We Know About John the Baptist From Outside the Bible (The Gospels Got it Right!)

[@leahcimmmm]

I haven’t seen the video yet, but I just gotta say that the thumbnail made me laugh LOL

[@vedinthorn]

Jesus just be mic-dropping every day don't he?

[@mikefun7482]

he dropped the biggest one on the cross

[@MapleBoarder78]

Excellent video! A side note on women being able to divorce their husbands... Exodus 21:10 says, “If he marries another woman, he must not deprive the first one of her food, clothing and marital rights. If he does not provide her with these three things, she is to go free, without any payment of money.” While this verse at first glance seems to be linked with a specific scenario (a servant being taken as a wife) the basic principle undergirding the passage is quite obvious. Husbands had a duty to honor their wife in providing for her needs (food, clothing and sexual intimacy). If these were not met, the wife was “free to go”. If this was a standard for a servant taken in as a wife, how much more so would a husband be obligated to this standard for a non-servant wife as well? Makes sense that from the context of the passage men had an obligation to treat their wife well or there were grounds for a woman to divorce her husband. 👍🏼 P.S. This standard is also echoed in the traditional Jewish Mishna which is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions known as the Oral Torah. It is also the first major work of rabbinic literature.

[@indianasmith8152]

Great work, once more!!! I look forward to these as they come out. Each day, a different point to debate or debunk. Good stuff!

[@notsogoodduck5580]

In the future, could you do a video about the comparison of Josephus and Luke and if they ever exchanged sources with one another? Great video, btw. Thanksss

[@TestifyApologetics]

Yeah, I actually have a plan to do that. I'll give you a short reason why I think that's unlikely. All the local knowledge that Luke shows in Acts is time-specific in many instances that he never would have learned from Josephus. I have an article on it here and definitely plan on doing some sort of video on it: isjesusalive.com/84-reasons-why-we-know-luke-was-a-traveling-companion-of-paul/ Also, it seems odd that Luke copied Josephus if he and Josephus disagree on the census. See Inspiring Philosophy's last two videos on the topic.

[@luca1251]

Thanks for all the great videos! Please keep it up. Could you make a video on the synoptic problem? Blessings.

[@TestifyApologetics]

Glad you like the videos! What specifically about the synoptic problem would you like me to address? It's kind of a big topic.

[@luca1251]

@@TestifyApologetics Hmm well... I can't be specific. The whole Q thing , which Gospel came first , which Gospel authors have copied from the other ones and if that anyhow damages the historical authenticity of the gospels etc. Even if you could link me to an article on the topic , that would help!

[@__.Sara.__]

@@luca1251 Hey, Mike Licona has a paper that is a good starting point. I can't share links, but I can tell you what to search for: Are the Gospels “Historically Reliable”? A Focused Comparison of Suetonius’s Life of Augustus and the Gospel of Mark

[@dailybibletime-bibleversef2417]

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. John 10:10

Another terrific video ❤️

[@Derek_Baumgartner]

Great stuff, keep it up!

[@jedphillips9362]

Good content, appropriate length, adequately informative. Thank you!

[@MatthewFearnley]

I just want to take a moment to note the woman/man symbols (e.g. 6:47), the way they managed to signify a woman without giving her the usual dress. (Of course it was never a dress but a cape anyway, but still..)

[@krisv001]

Good stuff! keep up the good work!

[@YovanypadillaJr]

Do you plan on responding to Pinecreek's flying man? Whenever I see someone the resurrection I always see this analogy or something similar.

[@TestifyApologetics]

I have a video on a religiously neutral test for miracles that will be out soon and will probably be making another one. They will pretty much deal with caricatures like that.

[@webslinger527]

@@TestifyApologetics are u going to do more videos on Paulgia?

[@YovanypadillaJr]

@@TestifyApologetics awesome can't wait.

[@webslinger527]

@@YovanypadillaJr flying man? What does that mean

[@YovanypadillaJr]

@@webslinger527 The flying man is a parody of the resurrection. Doug is saying if I saw my family member fly would you believe that based on testimony?

[@whydidyouwin9981]

God bless pray you come too Christ and turn from sin in Jesus name.Amen.

[@Jing-zl2zr]

What program do you use for animation?

[@TestifyApologetics]

It is called Videoscribe

[@tam_chris20]

Does the antiquities passage.. 18.5.1 contain the name "Philip" ? Rather than just "Herod"

[@TestifyApologetics]

Could you clarify? The passage reads: 1. [A.D. 36.] About this time Aretas, the King of Arabia Petrea, and Herod had a quarrel on the account following. Herod the tetrarch had married the daughter of Aretas; and had lived with her a great while: but when he was once at Rome, he lodged with Herod, (14) who was his brother indeed, but not by the same mother: for this Herod was the son of the High Priest Simon’s daughter. However he fell in love with Herodias, this last Herod’s wife: who was the daughter of Aristobulus, their brother, and the sister of Agrippa the Great. This man ventured to talk to her about a marriage between them; which address when she admitted, an agreement was made for her to change her habitation, and come to him, as soon as he should return from Rome. One article of this marriage also was this, that he should divorce Aretas’s daughter. So Antipas, when he had made this agreement, sailed to Rome. But when he had done there the business he went about, and was returned again; his wife having discovered the agreement he had made with Herodias, and having learned it before he had notice of her knowledge of the whole design; she desired him to send her to Macherus: which is a place in the borders of the dominions of Aretas and Herod: without informing him of any of her intentions. Accordingly Herod sent her thither: as thinking his wife had not perceived any thing. Now she had sent a good while before to Macherus, which was subject to her father; and so all things necessary for her journey were made ready for her by the general of Aretas’s army; and by that means she soon came into Arabia, under the conduct of the several generals; who carryed her from one to another successively; and she soon came to her father, and told him of Herod’s intentions. So Aretas made this the first occasion of his enmity between him and Herod: who had also some quarrel with him about their limits, at the countrey of Gamalitis. So they raised armies on both sides; and prepared for war; and sent their generals to fight, instead of themselves. And when they had joined battel all Herod’s army was destroyed; (15)by the treachery of some fugitives: who though they were of the tetrarchy of Philip, joined with Ηerod’s army.10 So Herod wrote about these affairs to Tiberius, who being very angry at the attempt made by Aretas, wrote to Vitellius, to make war upon him: and either to take him alive, and bring him to him in bonds; or to kill him, and send him his head. This was the charge that Tiberius gave to the president of Syria.

[@tam_chris20]

@@TestifyApologetics sorry got confused.. the 18.5.4... did not read the full chapter.. thanks a lot sir ..

[@TestifyApologetics]

@@tam_chris20 No worries, sir!

[@BrentonSwafford]

How do we know that Josephus didn't get his information from the gospel accounts and from Christian stories? Because if he did, his account really doesn't do much to validate the existence of John the Baptist. What was Josephus' source for this information?

[@BrentonSwafford]

@@mnamhie I agree.

[@t.rexking441]

Josephus wasn’t a Christian himself, so why would he take sources from Christian sources when the goal of the antiquities is to retell the Jewish history? Edit: Also, Josephus wrote the antiquities around CE 93, within the same century of the events of the Gospels. With this in mind, if Josephus’ account was based off misinformation such as fabricating John the Baptist or utilizing Christian sources then people would have most assuredly pointed that out. Josephus didn’t switch allegiance to the Romans until CE 67 and he was born in CE 37 so he had 30 years to learn Jewish history before the destruction of the Second Temple in CE 70 from Jewish leaders who would reject the Gospels (Josephus himself was a Pharisee and began to train in all 3 major first-century sects of Judaism at age 16) but yet Josephus still validated the Christian claim that John the Baptist was a true historical figure for the first century Jewish people.

[@harryallenpearce89]

I believe he’s simply trying to show it outside the Bible, but try to be a Protestant. The amount of Christian literature is astounding, from Polycarp, Ignatius, Clement, Epistle of Barnabas, the Didache, Shepherd of Hermas, Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, etc. There’s no denying the presence of Early Christianity because the evidence of the Early Christians are as old as the NT oldest fragments. Remember we had 2 Ecumenical Councils before our earliest Council unifying the Canon of Scripture (382 Council of Rome)

[@BrandonTmusic]

I'm not a historian, but I'd say that theory is definitely possible. However, even if it is true, it would validate that Josephus at least THOUGHT the gospels were authoritative enough as fact to represent in his own works as truth. So even if that theory is true it doesn't mean the stories are false or made up. Definitely interesting to think about.

[@BrentonSwafford]

@@BrandonTmusic But it also doesn't mean that those stories are true either, which at best leaves us uncertain as to whether or not they were true, making Josephus' account rather worthless in determining their truthfullness.

[@ramiroreyes5931]

Rabbi Tovia Singer claims the suffering servant of Isaiah 53 isn’t Jesus but someone else.

[@webslinger527]

Nonsense, Jesus is the suffering servant.

[@TestifyApologetics]

Off-topic, but that seems like a very weird reading of the text. How does Israel suffer innocently...for Israel's sins? I write more about it here: isjesusalive.com/6-strong-reasons-why-isaiah-53-describes-jesus-alone/

[@ramiroreyes5931]

@@TestifyApologetics yeah I came up with the same conclusion as an agnostic i thank you

[@TestifyApologetics]

You bet. That reading didn't gain traction until after Christianity existed for several hundred years iirc

[@bluellamaslearnbeyondthele2456]

@@TestifyApologetics he does the same stuff to psalm 110 where he claims David's lord is king David, since the text speaks about Yahwe talking to someone labeled as "my lord" and Yeshua clearly says its David talking in the spirit. So I really don't understand who he is making out to be speaking instead...

[@tusolusdominus]

Do we know if Josephus or another source mentions that Jesus and John are related, or would that not have been a well known thing at the time?

[@judah9934]

I would go with the bible rather then a historians who wasnt born until 37AD nor been to jerusalem in before 70AD..

[@deborahgrantham7387]

Josephus also writes about Jesus and his death.

[@BillyBob-sm3ku]

(Gospels got it right) what a surprise!

[@sathviksidd]

Great video!

[@elijah_godslayer9904]

Thumbnail made me think this was CrossExamined

[@TestifyApologetics]

I think I'll take that as a compliment.

[@jdaze1]

What was Jesus' name before he was exalted and received his NEW name of "Jesus" as noted in Phillipians 2:9-10.

[@hillaryochieng9352]

Partly the gospels are true but why is josephus not telling has massacre of innocents coz he takes about herod the great, saints walking in the streets of Jerusalem

[@TestifyApologetics]

That's just an argument from silence, the massacre of the innocents is totally in line with Herod's character. I wrote about it here: isjesusalive.com/historical-truth-or-holy-fiction-did-herod-really-order-the-massacre-of-the-innocents-or-did-matthew-just-make-up-a-story/

[@hillaryochieng9352]

@@TestifyApologetics the gospel of credited to matthew ) the writer didn't what we called typology taking the story of musa en pharaoh

[@hillaryochieng9352]

@@TestifyApologetics i believe the anonymous author was making up this stories to create the jesus character of his gospel

[@TestifyApologetics]

@@hillaryochieng9352 read the article, the story has real historical touchpoints. Like why did Joseph avoid going back to Bethlehem? Because of Herod's bloodthirsty son Archelaus was there.

[@hillaryochieng9352]

@@TestifyApologetics If true story is true why did the author misquote hosea 11 referring to jesus