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Group 2: John the Baptist

Page history last edited by Ms. McGuire 14 years, 2 months ago

 

John the Baptist

 

 

John the Baptist was a very well-known preacherand gave sermons about the proximity of God's Final Judgment.  He asked people to repent for their sins and baptized those who apologized in self-preparation for the Lord to come.  According to the Scriptures, it was John only who recognized Jesus and decreed Him as the Messiah of the people. The four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), the Acts of the Apostles, and the Jewish historian Josephus' Antiquities of the Jews comprise of the only sources of information about the life of John the Baptist.

 

Childhood
According to the Gospel of Luke, the birth of John was prophesied to his father Zachariah, by the angel Gabriel, while the former was performing his functions as a priest, in the temple of Jerusalem. Since Zachariah was a priest of the course of Abijah and his wife Elizabeth was one of the daughters of Aaron, John became a descendant of Aaron from both his paternal and maternal side. The Gospel recounts that Mother Mary came to inform Elizabeth about her pregnancy. At that time, Elizabeth was in her sixth month of pregnancy and her unborn baby 'jumped for joy' in the womb only.

 

Baptism of Jesus                                                                  Loading preview image...

John had been baptizing in the Jordan River. One day Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and asked John to baptize him . John protested because he felt that Jesus was the one who should be baptizing him. But Jesus told him that they needed to do this to fulfill all righteousness. It was the right thing to do. So John baptized him in the river.

Immediately after he was baptized, as he was praying, the heavens were opened and a dove came down and rested on Jesus. It was the Spirit of God in the form of a bird that had come down to show who Jesus was. Jesus and John both saw the dove.

Suddenly there was a voice from heaven saying, "You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased". The dove and the voice of God were a sign to John that Jesus was the Messiah who had been promised.

After this, John was again assembled with a group of people, and Jesus approached the group. John told them what had happened. He said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" He told them that he had seen the Spirit of God coming down on Jesus in the form of a dove. He said this had been a sign to him because God had revealed to him that the person on whom he saw a dove descending would be the Son of God. This is how John would know for sure.                                   

Now John and Jesus were relatives and had grown up together. John's mother, Elizabeth, had known from the beginning, even before Jesus was born, that her kinswoman Mary was going to be the mother of the Son of God. Jesus was God in human form who had come to earth. It seems that John was not aware of Jesus' true identity until this event at Jesus' baptism.

John had a mission to prepare the people for the coming of Christ, and he was fulfilling his mission. Now the Christ was revealed.

Some people came to John and told him that now the crowds were going to Jesus instead of John. They thought he would be upset, but this didn't bother John at all. He said that he had told them that he himself was not the Christ. It was as if Christ were the bridegroom and John was just the best man, or friend of the bridegroom. He was rejoicing that people were turning to Christ. John said that Jesus must become greater and he, John, must become less important.

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It is evident that John the Baptist was accepting of Jesus becoming the new leader. It can be read in the Bible; passages from Matthew. "A voice of one calling in the desert, Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him." This quote was said from John the baptist and demonstrates his belief, faith, and respect in Jesus as the leader. This was said before John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River. By him saying this, announcing the coming of Jesus, and telling others to repent their sins because the kingdom of God was near, he was helping doing God's work and preparing others for the approach of Jesus. Although John accepted and preached about Jesus and encouraged others to believe and follow as he did, many still believed John was the leader and prophet and remained a threat to King Herod, son of Herod "the Great, King of Jerusalem" (who at the time, ruled when Jesus was just born).

 

Since John the Baptist was a threat to King Herod because the people would favor him over the King, Herod took John into a prison. John the Baptist died when his daughter, Herodias, asked for his head on a platter. King Herod vowed to grant her anything she asked for after she pleased him with a dance performance. "Ask me for whatever you want and i will give it to you' he swore to her"... "So she went out and said to her mother, ' What should I ask for? Her mother said 'The head of John the baptizer.''' John the Baptist was beheaded. The disciples later took his body and placed it in a tomb. 

 
 

Get Up John Lyrics - At The Ryman

 

(bill monroe/marty stuart/jerry sullivan)

Well get up john go down to jordan

Get up john prepare the way

Man from galilee is waiting

You must meet him there today

Get up john go tell my people

This will be a holy day

Tell them of the jew that's waiting

That the saviors on the way

John

Even the children

John

Go unafraid

John

I'll go with you

John the baptist

This is the day

Well get up john go tell jerusalem

Savior's waiting on the shore

Baptize him in the river jordan

I'll send a dove from heaven's door

John

Even the children

John

Go unafraid

John

I'll go with you

John the baptist

This is the day

Well get up john your work is finished

Daylight breaks the soldiers come

You will die for me tomorrow

Welcome home your race is run

John

You've been chosen

John

Go unafraid

John

I'll go with you

John the baptist

This is the day.

Group 2: James, Victoria, Wendy, Gary and Jerry 

 

Movies:

There are a few movies in which John the Baptist appears, some of which are The Death of the Seven Veils (1953) and The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965). There are also movies in which characters from the movie can relate to John the Baptist or somehow resemble him throughout the movie or story plot. In the movie, The Matrix, Morpheous, the leader of the rebels, represents John the Baptist. In the movie, Morpheous spreads the word that Neo, the main character, is "the one"  who can save the world, he believes in the ability Neo has to save the world. John the Baptist preached about Jesus and also believed in his ability to save everyone from sin. Another movie in which John the Baptist is represented by a character is in the movie Shawshank. In this movie, Red is the original leader of all the prisoners. When Andy, the main character, comes into the prison and becomes the new leader of all the prisoners, Red steps aside without any jealousy or grudge against Andy. Red respects Andy and what he has to say and do. This is like John the baptist allowing Jesus to become the new leader of the people without any grudge or jealousy. 

 

References: 

1) Emmylou Harris, Get Up John Lyrics- At the Rayman, Retrieved October 24, 2009 from:

http://www.aaalyrics.com/lyrics/Get-Up-John-Emmylou-Harris-Lyrics.phtml

 

2) Baptism of Jesus, Retrieved October 24, 2009 from:

http://gardenofpraise.com/bibl37s.htm 

 

3) Matthew 3:3, The Preaching of John: Christ is Baptized, New Advent Bible, Retrieved 10/25/09 from: http://www.newadvent.org/bible/mat003.htm 

 

4) Mark 6:14-29, The Death of John the Baptist, Retrieved 10/25/09 from: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+6%A14-29&version=NIV

 

5) Jacques Chirac, John the Baptist, Retrieved 10/23/09 from: http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/john-the-baptist-89.php#

 

6) Rolling Stones, Saint of Me Lyrics- Bridges to Babylon, Retrieved October 26, 2009 from: http://www.aaalyrics.com/lyrics/Saint-Of-Me-Rolling-Stones-Lyrics.phtml

 

 

 

 

Comments (1)

Ms. McGuire said

at 7:54 am on Oct 23, 2009

Don't forget to include a bibiography at the bottom of the page.

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