Chapter 6 -

John the Baptist and Jesus

 

 

 

 

JOHN THE BAPTIST

 

When we read the New Testament, the first person we meet is John the Baptist – the person who got his nickname "the Baptist" because he baptized people after they had repented and confessed their sins. He lived to prepare the way for the first coming of Jesus: "The next day John sees Jesus coming to him, and said, Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, After me comes a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.  And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.” (1 John 1:29-31)

   The name of John the Baptist has appeared in other sources. The Jewish historian Josephus wrote about him and described his baptism of people. He also wrote about John’s imprisonment and death. The information that Josephus brings out gives a similar picture of John the Baptist as that found in the Gospels:

 

Many Jews saw that God was behind the falling of the Herod’s groups: they thought that God punished Herod because of John the Baptist. Herod had executed him, even though he was a righteous man. John the Baptist had urged the Jews to live virtuously and to follow the righteous ways in their relationships with their neighbors. To obey God, they had to be baptized. In this sense baptism was pleasing to God. It is true that it only meant purifying the body and not reconciling the soul; the soul had been sanctified through righteous life. As people came from everywhere to him and received encouragement from his speech, Herod started to fear the effect of his kind of an influential man whose advice everyone wanted to follow. John could cause a rebellion. That is why Herod thought it would be better to eliminate a threatening danger so that he would not have to regret his hesitation later when matters had gone too far. Suspicious Herod arrested John and sent him to the Castle of Makairos, about which we talked earlier, and there he was executed. However, the Jews were convinced that the reason for his death was that the armies of Herod had incurred the anger of God.

 

Let’s look at several Bible verses that mention baptism by John the Baptist. These verses show how well baptism by John the Baptist was known in the society. They show that it is a matter of historical fact:

 

- (Mark 1:4-5) John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.

5  And there went out to him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.

 

- (John 1:24-28) And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.

25  And they asked him, and said to him, Why baptize you then, if you be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?

26  John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there stands one among you, whom you know not;

27  He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s lace I am not worthy to unloose.

28  These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.

 

- (John 3:23-24) And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized.

24  For John was not yet cast into prison.

 

- (Luke 7:29-30) And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John.

30  But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.

 

- (Matt 21:23-27) And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority do you these things? and who gave you this authority?

24  And Jesus answered and said to them, I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things.

25  The baptism of John, from where was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say to us, Why did you not then believe him?

26  But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet.

27  And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said to them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.

 

- (Acts 1:5) For John truly baptized with water; but you shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.

 

- (Acts 1:21-22) Why of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,

22  Beginning from the baptism of John, to that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.

 

- (Acts 10:37) That word, I say, you know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached;

 

- (Acts 13:24-25) When John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.

25  And as John fulfilled his course, he said, Whom think you that I am?  I am not he. But, behold, there comes one after me, whose shoes of his feet I am not worthy to loose.

 

- (Acts 18:24-25) And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus.

25  This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spoke and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John.

 

JESUS

 

Jesus is clearly the central figure in the Gospels and letters of the New Testament. The four Gospels tell us about His life here on Earth, and the epistles describe the significance of His death and resurrection to disciples. We can truthfully say that if He had not lived on Earth, none of these would have been written.

   We can find evidence of the historical Jesus. This evidence was preserved by both followers and opponents. Early church festivals are only one source of evidence.

   Next, we will consider various sources that refer to Him as a historical person. They clearly show that Jesus really lived on this Earth:

 

The notes of Josephus. The Jewish historian Josephus mentioned Jesus. In his notes we find material about several people from the Bible: John the Baptist, Herod, Pilate, Cyrenius, Archelaus, and the clergy of Jerusalem. He also tells in some passages that the Sanhedrin was called together with the task of condemning “Jacob, the brother of Jesus, whom they call Christ”. He is referring to Jesus’ brother Jacob, the child of Mary and Joseph, who was one of "the pillars" of the congregation of Jerusalem. This man was condemned by the Sanhedrin because he followed Jesus Christ.

   Another longer statement about Jesus written by Josephus has been preserved. In it, he mentions that Pilate sentenced Jesus, and describes Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. He mentions that Jesus taught and performed miracles. He also had followers:

 

In those days, there lived a man called Jesus, a man filled with wisdom, if He can be called man. He did some quite unbelievable things and was the teacher of all of those who gladly heard the truth. Many Jews and Greeks followed Him. He was the Christ. Provoked by our influential men, Pilate condemned Him to death on the cross. However, they who had loved him remained faithful to him. He actually appeared to them alive on the third day as the prophets sent by God prophesied about Him in thousands of marvelous prophecies. There is still a sect whose members have named themselves after him: Christians.

 

A Roman historian called Cornelius Tacitus is one of the people who mentioned the death of Jesus and also wrote about the fire of Rome in 64. He mentions in his writings that Jesus died on the cross – just as is described in the Gospels – during the reign of Caesar Tiberius (14–37 A.D.) when Pontius Pilate (26–36 A.D.) was a judge. He also points out that the Christian faith spread to Rome from Judea – where it started:

 

A popular belief is that Caesar Nero was the one who started the fire. To silence the rumor, he accused a sect called the Christians of this crime. They were commonly shunned because of their customs and services. The name had been given to them because of a certain Christ, whom the procurator Pontius Pilate condemned and nailed on the cross during the reign of Tiberius. This dangerous sect, whom I have described earlier, has not only been rooted in Judea from where it has come, but also in Rome where all frightening and shameful things gather and find their home.

 

Thallus, a Samaritan by birth, also mentioned Jesus. He writes in his historical book dated approximately 52 A.D. that the darkness that fell at the time of the crucifixion of Jesus was caused by an eclipse of the Sun.

 

In the Talmud, we can find several passages that are consistent with the Gospels. We are told how Jesus was known by the name of Jesus the Nazarene; He said that He had not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it; He mocked the teachers who interpreted the law like Pharisees; His miracles were explained to be sorcery (this can also be found in the Gospels when the Pharisees accused Jesus) and it was also said that Jesus misled people; He was crucified on Easter Eve as an instigator of people; He had five disciples; the disciples preached the teachings of Jesus to others; His disciples healed the sick in His name but nobody could seek safety in them even when faced with death.

 

Roman Suetonius, who was a contemporary of the historian Tacitus, also refers to Jesus. In The Life of Caesar, he writes about Caesar Claudius (the Caesar in 41–54 A.D.) and Jesus. He, as Tacitus, says how the Christian faith had already reached Rome by then but that Claudius had banished the Jews because so many of them believed in Christ (compare Acts 18:2: “And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came to them.…”):

 

Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome, since they had become a permanent source of disorder because of Christ.

 

Elsewhere in his book, Suetonius writes about the persecution of Christians by Caesar Nero (the Caesar during in 54–68 A.D.). He writes that in the ’50s and ’60s the message of Jesus was still quite new:

 

During his (Nero’s) reign, many malpractices were punished severely and banned, and as many new laws were regulated. (…) The targets of the punishment were Christians, people who belonged to the new and wicked cult.

 

Plinius Secundus, who is generally known as Plinius the Younger, a contemporary of Tacitus and Suetonius (61–120 A.D.), also mentioned Jesus. In a letter to Caesar Trajanus he writes about Christians and their services:

 

They had a custom of assembling on a specific day before daybreak to sing praise to Christ, quite like to the king, and they swore that they would not join in any criminal activities, steal, rob, or commit adultery, neither would they betray anyone’s confidence or refuse to give money back to those who had entrusted it to their care. When they had done this, they broke up and later assembled again for a common meal, but the food was quite ordinary and harmless.

 

Plinius described the spreading of the Gospel in his long letter. He also notes the above-mentioned fact (cf. the notes of Tacitus and Suetonius regarding the same issue) of how the Gospel had spread to the kingdom of Rome:

 

The faith that spreads like an epidemic has spread to the towns and small villages, emptying the temples of idols.

 

One possible reference to Jesus is a letter written by Syrian Mara Ben-Serapion. It has been estimated that it was written a few years after the destruction of Jerusalem (70 A.D.). In the beginning of this letter, he writes about the murders of Socrates and Pythagoras, and then about the king of the Jews and his death. The identity of this wise king is not mentioned, but Jesus could fit the description:

 

How did it benefit the Athenians to kill Socrates, especially as it was later revenged by famine and an epidemic? What good did it do the residents of Samos to burn Pythagoras at the stake, since it resulted in all of their country being covered in sand in a second? Or the Jews to kill their wise king since after that, they have been without a kingdom? God justly revenged the death of these three wise men: the Athenians died of hunger, the people of Samos did not get help when the sea covered them, and the Jews were killed and driven away from their kingdom to live scattered around the world.

   Socrates is not dead, thanks to Plato; Pythagoras is not dead, thanks to the statue of Hera, and neither is the wise king, thanks to the new laws he gave. (16)

 

The fragment of Quadratus: As we continue to examine the writings about Jesus' life on Earth, let us consider a fragment of a message written by Quadratus, an influential person who lived in the beginning of the second century and prepared an apology for Caesar, writing about Christianity. He told Caeser about Jesus who had healed and raised people from the dead, some of whom were still alive:

 

The acts of our Savior were always there to be seen because they were real. There were people who were healed and people who had been risen from the dead. We not only saw how they were healed or raised from the dead, but they were always present when the Savior lived here on Earth, and also after He left. They lived on earth for a long time and a few of them are still alive these days.

 

The Apostolic Fathers who influenced events between 80- and 180 A.D., also mentioned Jesus. A letter from Clemens, the bishop of Rome, has been found. It was addressed to the Corinthians and dates back to 96 A.D.

   In the letter, Clemens refers to the resurrection of Jesus and says that it is something other people will also experience. He also writes about how Christ sent His apostles and how they preached the Gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit. Finally, he refers to the most important issue: Jesus dying for us.

 

Let us note, dearest brothers, how the Ruler continually shows us that the resurrection is a part of our future. The first fruit of this resurrection is that He has raised the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. (24:1)

 

God sent Christ and Christ sent the Apostles; both have taken place in good order by the will of God. 3. When the Apostles received their task, when they discovered the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and became stronger in faith in the word of God, they started to be filled with the Holy Spirit and preached the good news that the kingdom of God was at hand. 4. From country to country and from town to town they preached their message. (42:2-4)

 

In love the Ruler has taken charge of us. Jesus Christ, our Lord, was filled with love towards us, and for this reason He shed His blood for us by the will of God and gave His body for the sake of our bodies and in the same way He gave His soul for the sake of our souls. (49:6)

 

Ignatius, who was the bishop of Antioch and suffered a martyr’s death in 110 A.D., or just before that, wrote about the life of Jesus in many letters. In his letter to the Ephesians, he wrote that Jesus was born of Mary, suffered, was crucified, and was raised from the dead. These are all described in the Gospels and associated with the life of Jesus:

 

There is One who is Doctor, physical and spiritual, who had been born and unborn, God in flesh, real life that came to die, born both of Mary and of God, first under suffering, then outside of it, Jesus Christ, our Lord. (7:2)

 

If those, who did this faced physical death, how much more he who by a bad doctrine spoils the faith in God, the faith on whose behalf Jesus Christ was crucified. This kind of a person has become unclean and he will have to go to the inextinguishable fire and also those who hear him. (16:2)

 

If Jesus Christ due to your prayers deems me worthy and if it is the will of God, I will explain to you more accurately what I have begun, the dispensation of God, which is all about a new creation, Jesus Christ, faith in Him and love for Him, His suffering and resurrection. (20:1)

 

In his letter to Magnesias, Ignatius wrote more about how God had revealed Himself through Jesus, how Jesus pleased the one who sent Him, how He suffered and rose from the dead during the governorship of Pontius Pilate. References to Pontius Pilate and his governorship appear several times in Ignatius’ letters:

 

Also the prophets who were men of God lived according to Christ Jesus. For this reason, they were persecuted. In them was the spirit of His grace, so that they would completely convince the disobedient that there is only one God, He who has revealed himself through His son Jesus Christ, who is His word that has come from silence and has in all pleased the One who sent Him. (8:2)

 

Instead, I wish that you could be completely sure of the birth and suffering and resurrection that took place during the governorship of Pontius Pilate. This was all put into effect in real life and by Jesus Christ, our hope; if only none of you would turn away from Him. (11:1)

 

In his letter to the believers of Trallis, Ignatius again refers to how Jesus was the son of David, born of Mary, lived during the times of Pontius Pilate, and was raised from the dead. The Bible also speaks of this and the other issues mentioned above:

 

Be like deaf when someone speaks to you and does not know anything about Jesus Christ, who was of the family of David, born of Mary, who really lived, ate, and drank, really met persecution during the time of Pontius Pilate, was really crucified and died in front of those who are in Heaven, on Earth and under the Earth, 2. From him, who also really was raised from the dead when his Father raised him; in the same way the Father in Christ Jesus will also raise us who believe in Him, and without Him we have no real life. (9:1, 2)

 

In his letter to the believers in Smyrna, Ignatius referred to many of the issues in the life of Jesus. He mentions how Jesus was born of the family of David and of a virgin, was baptized by John, suffered during the time of Pontius Pilate and Herod, was crucified, and rose from the dead:

 

Yet you are completely convinced that He was born of the family of David, the Son of God from the will and power of God, born of a virgin, baptized by John so that He would fulfill all righteousness. 2. He really suffered during the time of Pontius Pilate and tetrarch Herod, was nailed on the tree for us. His suffering before God by which we are born was so that He, through His resurrection, would raise His saints and believers, whether Jew or Gentile, to be the one and only body of His church.” (1:1, 2)

 

It is thus right to keep away from such ignorant people and not to talk about them privately or publicly, but instead hold onto the prophets and especially to the Gospel, in which the sufferings and resurrection of Jesus have clearly been presented to us. (7:2)

 

In his letter to Polycarpos, Ignatius mentions, among other things, how Jesus suffered for us and how He, before that suffering, became visible by taking the form of a man:

 

Wait for Him who is above time, timeless, invisible. He who for us has become visible, who cannot be touched, who is above suffering but has submitted to suffering for our sake and who has endured everything possible for our sake. (3:2)

 

Polycarpos, the bishop of Smyrna, is another Apostolic Father who wrote about Jesus. This bishop was a person who, in his youth, was a student of the Apostle John, and received the letter from Ignatius that was mentioned above. Polycarpos himself wrote in his letter to the Philippians that Jesus died for our sins, He was raised from the dead, we are saved through grace, the Gospel was given through the Apostles, and Jesus carried our sins so that we would have life in Him. It is typical for Polycarpos to use verses from the New Testament as parts of his letters:

 

In our Lord Jesus Christ, in Him, who showed perseverance and went to death for the sake of our sins. Him God raised and freed from the pains of Hades. 3. . In him you believe, even though you have not seen him, with an inexpressible and glorious joy, which many would like to have; you know, it is by grace you have been saved, not by your works, but by the will of God through Jesus Christ.” (1:2, 3)

 

We live before the eyes of the Lord and God, and we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, and each of us will give an account of himself to God. 3. Let us serve Him with fear and timidity as He himself has commanded, in the same way that the Apostles, from whom we have received the Gospel, and the prophets who have preached the coming of our Lord. (6:2, 3)

 

Let us hold constantly and firmly to our hope and our seal of righteousness who is Christ Jesus, He who carried our sins in His own body on the tree, He who committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth. He endured all for us, so that we would have life in Him. (8:1)

 

The letter of Barnabas that dates to the beginning of the second century also refers to Jesus. The letter mentions that the Lord was submitted to suffer for us, even though He is the Lord and Creator of the universe. This letter refers to prophecies about Jesus, how He became a man but destroyed death by His resurrection, and how He did great wonders and miraculous signs and showed His special love for Israel:

 

There is also the next point, my brothers. If the Lord was submitted to suffer for us, even though He is the Lord of the whole universe, and to whom God said in the foundation of the world, Let us make man in our image and likeness; how could He submit to suffer in the hands of people? Learn this. 6. The prophets received their gift from Him and they prophesied about Him. And when He had to appear in flesh to destroy death and give an example of the resurrection of the dead, He agreed to that. 7. He did it to fulfill the promise made to the fathers, but also to prepare people for Himself and to indicate while He was still on Earth that after His resurrection He would exercise judgment Himself. 8. He also preached through teaching Israel and performing wonders and miracles and showed a special love for Israel. (5:5-8)

 

A letter to Diognetos, whose writer is not known, refers to Jesus and the Apostles. It mentions the phrase "Word" that also appears in the Gospel of John. It also refers to how the Apostles preached about Him and also the pagans believed in Him:

 

Can anyone who has received the right kind of teaching and loves the word do anything else than try to learn what has been revealed to the disciples in the Word? After appearing, the Word revealed to them by teaching them publicly. The unbelievers did not understand Him, but to His disciples He explained everything. He found them reliable and revealed the secrets of His Father to them. 3. For this reason, the Father sent His Word to appear to the world. His people, however, did not receive Him. But the Apostles preached about Him and the pagans believed in Him. (11:2, 3)

 

THE DEATH OF JESUS

 

- (Matt 27:50-51) Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.

51  And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

 

When we consider the significance of the death and resurrection of Jesus, we can find one interesting verification in the old Jewish sources. These sources refer to something "special" taking place 40 years before the destruction of the temple (70 A.D.). It is widely thought that Jesus died in 30 A.D.

   Both Mishnah Sanhedrin and Avoda Zara tell of something "shocking" taking place 40 years before the destruction of the temple. Suddenly all of "the offerings have lost their meaning and the doors to the Most Holy have been opened". These signs indicate that something supernatural took place in the temple when Jesus died.

   We find another reference to this sudden event in the Talmud (Yoma 39: b). The account states that forty years before the destruction of the temple (in 70 A.D.) the ram no longer was supernatural because the woolen thread, which used to change from blood red to white - as a sign of forgiveness - no longer changed. It also mentions other supernatural signs, including "the doors of the Most Holy opening by themselves":

 

Forty years before the holy temple was destroyed, the following things took place: on the Day of Atonement, the ram stopped being supernatural; the red woolen yarn that normally changes into white continued to be red and did not change; and the candle of the candelabra on the west side of the sanctuary did not burn and the doors of the holy temple opened by themselves.

 

What these special signs meant was that Jesus brought a New Covenant and was an offering for us Himself. When He went to Heaven's Most Holy and before God’s eyes for us, earthly symbols were no longer needed. They lost their significance after His death and resurrection:

 

- (Hebr 9:24) For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: