His name is John

Today is the feast day of the birth of John the Baptist. All Christians should be familiar with his role in the gospels, but not many realize that the Jewish historian Josephus, in the late 1st century, attests to the role of John in first century Judaism. Although Josephus misunderstands John's preaching, he does relate Herod's responsibility in his death and the Jews' belief that the destruction of Herod's army was due to Divine vengeance. Herod had been married to the daughter of Aretas, king of Petra, but decided to marry Herodias, his brother's wife. Needless to say, Aretas was not pleased and settled scores with Herod on the battlefield.

Another interesting note on John is his appearance in the Koran. The Sunnis believe that the Koran is the uncreated word of God passed to Muhammed. In Sura 19 the Lord claims, "O Zachariah! Verily we announce to thee a son-his name John: That name We have given to none before him." That statement is very problematic for the Muslims. We have historical and archeological evidence (coins with inscriptions) proving that one of the high priests in Judea after the Maccabees (late 2nd century BC) was John Hyrcanus. I leave this obvious contradiction to the Muslim apologists to explain...