John 1

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Warandpeace

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Why does it appear that Jesus and John the Baptist did not meet in person until their adult lives?
Why did John not then follow Jesus?
 
Hi War And Peace,

We don’t really know anything about the interaction between John the Baptist and Jesus prior to their encounter at the Jordan.

As for John following Jesus, well, Jesus didn’t begin his adult ministry until John was put into prison (Mark 1:14).
 
John the Baptist was the ‘voice in the wilderness’ that sought to prepare the Jews for Jesus’ ministry. Once they met at the Jordan, the Holy Spirit moved him to announce that it was his time to ‘diminish’ and make way for the Lord {the Messiah]. For John, who was by that time quite famous, to hang about Jesus as a follower/apostle would likely tend to distract folks from the Message Incarnate, whose time had now come.

In like fashion and for similar reasons, Our Lady steps back into the ‘wings’ of the NT after the Wedding Feast at Cana, and altogether after the Crucifixion. Her later life is however chronicled in part in the Apocrypha.
 
Warandpeace said:
Why does it appear that Jesus and John the Baptist did not meet in person until their adult lives?
Why did John not then follow Jesus?
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They grew up in different parts of the country – Jesus in Nazareth, John in “the hills of Judea.” Also, by the time John was a young man (by which time his elderly parents would have died), he was living in the wilderness.
 
Warandpeace said:
Why does it appear that Jesus and John the Baptist did not meet in person until their adult lives?
Why did John not then follow Jesus?
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JB was called to proceed Jesus, and by doing God’s will he actually was following Jesus.
 
John 1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. 30 He is the one of whom I said, ‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’ 31 I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel.” 32 John testified further, saying, “I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky and remain upon him. 33 I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the holy Spirit.’ 34 Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”

I’ve always understood it along the lines of John the Baptist showing that he knew Jesus, knew Him as a relative/cousin, and knew He was special, but didn’t really KNOW Him until the Holy Spirit came down upon Him, and John could realize that Jesus was the Son of God. It was speaking about how John came to a more complete understanding of who Jesus is.
 
Geo17 said:
Which book of the Apocrypha talks about Mary after Jesus died?
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Book Eight I believe, over 50 texts leading up to and including the events around her death and Assumption.

ps. My own dear wife died on August 15th {Feast of the Assumption] this year. I felt her going, even though I was not actually with her - I asked Jesus and Our Blessed Lady to take her into Heaven - when I saw her a few hours later, her face was smooth, and looked like ‘the cat that got the cream’! I strongly feel my [and others] prayers had been heard and answered. Deo Gratias.
 
I would assume that they knew each other well, after all it was a small community and Mary was Elizabeth’s cousin whom she stayed with for three months. They must have been very close, also John the Baptist actually knew Jesus before he was born, because he lept for joy in Elizabeth’s womb. 🙂
 
CHRISTINE77 said:
I would assume that they knew each other well, after all it was a small community and Mary was Elizabeth’s cousin whom she stayed with for three months. They must have been very close, also John the Baptist actually knew Jesus before he was born, because he lept for joy in Elizabeth’s womb. 🙂
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Jesus and John didn’t live in the same area growing up. It’s quite possible that their only contact was while they were in their mothers’ wombs. I personally think they probably had infrequent contact from time to time, maybe when their families would travel to the Temple for festivals.
 
zz912 said:
Jesus and John didn’t live in the same area growing up. It’s quite possible that their only contact was while they were in their mothers’ wombs. I personally think they probably had infrequent contact from time to time, maybe when their families would travel to the Temple for festivals.
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Nevertheless, they did know each other.
 
Joseph Ratzinger
Pope Benedict XVI
Jesus of Nazareth

Chapter 1. Page 14

…“The earnest religiosity of the Qumran writings is moving: it appears that not only John the Baptist, but possibly Jesus and His family as well, were close to the Qumran community.”…

Peace
 
THE LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN
MARY
From the visions of Anne Catherine Emmerich
Translated by
Sir Michael Palairet
With supplementary notes by
Rev. Sebastian Bullough, O.P.
Edited by
Donald R. Dickerson, Jr.
  1. THE ANCESTORS OF ST. ANNE 5 —ESSENES.
    I had a detailed vision of the ancestors of St. Anne, the mother of the Blessed
    Virgin. They lived at Mara in the region of Mount Horeb, and were connected
    spiritually with a kind of very devout Israelites of whom I have seen a great deal. I
    will relate as much as I can recall about them. I was with these people almost the
    whole of yesterday, and if I had not been oppressed by so many visits, I should not
    have forgotten nearly all of what I saw.
    These devout Israelites who were connected with the ancestors of St. Anne were
    called Essenes or Essaees. They have, however, changed their name three times, for
    they were first called Eskarenes, then Chasidaees, and finally Essenes. …
Peace
 
Warandpeace said:
Why does it appear that Jesus and John the Baptist did not meet in person until their adult lives?
Why did John not then follow Jesus?
Click to expand...
John did follow Jesus; he was the forerunner of Christ. Why Jesus suddenly began his ministry at 30 is the real question. I am sure that John did know Jesus since they were relatives, but I don’t know why Jesus was suddenly baptized by John, was visited by the Holy Spirit and God announced his divinity at that age.

John followed Jesus from before his birth until his death by Herod. He had to decrease so that Jesus could increase.
 
zz912 said:
John 1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. 30 He is the one of whom I said, ‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’ 31 I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel.” 32 John testified further, saying, “I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky and remain upon him. 33 I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the holy Spirit.’ 34 Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”

I’ve always understood it along the lines of John the Baptist showing that he knew Jesus, knew Him as a relative/cousin, and knew He was special, but didn’t really KNOW Him until the Holy Spirit came down upon Him, and John could realize that Jesus was the Son of God. It was speaking about how John came to a more complete understanding of who Jesus is.
Click to expand...
👍 thanks for all the replies
 
Luke 1:76-80
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA)
76 And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways:
77 To give knowledge of salvation to his people, unto the remission of their sins:
78 Through the bowels of the mercy of our God, in which the Orient from on high hath visited us:
79 To enlighten them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death: to direct our feet into the way of peace.
80 And the child grew, and was strengthened in spirit; and was in the deserts until the day of his manifestation to Israel.

Since they lives many miles apart, and since travel was a major undertaking, and since John was in the wilderness from some point in his childhood, they may indeed have not known each other.
 
It seems to me that the writings are ordered more towards emphasizing significant events versus chronological order - they are not a chronological biography of Jesus’ life from birth to resurrection and ascension. Seems to be why there aren’t a lot of writings about Jesus’ childhood. In effect, Jesus and John the Baptist might very well have been cousins who interacted throughout childhood even if sporadically, but the emphasis on significant events leads to the interaction at the Jordan. I would presume the statements, “I did not know him” would be directed towards him being the Messiah not his cousin.
 
CatholicServant said:
It seems to me that the writings are ordered more towards emphasizing significant events versus chronological order - they are not a chronological biography of Jesus’ life from birth to resurrection and ascension. Seems to be why there aren’t a lot of writings about Jesus’ childhood. In effect, Jesus and John the Baptist might very well have been cousins who interacted throughout childhood even if sporadically, but the emphasis on significant events leads to the interaction at the Jordan. I would presume the statements, “I did not know him” would be directed towards him being the Messiah not his cousin.
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I think you are correct. Nobody knew that Jesus was Messiah until the moment of his baptism. However, John knew that one would come after him who was the Messiah. I think everyone who was familiar with Jesus before his baptism, knew he was special in many ways, but not that he was the living God.
 
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