Where was john the baptist born?
He was born somewhere in Judaea (localized at ʿEn Kerem from at least 530 ce) to Zechariah, a priest of the order of Abijah, and his wife, Elizabeth, perhaps a relative of Mary, the mother of Jesus.
He was born somewhere in Judaea (localized at ʿEn Kerem from at least 530 ce) to Zechariah, a priest of the order of Abijah, and his wife, Elizabeth, perhaps a relative of Mary, the mother of Jesus.
| Saint John the Baptist | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1st century BC Herodian Tetrarchy, Roman Empire |
| Died | c. AD 30 Machaerus, Herodian Tetrarchy, Roman Empire |
| Venerated in | Christianity (all denominations which venerate saints), Islam, Druze faith, Baháʼí faith, Mandaeism |
| Canonized | Pre-Congregation |
Ein Karem was an important Jewish village during the late Second Temple period, during which it became important to Christianity. Christian tradition holds that John the Baptist was born in Ein Karem, following the biblical verse in Luke saying John's family lived in a "town in the hill country of Judea".
He grew up as an ordinary child, day by day and year by year, in the small village known in those days as the City of Judah, about four miles west of Jerusalem. The most eventful occurrence in John's early childhood was the visit, in company with his parents, to Jesus and the Nazareth family.
John the Baptist wasn't just another person in the Bible. His life was intertwined with the life of Jesus. In fact, they were cousins. But they were so much more than just cousins.
John was a Nazarite from his birth ( Luke 1:15 ; Numbers 6:1-12 ). He spent his early years in the mountainous tract of Judah lying between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea ( Matthew 3:1-12 ). At length he came forth into public life, and great multitudes from "every quarter" were attracted to him.
Malachi prophesied the birth of this child, John the Baptist, calling him the messenger who would clear the way for another Messenger. John the Baptist's birth was a divinely orchestrated foil, used by God to reignite remembrance and longing in the hearts of God's people for the day of the Messiah's coming.
Why was John the Baptist not an apostle?
A more critical reading of Luke and, especially, Matthew points to the possibility that John's "pre-understanding" vis-a-vis the Messiah kept him from making the leap of faith to become a disciple of Jesus.
John the Baptist was executed by beheading by Herod Antipas on the request of Herodias' daughter. His disciples buried his remains and told Jesus.
However, Bond makes the case Jesus died around Passover, between A.D. 29 and 34. Considering Jesus' varying chronology, he was 33 to 40 years old at his time of death.
Mark's Gospel hints of John's martyrdom, but his death as a martyr is unknown. The theologian Tertullian reported that John was plunged into boiling oil but miraculously escaped unscathed. In the original apocryphal Acts of John, the apostle dies; however, later traditions assume that he ascended to heaven.
The Apostle John wrote the book, but he's not the “John” this chapter is about—it's John the Baptist. When John the Apostle does refer to himself, he almost never says “I” or “me” or even “John,” but he calls himself “the disciple whom Jesus loved”1 or the “other disciple.”
John is a masculine name of Hebrew origin, derived from "Yohannan," meaning "God is gracious." While originally a biblical name, it remains a popular choice for boys of all backgrounds throughout the world.
The food going into John's mouth represented the message coming out of John's mouth. Those who received John's message with faith would taste its sweetness and experience God's blessing, like honey. Those who refused John's message would experience God's judgment, like locusts.
Either way, John's death happened many years before the writing of the Gospel of John, the Johannine Epistles, and the book of Revelation. How many books did John the Baptist write? He could not have written any of them. One final point: scholars do not believe that John the Baptist was a Christian.
In Luke's Gospel, the angel tells Zechariah, “He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit” (Luke 1:12-15).
You see, John's loyalty never wavered, he was always by Jesus' side. This allowed Jesus Christ to trust him with important tasks, like caring for His mother. Jesus also chose John to witness significant miracles. By laying down His life for him and all mankind, Jesus truly showed His love.
How many siblings did Jesus have?
According to Mark 6:3 Jesus had four brothers (and two sisters): "Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon?
Now John himself wore clothing. made of camel's hair, with a. leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.
The Nativity of John the Baptist on June 24 comes three months after the celebration on March 25 of the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel told Mary that her cousin Elizabeth was in her sixth month of pregnancy, and six months before the Christmas celebration of the birth of Jesus.
John preached conversion and proclaimed a baptism of repentance. Jesus and many others were baptized by John. John is called "the Baptist" because he was willing to baptize people if they repented to God for their sins.
When Jesus received the news that his cousin, John the Baptist, had been executed by King Herod, he departed by ship and fled to the desert to be alone and grieve. The New Testament merely touches on it in a single verse, but we imagine the sorrow was deep, excruciating, and very real.
References
- https://www.thebump.com/b/john-baby-name
- http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/191.html
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_3:4
- https://blogs.uoregon.edu/rel223s15drreis/2015/04/19/births-of-john-and-jesus/
- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-John-the-Apostle
- https://www.quora.com/What-does-John-mean-in-John-The-Baptist-s-name-Is-there-a-reason-why-he-was-given-this-name-or-is-it-just-a-name-that-was-chosen-at-random
- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-John-the-Baptist
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_the_Baptist
- https://www.christianpure.com/learn/why-did-jesus-love-john-the-most
- https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/john-baptist-miraculous-birth-by-zechariah-elizabeth-angel-gabriel
- https://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,,-11906,00.html
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ein_Karem
- https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Elizabeth_(Biblical_person)
- https://www.holylandsite.com/ein-karem
- https://shereadstruth.com/the-birth-of-john-the-baptist-foretold-3/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nativity_of_John_the_Baptist
- https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2022/08/07/how-old-was-jesus-when-he-died/7700029001/
- https://www.bartehrman.com/did-john-the-baptist-write-any-books-in-the-bible/
- https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/john-the-baptist/
- https://truthbook.com/jesus/john-the-baptist/john-the-baptists-birth-and-childhood/
- https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/inspiration/keeping-track-of-john-and-john?lang=eng
- https://mitchchase.substack.com/p/locusts-and-wild-honey
- https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA190099655&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=01461079&p=AONE&sw=w
- https://www.angel.com/blog/the-chosen/posts/the-story-of-john-the-baptist-and-jesus
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_the_Apostle
- https://www.amazon.com/Wife-John-Baptist-K-Ford/dp/1493722468
- https://hegetsus.com/en/articles/did-jesus-ever-mourn
- https://www.episcopalchurch.org/glossary/john-the-baptist/
