John the Baptist and Jesus: A Report of the Jesus Seminar

by W. Barnes Tatum

These and other questions concerning the historical John the Baptist and Jesus are answered in this provocative and lucid report prepared by W. Barnes Tatum.
The Jesus Seminar has considered all the historical evidence related to John the Baptist found in the gospels, Josephus, the documents known as the Pseudo-Clementines, and the traces of the Baptist tradition preserved in Mandaeism, a baptizing sect that continues to exist in southern Iraq and neighboring Iran. This volume contains a summary of the deliberations and votes of the Seminar, together with a concise sketch of the historical figure of John the Baptist.

194 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Rama Rao]

The ministry of John the Baptist

This book is a result of an academic evaluation of everything that is said about John the Baptist (JB) in the gospels (including the Gospel of Thomas) and Acts, and if any scholarly consensus exists about his work. No one has ever compiled a list of words attributed to Jesus following his death. In Jesus seminar, the sayings and parables attributed to Jesus in the first 300 years were analyzed and compared in terms of history, the culture and traditions that existed at that time. In addition to this effort, the Jesus Seminar also examined John the Baptist.

The original copies of gospels were lost and the oldest fragment of any portion of the New Testament in current existence is probably the Gospel of John dated 125 C.E., and the other three versions of canonical gospels (synoptic gospels) belongs to about 200 C.E. There are about 5,000 Greek manuscripts that contain part or all of the New Testament. No two are exactly alike since they were all copied by hand and usually from dictation. It was not until 1454 C.E., that the identical copies of Bible were reproduced in large scale.

In the development of narrative statements, a distinction was made between two different kinds of statements; action statements and status statements. The former is to do with activities and events. For example, the narrative statements about John the Baptist (JB) having baptized Jesus represent action statement. Status statements are related to the participants and the setting during baptism. Jesus Seminar voted on more than 100 different narrative statements related to JB. These statements were compiled and colored to their appropriate degrees of historical probability. Red color represents certainty, pink, a probability; gray, a possibility and black, impossibility. Existence of John the Baptist, John baptizing Jesus, the wilderness where JB met Jesus (Proposd to be around the Jordon River) is marked red (a fact of certainty). The participants at JB's baptism were Jerusalemites, Judeans, Pharisees, Sadducees, toll collectors, soldiers, tetrarch named Herod Antipas, and Herodias (wife of Herod's brother) were all marked a fact of certainty, but the seminar voted pink for the presence of Essenes at the event indicating it was not certain, but only a probability. Regarding the family history of JB, the seminar voted that JB was a son of Zechariah and Elizabeth were an improbability (not factual). The area surrounding Jordan River is where JB's ministry existed (marked red indicating a certainty in this fact), but the fact that JB was an ascetic who lived on raw honey and locusts is treated as a probable fact (pink). JB dressed in camel hair and wore a leather belt around his waist is regarded as not factual (black). JB preached and administered baptism to express repentance, his exhortations and preaching had widespread appeal. He baptized Jesus and Jesus identified JB as a great figure. Herod Antipas had JB imprisoned and he executed JB were all voted as factual (red). JB taught repentance apart from baptism, JB was related to Jesus (JB's mother Elizabeth was related to Mary), and Herodias asked for the head of JB on a platter were considered an improbability and not factual (black).

The gospel of Matthew has sixteen passages related to JB and Luke has 28 passages. The gospel of Luke and the book of Acts constitute a massive two-volume work on the origins of Christian faith. Luke narrates the ministry of Jesus Christ and the book of Acts narrates the story of the earliest church, yet there are apparent differences between the four gospels. This book makes an in-depth study of the history of scriptures. This is an excellent book that all students of New Testament must study to understand the ministry of John the Baptist.

[Steven H]

THE MATERIAL OF THE JESUS SEMINAR DEALING WITH JOHN THE BAPTIST

W. Brnes Tatum (1938-2016) was Professor Emeritus of Religion at Greensboro College, where he taught for 36 years until his retirement in 2009.

He wrote in the Acknowledgments of this 1994 book, “This volume constitutes a report of the Jesus Seminar… My objective as the author of this volume on John the Baptist… has been to represent as accurately as possible the range of views about John which surfaced among ALL the members of the Seminar, although I too was an active participant. I have attempted to explain the reasons underlying the collective judgment of the Seminar about this item or that point. I hope the effort to communicate complex issues simply and understandably does not result in misrepresentation.

“The texts of the gospels reproduced in this volume … represent the translation known as the Scholars Version, published under the editorship of Robert J. Miller… So far as I am aware, this is the ONLY volume devoted to John the Baptist that makes available between the same book covers virtually all the principal early texts that provide information about John. The readers can conveniently examine these tests for themselves. This volume also sets John within broader cultural contexts, both ancient and modern, in a series of brief cameo essays.”

He reports, “When Herod Antipas ruled over Galilee and Perea, when Pontius Pilate ruled over Judea and Samaria, and when Caiaphas served as high priest in Jerusalem, there came to public notice a man named John who attracted to himself the nickname ‘the Baptist’ or ‘the Baptizer.' As a Jew, he was in all probability circumcised as a sign that he belonged to Yahweh’s covenant people. He may even have been of priestly lineage, although there is no evidence that he functioned as a priest in the temple in Jerusalem. It is unlikely, however, that the names by which his parents were later known---Zechariah and Elizabeth---have been accurately remembered.” (Pg. 19)

He continues, “This John appeared in the wilderness, the desert area astride the Jordan River and bordering the Dead Sea to the south. Separated by river and sea, the territories of Judea and Perea apparently served as the principal, if not exclusive, locale of his public activity. John was probably an ascetic whose diet included locusts and raw honey. He may even have dressed himself in a garment of camel hair with a leather belt around his waist. In this attire, he would have been clad in the traditional garb of a prophet (Zech 13:4). More specifically, he would have resembled the prophet Elijah, possibly in conscious imitation of Elijah (2 Ki 1:8).” (Pg. 19)

He goes on, "In John’s day, the religious diversity of his people was evidenced through the existence of three principal sects each of which was committed to upholding the covenant law of Moses. The Sadducees… represented priestly interests. The Pharisees, primarily non-priests, committed themselves to applying the commandments to everyday life. The Essenes, whose members came from priestly and non-priestly backgrounds, tended to separate themselves from society at large. It is certain that a Jewish sect had established a settlement in the Judean wilderness just off the northwest shore of the Dead Sea at a place called Qumran. This sect, associated with what have become known as the Dead Sea Scrolls, was probably a community of Essenes. At one time John himself may have been an Essene even if not a member, or former member, of the community of Essenes at Qumran. At the time of his initial appearing and subsequent ministry, however, John was neither an Essene nor a lone sage and holy man…” (Pg. 19-20)

He adds, “John’s characteristic activities took place in the wilderness. He baptized; and he preached. John preached baptism. He administered baptism himself in some personal way although the exact nature of his participation is not known. His baptism was probably a form of Jewish immersion rite and was probably performed in flowing water, such as the water of the Jordan River. No doubt John’s baptism was understood to be an expression of repentance by those who accepted it. His baptism was also probably understood to mediate God’s forgiveness, to purify uncleanness, and to serve as an initiation into a sectarian movement. By implication, therefore, John’s baptism---in all likelihood---was understood to be a protest against the temple establishment in Jerusalem, for his baptism provided an alternative to the functions of the temple. John also taught repentance, but not apart from baptism.” (Pg. 20)

He summarizes, “John’s message of judgment, repentance, right behavior, and an expected figure is reminiscent of the messages proclaimed by those great prophets in Israel’s past whose words are preserved in the Hebrew Scriptures. But through John’s words runs the theme of transcendent judgment of fire characteristic of apocalyptic literature. Therefore, John can probably be described accurately as an apocalyptic preacher who acted like a prophet… There can be no doubt that John had a widespread appeal among his contemporaries… Among those who repented and received baptism were those who became his disciples.” (Pg. 21)

He explains, “John had a contemporary named Jesus. Contrary to later claims, it is improbable that they were biologically related to each other through their mothers. But there can be little doubt that John baptized this Jesus, reportedly in the Jordan River. On the occasion of his baptism, Jesus---who probably had visionary experiences---just as probably had a powerful religious experience, possibly even a visionary experience. But it is highly unlikely that he actually saw the heavens open and the spirit descend on him like a dove. It is just as unlikely that he heard a heavenly voice declaring him to be God’s son. Later, his inner experience was objectified symbolically as a vision and an audition of the story as told in the church.” (Pg. 21-22)

He suggests, “After his baptism by John, Jesus was probably in some sense a disciple of John. But later he must have deliberately separated from John’s movement and inaugurated a ministry of his own, which for a while overlapped John’s ministry in time and place. Some of John’s disciples probably became followers of Jesus. There was probably some relationship between the imprisonment of John and the ministry of Jesus… Whereas John’s ministry was centered in the wilderness, Jesus would take his ministry to the villages of Galilee and eventually to Jerusalem itself. Jesus would also contrast his own behavior, or style of ministry, with that of John. John was an ascetic, neither eating nor drinking. Jesus was not an ascetic, but he both ate and drank.” (Pg. 22-23)

He states, “John may have wondered whether Jesus were his successor in fulfillment of John’s own proclamation of one who would come after him. Similarly, the public may have considered Jesus to be John’s successor… it is … likely that the recognition of Jesus as John’s successor in fulfillment of John’s proclamation first came from Jesus’ own disciples, some of whom had been followers of John.” (Pg. 23-24)

He reports, “Throughout the ministries of John and Jesus, the tetrarch of Galilee and Perea was … Herod Antipas. There was also a woman named Herodias who had been married to Herod Antipas’ brother. She married Herod Antipas forcing him to give up his longtime wife… John the Baptist most assuredly denounced Herod Antipas… [and his] marriage to Herodias… Therefore, Herod Antipas had John imprisoned and executed for political expediency… It is possible that Herodias requested the execution of John. It is also possible that her daughter danced for Herod … [she was] identified by the name Salome by Josephus---to manipulate Herod into putting John to death. It is improbable, however, that the daughter asked for and got John’s severed head on a platter.” (Pg. 24)

He points out that the Jewish historian Josephus (CE 38-100) “introduces John with the same nickname accorded him in the Synoptic gospels, ‘the Baptist,’ hence ‘JB.’ At the outset, Josephus describes JB as ‘a good man.’ … Josephus summarizes JB’s message in fourfold terms. JB required of his hearers ‘to practice virtue,’ consisting of 'justice toward one another’ and ‘piety toward God,’ and invites such righteous folk ‘to gather together by baptism’… Therefore, Josephus presents JB as a moral teacher… Josephus explicitly says that JB directed his message to ‘the Jews.’ … differences between Josephus’ characterization of JB and … in the gospels… Josephus makes no specific mention of the locale of JB’s activity… Josephus states that Herod Antipas moved against JB out of a concern that his speaking might lead to some kind of ‘sedition’ or ‘strife’ among the people.” (Pg. 98-99)

The remainder of the book presents the Jesus Seminar’s ‘voting’ totals on all the gospel texts dealing with John.

This book will be of keen interest to those studying the Jesus Seminar, or John the Baptist in particular.