Who was John The Baptist and When Did His Ministry Begin?

Who was John the Baptist and when did his Ministry Begin?

 

I have spent a good deal of time on this blog discovering the history of John the Baptist and the beginning of his ministry.  John the Baptist is viewed as a great religious figure for the majority of people that adhere to the biblical doctrine. Matthew the tax collector is responsible for introducing John. Matthew inscribes “In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand"(Matthew 3:1-2). The third chapter of Matthew alludes to John the Baptist being this mystical being that just appears in the forest. Matthew makes the reader believe that John the Baptist didn’t have any historical family background; however as I explored the topic a little more I found that John the Baptist’s lineage was relatively sophisticated. 

So where do we begin?

 

Well, In the Gospel of Luke there is a description of John's early years, introducing him as the son of Zachariah and Elizabeth. According to this narrative John’s birth was prophesied by the angel Gabriel to Zachariah, while Zachariah was carrying out his purpose as a priest in Jerusalem.  The Gospel of Luke states that Jesus was conceived when Elizabeth was around six months pregnant; when her cousin Mary came to tell her about her news, Elizabeth's unborn child 'jumped for joy' in her womb. Why is this significant? John says that he doesn’t know Jesus, but the gospel of Luke states that Mary and John the Baptist’s mother and Elizabeth are cousins. Even though the doctrine doesn’t give any details, there is a logical explanation behind John’s claim. According to http://osbnorcia.org/2013/01/13/johnjesus “the family of John the Baptist lived in Judea, while the Holy Family lived in Galilee, so the geographic distance would have restricted frequent visits, even if the annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem would have given them the chance to see each other.” It is possible that John could have of heard of Jesus, but not recognize his appearance. Although John was not conscious to the fact that he was related to Jesus, they both lived similar lives. For instance, the angel Gabriel prophesied to both of their mothers about a phenomenal birth. Angel Gabriel also suggested a name for John (Luke 1:13). Then later in that same chapter Gabriel announces a name for Jesus (Luke 1:30). They also had the same inclination to preach the gospel. Their messages were correlated. Both John and Jesus mentioned the Kingdom of heaven when they ministered. 

John the Baptist mission

John was a man of vision. He understood his identity and his purpose here on planet earth. At the core of John's ministry was the preaching about the kingdom of heaven, baptizing people for their sins and to preparing the masses for the coming of the messiah. His message was the same as Christ. He voiced to crowds that they should repent because the kingdom of heaven was near.  John came to fulfill Isiah’s prophecy and to prepare the way for the lord:  “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the LORD; make His paths straight’” (Matthew 3:3, quoting Isaiah 40:3).  In Luke 7:28, Jesus actually made the profound statement that John was the greatest man to ever live: "I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John ..." Jesus even got baptized by John before starting his ministry. He came to John to display the greatness of John’s ministry to man. 

From this passage we learn essentially five things that allows for a clearer depiction of Jesus and John the Baptist.

 

     1.      Jesus and John’s mothers were close.

     2.      These men were close in age.

     3.      Angel Gabriel prophesied over both of their lives.

     4.      Both John and Jesus mothers were aware of their son’s birth.

     5.      John was a visionary that prepared the way for the messiah.

Now that we understand more about John, the vital question is this: when did John the Baptist’s ministries begin?

 

There is no specific calendar date or scripture in the doctrine to notify followers of the launch of John’s ministry. After hours of research I found that Luke is the only individual to tell us when John the Baptist started his ministry. The only thing Luke reveals is that John began his ministry in the wilderness during the regime of several individuals and at the time of two high priests.

Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness. (NASB) Luke 3:1-2

After doing the calculations 15 years past Tiberius Caesar’s regime, we learn John’s ministry started during A.D. 29, because Tiberius Caesar led from A.D. 14 to A.D. 37. The rule of Pontius Pilate, Herod Antipas, and Herod Philip all extend beyond A.D. 29. This assists us in determining accurately the point in time when John started his ministry. Jesus’ ministry started a short time later - possibly as late as A.D. 30. According to http://www.neverthirsty.org/pp/series/Life/LH016-john-the-baptist/LH01.html “About 18 years have passed since Jesus interacted with the teachers in the temple courts at the time of the Passover Feast when we are told that John the Baptist has started his ministry. John the Baptist was probably at least thirty years of age since he was six months older than Jesus, and Jesus started His ministry when He was at least thirty.” To support the source I discovered that the book of Acts depicts the disciples of John as in time merged into the followers of Jesus (Acts 18:24-19:6), which supports the historical facts of John’s ministry beginning before Jesus.

Conclusion

What brought John the Baptist’s Ministry to my attention was reading the third chapter in the book of Matthew. Matthew made John’s appearance in the bible look magical and fairytale like. John’s history is not discussed enough. After examination I’ve learned that John and Jesus were related and that John’s ministry begins around 29 A.D. John does have a historical lineage and his ministry did not just appear from out the jungle. I hope you enjoyed this blog as much I enjoyed writing it. Please feel free to comment.