The Life of John the Baptist

By Christian George

John the Baptist, the first biblical prophet to appear in 400 years of Israel’s history, would lay the foundation for the ministry of Jesus. In the only mention of John outside the New Testament, first century historian Josephus explains that John became such a threat to the stability of the Roman Empire that the governor of Judea “decided that it would be much better to strike first and be rid of him before his work led to an uprising.” What events in John’s life led to his execution?

[2] According to Luke, the man about whom Jesus would say, “Truly I tell you,among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater” (Matthew 11:11),was the son of a priest named Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth1（音譯）撒迦利亞和以利沙伯。, who was a relative of Mary the mother of Jesus.

[3] Boys who were born into priestly families typically became priests themselves. However, John did not work in the temple in Jerusalem. Instead, he preached and baptized in the wilderness of the desolate Judean mountains.

施洗者約翰，《圣經》中以色列歷史上400年間出現的第一位先知，為耶穌的傳教事工打下基礎。《新約》文本之外唯一對其有過記錄的是公元1世紀的歷史學家約瑟夫，他寫道，約翰對羅馬帝國的穩定造成了威脅，導致猶太王“決定先下手為強，在在其傳教活動釀成起義之前先除掉他”。那么，約翰一生里究竟做了哪些事情而被斬首？

[2]根據路加的記述，耶穌提到一個人時曾說：“我實在告訴你們，凡婦人所生的沒有一個興起來大過他的”（又見《馬太福音》11∶11）；那個人就是祭司撒迦利亞和以利沙伯的兒子，以利沙伯還是耶穌的母親馬利亞的親戚。

[3]生于祭司家庭的男孩一般都會成長為祭司，然而約翰并沒有在耶路撒冷的圣殿里盡祭司的職分，卻一直在偏僻的猶太荒野傳道、施洗。由于約翰為父母年邁時所生，他很可能被“艾塞尼”信徒領養。這些猶太苦行者生活在死海沿岸地帶，以生活方式嚴格守道而著稱。他們發誓獨身一生、遠離城市、財務共享，乃至吃飯不語，連安息日也不歇息。由于執著于儀式化的圣潔，他們每天都要浸入水中好幾次。

Because John was born to elderly parents, it’s possible the he was adopted by the Essenes2（音譯）艾塞尼，古猶太人中推崇苦修的神秘教派。, a group of Jewish ascetics3ascetic禁欲主義者。who lived in communities along the Dead Sea. Essenes were known for their disciplined lifestyles. They took vows of celibacy, ate in silence, shared possessions, avoided large cities and did not relieve themselves on the Sabbath. Obsessed with ritual purity, they immersed themselves in water several times a day.

[4] Matthew and Mark paint a picture of John that is consistent with this way of life. John’s clothing was rugged4rug-ged粗糙的；結實的。and improvised5improvised簡易的；臨時湊成的。—the hair of a camel for a tunic and an unworked animal skin tied around his waist. For protein, John ate from any of 800 species of wild locusts—roasted, boiled or dipped in honey. If John had taken the Nazirite6古希伯來人中的苦修者。該字希伯來文的意思是“立約的人”，與神立約的人。他在神面前因為約而受拘束，不飲酒不近色，不剪頭發不剃胡子。vow, his hair and beard would have been long, unkempt7unkempt（頭發）蓬亂的，未加梳理的。and likely matted8matted纏結的。from exposure to the elements9elements（常用復數）天氣，尤其是風雨。.

[5] Many believed that John was sent by God to pave the way for a king who would overthrow the Roman occupation of Israel. Several years before Jesus launched His ministry, John was preaching this dangerous idea—the inauguration10inauguration開始；開創。of the kingdom of God.Two things were required of citizens of this kingdom: repentance and baptism.Immersion was nothing new for Jews.But John popularized it by baptizing Jews—including Jesus—in the Jordan River.

[4]馬太和馬可福音書里描繪的約翰就按這種方式生活，他的穿著可謂粗糙簡陋——駱駝毛做的外衣和沒有加工過的動物皮子腰帶。蛋白質呢，800種野生蝗蟲任他吃，可烤可煮可蘸蜜。假如約翰發過誓要做“拿細爾”，那么他的頭發和胡子肯定會很長，并且由于長年暴露于戶外，也很可能蓬亂纏結。

[5]很多人認為約翰是受神差遣，為一位“總督”推翻羅馬對以色列的統治鋪路打先鋒。耶穌開始傳教幾年之前，約翰就在宣講如此聳人聽聞的主張——開啟神的國度。成為神國公民需要具備兩個條件：懺悔和受洗。浸入水里對猶太人而言一點也不新鮮，但是約翰將其推廣開來——他在約旦河給猶太人施洗，耶穌也是其中之一。

[6] When John criticized Herod’s unlawful divorce and incestuous11incestuous亂倫的。remarriage to Herodias, he was arrested and sent to a fortified palace overlooking the Dead Sea. The Gospel of Mark records that after two years of imprisonment,John was beheaded.

[7] The last glimpse we get of John in the Gospels is of a man resolved to die in his cell12cell小牢房。but eager to ask Jesus one final question: “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else? ”(Matthew 11:3) ■

[6]約翰譴責希律王與前妻非法離婚，與兄嫂希羅底亂倫再婚，遭到逮捕，被送入一座俯瞰死海的要塞式皇宮。據《馬可福音》記載，囚禁兩年之后，約翰被斬首。

[7]福音書里最后一次提到約翰，是他決意坐死牢里，但急于問耶穌最后一個問題：“那將要來的是你嗎？還是我們等候別人呢？”（《馬太福音》11∶3） □