerns John’s disciples’ practice of fasting as the Pharisees did, in contrast to the practice of Jesus’ disciples, who didn’t fast (2:18–22). John the Baptist next appears in the middle of the gospel, at the point where Jesus asks his disciples who people say he is; some answer that he is John (8:28). Finally, when Jesus is in Jerusalem, and the Jewish leaders ask Jesus about his authority, he evades answering directly by asking them whether they believe John’s baptism was from God or not (11:27–33). The following observations may be made about how John the Baptist fits into Mark as a story, and about what we learn concerning John beyond what is found in Josephus. First, regarding Mark as a story, Mark tells us very little about John. This gospel seems to have no interest in John for his own sake. Second, Mark’s interest is in Jesus; consequently, all of the material about John is subordinated to this interest. John’s preaching and baptizing mission gives Mark the opportunity to emphasize that the missions of both John and Jesus are the fulfillment of prophecy (1:2–3). John is seen obliquely as Elijah (1:6; 9:11–13), who prepares the way for Jesus and announces his arrival as the one mightier than John: Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit rather than with water (1:1–8). The fasting of John’s disciples gives Mark a chance to portray Jesus and his disciples as the new, to be contrasted with the old (2:18–22). John’s death becomes an opportunity for Mark to emphasize that Jesus and his true disciples must also face death if they are to remain faithful (6:7–44; 8:34; 9:13; 13:9–13). Finally, John’s popularity makes possible Mark’s portrayal of Jesus as superior to the Jerusalem authorities (11:27–33). Regarding John’s life, it can be observed that: 1. John was a prophet (1:6–8; 11:32) who lived an ascetic life (1:6; 2:18) in the wilderness (1:4). 2. He preached that people should repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of one’s sins. Those to whom he preached included Herod Antipas (6:18). 4 3. He also predicted that a person far mightier than himself would come and baptize with the Holy Spirit those whom he had baptized with water (1:7–8).

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