A R C H I V E S Click for links to all prior posts P I N G    L I S T Typical posting frequency is about five threads weekly. To receive new-posting alerts, either request below or FRmail me.

THE BIRTH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST

How close was John’s birth to Jesus’s?

Good Morning, Dan. :-)

When Gabriel accosts Mary and announces her pregnancy, he adds that Elizabeth is in the sixth month of her own pregnancy. So, assuming both were full-term gestations, John’s birth preceded Jesus’ by about five-and-one-half months.

Mary-Lou! Always a pleasure to hear from you.

About 25 miles..........................

Notice, he wasn’t John the Methodist.......................

John the Preparer....................

Red Badger awakened me to the thought that your question is geographic rather than chronologic. Which is it?

I’m under the impression it was about the months difference. (The baby leapt in the womb of Elizabeth when Mary came in Elizabeth being about 6
mos)

Three months maybe.

Since John’s father was a priest in Jerusalem we can assume he lived there as well, but not necessarily, since priestly duties rotated, so he could have lived near Nazareth where Mary lived and stayed in Jerusalem only while performing his duties as a priest.

Distance from Bethlehem to Jerusalem is about 5 and a half miles.

Distance from Nazareth to Jerusalem is about 64.5 miles..........

In Luke and Acts
Main article: Nativity of Saint John the Baptist

The Gospel of Luke adds an account of John’s infancy, introducing him as the miraculous son of Zechariah, an old priest, and his wife Elizabeth, who was past menopause and therefore unable to have children. According to this account, the birth of John was foretold by the angel Gabriel to Zechariah while he was performing his functions as a priest in the temple of Jerusalem. Since he is described as a priest of the course of Abijah and Elizabeth as one of the daughters of Aaron, this would make John a descendant of Aaron on both his father’s and mother’s side. On the basis of this account, the Catholic as well as the Anglican and Lutheran liturgical calendars placed the feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist on 24 June, six months before Christmas.

Good Morning Dan, and greetings to all.

The Word of God shines forth, as John the Immerser prepares the way for the greatest event in human history...

Thank you Dan; these paintings are very busy with many actions- nursing, caring for Elizabeth, writing, even a bird feeding and a dog sitting in a chair! Are those things symbolic? Etabeta would know. Every artist depicts this great event in similar ways.

May He open our eyes to all things we need to see...

John the Immerser

Very clever, Leon.

I will address that on November 4 when we cover John's baptism of Jesus, and the way almost all artists have portrayed it not as immersion but as dribbling. Grrrrrr.......

The canticles of Mary (yesterday's thread) and Zecharia (today's thread) feature prominently in the "Liturgy of the Hours", a Scriptural devotion popular in some Christian communities.

Grrrrrr.......

Although these threads are technically "open" as understood in the FR Religion Forum, they have been remarkably free of interdenominational nastiness. May I humbly suggest that this is a "Good Thing" and that we should all do our best to keep it that way?

Netherlandish painting always!
The Ghirlandaio fresco, at #9, is exceptional, part of a series of frescoes commissioned for the Tornabuoni Chapel of Santa Maria Novella Church in Florence. The Tornabuoni were very important members of the Florentine society, very influential. Elisabeth is resting in bed while two wet nurses share the care of baby John. Neighbors arrive, a noble woman with her entourage bringing a gift of fruits. They are members of the Tornabuoni family. The movement of the lady carrying the platter contrasts with the stillness of part of the scene. The ladies enters with a dignified and somber stance. It is speculate that the lady in pink is a young Tornabuoni girl who had died in childbirth at age 15 and remembered in this fresco.
Exquisite bronze at #18 by Giovanni di Turino and the wood carving at #23.

The canticles...feature prominently in...a Scriptural devotion popular in some Christian communities.

And well they should--thanks for your link.

My personal attitude toward them is evident in my highlighting of them. They are unsurpassed in Scripture, in my view--how could they be, focusing as they do on the Almighty?