John the Baptizer is one of the most enigmatic figures of the New Testament. He appears near the beginning of all four canonical Gospels and the Gospel of Luke even has a detailed story of his parents before his birth.1 The Gospels give us some insight into John’s life and character, but looking outside of the biblical texts may provide a more complete image. So, who was John the Baptizer?
-John the Baptist in the Wilderness, by Geertgen tot Sint Jans, 15th century. Source: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-John-the-Baptist#/media/1/305173/10980.
John in the Gospels
In each of the canonical Gospels, John is portrayed as someone who prepared the way for Jesus. He baptizes people in the Jordan River, an act which supposedly was meant to enable the forgiveness of sins (Mark 1:4, Matthew 3:6, Luke 3:3, John 1:25-28). While each of these Gospels gives a slightly different interpretation of John, they each use passages from the Book of Isaiah to show him as someone getting the attention of the people in preparation for someone greater.
“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way,
the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
make his paths straight.’” -Mark 1:3 (a variation of Isaiah 40:3)
There is a lot happening in the opening sections of the Gospels which may go unnoticed. The Synoptic Gospels (Mark, Matthew, Luke) in particular are keen to announce the emergence of Jesus in a triumphal way,2 similar to how important Roman figures would have been announced. In addition to the imperial allusions of “good news”, the use of the passage from Isaiah which the authors connect to John can be linked with the leveling or straightening of roads that the Romans did for easy passage in military campaigns.3
John is also described as a rather rugged individual who spends time in the wilderness, wears strange clothing, and eats a limited and bizarre diet. The author of Mark, for example, says that he was clothed with camel hair and ate locusts and wild honey (Mark 1:6). Such descriptions seem to link John with the prophet Elijah from the Hebrew Bible, a prophet who many believed would return as a herald of God’s judgement in the last days.4
While the Gospels admit that John had developed a large following, they also go out of their way to diminish his popularity and elevate Jesus above him. In all of the Gospels, John says he’s not even worth to untie or carry Jesus’ sandals (Mark 1:7, Matthew 3:11, Luke 3:16, John 1:27), and in the Gospel of John (not named after the Baptizer) he loses some of his own disciples when they decide to follow Jesus instead.
The Gospel authors saw John as a herald of Jesus’ messianic work and may have recast the historical John in light of their perspectives on Jesus. Extrabiblical sources help to give a fuller picture of the Baptizer’s actions and popularity.
-A map of first-century Palestine. John seems to have been operating primarily in Galilee though his activities may have spread elsewhere along the Jordan River which flows between the so-called Sea of Galilee in the north and the Dead Sea in the south. Source: Library of Congress Geography and Map Division Washington, D.C.
John in Josephus
The prominent Jewish historian Flavius Josephus also provides details on the Baptizer, and confirms the Gospel traditions of John’s popularity, baptism, and death. Josephus says that John was a good man who compelled fellow Jews to act justly towards one another and baptized them in water. Concerning John’s popularity and death, Josephus writes:
“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 anything he should advise), thought it best, by putting him to death, to prevent any mischief he might cause.” -Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 18.5.2
We see here the popularity of John was a real phenomenon, one which likely extended after his death. The Gospel authors’ efforts to minimize John may have been partially motivated by the fact that he still had a decent following late into the first century. We should also note that the reason Josephus gives for John’s death—popularity and possible rebellion—is different from what the Gospels tell us, where he is killed for speaking against Herod marrying his brother’s wife.
Some scholars have found connections between John and the Qumran Community5 concerning diet, the prominence of baptism, apocalyptic outlook, and a shared geographical environment in the wilderness.6 This connection is contested, although it is not unlikely that John may have been influenced by the views and activities of those at Qumran even if he was not a direct member of their group.
Was Jesus a Disciple of John?
This is not an easy question to answer as our best sources for both John and Jesus are characterizing both figures for purposes other than historical recollection. However, there are a few noteworthy elements which may suggest that Jesus was initially one of John’s disciples:
Jesus is baptized by John.
John plays a major role in the beginning of all four canonical Gospels and clearly baptizes Jesus in the Synoptics (this baptism is only implied in John). Jesus’ baptism by John signified a submission to his authority, teaching, and message. The Gospel authors knew this, which is why they try to reframe this event so strongly.
Parallel messages
Both John and Jesus seem to have possessed apocalyptic outlooks (for more on these views, you can read another post of mine here). They spoke of repentance and the imminent arrival of the kingdom of God.
Jesus begins his public life after John is arrested
In our earliest Gospel, Jesus is said to have entered the public view only after the arrest of John (Mark 1:14). This could merely be a coincidence, or Jesus could have taken the mantle from John, so to speak, in an effort to continue the movement.
Conclusion
John’s connection with Jesus is something worth considering, and at the very least, he seems to have informed Jesus’ message and activity.7 Despite our sources giving different interpretations of John the Baptizer, one thing we can be sure of is that he was an extremely popular and influential figure in first century Galilee and Judaea and is vital to understanding the broader social context that Jesus lived within.
Reading Suggestions:
-Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews: A Jewish Life and the Emergence of Christianity by Paula Fredriksen
-John the Baptist in History and Theology by Joel Marcus
-The canonical Gospels
Luke also indicates that John and Jesus were relatives, although this seems to be a legendary story.
This is not to say that the author of the Gospel of John is not interested in doing this, only that the Gospel of John doesn’t play with Roman imperial motifs in their opening verses in the same way the Synoptic authors do.
For more on this, see Stephen Simon Kimondo, Jonathan Draper, and David Rhoads. The Gospel of Mark and the Roman-Jewish War of 66–70 CE: Jesus’ Story as a Contrast to the Events of the War. 1st ed. Eugene: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2018.
This is due in part to a reference found in the Book of Malachi 4:5-6 which says, “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse.”
This is the group responsible for creating the library of texts known as the Dead Sea Scrolls.
See James A. Kelhoffer, “Did John the Baptist Eat like a Former Essene? Locust-Eating in the Ancient Near East and at Qumran.” Dead Sea Discoveries 11, no. 3 (2004): 293–314. Or John Pryke, “JOHN THE BAPTIST AND THE QUMRAN COMMUNITY.” Revue de Qumrân 4, no. 4 (16) (1964): 483–96. Or Craig A. Evans. Jesus and the Ossuaries: What Jewish Burial Practices Reveal About the Beginning of Christianity. Waco: Baylor University Press, 2003.
Some scholars who view Jesus as a disciple of John are Paula Fredriksen. Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews: A Jewish Life and the Emergence of Christianity. New York: Vintage Books, 1999. Or John P. Meier. A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus, vol. 2. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1994. Or Joel Marcus. John the Baptist in History and Theology. Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press, 2018.