Titus Flavius Josephus (37 – A.D. 100), also called Joseph ben Matityahu (Biblical Hebrew: יוסף בן מתתיהו, ''Yosef ben Matityahu''), was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War which resulted in the Destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

He has been credited by many as recording some of the earliest history of Jesus Christ outside of the gospels, this being an item of contention among historians.

Josephus was a law-observant Jew who believed in the compatibility of Judaism and Graeco-Roman thought, commonly referred to as Hellenistic Judaism. His most important works were ''The Jewish War'' (c. 75 AD) and ''Antiquities of the Jews'' (c. 94 AD). ''The Jewish War'' recounts the Jewish revolt against Roman occupation (66–70). ''Antiquities of the Jews'' recounts the history of the world from a Jewish perspective for a Roman audience. These works provide valuable insight into 1st century Judaism and the background of Early Christianity.

Biography

Josephus introduces himself in Greek as "Iosepos (Ιώσηπος), son of Matthias, an ethnic Jew, a priest from Jerusalem". He was the second born son of Matthias and his wife, who was an unnamed Jewish noblewoman. His older brother who was his full blooded sibling was also called Matthias. The mother of Josephus was an aristocratic woman who descended from royalty and of the former ruling Hasmonean Dynasty. Josephus’ paternal grandparents were Josephus and his wife, an unnamed Jewish noblewoman. His paternal grandparents were distant relatives as they were both direct descendants of Simon Psellus. Josephus came from a wealthy, aristocratic family and through his father he descended from the priestly order of the Jehoiarib, which was the first of the twenty four-orders of Priests in the Temple in Jerusalem. Through his father, Josephus was a descendant of the High Priest Jonathon. Jonathon may have been Alexander Jannaeus, the High Priest and Hasmonean ruler who governed Judea from 103 BC-76 BC. He was born and raised in Jerusalem. Josephus was educated alongside his brother.

He fought the Romans in the First Jewish-Roman War of 66–73 as a Jewish military leader in Galilee. Prior to this, however, he was sent as a young man in his early twenties for negotiations with Emperor Nero for the release of several Jewish priests. He later returned to Jerusalem and was drafted as a commander of the Galilean forces. After the Jewish garrison of Yodfat fell under siege, the Romans invaded, killing thousands; the survivors committed suicide. According to Josephus, however, in circumstances that are somewhat unclear, Josephus found himself trapped in a cave with forty of his companions in July 67. The Romans (commanded by Flavius Vespasian and his son Titus, both subsequently Roman emperors) asked him to surrender once they discovered where he was, but his companions refused to allow this. He therefore suggested a method of collective suicide: they drew lots and killed each other, one by one, counting to every third person. The sole survivor of this process was Josephus (this method as a mathematical problem is referred to as the Josephus problem, or ''Roman Roulette'') who then surrendered to the Roman forces and became a prisoner. In 69 Josephus was released, and according to Josephus's own account, he appears to have played a role as a negotiator with the defenders during the Siege of Jerusalem in 70.

In 71, he arrived in Rome in the entourage of Titus, becoming a Roman citizen and client of the ruling Flavian dynasty (hence he is often referred to as Flavius Josephus — see below). In addition to Roman citizenship he was granted accommodation in conquered Judaea, and a decent, if not extravagant, pension. While in Rome and under Flavian patronage Josephus wrote all of his known works. Although he only ever calls himself "Josephus", he appears to have taken the Roman praenomen Titus and nomen Flavius from his patrons. This was standard practice for "new" Roman citizens.

In 70 during the Roman Siege of Jerusalem, the first wife of Josephus perished together with his parents. Sometime after, Vespasian arranged for him to marry a captured Jewish woman and ultimately she left him. About 71, Josephus married an Alexandrian Jewish woman as his third wife. By his Alexandrian wife, Josephus had three sons of whom only Flavius Hyrcanus, survived childhood. Josephus had an unhappy marriage with her and later divorced his third wife. At around 75, he married as his fourth wife a Greek Jewish woman from Crete who was a member of a distinguished family. With his Cretan wife he had a happy married life. His last wife bore him two sons Flavius Justus and Flavius Simonides Agrippa.

Josephus's life story remains ambiguous. For his critics, he never satisfactorily explained his actions during the Jewish war — why he failed to commit suicide in Galilee, and why, after his capture, he accepted the patronage of Romans.

Historian E. Mary Smallwood wrote:

(Josephus) was conceited, not only about his own learning but also about the opinions held of him as commander both by the Galileans and by the Romans; he was guilty of shocking duplicity at Jotapata, saving himself by sacrifice of his companions; he was too naive to see how he stood condemned out of his own mouth for his conduct, and yet no words were too harsh when he was blackening his opponents; and after landing, however involuntarily, in the Roman camp, he turned his captivity to his own advantage, and benefitted for the rest of his days from his change of side.

Significance to scholarship

The works of Josephus provide crucial information about the First Jewish-Roman War and are also important literary source material for understanding the context of the Dead Sea Scrolls and late Temple Judaism.

Josephan scholarship in the 19th and early 20th century became focused on Josephus' relationship to the sect of the Pharisees . He was consistently portrayed as a member of the sect, but nevertheless viewed as a villainous traitor to his own nation — a view which became known as the classical concept of Josephus. In the mid 20th century, this view was challenged by a new generation of scholars who formulated the modern concept of Josephus, still considering him a Pharisee but restoring his reputation in part as patriot and a historian of some standing. Some later authors argued that Josephus was not a Pharisee but an orthodox Aristocrat-Priest who became part of the Temple Establishment as a matter of deference, and not willing association (cf. Steve Mason 1991).

Josephus includes information about individuals, groups, customs and geographical places. Some of these, such as the city of Seron, are not referenced in the surviving texts of any other ancient authority. His writings provide a significant, extra-Biblical account of the post-Exilic period of the Maccabees, the Hasmonean dynasty, and the rise of Herod the Great. He makes references to the Sadducees, Jewish High Priests of the time, Pharisees and Essenes, the Herodian Temple, Quirinius' census and the Zealots, and to such figures as Pontius Pilate, Herod the Great, Agrippa I and Agrippa II, John the Baptist, James the brother of Jesus, and a disputed reference to Jesus (for more see Josephus on Jesus). He is an important source for studies of immediate post-Temple Judaism and the context of early Christianity.

A careful reading of Josephus' writings allowed Ehud Netzer, an archaeologist from Hebrew University, to discover the location of Herod's Tomb, after a search of 35 years — above aqueducts and pools, at a flattened, desert site, halfway up the hill to the Herodium, 12 kilometers south of Jerusalem — exactly where it should have been, according to Josephus's writings.

Manuscripts, textual criticism and editions

For many years, the works of Josephus were printed only in an imperfect Latin translation from the original Greek. It was only in 1544 that a version of the standard Greek text was made available, edited by the Dutch humanist Arnoldus Arlenius. The first English translation, by Thomas Lodge, appeared in 1602, with subsequent editions appearing throughout the 17th century. However, the 1544 Greek edition formed the basis of the 1732 English translation by William Whiston which achieved enormous popularity in the English speaking world (and which is currently available online for free download by Project Gutenberg). Later editions of the Greek text include that of Benedikt Niese, who made a detailed examination of all the available manuscripts, mainly from France and Spain. This was the version used by H. St J. Thackeray for the Loeb Classical Library edition widely used today.

William Whiston, who created perhaps the most famous of the English translations of Josephus, claimed that certain works by Josephus had a similar style to the Epistles of St Paul (Saul).

The standard ''editio maior'' of the various Greek manuscripts is that of Benedictus Niese, published 1885-95. The text of ''Antiquities'' is damaged in some places. In the ''Life'' Niese follows mainly manuscript P, but refers also to AMW and R. Henry St. John Thackery for the Loeb Classical Library has a Greek text also mainly dependent on P. André Pelletier edited a new Greek text for his translation of ''Life''. The ongoing Münsteraner Josephus-Ausgabe of Münster University will provide a new critical apparatus. There also exist late Old Slavonic translations of the Greek, but these contain a large number of Christian interpolations.

Works

(c. 75) ''War of the Jews'', or ''The Jewish War'', or ''Jewish Wars'', or ''History of the Jewish War'' (commonly abbreviated ''JW'', ''BJ'' or ''War'')

(date unknown) ''Josephus's Discourse to the Greeks concerning Hades'' (spurious; adaptation of "Against Plato, on the Cause of the Universe" by Hippolytus of Rome)

(c. 94) ''Antiquities of the Jews'', or ''Jewish Antiquities'', or ''Antiquities of the Jews/Jewish Archeology'' (frequently abbreviated ''AJ'', ''AotJ'' or ''Ant.'' or ''Antiq.'')

(c. 97) ''Flavius Josephus Against Apion'', or ''Against Apion'', or ''Contra Apionem'', or ''Against the Greeks, on the antiquity of the Jewish people'' (usually abbreviated ''CA'')

(c. 99) ''The Life of Flavius Josephus'', or ''Autobiography of Flavius Josephus'' (abbreviated ''Life'' or ''Vita'')

The Jewish War

His first work in Rome was an account of the Jewish War, addressed to certain "upper barbarians" – usually thought to be the Jewish community in Mesopotamia—in his "paternal tongue" (''War'' I.3), arguably the Western Aramaic language. He then wrote a seven-volume account in Greek known to us as the ''Jewish War'' (Latin ''Bellum Judaicum''). It starts with the period of the Maccabees and concludes with accounts of the fall of Jerusalem, the Roman victory celebrations in Rome, the mopping-up operations, Roman military operations elsewhere in the Empire and the uprising in Cyrene. Together with the account in his ''Life'' of some of the same events, it also provides the reader with an overview of Josephus' own part in the events since his return to Jerusalem from a brief visit to Rome in the early 60s (''Life'' 13–17).

In the wake of the suppression of the Jewish revolt, Josephus would have witnessed the marches of Titus's triumphant legions leading their Jewish captives, and carrying treasures from the despoiled Temple in Jerusalem. He would have experienced the popular presentation of the Jews as a bellicose and xenophobic people.

It was against this background that Josephus wrote his ''War'', and although this work has often been dismissed as pro-Roman propaganda (hardly a surprising view, given the source of his patronage), he claims to be writing to counter anti-Judean accounts. He disputes the claim that the Jews served a defeated God, and were naturally hostile to Roman civilization. Rather, he blames the Jewish War on what he calls "unrepresentative and over-zealous fanatics" among the Jews, who led the masses away from their traditional aristocratic leaders (like himself), with disastrous results. Josephus also blames some of the Roman governors of Judea, but these he represents as atypical: corrupt and incompetent administrators. Thus, according to Josephus, the traditional Jew was, should be, and can be, a loyal and peace-loving citizen. Jews can, and historically have, accepted Rome's hegemony precisely because their faith declares that God himself gives empires their power.

Jewish Antiquities

The next work by Josephus is his twenty-one volume ''Antiquities of the Jews'', completed during the last year of the reign of the Emperor Flavius Domitian (between 1.9.93 and 14.3.94, cf. AJ X.267). He claims that interested persons have pressed him to give a fuller account of the Jewish culture and constitution. Here, in expounding Jewish history, law and custom, he is entering into many philosophical debates current in Rome at that time. Again he offers an ''apologia'' for the antiquity and universal significance of the Jewish people.

He outlines Jewish history beginning with the creation as passed down through Jewish historical tradition. Abraham taught science to the Egyptians, who in turn taught the Greeks. Moses set up a senatorial priestly aristocracy, which, like that of Rome, resisted monarchy. The great figures of the Bible are presented as ideal philosopher-leaders. There is again an autobiographical Appendix defending Josephus's own conduct at the end of the war when he cooperated with the Roman forces.

Against Apion

Josephus's ''Against Apion'' is a two-volume defence of Judaism as classical religion and philosophy, stressing its antiquity, as opposed to what Josephus claimed was the relatively more recent tradition of the Greeks. Some anti-Judean allegations ascribed by Josephus to the Greek writer Apion, and myths accredited to Manetho are also addressed.

Literature about Josephus

''The Josephus Trilogy'', a novel by Lion Feuchtwanger

*''Der jüdische Krieg'' (''Josephus''), 1932

*''Die Söhne'' (''The Jews of Rome''), 1935

*''Der Tag wird kommen'' (''The day will come'', ''Josephus and the Emperor''), 1942

'' Flavius Josephus Eyewitness to Rome's first-century conquest of Judea'', Mireille Hadas-lebel, Macmillan 1993, Simon and Schuster 2001

"The 2000 Year Old Middle East Policy Expert", a chapter from ''Give War A Chance'' by P. J. O'Rourke

''Caesar's Messiah: The Roman Conspiracy to Invent Jesus'', by Joseph Atwill, Ulysses Press, 2005

See also

Josephus on Jesus

Josippon

Josephus problem — a mathematical problem named after Josephus.

Footnotes

References

Josephus’ Lineage

M. Fergus, S. Emil & V. Geza, The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ (175 B.C. - A.D. 135), Continuum International Publishing Group, 1973

É. Nodet, A search for the origins of Judaism: from Joshua to the Mishnah, Continuum International Publishing Group, 1997

F. Josephus & S. Mason, Flavius Josephus: translation and commentary, BRILL, 2001

''The Works of Josephus, Complete and Unabridged New Updated Edition'' Translated by William Whiston, A.M., Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1987. ISBN 0-913573-86-8 (Hardcover). ISBN 1-56563-167-6 (Paperback).

''Flavius Josephus: Translation and Commentary''; edited by Steve Mason, 10 vols. in 12 Leiden: Brill, 2000–2007).

Per Bilde. ''Flavius Josephus between Jerusalem and Rome: his life, his works and their importance''. Sheffield: JSOT, 1988.

Shaye J. D. Cohen. ''Josephus in Galilee and Rome: his vita and development as a historian''. (Columbia Studies in the Classical Tradition; 8). Leiden: Brill, 1979

Louis Feldman. "Flavius Josephus revisited: the man, his writings, and his significance." In: ''Aufstieg und Niedergang der Römischen Welt'' 21.2 (1984).

Steve Mason, ''Flavius Josephus on the Pharisees: a composition-critical study''. Leiden: Brill, 1991

Tessa Rajak, ''Josephus: the Historian and His Society''; 2nd ed. London: 2002 (Oxford D.Phil. thesis, 2 vols. 1974)

External links

Resources > Second Temple and Talmudic Era > Flavius Josephus The Jewish History Resource Center — Project of the Dinur Center for Research in Jewish History, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

The Works of Flavius Josephus Translated by William Whiston

Flavius Josephus, Judaea and Rome: A Question of Context

PACE Josephus: text and resources in the Project on Ancient Cultural Engagement at York University

Flavius Josephus at livius.org

Josephus Flavius at Jewish Virtual Library

Category:37 births Category:100 deaths Category:1st-century historians Category:1st-century Romans Category:1st-century writers Category:1st-century clergy Category:Flavii Category:Greco-Roman military writers Category:Hellenistic Jewish writers Category:Jewish historians Category:Roman era Greek historians Category:Ancient Roman antiquarians Category:Roman era Jews Category:Judean people Category:Jewish clergy Category:Jews and Judaism in the Roman Empire Category:Jewish history in Rome Category:Hasmoneans

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The term historical Jesus refers to scholarly reconstructions of the 1st-century figure Jesus of Nazareth. These reconstructions are based upon historical methods including critical analysis of gospel texts as the primary source for his biography, along with consideration of the historical and cultural context in which he may have lived.

Historical Jesus is believed to be a Galilean Jew who undertook at least one pilgrimage to Jerusalem, then part of Roman Judaea, during a time of messianic and apocalyptic expectations in late Second Temple Judaism. He was baptized by John the Baptist, whose example he may have followed, and after John was executed, began his own preaching in Galilee for only about two to three years prior to his death. He was an eschatological prophet and an autonomous ethical teacher. He told surprising and original parables, many of them about the coming Kingdom of God. Some scholars credit the apocalyptic declarations of the Gospels to him, while others portray his Kingdom of God as a moral one, and not apocalyptic in nature. He sent his apostles out to heal and to preach the Kingdom of God. Later, he traveled to Jerusalem where he caused a disturbance at the Temple. It was the time of Passover, when political and religious tensions were high in Jerusalem. The Gospels say that the ''temple guards'' (believed to be Sadducees) arrested him and turned him over to the Roman governor Pontius Pilate for execution. The movement he had started survived his death and was carried on by his brother James the Just and the apostles who proclaimed the resurrection of Jesus. After splitting with Rabbinic Judaism, it developed into Early Christianity.

The quest for the historical Jesus operates under the premise that the New Testament does not necessarily give an accurate historical picture of the life of Jesus. The biblical description of Jesus is sometimes referred to as the Christ of Faith in this context. The ''Historical Jesus'' is thus based on the ancient evidence for his life such as fragments of the Gospels. Therefore the historical Jesus is constantly evolving as new evidence is being uncovered. The purpose of research into the Historical Jesus is to examine the evidence from diverse sources and critically bring it together in order to create a composite picture of Jesus. Use of the term the ''Historical Jesus'' implies that the figure thus reconstructed will differ from that presented in the teaching of the ecumenical councils ("the dogmatic Christ").

Scholarly methods

The historical Jesus is believed to be a historical figure, to be understood in the context of his own lifetime in 1st-century Roman Judaea, not of Christian doctrine of later centuries. Historical research reconstructs Jesus in relation to his 1st-century contemporaries, while theological interpretations relate Jesus to those that gather in his name, thus the historian interprets the past while the theologian interprets tradition. Historians and Bible scholars analyze the Canonical Gospels, Talmud, Gospel according to the Hebrews, Gnostic Gospels, Josephus, Dead Sea Scrolls and other early documents attempting to find the Historical Jesus. A number of methods have been developed to critically analyze these sources:

Older sources. Many historians prefer the oldest sources about Jesus; and as a rule of thumb they tend to disregard sources written more than a century after Jesus' death.

Criterion of embarrassment. Statements contrary or dissimilar to the author's agenda, but still included by the author, are likely to be reliable. For example, if the crucifixion was a cause of embarrassment to early Christians, they would be unlikely to claim that Jesus had been crucified unless he actually had been.

Multiple attestation. When two or more independent sources present similar or consistent accounts, it is often the case that oral accounts pre-date written sources. Multiple attestation is not the same as independent attestation. If one account used another account as a source, then a story present in all of these is in fact attested in only one independent source. Some scholars think that Mark's account was used as a source for one or more of the other accounts. See the Historicity of Jesus for a list of sources pertaining to this question.

Historical context. A source is more credible if the account makes sense in the context of what is known about the culture in which the events unfold. E.g., some sayings from the Coptic-language "Gospel of Thomas" make sense in a 2nd century Gnostic-beliefs context, but not in the context of 1st century Christians, since Gnosticism is assumed to have appeared in the 2nd century.

Linguistic analysis. There are certain conclusions that can be drawn from linguistic analysis of the Gospels. For example, if a dialogue makes sense only in Greek, it is possible that it is worded in that text in a way that is different from original Aramaic. E.g., the dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus from John ch. 3 is believed by some to make sense in Greek, but not in Aramaic. According to Bart Ehrman, this criterion is included in the analysis of contextual credibility, because he believes that Jesus and Nicodemus were speaking in Aramaic.

Author's agenda. This criterion is the flip side of the criterion of dissimilarity. When the presented material serves the supposed purpose of the author or redactor, it is suspect. For example, various sections of the Gospel accounts, such as the Massacre of the Innocents, portray Jesus' life as fulfilling prophecy; and in the view of some scholars, this could reflect the agenda of the account authors rather than historical events.

Currents within contemporary research typically take the historical criterion of plausibility as their foundation rather than the criterion of dissimilarity. Accounts, therefore, that fit the Jewish context and make sense of Christianity's rise may be historical.

Origin and early life

Birth

Jesus was probably born in the last years before Herod's reign ended in 4 BCE, in the Galilean village of Nazareth. Geza Vermes views the different accounts of Jesus' birth given in the Gospel of Luke and the Gospel of Matthew as "pious fictions". E. P. Sanders describes them as "the clearest cases of invention in the Gospels". Raymond Brown notes that "it is unlikely that either account is completely historical", and suggests that the account in Matthew is based on an earlier narrative patterned on traditions about the birth of Moses. While the infancy narratives are considered problematic by critical scholars, particularly because they are laced with theology and are indebted to precursor texts, it has been suggested that they do contain some historical information about Jesus, such as when he was born and the names of his parents.

This first Herod, an Idumaean whom the Roman Senate elected King of the Jews over Idumea, Galilee, Judea, Samaria and neighboring lands, ruled from 37 to 4 BCE. Upon Herod's death, the Romans divided up his kingdom between his sons, and Herod Antipas ruled Galilee but not Judea (which became part of Iudaea province after Herod Archelaus was deposed in 6 CE), while Jesus was still a boy.

Jewish background

Jesus mostly preached in Galilee (perhaps also Judea) (modern-day Israel and Palestine) for one to three years in the first half of the 1st century.

Following the fall of earlier Jewish kingdoms, the partially Hellenized territory was under Roman imperial rule, but there were ongoing hopes of a revival of independent sovereignty, just as the Hasmoneans had overthrown the earlier Seleucid Empire. The Roman Prefect’s first duty to Rome was to maintain order, but although the land was mostly peaceful (notably between 7 and 26), there were continued risks of rebellion, riots, banditry, and violent resistance (see also Zealotry). Four decades after Jesus’ death, the tensions caused by Jewish hopes for a restoration of the kingdom of David culminated in the first Jewish-Roman War and the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.

In the Judaic religion of Jesus' day, the Pharisees were a significant party, espousing belief in the resurrection of the dead, divine retribution in the next world, angels, human freedom, and divine providence. The more conservative Sadducees held power in the Temple. The Essenes lived ascetically and looked for an imminent apocalypse. According to scholars such as Geza Vermes and E.P. Sanders, Jesus does not seem to have belonged to any particular party or movement.

Linguistic proficiency

Jesus almost certainly spoke Aramaic. The Gospels record him using metaphors unknown in Hebrew or Greek but common in Aramaic. Some scholars speculate that because the lingua franca under Roman occupation was Greek, which was replacing Aramaic, Jesus might have known at least some Koine Greek.

There are a number of passages from the Gospels which state or imply that Jesus could at least read. In Jesus' day, few people could read and fewer still could write. The question of Jesus's literacy has been much discussed in modern scholarship; the Jesus Seminar and others feel references in the Gospels to Jesus reading and writing may well be fictions. In the view of John Dominic Crossan, a peasant such as Jesus would not have been literate. James Dunn observes that, given the importance of reading the Torah in Jewish culture of the time, a Galilean villager such as Jesus might have learned to read. John P. Meier concludes that the literacy of Jesus probably extended to the ability to read and comment on sophisticated theological and literary works.

Work as a "carpenter"

Jesus is identified in Mark as a τεκτων (''tekton'') and in Matthew as the son of a ''tekton.'' Like most people at the time, he presumably was trained by his parent in the family trade. ''Tekton'' has been traditionally translated into English as "carpenter", but is a rather general word (from the same root that gives us "technical" and "technology") that at the time could cover makers of objects in various materials, and builders, from tent makers to stonemasons. The specific association with woodworking is a constant in Early Christian tradition; Justin Martyr (d. c. 165) wrote that Jesus made yokes and ploughs, and there are similar early references.

Crossan puts ''tekton'' into a historical context more resembling an itinerant worker than an established artisan, emphasizing his marginality in a population in which a peasant who owns land could become quite prosperous. Some scholars, following S. J. Case, have noted that Nazareth is only about 6 kilometres from the city of Tzippori (ancient "Sepphoris"), which was destroyed by the Romans in 4BC, and thereafter was expensively rebuilt. It has been speculated that Joseph and Jesus might have traveled daily to work on the rebuilding. Specifically the large theatre in the city has been suggested, although this has aroused much controversy over dating and other issues. Other scholars see Joseph and Jesus as the general village craftsmen, working in wood, stone and metal on a wide variety of jobs.

Ethnicity

Jesus lived in Galilee, north of Judea on the other side of Samaria (which was hostile to Judeans). Judeans did not hold Galileans in high regard as they were often of mixed blood and open to foreign influence. The Galilean dialect was clearly distinguishable from the Judean dialect.

Family background and childhood

Jesus' father might have been named Yosef, a common name at the time. Jesus' reputed descent from King David would be consistent with an attempt by the authors of Matthew and Luke to show his identity as the Messiah and King of the Jews.

Jesus' mother was named Mary (Hebrew: ''Maryām''), a common name at the time. Beyond the accounts in the Gospels and a few other early Christian sources, there is no independent or verifiable information about any aspect of Mary's life.

Jesus had "brothers and sisters", as reported in Mark 6:3 and Matthew 13:55-56. However, whether the verse literally meant brother or another close family member is still debated to this day. Prior to the 4th century, the standard theory was that they were Jesus’ "brothers" who were sons of Joseph though not of Mary. According to this view, Joseph was a widower at the time he married Mary. He had children from his first marriage (who would be older than Jesus, explaining their attitude toward him). This is mentioned in a number of early Christian writings. One work, known as the Proto-evangelium of James (A.D. 125) records that Joseph was selected from a group of widowers to serve as the husband/protector of Mary, who was a virgin consecrated to God. When he was chosen, Joseph objected: "I have children, and I am an old man, and she is a young girl." Today, the most commonly accepted view among Catholics is that they were Jesus’ cousins. According to Robert Funk of the Jesus Seminar, the Catholic doctrine of Mary's perpetual virginity has long obscured the recognition that Jesus had siblings. After Jesus' death, James, "the Lord's brother", was the head of the congregation in Jerusalem and Jesus' relatives seem to have held positions of authority in the surrounding area.

Ministry

The synoptic Gospels agree that Jesus grew up in Nazareth, went to the River Jordan to meet and be baptised by the prophet John (Yohannan) the Baptist, and shortly after began healing and preaching to villagers and fishermen around Luke's "Sea of Galilee" (which is actually a freshwater lake). Although there were many Phoenician, Hellenistic, and Roman cities nearby (such as, Gesara and Gadara; Sidon and Tyre; Sepphoris and Tiberias), the Gentile mission was, at most, peripheral to Jesus' ministry. He made no statements about gentiles (non-Jews). The center of his work was Capernaum, a small town (about 500 by 350 meters, with a population of 1,500-2,000) where, according to the Gospels, he appeared at the town's synagogue (a non-sacred meeting house where Jews would often gather on the Sabbath to study the Torah), and performed a public reading of scripture, but met with rejection.

Jesus gathered a following and achieved a measure of fame around Galilee. Then for Passover, he and his followers traveled to the Davidic capital of the United Monarchy, the city of Jerusalem. However, Jesus left no instructions about founding a church.

Historians do not know how long Jesus preached. The synoptic Gospels suggest a period of up to one year. The Gospel of John mentions three Passovers, Jesus' ministry is traditionally said to have been three years long. In the view of Paul N. Anderson, John's presentation is more plausible historically than that of the Synoptics.

Jesus and John the Baptist

Jesus began preaching, teaching, and healing after he was baptized by John the Baptist, an apocalyptic ascetic preacher who called on Jews to repent.

Jesus was apparently a follower of John, a populist and activist prophet who looked forward to divine deliverance of the Jewish homeland from the Romans. John was a major religious figure, whose movement was probably larger than Jesus' own. Herod Antipas had John executed. In a saying thought to have been originally recorded in Q, the historical Jesus defended John shortly after John's death.

John's followers formed a movement that continued after his death alongside Jesus' own following. John's followers apparently believed that John might have risen from the dead, an expectation that may have influenced the expectations of Jesus' followers after his own execution. Some of Jesus' followers were former followers of John the Baptist. Fasting and baptism, elements of John's preaching, may have entered early Christian practice as John's followers joined the movement.

John Dominic Crossan portrays Jesus as rejecting John's apocalyptic eschatology in favor of a sapiential eschatology, in which cultural transformation results from humans' own actions, rather than from God's intervention.

Historians consider Jesus' baptism by John to be historical, an event that early Christians would not have included in their Gospels in the absence of a "firm report". Like Jesus, John and his execution are mentioned by Josephus.

John the Baptist's prominence in both the Gospels and Josephus suggests that he may have been more popular than Jesus in his lifetime; also, Jesus' mission does not begin until after his baptism by John. Fredriksen suggests that it was only after Jesus' death that Jesus emerged as more influential than John. Accordingly, the Gospels project Jesus's posthumous importance back to his lifetime. One way Fredriksen believes this was accomplished was by minimizing John's importance by having John resist baptizing; Jesus (), by referring to the baptism in passing (), or by asserting Jesus's superiority ().

Scholars posit that Jesus may have been a direct follower in John the Baptist's movement. John Dominic Crossan suggests that John the Baptist may have been killed for political reasons, not necessarily the personal grudge given in Mark's gospel. Going into the desert and baptising in the Jordan suggests that John and his followers were purifying themselves for what they believed was God's imminent deliverance. This was reminiscent of such a crossing of the Jordan after the Exodus (see Book of Joshua), leading into the promised land of their deliverance from oppression. Jesus' teachings would later diverge from John's apocalyptic vision (though it depends which scholarly view is adopted; according to Ehrman and Sanders, the apocalyptic vision was the core of Jesus' teaching) which warned of "the wrath to come," as "the axe is laid to the root of the trees" and those who do not bear "good fruit" are "cut down and thrown into the fire." (Luke 3:7-9) Though John's teachings remained visible in those of Jesus, Jesus would emphasize the Kingdom of God not as imminent, but as already present and manifest through the movement's communal commitment to a relationship of equality among all members, and living by the laws of divine justice. All four Gospels claim that Jesus was crucified at the request of a Jewish Sanhedrin by Pontius Pilate, but Christians still debate who was responsible. Crucifixion was the penalty for criminals, robbers, traitors, and political insurrection, used as a symbol of Rome's absolute authority - those who stood against Rome were utterly annihilated.

Works and miracles

The gospels narrate various miracles that Jesus performed in the course of his ministry. These mostly consist of miraculous healing, exorcisms and dominion over other things in nature besides people.

As Albert Schweitzer showed in his ''Quest of the Historical Jesus'', in the early 19th century, debate about the "Historical Jesus" centered on the credibility of the miracle reports. Early 19th century scholars offered three types of explanation for these miracle stories: they were regarded as supernatural events, or were "rationalized" (e.g., by Paulus), or were regarded as mythical (e.g., by Strauss).

Scholars in both Christian and secular traditions continue to debate how the reports of Jesus' miracles should be construed. The Christian Gospels states that Jesus has God's authoritarian power over nature, life and death, but naturalistic historians, following Strauss, generally choose either to see these stories as legend or allegory, or, for some of the miracles they follow the rationalizing method. For example, the healings and exorcisms are sometimes attributed to the placebo effect , or considered a metaphorical\allegorical reference to the restoration of a culture of compassion, respect, understanding and reintegration of diseased people to the society .

Jesus' identity

Jesus as divine

Some scholars interpret Jesus as a charismatic preacher who taught the principles of salvation, everlasting life, and the Kingdom of God. E.P. Sanders sees him as accepting a divine role as God's viceroy in the coming kingdom. It has been argued that Jesus' use of three important terms: Messiah, Son of God, and Son of Man, reveals his understanding of his divine role. Jürgen Becker sees Jesus taking his authority directly from God, in contrast to the prophets who revealed the future or will of God. M. de Jonge argues that Jesus saw himself as God's final envoy.

Burton Mack on the other hand supports the hypothesis of the Messianic secret first proposed by William Wrede. This hypothesis holds that Jesus' instruction to his disciples not to reveal his identity as the Messiah was a later invention by the early Church to deal with the embarrassing fact that early traditions did not show Jesus as claiming to be the Messiah.

Messiah

In the Hebrew Bible, three classes of people are identified as "anointed," that is, "Messiahs": prophets, priests, and kings. In Jesus' time, the term Messiah was used in different ways, and no one can be sure how Jesus would even have meant it if he had accepted the term. Though Messianic expectations in general centered on the King Messiah, the Essenes expected both a kingly and a priestly figure in their eschatology. The Jews of Jesus' time waited expectantly for a divine redeemer who would restore Israel, which suffered under Roman rule. John the Baptist was apparently waiting for one greater than himself, an apocalyptic figure. Christian scripture and faith acclaim Jesus as this "Messiah" ("anointed one," "Christ").

Son of God

Paul describes God as declaring Jesus to be the Son of God by raising him from the dead, and Sanders argues Mark portrays God as adopting Jesus as his son at his baptism, although many others do not accept this interpretation of Mark. Sanders argues that for Jesus to be hailed as the Son of God does not mean that he is literally God's offspring. Rather, it indicates a very high designation, one who stands in a special relation to God.

In the synoptic Gospels, the being of Jesus as "Son of God" corresponds exactly to the typical Hasidean from Galilee, a "pious" holy man that by God's intervention performs miracles and exorcisms.

Son of Man

The most literal translation here is "Son of Humanity", or "human being". The bible uses "Son of Man" to mean sometimes "I" or a mortal in general, sometimes a divine figure destined to suffer, and sometimes a heavenly figure of judgment soon to arrive. The bible's usage of son of man in the first way is historical but without divine claim. The Son of Man as one destined to suffer seems to be, according to some, a Christian invention that does not go back to Jesus, and it is not clear whether Jesus meant himself when he spoke of the divine judge. These three uses do not appear together, such as the Son of Man who suffers ''and'' returns. Others maintain that Jesus' use of this phrase illustrates Jesus' self-understanding as the divine representative of God. This phrase is used in the bible in the book of Daniel, where the writer claims a sight of revelation when the 'son of man' will return to earth to judge the people according to their acts and is a representative of divine authority and power. Therefore, the pharisees and religious teachers despised Jesus for using the term of such prophetic and divine importance. The Bible does not mention anyone other than Jesus to use the term to refer to himself.

Laconic sage

The sage of the ancient Near East was a self-effacing man of few words who did not provoke encounters. A holy man offers cures and exorcisms only when petitioned, and even then may be reluctant. Jesus seems to have displayed a similar style.

The Gospels present Jesus engaging in frequent "question and answer" religious debates with Pharisees and Sadducees. The Jesus Seminar believes the debates about scripture and doctrine are rabbinic in style and not characteristic of Jesus. They believe these "conflict stories" represent the conflicts between the early Christian community and those around them: the Pharisees, Sadducees, etc. The group believes these sometimes include genuine sayings or concepts but are largely the product of the early Christian community.

Other depictions

The title Logos, identifying Jesus as the divine word, first appears in the Gospel of John, written .

The earliest Christians did not call Jesus, "God". New Testament scholars broadly agree that Jesus did not make any explicit claims to be God. See also Divinity of Jesus and Nontrinitarianism.

Pinchas Lapide sees Jesus as a rabbi in the Hasid tradition of Hillel the Elder, Yochanan ben Zakai and Hanina Ben Dosa.

The gospels and Christian tradition depict Jesus as being executed at the insistence of Jewish leaders, who considered his claims to divinity to be blasphemous, see also Responsibility for the death of Jesus. Historically, Jesus seems instead to have been executed as a potential source of unrest.

Teaching

Parables and paradoxes

Jesus taught in parables and aphorisms. A parable is a figurative image with a single message (sometimes mistaken for an analogy, in which each element has a metaphoric meaning). An aphorism is a short, memorable turn of phrase. In Jesus' case, aphorisms often involve some paradox or reversal. Authentic parables probably include the Good Samaritan and the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard. Authentic aphorisms include "turn the other cheek", "go the second mile", and "love your enemies".

Crossan writes that Jesus' parables worked on multiple levels at the same time, provoking discussions with his peasant audience.

Jesus' parables and aphorisms circulated orally among his followers for years before they were written down and later incorporated into the Gospels. They represent the earliest Christian traditions about Jesus.

Eschatology

Jesus preached mainly about the Kingdom of God. Scholars are divided over whether he was referring to an imminent apocalyptic event or the transformation of everyday life.

Some critical Biblical scholars, going as far back as Albert Schweitzer, hold that Jesus believed that the end of history was coming within his own lifetime or within the lifetime of his contemporaries.

The evidence for this thesis comes from several verses, including the following:

In Mark 8:38-9:1, Jesus says that the Son of Man will come "in the glory of the Father with the holy angels" during "this adulterous generation." Indeed, he says, "there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see that the Kingdom of God has come in power."

In Luke 21:35-36, Jesus urges constant, unremitting preparedness on the part of his followers in light of the imminence of the end of history and the final intervention of God. "Be alert at all times, praying to have strength to flee from all these things that are about to take place and to stand in the presence of the Son of Man."

In Mark 13:24-27, 30, Jesus describes what will happen when the end comes, saying that "the sun will grow dark and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and ... they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds with great power and glory." He gives a timeline for this event: "Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away before all these things take place."

The Apostle Paul also seems to have shared this expectation. Toward the end of 1 Corinthians 7, he counsels Christians to avoid getting married if they can since the end of history was imminent. Speaking to the unmarried, he writes, "I think that, in view of the impending crisis, it is well for you to remain as your are." "I mean, brothers and sisters, the appointed time has grown short ... For the present form of this world is passing away." (1 Corinthians 7:26, 29, 31) In 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17, Paul also seems to believe that he will live to witness the return of Jesus and the end of history.

According to Geza Vermes, Jesus' announcement of the imminent arrival of the Kingdom of God "was patently not fulfilled" and "created a serious embarrassment for the primitive church". According to E.P. Sanders, these eschatological sayings of Jesus are "passages that many Christian scholars would like to see vanish" as "the events they predict did not come to pass, which means that Jesus was wrong."

Many scholars argue that since the Bible does not account for the destruction of Jerusalem, which would have been a critical and overwhelming event in Israelite and Christian history, that this event may have instead been the 'end of history' the church was looking for but did not recognize. This would be contrary to verses which state that all nations would know what was happening, and who was responsible for it. Yet a writer such as the Apostle John, responsible for Revelation, and who survived the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD, would likely have documented the attack. Being that he did not, some presume he concluded that Jesus' words were thus fulfilled. The subsequent councils and churches which grew from this era then would have taken this outlook of 'end of world' and extended it for their own followers to look forward to.

Robert W. Funk and colleagues, on the other hand, wrote that beginning in the 1970s, some scholars have come to reject the view of Jesus as eschatological, pointing out that he rejected the asceticism of John the Baptist and his eschatological message. In this view, the Kingdom of God is not a future state, but rather a contemporary, mysterious presence. John Dominic Crossan describes Jesus' eschatology as based on establishing a new, holy way of life rather than on God's redeeming intervention in history.

Evidence for the Kingdom of God as already present derives from these verses.

In Luke 17:20-21, Jesus says that one will not be able to observe God's Kingdom arriving, and that it "is right there in your presence."

In Thomas 113, Jesus says that God's Kingdom "is spread out upon the earth, and people don't see it."

In Luke 11:20, Jesus says that if he drives out demons by God's finger then "for you" the Kingdom of God has arrived.

Furthermore, the major parables of Jesus do not reflect an apocalyptic view of history.

The Jesus Seminar concludes that apocalyptic statements attributed to Jesus could have originated from early Christians, as apocalyptic ideas were common, but the statements about God's Kingdom being mysteriously present cut against the common view and could have originated only with Jesus himself.

Jesus' repeated declarations that the kingdom of God was at hand echoed popular apocalyptic views. According to Geza Vermes and others, the use of the terms "messiah" and "son of God" by Jesus' followers indicate that they believed he would assume the monarchy upon the restoration of the kingdom (see Names and titles of Jesus).

Asceticism

The fellows of the Jesus Seminar mostly held that Jesus was not an ascetic, and that he probably drank wine and did not fast, other than as all observant Jews did. He did, however, promote a simple life and the renunciation of wealth.

Jesus said that some made themselves "eunuchs" for the Kingdom of Heaven (). This aphorism might have been meant to establish solidarity with eunuchs, who were considered "incomplete" in Jewish society. Alternatively, he may have been promoting celibacy.

A majority of the Fellows of the Jesus Seminar regard it probable that Jesus was not celibate but instead had a special relationship with Mary Magdalene. However, Ehrman notes the conjectural nature of the claims that Jesus and Mary were married, as "not a single one of our ancient sources indicates that Jesus was married, let alone married to Mary Magdalene."

John the Baptist was an ascetic and perhaps a Nazirite, who promoted celibacy like the Essenes. Ascetic elements, such as fasting, appeared in Early Christianity and are mentioned by Matthew during Jesus' discourse on ostentation.

Followers and audience

Table fellowship

Open table fellowship with outsiders was central to Jesus' ministry. His practice of eating with the lowly people that he healed defied the expectations of traditional Jewish society. He presumably taught at the meal, as would be expected in a symposium. His conduct caused enough of a scandal that he was accused of being a glutton and a drunk.

John Dominic Crossan identifies this table practice as part of Jesus' radical egalitarian program. The importance of table fellowship is seen in the prevalence of meal scenes in early Christian art and in the Eucharist, the Christian ritual of bread and wine.

Disciples

Some scholars believe Jesus recruited twelve Galilean peasants as his inner circle, including several fishermen. The fishermen in question and the tax collector Matthew would have business dealings requiring some knowledge of Greek. The father of two of the fishermen is represented as having the means to hire labourers for his fishing business, and tax collectors were seen as exploiters. The twelve were expected to rule the twelve tribes of Israel in the Kingdom of God.

The Jesus Seminar on the other hand believes that the number 'twelve' in connection with an inner circle of disciples is a fiction.

The disciples of Jesus play a large role in the search for the historical Jesus. However, the four Gospels, use different words to apply to Jesus' followers. The Greek word "ochloi" refers to the crowds who gathered around Jesus as he preached. The word "mathetes" refers to the followers who stuck around for more teaching. The word "apostolos" refers to the twelve disciples, or apostles, whom Jesus chose specifically to be his close followers. With these three categories of followers, Meier uses a model of concentric circles around Jesus in order to create a distinction among those who were closer to Jesus than others.

''Ochloi''

The outer most circle surrounding Jesus are known as Ochloi, or "the crowds." This outer circle of Jesus' followers would have been the largest and least stable of the groups following Jesus. The criterion of multiple attestation of Mark, John, Q, Matthew, and Luke, supports the historicity of Jesus attracting large crowds. This argument is bolstered by the fact that Jesus was crucified outside Jerusalem by the Roman prefect Pontius Pilate, most probably on the charge of claiming to be "King of the Jews." How a Jewish preacher, teacher, and healer from Galilee would end up executed by Romans in Jerusalem could only be plausible if he did in fact attract large, enthusiastic crowds. We can see in the Gospels that Jesus' ability to attract large crowds through preaching and healing seemed to have lasted until his final days in Jerusalem. Meier notes that the success of his ministry probably led to his arrest and execution by the nervous authorities. Although the crowds were enthusiastic at times, the enthusiasm rarely translated in deep, enduring commitment from members of the crowds. Critical remarks by the evangelists, the unrepentant cities of Galilee (Matthew 11:20-24), and the relative failure of Jesus' followers to win over the majority of Palestinian Jews to "Christianity" is all evidence that most people in the crowds never crossed over from being just curious or sympathetic audiences to deeply committed disciples or supporters. Although, we will see as we move to the inner circles surrounding Jesus that some of his closest disciples came from the crowds that surrounded Jesus.

''Mathetes''

The second ring around Jesus consists of Mathetes, or "disciples." Meier simply uses the term "disciples". These are the people who stayed for Jesus' teaching. As Meier puts it, "Jesus' disciples are marked by obedience to his peremptory call, denial of self, and exposure to hostility and danger." However, since the members of this group were not individually called by Jesus to be his disciples like the Twelve were, Meier therefore refers to the followers and crowds as "pseudo-disciples." In other words, these groups simply were physical followers of Jesus but not necessarily committed followers who were with him all the time. In many cases, the term "disciples" is used to encompass both the "sympathetic audiences" and the Twelve. It is important that a distinction is made between the crowds and the disciples. On the other hand, some passages suggest that the Gospels use the terms "disciples" and "the Twelve" interchangeably. Jesus' ministry was primarily focused on his twelve disciples and not on the crowds and followers. It was the Twelve whom Jesus spent most of his time with and directed most of his teachings towards, as indicated by the accounts in the four Gospels.

''Apostolos''

Commonly referred to as "the Twelve" in both John and Mark, this group would have been the one group that was fairly fixed because of the set number of members. What set this group of followers apart from the other two groups was that they were a set group of committed disciples who had been individually called by Jesus. Although the Twelve appeared to be a set group, there is confusion about the actual names of all of the Twelve. For example, names like Nathanael and Judas son of James are not in the lists described in the Gospels. Out of "the Twelve" there seems to be an even closer group of "Four", or circle, that includes Simon Peter, James (son of Zebedee), John (brother of James), and Andrew (Simon Peter's brother). However, because the Gospels might mention these men more than the other apostles, does not necessarily mean that the other apostles were not just as close to Jesus. The Twelve holds the most significant standing among all of the groups following Jesus, as each member was individually called to follow him.

''Women Disciples''

Jesus controversially accepted women and sinners (those who violated purity laws) among his followers. Even though women were never directly called "disciples", certain passages in the Gospels seem to indicate that women followers of Jesus were equivalent to the disciples. It was possible for members of the "ochloi" to cross over into the "mathetes" category. However, Meier argues that some people from the "mathetes" category actually crossed into the "apostolos" category, namely Mary Magdalene. The narration of Jesus' death and the events that accompany it mention the presence of women. Meier states that the pivotal role of the women at the cross is revealed in the subsequent narrative, where at least some of the women, notably Mary Magdalene, witnessed both the burial of Jesus (Mark 15:47) and discovered the empty tomb (Mark 16:1-8). Luke also mentions that as Jesus and the Twelve were travelling from city to city preaching the "good news", they were accompanied by women, who provided for them out of their own means. We can conclude that women did follow Jesus a considerable length of time during his Galilean ministry and his last journey to Jerusalem. Such a devoted, long-term following could not occur without the initiative or active acceptance of the women who followed him. However, most scholars would argue that it is unreasonable to say that Mary Magdalene's seemingly close relationship with Jesus suggests that she was a disciple of Jesus or one of the Twelve. In name, the women are not historically considered "disciples" of Jesus, but the fact that he allowed them to follow and serve him proves that they were to some extent treated as disciples.

Missionaries

The Gospels recount Jesus commissioning disciples to spread the word, sometimes during his life (e.g., Mark 6:7-12) and sometimes during a resurrection appearance (e.g., Matthew 28:18-20). These accounts reflect early Christian practice and may reflect Jesus' original instructions, though some scholars contend that historical Jesus issued no such missionary commission.

According to John Dominic Crossan, Jesus sent his disciples out to heal and to proclaim the Kingdom of God. They were to eat with those they healed rather than with higher status people who might well be honored to host a healer, and Jesus directed them to eat whatever was offered them. This implicit challenge to the social hierarchy was part of Jesus' program of radical egalitarianism. These themes of healing and eating are common in early Christian art.

Jesus' instructions to the missionaries appear in the synoptic Gospels and in the ''Gospel of Thomas''. These instructions are distinct from the commission that the resurrected Jesus gives to his followers, the Great Commission, text rated as black (inauthentic) by the Jesus Seminar.

Temple incident and execution

Travel to Jerusalem

Jesus and his followers left Galilee and traveled to Jerusalem in Judea. They may have traveled through Samaria as reported in John, or around the border of Samaria as reported in Luke, as was common practice for Jews avoiding hostile Samaritans. Jerusalem was packed with Jews who had come for Passover, perhaps comprising 300,000 to 400,000 pilgrims.

Jesus might have entered Jerusalem on a donkey as a symbolic act, possibly to contrast with the triumphant entry that a Roman conqueror would make, or to enact a prophecy in Zechariah. Christian scripture makes the reference to Zechariah explicit, perhaps because the scene was invented as scribes looked to scripture to help them flesh out the details of the gospel narratives.

Temple disturbance

Jesus taught in Jerusalem, and he caused a disturbance at the temple. This act seems to have been symbolic, related to Jesus' prediction that the Temple would be destroyed when the apocalypse came. Since Jesus was not arrested immediately, Bart Ehrman suggests that the event was not dramatic, but that it drew the authorities' attention to Jesus. The authorities arrested him later, Ehrman suggests, once they'd seen that he was popular with the people and that he was stirring up apocalyptic fervor in the restive Passover crowds.

Betrayal

Jesus' betrayal by Judas Iscariot, one of his own disciples, is attested in early documents, but it does not appear in the Epistles of Paul, nor in the Q Gospel, nor in the Gospel of Thomas, nor in the Gospel of Peter. In the gospel of Mark, Judas only appears in chapter 14, in connection with the betrayal of Jesus. By the criterion of embarrassment, it would be unlikely that early Christians would fabricate such a story and as such is assumed to be historically accurate. It's not clear what information the traitor would have provided that the authorities would need. Bart Ehrman holds that Judas revealed that Jesus was secretly teaching the disciples that he would be the king of the coming kingdom. Theologian Aaron Saari, however, contends in his work ''The Many Deaths of Judas Iscariot'' that Judas Iscariot was the literary invention of the Markan community. Tassos Kioulachoglou points to the multiple references to the number of twelve apostles after Christ's death, suggesting that Judas was still included in that number, in contradiction of the story of his suicide.

Trial and execution

Jesus was crucified by Pontius Pilate, the Prefect of Iudaea province (26 AD to 36 AD). Scholars suggest that Pilate executed Jesus as a public nuisance, perhaps with the cooperation of the Jewish authorities. E. P. Sanders argued that the cleansing of the Temple was an act that seriously offended his Jewish audience and eventually led to his death, while Bart D. Ehrman argued that Jesus' actions would have been considered treasonous and thus a capital offense by the Romans. The claim that the Sadducee high-priestly leaders and their associates handed Jesus over to the Romans is strongly attested. Historians debate whether Jesus intended to be crucified.

The Jesus Seminar argued that Christian scribes seem to have drawn on scripture in order to flesh out the passion narrative, such as inventing Jesus' trial. Since none of Jesus' followers witnessed the trial, there is no way to know historically what took place. Scholars are split on the historicity of the underlying events.

John Dominic Crossan points to the use of the word "kingdom" in his central teachings of the "Kingdom of God," which alone would have brought Jesus to the attention of Roman authority. Rome dealt with Jesus as it commonly did with essentially non-violent dissension: the killing of its leader. It was usually violent uprisings such as those during the Roman-Jewish Wars that warranted the slaughter of leader and followers. As the balance shifted in the early Church from the Jewish community to Gentile converts, it may have sought to distance itself from rebellious Jews (those who rose up against the Roman occupation). There was also a schism developing within the Jewish community as these believers in Jesus were pushed out of the synagogues after the Roman destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD, see Council of Jamnia. The divergent accounts of Jewish involvement in the trial of Jesus suggest some of the unfavorable sentiments between such Jews that resulted. See also List of events in early Christianity.

Aside from the fact that the Gospels provide different accounts of the Jewish role in Jesus's death (for example, Mark and Matthew report two separate trials, Luke one, and John none), Fredriksen and Catchpole argue that many elements of the gospel accounts could not have happened: according to Jewish law, the court could not meet at night; it could not meet on a major holiday; Jesus's statements to the Sanhedrin or the High Priest (e.g., that he was the messiah) did not constitute blasphemy; the charges that the Gospels purport the Jews to have made against Jesus were not capital crimes against Jewish law; even if Jesus had been accused and found guilty of a capital offense by the Sanhedrin, the punishment would have been death by stoning (the fates of Saint Stephen and James the Just for example) and not crucifixion. Furthermore, talk of a restoration of the Jewish monarchy was seditious under Roman occupation. Further, Jesus would have entered Jerusalem at an especially risky time, during Passover, when popular emotions were running high. Although most Jews did not have the means to travel to Jerusalem for every holiday, virtually all tried to comply with these laws as best they could. And during these festivals, such as the Passover, the population of Jerusalem would swell, and outbreaks of violence were common. Scholars suggest that the High Priest feared that Jesus' talk of an imminent restoration of an independent Jewish state might spark a riot. Maintaining the peace was one of the primary jobs of the Roman-appointed High Priest, who was personally responsible to them for any major outbreak. Scholars therefore argue that he would have arrested Jesus for promoting sedition and rebellion, and turned him over to the Romans for punishment.

Burial and empty tomb

Scholars are split on whether Jesus was buried. Craig A. Evans contends that, "the literary, historical and archaeological evidence points in one direction: that the body of Jesus was placed in a tomb, according to Jewish custom." John Dominic Crossan, based on his unique position that the Gospel of Peter contains the oldest primary source about Jesus, argued that the burial accounts become progressively extravagant and thus found it historically unlikely that an enemy would release a corpse, contending that Jesus' followers did not have the means to know what happened to Jesus' body. Crossan's position on the Gospel of Peter has not found scholarly support, from Meyer's description of it as "eccentric and implausible", to Koester's critique of it as "seriously flawed". Other scholars write that at least one member of the Sanhedrin obtained the body of Jesus from Pilate and arranged for a dishonorable burial. In particular, Byron R. McCane writes that a new tomb as described in the gospel "would be the only culturally acceptable alternative to a criminal's burial place, for it would be the only other way to preserve the boundry of shame that separated Jesus from his people".

Bart Ehrman points out that historians try to determine which events most probably occurred. Even if Jesus' followers did find his tomb empty, any improbable explanation for its being empty is historically superior to the explanation that Jesus rose from the dead, which would be a virtual impossibility. Some scholars think that the story of the empty tomb is a late development and that Mark's account of the women telling no one explains why the story had not been widely or previously known. However, Michael Grant wrote: "[I]f we apply the same sort of criteria that we would apply to any other ancient literary sources, then the evidence is firm and plausible enough to necessitate the conclusion that the tomb was indeed found empty". Still, scholars Gerd Theissen and Annette Merz conclude that "the empty tomb can only be illuminated by the Easter faith (which is based on appearances); the Easter faith cannot be illuminated by the empty tomb."

Disciples abandon Jesus

When Jesus was arrested, the disciples fled (Mark 14:50, Matthew 26:56) and did not witness his crucifixion. The cowardly and disoriented behavior of the disciples suggests that Jesus had not foretold his own death and resurrection, as the gospels say he did. The gospels disagree on whether the disciples fled to Galilee (Matthew) or stayed in Jerusalem (Luke). In the opinion of E. P. Sanders, they fled to Galilee and later returned to Jerusalem.

Resurrection appearances

Since supernatural events cannot be reconstructed using empirical methods, the resurrection of Jesus qualifies as a point of Christian dogma unamenable to the historical method. What can be debated in scholarship is whether the accounts of the resurrection appearances have been present in the original gospel or whether they are later insertions. The point of view that the accounts reflect historical visions by the followers of Jesus is known as the vision hypothesis. The alternative hypothesis assumes that the resurrection appearances are legendary and were inserted during the decades following Jesus' death.

Paul recorded his vision in an epistle and lists other reported appearances. He does not describe any of the appearances, and he makes no distinction between his and the others. Acts reports that Paul's vision did not involve seeing Jesus in the flesh. The oldest extant versions of the Gospel of Mark report Jesus' empty tomb, but Matthew, Luke, and John all include significant resurrection appearances. In general, the appearance stories from the last three gospels do not match each other.

The inconsistent resurrection stories probably arose from competition over who was first among the witnesses rather than from deliberate fraud. The Jesus Seminar favors the vision hypothesis, that the appearance stories are based on visionary experiences of Peter, Paul, and Mary."

Theories of the historical Jesus

Current North American scholarship is dominated by the scholars of the so-called "third quest" for the historical Jesus. Important representatives of this group are E.P. Sanders, Geza Vermes, Gerd Theissen, and John Dominic Crossan. They see the historical Jesus as the founder and leader of a restoration movement within Judaism. They identify a continuity between the movement that Jesus started and the religion that would eventually define itself as the Christian Church. Scholarship has split into different trends, with the main point of contention over whether Jesus saw the Kingdom of God as an imminent apocalyptic, earthly victory undertaken by God or as something internal, enacted by believers. The latter, non-apocalyptic view is current primarily in North American scholarship.

Apocalyptic prophet

The gospels portray Jesus as an apocalyptic prophet, described by himself and by others as the Son of Man - translated as the Son of Humanity - and hailing the restoration of Israel. Jesus himself, as the Son of God, a description also used by himself and others for him, was to rule this kingdom as lord of the Twelve Apostles, the judges of the twelve tribes.

Albert Schweitzer emphasized that Jesus was an apocalyptic prophet, preparing his fellow Jews for the imminent end of the world. In fact, Schweitzer saw Jesus as a failed, would-be Messiah whose ethic was suitable only for the short interim before the apocalypse. Some scholars concur that Jesus was an apocalyptic prophet, most notably Geza Vermes, Paula Fredriksen, Bart Ehrman, and John P. Meier. E. P. Sanders portrays Jesus as expecting to assume the "viceroy" position in God's kingdom, above the Twelve Disciples, who would judge the twelve tribes, but below God. He concludes, however, that Jesus seems to have rejected the title Messiah, and he contends that the evidence is uncertain to whether Jesus meant himself when he referred to the Son of Man coming on the clouds as a divine judge (see also Daniel's Vision of Chapter 7), and further states that biblical references to the Son of Man as a suffering figure are not genuine.

Wisdom sage

A common view in North American scholarship is that Jesus did not prophesy an imminent apocalypse.

Scholars associated with the Jesus Seminar, such as John Dominic Crossan, are often associated with this view. They reject the view that Jesus was apocalyptic, but that the kingdom was present and accessible for all Jews. Crossan emphasizes that Jesus' movement did not have a head, as John the Baptist's movement had taken John as their leader. For Crossan, Jesus called people to emulate him, and travel as itinerant preachers. Jesus' eschatology is one of personal action and social transformation, like Gandhi's, rather than apocalyptic. These scholars also explain Jesus' apocalyptic statements as later, Christian additions to the biblical narrative, likely introduced by followers of John the Baptist (who did prophesy an imminent apocalypse) who later joined Jesus' movement.

Marcus Borg maintains that three fifths to three quarters of North American scholars actively engaging in Jesus research no longer accept the apocalyptic viewpoint. Several other authors vindicate that consensus in current theological literature is that Jesus did not see the Kingdom of God as a future apocalyptic event, but as a movement toward an ethical eschatology that had not been fully completed. The apocalyptic view, however, seems to have enjoyed a revival.

Other views

There are many other interpretations of Jesus.

Scholars such as N. T. Wright and Luke Timothy Johnson, take the minority view that the exact image of Jesus presented in the gospels is the real Jesus. They hold that dissenting scholars be more cautious about what we can claim to know about the ancient period, and see no problem in accepting traditional accounts when miraculous events, such as the resurrection, are beyond the historical method to either prove or disprove. Scholars have considered other alternative possibilities on the issue that are in nature historical rather than theological, some of which do and some of which do not assume Jesus to also have been the Son of God.

Morton Smith argued that Jesus was best understood as a magician, a view based on the presentation of Jesus in later Jewish sources. In light of the Talmud representations of Jewish figures such as Hanina ben Dosa and Honi the Circle Drawer Geza Vermes views Jesus as a pious and charismatic holy man known as a hasid. Some Marxists, like Kautsky, see Jesus as a forerunner of communism, since according to and the Apostles founded a communist society. Leo Tolstoy saw Jesus as championing Christian anarchism; although Tolstoy never actually used the term "Christian anarchism" in ''The Kingdom of God Is Within You'', reviews of this book following its publication in 1894 coined the term.

Hyam Maccoby proposed the theory that Jesus was a Pharisee, arguing that the positions ascribed to the Pharisees in the Gospels are very different from what we know of them. In fact their opinions were very similar to those ascribed to Jesus. According to Maccoby the gospel stories were edited in an anti-Jewish direction by Pauline Christianity. He believed that Jesus did not see himself as divine, but as a human Messiah who would trigger a prophesied divine intervention that would restore the Jewish monarchy in Israel and would lead to the Kingdom of God. In Maccoby's view Pauline Christianity was a completely distorted version of the teachings of Jesus which would have appalled Jesus himself had he known of it.

Dead Sea Scrolls scholar Robert Eisenman controversially proposes that James the Just, who is traditionally believed to have been the brother of Jesus, was in fact the Teacher of Righteousness mentioned in the scrolls. This requires a later date for the scrolls than the current scholarly consensus. In Eisenman's theory Jesus and James were part of a movement to restore the sacred Jewish monarchy and a legitimate high priesthood. The image of Jesus portrayed in the gospels would then be the work of pro-Roman propaganda by Paul of Tarsus and Pauline Christianity. This viewpoint is supported by a popular book, originally a Master's thesis by history student Thijs Voskuilen, which basically says that Paul of Tarsus was a Roman secret agent and the Nemesis of Judaism.

Alvar Ellegård proposes a theory that is somewhat similar to that of Eisenman. He believes that the Jesus of the Pauline Epistles goes back to the Essene Teacher of Righteousness. Unlike Eisenman, Ellegård believes in the traditional dating of the scrolls to the 1st and 2nd centuries BCE and explains the time difference between Jesus and James by assuming James was not in fact the brother of Jesus.

History of Historical Jesus research

Quest for the historical Jesus

Traditionally, Western scholars considered the Gospel accounts of Jesus to be authoritative and inspired by God, but, starting in the late 18th century, scholars began to submit the Gospels to historical scrutiny. From 1744 to 1767, Hermann Samuel Reimarus composed a treatise rejecting miracles and accusing Bible authors of fraud, but did not publish his findings. Gotthold Lessing published Reimarus's conclusions in the Wolfenbuettel fragments. D.F.Strauss's biography of Jesus set Gospel criticism on its modern course. Strauss explained gospel miracles as natural events misunderstood and misrepresented. Joseph Renan was the first to portray Jesus simply as a human person. Albrecht Ritschl had reservations about this project, but it became central to liberal Protestantism in Germany and to the Social Gospel movement in America. Martin Kaehler protested, arguing that the true Christ is the one preached by the whole Bible, not a historical hypothesis. William Wrede questioned the historical reliability of Mark. Albert Schweitzer showed how modern histories of Jesus had reflected the historians' bias. Karl Barth and Rudolph Bultmann repudiated the quest for historical Jesus, suppressing any real interest in the topic from ''c'' 1920 to ''c'' 1970. There was a brief New Quest movement in the 50s. The 80s saw the founding of the controversial Jesus Seminar. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church states that historical efforts to construct a biography of Jesus are as strong as ever, thanks to better knowledge of 1st-century Judaism, a rebirth of Roman Catholic scholarship, the acceptance of historical methods across denominations, literary analysis of Jesus' sayings, and sociological insights. However, Scot McKnight has said that the latest quest for the historical Jesus is dead.

Criticism of reconstructing a historical Jesus

''See also Confirmation bias''

Critics variously characterize the historical reconstruction of Jesus as either an unwarranted ''a priori'' rejection of all supernatural elements in Jesus' true identity, or as ascribing historical status to a fictional character. John P. Meier points out that in the past the quest for the historical Jesus has often been motivated more by a desire to produce an alternate christology than a true historical search; as an example, he points out that the stated motivation of one of the Jesus Seminar members was to overthrow the "mistake called Christianity." The quest is also said to be too western, too white, too bourgeois, and too male.

The linguist Alvar Ellegård argued that theologians have failed to question Jesus' existence because of a lack of communication between them and other scholars, causing some of the basic assumptions of Christianity to remain insulated from general scholarly debate. According to the historian of religion Joseph Hoffman, there has never been "a methodologically agnostic approach to the question of Jesus' historical existence." Donald Akenson, Professor of Irish Studies, in the department of history at Queen's University, has argued that, with very few exceptions, the historians of Yeshua have not followed sound historical practices. He has stated that there is an unhealthy reliance on consensus, for propositions, which should otherwise be based on primary sources, or rigorous interpretation. He also identifies a peculiar downward dating creep, and holds that some of the criteria being used are faulty. He says that, the overwhelming majority of biblical scholars are employed in institutions whose roots are in religious beliefs. Because of this, more than any other group in present day academia, biblical historians are under immense pressure to theologize their historical work. It is only through considerable individual heroism, that many biblical historians have managed to maintain the scholarly integrity of their work. John Meier, Professor of theology at University of Notre Dame, has also said "...I think a lot of the confusion comes from the fact that people claim they are doing a quest for the historical Jesus when de facto they’re doing theology, albeit a theology that is indeed historically informed..." Dale Allison, Professor of New Testament Exegesis and Early Christianity at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, too says, "...We wield our criteria to get what we want..." Biblical scholars have also been accused of having a strong disinclination towards communicating to the lay public things they know, but which would be unsettling to mainstream Christians. However, the Old Testament scholar Albrektson, while identifying some possible problems, says that a great many biblical scholars do practise their profession as an ordinary philological and historical subject, avoiding dogmatic assumptions and beliefs.

The New Testament scholar Nicholas Perrin has argued that since most biblical scholars are Christians, a certain bias is inevitable, but he does not see this as a major problem.

Albert Schweitzer accused early scholars of religious bias. Rudolf Bultmann argued that historical research could reveal very little about the historical Jesus. Some have argued that modern biblical scholarship is insufficiently critical and sometimes amounts to covert apologetics.

Christian criticism

Professor C. Stephen Evans holds that the stories told by "scientific, critical historians" are based on faith convictions no less than is the account of Jesus as the Christ the Son of God, an account that he maintains can be reasonably accepted as historically true.

Criticism as myth

Some writers, such as Earl Doherty, G. A. Wells and Robert M. Price question whether Jesus ever existed, and whether attempts to use the Gospels to reconstruct his life give the Gospels too much credit. This position, put forward in works such as the 2005 documentary ''The God Who Wasn't There'', is very rare among Bible scholars. Richard Dawkins writes that while Jesus probably existed, it is "possible to mount a serious, though not widely supported, historical case that Jesus never lived at all." The philosopher Bertrand Russell doubted the existence of Jesus: and Peter Gandy argues that Jesus was derived from pagan gods like Dionysus.

See also

Biblical archaeology (excavations and artifacts)

Biblical manuscript

Cultural and historical background of Jesus

Depiction of Jesus in art

Higher Criticism

Jefferson Bible

Jesus bloodline

Jesus in India

Jesus Seminar

Jesusism

List of artifacts significant to the Bible

New Testament view on Jesus' life

Religious perspectives on Jesus

Tacitus on Jesus

The Bible and history

Notes

References

Brown, Raymond E. ''et al.'' ''The New Jerome Biblical Commentary'' Prentice Hall 1990 ISBN 0-13-614934-0

Bock, Darrell L., ''Studying the Historical Jesus: A Guide to Sources and Methods.''. Baker Academic: 2002. ISBN 978-0801024511.

Craffert, Pieter F. and Botha, Pieter J. J. "Why Jesus Could Walk On The Sea But He Could Not Read And Write". ''Neotestamenica''. 39.1, 2005.

Crossan, John Dominic. ''Jesus : A Revolutionary Biography''. Harpercollins: 1994. ISBN 0-06-061661-X.

Dickson, John. ''Jesus: A Short Life'', Lion Hudson plc, 2008, ISBN 0825478022, 9780825478024, Google Books

Fiensy, David A.; ''Jesus the Galilean: soundings in a first century life'', Gorgias Press LLC, 2007, ISBN 1593333137, 9781593333133, Google books

Gowler, David B.; ''What Are They Saying About the Historical Jesus?'', Paulist Press, 2007,

Grant, Michael. ''Jesus: A Historian's Review of the Gospels.'' Scribner's, 1977. ISBN 0-684-14889-7.

Harris, by William V. ''Ancient Literacy''. Harvard University Press: 1989. ISBN 0-674-03380-9.

Meier, John P., ''A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus'', Doubleday,

:v. 1, ''The Roots of the Problem and the Person'', 1991, ISBN 0-385-26425-9 :v. 2, ''Mentor, Message, and Miracles'', 1994, ISBN 0-385-46992-6 :v. 3, ''Companions and Competitors'', 2001, ISBN 0-385-46993-4

Sanders, E.P. ''Jesus and Judaism''. Augsburg Fortress Publishers: 1987.

Sanders, E.P. ''The Historical Figure of Jesus''. Lane The Penguin Press: 1993.

Vermes, G. Jesus the Jew: A Historian's Reading of the Gospels. SCM Classics:2001, ISBN 0-334-02839-6

Theissen, Gerd and Merz, Annette. ''The Historical Jesus: A Comprehensive Guide''. Fortress Press: Minneapolis, 1998. ISBN 0-8006-3122-6.

Witherington III, Ben. ''The Jesus Quest: The Third Search for the Jew of Nazareth''. InterVarsity Press: 1997. ISBN 0-8308-1544-9.

Wright, N.T. Christian Origins and the Question of God, a projected 6 volume series of which 3 have been published under:

:v. 1, ''The New Testament and the People of God.'' Augsburg Fortress Publishers: 1992.; :v. 2, ''Jesus and the Victory of God.'' Augsburg Fortress Publishers: 1997.; :v. 3, ''The Resurrection of the Son of God.'' Augsburg Fortress Publishers: 2003.

Wright, N.T. ''The Challenge of Jesus: Rediscovering who Jesus was and is''. IVP 1996

Yaghjian, Lucretia. "Ancient Reading", in Richard Rohrbaugh, ed., ''The Social Sciences in New Testament Interpretation''. Hendrickson Publishers: 2004. ISBN 1-56563-410-1.

External links

Christ." Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2009. The first section, on Jesus' life and ministry, is by E. P. Sanders, perhaps the most renowned expert on historical Jesus.

The Historical Jesus at the New Testament Gateway

PBS Frontline: From Jesus to Christ

An Overview of ''The Quest for the Historical Jesus'' by ancient historian John Dickson

Articles about the historical Jesus by William Lane Craig

Unofficial page of N. T. Wright, including articles about the historical Jesus

Faculty page of Paula Fredriksen, including articles about the historical Jesus

Category:1st-century people Category:Jews and Judaism in the Roman Empire Category:Historicity of religious figures Category:People whose existence is disputed Historical

ar:عيسى التاريخي cs:Historický Ježíš es:Jesús de Nazaret fr:Jésus selon l'exégèse contemporaine ko:역사적 예수 ia:Jesus historic it:Gesù storico nl:Jezus (historisch-kritisch) ja:ナザレのイエス nds:Jesus vun Nazareth pt:Jesus histórico sr:Istorijski Isus sh:Istorijski Isus fi:Historiallinen Jeesus

Coordinates	14°05′0″N98°12′0″N
Name	Saint John the Baptist
Birth date	c. 5 BCE
Death date	c. 36 CE (aged 38-42)
Feast day	June 24 (Nativity), August 29 (Beheading), January 7 (Synaxis, Eastern Orthodox), Thout 2 ( Coptic Orthodox Church)
Venerated in	Bahá'í Faith, Islam, Assyrian Church of the East, Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Catholic Churches, Oriental Orthodox Churches, Anglicanism, Lutheranism, Mandeanism
Titles	Prophet, Preacher, Forerunner, Martyr
Attributes	Cross, sheep, camel-skin robe
Patronage	patron saint of French Canada, Newfoundland, Puerto Rico, Knights Hospitaller of Jerusalem, Florence, Turin, Porto, Genoa, Cesena, Jordan, Xewkija and many other places
Major shrine	Church of St. John the Baptist, Jerusalem
Prayer attrib	}}

John the Baptist(Hebrew: יוחנן המטביל, ''Yoḥanan ha-mmatbil'', ''Yahyá'' or يوحنا المعمدان ''Yūhannā al-maʿmadān'', Aramaic: ܝܘܚܢܢ ''Yoḥanan'') (c. 6 BCE – c. 36 CE) was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River. Some scholars maintain that he was influenced by the Essenes, who were semi-ascetic, expected an apocalypse, and practiced rituals conferring strongly with baptism, although there is no direct evidence to substantiate this. John is regarded as a prophet in Christianity, Islam, the Bahá'í Faith, and Mandaeism.

Most biblical historians agree that John baptized Jesus at "Bethany beyond the Jordan," by wading into the water with Jesus from the eastern bank. In addition to the Canonical gospels, John the Baptist is also mentioned by Jewish historian Josephus, in Aramaic Matthew, in Pseudo-Clementine, and in the Qur'an. Accounts of John in the New Testament appear compatible with the account in Josephus.. There are no historical accounts of John the Baptist from around the period of his lifetime.

John anticipated a messianic figure who would be greater than himself, and, in the New Testament, Jesus is the one whose coming John foretold. Christians commonly refer to John as the precursor or forerunner of Jesus, since John announces Jesus' coming. John is also identified with the prophet Elijah, and is described by the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus. Some of Jesus' early followers had previously been followers of John.

The beheading of St. John the Baptist is a standard theme in Christian art, in which John's head is often depicted on a platter, which represents the request of Herod's stepdaughter, Salome. He is also depicted as an ascetic wearing camel hair, with a staff and scroll inscribed ''Ecce Agnus Dei'', or bearing a book or dish with a lamb on it. In Orthodox icons, he often has angel's wings, since Mark 1:2 describes him as a messenger.

Gospel narrative

All four canonical Gospels record John the Baptist's ministry, as does the non-canonical Gospel of the Hebrews. They depict him as proclaiming Christ's arrival. In the Synoptic Gospels (Mark, Matthew, and Luke), Jesus is baptized by John.

Birth and infancy

The Gospel of Luke includes an account of John's infancy, introducing him as the son of Zachariah, an old man, and his wife Elizabeth, who was barren. According to this account, the birth of John was foretold by the angel Gabriel to Zachariah, while Zachariah was performing his functions as a priest in the temple of Jerusalem. Since Zachariah is described as a priest of the course of Abijah and his wife, Elizabeth, as one of the daughters of Aaron, this would make John a descendant of Aaron on both his father's and mother's side.

The Gospel of Luke states that Jesus was conceived when Elizabeth was about six months pregnant, and when her cousin Mary came to tell her about her news, Elizabeth's unborn child "jumped for joy" in her womb. There is no mention of a family relationship between John and Jesus in the other Gospels, and the scholar Raymond E. Brown has described it as "of dubious historicity". Géza Vermes has called it "artificial and undoubtedly Luke's creation". On the basis of the account in Luke, the Catholic calendar placed the feast of John the Baptist on June 24, six months before Christmas.

Zachariah had lost his speech at the behest and prophecy of the angel Gabriel, and it was restored on the occasion of Zachariah naming John.

The many similarities between the accounts of the birth of John and that of Samuel in the Old Testament have led scholars to suggest that the Gospel of Luke story of the birth of John and of the annunciation and birth of Jesus are modeled on that of Samuel.

Ministry

All four canonical gospels relate John's preaching and baptism in the River Jordan. Most notably he is the one who recognizes Jesus as the Messiah and baptizes him. The baptism marks the beginning of Jesus' ministry. The Gospels of Mark, Matthew and (most clearly) Luke relate that Jesus came from Galilee to John in Judea and was baptized by him, whereupon the Spirit descended upon Jesus and a voice from Heaven told him he was God's Son. The Gospel of John does not record John's baptizing Jesus, but John introduces Jesus to his disciples as the "Lamb of God" (John 1:29-36).

Considered by Christians to be without sin, Jesus nevertheless received John's baptism, which was for the repentance of sins (Mark 1:4). This is addressed in the Gospel of Matthew's account, which portrays John's refusal to baptize Jesus, saying, "I need to be baptized by you." Jesus persuades John to baptize him nonetheless (Matthew 3:13-15).

The Gospel of John reports that Jesus' disciples were baptizing and that a debate broke out between some of the disciples of John and another Jew about purification. In this debate John argued that Jesus "must become greater," while he (John) "must become less" (John 3:22-36). The Gospel of John then points out that Jesus' disciples were baptizing more people than John (John 4:2). Later, the Gospel relates that Jesus regarded John as "a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light" (John 5:35). The Book of Acts portrays the disciples of John as eventually merging into the followers of Jesus (Acts 18:24-19:6), a development not reported by the Gospels except for the early case of Andrew, Simon Peter's brother (John 1:35-42). Scholars such as Harold W. Attridge contend that John's status as a "self-conscious and deliberate forerunner of Jesus" is likely to be an invention by early Christians, arguing that "for the early church it would have been something of an embarrassment to say that Jesus, who was in their minds superior to John the Baptist, had been baptized by him."

Death

In the Gospel accounts of John's death, Herod has John imprisoned for denouncing his marriage, and John is later executed by beheading. John condemned Herod for marrying Herodias, the former wife of his brother Philip, in violation of Old Testament Law. Later Herodias' daughter Salome dances before Herod, who offers her a favour in return. Herodias tells her to ask for the head of John the Baptist, which is delivered to her on a plate (Mark 6:14-29). The first century Jewish historian Josephus gives a slightly different account in his ''Antiquities of the Jews''. Josephus writes that Herod had John arrested because John had so many followers that Herod feared they might begin a rebellion. Herod later had him executed (''Ant.'' 18.116-118). It is possible that both accounts are true. Josephus writes about John's death in a section detailing some of Herod's political dealings. Herod regarded John as a threat, he spoke against Herod and had many followers, so Herod wanted to get rid of him. The Gospels recall the teaching of John, that he called for Israel to purify herself through baptism (Matthew 3:1-12). So the Gospels' description of John's death focuses on the final reason Herod had for arresting John, which was religious. So it may have been that Herod wanted John arrested because he was a political threat, and John's condemnations of Herod's marriage was "the final straw". See James D.G. Dunn, ''Jesus Remembered'' pp377–379.

John the Baptist and Old Testament prophecy

Christians believe that John the Baptist had a specific role ordained by God as forerunner or precursor of Jesus, who was the foretold Messiah. The New Testament Gospels speak of this role. In Luke 1:17 the role of John is referred to as being "to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." In Luke 1:76 as "...thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways" and in Luke 1:77 as being "To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins."

There are several passages within the Old Testament which are interpreted by Christians as being prophetic of John the Baptist in this role. These include a passage in the Book of Malachi 3:1 that refers to a prophet who would ''prepare the way of the Lord'':

and also at the end of the next chapter in Malachi 4:5-6 where it says,

The Jews of Jesus' day expected Elijah to come before the Messiah; indeed, some modern Jews continue to await Elijah's coming as well, as in the Cup of Elijah the Prophet in the Passover Seder. This is why the disciples ask Jesus in Matthew 17:10, 'Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?.' The disciples are then told by Jesus that Elijah came in the person of John the Baptist,

These passages are applied to John in the Synoptic Gospels. The Gospel of John indicates that John the Baptist did not fully appreciate his status,

Josephus

An account of John the Baptist is found in all extant manuscripts of the ''Jewish Antiquities'' (book 18, chapter 5, 2) by Flavius Josephus (37–100):

As with other passages in Josephus relating to Christian themes concern remains over whether the passage was part of Josephus's original text or instead a later addition - it can be dated back no further than the early 3rd century when it is quoted by Origen in ''Contra Celsum''. According to this passage, the execution of John was blamed for a defeat Herod suffered c. 36 CE. Divergences between the passage's presentation and the Biblical accounts of John include baptism for those whose souls have already been "purified beforehand by righteousness" is for purification of the body, not general repentance of sin (Mark 1:4

Christian

Early Jewish Christian sects

Among the early Judaistic Christian groups the Ebionites held that John, along with Jesus and James the Just - all of whom they revered - were vegetarians. Epiphanius of Salamis records that this group had amended their Gospel of Matthew, known today as the Gospel of the Ebionites, to change where John eats "locusts" to read "honey cakes" or "manna".

===Eastern Orthodox Church=== The Eastern Orthodox faithful believe that John was the last of the Old Testament prophets, thus serving as a bridge between that period of revelation and the New Covenant. They also teach that, following his death, John descended into Hades and there once more preached that Jesus the Messiah was coming, so he was the Forerunner of Christ in death as he had been in life. According to Sacred Tradition, John the Baptist appears at the time of death to those who have not heard the Gospel of Christ, and preaches the Good News to them, that all may have the opportunity to be saved. Orthodox churches will often have an icon of St. John the Baptist in a place of honor on the iconostasis, and he is frequently mentioned during the Divine Services. Every Tuesday throughout the year is dedicated to his memory.

The Eastern Orthodox Church remembers Saint John the Forerunner on six separate feast days, listed here in order in which they occur during the church year (which begins on September 1): September 23 — Conception of St. John the Forerunner

January 7 — The Synaxis of St. John the Forerunner. This is his main feast day, immediately after Theophany on January 6 (January 7 also commemorates the transfer of the relic of the right hand of John the Baptist from Antioch to Constantinople in 956)

February 24 — First and Second Finding of the Head of St. John the Forerunner

May 25 — Third Finding of the Head of St. John the Forerunner

June 24 — Nativity of St. John the Forerunner

August 29 — The Beheading of St. John the Forerunner

In addition to the above, September 5 is the commemoration of Zechariah and Elisabeth, St. John's parents. The Russian Orthodox Church observes October 12 as the Transfer of the Right Hand of the Forerunner from Malta to Gatchina (1799).

Catholic Church

thumb|200px|Tomb of St. John the Baptist at a [[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria|Coptic monastery in Lower Egypt. The bones of St. John the Baptist were said to have been found here.]]‎ The Roman Catholic Church commemorates St. John the Baptist on two feast days:

June 24 – Nativity of St. John the Baptist

August 29 – Beheading of St. John the Baptist

Relics

The burial-place of John the Baptist was at Sebaste in Samaria, and mention is made of his relics being honored there around the middle of the 4th century. The historians Rufinus and Theodoretus record that the shrine was desecrated under Julian the Apostate around 362, the bones being partly burned. A portion of the rescued relics were carried to Jerusalem, then to Alexandria, where on May 27, 395, they were laid in the basilica that was newly dedicated to the Forerunner on the former site of the temple of Serapis. The tomb at Sebaste continued, nevertheless, to be visited by pious pilgrims, and St. Jerome bears witness to miracles being worked there.

What became of the head of John the Baptist is difficult to determine. Nicephorus and Symeon Metaphrastes say that Herodias had it buried in the fortress of Machaerus (in accordance with Josephus). Other writers say that it was interred in Herod's palace at Jerusalem; there it was found during the reign of Constantine I, and thence secretly taken to Emesa, in Phoenicia, where it was concealed, the place remaining unknown for years, until it was manifested by revelation in 453. However, the decapitation cloth of St. John is kept at the Aachen Cathedral. The Coptic Christian Orthodox Church also claim to hold the relics of St. John the Baptist. These are to be found in a monastery in Lower Egypt between Cairo and Alexandria. It is possible, with permission from the monks, to see the original tomb where the remains were found. An obscure and surprising claim relates to the town of Halifax in West Yorkshire, United Kingdom, where the Baptist's head appears on the official coat-of-arms. A legend first recorded in the late 16th century and reported in William Camden's ''Britannia'' accounts for the town's place-name, as 'halig' (holy) and 'fax' (face), by stating that the first religious settlers of the district brought the 'face' of John the Baptist with them.

Several different locations claim to possess the severed head of John the Baptist. Among them: Umayyad Mosque in Damascus; San Silvestro in Capite in Rome; and the Residenz Museum in Munich, Germany (official residence of the Wittelsbach rulers of Bavaria from 1385 to 1918). Further heads, no longer available, were once held by the Knights Templar at Amiens Cathedral in France (brought home by Wallon de Sarton from the Fourth Crusade in Constantinople), at Antioch in Turkey (fate uncertain), and the parish church at Tenterden in Kent, where it was preserved up until the Reformation.

The saint's right hand, with which he baptised Jesus, is claimed to be in: the Serbian Orthodox Cetinje monastery in Montenegro; Topkapi Palace in Istanbul; and also in the Romanian skete of the Forerunner on Mount Athos. The saint's left hand is allegedly preserved in the Armenian Apostolic Church of St. John at Chinsurah, West Bengal, where each year on "Chinsurah Day" in January it blesses the Armenians of Calcutta. A crypt and relics said to be John's and mentioned in 11th and 16th century manuscripts, were discovered in 1969 during restoration of the Church of St. Macarius at the Monastery of Saint Macarius the Great in Scetes, Egypt; Additional relics are claimed to reside in Gandzasar Monastery's ''Cathedral of St. John the Baptist'', in Nagorno Karabakh;

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

According to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, latter-day revelation confirms the biblical account and also makes known additional events in the ministry of John the Baptist. According to this belief, revelation reveals that John was "ordained by an angel," when he was 8 days of age, to overthrow the kingdom of the Jews and to prepare a people for the Lord. They also claim that he was baptized while yet in his childhood.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that John the Baptist appeared on the banks of the Susquehanna River near Harmony Township, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania (present-day Oakton) as a resurrected being to Joseph Smith, Jr. and Oliver Cowdery on May 15, 1829, and ordained them to the Aaronic priesthood. According to LDS doctrine, John the Baptist's ministry has operated in three dispensations: he was the last of the prophets under the law of Moses; he was the first of the New Testament prophets; and he was sent to confer the Aaronic priesthood in our day, the dispensation of the fulness of times. They also believe John's ministry was foretold by two prophets whose teachings are included in the Book of Mormon: Lehi and his son, Nephi (Book of Mormon 1 Nephi 11:27; Nephi 31:4-18;).

Islam

Honorific prefix	Prophet
Name	''Yahya''Prophet, Seer, Messenger, Forerunner of Jesus
Birth date	6-2 B.C.
Parents	Zachariah and Elizabeth
Relatives	Cousin of Jesus, Nephew of Mary
Other names	New Testament: John the Baptist
Birth place	Jerusalem
Resting place	Umayyad Mosque, Damascus
Known for	Being a gift from God to his father Zachariah, Prophesying with the scripture, Attaining wisdom in youth
Title	}}

John is also honored as a prophet in Islam as ''Yaḥyā ibn Zakarīyā'' (), translated literally as "John, son of Zechariah". He is believed by Muslims to have been a witness to the word of God, and a prophet who would herald the coming of Jesus. His father Zechariah was also an Islamic prophet. Islamic tradition maintains that John was one of the prophets that Muhammad met on the night of the Mi'raj, his ascension through the Seven Heavens. It is said that he met John and Jesus in the second heaven, where Muhammad greeted his two 'brothers' before ascending with archangel Gabriel to the third heaven. John's story was also told to the Abyssinian king during the Muslim refugees' Migration to Abyssinia. According to the Qur'an, John was one on whom God sent peace on the day that he was born and the day that he died.

Name

John's name in Arabic, ''Yahya'', was present in Arabia before the Qur'an was revealed.Muslim exegetes frequently connected the name with the meaning of "to quicken" or "to make alive" in reference to John's mother's barrenness, which was cured by God, as well as John's preaching, which, as Muslims believe, "made alive" the faith of Israel. The Qur'an accords the significance of John's name to the fact that it was a new name for mankind, in that no one previously had been named "John". Other scholars hold that John's name, which they state connects with the meaning of "He shall live", referred to his legacy, in that his memory will remain in the mind of the faithful for the generations to come.

John in the Qur'an

In the Qur'an, God frequently mentions Zechariah's continuous praying for the birth of son. Zechariah's wife, mentioned in the New Testament as Elizabeth, was barren and therefore the birth of a child seemed impossible. As a gift from God, Zechariah was given a son by the name of "John", a name specially chosen for this child alone. In accordance with Zechariah's prayer, God made John and Jesus, who according to exegesis was born six months later, renew the message of God, which had been corrupted and lost by the Israelites. As the Qur'an says: }} John was exhorted to hold fast to the Scripture and was given wisdom by God while still a child. He was pure and devout, and walked well in the presence of God. He was dutiful towards his parents and he was not arrogant or rebellious. John's reading and understanding of the scriptures, when only a child, surpassed even that of the greatest scholars of the time. Muslim exegesis narrates that Jesus sent John out with twelve disciples, who preached the message before Jesus called his own disciples. The Qur'an says of John: John was a classical prophet, who was exalted high by God, for his bold denouncing of all things sinful. Furthermore, the Qur'an speaks of John's gentle pity and love for all creatures and his humble attitude towards life, for which he was granted the Purity of Life:

John is also honored highly in Sufism as well as Islamic mysticism, primarily because of the Qur'an's description of John's chastity and kindness. Sufis have frequently applied commentaries on John's passages on the Qur'an, primarily concerning God-given gift of "Wisdom" which he acquired in youth as well as his parallels with Jesus. Although several phrases used to describe John and Jesus are virtually identical in the Qur'an, the manner in which they are expressed is different.

Other views

Mandaean view

John the Baptist plays a large part in some Mandaean writings, especially those dating from the Islamic period. They view John as the only true Messiah.

Bahá'í view

There are numerous quotations in the writings of Bahá'u'lláh, Founder of the Bahá'í Faith mentioning John the Baptist. He is regarded by Bahá'ís as a lesser Prophet. Bahá'u'lláh claimed that his Forerunner, the Báb, was the spiritual return of John the Baptist. In his letter to Pope Pius IX, Bahá'u'lláh wrote:

"O followers of the Son! We have once again sent John unto you, and He, verily, hath cried out in the wilderness of the Bayán: O peoples of the world! Cleanse your eyes! The Day whereon ye can behold the Promised One and attain unto Him hath drawn nigh! O followers of the Gospel! Prepare the way! The Day of the advent of the Glorious Lord is at hand! Make ready to enter the Kingdom. Thus hath it been ordained by God, He Who causeth the dawn to break."

However, Bahá'ís consider the Báb to be a greater Prophet (Manifestation of God) and thus possessed of a far greater station than John the Baptist.

Gnostic and anthroposophic views

In Gnosticism, John the Baptist was a "personification" of the Old Testament prophet Elijah. Elijah did not know the True God (as opposed to the Abrahamic God), and thus had to be reincarnated in Gnostic theology. As predicted by the Old Testament prophet Malachi, Elijah must "come first" to herald the coming of Jesus Christ. Modern anthroposophy, initiated by Rudolf Steiner, concurs with the idea that the Baptist was a reincarnation of Elijah, in line with the Synoptic Gospels (e.g. Mark 9:11-13, Matthew 11:13-14, Luke 7:27), although the Gospel of John explicitly denies this (John 1:21). Furthermore, after his beheading at Machaerus his soul is said to have become the inspiring group genius of Christ's disciples. According to Steiner, the painter Raphael and the poet Novalis were more recent incarnations of John the Baptist.

Unification church

The Unification Church teaches that God intended that John help Jesus during his public ministry in Judea. In particular, John should have done everything in his power to persuade the Jewish people that Jesus was the Messiah. He was to become Jesus' greatest disciple. John's failure to do so was the chief obstacle to the fulfillment of Jesus' mission.

In art

John has been one of the saints most frequently appearing in Christian art. The ''Baptism of Christ'' was one of the earliest scenes from the ''Life of Christ'' to be frequently depicted in Early Christian art, and John's tall thin, even gaunt, and bearded figure is already established by the 5th century. Only he and Jesus are consistently shown with long hair from Early Christian times, when the apostles generally have trim classical cuts; in fact John is more consistently depicted in this way than Jesus. In Byzantine art the composition of the ''Deesis'' came to be included in every Eastern Orthodox church, as remains the case to this day. Here John and the Theotokos (Mary) flank a Christ Pantocrator and intercede for humanity; in many ways this is the equivalent of Western Crucifixions on roods and elsewhere, where John the Evangelist takes the place of John the Baptist (except in the idiosyncratic ''Isenheim Altarpiece''). John the Baptist is very often shown on altarpieces designed for churches dedicated to him, or where the donor patron was named for him or there was some other connection of patronage - John was the patron saint of Florence, among many other cities, which means he features among the supporting saints in many important works.

A number of narrative scenes from his life were often shown on the predella of altarpieces dedicated to John, and other settings, notably the large series in grisaille fresco in the Chiostro del Scalzo, which was Andrea del Sarto's largest work, and the frescoed ''Life'' by Domenico Ghirlandaio in the Tornabuoni Chapel, both in Florence. There is another important fresco cycle by Filippo Lippi in Prato Cathedral. These include the typical scenes: the ''Annunciation to Zechariah'', John's birth, his naming by his father, the ''Visitation'', John's departure for the desert, his preaching in the desert, the ''Baptism of Christ'', John before Herod, the dance of Salome, and his beheading.

His birth, which unlike the Nativity of Jesus allowed a relatively wealthy domestic interior to be shown, became increasingly popular as a subject in the late Middle Ages, with depictions by Jan van Eyck (?) in the Turin-Milan Hours and Ghirlandaio in the Tornabuoni Chapel being among the best known. His execution, a Church feast-day, was often shown, and by the 15th century scenes such as the dance of Salome became popular, sometimes, as in an engraving by Israhel van Meckenem, the interest of the artist is clearly in showing the life of Herod's court, given contemporary dress, as much as the martyrdom of the saint. Salome bearing John's head on a platter equally became a subject for the Northern Renaissance taste for images of glamorous but dangerous women (Delilah, Judith and others), and was often painted by Lucas Cranach the Elder and engraved by the Little Masters. These images remained popular into the Baroque, with Carlo Dolci painting at least three versions. John preaching, in a landscape setting, was a popular subject in Dutch art from Pieter Brueghel the Elder and his successors.

As a child (of varying age), he is sometimes shown from the 15th century in family scenes from the life of Christ such as the ''Presentation of Christ'', the ''Marriage of the Virgin'' and the ''Holy Kinship''. Leonardo da Vinci's versions of the ''Virgin of the Rocks'' were influential in establishing a Renaissance fashion for variations on the Madonna and Child that included John, probably intended to depict the cousin's reunion in Egypt, when after Jesus's Flight to Egypt John was believed to have been carried to join him by an angel. Raphael in particular painted many compositions of the subject, such as the Alba Madonna, La belle jardinière, Aldobrandini Madonna, Madonna della seggiola, Madonna dell'Impannata, which were among his best known works. John was also often shown by himself as an older child or adolescent, usually already wearing his distinctive dress and carrying a long thin wooden cross - another theme influenced by Leonardo, whose equivocal composition, reintroducing the camel-skin dress, was developed by Raphael Titian and Guido Reni among many others. Often he is accompanied by a lamb, especially in the many Early Netherlandish paintings which needed this attribute as he wore normal clothes. Caravaggio painted an especially large number of works including John, from at least five largely nude youths attributed to him, to three late works on his death - the great ''Execution'' in Malta, and two sombre Salomes with his head, one in Madrid, and one in London.

Amiens cathedral, which holds one of the alleged heads of the Baptist, has a biographical sequence in polychrome relief, dating from the 16th century. This stresses the execution and the disposal of the saint's remains.

The death of John remained a popular subject throughout the Baroque period.

A remarkable Pre-Raphaelite portrayal is Christ in the House of His Parents by John Everett Millais. Here the Baptist is shown as a child, wearing a loin covering of animal skins, hurrying to bring a bowl of water to soothe the injured hand of Jesus. Artistic interest enjoyed a considerable revival at the end of the 19th century with Symbolist painters such as Gustave Moreau and Puvis de Chavannes (National Gallery, London). Oscar Wilde's play ''Salome'' was illustrated by Aubrey Beardsley, giving rise to some of his most memorable images.

In poetry

The Italian Renaissance poet Lucrezia Tornabuoni chose John the Baptist as one of biblical figures on which she wrote poetry.

Commemoration

As a patron saint

Saint John the Baptist is the patron saint of Jordan, his beheading is said to have taken place in Machaerus in central Jordan.

Saint John the Baptist is the patron saint of Puerto Rico, and its capital city San Juan bears his name. In 1521, the island was given its formal name "San Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico", following the usual custom of christening the town with both its formal name and the name which Christopher Columbus had originally given the island, honouring John the Baptist. The indistinct use of "San Juan Bautista" and "Puerto Rico" for calling both the city and the island led to a reversal in practical use by most inhabitants due largely to a map-making error. Therefore by 1746 the name for the city (Puerto Rico) had become that of the entire island, while the name for the island (San Juan Bautista) had become the name for the city. The official motto for the island of Puerto Rico also references the saint, ''Joannes Est Nomen Eius'' (translated, "John is his name").

He is also a patron saint of French Canada, and Newfoundland. The Canadian cities of St. John's, Newfoundland (1497) and Saint John, New Brunswick (1604) were both named in his honor. In the UK Saint John the Baptist is the patron saint of Penzance, Cornwall. His feast day is June 24, celebrated in Quebec as the ''Fête Nationale du Québec'', and in Newfoundland as Discovery Day.

Also on the night from June 23 to 24, Saint John is celebrated as the patron saint of Porto, the second largest city in Portugal. An article from June 2004 in The Guardian, remarked that "Porto's Festa de São João is one of Europe's liveliest street festivals, yet it is relatively unknown outside the country".

He is also patron of the Knights Hospitaller of Jerusalem, Malta, Florence, and Genoa, Italy.

John is patron saint of Xewkija-Gozo, Malta, which remember him with a great feast on the Sunday nearest to June 24.

The Baptistines are the name given to a number of religious orders dedicated to the memory of John the Baptist. Saint John is also the patron saint of Lian, Batangas, Calamba City, Laguna, San Juan, Metro Manila (Philippines) and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston which comprises the entire state of South Carolina. St. John the Baptist is (along with St. John the Evangelist) claimed as a Patron Saint by the fraternal society of Free and Accepted Masons (better known as the Freemasons).

Festivity

In many Mediterranean countries the summer solstice is dedicated to St. John. The associated ritual is very similar to midsummer celebrations in the Anglo-Saxon tradition.

Locations, churches, and other establishments in his name

Armenian Apostolic Monastery of Gandzasar, Nagorno Karabakh

Monastery of Saint John the Baptist, a 4th century Armenian monastery in the Taron province of historic Armenia that contained the relics of Saint John the Baptist (which were moved there from Caeserea)

Maronite Catholic Monastery of Saint John the Baptist, Beit Mery, Lebanon

Romanian Skete Prodromos (the name is the Greek for "The Forerunner") on Mount Athos, holding relics believed to be of John the Baptist

St John's College of The University of Oxford, Oxford, England

Puerto Rico was originally named San Juan Bautista; San Juan (then called Puerto Rico) is now its capital city.

St. John's, Newfoundland, was founded on his feast day June 24, 1497.

Exactly 34 years later San Juan del Río, Querétaro, Mexico was founded on June 24, 1531.

Saint John, New Brunswick was named after the Saint John River which was named by Samuel de Champlain

Fête nationale du Québec — also known as la St- Jean-Baptiste — is the provincial holiday of Quebec, celebrated on June 24 of every year

Prince Edward Island, a Canadian province, was originally called ''Île de St-Jean'' or St. John's Island.

St. John's University located in Queens, New York; St. John's is the second largest Roman Catholic university in the United States.

Mission San Juan Bautista, one of the original 18th century missions in northern California.

The City of San Juan in Metro Manila, the Philippines. Also known by its formal name ''Sn Juan del Monte'', the ''Pinaglabanan'' church is dedicated to this saint.

12th century cathedral in Kamień Pomorski (Poland) with a famous 17th century organ

St. John Ambulance and the Venerable Order of St. John.

Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta (commonly referred to as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta)

The College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University and Saint John's Abbey in Collegeville, MN.

St. John's wort is named after St. John because it is traditionally harvested on his feast day, June 24.

The city of Sveti Ivan Zelina and the village of Sveti Ivan Žabno in Croatia were named after John the Baptist. Both have churches dedicated to him.

Famous churches

Two different Churches of St. John the Baptist in Ein Karem, traditional place of his birth

Basilica of St. John Lateran

St. John the Baptist of Coventry

St. John the Baptist of Burford, a large parish church reflecting the wealth generated by the town's wool trade, and substantially completed in the 15th century.

The parish church adjoining Stokesay Castle, one of the very few constructed under the Commonwealth.

St. John the Baptist in St. John's, Newfoundland (Basilica-cathedral)

St. John the Baptist in St. John's, Newfoundland (Anglican Cathedral)

San Giovanni Battista of Cesena (cathedral)

San Giovanni Battista of Rimini (cathedral)

San Giovanni Battista Turin (cathedral)

Saint-Jean-Baptiste d'Audresselles

St. John's Cathedral of Valletta

Greek Orthodox Church of St John the Baptist Located on Ha-Notsrim street in the Christian Quarter, Old Jerusalem

Church of St. John the Baptist, Mudgee, New South Wales, Australia

St. John's (Episcopal) Church, Elizabeth, New Jersey, where the youngest signer of the United States Constitution is buried, Jonathan Dayton, and the 1769 wedding site of the parents of Elizabeth Ann Seton (first American Roman Catholic saint)

Chapel of St. John the Baptist (Capela de São João Baptista), 18th century, at the time an expensive chapel in Europe. It is in the Igreja de São Roque (Lisbon)

Cathedral of St John the Baptist, Warsaw, Poland. Coronation and Burial Site of Stanislaw August Poniatowski, last King of Poland.

Monastery of St John The Baptist Bigorski, Macedonia. Built in 1020, destroyed by the Turks in the 16th century and then rebuilt in 1743. Famous for its iconostasis.

Cathedral of St John the Baptist in Charleston, South Carolina

St. John the Evangelist Parish (Bergenfield, NJ)

Film and television portrayals

John the Baptist has appeared in a number of screen adaptations of the life of Jesus. Actors who have played John include Robert Ryan in ''King of Kings'' (1961), Mario Socrate in ''The Gospel According to St. Matthew'' (1964), Charlton Heston in ''The Greatest Story Ever Told'' (1965), David Haskell in ''Godspell'' (1973), Michael York in ''Jesus of Nazareth'' (1977), and Andre Gregory in ''The Last Temptation of Christ'' (1988).

See also

Baptism of Jesus

Biblical narratives and the Qur'an

Cultural and historical background of Jesus

Ebionites

Johannite

Legends and the Qur'an

Messengers from John the Baptist

Prophets of Islam

Stories of The Prophets

References

Notes

Books on John the Baptist

Brooks Hansen (2009) ''John the Baptizer: A Novel''. New York: W. W. Norton. ISBN 978-0-393-06947-1

Murphy, Catherine M. (2003) ''John the Baptist: Prophet of Purity for a New Age''. Collegeville: Liturgical Press. ISBN 0-8146-5933-0

Taylor, Joan E. (1997) ''The Immerser: John the Baptist within Second Temple Judaism''. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. ISBN 0-8028-4236-4

W. Barnes Tatum (1994) ''John the Baptist and Jesus: A Report of the Jesus Seminar.'', Sonoma, California: Polebridge Press, 1994, ISBN 0-944344-42-9

Webb, Robert L. (1991) ''John the Baptizer and Prophet: a Socio-Historical Study''. Wipf and Stock Publishers. ISBN 978-1-59752-986-0 (first published Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1991)

Accounts in ancient literature

Josephus wrote that "...Herod slew him, who was a good man, and commanded the Jews to exercise virtue, both as to righteousness towards one another and piety towards God, and so to come to baptism; for that the washing would be acceptable to him, if they made use of it, not in order to the remission of some sins, but for the purification of the body; supposing still that the soul was thoroughly purified beforehand by righteousness." (Josephus, AJ, 18.5.2)

Islamic view

J.C.L Gibson, ''John the Baptist in Muslim writings'', in ''MW'', xlv (1955), 334-345

Passages in the Qur'an

Appraisals for Yahya: 6:85, 19:7, 19:12, 19:13, 19:14, 19:15

Yahya's prophecy: 3:39, 6:85, 19:12

External links

''Catholic Encyclopedia'': St. John the Baptist

"John the Baptist" from the ''Jewish Encyclopedia''

Prophet Yahya (John) in the light of Islamic tradition.

Relics of John the Baptist

Gandzasar Monastery, Nagorno Karabakh

Prophet Yahya (John) in the light of Islamic tradition.

Prophet John (Yahya)

Category:0s BC births Category:1st-century Christian saints Category:1st-century Romans Category:30s deaths Category:Apocalypticists Category:Baptism Category:Founders of religions Category:Judaism-related controversies Category:New Testament people Category:People celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendar Category:People executed by decapitation Category:Prophets in Christianity Category:Prophets of Islam Category:Roman era Jews Category:Saints from the Holy Land

ar:يوحنا المعمدان an:Sant Chuan Baptista arc:ܝܘܚܢܢ ܡܥܡܕܢܐ az:Vəftizçi Yəhya bn:ইয়াহিয়া be:Іаан Прадцеча br:Yann ar Badezour bg:Йоан Кръстител ca:Joan Baptista cs:Jan Křtitel cy:Ioan Fedyddiwr da:Johannes Døberen de:Johannes der Täufer dv:ޔަޙްޔާގެފާނު et:Ristija Johannes el:Ιωάννης ο Βαπτιστής es:Juan el Bautista eo:Johano la Baptisto eu:Joan Bataiatzailea fa:یحیی fo:Jóhannes Doyparin fr:Jean le Baptiste fy:Jehannes de Doper ga:Eoin Baiste gl:Xoán o Bautista ko:세례자 요한 hy:Հովհաննես Մկրտիչ hsb:Jan Křćenik hr:Sveti Ivan Krstitelj bpy:সাও জোয়াও বাটিস্টা id:Yohanes Pembaptis os:Иоанн Аргъауæг it:Giovanni Battista he:יוחנן המטביל ka:იოანე ნათლისმცემელი sw:Yohane Mbatizaji kv:Тöвся Иван лун lbe:ЯхӀя идавс la:Ioannes Baptista lv:Jānis Kristītājs lt:Jonas Krikštytojas li:Johannes de Duiper ln:Yoane Mobatisi hu:Keresztelő János mk:Свети Јован Крстител ml:യഹ്‌യ arz:يوحنا المعمدان ms:John Pembaptis nl:Johannes de Doper ja:洗礼者ヨハネ no:Johannes Døperen nn:Døyparen Johannes oc:Yahia pl:Jan Chrzciciel pt:João Batista ro:Ioan Botezătorul ru:Иоанн Креститель sc:Giuanne Battista sq:Gjon Pagëzori simple:John the Baptist sk:Ján Krstiteľ sl:Sveti Janez Krstnik so:Nabi Yaxye C.S. sr:Јован Крститељ sh:Ivan Krstitelj fi:Johannes Kastaja sv:Johannes Döparen tl:San Juan Bautista th:ยอห์นผู้ให้รับบัพติศมา tr:Yahya (peygamber) uk:Іван Хреститель ur:یحییٰ علیہ السلام vec:San Zuane Batista zh:聖若翰洗者

Coordinates	14°05′0″N98°12′0″N
name	Stephen Mansfield
birth date	1958
birth place	Georgia, United States of America
disappeared date
death date
resting place coordinates
residence	Nashville, Tennessee
nationality	American
citizenship	United States of America
occupation	Author, orator
notable works	''The Faith of George W. Bush'', ''The Faith of the American Soldier'', ''Benedict XVI: His Life and Mission'', ''The Faith of Barack Obama'', ''The Search for God and Guinness''
spouse	Beverly Mansfield
website

Stephen Mansfield (born 1958) is an American author who writes on history, religion, and politics.

Publications

''Pope Benedict XVI: His Life and Mission''

''Keeper of the Flame''

''Then Darkness Fled: The Liberating Wisdom of Booker T. Washington''

''The Character And Greatness Of Winston Churchill: Hero In A Time Of Crisis''

''The Faith of George W. Bush'' (a New York Times bestseller)

''The Faith of the American Soldier''

''Derek Prince - An Biography'' (2005)

''No Retreat, No Surrender: One American's Fight'' (2007) (co-author with Tom DeLay)

''The Faith of Barack Obama'' (2008)

''The Search for God and Guinness'' (2009)

''The Faith and Values of Sarah Palin: What She Believes and What It Means for America'' (2010) (with David A. Holland)

References

External links

Brief Biography

Mansfield Group managing the work of Stephen Mansfield

''Keeper of the Flame'' by Mansfield

Category:1958 births Category:Living people Category:American non-fiction writers

pt:Stephen Mansfield