Mt 3:1-12 Dec 7-25 The Forerunner’s Mindset: Understanding John the Baptist’s Life and Ministry

Send us Fan MailI focus on information from the Scriptures and try to figure out what likely was the back story.  I will attempt to explain more in detail as we unpack the life of John the Baptist.  I am very careful in using tradition and historical context to gain insight into biblical times.  Often tradition may have a political agenda and may not always be factual.  For example, Christian tradition holds that Herodias, fearing John might come back to life if body and head were together, had John’s head buried in Herod’s palace in Jerusalem. Islamic tradition believes the head of John the Baptist is buried under a specific pillar  in Damascus, Syria, which was once the Basilica of Saint John the Baptist. Some traditions also claim the head was buried on the Mount of Olives by Joanna, the wife of Chuza, where it remained hidden for centuries. Various relics purported to be of John have been claimed in several other places, including France, specifically Amiens Cathedral, Turkey, and other parts of the Middle East.  I think you can see why I will not be commenting on where John the Baptist is buried.The good news is we can get more reliable insight to what the world was like from historians who lived and wrote at the time or shortly after the life of Jesus. Complete our 1 Minute Survey