John the Baptist

Description

Where was Jesus from? How can he be situated in the Judaism of his time among the reform movements cropping up around the first century? In the eyes of many Jews, the Roman presence in Palestine, i.e., the pagan domination of the Holy Land, is essentially a manifestation of the impurity of the chosen people before God. Just as the members of the Qumran sect withdrew into the desert to cleanse themselves of their impurity, John the Baptist offered an immersion ritual far from Jerusalem in substitution for temple sacrifices, rites which were carried out by the High Priests. The beginning of each of the gospels emphasizes the capital role played by the Baptist. Was Jesus one of his disciples? In what way did Jesus' activity further or challenge the Baptist movement? Have Christians appropriated John the Baptist, and turned him into a "precursor" figure after the fact?

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53 min 6 sec

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