Verified Document

Biography Of John The Baptist Term Paper

¶ … John the Baptist A biography of someone is a written account of a person's life, according to the American Heritage Dictionary. Using the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John as translated in The New Oxford Annotated Bible 3rd edition, one is able to recreate the life of a man called John the Baptist. While each Gospel treats the story of John's life in a similar fashion, each varies in the depth of detail given to John's life.

The Gospel of Matthew tells us that "In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." (3:1, 2) One knows nothing about John prior to this proclamation. Matthew describes John's appearance and notes that many were going to him to be baptized in the river Jordan. Jesus was one of those who went to the river to be baptized. John recognizes Jesus with the words "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" (3:14) Whether this recognition comes from divine intuition or a prearranged meeting, the reader is not sure. However, one is sure that Jesus is now the focal point of Matthews' Gospel. The next event one learns concerning John is that he has been arrested. John questions Jesus' identity from prison through his own disciples. When they...

Jesus tells a crowd of followers that John the Baptist "is Elijah who is to come." (11:14) Herod beheads John at the request of his wife and daughter. So ends the life of John the Baptist according to the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew only briefly mentions him in the rest of the narrative.
The Gospel of Mark is quite similar to that of Matthew. Mark introduces John the Baptizer soon into the Gospel. His account of John's life is shorter and less detailed than Matthew's, however. John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. (1:4) Again one finds John the Baptist near the Jordan River with people from Jerusalem and the surrounding area flocking to him.

The Gospel of Mark revisits John's life after Herod imprisons him. Had Herod written his biography, John the Baptizer may have become as famous for having been reincarnated into Jesus. Nevertheless, when Herod heard of it, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised." (6:14)

The most in-depth treatment of John's life is written in the Gospel of Luke. One learns that John's mother was Elizabeth. Angels of God visited John's father, Zechariah,…

Sources used in this document:
Works Cited

Coogan, Michael J. Ed. The New Oxford Annotated Bible. 3rd Edition. Oxford UP. 2001.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

John D. Rockefeller, Sr. John
Words: 3442 Length: 12 Document Type: Term Paper

B. Jennings - 10% (Poole 2000). Rockefeller believed that because entry costs were so low in oil drilling and refining, the market was glutted with crude oil with high levels of waste. Accordingly, the theory of free competition did not work well when there was such a mix of large, medium and small firms, believing that the weak ones drove prices below production costs, thus hurting even large firms (Poole 2000).

Zora Neale Hurston's Biography Their
Words: 5517 Length: 17 Document Type: Essay

Conflict The sacred notions of love held by Janie are dashed when she is compelled into a marriage that was not based on love and she rushed into a second marriage in order to escape from her first marriage. Janie's first marriage hit the rocks as a result of not having feelings for the man (Logan Killicks).She married Logan Killicks after being pressurized by Nanny. Janie got married to second man

William Carey Biography at One
Words: 4876 Length: 18 Document Type: Term Paper

" Although Carey's journal reportedly ends prematurely, he continued to write letters for the next thirty years. Carey understood the value in/of education, medicine, and other works. He continually encouraged missionaries to travel to the hinterland "and build an indigenous Christianity with vernacular Bibles and other writings and native-led churches." For his mission to succeed, hile it simultaneously retained its core, Carey purported, it had to not only fill the eternal needs of

Luther Rice and Adoniram Judson
Words: 3429 Length: 10 Document Type: Term Paper

A further development in American Baptism was the evolution of its missionary organization. The rapid growth of missionary zeal, partly as a result of the many accounts by missionaries such as the Judsons, soon resulted in more than one societal ministry supported by the convention. Meanwhile, Dr. Carey informed Adoniram Judson that he might as well abandon Burma as a missionary destination. He related the experiences of his son William,

How Da Vinci Influenced His Contemporaries and Future Generations
Words: 1066 Length: 4 Document Type: Essay

The Life, Times and Influence of Leonardo Da VinciThe artist who created the most famous painting in the world, the �Mona Lisa,� was so brilliant and versatile that some observers today believe he may have been an alien visitor from an advanced civilization. While there is no evidence of this, given da Vinci�s massive contributions to multiple fields of discipline and legacy as the world�s greatest Renaissance Man, it is

Martin Luther King a Dreamer
Words: 2302 Length: 7 Document Type: Term Paper

Gandhi incited the people to protest peacefully rather than resort to violence. He believed that this form of rebellion suited the case of the blacks in America. After his doctorate studies at Boston University and his marriage to Coretta Scott, he became minister of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. In Montgomery, blacks and whites were segregated and made to attend different schools and sit in separate

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now