John the
Baptist is mentioned by the Hebrew historian Josephus and revered as a major
religious figure in Christianity, Islam, the Bahá'í Faith, and Mandaeism. He is
called a prophet by all of these faiths, and is honored as a saint in many Christian
traditions. According to the New Testament, John anticipated a messianic figure
greater than himself, and the Gospels portray John as the precursor or
forerunner of Jesus, since John announces Jesus' coming and prepares the people
for Jesus' ministry. Jesus himself identifies John as "Elijah who is to
come", which is a direct reference to the prophecy of Malachi 4:5–6, that
has been confirmed by the angel who announced John's birth to his father
Zecharia. According to the New Testament, John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth
were relatives.
Some
scholars maintain that John belonged to the Essenes, a semi-ascetic Judaic sect
who expected a Hebrew messiah and who practiced ritual baptism. John used
baptism as the central symbol or sacrament of his pre-messianic movement. Most
scholars agree that John baptized Jesus, and several New Testament accounts
report that some of Jesus' early followers had previously been followers of John.
Whether John himself recognized Jesus as the messiah is not clear from the New
Testament.
According to
the New Testament John was sentenced to death and subsequently beheaded by
Herod Antipas sometime between AD 28 and 36 after John rebuked him for
divorcing his wife, Phasaelis, and then unlawfully wedding Herodias, the wife
of his brother Herod Philip I.