St John the Baptist 		June 24
Our information about John the Baptist comes entirely from the New Testament, apart from one reference by the Jewish historian, Josephus. John came from a priestly family. His father Zechariah was a Temple priest, and his mother Elizabeth was also of priestly descent and a relative of Jesus’ mother Mary.
Although they treat John the Baptist in different ways, the four Gospels all regard John’s ministry as the beginning of the good news. John enters into the prophetic tradition in which Elijah is expected to return before the messianic age commences. His extremely simple clothes and diet indicate his rejection of the corrupt society of his day in favour of a strict adherence to the laws of Moses. In particular John calls on all true Israelites to become the people of God by avoiding the easy compromises with Gentile standards, and by living lives worthy of God’s people.
In this stance John has much in common with other movements of his own day, including the Essenes of the Qumran community, though there is no direct evidence to show that he was one of them. However, like them, he invited those who came to him to receive baptism as a sign of their conversion and earnestness. In particular he demanded of the tax collectors and zealot soldiers that they live in accordance with the Mosaic expectations of purity and justice. John reserved his most severe polemic for the priests and supporters of Herod Antipas, who had accepted Gentile attitudes almost completely.
Given his popularity as a zealous reformer and his outspoken attacks on the life-style of Herod, it is not surprising that John was eventually imprisoned and executed. But by then John had a number of followers. Jesus himself appears to have entered on his own ministry following his baptism by John. A number of Jesus’ own followers had initially been disciples of John, and Jesus regarded John’s preaching as the prelude to his own mission. Not all of John’s disciples became followers of Jesus, and Baptist groups existed for many years after John’s death. Paul came across one such group in Ephesus (Acts 19:3).
While acknowledging that the gospel of Jesus in many ways began with John’s initiative, the Gospel writers were at pains to stress the role of John as the forerunner of Jesus. This is particularly so in the case of John’s Gospel, where John’s ministry is made entirely subservient to that of Jesus. The church remembers John on his birthday, which is placed six months before that of Jesus, in line with the account in Luke’s Gospel (Luke 1:36).
For Liturgical Use
John was from a priestly family and advocated a return to the strict observance of the laws of Moses in ethical and religious standards. He baptised people as a token of their acceptance of this. John’s message was popular with many, but it brought him into conflict with Herod and the rulers of Israel, many of whom followed Gentile customs. John was executed on Herod’s orders. Jesus’ ministry began with his baptism by John, and many of his followers were former disciples of John.
Sentence, Prayers and Readings as in A New Zealand Prayer Book - He Karakia Mihinare o Aotearoa, page 652-653