John the Baptist

===Comparative analysis===
All four Gospels start Jesus' ministry in association with the appearance of John the Baptist.<ref name="Strauss2020">{{cite book|author=Mark L. Strauss|title=Four Portraits, One Jesus, 2nd Edition: A Survey of Jesus and the Gospels|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VVyeDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT493|date=24 March 2020|publisher=Zondervan Academic|isbn=978-0-310-52868-5|pages=493–|access-date=13 November 2020|archive-date=26 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026090922/https://books.google.com/books?id=VVyeDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT493#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> Simon J. Joseph has argued that the Gospel demotes the historical John by depicting him only as a prophetic forerunner to Jesus whereas his ministry actually complemented Jesus'.<ref name="Joseph2012">{{cite book|author=Simon J. Joseph|title=Jesus, Q, and the Dead Sea Scrolls: A Judaic Approach to Q|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eskHkKgnxk8C&pg=PA130|year=2012|publisher=Mohr Siebeck|isbn=978-3-16-152120-1|pages=147–|access-date=21 February 2018|archive-date=26 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026090930/https://books.google.com/books?id=eskHkKgnxk8C&pg=PA130#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>

====The prophecy of Isaiah====

Although the Gospel of Mark implies that the arrival of John the Baptist is the fulfilment of a prophecy from the [[Book of Isaiah]], the words quoted ("I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way – a voice of one calling in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'") are actually a composite of texts from [[Second Isaiah|Isaiah]], [[Book of Malachi|Malachi]] and the [[Book of Exodus]]. (Matthew and Luke drop the first part of the reference.)<ref name="Carl R. Kazmierski 1996 page 31"/>

====Baptism of Jesus====
[[File:Limestone panel with the figure of St Jogn (the Baptist) in relief. Early 17th c. (8384480270).jpg|thumb|230px|Limestone relief of John the Baptist from [[Zakynthos]], [[Byzantine and Christian Museum]], [[Greece]].]]

The gospels differ on the details of the Baptism. In Mark and Luke, Jesus himself sees the heavens open and hears a voice address him personally, saying, "You are my dearly loved son; you bring me great joy". They do not clarify whether others saw and heard these things. Although other incidents where the "voice came out of heaven" are recorded in which, for the sake of the crowds, it was heard audibly, John did say in his witness that he did see the spirit coming down "out of heaven" (John 12:28–30, John 1:32).

In Matthew, the voice from heaven does not address Jesus personally, saying instead "This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased."

In the Gospel of John, John the Baptist himself sees the spirit descend as a dove, testifying about the experience as evidence of Jesus's status.

====John's knowledge of Jesus====

John's knowledge of Jesus varies across gospels. In the Gospel of Mark, John preaches of a coming leader, but shows no signs of recognizing that Jesus is this leader. In Matthew, however, John immediately recognizes Jesus and John questions his own worthiness to baptize Jesus. In both Matthew and Luke, John later dispatches disciples to question Jesus about his status, asking "Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?" In Luke, John is a familial relative of Jesus whose birth was foretold by Gabriel. In the Gospel of John, John the Baptist himself sees the spirit descend like a dove and he explicitly preaches that Jesus is the Son of God.

====John and Elijah====
{{see also|Matthew 3:4}}
The Gospels vary in their depiction of John's relationship to [[Elijah]]. Matthew and Mark describe John's attire in a way reminiscent of the description of Elijah in [[2 Kings 1:8]], who also wore a garment of hair and a leather belt. In Matthew, Jesus explicitly teaches that John is "Elijah who was to come" (Matthew 11:14 – see also Matthew 17:11–13); many Christian theologians have taken this to mean that John was Elijah's successor. In the Gospel of John, John the Baptist explicitly denies being Elijah. In the annunciation narrative in Luke, an angel appears to Zechariah, John's father, and tells him that John "will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God," and that he will go forth "in the spirit and power of Elijah."<ref>{{Bibleverse|Luke|1:16–17|NAB}}</ref>

{{John the Baptist narrative comparison}}