Hi... again. Thankyou for taking the time to write that huge reply.
But, for me, the above sentence could be taken as a summary of your feelings about John. A 'could be this, maybe that' condition that might never be resolved..... around all of the points that you made?
Look at this:- Some clues are there. Matthew: 'In those days John the Baptist came.' Mark: 'And so John came...' John came, and in a short time built up a huge following and close supporters (I think of them as pilot-fish!).
I use statement such as "could be," "maybe," etc because when dealing with history, we must deal with probability. I do not want to say that John did this or that, as such bold statements are not the only possibility. However, what I do say is what I believe has the highest probability based on the information that we have.
While it isn't a definitive statement, as I don't think that is possible while dealing with history, I do believe that there is quite a bit of certainty in my statement.s
Fine! But 'locusts and honey' could well be a euphemism for 'Opportunist Gathering'. In this season it is 'something' and in that season it is 'something else'. There's a point where we all have to make our own decisions about these questions.
It could be a euphemism, but I don't think the evidence points to that. John would have needed something more than just opportunistic meals to feed himself, as well as his following.
John would not have been alone in the wilderness. He would have had individuals coming out to him. It is possible that maybe he was fed by those coming out to him as well, as would be common. But for a more long term stay, John would have needed some sort of food that was more readily available.
They? John was unique. He didn't come out of the desert and crossing the Jordan with a throng, etc. It says he (alone) came, and preached, and baptised. Nobody else did that at this time. Or ever?
John was not fully unique. He based his mission off of the same basic ideas as other religious leaders did. He preached beyond the Jordan. And it is very possible that others were doing this as well, we simply don't know as our sources are not complete on the matter. However, the whole baptism thing was a long tradition within Judaism.
John did break away from the idea of having a large throng cross the Jordan, but instead, he most likely sent a more steady influx of people across the Jordan, but not as large crowds. It would have been a great idea as it would reduce attention being focused on him. And it is very probable others thought about the same thing.
Some birds become intoxicated from eating certain fruits at certain times in certain places. Jesus knew that, and his quote about John's diet surely doesn't mean that he knew John's diet so closely?
It is very probably that Jesus know John's diet quite closely. The reason being that Jesus was most likely a disciple of John's, or at least a one time follower. Jesus would not have sought out John unless he agreed with John's idea. This would also mean that Jesus would have spent a good time with John as well, and something as regular as John's diet would have been noticed.
It does look as if John had a much larger following than Jesus, for a short time. It does look as if John survived and developed somewhere deserted and wild for most of his life, preparing himself and his heart-mind-soul for his mission. I can understand why he would have a following right up to this time and beyond.
We really can't say much about the majority of John's life. It certainly would not have been too hard for John to adapt to a wilderness setting, especially if he took on an earlier tradition (if the cave really is connected to John, it is quite probable that John was in fact trained in the tradition that the cave had been used in).
