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00:00He came out of the desert, preaching redemption and repentance.
00:08He called for a radical change in the way the people of Israel worshipped their God.
00:14And he created a religious ritual, which continues to this day.
00:21Who was this mysterious figure, garbed in animal skins like a prophet of old?
00:28To modern Christians, John the Baptist was the herald of the Messiah
00:32and may have been one of the first to recognize Jesus as the Son of God.
00:40To the Romans of his time, he was a dangerous rebel with threatening political motives.
00:47And to a 2,000-year-old sect, he was venerated above all other prophets.
00:52Did John the Baptist appear to pave the way for Jesus?
00:59Or was he a rival Messiah?
01:05Why does the Bible devote so much time to his miraculous annunciation and birth?
01:12And what was the reason for the sensual dance of Salome that led to his brutal beheading?
01:18These are but a few of the mysteries of the Bible.
01:24Did John the Baptist say now that you believe in him?
01:25Is he the hero of Israel?
01:28Or was he a victim and one of the greatest who did a He is deического milnucci?
01:30And what was the thing that's a报道 liebe?
01:31He imagined for him doing this, be it призначling to their summers.
01:32And what did he does?
01:32He told him, how he is Endgame, come up with him.
01:33And what did you care?
01:33It was him or I mean he knew about him.
01:35One of them being yourself as old couldn't order him,
01:37He probably did not undertake another to another movie's of the same.
01:47And which he stuck on the show that was a great gift.
01:52And what did son of theatch man on the podcast?
02:23It is the year seven before the Common Era.
02:43The place, the hill country of Ein Karim near Jerusalem.
02:46From an inauspicious little village would come a man who would change history, John the Baptist.
02:55For reasons not fully understood by many scholars, the Gospel of Luke spends almost as much time describing John's miraculous annunciation and birth as it does describing the birth of Jesus.
03:16Why?
03:21According to the Gospel of Luke, John was the son of elderly parents, Zechariah, a priest, and Elizabeth, daughter of a priestly family.
03:30Elizabeth was a relative of Mary, the woman who would give birth to Jesus.
03:37While both John's parents were worthy in the sight of God, they were childless.
03:49The great births of the Old Testament, the births under divine control, were given to aged parents or to infertile couples who were also aged parents.
04:00That was the supreme miracle, as it were.
04:04There appeared to Zechariah an angel of the Lord.
04:09The angel said to him,
04:11Your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son, and you will name him John.
04:16He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb, and he will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord, their God.
04:27Luke 1, 16
04:30Through either an inexplicable accident of history, or perhaps through divine will,
04:40John the Baptist lived at exactly the same time as Jesus of Nazareth.
04:48The Gospel of Luke specifically states that they were related, but what was the nature of their relationship?
04:58The story in Luke chapters 1 and 2 puts John and Jesus in very close relationship.
05:06They are cousins, as it were.
05:07I would not be certain that that is an historical event,
05:12because Luke seems primarily interested in insisting that Jesus is not only of royal descent, but also of priestly descent.
05:24And that puts Mary in contact with Elizabeth, in contact with the priestly lineage.
05:30Now it happened that as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting,
05:36the child leapt in her womb,
05:39and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
05:43She gave a loud cry and said,
05:45Blessed are you among women,
05:48and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
05:52Luke 1, 41
05:54A favourite subject of many biblical artists and illustrators was the meeting between Mary,
06:02pregnant with Jesus,
06:04and her elderly cousin Elizabeth,
06:06pregnant with John the Baptist.
06:08The Gospel of Luke makes it clear that John is to be a special child.
06:17After his birth, his father, Zechariah,
06:20proclaims the unique nature and stature of his young son.
06:23And thou, child,
06:28shall be called the prophet of the highest,
06:32for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord
06:34to prepare his way,
06:37to give knowledge of salvation unto his people
06:40by the remission of their sins.
06:44Luke 1, 76
06:47John and Jesus were born within six months of each other
06:53and in places not too far apart.
06:56As children, they may well have known one another
06:59and perhaps even played together.
07:06After his miraculous birth to aged and infertile parents,
07:10John the Baptist mysteriously disappears from the biblical texts
07:14until he is an adult.
07:17Like his cousin Jesus,
07:19there is a curious gap in the biographical account
07:22of his early years.
07:27But what was John's role in the Bible?
07:31Could he merely have been a prophet
07:32who was eventually overshadowed
07:34by the works and message of the man called Jesus?
07:42Was his appearance intended to prepare the way for Christ?
07:45Or was he considered a rival messiah?
08:04The only biblical hint of John the Baptist's activities
08:07and whereabouts in his early years
08:09is intriguing in its vagueness.
08:16And the child grew up
08:18and waxed strong in spirit.
08:21And he lived in the desert
08:22until the day he appeared openly in Israel.
08:27Luke 1, 80
08:29Little is known of his childhood and formative years
08:36but by the time he was an adult
08:38John was a recluse living in the desert.
08:46John wore clothing of camel's hair
08:48with a leather belt around his waist.
08:51His food was simple
08:53consisting of locusts and wild honey.
08:57Matthew 3, 4
09:00Thousands would flock to listen
09:08to this humble man
09:09who appeared out of the desert
09:10preaching and prophesizing.
09:13People would tremble
09:15at his apocalyptic visions
09:16that spoke of the coming end of the world
09:19and of the appearance of a messiah.
09:23Countless more would take hope
09:24of freedom and redemption
09:25from foreign rule
09:27for these are delicate and dangerous times.
09:32It is an era when the people of Israel
09:33are under Roman domination.
09:36They land under imperial oppression
09:38and now merely a province of Rome
09:41known as Judea.
09:45Any message which spoke of deliverance
09:48from their oppressors
09:49was welcomed by the multitudes.
09:52And many would find hope
09:53of forgiveness from their sins
09:54in the words of John
09:56who promised redemption
09:57if they heeded his prophecies.
10:02I like to picture him
10:04as this powerful, dynamic, charismatic figure
10:07who can shake the establishment,
10:10who can shake an individual
10:12that's listening to him
10:13as he preaches to their very core.
10:16Challenge the very foundation
10:18of their being
10:18with the power of his words
10:20and with his gesticulating
10:22and the wild look in his eye.
10:24this guy was something else.
10:26You wouldn't want to run into
10:27this guy that night.
10:30How did he come to be
10:32the person he was,
10:33this wild man of the desert
10:35who gained an enormous following
10:37of loyal supporters?
10:42Perhaps the answer lies
10:44with a reclusive Jewish sect
10:45living in the desert
10:47at the same time as John.
10:48They were known as the Essenes.
10:53It is believed that the Essenes
10:55occasionally adopted
10:56and reared children
10:57from surrounding communities.
10:59Did John perhaps become one of them?
11:05It's possible that he spent time
11:07at the Essene community at Qumran.
11:09There are some elements
11:10of the theology of Qumran
11:13that are similar to the preaching
11:14of John the Baptist,
11:15this expectation
11:16of a coming judgment,
11:18certainly living in preparation for it.
11:21So there are some parallels
11:22between the two.
11:26Until the mid-20th century,
11:27little was known
11:28about the obscure Essene sect.
11:31Then with the discovery
11:32of the Dead Sea Scrolls
11:34and these caves at Qumran,
11:36Essene lifestyle
11:37and religious beliefs
11:39were revealed.
11:40Beliefs with a curious similarity
11:42to those espoused
11:44by John the Baptist.
11:48The scrolls speak
11:49of an ascetic philosophy
11:50in which separation
11:52from mainstream Jewish culture
11:54was strictly adhered to.
11:56Exacting attention
11:57to ritual purity
11:59was also required.
12:02If John had grown up
12:04in an Essene community,
12:06he would have experienced
12:07a Spartan, cloistered
12:09and pious childhood
12:10filled with daily prayers,
12:13silent communal meals
12:14and most importantly,
12:16a strict regimen
12:17of ritual baths
12:19and purification in water.
12:26The most interesting place
12:28we find ritual immersion
12:29practiced in a
12:31extensive manner
12:34is the Dead Sea Scroll community.
12:37They have ritual immersion pools there.
12:40The Essenes and others
12:41were what we call
12:42Homero-Baptists,
12:43daily Baptists.
12:47From earliest biblical times
12:49to today,
12:50religious Jews
12:51have ritually immersed themselves
12:52in water
12:53to purify themselves.
12:55Even now,
12:56modern Orthodox synagogues
12:58often have a special
12:59bathing pool
13:00for this purpose
13:01known as a mikvah.
13:02Yet the Essenes
13:09took the immersion process
13:10one step further,
13:11demanding ritual bathing
13:13after every act
13:14of impurification.
13:18John's type of baptizing
13:20was a departure
13:20from the purification motive.
13:23His purpose of baptism
13:24was aimed
13:25at the removal of sins.
13:26He carried out the ritual
13:32not in a bath
13:33or special pool
13:34but in the River Jordan.
13:39He may have chosen the site
13:41for symbolic reasons,
13:43equating it
13:43with the crossing
13:44of the children of Israel
13:45into the Holy Land
13:46after their exodus
13:47from Egypt.
13:49The river came to signify
13:51a gateway
13:51to salvation,
13:53freedom,
13:53and redemption.
13:57What John is saying
13:58is that
13:59when I take you across
14:01as it were
14:01and I presume
14:03that really means
14:04that you have to be
14:04immersed in the Jordan
14:05and cross over
14:07into the promised land
14:08what you do
14:09is leave behind
14:10your sins
14:11and become
14:12a new person.
14:19All went out to him.
14:20Jerusalem
14:22and all Judea
14:23and the whole
14:24of Jordan
14:25and they were baptized
14:26by him
14:27in the river Jordan
14:28confessing their sins.
14:31Matthew 3, 5
14:34But was John's ritual
14:39derived from the
14:40Essene tradition?
14:42Is the baptism
14:43we know today
14:44an outgrowth
14:44of an ancient practice
14:46from a small desert sect?
14:48We may never know.
14:49And until more
14:51can be revealed
14:52about the Essenes
14:53and about John's
14:54so-called lost years
14:55these questions
14:57will remain speculative.
15:01Wherever he spent
15:02his youth
15:03John's mysterious
15:04appearance
15:04was a dramatic one.
15:10His preachings
15:12were in the
15:12apocalyptic tradition
15:13of the great
15:14Hebrew prophets.
15:15John the Baptist
15:19becomes
15:20one of the
15:21great prophets
15:21in the line
15:22of those prophets
15:23in the Old Testament
15:24that challenged
15:25Jewish traditions
15:26that brought
15:27a message of salvation
15:28to the poor
15:29and actually
15:30that began
15:31to talk about
15:31the good news
15:32of what God
15:33was doing
15:34in this world.
15:35So in a sense
15:36what Luke
15:37wants to do
15:38is let us know
15:39the basic themes
15:41about the coming
15:42kingdom of God
15:42that Jesus
15:44is going to talk
15:44about ahead of time
15:46so that in a sense
15:48Jesus is not
15:49the first one
15:50to preach the gospel
15:51that we know
15:52about the kingdom
15:52of God.
15:53John is.
15:58John the Baptist
15:59promised wrath
16:00and destruction
16:01to the erring people
16:02of God
16:03who had deviated
16:04from the ancient
16:05laws of Moses.
16:06even the temple
16:08priests
16:08were not exempt
16:09from his condemnation.
16:13You brood of vipers
16:15who warned you
16:16to flee
16:17from the rough
16:17to come.
16:19Do not presume
16:20to say to yourselves
16:21we have Abraham
16:22for our father.
16:26Matthew 3, 9
16:28He says
16:33who told you
16:34to come out
16:35you bunch of snakes?
16:36You're coming out
16:37to repent
16:38so that you can
16:39escape the judgment.
16:40You're not coming out
16:41to repent
16:41because you're really
16:42sorry of your sins.
16:44No.
16:45Real repentance
16:46comes from the heart
16:48and you have to
16:49turn around
16:50and be transformed
16:51from your heart.
16:54John's message
16:55and his unique
16:56rite of baptism
16:57brought thousands
16:58out from Jerusalem.
17:00A group of followers
17:02began to form
17:03around him.
17:04A group that steadily
17:05grew as more
17:06came to the river
17:06Jordan to be baptized
17:07and stayed
17:09to be near
17:09his charismatic presence.
17:15One of those
17:16who came to hear
17:17John's message
17:18and to be baptized
17:19was a young man
17:20from Nazareth
17:21a man he may not
17:23have seen
17:23since his childhood
17:24his cousin Jesus.
17:41John the Baptist
17:42had garnered
17:43a huge following
17:44that came to him
17:45to be baptized
17:46and to hear his sermons.
17:48one of them
17:50was his cousin
17:51from Nazareth
17:52Jesus
17:52whom he may not
17:54have seen
17:54since childhood.
17:58Then Jesus
17:59appeared
18:00he came from
18:02Galilee
18:02to the Jordan
18:03to be baptized
18:04by John
18:05Matthew 3
18:0813
18:09I've always thought
18:13that the reason
18:15Jesus left
18:16his home
18:18in Nazareth
18:19and presumably
18:19his trade
18:20he was a carpenter
18:21was because
18:22he heard
18:23that there was
18:24a new prophet
18:24in Israel
18:26preaching to the people
18:28and proclaiming
18:30that God
18:30was about to do
18:31something new.
18:33Jesus went down
18:33and was baptized
18:35with all the others
18:36who came out
18:37to hear
18:37John the Baptist
18:39and according
18:40to the biblical tradition
18:41when he did that
18:42something happened
18:43to him
18:43he had this
18:44religious experience.
18:48When Jesus
18:49had been baptized
18:50just as he came
18:52out of the water
18:53suddenly
18:54the heavens
18:55were opened to him
18:56and he saw
18:57the spirit of God
18:58descending on him
18:59like a dove
19:00and a voice
19:02from heaven said
19:02this is my son
19:05my beloved
19:07Matthew 3
19:1016
19:11The story of Jesus
19:15begins with his baptism
19:16at the Jordan
19:17according to the
19:18biblical tradition
19:19when he did that
19:20something happened
19:21to him
19:22Jesus the carpenter
19:23from Galilee
19:23became Jesus the preacher
19:25thus according
19:32to Christian scripture
19:33following his baptism
19:35by John
19:36the ministry
19:37of Jesus Christ
19:38begins
19:39a heavenly voice
19:41that Jesus hears
19:42proclaims him
19:43as the son of God
19:45but did John
19:48or his followers
19:49recognize Jesus
19:50as the Messiah
19:51this passage
19:53in the gospel
19:54of Matthew
19:54provides a clue
19:56John said
20:00unto Jesus
20:01why comest thou
20:03to me
20:03for baptizing
20:04it is I
20:05who should come
20:06to thee
20:07Matthew
20:093
20:1014
20:11though the gospels
20:16clearly state
20:17that John
20:18proclaimed Jesus
20:19as the Messiah
20:19recent biblical
20:21scholarship
20:22questions that
20:23the later
20:25Christian tradition
20:25will see him
20:26specifically proclaiming
20:27the coming of Jesus
20:28but that's to read
20:29the tradition backwards
20:30after knowing the end
20:31of the story
20:31and looking back
20:32and projecting that
20:33onto John's preaching
20:34John the Baptist
20:37was preparing
20:38a people
20:39for the apocalyptic
20:40God
20:41those texts
20:42then were taken
20:43later
20:44by Christians
20:45and adapted
20:46and adopted
20:47so that John the Baptist
20:49is foretelling
20:50the coming
20:51of Jesus
20:51but that was not
20:53what John the Baptist
20:54was doing
20:54he was preparing
20:55for the arrival
20:56of God
20:57while John
21:00was clearly
21:00preparing the way
21:01for a time
21:02when the people
21:03would be redeemed
21:03from sin and affliction
21:05the gospels indicate
21:06that many of his
21:07contemporaries
21:08felt that John
21:09himself
21:10might be the
21:10expected Messiah
21:12a feeling of expectation
21:16began to grow
21:17amongst the people
21:18and all began to wonder
21:21whether John
21:22might be the Christ
21:23Luke 3 15
21:27the very word Messiah
21:31means the anointed
21:32one of God
21:33though it is debatable
21:35how John's contemporaries
21:37might have interpreted
21:38the word
21:38there is no clear
21:43first century idea
21:45of what Messiah means
21:46common to everyone
21:47what there is
21:48is a constant
21:49heightening hope
21:51that God will do something
21:52to save his people
21:53will God need
21:55a human instrument
21:55at all
21:56if he does
21:57will that be
21:57a priest
21:58for example
21:58will that be
21:59a military leader
22:00if there is
22:02such a human
22:03helper as it were
22:04then let us call him
22:06Messiah
22:07the one sent by God
22:08what made the promise
22:12of a coming Messiah
22:13so relevant
22:14at the time
22:15many scholars
22:17feel the answer
22:18has as much
22:18to do with politics
22:19as it does
22:20with religion
22:21it was the reign
22:25of the Roman
22:26emperor Tiberius
22:27Israel had long
22:29been subjugated
22:30by Rome
22:31Jewish religious
22:33practices
22:34were threatened
22:34and the temple
22:35priests were forced
22:36to cooperate
22:37with the pagan
22:38Roman authorities
22:39religious ritual
22:41had become corrupt
22:42the people began
22:43to look for salvation
22:45many of them
22:47pinned their hopes
22:48on the coming
22:48of a redeemer
22:49there were great
22:54messianic hopes
22:55in Israel
22:56that any
22:57great leader
22:59was perceived
23:00by the populace
23:02in Palestine
23:03as a messianic
23:04leader
23:05in the time
23:06of the Maccabees
23:07the hammer
23:09was considered
23:09to be
23:10a messianic figure
23:12the time
23:12of Bar Kokhba
23:13he was considered
23:14a messianic figure
23:16John the Baptist
23:17definitely
23:18was considered
23:19a messianic figure
23:20the messianic promise
23:23may have been
23:23one of the reasons
23:24that attracted
23:25Jesus of Nazareth
23:26to John the Baptist
23:27for though this aspect
23:30is downplayed
23:31by Christian tradition
23:32the gospels
23:33make it clear
23:34that Jesus
23:34became a follower
23:35of John
23:36it could very well
23:40be that Jesus
23:41first understands
23:42John
23:43as the prophet
23:44like Moses
23:45that is the main
23:46figure
23:46the center figure
23:47he definitely
23:48associates with
23:49John
23:49and to some degree
23:51puts himself
23:52under John
23:53by being baptized
23:54by him
23:55and then assisting
23:56him
23:56yet some time
23:59after his baptism
24:00Jesus left
24:01the company
24:02of John the Baptist
24:03taking two
24:04of John's own
24:05disciples
24:05with him
24:06when Jesus
24:09had baptized
24:10more disciples
24:11than John
24:12he left Judea
24:14and departed
24:15again into Galilee
24:17John
24:184
24:201
24:21according to the
24:24gospel account
24:25it is clear
24:26that even though
24:27John the Baptist
24:28seems to have
24:28acknowledged
24:29the unique role
24:30of Jesus
24:30in baptism
24:31he had not yet
24:33accepted
24:33that he was
24:34the Messiah
24:34later
24:36John would send
24:37two of his
24:38disciples
24:38to Jesus
24:39to question
24:40his goals
24:40and his motives
24:42John called
24:49unto two of his
24:49disciples
24:50and sent them
24:51to Jesus
24:52saying
24:53art thou he
24:54that should come
24:55or should we
24:57await another
24:58Luke
25:007
25:0119
25:02in time
25:08John's
25:08disciples
25:09would also
25:09question
25:10Jesus
25:10about the
25:11miracles
25:11that he
25:12performs
25:12Jesus'
25:15response
25:15to them
25:16would be
25:16that his
25:17miracles
25:17were all
25:18signs
25:18that indeed
25:19the Messiah
25:20had come
25:20nevertheless
25:25Jesus would
25:26continue to
25:26praise and
25:27acknowledge
25:27the greatness
25:28of John
25:29behold
25:33I send
25:34my messenger
25:35before thee
25:36and he
25:37shall prepare
25:37the way
25:38for thee
25:38I say
25:40unto you
25:41among those
25:42born unto
25:43women
25:43there is not
25:44a greater
25:45prophet
25:45than John
25:46the Baptist
25:47Luke
25:497
25:5028
25:51whether
25:54Jesus
25:55was a
25:55disciple
25:56of John
25:56a rival
25:57of John
25:58or the
25:58inheritor
25:59of John's
25:59prophetic
26:00message
26:00clearly
26:01he had
26:02the highest
26:03regard
26:03for John
26:04the last
26:05of the
26:05great
26:05Hebrew
26:06prophets
26:06whether or
26:23not John
26:24the Baptist
26:24was the
26:25mentor
26:25of Jesus
26:26the two
26:27men eventually
26:27went separate
26:28ways
26:29and preached
26:30separate
26:30messages
26:31because of
26:35its political
26:35overtones
26:36John's
26:37penetrating
26:37message
26:38gradually
26:38became
26:39more and
26:39more
26:40of a
26:40threat
26:40to
26:41Herod
26:41and the
26:41Romans
26:42the social
26:43unrest
26:44under
26:44Roman
26:44occupation
26:45the Jewish
26:46people's
26:47search for
26:47prophets
26:48and their
26:48expectation
26:49of a
26:49Messiah
26:50was a
26:51direct
26:51result
26:52of the
26:52prevailing
26:53political
26:53situation
26:54for at least
26:59a hundred
26:59years
27:00the Romans
27:00had ruled
27:01the Holy
27:01Land
27:02with an
27:02iron
27:02hand
27:03exploiting
27:05the local
27:05populace
27:06and their
27:06wealth
27:06of natural
27:07resources
27:08after an
27:13attempt
27:13a Jewish
27:14rebellion
27:14had taken
27:15place
27:15Rome
27:16exerted
27:17an even
27:17tighter
27:18grip
27:18on the
27:18province
27:19in John
27:24the Baptist's
27:25time
27:25Pontius
27:26Pilate
27:27was the
27:27emissary
27:27and representative
27:28of the
27:29Roman Empire
27:29in Jerusalem
27:30in turn
27:33Rome
27:34had set up
27:34a local
27:35puppet king
27:36by the name
27:36of Herod
27:37Antipas
27:37to oversee
27:38tax collection
27:40and the
27:40silencing
27:41of anti-Roman
27:42sentiment
27:42both Pilate
27:46and Herod
27:47were hated
27:47by the
27:48people
27:48bands
27:49of rebels
27:50still inhabited
27:51the surrounding
27:51hill country
27:52and anti-Roman
27:54terrorism
27:54often occurred
27:55under these
28:00conditions
28:01it was not
28:01unlikely
28:02that the
28:02ruling
28:03authorities
28:03saw John
28:04the Baptist
28:04as a threat
28:05many modern
28:10scholars
28:11believe
28:11that John's
28:12message
28:13and preaching
28:13were aimed
28:14primarily
28:14at the
28:15established
28:15authorities
28:16that he was
28:18more than
28:18a religious
28:19ascetic
28:19and perhaps
28:20even a revered
28:21and popular
28:22revolutionary
28:23figure
28:24the big
28:28sin
28:29in the
28:29first century
28:30is
28:31collaboration
28:32with the
28:33exploitative
28:33control
28:34of the
28:35Jewish
28:35homeland
28:36by Roman
28:37imperialism
28:37what John
28:38the Baptist
28:39is saying
28:39is accepting
28:40Rome
28:40as the
28:41will of
28:41God
28:41or accepting
28:42it as
28:42good
28:43or not
28:44even resisting
28:45it
28:45is sinful
28:46and you
28:47must repent
28:48of that
28:48sin
28:48you must
28:49resist
28:50Rome
28:50in every
28:51way you
28:52can
28:52scholars
28:55continue
28:56to debate
28:57whether John
28:57the Baptist
28:58should be
28:58considered
28:59a political
28:59revolutionary
29:00but a
29:01contemporary
29:02of John's
29:03had no
29:03question
29:04his name
29:05was Joseph
29:06ben
29:06Matthias
29:07better known
29:08to history
29:08as Flavius
29:09Josephus
29:10Josephus
29:15was a
29:16Jewish
29:16historian
29:16who joined
29:17the Roman
29:18side
29:18and helped
29:19conquer
29:19his homeland
29:20for the
29:20empire
29:21his histories
29:24are some
29:24of the most
29:25insightful
29:25evidence
29:26we have
29:27of events
29:27in the
29:28holy land
29:28during the
29:29first century
29:29of the
29:30common
29:30era
29:30Josephus
29:33was unequivocal
29:34about John
29:35the Baptist's
29:36growing political
29:37power
29:37Herod the king
29:43feared
29:43lest the great
29:44influence
29:44John had
29:45over the people
29:46might incline
29:47him to raise
29:48a rebellion
29:49for the people
29:50seemed ready
29:51to do anything
29:52John should
29:53advise
29:53Josephus
29:55antiquities
29:56of the
29:57Jews
29:575
29:582
29:59I wouldn't
30:04want to
30:04dismiss
30:05John
30:05as someone
30:06who was
30:06simply a
30:07political
30:07figure
30:08John was
30:08speaking out
30:08of highly
30:09religious
30:10inspiration
30:10and out
30:11of highly
30:11religious
30:12motives
30:12Israel
30:14had been
30:14a conquered
30:15land
30:16a taxed
30:17province
30:17of one
30:18empire
30:18after another
30:19ever since
30:20the 6th century
30:21when they were
30:21conquered by
30:22the Babylonians
30:22they'd never
30:23really been
30:23independent
30:24again
30:24John's
30:26religious
30:26ardor
30:27had made
30:27Rome
30:28and its
30:28minions
30:28deeply
30:29suspicious
30:30of him
30:30he criticized
30:32the Roman
30:32backed
30:33king
30:33Herod Antipas
30:34turning him
30:35into a
30:36powerful
30:36enemy
30:36the primary
30:39reason
30:39for John's
30:40condemnation
30:41was because
30:41of the king's
30:42sexual
30:43and social
30:43behavior
30:44Herod had
30:50married his
30:51brother
30:51Philip's
30:52wife
30:52Herodias
30:53John said
30:54unto Herod
30:55it is not
30:56lawful
30:57for thee
30:58to have
30:58thy brother's
30:59wife
30:59Mark
31:016
31:0217
31:04Herod was
31:07known to
31:08be an
31:08evil
31:09cunning
31:10clever
31:11diabolical
31:12king
31:13who had
31:14an affair
31:15with his
31:15brother's
31:15wife
31:16and took
31:16her to
31:17be his
31:17and had
31:19an obsession
31:21with her
31:21daughter
31:21as well
31:22Herod was
31:26challenged
31:26for his
31:27morality
31:27by John
31:28the Baptist
31:28demonstrating
31:30that
31:30John
31:31so to
31:32speak
31:33not only
31:34talked
31:34the talk
31:35but
31:35walked
31:35the walk
31:36some
31:38scholars
31:38believe
31:38that
31:39John's
31:39attacks
31:39on
31:40Herod
31:40were
31:40not
31:40simply
31:41an
31:41expression
31:41of
31:42moral
31:42outrage
31:43at his
31:43personal
31:44behavior
31:44but
31:45reflected
31:46a broader
31:46concern
31:47about his
31:48family lineage
31:49if you're
31:52going to
31:53condemn
31:53a ruling
31:53family's
31:54sexual
31:55practices
31:55well you're
31:57to some
31:57extent
31:57saying
31:58that you
31:59object to
31:59them
31:59politically
32:00too
32:00in the
32:02Dead Sea
32:02Scrolls
32:03it's much
32:03more
32:03precise
32:04it says
32:05that you
32:06can't put
32:06a leader
32:07over you
32:07who is
32:08not
32:08your
32:09brother
32:09and
32:10who is
32:11not
32:11one
32:11of
32:11your
32:11own
32:12these
32:13Herodian
32:14leaders
32:14were not
32:15considered
32:15Jewish
32:16by the
32:16population
32:17these
32:18were
32:18Arabo
32:19Greco
32:20leaders
32:21who
32:21some
32:21of
32:22whom
32:22have
32:22been
32:22quasi
32:22Judaized
32:23so
32:25the
32:25people
32:25in
32:26Palestine
32:26objected
32:26vociferously
32:27to the
32:27imposition
32:28of this
32:28alien
32:29foreign
32:29ruling
32:30class
32:30within
32:34a
32:34political
32:35context
32:35John's
32:36preaching
32:36may have
32:37been
32:37seen
32:37as
32:37a
32:37direct
32:38attack
32:38on
32:38the
32:39legitimacy
32:39of
32:39Rome
32:40and
32:40of
32:41King
32:41Herod
32:41himself
32:42John
32:47said
32:47unto
32:47the
32:47multitudes
32:48now
32:49also
32:50the
32:50axe
32:51is
32:51laid
32:51to
32:51the
32:51root
32:52of
32:52the
32:52trees
32:52every
32:54tree
32:54failing
32:55to
32:55bring
32:55forth
32:55good
32:56fruit
32:56will
32:57be
32:57cut
32:57down
32:58and
32:58cast
32:59into
32:59the
32:59fire
33:00Luke
33:023
33:039
33:04Whether
33:07or not
33:08he was
33:08preaching
33:09revolution
33:09John
33:10paid
33:10the price
33:11for
33:11condemning
33:12the king
33:12and the
33:13rulership
33:13of Rome
33:14Herod
33:16had him
33:16arrested
33:16and placed
33:17in a cell
33:18in his
33:18palace
33:1930 miles
33:20south
33:20of
33:20Jerusalem
33:21The voice
33:23of John
33:23in the
33:23wilderness
33:24was thus
33:25effectively
33:26silenced
33:26these are the
33:45majestic ruins
33:46of
33:46Makaris
33:47the palace
33:48fortress
33:48of Herod
33:49Antipas
33:50puppet ruler
33:51of Judea
33:51located 30 miles
33:53southeast of
33:54Jerusalem
33:54it was
33:56to this
33:56place
33:56that
33:57John
33:57the
33:57Baptist
33:57was
33:58taken
33:58upon
33:58his
33:59arrest
33:592,000
34:00years
34:01ago
34:01Though
34:05one
34:05gospel
34:05claims
34:06that
34:06Herod
34:06Antipas
34:07imprisoned
34:07John
34:08because
34:08he feared
34:08his
34:09power
34:09and
34:09influence
34:10among
34:10the
34:10people
34:11the
34:12gospel
34:12of
34:12Mark
34:13provides
34:13a
34:13rather
34:14different
34:14version
34:15of
34:15the
34:15story
34:15Herod
34:18Herod
34:18himself
34:19had sent
34:19forth
34:20to have
34:20John
34:21arrested
34:21and bound
34:22up in prison
34:23for the sake
34:24of Herodias
34:25his brother
34:25Philip's wife
34:26whom he had
34:27married
34:27Herodias
34:31was furious
34:32with John
34:32and wanted
34:33to kill him
34:33but she could
34:35not
34:35for Herod
34:37feared John
34:38knowing him
34:39to be a good
34:40and just
34:41man
34:41when Herod
34:43heard John
34:44speak
34:44he was
34:45greatly
34:46perplexed
34:47and liked
34:48to listen
34:48to him
34:49Mark
34:516
34:5217
34:53John
34:56had publicly
34:57condemned
34:58Herod
34:58for marrying
34:59his brother's
35:00wife
35:00an act
35:01specifically
35:02forbidden
35:02by scripture
35:03the animosity
35:05that this
35:05criticism
35:06created
35:06between
35:07Herod's
35:07wife
35:08Herodias
35:08and John
35:09the Baptist
35:10is the stuff
35:11of legends
35:11according to
35:16the biblical
35:16account
35:17Herodias
35:17took revenge
35:18upon the
35:19Baptist
35:19through her
35:20beautiful
35:20young daughter
35:21when Herod's
35:27birthday came
35:28the daughter
35:29of Herodias
35:30danced
35:31before the
35:31company
35:32she pleased
35:33Herod so much
35:34that he promised
35:35on oath
35:36to grant
35:37whatever she
35:38might ask
35:39and she
35:40instructed
35:41by her
35:42mother
35:42said
35:42give me
35:44on a platter
35:44the head
35:45of John
35:46the Baptist
35:47Matthew
35:4914
35:508
35:51the name
35:57the name
35:57of Herodias
35:57his daughter
35:58was Salome
35:59but it is a name
36:00not mentioned
36:01in the Bible
36:02we know it only
36:04from the history
36:05of Josephus
36:06neither
36:07Josephus
36:07nor the Bible
36:08mentions that
36:09Salome's dance
36:10was openly
36:10erotic
36:11but tradition
36:12has forever
36:13associated her
36:14dance
36:15with John's
36:16grotesque fate
36:17but was
36:19John the Baptist
36:20actually beheaded
36:21simply because
36:22of a cruel
36:22and brutal
36:23request
36:24by Herod's
36:24stepdaughter
36:25some scholars
36:27doubt it
36:28to perform
36:31an execution
36:32during
36:33a banquet
36:35was considered
36:36the height
36:37of bad taste
36:38to do it
36:40at the behest
36:41of a woman
36:42who wanted
36:42entertainment
36:43that is a story
36:45that goes back
36:46almost 200 years
36:47to the time
36:47of Cato
36:48in the Roman
36:49Republic
36:50as how
36:51not to be
36:52a good ruler
36:53it's a marvelous
36:54story
36:55it does exactly
36:56what it's supposed
36:57to do
36:57blacken Antipas
36:59but I don't think
37:00it's what happened
37:00whatever the method
37:05of his execution
37:05John the Baptist
37:06was put to death
37:07by Herod
37:08in the palace
37:09of Macaris
37:10Remarkably
37:15though his impact
37:16on biblical history
37:18was of major importance
37:19his ministry
37:20had lasted
37:21less than
37:22two years
37:23John's disciples
37:31came and took
37:32the body
37:33and buried it
37:34then they went
37:35and told Jesus
37:36now
37:38when Jesus
37:39heard of this
37:39he withdrew
37:41from there
37:42and departed
37:43in a boat
37:43to a deserted
37:44place
37:45by himself
37:46Matthew
37:4714
37:4912
37:50I think
37:54that
37:55John's violent
37:56death
37:56if anything
37:57would
37:59remind
38:01Jesus
38:01of the
38:03violent
38:04nature
38:04of the
38:05end
38:06of a prophet
38:06he himself
38:08at one point
38:09says
38:09oh Jerusalem
38:10you who killed
38:11the prophets
38:11I would have
38:13opened my arms
38:13to embrace you
38:14as a chicken
38:15opens up her wings
38:17to embrace her chicks
38:18so that he's very aware
38:20of the consequences
38:22of a message
38:22like John's
38:23and therefore
38:24of his
38:25in another curious
38:28parallel
38:29between John
38:30and Jesus
38:30there are even hints
38:32in the Bible
38:32that some believe
38:33John the Baptist
38:34would
38:35like Jesus
38:35be resurrected
38:37from the dead
38:38when King
38:41Herod
38:42heard about him
38:43he said
38:44that John
38:45the Baptist
38:45was risen
38:46from the dead
38:47and therefore
38:48mighty works
38:49had been done
38:49by him
38:50Mark
38:526
38:5314
38:54after John's
38:58execution
38:59many of his
38:59disciples
39:00became disciples
39:01of Jesus
39:01but that does not
39:03mean that the
39:04message of John
39:05the Baptist
39:05disappeared
39:06in fact
39:10the Acts of the
39:10Apostles
39:11tells of St. Paul
39:12discovering a group
39:13of John the Baptist
39:14followers
39:15in Asia Minor
39:16about 25 years
39:18after his death
39:18a sect
39:21that had never
39:21even heard
39:22of Jesus
39:22yet even
39:25the preaching
39:25of St. Paul
39:26did not convert
39:27all of John
39:28the Baptist's
39:29disciples
39:29to Jesus
39:30this is a ritual
39:37baptism
39:37being practiced
39:38by the Mandaeans
39:40who date their
39:40origins
39:41to before Christ
39:42although most
39:44scholars believe
39:44they first appeared
39:45sometime during
39:46the second century
39:47of the common era
39:48the Mandaeans
39:53live in remote
39:53areas of Iraq
39:55and Iran
39:55although families
39:57have recently
39:58migrated as far
39:59as Australia
39:59and America
40:00neither Muslim
40:05nor Christian
40:06the Mandaeans
40:07venerate one prophet
40:08above all others
40:10John the Baptist
40:12repeated baptism
40:15as opposed
40:15to the Christians
40:16once in a lifetime
40:17ritual reflects
40:19their commitment
40:19to the ancient
40:20desert prophet
40:21the legacy
40:26of John the Baptist
40:27endures even now
40:28for 2,000 years
40:33baptism has been
40:34one of the most
40:34common sacraments
40:35in all of Christianity
40:37whether performed
40:39for an infant
40:40in a church
40:40or celebrated
40:42in the actual
40:42River Jordan
40:43like these
40:44modern day converts
40:45the sacred ritual
40:47created by John
40:48is still very much
40:50alive
40:50John the Baptist's
40:55life and legacy
40:57continues to resonate
40:58in many parts
40:59of the world
41:00this Russian Orthodox
41:02church in Washington
41:03D.C.
41:04was consecrated
41:05in his name
41:05each September
41:08it celebrates
41:09the feast
41:09of the beheading
41:10of St. John
41:11it is then
41:13that the church's
41:13most prized possession
41:15is offered
41:15to the congregation
41:16for veneration
41:17it is a piece of bone
41:27reputed to be
41:28from John's skull
41:29it was a gift
41:31from a monastery
41:32in the Judean desert
41:33but John is honored
41:35in Muslim circles
41:36as well
41:37to this day
41:38many believe
41:39his skull
41:40is housed
41:40in this monument
41:41in the middle
41:42of the great mosque
41:43in Damascus, Syria
41:45separating fact
41:50from parable
41:51in the Bible
41:51continues
41:52to challenge
41:53theologians
41:54and biblical scholars
41:55alike
41:55in the case
41:57of John the Baptist
41:58there is rare
41:59consensus
41:59on the issues
42:00of his life
42:01given the important
42:05place he holds
42:06in the gospels
42:07some may ask
42:08whether Christianity
42:09could have taken root
42:10without him
42:12it is hard
42:15for me
42:16to overestimate
42:18the importance
42:19of John
42:19I think
42:20the disciples
42:21and followers
42:21of John
42:22were terribly important
42:25in the earliest
42:26followers of Jesus
42:28they were there
42:29John was the highest
42:33of all the prophets
42:35in the history
42:37of the Bible
42:38that's where
42:39Jesus put him
42:40that's where
42:40I'd like to leave him
42:42though his true
42:45purpose in the Bible
42:46may long remain
42:47a subject of debate
42:49the evolution
42:50of Christianity
42:51was indelibly
42:52influenced
42:53by the man
42:54we know
42:54as John the Baptist
42:56and the