Biography of John the Baptist

¶ … John the Baptist

A biography of someone is a written account of a person's life, according to the American Heritage Dictionary. Using the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John as translated in The New Oxford Annotated Bible 3rd edition, one is able to recreate the life of a man called John the Baptist. While each Gospel treats the story of John's life in a similar fashion, each varies in the depth of detail given to John's life.

The Gospel of Matthew tells us that "In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." (3:1, 2) One knows nothing about John prior to this proclamation. Matthew describes John's appearance and notes that many were going to him to be baptized in the river Jordan. Jesus was one of those who went to the river to be baptized. John recognizes Jesus with the words "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" (3:14) Whether this recognition comes from divine intuition or a prearranged meeting, the reader is not sure. However, one is sure that Jesus is now the focal point of Matthews' Gospel. The next event one learns concerning John is that he has been arrested. John questions Jesus' identity from prison through his own disciples. When they inform him of Jesus' acts, one must assume that John accepts Jesus for whom he says he is. Jesus tells a crowd of followers that John the Baptist "is Elijah who is to come." (11:14) Herod beheads John at the request of his wife and daughter. So ends the life of John the Baptist according to the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew only briefly mentions him in the rest of the narrative.

The Gospel of Mark is quite similar to that of Matthew. Mark introduces John the Baptizer soon into the Gospel. His account of John's life is shorter and less detailed than Matthew's, however. John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. (1:4) Again one finds John the Baptist near the Jordan River with people from Jerusalem and the surrounding area flocking to him.

The Gospel of Mark revisits John's life after Herod imprisons him. Had Herod written his biography, John the Baptizer may have become as famous for having been reincarnated into Jesus. Nevertheless, when Herod heard of it, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised." (6:14)

The most in-depth treatment of John's life is written in the Gospel of Luke. One learns that John's mother was Elizabeth. Angels of God visited John's father, Zechariah, as he prayed and told him of John's upcoming birth. Zechariah named his son John, as instructed by Gabriel, the angel. After describing the circumstances of John's birth Luke simply writes that John "was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel." (1:80) The next appearance of John is when "in the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness."(3:1,2) Soon after, one learns that John has been baptizing with water and criticizing Herod for his lifestyle. Finally, Herod throws John into prison.

The Gospel of John introduces John the Baptist in the beginning of the narrative. He recounts the testimony given by John in chapter 1, verses 21-23:

"I am not the Messiah." And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the prophet?" He answered, "No." Then they said to him, "Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" He said, "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,'"

The Gospel of John is not as precise as that of Luke. One learns that John the Baptist is baptizing, but not immediately where. The writer mentions the passage of days, but only locates John the Baptist on the map after he baptized Jesus. Soon after learning that John is in a place called Aenon near Salim, one learns that he is about to be thrown into prison. (3:24). There is little mention of John's life after this.