The Baptist

Anthony David

Description

Christian, Jewish, and other researchers have given us a fuller awareness of Jerusalem in the Second Temple period. Along with Sadducees, Pharisees. and Zealots, sects such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Essene Community, and Mandeans all navigated within these feverish settings. This novel follows John the Baptist as he moves within these ancient and tumultuous environments while finding his own destiny.
Researchers have discovered a number of Jewish and early Christian sects that were not fully known for thousands of years.
Along with Saducees, Pharisees, and Zealots—which are well-known—Essenes, Mandaeans, and the monastery at Qumran have enriched the understanding of religious communities in the first century.
In this book, you’ll learn about these sects through the eyes of John, who begins an eight-hour walk from Jerusalem to Qumran.
While he’d visited the library in Qumran many times to read the scrolls available only to the Essenes and to hear the teachings handed down from the righteous teacher and other leaders of the desert community, this trip is different.
John had turned away from the Sadducees, who focused their religion on the Torah and the temple. He had also spurned the Pharisees, who built rhetorical shrines to the oral Torah traditions, openly praising their own purity above other Judaic traditions. Even more vehemently, John abhorred the Herodians, who ruled over Judea.
Having reached the age of thirty, his plan is to seek admission to the monastery of Qumran. He does not know when, if ever, he’ll return to Jerusalem.

Sujets

• Religious
• Qumrán
• Jesús de Nazaret
• Jesus
• Rabbinic Judaism
• Qumran
• Pharisees
• John the Baptist
• Essenes
• Baptism
• Fiction
• Jésus de Nazareth

Informations

• Publié par: WestBow Press
• Date de parution: 05 avril 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781664293854
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

THE BAPTIST






DAVID ANTHONY







Copyright © 2023 David Anthony.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.



WestBow Press
A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.westbowpress.com
844-714-3454

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture taken from the World English Bible.

ISBN: 978-1-6642-9383-0 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-9384-7 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-9385-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023903575



WestBow Press rev. date: 03/31/2023



CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50

Epilogue



CHAPTER 1
The people were waiting for Zacharias, and they marveled that he delayed in the temple. When he came out, he could not speak to them, and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple. He continued making signs to them, and remained mute. When the days of his service were fulfilled, he departed to his house. After these days Elizabeth, his wife, conceived, and she hid herself five months, saying, “Thus has the Lord done to me in the days in which he looked at me, to take away my reproach among men.”
—Luke 1:21–25 ( WEB )
It was an eight-hour walk from Jerusalem to Qumran. John rose early to leave before sunrise and travel as far as he could before the afternoon heat became oppressive. He planned to rest during the hottest part of the day and then finish his journey in the cool of the evening. His clothing and a few belongings were bundled together in a pack, which he slung over his shoulder. John stepped into the night air, touching the mezuzah reflexively as he crossed the doorframe and departed.
John walked quietly but with sure footing through the narrow passageways of the city, though the way was only dimly illuminated by occasional oil lamps or torches. He had lived in this small home in a section of worker dwellings, near the southern wall of Jerusalem, ever since his father had died. He knew each step and turn as well as he knew his own features. His dark, curly hair was cut just above his shoulders and framed his round, thickset nose and mouth. He was shorter than his father—just over five feet. His mother had been beloved by all who knew her but had passed when John was twenty-three.
The trip to Qumran was familiar. He had visited the library many times to read the scrolls available only to the Essenes and to hear the teachings handed down from the Righteous Teacher and other leaders of the desert community. This time was different, however. Having reached the age of thirty, John was going to seek admission to the monastery of Qumran. He did not know when, if ever, he would return to Jerusalem. The usual age to enter Qumran was fifty, but he had been offered a place through the recommendation of the Essene community in Jerusalem.
At one time, his father had served as a priest in the Jerusalem Temple—a position that had brought honor to the family. Shortly before John was conceived, Zacharias had experienced some type of illness at the temple, which had left him unable to speak for several days. Zacharias said he had been visited by an angel, who had caused his muteness. Though no one openly doubted his claim, many believed Zacharias had committed some outrage or blasphemy that had caused his condition.
Though John had been eligible for the priesthood, he had chosen to work in the marketplace. He had some knowledge of the cloth trade, so he had become a purveyor of textiles and other goods. Zacharias had scoffed when John announced his intentions to join the Essenes and had adamantly refused to give his blessing. As time passed, Zacharias had refused to speak on the subject, eventually ignoring his only son entirely. One evening, Zacharias had confronted John, exclaiming that he would no longer be welcome in his home if he continued to follow the desert community. Their voices had risen in anger, and John had promised to leave Zacharias’s home in the morning. In the morning, he had awoken to find that Zacharias had died in his sleep. After the Levayah , John had followed his father’s wishes and left his home, never to return.
John’s route brought him very close to the high priest’s house—and to the synagogue known as the Upper Room—before he passed out of the city through the Essene Gate. Many travelers and peddlers were camped along the roadside and around the city walls. The camps were beginning to awaken as the glow of morning pooled among the scattered tents. Three men gathered around a smoking fire, speaking quietly in the brisk air. They nodded silently as John passed, and John returned the casual greeting. As he reached the crest of a small hill, the first direct rays of the sun clearly marked the road before him. He could see the path as it wandered through the hills of Jerusalem before dropping out of sight and into the lower plains, moving toward the Dead Sea. Beyond Qumran, the road turned north, passing by Jericho and the salt-pillar remnants of Sodom’s destruction before reaching the Jordan River.
The fragrant and blossoming hills of Jerusalem drew many herdsmen and shepherds. John watched as they herded their flocks on either side of the road. In a few months, the lambs would be separated, and the clean specimens would be delivered to the shohet for slaughter. Only the rare, unblemished animals would be culled for sacrifice in the temple to meet the requirements for burning blood and flesh or sometimes for consumption by the temple priests, the Kohanim. The Essenes took no part in the temple rites, and John had not visited the temple for several years—which had been another source of strife between him and his father. Zacharias had been committed to the temple and had remained faithful to his temple duties. He made the obligatory offerings of chatat sin offerings as well as the sheheheyanu offerings.
John had turned away from the Sadducees, who focused their religion on the Torah and the temple. He had also spurned the Pharisees, who built rhetorical shrines to the oral Torah traditions, openly praising their own purity above other Judaic traditions. Even more vehemently, John abhorred the Herodians, who ruled over Judea in Rome’s place. Though they kept the title of Jewish kings, they were Romans in all but name. They ate all manner of food—clean and unclean—and led lives of debauchery. Some dared to declare Herod the political messiah and savior of Israel. Against these traditions, John had joined the Essenes, who claimed that God did not dwell in the temple, in lofty rhetoric, or in political palaces. The temple priests had turned away from the line of Aaron and were no longer offered valid sacrifices. A purer sacrifice was performed by faithful Essenes who kept the true line of the high priesthood alive. John knew God lived in the midst of his people and heard the prayers of the true community of believers.
From a young age, John had noticed the Essenes who lived in Jerusalem. They were required to earn a living, so they worked among the other residents. But they kept their religious lives separate. Though they were in the city, they were not of the city. They did not dishonor the temple, except by not participating in the priestly rites. The logical quibbling of the proud Pharisees also did not attract John. The Pharisees wore their self-esteem on their sleeves and in their fine homes.
Most Essenes lived and worshipped in their own homes, though there were several Essene synagogues in the city. Essenes were required to provide shelter and food to other Essenes if they were able. They followed the Sabbath laws, which held that no one could walk more than one thousand cubits from the walls of the city—except herdsmen, who could accompany their animals up to two thousand cubits in search of pasture. They agreed that it was allowed, and even necessary, to save a human life on the Sabbath but taught that it was forbidden to lift a fallen animal out of a pit or deliver an animal from its mother’s uterus.
While working in the market, John had met Jacob, who was a