Synoptica
John the Baptist

All the Gospels in their primitive form begin the story of Jesus with John the Baptist. When we have worked our way back to the Historical Jesus, therefore, we expect to find John the Baptist present at the beginning. We here consider what can reliably be inferred about John the Baptist, as a check on our Historical Jesus picture. We must be aware that later Christian opinion was uncomfortable with the idea that John's preaching was valid, and that the kind of salvation he offered was really available. The picture of John in the later Christian writings is thus of a preparatory figure, who is merely preliminary to Jesus. But it is obvious, from some not wholly effaced traces in the literature, that John the Baptist had his own movement, and that recognizable communities of his followers continued to exist some time after his death. The most plausible interpretation is that Jesus was originally a member of the John movement, and emerged as a leader only after John's death, when he took the movement, or more precisely one segment of it, in a quite different and not wholly compatible direction.

• John in the Gospels
• John's Doctrine
• John's Movement
• The Samaritan Aspect
• Early Baptist Communities
• Conclusion

   

25 Sept 2005 / Contact The Project / Exit to Synoptica Page