Conclusion
Conclusion
Our information from Josephus supports the Gospels’ basic portrayals of John’s baptism of repentance and martyrdom. That John announced another eschatological figure after him is also consistent with our knowledge of ancient Jewish thought.
Jesus’ recent submission to John suggests that he at least in part envisions himself as carrying on his mission. Although we should not rule out originality on Jesus’ part, the respective chronologies of John’s and Jesus’ ministries do not provide for much time for radical shifts in the message and mission between John’s execution and that of Jesus. Both prophets summon Israel to repentance, and Jesus follows John’s prophetic road to martyrdom at the hands of corrupt authorities over his people.
We turn now to Jesus’ Galilean context and his teachings. As we shall see, despite the differences between the two prophets, the bulk of Jesus’ teachings in the gospel tradition fit our expectation of one who continues John’s mission. Both as sage and prophet, Jesus calls for a new standard of righteousness before God, in the process sometimes challenging the norms of the current political elite and of the traditional religious establishment.