Crowds were drawn in great numbers to hear what this 2^nd century holy hippie named John had to say.  JB was not into fashion, his hair was matted into dreadlocks; he wore a blanket of camel hair skins and ate locusts and wild honey.  He had grown up with the Essenes, in an outdoor commune. It was a sect of society that were known to be rigid in their abstinence of all worldly pleasures.  John the Baptist (JB) lived under the Old Testament law, and the severe restraints of the Essenes. In his commune, the human appetite for anything that may corrupt the spiritual goal of purity was denied. They adamantly practiced celibacy and willful poverty. When he was 30, JB began preaching “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”  To the dismay of King Herod, many were moved by JB’s spirit filled words.  Throngs of people were confessing their sins and getting baptized by JB in the Jordon River. When JB encountered many of the Pharisees and Sadducees, the two other major sects of the time, JB screamed “You brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?” With fire blazing from the eyes of this crazed looking hippy, he shouted at them “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves ‘We have Abraham as our father’. I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.” Anticipating the return of the Messiah, JB persisted “The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” JB painted the picture of the Messiah returning like The Terminator, using a huge blow torch on all sinners. JB stands his ground proclaiming ” I baptize you with water for repentance, But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” King Herod feared the great influence JB had over the people of Jerusalem and all throughout the province of Judea.  Feeling insecure, King Herod had JB arrested and imprisoned for two years in the dungeon of a castle called Macherus.  It was a fortified hilltop palace which is located in Jordan fifteen miles southeast of the mouth of the Jordan River on the eastern side of the Dead Sea. Before JB was imprisoned he greeted the Messiah asking Him “I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?”  Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water.  At that moment heaven was opened, and JB saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on Him.  And a voice from heaven said, “This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:11-17 ~ So now imagine our JB, a strict Old Testament Jew, raised by the Essenes, sitting alone in a dark prison when he suddenly gets highly agitated upon learning that Jesus has served wine at a wedding, that he healed folks on a Sunday, and that Jesus was seen in a bar talking with sinners, and that He spoke to a prostitute! JB was extremely rattled and he actually questioned the divinity of Christ!  “When JB was in prison he heard what Christ was doing. JB sent the disciples to ask Jesus “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?”  Jesus replied “Go back and report to JB what you hear and see: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the GOOD NEWS is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of Me.”  Jesus baffles John’s disciples by asking them “What did you go out to see?  A man dressed in fine clothes? A Prophet?  Yes, I tell you more than a Prophet.  JB is the one about whom it is written: “I will send my messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way before You.”  I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”  Matthew 11:2-16 ~ Man judges by appearances, but our holy God judges us by the content of our hearts.  John the Baptist was highly influenced by the Essenes, of Judea.  The Essenes were stoic and rigidly performed cleansing rituals prior to writing the name of God, Yahweh.  The Essenes were a sect of Second Temple Judaism that flourished in the 2nd century BCE. They were much fewer in number than the Pharisees and the Sadducees who were the other two major sects at the time. They lived in various cities but congregated in communal life dedicated to asceticism which is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing very high spiritual goals. Many religious traditions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity still advocate strict restraint with respect to actions of body, speech, and mind. The Essenes rigidly practiced voluntary poverty, daily immersion and celibacy. As the forerunner of Jesus, JB lived with great expectation for the return of the Messiah. God had anointed JB in his mother’s womb. When Elizabeth was pregnant with JB and her niece Mary arrived pregnant with Jesus, JB flipped in Liz’s womb, recognizing Jesus Christ as God, his Creator. Zechariah’s wife, Elizabeth was barren and therefore the birth of a child seemed impossible. As a gift from God, Zechariah was given a son by the name of “Yaḥya”, (John) a name specially chosen for this child alone. In accordance with Zechariah’s prayer, God created John and Jesus in the womb, and they were born 6 months apart. God’s purpose was to use His two creations to bring the GOOD NEWS message of our Father God, into New Testament times.  The High Priests of Israel had corrupted the truth and they judged JB for how he looked and for the proclamations he made. According to the chronology of the Bible, JB’s infamous beheading took place following his imprisonment of 2 years, shortly after the Passover. This history recorded in a letter written by Matthew, chapter 3.

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