Real Bible People: John the Baptist

John in the Wilderness

Young John: Living in the Lonesome Wastes

Continuing here our review of "Real Families" in the Gospels, we turn to the human family of Jesus, working towards an examination of Jesus himself at the close of this series. We begin with John the  Baptist, a second cousin to Jesus.

John was born to elderly parents of a priestly clan, and he was said to "grow and become strong in spirit," living in the lonesome wastelands (deserts) before he made his appearance as The Baptist. Some fanciful artists portray him as a near-naked child attended by wild beasts, the latter of these ideas coming from confusion with Jesus' forty days in the wilderness.

No, John's wilderness days most likely were occasioned by the death of his parents while he was a teenager. It is likely that his father Zacharias had at least begun John's instruction into the ways of the priests in the temple. John may have become aware of the corruption among the priests, notably the fees they charged merchants and moneychangers to use the temple grounds for their own  enrichment.

Qumran: The Essenes in the Wilderness

The Village of the Essenes Overlooking the Dead Sea

It has been speculated, with some  merit, that John spent time with the Essenes at their desert redoubt of Qumran east of Jerusalem in the desert. The Essenes rejected the priests of the temple, regarding them not only as corrupt, but also from the wrong lineage. They taught a strict and rigid ascetic lifestyle, which included frequent ritual immersion in a mikveh (bathing place), of which there were several at Qumran.

To become a member of their elite group, a supplicant would have to be subject to the Qumran leaders for a period of three years, during which certain required self-immersions would be conducted. In addition, members of the group had to give up all their worldly possessions and hand them over to the community.

It is distinctly possible that John was attracted to the strict "righteousness" practiced at Qumran and sought to become a member. But with John's strong spirit, clashes would inevitably arise, ending up in him being put out of the community, with or without any of the inheritance he would have received from his parents.

The Jewish scholar Joseph Flusser made note of the strong similarity between John's theology of baptism and the theology of ritual self-immersion as practiced at Qumran. Specifically, both John and the Qumran community held  that no amount of water-immersion did any good whatever unless it was accompanied by an internal spiritual change. This was in sharp contrast with normative Jewish practice, in which the immersion ritual, properly conducted, made a person "clean" and eligible to enter the temple.  In any case, John's unique leader-conducted immersion of supplicants essentially invented the practice we call "baptism" today.

Surviving in the Desert

Eating Locusts in the Desert

Rejecting the temple priests, rejected by Qumran, and made penniless by Qumran's confiscation of his goods, John's strong spirit chose a solitary life in the desert. Wild honey was a real treat when John could find it, and locusts were a food rich in protein. With a camel's hair cloak and a leather belt, John took on the appearance of a prophet, specifically the appearance of Elijah.

Enter the Prophet:

John was a Striking and Fearful Sight

John began to prophesy: "The kingdom of God is at hand!"  And, "Repent, and believe the good news!" People began to come to listen to him, and he began baptizing them, initially using the Jordan River for this. Baptism was offered to anyone--sinner or righteous--with no prerequisite other than repentance and a determination to lead a better life.

John offered baptism to Samaritans, and--worse yet--even to Roman soldiers. This would have horrified his former masters at Qumran.

Roman Soldiers Look On As John Baptises

But then one day Jesus came to be baptized. John may have recognized him as his second cousin--a childhood playmate--but that was a scene decades in his past. At age 30, John was looking for the chosen one of God--the Messiah--who would save people from their sins.

John was astounded when Jesus showed up and his former playmate was revealed to him to be the Chosen One. And he was more astounded yet when Jesus asked John to baptize him: "No,  Lord, but I must be baptized by you!"

You? Baptized by Me?

That was indeed what would be, in Jesus' words, "all righteousness fulfilled."

John and Herod

Herod Talks with John in Prison

"All righteousness" was important to John, which led him to denounce Herod Antipas for his illegal marriage to Herodias. Herod was little phased by this, but his queen Herodias was apoplectic. If John's declaration took hold in Galilee, she might be cast down from her throne. Herodias persuaded Herod to arrest John and cast him in prison, which would at least shut him up. Instead, Herod took to talking with John, for he was fascinated by this prophet. In the end, Herodias prevailed, backing her husband into a corner from which he was forced to remove the prophet's head.

I will spare you the gory painting , which has been an untold fascination for artists throughout the ages. In any case, John the Baptist did not outlive his second cousin, and died around age 33.