John The Baptist Essay

There are two major sources that contribute to the historical view of John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth, the gospels and the writings of the historian Josephus. When discussing the historical significance of John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth, it is important to include a discussion of the two major sources and their historical backdrop and accuracy, as well as any issues that may arise with the use of these source materials. Only after fully understanding the backdrop in which these historical documents were written, can we begin to see how they combine to give a fuller picture of John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth’s actions and words during their respective lifetimes. Having laid out the issue that will be discussed, I will begin
In his writing he reveals, “he was a member of a prominent priestly family in Jerusalem and was born in the first year of the reign of the emperor Gaius Caligula” (VanderKam, 142). He was a prominent figure in the Jewish revolt before being defeated, captured, and imprisoned by the Roman general Vespasian (VanderKam, 142-143). Josephus was given his freedom and became highly respected by the Roman leadership after correctly predicting Vespasian’s rise to power (VanderKam, 143). The rest of his life was spent in Rome writing four historical works: Jewish War, Jewish Antiquities, Life, and Against Apion (VanderKam, 143-144). Jewish War is a history of the Jewish revolt based on Josephus’ experience, memory, and interviews from the revolt (VanderKam, 144). Jewish Antiquities is an entire history of the Jewish people, beginning with the creation story in Genesis through the rule of King Herod and his sons and ending at the beginning of the Jewish revolt (VanderKam, 144-145). Life is an autobiographical work about Josephus’ actions during the Jewish revolt and is essence a defense of his actions (VanderKam, 145-146). Finally, Against Apion is a “defense of the Jews, their history, and their theocratic constitution” (VanderKam, 146). Josephus is defending his people from the arguments and accusations being thrown at them by other historians, especially Greek and Egyptian writers (VanderKam,
The four canonical gospels used in the New Testament today were written between 70 and 90 CE (Lynch, 5). Although each gospel is attached to a specific name, the actual identity of each author is unknown (Lynch, 5). The Gospel of Mark is associated with the teachings of the apostle Peter and is believed to have been written by a follower of Peter, who was trying to recall all the stories he had heard about Jesus from Peter (Lynch, 6). It is theorized that Mark’s gospel was written for a “community under pressure, perhaps the community at Rome that was recovering from Nero’s attack in 64” (Lynch, 6). The Gospel of Matthew is said to be a compilation of the oracles in the Hebrew language although there is no evidence of it having been translated in the Greek version (Lynch, 6). Matthew’s gospel emphasizes continuity with Judaism and portrays Jesus as a teacher, which makes it useful for teaching Christian values (Lynch, 6-7). The Gospel of Luke was written by a companion of Paul, who is believed to be a physician and gentile (Lynch, 7). Luke’s Gospel emphasizes the acceptance of gentiles because Jesus’s message was universal and “was always intended for all humanity” (Lynch, 7). These three gospels are known collectively as the synoptic gospels and share many similarities. These similarities are the result of Luke and Matthew using the Gospel of Mark and another source, Q,