John • The passed-over passages 1c • John the Baptist

Steve Schott
1 day ago
12 min read

► Previously in John we looked at the 7 signs recorded, and referenced in John 20:30-31, where it says

30 Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

► We also explored the 7 "I AM" statements that do not always correspond to the signs, but also add definition to the nature and purposes of Jesus.

► Links to all of these posts can be found at the end of this posting

► Now I'm going to turn my attention to what I call the "passed-over" passages, Those passages from chapter 1 to chapter 12 which I haven't previously dealt with.

► After that we'll deal with chapters 13 to 19, which I call "the end of it all". These chapters deal with a single 24-hour period, that starts with the last supper in the upper room, and takes us all the way to the cross and the tomb.

► And then we'll end with chapters 20 and 21 that I call "the new beginning".

► Today we are going to continue dealing with John the Baptist. We'll actually break this up into several sections, and will also be looking at the other gospels to give us more information.

► We'll break it into 3 parts...

1 → the Miracle of his birth

2 → the Mission of his ministry

3 → the Madness of his death

John the Baptist • The Madness of his death

► As the Gospel of John doesn't record the arrest and murder of John the Baptist, we will have to get all of our info from the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Since it's supposed that Matthew and Luke used Mark's version of the gospel story as a base for their own tellings, we'll use Mark's version first.

John the Baptist is executed

► Mark 6:14-16 → 14 And King Herod heard of it, for His name had become well known; and people were saying, “John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him.” 15 But others were saying, “He is Elijah.” And others were saying, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” 16 But when Herod heard of it, he kept saying, “John, whom I beheaded, has risen!”

► Matthew 14:1-2 → things mentioned not found in Mark...

• No additional details added.

► Luke 9:7-9 → things mentioned not found in Mark...

9bAnd he kept trying to see Him.

• Luke lets us know that Herod was attempting to see Jesus so he could see for himself if it was JTB resurrected, or some other replacement for him.

→ All three of our writers start their stories from a point where JTB has already been executed. But in each of these examples, immediately before these verses, Jesus and His disciples are active in ministry. And now Herod is hearing about all this religious work going on and he's beginning to wonder if "John the Baptist has risen from the dead,...".

→ Mark and Luke bring out that some were questioning if JTB was a prophet, or was Elijah.

→ They both also enlighten us as to JTB's manner of execution - beheading. There is no more permanent way to shut someone up than to cut off their head.

Details of his arrest

► Mark 6:17-20 → 17 For Herod himself had sent and had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death and could not do so; 20 for Herod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed; but he used to enjoy listening to him.

► Matthew 14:3-5 → things mentioned not found in Mark...

5bbecause they regarded John as a prophet.

► Luke 3:19-20 → things mentioned not found in Mark...

19...Herod the tetrarch...

• Apparently Herod had married his brother Philip's wife, Herodias, which was against Jewish law. Herod while wanting to shut JTB up, but afraid to kill him, had him arrested. The irony of having the criminal run the prison.

JTB has questions while in prison

► Matthew 11:2-19 → 2 Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to Him, “Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?” 4 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: 5 the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM. 6 And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”

7 As these men were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ palaces! 9 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet. 10 This is the one about whom it is written,

‘BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER AHEAD OF YOU,

WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY BEFORE YOU.’

11 “Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come. 15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

16 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places, who call out to the other children, 17 and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’ 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

► Luke 7:18-35 → very parallel passage to Matthew 11:2-19

• We see 3 parts to this dialogue...

1st - John queries Jesus - "Are you the Expected One...?" (vs 2-3)

→ John wants some reassurance that Jesus is the real deal. I'm supposing that in light of his imprisonment, he really did want to know if he read the script correctly. Don't want to sacrifice your life for a look-alike.

2nd - Jesus replies to JTB's disciples - "Go and report to John what you hear and see:..." (vs 4-6)

→ Jesus responds - let the works speak for themselves.

3rd - Jesus addresses the crowd about JTB... and Himself (vs 7-19)

→ "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." - a challenge to all to pay attention and come to the correct conclusions.

• I don't believe these are indications of a lack of faith, rather, just a confirmation of everything he's been told and anticipated from his earliest memories.

Jesus talks about JTB while he is in prison

► Mark 11:27-33 → 27 They came again to Jerusalem. And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to Him, 28 and began saying to Him, “By what authority are You doing these things, or who gave You this authority to do these things?” 29 And Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question, and you answer Me, and then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Was the baptism of John from heaven, or from men? Answer Me.” 31 They began reasoning among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 32 But shall we say, ‘From men’?”—they were afraid of the people, for everyone considered John to have been a real prophet. 33 Answering Jesus, they said, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Nor will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

► Luke 20:1-8 → very parallel passage to Mark 11:27-33

• While JTB is in prison, Jesus is confronted with where He got His authority. He didn't answer directly, but posed a question. "Was the baptism of John (the Baptist) from heaven, or from men?" They were perplexed because it was a darned-if-you-do and a darned-if-you-don't scenario. No matter how they answered, they would be giving an answer that would get them in trouble. So they said "we do not know." Jesus then refused to answer their question.

Details of his death

► Mark 6:21-29 → 21 A strategic day came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his lords and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee; 22 and when the daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests; and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you.” 23 And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you; up to half of my kingdom.” 24 And she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” 25 Immediately she came in a hurry to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” 26 And although the king was very sorry, yet because of his oaths and because of his dinner guests, he was unwilling to refuse her. 27 Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded him to bring back his head. And he went and had him beheaded in the prison, 28 and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When his disciples heard about this, they came and took away his body and laid it in a tomb.

► Matthew 14:6-12 → things mentioned not found in Mark...

• No additional details added in Matthew.

→ Herod got himself backed into a corner when he promised the daughter of Herodias (her name was Salome according to the Jewish historian Josephus (note1↓)), when her dancing pleased Herod and his guests, that he would give her "whatever you want".

→ At her mother's prompting she asked for JTB's head on a platter. And that's what she got.

The aftermath

► Matthew 14:13-14 → 13 Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the people heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities. 14 When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick.

• It's important to understand the context of this passage. Slightly before these verses, Jesus had been in Jerusalem. The gospel of John records that Jesus had healed the lame man at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-17), and while He was still in Jerusalem, he spoke of JTB the Jews there as they were trying to find a way to kill Him for blasphemy. Jesus used several things to defend the concept that He and God the Father were One, and one of those items he mentioned by the testimony of John the Baptist. John 5:33-35 → 33 “You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth. 34 But the testimony which I receive is not from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35 He was the lamp that was burning and was shining and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light."

• After this event, Jesus retreats back to the area on the north end of the Sea of Galilee. It's at this time that Jesus receives word about JTB's death as recorded in Matthew 14:13-14 above.

• And after He went ashore and was dealing with the health issues of the people there, He went up on the hill and fed all of them. ALL 5,000+ OF THEM! (John 6:1-14)

• So keep this in mind the next time you reading one of the versions of that story, that Jesus is doing this immediately after finding out about the death of John the Baptist.

► Matthew 17:1-13 → 1 Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. 2 And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified. 7 And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, “Get up, and do not be afraid.” 8 And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.

9 As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.” 10 And His disciples asked Him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” 11 And He answered and said, “Elijah is coming and will restore all things; 12 but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.

• I included this lengthy passage of the transfiguration of Jesus because of the conversation Jesus had with Peter, James, and John (NOT the Baptist) on their way down the mountain. They pose a question about Elijah, specifically in regards to him having been prophesied to come before Jesus. Jesus tells them that Elijah did come, but that the people didn't recognize him. They perceived that Jesus' comments were about "John the Baptist".

► So there you have it - "The Life and Times of a Man Called John the Baptist". John must have known from his earliest days, that not only was his life ordained to serve God, but that he was the opening act for Jesus, the Messiah. And that because of that role, once Jesus came on the scene, pretty much he was done. No second career for this guy. He's not going to get a part-time job as a Wal-Mart greeter. Or buy and RV and travel extensively. Or become old and sedentary while watching everything that Netflix had to offer back then. He was done.

► In a way, it's the same for us. Our job today is to make Jesus known. Obviously, words have to come into play at some point. I mean, what good is it being a messenger, if you don't know the message? So we study and meditate on the Scripture to both know God and Jesus, but also to know how to share the news of Him with others. But also our lives need to measure up to what we have to say. How acceptable will the message I carry be, if I behave contrary to that message? Why would anyone even want to listen? So the challenge for all of us who claim a relationship with Jesus, is first to know Him. We have to be about studying the Scripture so we understand all that He is and has done for us. But we also need to let that change who and what we are, so that we reflect Jesus to others. Not just by our words, but also by how we live.

The Signs

► Sign 1, Water to Wine, Jesus is the master of the ELEMENTS → John 2:1-12

► Sign 2, Nobleman's Son, Jesus is the master over DISTANCE → John 4:46-54

► Sign 3, Lame Man at Bethesda, Jesus is the master over TIME → John 5:1-18

► Sign 4, Feeding of 5,000+, Jesus is the master over DIMENSION → John 6:1-15

► Sign 5, Jesus walks on water, Jesus is the master over NATURE → John 6:15-21

► Sign 6, The Man Born Blind, Jesus is the master over HISTORY → John 9:1-41

► Sign 7, The Raising of Lazarus, Jesus is the master over DEATH → John 11:1-46

The "I AM" Statements

► I AM #1 • I AM the Bread of Life - Jesus ELIMINATES HUNGER → John 6:26-58

► I AM #2 • I AM the Light of the World - Jesus ELIMINATES DARKNESS → John 8:12-9:5

► I AM #3 • I AM the Door of the Sheep - Jesus ELIMINATES DEATH & DESTRUCTION → John 10:1-10