refJTHEB

refJTHEB




EARLY JOHN


(1) John the Baptist was raised as a Nazarite. He is one of the few consecrated as such before or at birth. The other biblical notables were Samson and Samuel. The Nazarite tradition provides for a number of activities. Although not specifically ascetic, they were to not imbibe wine or liquor while in separation, they were to let their hair grow, they must not touch the dead, and their final act before reentering normal life was to cut off their hair as burnt offering, and then to make other formal offerings. Men or women may be Nazarite.
The separation unto God was usually for a proscribed time, and alluded more to extra prayer and seeking than actually meant separation from the village, as a hermit might do. John probably lived a good deal of his youth in the Nazarite tradition, and from scripture we see he may have at times lived a more isolated existence.



(2) With that there are a few things we should know about desert living. For one thing it is assumed John was a hermit who ate locusts and honey as much of his diet. This is probably untrue. His diet might have been to eat honey, as most people did when they could get it, but probably would carry bread with him, the most likely being the smaller flat pancakes (unleavened) made of wheat or barley flour. He may have eaten some locusts, as this was allowed under Jewish law, and was not an unknown practice for the time. His diet may have been sparse at times, however, the major part of his diet would have been traditional.

He would also have to carry water for the length of time in wilderness areas. One gallon per day is best for true desert regions. Three or more gallons of water gets pretty heavy, so it is likely his isolation times would be limited unless near a water source. At this point the Jordan River comes into play. Wilderness stretches to each side of the Jordan, east and west, until the Jordan reaches the southern tip of the Sea of Galilee. Here would be an obvious choice for longer periods of isolation. Food could be garnered more easily, including some fishing. When needed John could also have found a home or small village along the river and accepted a meal or a place to sleep, as this was the tradition of the day.

This brings us to another point. It is dangerous to sleep alone in the desert. Lions were still about, as were some wolves. A weapon would be needed: a tipped staff and/or spear, a knife for eating and protection, a club or maul might come in handy. The reason this is mentioned is that many people believe that John was roaming around the desert by himself for some odd number of years with nothing but a sheep skin and a pair of sandals. It is amazing they even give him credit for having sandals. Anyone who has lived in a desert even a short while would know this could not be. With that a much more likely scenario of John’s ascetic life appears.

First, he would have been familiar with the Essene community at Qumran, and probably would have stayed there much of the time. When he did leave he was probably supplied with the necessities he would need, including food and enough water. Remember that the Essene felt the compunction to spread their own message, and to some extent John would do that, so undoubtedly they would have wanted to help him.

Second, out of necessity John would have spent time up and down the Jordan. Later, this would be the location of his ministry, a land he was most familiar with. Many people would have met John and assuredly had serious spiritual or religious conversation with him. After all, John was a Nazarite, and for that very reason would have been taken seriously. After a time his words would have had weight, and that later he was accepted as a prophet is not surprising.

Last, there comes what may be an unknown factor. If any of the above is true John began to establish ministry whether he consciously knew it or not. With the following he later enjoyed it would seem that at some point he would become aware of this ministry performance. We could also say that John may have been fairly well known in the Jordan River area, which includes Jericho and Qumran. In closing this part we could say that the idea of John who comes stumbling out of the desert shouting “repent”, then followed with Jesus cutting a similar figure, is just untrue. Support groups are critical in harsh environments, not counting “mission statement” for both John and Jesus. It is a more likely assumption that the spirit built within John, and then built within John’s ministry, to bring John’s life into fulfillment. This could not be done without John knowing the lives and the times of his own people (a).

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