Mt 3:1-12 Dec 7-25 The Forerunner’s Mindset: Understanding John the Baptist’s Life and Ministry

I focus on information from the Scriptures and try to figure out what likely was the back story.  I will attempt to explain more in detail as we unpack the life of John the Baptist.  I am very careful in using tradition and historical context to gain insight into biblical times.  Often tradition may have a political agenda and may not always be factual.  For example, Christian tradition holds that Herodias, fearing John might come back to life if body and head were together, had John’s head buried in Herod’s palace in Jerusalem. Islamic tradition believes the head of John the Baptist is buried under a specific pillar  in Damascus, Syria, which was once the Basilica of Saint John the Baptist. Some traditions also claim the head was buried on the Mount of Olives by Joanna, the wife of Chuza, where it remained hidden for centuries. Various relics purported to be of John have been claimed in several other places, including France, specifically Amiens Cathedral, Turkey, and other parts of the Middle East.  I think you can see why I will not be commenting on where John the Baptist is buried.

The good news is we can get more reliable insight to what the world was like from historians who lived and wrote at the time or shortly after the life of Jesus. 

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In this podcast, I draw from my background in psychology and scripture studies to provide fresh insights into the Gospels. Even though the Gospels were written 2000 years ago I try to apply the Gospels teaching to contemporary realties we are living. The Gospels consistently invite us to deepen our faith, find new wisdom, and grow spiritually. There is always something more to discover.

Each episode runs about 7 to 10 minutes.  I know you are busy, so I keep my podcasts short.  If you have time and are interested, please check out the earlier episodes listed on the podcast website and on YouTube.  Thank you so much for being part of this journey!  Your support encourages me to keep podcasting.  Please let me know if you have questions and comments, they truly matter—they help this podcast relevant to my listeners.

The Gospel today is from Matthew 3:1-12.  This Gospel will be read in churches on December 7, 2025.  The Gospel today and that of next week introduce John the Baptist and the critical role he played in the ministry of Jesus.

I have spoken about John the Baptist before in this podcast.  I invite my listeners to listen to my previous podcasts on John released on December 10, 2023, and another one December 1, 2024, for a more historical theological approach.  In this podcast I want to take a different approach.   I often use this approach to help me gain an understanding of the person and their teachings.

I focus on information from the Scriptures and try to figure out what likely was the back story.  I will attempt to explain more in detail as we unpack the life of John the Baptist.  I am very careful in using tradition and historical context to gain insight into biblical times.  Often tradition may have a political agenda and may not always be factual.  For example, Christian tradition holds that Herodias, fearing John might come back to life if body and head were together, had John’s head buried in Herod’s palace in Jerusalem. Islamic tradition believes the head of John the Baptist is buried under a specific pillar  in Damascus, Syria, which was once the Basilica of Saint John the Baptist. Some traditions also claim the head was buried on the Mount of Olives by Joanna, the wife of Chuza, where it remained hidden for centuries. Various relics purported to be of John have been claimed in several other places, including France (Amiens Cathedral), Turkey, and other parts of the Middle East.  I think you can see why I will not be commenting on where John the Baptist is buried.

The good news is we can get more reliable insight to what the world was like from historians who lived and wrote at the time or shortly after the life of Jesus.  Examples are Flavius Josephus — A Jewish historian of the late 1st century (born circa 37 CE), who wrote about Jewish history and mentions Jesus twice in his works. Although parts of his references to Jesus are debated as possible Christian additions, many scholars accept some mention of Jesus as authentic.

Tacitus was a Roman historian and senator who lived between  56–120 CE, and who wrote about the execution of Jesus by Pontius Pilate in his historical records. He was not a contemporary but lived shortly after Jesus’ time.

Another was Suetonius,   a Roman historian who was active in the early 2nd century CE who mentioned disturbances caused by followers of "Chrestus" in Rome, which some interpret as a reference related to early Christians. 

So let’s take a look at Scripture references about John to gain a deeper awareness.  We don’t know a great deal about who John was but there are clues that indicate who John was as a person.  Hopefully these facts  will flesh out his message.  I believe that it is helpful to understand Scripture when we have a better understanding of the underlying  situation.

We know about John’s parents.   His mother Elisabeth was a cousin to Mary the mother of Jesus.  His father Zachariah was a high priest from the priestly lineage of Abijah. Luke 1:5-6: Introduces Zachariah, and his wife Elizabeth, who were both righteous and faithful, yet childless because Elizabeth was barren and they were both advanced in age.  Their situation reminds me of Abraham and Sarah which we read about in Genesis.   There is no mention in the Gospel of brothers or sisters and because of the advanced age of his parents John was likely an only child.  Chances are that John was well educated as his father was a priest and would likely have made sure his son was familiar with the Biblical teachings.   His family was likely upper middle class if not higher.  His father was a prominent figure in the community therefore John  was probably familiar in speaking to people in power.  John was raised in the village of Ein Kerem which is only 7 kms from Jerusalem.  In fact, today it is part of Jerusalem.  Likely John was exposed to many different types of people and likely had a cosmopolitan view of life.

We don’t hear anything more about his parents.  Because they were advanced in age at his conception they likely had died before John began his public ministry.  I think they would be shocked to see their only child living in the dessert wearing only a camel hair garment and eating locusts and wild honey. 

John the Baptist is always represented dressed in an animal skin and living in the dessert. This is no accident. In Judaism, the desert represents a place of profound spiritual significance and transformation. It is symbolically associated with humility, renunciation of wealth, and spiritual preparation, serving as a setting where the Israelites receive the Torah and develop a deeper relationship with God. The desert is understood as a place of both physical and spiritual testing—an environment that strips away distractions and worldly attachments to foster purity and devotion.

The desert is also connected with exile, desolation, and judgment but simultaneously is the place where God reveals Himself and delivers the Torah, emphasizing a paradox of desolation and divine presence. The desert serves as a metaphor for the journey from slavery (Egypt) to freedom (the Promised Land), marking a transition where the people mature and embrace their role as free and faithful followers of God.

Rabbinic teachings highlight the desert's harshness as conducive for the Jewish people to abandon previous negative influences and learn humility, serving the Creator sincerely and selflessly. Thus, the desert in Judaism is a symbol of both trial and spiritual renewal, of hardship leading to enlightenment and covenantal identity.​

In summary, the desert represents exile and hardship, divine testing and revelation, and the transformative process of spiritual humility and readiness to receive God's commandments in Judaism.

The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls further drew attention to the numerous parallels between John’s mission and that of the Essenes, with whom John may have received some of his religious training.

John’s diet was problematic.  While okay on the short term, this diet lacks sufficient dietary fibre, healthy fats, and a broad spectrum of vitamins and minerals needed for optimal health.​  Honey is high in sugar and calories, so excessive consumption could lead to blood sugar spikes. ​Locusts or Grasshoppers alone do not provide all essential nutrients, especially certain vitamins (like vitamin C and vitamin D) and some fatty acids that are necessary to sustain life on a long term basis.​  I suspect his diet may have caused problems for him.  I wonder if this short-term diet was a sign that his time in the desert would be short before he would be killed like so many prophets before him.

John was passionate about his faith.  He could have chosen a comfortable life for himself, but he gave it all for his faith.  John was very successful in his ministry of calling people to a deeper relationship with God.  So much so that at one point a delegation of Pharisees came out to the dessert to find him and ask him point blank if he was the Messiah. The scripture passage where John the Baptist is asked if he is the Messiah is found in John 1:19-25. In this passage, religious authorities sent priests and temple helpers to ask John who he was. John plainly said, "I am not the Messiah." They also asked if he was Elijah or "the Prophet," to which John also responded "No".  It is important to note that Jesus does not experience the Pharisees asking if he is the Messiah.

As passionate as John was it seems his expectations and hopes for change were not being met. It was indeed a challenging time for John the Baptist, especially when he had preached about the coming of the Messiah and even baptised Him. He would have experienced depression and doubts because the Messiah was present, yet not with him.  To  make matters worse he was imprisoned with no indication that he would ever be released.

Some Biblical scholars suggest that John the Baptist experienced a level of depression and despair or mental health issues because he felt ignored or abandoned by God. In his doubt, depression and despair, he wanted a confirmation from Jesus if He was truly the Messiah.

One of the most significant actions John took was when he sent two of his disciples to ask Jesus if he was the Messiah. “John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” (Luke 7:18-20).  John the Baptist experienced depression and doubt while imprisoned because his expectations of the Messiah's immediate deliverance were unmet.  What is very thought provoking for us was the answer Jesus gave when He said to them:  “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.” (Luke 7:22-23) Jesus is letting John the Baptist come to his own conclusions.  I won’t say much more as this paragraph is part of next weeks podcast.

I don’t blame John for being discouraged and perhaps confused.  It makes sense.  He, like everyone else had to work out his journey of faith.  Adult faith will always have its periods of doubt.  It is what one does with those doubts that truly  matters.  As I mentioned earlier, even though John was imprisoned   he sent two of his disciples to Jesus to ask Jesus to confirm his messiah status.  John was still active despite experiencing doubts. Rev. Colin Sedgwick a Baptist minister acknowledged John the Baptist’s struggles with faith even while he experienced imprisonment. Theologians like Charles Spurgeon metaphorically identified John the Baptist as a figure representing prophetic suffering or depression in ministry, emphasizing the spiritual depth behind such struggles.  

Depression and doubts are very common in deeply religious people.  We can talk about Christian joy but there will always be periods of desolation.  We ought not to act surprised when we feel depressed.

Many saints talk about this time.  The "Dark Night of the Soul," written by Saint John of the Cross, is a spiritual and mystical treatise describing the soul's journey through profound spiritual purification and transformation. It metaphorically depicts a "dark night" representing a phase where the soul is stripped of attachments to sensory pleasures and consolations, enduring a period of spiritual dryness, and desolation.  Saint Ignatius of Loyola did talk about depression, particularly in the context of what he called "spiritual desolation." He experienced a severe depressive episode himself, marked by symptoms such as poor concentration, indecisiveness, recurrent thoughts of death and suicide, loss of interest in prayer, agitation, self-punishment (fasting), weight loss, and chronic fatigue. His writings and experiences reveal the psychological depth of what we would now recognize as major depression.  

We are now learning that Mother Teresa of Calcutta did talk about experiences that resemble what modern understanding might recognize as depression or spiritual dryness, often described as "spiritual darkness" In her extensive personal writings and letters, she expressed profound feelings of emptiness, loneliness, and a sense of God's absence, describing a painful longing for divine presence while feeling abandoned and emotionally desolate.

So, in conclusion John the Baptist and many saints warn us that we will experience times of desolation and depression.  These dark times are painful, but they do not mean that God is absent or that we have done something wrong.  Rather let us dare look at these times as opportunities for spiritual and personal growth and shifting of priorities and a stripping away of beliefs, actions and expectations that will ultimately block our path to spiritual growth. 

Thank you for joining me today.

Next Sunday, I’ll be sharing a new podcast episode on Matthew 11:2-11, where we will hear more about John the Baptist and the unique role he played in the ministry of Jesus.

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A big thank you to Heather Patel Doherty and Richard Coulombe for their wonderful help in preparing each episode.

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May God richly bless you!