Did John the Baptist Really Exist?

 The Gospel accounts mentions a man called John the Baptist. who preached in Judea regarding God's Kingdom.  Is the Bible's record of this man accurate?  Consider: 

* The Bible says:  "John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying:  'Repent, for the Kingdom of the heavens has drawn near." (Matthew 3:1, 2)   Can this statement be confirmed by secular sources? Yes,

The first century historian Flavius Josephus described a man named John, surnamed the Baptist," who "exhorted the Jews to lead righteous lives," to practice "piety towards God," and "to join in baptism." - Jewish Antiquities, Book XVII.

* The Bible relates that John reproved Herod Antipas, who district ruler in Galilee and Perea. Herod was nominally a Jew professing to be under the law.  John criticized Herod for marrying his half brother's wife Herodias.  (Mark 6:18)   This detail likewise finds support outside the Bible.

Historian Josephus said that Antipas"[fell]in love with Herodias" and brazenly broached to her the subject of marriage."  Herodias accepted and left her husband to marry Antipas. 

* The Bible reports that "the people of Jerusalem and all Judea and all the country around the Jordan were  going out to [John], and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River." - MATTHEW 3:5, 6. 

Josephus likewise supports this detail, writing that people came in "crowds" to see John and that "they were aroused [or, uplifted]  to the highest degree by his sermons ." 

Clearly the first century historian Josephus viewed John the Baptist as a real person. So can we.

Next time: John the Baptist Prepares the Way

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