John the Baptist

Saint John the Baptist, by Titian
The Preaching of St. John the Baptist by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1566
Salome is given the severed head of John the Baptist, Onorio Marinari, 1670s
St. John the Baptist Preaching, c. 1665, by Mattia Preti
The Baptism of Jesus Christ, by Piero della Francesca,
Matthias Grünewald, detail of the Isenheim Altarpiece
Nabi Yahya Mosque, the traditional burial site of John the Baptist, in Sebastia, near Nablus
Monastery of Saint John in the Wilderness
Shrine of John the Baptist in the Umayyad Mosque, which purportedly houses John the Baptist's head
A Kolkata Armenian kisses the hand of St John the Baptist at Chinsurah.
Saint Karapet Monastery, where Armenian tradition holds that his remains were laid to rest by Gregory the Illuminator
Tomb of Saint John the Baptist at a Coptic monastery in Lower Egypt. The bones of Saint John the Baptist were said to have been found here.
Birth of John the Baptist, Cappella Tornabuoni
Serbo-Byzantine fresco from Gračanica Monastery, Kosovo,
The Druze Maqam al-Nabi Yahya (John the Baptist) in As-Suwayda Governorate.
John setting off into the desert, Giovanni di Paolo, 1454
Eastern Orthodox icon John the Baptist – the Angel of the Desert (Stroganov School, 1620s) Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
John the Baptist (right) with child Jesus, in the painting The Holy Children with a Shell by Bartolomé Esteban Perez Murillo
Head of St. John the Baptist on a Plate, Southern Netherlands,, oak
St John (right) in Christ in the House of His Parents by John Everett Millais, 1849–50
Catholic church at his traditional birthplace in Ein Kerem
Wooden statue. Pietro Paolo Azzopardi, 1845, Xewkija.
St. John the Baptist ({{c.|1513–1516}}), Leonardo da Vinci
John the Baptist in the desert (1577–1621), Cristofano Allori
John the Baptist (17th century), Michele Fabris
The Beheading of St John the Baptist, {{c.|1869}}, Puvis de Chavannes

John the Baptist (c.

- John the Baptist
Saint John the Baptist, by Titian

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The Baptism of Christ by Andrea del Verrocchio and Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1475

Baptism of Jesus

The Baptism of Christ by Andrea del Verrocchio and Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1475
Jesus (left) is being identified by John the Baptist in, by Ottavio Vannini, 17th century.
Part of the ancient Madaba Map showing Bethabara east of the Jordan River
The Al-Maghtas ruins on the Jordanian side of the Jordan River were the location for the Baptism of Jesus and the ministry of John the Baptist.
Stained glass window of Jesus' baptism by Tiffany.
Arian Baptistry, Ravenna, 6th-century mosaic. A classical personification of the Jordan attends at left.
High cross, Kells, Ireland, 10th century carving in stone
Miniature from the Psalter of Eleanor of Aquitaine (ca. 1185)
Andrea Mantegna, c. 1505
Juan Navarrete, 1567
Chinese porcelain, Qing dynasty, early 18th century
Eastern Orthodox icon
Gerard David – The Baptism of Christ, c. 1505
Gregorio Fernández, c. 1630
Relief in Kärlich, around the 17th century
Aert de Gelder, c.1710
Grigory Gagarin, c. 1840–1850
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Baptism of Christ, 18th century, Italy

The baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist is a major event in the life of Jesus which is described in three of the gospels: Matthew, Mark and Luke.

Luke 13:29–35; 14:1–10 on Papyrus 45 (folio 15; c. AD 250).

Gospel of Luke

The Gospel of Luke tells of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ.

The Gospel of Luke tells of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ.

Luke 13:29–35; 14:1–10 on Papyrus 45 (folio 15; c. AD 250).
Papyrus 45, a 3rd-century AD Greek papyrus of the Gospel of Luke
Subscriptio to the Gospel of Luke in Codex Macedoniensis 034 (Gregory-Aland), 9th century
Almost all of Mark's content is found in Matthew, and most of Mark is also found in Luke. Matthew and Luke share a large amount of additional material that is not found in Mark, and each also has a proportion of unique material.
Parable of the Sower (Biserica Ortodoxă din Deal, Cluj-Napoca), Romania)
Annunciation (Murillo)
Supper at Emmaus (1601), Caravaggio, National Gallery

The combined work divides the history of first-century Christianity into three stages, with the gospel making up the first two of these – the life of Jesus the Messiah from his birth to the beginning of his mission in the meeting with John the Baptist, followed by his ministry with events such as the Sermon on the Plain and its Beatitudes, and his Passion, death, and resurrection.

Galilee, site of Josephus's governorship, before the First Jewish–Roman War

Josephus

First-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for The Jewish War, who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly descent and a mother who claimed royal ancestry.

First-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for The Jewish War, who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly descent and a mother who claimed royal ancestry.

Galilee, site of Josephus's governorship, before the First Jewish–Roman War
Romanticized engraving of Flavius Josephus appearing in William Whiston's translation of his works
Josephus in the Nuremberg Chronicle
The works of Josephus translated by Thomas Lodge (1602).
1581 German translation of Josephus' The Jewish War in the collection of the Jewish Museum of Switzerland.

Josephus's works are the chief source next to the Bible for the history and antiquity of ancient Palestine, and provide a significant and independent extra-Biblical account of such figures as Pontius Pilate, Herod the Great, John the Baptist, James the Just, and possibly Jesus of Nazareth.

Coin of Herod Antipas

Herod Antipas

1st-century ruler of Galilee and Perea, who bore the title of tetrarch ("ruler of a quarter") and is referred to as both "Herod the Tetrarch" and "King Herod" in the New Testament, although he never held the title of king.

1st-century ruler of Galilee and Perea, who bore the title of tetrarch ("ruler of a quarter") and is referred to as both "Herod the Tetrarch" and "King Herod" in the New Testament, although he never held the title of king.

Coin of Herod Antipas
Herod (Hérode), by French painter and Bible illustrator James Tissot, in the Brooklyn Museum
Domain given to Herod Antipas, as Tetrarch of Galilee and Perea, by Augustus in 4 BC
Jesus before Herod Antipas, Albrecht Dürer, 1509
Herod Antipas as portrayed in the Nuremberg Chronicle

He is widely known today for accounts in the New Testament of his role in events that led to the executions of John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth.

This painting depicts baptism by affusion. The artist may have chosen an archaic form for this depiction of baptism by St. Peter.

Baptism

Christian sacrament of admission and adoption, almost invariably with the use of water, into Christianity.

Christian sacrament of admission and adoption, almost invariably with the use of water, into Christianity.

This painting depicts baptism by affusion. The artist may have chosen an archaic form for this depiction of baptism by St. Peter.
Catacombs of San Callisto: baptism in a 3rd-century painting
Al-Maghtas ruins on the Jordanian side of the Jordan River are the location for the Baptism of Jesus and the ministry of John the Baptist.
Excavated mikveh in Qumran, Israel
Christening photograph in Orthodox Church. The moment of Catechism.
Baptism by submersion in the Eastern Orthodox Church (Sophia Cathedral, 2005)
Men lined up to be baptized by immersion in the River Jordan
Baptism of a child by affusion
Fresco of a baptism from the Catacombs of Marcellinus and Peter.
Long laced gown worn at a typical Lutheran baptism in Sweden in 1948
Baptism of Augustine of Hippo as represented in a sculptural group in Troyes cathedral (1549)
The baptistry at St. Raphael's Cathedral, Dubuque, Iowa. This particular font was expanded in 2005 to include a small pool to provide for immersion baptism of adults. Eight-sided font architectures are common symbology of the day of Christ's Resurrection: the "Eighth Day".
Baptism Jar, used in Portuguese Ceylon.
Russian Orthodox priest greeting an infant and its godparents on the steps of the church at the beginning of the Sacred Mystery of Baptism.
A river baptism in North Carolina at the turn of the 20th century. Full-immersion (submersion) baptism continues to be a common practice in many African-American Christian congregations today.
Engraving from William G. Brownlow's book The Great Iron Wheel Examined, showing a Baptist minister changing clothes in front of horrified women after administering a baptism by immersion.
A baptistry in a Methodist church
Syro-Malabar Major Archbishop crowning a baby after baptism
An Orthodox baptism
A Mormon baptism, circa the 1850s
Christening of USS Dewey (DDG-105)
Mandaeans undergoing baptism (masbuta) in the Karun River, Ahvaz, Iran
Baptism of a Yazidi child in Lalish

The synoptic gospels recount that John the Baptist baptised Jesus.

Jesus

Jesus (c.

Jesus (c.

Counter-clockwise from top-right: Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, Latin, and English transcriptions of the name Jesus
A 3rd-century Greek papyrus of the Gospel of Luke
Adoration of the Shepherds by Gerard van Honthorst, 1622
The Circumcision by Giovanni Bellini, ~1500. The work depicts the circumcision of Jesus.
The Finding of the Saviour in the Temple, by William Holman Hunt, 1860
The Baptism of Christ by John the Baptist, by José Ferraz de Almeida Júnior, 1895
Sermon on the Mount, by Carl Bloch, 1877, depicts Jesus' important discourse
The Exhortation to the Apostles, by James Tissot, portrays Jesus talking to his 12 disciples
Jesus and the rich young man by Heinrich Hofmann, 1889
The Return of the Prodigal Son by Pompeo Batoni depicts the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Jesus told many parables during his ministry.
Jesus cleansing a leper, medieval mosaic from the Monreale Cathedral, late 12th to mid-13th centuries
The Transfiguration of Jesus, depicted by Carl Bloch, 19th century
A painting of Jesus' final entry into Jerusalem, by Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1897
The Last Supper, depicted by Juan de Juanes, c. 1562
A depiction of the kiss of Judas and arrest of Jesus, by Caravaggio, c. 1602
Ecce homo! Antonio Ciseri's 1871 depiction of Pontius Pilate presenting Jesus to the public
Pietro Perugino's depiction of the Crucifixion as Stabat Mater, 1482
Appearance of Jesus Christ to Maria Magdalena by Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov, 1835
A 3rd century depiction of Jesus as the Good Shepherd
Judea, Galilee and neighboring areas at the time of Jesus
A 1640 edition of the works of Josephus, a 1st-century Roman-Jewish historian who referred to Jesus.
Baptism in the Jordan River, the river where Jesus was baptized
The Resurrection of Christ from a 16th-century manuscript of La Passion de Nostre Seigneur
The ethnicity of Jesus in art has been influenced by cultural settings.
The Trinity is the belief in Christianity that God is one God in three persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit.
Jesus is depicted with the Alpha and Omega letters in the catacombs of Rome from the 4th century.
The name Jesus son of Mary written in Islamic calligraphy followed by Peace be upon him
The Druze maqam of Al-masih (Jesus) in As-Suwayda Governorate.
Enthroned Jesus image on a Manichaean temple banner from c. 10th-century Qocho
Jesus healing a paralytic in one of the first known images of Jesus from Dura Europos in the 3rd century
The Shroud of Turin, Italy, is the best-known claimed relic of Jesus and one of the most studied artifacts in human history.

Jesus was a Galilean Jew who underwent circumcision, was baptized by John the Baptist, and began his own ministry.

Annunciation of the Angel to Zechariah by Domenico Ghirlandaio (1490, fresco in the Tornabuoni Chapel, Florence)

Zechariah (New Testament figure)

Figure in the New Testament and the Quran, and venerated in Christianity and Islam.

Figure in the New Testament and the Quran, and venerated in Christianity and Islam.

Annunciation of the Angel to Zechariah by Domenico Ghirlandaio (1490, fresco in the Tornabuoni Chapel, Florence)
Zechariah and St. John the Baptist. A medieval Georgian fresco from the Monastery of the Cross, Jerusalem.
Domenico Ghirlandaio's fresco Zechariah Writes Down the Name of His Son (1490, fresco in the Tornabuoni Chapel, Florence)
The martyrdom of Zachariah in the Temple during the Massacre of the Innocents; and the Flight of Elizabeth, as depicted in a miniature from the Paris Gregory, a 9th-century manuscript codex
The Tomb of Absalom, built in the 1st century CE in the Kidron Valley; an inscription added three centuries later claims that it is Zechariah's tomb.
The tomb of Zechariah in the Great Mosque of Aleppo, Syria

In the Bible he is the father of John the Baptist, a priest of the sons of Aaron in the Gospel of Luke, and the husband of Elizabeth who is a relative of the Virgin Mary.

The end of Mark 15 (excluding v. 47), along with Mark 16:1 in Codex Sinaiticus (c. AD 350).

Gospel of Mark

Second of the four canonical gospels and of the three synoptic Gospels.

Second of the four canonical gospels and of the three synoptic Gospels.

The end of Mark 15 (excluding v. 47), along with Mark 16:1 in Codex Sinaiticus (c. AD 350).
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List of kephalaia (chapters) to the Gospel of Mark, placed after the colophon of the Gospel of Matthew and before the Gospel of Mark, in Codex Alexandrinus (AD 400–440).
Page from Mark in a Latin bible dated 1486 (Bodleian Library)
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Minuscule 2427 – "Archaic Mark"
"Entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment" – Mark's description of the discovery of the empty tomb (from the Pericopes of Henry II)
St. Mark with angels, holding his gospel. His symbol, the winged lion, also appears with him. Detail from St Mark's Cathedral.
Gospel of Mark 1:9–11 in Jakartan Malay Creole language

It tells of the ministry of Jesus from his baptism by John the Baptist to his death, burial, and the discovery of his empty tomb.

The first page of the Gospel of Mark in Armenian, by Sargis Pitsak, 14th century.

Gospel

Set out.

Set out.

The first page of the Gospel of Mark in Armenian, by Sargis Pitsak, 14th century.
The Synoptic sources: the Gospel of Mark (the triple tradition), Q (the double tradition), and material unique to Matthew (the M source), Luke (the L source), and Mark
The Gospel of Thomas

They share the same basic outline of the life of Jesus: he begins his public ministry in conjunction with that of John the Baptist, calls disciples, teaches and heals and confronts the Pharisees, dies on the cross, and is raised from the dead.

Sixth Fatimid caliph, al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah

Druze

Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group originating in Western Asia, who adhere to a faith that originally developed out of Ismaili Islam although most Druze do not identify as Muslims.

Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group originating in Western Asia, who adhere to a faith that originally developed out of Ismaili Islam although most Druze do not identify as Muslims.

Sixth Fatimid caliph, al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah
Druze woman wearing a tantour during the 1870s in Chouf, Ottoman Lebanon
Meeting of Druze and Ottoman leaders in Damascus, about the control of Jebel Druze
Druze warriors preparing to go to battle with Sultan Pasha al-Atrash in 1925
Druze celebrating their independence in 1925.
Druze leaders meeting in Jebel al-Druze, Syria, 1926
Prophet Job shrine in Niha village in the Chouf region.
Israeli Druze Scouts march to Jethro's tomb. Today, thousands of Israeli Druze belong to such "Druze Zionist" movements.
Druze dignitaries celebrating the Nabi Shu'ayb festival at the tomb of the prophet in Hittin, Israel.
Druze clerics in Khalwat al-Bayada.
The Druze Maqam al-nabi Yahya (John the Baptist) in As-Suwayda Governorate.
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Jethro shrine and temple of Druze in Hittin, northern Israel
Druze Prayer house in Daliat al-Karmel, Israel
Druze sheikh (ʻuqqāl) wearing religious dress
Israeli Druze family visitng Gamla; wearing religious dress.
Druze women making Druze pita in Isfiya, Israel.
Qalb Loze: in June 2015, Druze were massacred there by the jihadist Nusra Front.
Shuaib (Jethro) grave near Hittin, Israel: Both religions venerate Shuaib.
Christian Church and Druze Khalwa in Shuf: Historically; the Druzes and the Christians in the Shuf Mountains lived in complete harmony.
Left to right: Christian mountain dweller from Zahlé, Christian mountain dweller of Zgharta, and a Lebanese Druze man in traditional attire (1873).
The Druze Maqam Al-Masih (Jesus) in As-Suwayda Governorate: Both religions revere Jesus.
Maqam Al-Khidr in Kafr Yasif.
Oliphant house in Daliyat al-Karmel.

Druze tradition also honors and reveres Salman the Persian, al-Khidr (who identify as Elijah, reborn as John the Baptist and Saint George), Job, Luke the Evangelist, and others as "mentors" and "prophets".