Anyone who loves to read the gospels know very well the famous question posed to Jesus by John from the dungeons of Herod's prisons. The Gospel of Matthew relates the story of how John as he agonized with doubt sends some of his disciples to Jesus
Some loyal exegetes have supported John's question asserting that he had send his disciples, because, being them who had the doubts, Jesus could resolve them. Interestingly that while some exegetes cannot come with some a reason for Jesus praying at Gethsemane other than fear, a defense arose for John's explicit lack of faith in Jesus in such a critical moment.
According to many John recovered his faith before dying. That idea does not come from any passage of scripture. It emerged from the favorable view on which John was held from the beginning and the lack of understanding of the subtle criticisms that Jesus made of John.
I cannot imagine the evangelist Matthew leaving a calumnious report that John faltered in his faith in his last moment and never recovered. Had the disciples of Jesus known of any last words of faith in Jesus from John they would have added it. No reports of such a moment appear anywhere. Then how can interpreters of the scriptures suggest its historicity?
How come certain interpretations go into the realm of pure imagination discounting the evidence left for us?
We need to do our best with the legacy we have received. Some degree of speculation can be allowed but proposing ideas as irrefutable without establishing a legitimate connection with the actual written texts do not value what we have received.
If none of the evangelists felt obliged to write an addition to the story of John's last moments, if no righteous redactor felt the urge to modify the story with some eyewitness' reports of John proclaiming his faith in Jesus with his last breath, we must lay the case to rest as it is, and honor what the actual records contain.
We do not have reports of what happened to the apostles inn their very last moments as they faced. death. However, the records we have of how they conducted themselves prior to that can serve as a strong foundation for making the assumption that in all likelihood they did not only remained faithful till the end, they also demonstrated great courage, love and even gratitude for dying for Jesus. Though we do not have scriptural evidence of their sacrifice the church traditions that emerged in the places where they carried out their missionary activities provide better evidence than the total lack of evidence for John having acted likewise.
That we cannot find any tradition even in the so called apocryphal writings that narrates a scene where John died for Christ should lead to seriously reflection upon the dogmatic positions taken so far. On the contrary, the only other traditions that one finds about John contradict the idea that John at any moment clearly explained and guided his own disciples towards Jesus.
A religious group called the Mandeans, with roots possibly going back to 1st. c. Palestine, revere John the Baptist while rejecting Jesus.
New World Encyclopedia has this to say about them:
All historical and textual indications point to John having died disbelieving that Jesus fulfilled his greatest hopes.
No amount of appeal to tradition can eliminate the textual evidence against John.
Matthew 11:2-4
Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to Him,
“Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?”
According to many John recovered his faith before dying. That idea does not come from any passage of scripture. It emerged from the favorable view on which John was held from the beginning and the lack of understanding of the subtle criticisms that Jesus made of John.
I cannot imagine the evangelist Matthew leaving a calumnious report that John faltered in his faith in his last moment and never recovered. Had the disciples of Jesus known of any last words of faith in Jesus from John they would have added it. No reports of such a moment appear anywhere. Then how can interpreters of the scriptures suggest its historicity?
How come certain interpretations go into the realm of pure imagination discounting the evidence left for us?
We need to do our best with the legacy we have received. Some degree of speculation can be allowed but proposing ideas as irrefutable without establishing a legitimate connection with the actual written texts do not value what we have received.
If none of the evangelists felt obliged to write an addition to the story of John's last moments, if no righteous redactor felt the urge to modify the story with some eyewitness' reports of John proclaiming his faith in Jesus with his last breath, we must lay the case to rest as it is, and honor what the actual records contain.
We do not have reports of what happened to the apostles inn their very last moments as they faced. death. However, the records we have of how they conducted themselves prior to that can serve as a strong foundation for making the assumption that in all likelihood they did not only remained faithful till the end, they also demonstrated great courage, love and even gratitude for dying for Jesus. Though we do not have scriptural evidence of their sacrifice the church traditions that emerged in the places where they carried out their missionary activities provide better evidence than the total lack of evidence for John having acted likewise.
That we cannot find any tradition even in the so called apocryphal writings that narrates a scene where John died for Christ should lead to seriously reflection upon the dogmatic positions taken so far. On the contrary, the only other traditions that one finds about John contradict the idea that John at any moment clearly explained and guided his own disciples towards Jesus.
A religious group called the Mandeans, with roots possibly going back to 1st. c. Palestine, revere John the Baptist while rejecting Jesus.
New World Encyclopedia has this to say about them:
The followers of John the Baptist later became organize as an independent sect, known as the Mandeans.
Today, the Mandeans believe John the Baptist, called Yahya in the Sidra d-Yahia (Book of John), was the last and greatest of the prophets. While Mandaeans agree that he baptized Jesus(Yeshu), they reject the latter as either a savior or prophet, viewing John as the only true Messiah.How exactly the disciples of John organized and how many of them participated in this group is not known. Had John performed his duty towards Jesus in a very clear way his followers should not have been confused or doubtful. Much less come to the preposterous conclusion that John was the Messiah.
All historical and textual indications point to John having died disbelieving that Jesus fulfilled his greatest hopes.
No amount of appeal to tradition can eliminate the textual evidence against John.
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