Meet the real John the Baptist. For many, John the Baptist is a footnote in the gospels—Jesus’s unkempt forerunner. But if we look closer, John emerges as a fascinating and
“Essential reading for all interested in Jesus’s spiritual formation as well as the later ‘parting of the ways’ between John’s teachings and Jesus’s, this highly accessible work walks us through a little-known story of a relationship that no one previously has brought to light with such clarity and insight.”
—Nicola Denzey Lewis, Claremont Graduate University
“Thanks to a fresh approach and many hypotheses for ancient questions, this book, which is readable like a novel, will create large—and lasting—ripples in scholarship as well as in the thinking and lives of its readers.”
—Edmondo Lupieri, Loyola University
“This is a creative, wide-ranging exploration that weaves together the Gospels and later writings to present a fresh view of John the Baptist. McGrath takes the reader on a journey to re-imagine a man who was not only the ‘Christmaker’ but also an influential prophet in his own right.”
—Joan Taylor, professor of Christian origins and Second Temple Judaism, King’s College, London
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James F. McGrath is Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University.
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Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction
A Rebellious Son
I Will Destroy This Temple
Someone Is Coming
The Last Days
No One Is Greater Than John
Epilogue
Bibliography
Indexes
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