John The Baptist

He is known as the tax collector who turned disciple who writes to Jewish believers to emphasize the legitimacy of Jesus as the long awaited Jewish Messiah. According to Hindson and Elmer Matthew provides some of Jesus most prominent sermons, parables, and miracles, plus a record of important messages. He provides an eyewitness account of such significant events as the transfiguration, the triumph entry, the crucifixion, and the resurrection. He explains the character and nature of the ministry of John the Baptist as the last of the prophets. Matthew originally crafted the Gospel for a group of Christians who were already familiar with the Old Testament. Both church tradition (external evidence) and the contents of the Gospel itself (internal evidence) suggest that this Gospel was originally written for Jewish Christians who were given the responsibility to share its message with the world (Hindson and Elmer pg. 350). Matthew also gives special attention to the rejection of Jesus by the Jewish leaders. He exposes the religious blindness of his fellow countrymen, and he demonstrates Jesus superior understanding of the person of God, the intent of the law, and the proper application of biblical

Charles Freeman sees that the role of the controversies is plagued by the birth of what was a new “religion from its birth in Judaea in the first century A.D.” [4] One question that circulates is why not John signed his name. It is a very logical to assume that the Gospel’s message not the identity was most relevant. According to R. Alan Culpepper, “the influence of the Gospel of John on Christian theology-can hardly be measured, its popularity and john was esteemed by the church.

While numerous scholars say that John is the Gospel to the world (and Matthew to the Jews, Mark to the Romans, and Luke to the Greeks), a Jewish scholar such as Israel Abrahams might very well believe that the Gospel of John is the most Jewish Gospel of the four by the way it reflects Jewish traditions and symbolisms. According to David Wenham[i], there is more attention given to Jesus as the Messiah in the Gospel of John than in any of other Gospels. In John, from chapter one onwards people are directly talking about Jesus as Messiah, and then there is intense public debate about whether Jesus is Messiah or not in John 7:25-31, 41-44[ii], which indicates that John is quite mindful of Jewish issues.

John Mark was the author of the book of Mark in the New Testament. John Mark was traveling companion of Paul and interpreter for Peter in Rome(Harris,2014). It is believed that his accounts in the book of Mark came from oral passing knowledge regarding Jesus from individuals in the area. This word of mouth passing of information is hard for scholars to verify. Some say that John Mark wrote his gospel after the Jewish Revolt against Rome began. Scholars come to ths belief based on the focus on discord towards believers, war and destruction which would bring about the second coming of Christ(Harris,2014). With all the clues and information found in the book of Mark,it is still not known for cetainity who wrote the Gospel. The true author is considered

John presents a very different Jesus compared to the synoptic gospels. It is clear that for John Jesus has many complex elements to his personality and without all of these the picture is not complete. The above quote by Käsemann suggests that in the gospel of John Jesus’ divinity is definite and his presence is felt on the entire world through his words and actions. This allows for the human Jesus but implies the divine Jesus is imperative.

John the Baptist was an obedient follower of Christ and was known for his remarkable lifestyle. His main audience was unbelievers and new Christians, therefore, he had a huge responsibility to preach about repentance and the coming of the Savior. When it came to confrontation, John did not hold back from speaking truth into a person's life. He was fearless and and believed that standing for the truth was most important. People were attracted to the teachings of John, because he spoke the truth and that baptism was a symbol of their repentance. John was appointed by God to announce the arrival of Jesus Christ. In John 3:28, he says, "You yourselves know how plainly I told you, 'I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for Him.”

The Jewish people were waiting for the Messiah. They waited for years. Jesus was born in a scary time, when Herod the Great was King. Hearing of Jesus birth intimidated the King, so he ordered all male boys under the age of 2 to be killed (Matthew 2:16). Even when Jesus was a baby, people were still trying to kill him, that goes to show even more truth of him being The Truth! The time was right for Jesus to come because everything had already lined up. John the Baptist had already prepared the way for Jesus (Matthew3:1-14).

I really like how John the Baptist is so humble. He knew someone greater was coming soon and he embraced that. He did not label himself as a great prophet, but he highlighted greatly how one much more important is coming. That would be Jesus. John the Baptist said, "Behold, the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He also didn't even no who Jesus was or what he would be like. He seems a lot like us. We do not know that Jesus truly existed, it we still believe that he does and celebrate mass.

Miraculously, John was born to an old priest Zachariah and a pious, old, barren mother named Elizabeth (Luke 1:5-7, 57). Indeed, John’s birth indicated the inception of God’s promised program to redeem His people. At last, God sent the last of the Old Testament prophet to Israel to break the four hundred years of silence. As God promised, John appeared in the role of a prophet proclaiming the coming Messiah, but he was introduced as John the Baptist. John’s ministry was associated with baptism, so baptism became his identifying sign and caused John to be known as John the

The central theme of the Book of John is “Jesus is the divine Son of God who reveals the Father, providing eternal life to all who believe in him” (Strauss, 2011, 6749). John highly emphasizes Jesus’ identity by providing extensive reports of Jesus’

For he was one who wrought surprising feats and was a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks. [He was the Messiah.] When Pilate, upon hearing him accused by men of the highest standing amongst us, had condemned him to be crucified, those who had in the first place come to love him did not give up their affection for him. [On the third day he appeared to them restored to life, for the prophets of God had prophesied these and countless other marvelous things about him.] And the tribe of the Christians, so called after him, has still to this day not disappeared.” (Jewish Antiquities 18.63, as cited by EP Sanders in The Historical Figure of Jesus and John Dominic Crossan in Who Killed Jesus?)

Throughout the Gospel of John, Jesus continued to get himself into trouble with Jewish leaders and authorities, bringing heavy persecution upon himself. The root of these misunderstandings was his self-proclaimed connection to God, a level of divinity that the religious leaders could not comprehend. Throughout this paper, the deity or divinity of Jesus (during his short tenure on earth) will be demonstrated, through proof that Jesus certainly did claim to be God, both indirectly and directly throughout the Gospel of John, and deal with the direct sayings and teachings of Jesus, as recorded by His apostle John.

Unlike the Gospel of John which goes more into detail about Jesus’ divine nature the Synoptic Gospels provide us with accounts of Jesus’ public teachings where he was known to use figurative language such as parables and aphorisms. These two characteristic modes of teaching where the foundations that can be attributed to the ease of memorization of Jesus’ teachings during the forty years that followed the Crucifixion to the appearance of the Gospel of Mark (Harris, 2011, p. 121).

The world’s largest and most popular religion, Christianity, revolves around one man who is believed to have performed several miracles, Jesus Christ. Claimed to be “son of God,” Jesus was born near Jerusalem to the Virgin Mary. When Jesus reached the age of 30, a prophet by the name of John the Baptist appeared in Jesus’ town and called people to the truth. As Jesus approached John to get baptized, John “recognized in him [Jesus] the Messiah whose coming he had foretold” (“Jesus

Additionally, the circumstances surrounding Jesus’ birth involve divine mechanisms that make him a direct descendant of God himself. Joseph, the son of David, was engaged to Mary who—unbeknownst to Joseph—was “found to be with [a] child from the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 1.18). Joseph mistook her pregnancy as an affair and tried to dismiss her, but an angel of God appeared told him about the situation and he was to name his son Jesus. This was outlined in the prophecy “spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel’, which means, ‘God is with us.’” (Matthew 1:22-23). The prophecy was fulfilled with Joseph taking Mary as his wife and the birth of Jesus. The careful arrangement of the opening of the gospel by the writer enables a consistent logical argument and line of progression to explain Jesus’ relation to God. Jesus is shown to be descended from patriarchs who were closely related to God in some way. His birth stems from the Holy Spirit conceived by Mary, which fulfills the prophecy laid out by God himself. These evidences—Jesus’ genealogy and his divine birth fulfilling the prophecy—further imply that Jesus must be the Messiah referenced in 2 Samuel 7:12-13. Although remarkable, a divine birth is not enough to prove that Jesus is the Messiah, others must accept Jesus as the Son of God.