Ben C. Smith wrote: ↑Sun Sep 15, 2019 11:14 am
I do not think there is any evidence that John was crucified,
Someone has seen that "evidence" in the Jesus's cry on the cross and relative misurderstanding of it by the people around, meant to make it clear that the crucified wasn't invoking the spirit of Elijah abandoning him as John the Baptist. But it is not persuasive.
Frankly, I am Pure Agnostic now about the historicity of John. Is it only a coincidence that the his name means "
YHWH gives grace" and that the his baptism is one of
grace in evident opposition to the eschatological baptism by Jesus?
It
can be only a coincidence,
but even in that case I think that
not the hypothetical historical John was considered Christ by the his hypothetical historical followers, but the
Gospel John the Baptist was considered Christ
by some Christians, since what was "special" in John was the his being a giver of
grace as described in the Gospels. In Acts the baptism of John is known by Apollos, considered a gnostic rival of Paul in Corinth and not a Judaizer.
For example, the Fourth Gospel is marcionite but it also mentions John without problems about the connection of John with Elijah in the Synoptics.