{"product_id":"john-the-baptist-in-history-joel-marcus-9781611179002","title":"John the Baptist in History and Theology","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn analysis that challenges the conventional Christian hierarchy of John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhile the Christian tradition has subordinated John the Baptist to Jesus of Nazareth, John himself would likely have disagreed with that ranking. In this eye-opening new book, \u003ci\u003eJohn the Baptist in History and Theology, \u003c\/i\u003e Joel Marcus makes a powerful case that John saw himself, not Jesus, as the proclaimer and initiator of the kingdom of God and his own ministry as the center of God's saving action in history.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlthough the Fourth Gospel has the Baptist saying, \"He must increase, but I must decrease,\" Marcus contends that this and other biblical and extrabiblical evidence reveal a continuing competition between the two men that early Christians sought to muffle. Like Jesus, John was an apocalyptic prophet who looked forward to the imminent end of the world and the establishment of God's rule on earth. Originally a member of the Dead Sea Sect, an apocalyptic community within Judaism, John broke with the group over his growing conviction that he himself was Elijah, the end-time prophet who would inaugurate God's kingdom on earth. Through his ministry of baptism, he ushered all who came to him--Jews and non-Jews alike--into this dawning new age. Jesus began his career as a follower of the Baptist, but, like other successor figures in religious history, he parted ways from his predecessor as he became convinced of his own centrality in God's purposes. Meanwhile John's mass following and apocalyptic message became political threats to Herod Antipas, who had John executed to abort any revolutionary movement.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBased on close critical-historical readings of early texts--including the accounts of John in the Gospels and in Josephus's\u003ci\u003e Antiquities\u003c\/i\u003e--as well as parallels from later religious movements, \u003ci\u003e John the Baptist in History and Theology\u003c\/i\u003e situates the Baptist within Second Temple Judaism and compares him to other apocalyptic thinkers from ancient and modern times. It concludes with thoughtful reflections on how its revisionist interpretations might be incorporated into the Christian faith.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Joel Marcus\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1611179009\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781611179002\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of South Carolina Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/16\/2018\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 288\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.25lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.10h x 6.20w x 1.10d","brand":"Joel Marcus","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":47072148259071,"sku":"9781611179002","price":62.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_5cc3e800-1985-4233-9596-4ea0662765d7.jpg?v=1753415920","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/john-the-baptist-in-history-joel-marcus-9781611179002","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}