DOCSLIB.ORG

St. John the Baptist

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
St. John the Baptist St. John the Baptist Feast Day: June 24th (Nativity of St. John the Baptist) Born: 1st Century BC Died: 31-36 AD Canonized: Pre-Congregation Patron: Baptism; bird dealers; converts; convulsions; convulsive children; cutters; epilepsy; epileptics; farriers; hail; hailstorms; Knights Hospitaller; Knights of Malta; lambs; Maltese Knights; lovers; monastic life; motorways; printers, spasms; tailors; Genoa, Italy; Quebec; Sassano, Italy; Diocese of Savannah, Georgia; Diocese of Charleston, South Carolina; Diocese of Dodge City, Kansas; Diocese of Paterson, New Jersey; Diocese of Portland, Maine. Symbols: Lamb; lamb on a book of seven seals; locust; camel's hair tunic; girdle; his head on a charger; scroll with words Ecce Agnus Dei or with Vox Clamantis in deserto; long, slender cross-tipped staff; open Bible; banner of victory. About: John the Baptist’s parents were Zechariah and Elizabeth. Elizabeth was related to Jesus’ mother, Mary. Elizabeth had no children, so Zechariah and Elizabeth prayed to God to help them. One day, the Angel Gabriel visited Elizabeth and Zechariah and told them they would have a son and that they should name him John. The angel told them that John would “be great in the sight of [the] Lord” (Luke 1:15). Mary visited Elizabeth when Elizabeth was pregnant with John. John, filled with the Holy Spirit, leapt with joy in Elizabeth’s womb when Mary greeted her relative. Elizabeth understood that the child Mary carried was to be the Son of God. John began his public ministry around 30 AD. He talked to people about repentance and asked them to change their lives, preparing them for the Messiah. John attracted large crowds around the Jordan River where he would teach people about God and baptize people. John baptized people on the Jordan River as a symbol of conversion. He told them, “I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire” (Matthew 3:11). When Jesus was about 30 years old, he went to the Jordan River and asked John to baptize him. When he did, the heavens opened and the voice of God spoke, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3: 17). John taught those who followed him to turn to Christ. He called Jesus the “Lamb of God” (John 1:29). In all that John did, he pointed his followers toward Christ instead of calling attention to himself. In the Gospel of John, we read that some Pharisees questioned John: “’Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet?’ John answered them, "I baptize with water; but there is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie” (John 1:25–27). John lived a humble life. We can adopt this same humility in our own lives. When we do good works, we should do them out of love and in God’s name, not for our personal recognition or gain. After he baptized Jesus, John's popularity grew and this upset King Herod. Herod had John arrested and imprisoned. This did not stop John. He continued to speak about Christ and about living a good life. John’s example teaches us that sometimes we have to go against social ideologies when we live the life Jesus taught us to live. We must put God first even if this means our decisions might be unpopular or unaccepted by society. King Herod had John executed to please his step daughter, giving her John’s head as a gift on a platter..
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Jacob's Journey to Heaven
    Piecemakers Country Store 1720 Adams Avenue Costa Mesa, CA 92626 (714) 641-3112 [email protected] Jacob’s Journey to Heaven We have in the Old Testament a most interesting So Jacob began to have an encounter with God in story of a man’s journey from a conniving supplanter to his wilderness journey. Jesus said, “Leave your father a prince of God. A man who started his walk at the and mother and old relationships and follow me.” direction of his mother and ended with a personal Although John the Baptist had followers he never said, relationship with God. His name is Jacob. While yet in “Follow me.” We, living in the year 2003 have only seen his mother’s womb, the Lord called him and gave a Baptist ministry that began in the sixties and has now instructions to Rebekah, his mother saying, “The elder become old and worn out. The pastors and teachers and shall serve the younger.” This was unheard of in Jewish prophets could not say”follow me” because they never times so when it looked as if God was not moving in went anywhere. They built a kingdom in the world and Rebekah’s timing she took it upon herself to help him settled down to their own demise for “He that seeks to out a bit almost to the death of her darling son. God save his life will lose it.”You will notice in the scriptures makes allowances for our ignorance. Unless, of course, both Jesus and John the Baptist traveled the same dusty we continue to be stubborn and not learn.
    [Show full text]
  • John the Baptist According to Flavius Josephus, and His Incorporation in the Christian Tradition
    JOHN THE BAPTIST ACCORDING TO FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS, AND HIS INCORPORATION IN THE CHRISTIAN TRADITION Johannes Tromp In Jewish Antiquities 18.116-119, Flavius Josephus includes a section on John the Baptist. His reason for including it was that it contained a widely circulating explanation for the victory of the Nabatean king Aretas over the tetrarch Herod Antipas. 1 In my translation, it reads as follows: 116. Some Jews believed that the army of Herod was destroyed by God, who quite rightly avenged the fate of John, surnamed the Baptist. 117. For Herod had John killed, although he had been a good man. He had asked the Jews to lead a virtuous life and to come together for baptism,2 while practising righteousness towards each other, and piety towards God. In this way, it seemed to him, was baptism acceptable: they should not use it to obtain forgiveness for the sins they had committed, but as a purification of the body, inasmuch as their soul had already been cleansed beforehand by righteousness. 118. When others joined them-for they became highly agitated by his preaching-Herod feared his influence on people to be so great that it might lead to some uprising; for they seemed to be doing everything according to his advice. Therefore Herod decided that it would be much better to take the initiative to have him killed before he was able to cause some revolution, than to get involved in matters once the revolt had begun, and then be sorry. 119. Because of Herod's apprehension,John was sent in chains to the aforementioned fortress of Machaerus and killed there.
    [Show full text]
  • John the Baptist: Jesus Freak
    John the Baptist: Jesus Freak Matthew 3:1-2,4: In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 4 John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. Luke 3:7-8,10-14: John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance… 10 “What should we do then?” the crowd asked. 11 John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.” 12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?” 13 “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them. 14 Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.” Luke 3:19-20: But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of his marriage to Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the other evil things he had done, 20 Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison. Matthew 3:5-6: People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
    [Show full text]
  • SAINT MICHAEL the ARCHANGEL CATHOLIC CHURCH
    ARCHDIOCESE OF GALVESTON-HOUSTON SAINT MICHAEL the ARCHANGEL CATHOLIC CHURCH JULY 11, 2021 | FIFTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits. Mark 6:7 1801 SAGE ROAD, HOUSTON, TEXAS 77056 | (713) 621-4370 | STMICHAELCHURCH.NET ST. MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL CATHOLIC CHURCH The Gospel This week’s Gospel and the one for next week describe how Jesus sent the disciples to minister in his name and the disciples’ return to Jesus afterward. These two passages, however, are not presented together in Mark’s Gospel. Inserted between the two is the report of Herod’s fears that Jesus is John the Baptist back from the dead. In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus’ ministry is presented in connection with the teaching of John the Baptist. Jesus’ public ministry begins after John is arrested. John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus, who preached the fulfillment of the Kingdom of God. While we do not read these details about John the Baptist in our Gospel this week or next week, our Lectionary sequence stays consistent with Mark’s theme. Recall that last week we heard how Jesus was rejected in his hometown of Nazareth. The insertion of the reminder about John the Baptist’s ministry and his death at the hands of Herod in Mark’s Gospel makes a similar point. Mark reminds his readers about this dangerous context for Jesus’ ministry and that of his disciples. Preaching repentance and the Kingdom of God is dangerous business for Jesus and for his disciples.
    [Show full text]
  • Champions and Women of Destiny LESSON 4
    Champions/Women of Destiny LESSON 4 Read: Matthew 3:13-17; 4:1-11; Mark 1:9-13; Luke 3:21-23 uring a church service, Tameka accepted Christ as her personal Savior. No one had to tell her to say “NO” to premarital sex or drugs. She made these changes D through the power of the Holy Spirit as well as the support and accountability of her new-found friends in the youth group. For awhile, things seemed to be going well for Tameka. There was not a whole lot of drama going on in her life. But one Saturday night, she gave in to the temptation of her unsaved friends and woke up the next morning with a hangover. “I hate myself,” she told one of her church friends. “I told God I’d never go back to that kind of life, and just look what I did. I messed up again. This must not be for me!” “Tameka, temptation is something we all struggle with,” said her friend Lisa. “Even Jesus was tempted to do the wrong thing.” JJeessuuss KKnnoowwss WWhhaatt’’’ss UUpp It’s true, Jesus was tempted to sin. He knows how difficult temptation can be and He provides power to be victorious because He never sinned. In fact, Jesus could not have sinned because He is God. Sometimes temptation comes when we’re not expecting it. For Jesus, it came immediately after a high point in His life: His baptism by John the Baptist. Yes, Jesus was tempted right after His baptism. Let’s look at John the Baptist for a moment.
    [Show full text]
  • B'tselem Report: Dispossession & Exploitation: Israel's Policy in the Jordan Valley & Northern Dead Sea, May
    Dispossession & Exploitation Israel's policy in the Jordan Valley & northern Dead Sea May 2011 Researched and written by Eyal Hareuveni Edited by Yael Stein Data coordination by Atef Abu a-Rub, Wassim Ghantous, Tamar Gonen, Iyad Hadad, Kareem Jubran, Noam Raz Geographic data processing by Shai Efrati B'Tselem thanks Salwa Alinat, Kav LaOved’s former coordinator of Palestinian fieldworkers in the settlements, Daphna Banai, of Machsom Watch, Hagit Ofran, Peace Now’s Settlements Watch coordinator, Dror Etkes, and Alon Cohen-Lifshitz and Nir Shalev, of Bimkom. 2 Table of contents Introduction......................................................................................................................... 5 Chapter One: Statistics........................................................................................................ 8 Land area and borders of the Jordan Valley and northern Dead Sea area....................... 8 Palestinian population in the Jordan Valley .................................................................... 9 Settlements and the settler population........................................................................... 10 Land area of the settlements .......................................................................................... 13 Chapter Two: Taking control of land................................................................................ 15 Theft of private Palestinian land and transfer to settlements......................................... 15 Seizure of land for “military needs”.............................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Water, Ecology, and the Jordan River in Islam
    RIVER OUT OF EDEN: WATER, ECOLOGY, AND THE JORDAN RIVER IN ISLAM ECOPEACE / FRIENDS OF THE EARTH MIDDLE EAST (FOEME) SECOND EDITION, JUNE 2014 © Jos Van Wunnik COVENANT FOR THE JORDAN RIVER We recognize that the Jordan River Valley is that cripples the growth of an economy a landscape of outstanding ecological and based on tourism, and that exacerbates the cultural importance. It connects the eco- political conflicts that divide this region. It systems of Africa and Asia, forms a sanctuary also exemplifies a wider failure to serve as for wild plants and animals, and has witnessed custodians of the planet: if we cannot protect a some of the most significant advances in place of such exceptional value, what part of the human history. The first people ever to leave earth will we hand on intact to our children? Africa walked through this valley and drank from its springs. Farming developed on these We have a different vision of this valley: a vision plains, and in Jericho we see the origins of in which a clean, living river flows from the Sea urban civilization itself. Not least, the river runs of Galilee to the Dead Sea; in which the valley’s through the heart of our spiritual traditions: plants and animals are afforded the water they some of the founding stories of Judaism, need to flourish; in which the springs flow as Christianity, and Islam are set along its banks they have for millennia; and in which the water and the valley contains sites sacred to half extracted for human use is divided equitably of humanity.
    [Show full text]
  • February 7, 2021 Jordan $4,965
    Bethlehem Sea of Galilee Nazareth HOLY LAND HERITAGE & Jordan Jerusalem January 25 – February 7, 2021 Jordan $4,965. *DOUBLE OCCUPANCY Single Supplement Add $680 Inclusions: R/T Air - Fargo/Bismarck - Subject to change Hotel List: Leonardo Plaza– Netanya • 4 Star Accommodations Maagan - Tiberias • Baggage Handling at Hotel Ambassador – Jerusalem • 21 Included Meals Petra Guest House – Petra • Caesarea Maritima * Plain of Jezreel Dead Sea Spa Hotel – Dead • Nazareth * Sea of Galilee Sea • Beth Saida * Capernaum * Chorazin • Jordan River * Jordan Valley • Caesarea Philippi * Golan Heights • Beth Shean * Ein Harod * Jericho • Mt. of Olives * Rachael’s Tomb For Reservations Contact: • Bethlehem * Dead Sea Scrolls JUDY’S LEISURE TOURS • Jerusalem * Bethany * Masada *Passport is required • Dung Gate * Western Wall Valid for 6 months 4906 16 STREET N • Pools of Bethesda * St. Anne’s Church beyond travel date. Fargo, ND 58102 • King David’s Tomb • Mt. Zion * Garden Tomb 701/232-3441 or • Jordan * Petra * Seir Mountains • Royal Tombs * Historical King’s Highway 800/598-0851 • Madaba * Mt Nebo • Baptismal Site “Bethany beyond the Jordan” Insurance $382. Purchase at time of Deposit Day 1 & 2: We will depart the United States for overnight travel to Israel. After clearing customs, we will be met by our guide who will take us on a scenic drive through Jaffa, the oldest port in the world. Jonah set sail for Tarshish from Jaffa but was swallowed by a large fish. Jaffa was also the home of Tabitha, who was raised from the dead by Peter. Peter had his vision here while lodging in the home of Simon the Tanner.
    [Show full text]
  • 3B 2021 SML JON 3:1-5,10; MK 1:14-20 Do You Know Why Jonah
    1 3B 2021 SML JON 3:1-5,10; MK 1:14-20 Do you know why Jonah did not want to go to Ninevah? The answer to that question holds the key if we are going to understand what it is the scriptures are saying not only about what happened long ago, but what God is asking now, by virtue of our Baptism and Confirmation, and that is to live a prophetic life. What most of us know about the story of Jonah is Jonah is the man who spent three days in the belly of a whale. So let’s flesh out Jonah’s story a bit more. Jonah was a man who lived in Israel. God called him to go to Ninevah, which is roughly Iraq. Jonah got in a boat and headed for Spain, in the wrong direction. So while he was in the boat running away from Ninevah, a big storm came, and he made known to the people on the boat why the storm has happened. It was because he was not doing the will of God. God wanted him to go to Ninevah and he was heading for Spain. Jonah says throw me overboard and you’ll be fine and so they do, asking God’s forgiveness before they do. Jonah is swallowed by a big fish. The big fish spits him back up on the land and off he goes to 2 Ninevah and what commences is the story I just read. We missed the first part. And we miss the last part.
    [Show full text]
  • “John the Baptist” a Lesson in Humility John 3:28-30 in Jesus’ Assessment of John the Baptist, Jesus Said John Was the GREATEST Man Born of Women
    “John the Baptist” A Lesson in Humility John 3:28-30 In Jesus’ assessment of John the Baptist, Jesus said John was the GREATEST man born of women. Luke 7:28 Now the world has different standards for greatness. For example: 1. The world has financial standards and looks to…… 2. The world has intellectual standards & looks to the…… 3. The world has political standards & looks to the…… 4. The world has athletic standards & looks to the…… But God’s standard for greatness has always been based on: ___________ who we are ___________ what we believe _________ how we live He was unusual: in his ________ in his _______ and most of all in his _________ to Jesus ! In the O.T. God had a ________ of ______ in the wilderness. In the N.T. God had a _____ on ______ in the wilderness. – John the Baptist If God the Father’s life verse was… If Jesus’ life verse was… If Paul’s life verse was… Then John the Baptist’s life verse was John 3:30 I want us to do a spelling lesson. The letter “ I ” is in the middle of some very big words in the Bible… notice 1. s I n 2. p r I d e 3. a n x I e t y 4. l u c I f e r The letter “ I ” is in the middle of all our…… and all the devil does. Pride is what made the…… Pride was the first sin ever committed. In God’s hate list of sin in Proverbs chapter 6, the Bible lists ______ things God hates and remember ______ is the number of __________ ! 1st sin on the list is pride.
    [Show full text]
  • Where Jesus Walked
    Where Jesus Walked: Day 01: Arrival at QAIA – Meet & Assist – Transfer Amman for 4 Nights You will arrive at Amman airport and will be met by our representative at the airport; you will transfer to your hotel in Amman where you will spend 4 nights Day 02: Visit Bethany – Visit Churches in Amman & King Abdullah Mosque You will be collected form your hotel after breakfast and travel to Bethany Beyond Jordan, which is located very close to the Lowest Place on Earth the Dead Sea. For Christians Bethany Beyond Jordan is probably the most significant pilgrim site in the world. Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River, the opening of the heavens and the arrival of the Holy Spirit is the very beginning of Christianity. John was baptizing in the river Jordan close to Beit 'Abara, where Joshua, Elijah and Elisha crossed the river and very close to where Elijah ascended into heaven. In New Testament times, it became known as Bethany, the village of John the Baptist. This Bethany is not to be confused with the village of Bethany near Jerusalem, where the Bible says Lazarus was raised from the dead. The Bible clearly records that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist (Matthew 3: 13-17), and that John the Baptist lived, preached and baptized in the village of Bethany, on "the other side of the Jordan" (John 1: 28). The baptism site, known in Arabic as al- Maghtas, is located at the head of a lush valley just east of the Jordan River. After Jesus' baptism at Bethany, he spent forty days in the wilderness east of the River Jordan, where he fasted and resisted the temptations of Satan (Mark 1: 13, Matthew 4: 1-11).
    [Show full text]
  • Reflections for Our Spiritual Journey Epiphany of Our Lord Byzantine Catholic Church  June 2018
    Reflections for our Spiritual Journey Epiphany of Our Lord Byzantine Catholic Church June 2018 The Nativity of the Holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John The Holy, Glorious and Preeminent Apostles Peter and Paul Among the Church's great feasts in honor of God’s saints, two in the month of June significantly stand out from the others as they glorify the economy of God’s plan for our salvation. The Nativity of John the Baptist is the oldest feast in both the Greek and Latin Churches and is commemorated each year on June 24. On this day the mercy, miracles and wisdom of God are celebrated: His mercy toward the devout and righteous parents of St. John, the aged Zacharias and the barren Elizabeth; His miracle, in John’s conception in the aged womb of his mother; His wisdom, in the dispensation of man's salvation. John’s birth is the first joy sent down by God to the human race since Adam’s fall, the beginning of its deliverance from the power of the devil, sin and eternal death: a Forerunner and Angelic Messenger who would prepare the way for the Lord, the Savior of the world. John’s holy Nativity is the antechamber of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ. We sing in the Divine Praises of today’s Feast. “The star of stars, the Forerunner, is born on earth today, from a barren womb, John the beloved of God, and manifests the dawning of Christ, the Orient from on high. The whole creation rejoices at your divine nativity: for you were shown forth as an earthly angel, O Forerunner and a heavenly man, proclaiming to us, the God of heaven incarnate”.
    [Show full text]