As another Dead Sea Scrolls cave is discovered this week, we ponder whether Jesus or John the Baptist might have had connections with the Qumran Community.

Did John the Baptist or Jesus have any connection with the Qumran Community? This is a question that has interested biblical scholars for generations.

There are no direct references in the New Testament to the religious community that lived among the rocks and caves overlooking the Dead Sea. But there are many possible links that are still being explored as more is being discovered from the Dead Sea Scrolls that are still being translated.

The Qumran Community

The Qumran Community was composed of a particular group of Jewish people who most probably were part of the Essene Sect, of which both Josephus the Jewish historian and Philo of Alexandria wrote. It is interesting, however, that the name ‘Essene’ has not appeared in the Dead Sea Scrolls that have been discovered and published to date.

The Essenes were a strictly Torah-observant group who had broken with the Temple worship in Jerusalem because they believed that the priesthood of that day was corrupt and had betrayed both God and the people. As a result, they had become a separatist group who had withdrawn into the desert in order to “prepare in the desert the way of the Lord”.

There they sought to serve God by entering into what they called the ‘new covenant’ relationship, and they awaited the coming of a prophet and the ‘Messiah of Aaron and Israel’ who would ‘expiate their iniquity’. There is no doubt that the prophet they hoped for was the One promised to Moses in Deuteronomy 18:18; but there is some difficulty in knowing whether they were looking for one Messiah or two.

It is evident that there was both a priestly and a kingly understanding in their Messianic hope. However, clearly they did not ascribe a unique saving role to their Messiah such as is given to Jesus in the New Testament.

The Qumran Community were probably an Essene sect, a strictly Torah-observant group of Jews who sought true devotion to God.

The Dead Sea Scrolls

The Qumran Community left behind a considerable number of documents. Discovered between 1947 and 1956 in caves or holes in seven different locations around Qumran (on the north-west shore of the Dead Sea), these consist of 818 documents - many of them fragmentary - of which only some 40% have been officially published to date.

Caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered - now part of the West Bank. See Photo Credits.These documents include scrolls and fragments of books or passages from the Old Testament covering every book of the Hebrew canon (except Esther), commentaries on biblical writings – the most important of which are undoubtedly those covering their theological beliefs – and details concerning their lifestyle and community rules.

Prof Marvin Wilson, who has done much to introduce Gentile believers to the Jewish roots of their faith, has noted that the majority of the biblical texts found cover the three books of Deuteronomy, Psalms and Isaiah, illustrating that these were the most popular and generally well-known Old Testament books around the time of Jesus. He has linked this to the fact that not only are these the three books from which Jesus most often quoted, but that the majority of Old Testament quotations appearing in the New Testament are also taken from these books.

Connection with John the Baptist?

Whether or not John the Baptist had any connection with the Qumran community is unknown, and cannot be proved either way. Prof Joseph A Fitzmyer has conjectured that, in the light of Josephus’ statement in his Jewish War that the Essenes were known to take other men’s children while yet pliable and docile and mould them according to their ways, John might have been brought up in the Community following the death of his elderly parents. We know from Luke 1:7 that Zechariah and Elizabeth were elderly at the time of John’s birth, so it is quite possible that he was orphaned at an early age.

That is, of course, speculation. But we do know from the Synoptic Gospels that John came out of the desert of Judea and preached his message in the area of the Jordan River only a few miles north of Qumran.

Luke 3:2 tells us that the word of God came to John in the desert and all four Gospel writers make the point that he saw himself as fulfilling Isaiah 40:3 in that he was the “voice of one calling in the desert: ‘prepare the way for the Lord’.” The fact that this was the same Scripture which the Qumran community used to define their role may be significant.

The Dead Sea Scrolls include commentaries on biblical writings and details concerning the Qumran Community’s lifestyle.

John’s Message: Repentance, Refining and Judgment

John came “preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Luke 3:3). This was a new message, for although the rite of baptism was used as a means of publicly confirming Gentile proselytes into Judaism, it was not specifically linked with sin, repentance, or forgiveness.

For the Qumran community, however, the practice of baptism and ritual washing was extremely important. According to the Dead Sea Scrolls, entering into ‘the covenant’ was linked to ‘entering into the water’. They saw this as being linked to purification from sin but, unlike John, they did not appear to see it as doing away with sin in the sense of forgiveness. It is, however, quite conceivable that, in giving John his unique message of the ‘baptism of repentance’, the Lord was building on an understanding that John had first learned from the Qumran Community.

In the well-known passage in Matthew 3, John prefaces the appearance of Jesus by telling his hearers that whereas he baptised in water, the One who will come after him will baptise with Holy Spirit and with fire (Matt 3:11). Again, there is a passage in one of the Dead Sea Scrolls which says that “God will purge by his truth all the deeds of human beings, refining by fire for himself some of mankind”. It continues by saying that the purpose of the refining is “to cleanse them with the Holy Spirit from all wicked practices, and to sprinkle them with the Spirit of Truth like purifying water”.

John undoubtedly linked fire with judgment, as is clear from Matthew 3:12, but he differed from the Qumran Community statements in that he applied the refining work to Jesus.

The Essenes emphasised refining and judgment - John the Baptist built on this, applying this work to Jesus.

Perhaps too, the strong element of judgment in John’s message was fuelled by the Qumran teaching that the Community members were the ‘true Israel’, ‘the sons of light’, ‘the Israel that walks in the way of perfection’ – and that those who were not part of their number belonged to the company of the ‘sons of darkness’ whose only future was “an abundance of affliction…because of the furious wrath of the God of vengeance”.

John’s message, as stated in Matthew 3 and Luke 3, where he spoke of the coming wrath, “the axe is already at the root of the trees” and the burning up of the chaff with unquenchable fire shows that he linked God’s judgment with the coming of Jesus.

Contact with the Outside World

As with the Qumran Community, John evinced a strong dislike for the Jerusalem priesthood. He referred to both the Priests and the Pharisees as “a brood of vipers”. In many ways, it could seem strange for one whose parents were of the tribe of Levi, although both “upright in the sight of God” (Luke 1:6), to be so publicly outspoken about the representatives of Israel’s religion. But if John’s righteous indignation partly arose from the influence of Qumran, it would be better understood.

From the Qumran writings published to date, none of Jesus’ teaching bears much direct relationship to their thinking, although he would obviously have known all about them. Prof. David Flusser of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem has suggested that, in his parable of the Unjust Steward in Luke 16, Jesus is seeking to contrast how he expects his disciples to behave to the ways of the Essenes. The ‘sons of light’ would have no involvement of any kind with those whom they considered outsiders.

The Upper Room

Additionally, there are those who believe that the “large upper room, all furnished” of Luke 22:12, was part of an Essene guesthouse in Jerusalem. They were known to have small communities in various towns and cities (Damascus was one) and they did have a base in Jerusalem where there was a ‘gate of the Essenes’ and where they offered hospitality to those outside their sect.

The man carrying the jar of water in Luke 22:10 was doing work normally done by a woman in those days and therefore was possibly an Essene since, according to both Josephus and Philo, they were an all-male celibate society.

It is possible that the upper room used for the Last Supper was part of an Essene guesthouse in Jerusalem.

Reference is also made to “a large guest room” (Luke 22:12) which conceivably points to a guesthouse of some size which may well have belonged to the Essenes. That it was an Essene guesthouse would also fit in with the assertion that Jesus celebrated his last Passover the day before the recognised Feast Day that year (see John 13:1 and 18:28). This is because the Essenes were known to have followed an ancient solar calendar – references to which may be found in Ezekiel 45:18-20 - which fixed all the feasts on the same day each year. The rest of Judaism followed a lunar calendar which moves the feast days around from year to year.

The Essenes found serious fault with this practice, which they believed was not in keeping with God’s original instruction and was another reason why they broke away from the Temple worship in Jerusalem. For Jesus to have wished to celebrate the Passover on the day with which they were in agreement would have made them happy to lend him their guest room for that purpose.

Part of Our Heritage

One of the main Essene practices was ‘community living’, the basis of this being a ‘community of goods’ – having everything in common, as at Qumran. They were unique in this practice in Israel at that time, so it is of great significance that in the early Church, the first Jewish believers in Jesus the Messiah should immediately after Pentecost organise themselves along the same lines (Acts 2:44-45).

There is no doubt that this group of people who withdrew to the desert to worship and follow the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, did so with devout and sincere hearts. Whether they could be rightly classed as being of the ‘remnant of Israel’ – those who, like Zechariah, Elizabeth, Joseph, Mary, Simeon and Anna were looking for “the consolation of Israel” (e.g. Luke 2:25) - is perhaps open to question. Nevertheless, they are part of that rich Jewish heritage from which our faith has sprung and to which we owe so much.

Continuing his series on prophecy, Edmund Heddle turns to the life and ministry of John the Baptist.

Great interest was excited throughout the land of Israel when after three hundred years of prophetic silence, John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judah. He required the people to submit to a baptism of repentance in the River Jordan as the only right way to prepare for the imminent arrival of the Messiah (Luke 3:3).

This 'prophet of the Most High' (to use the description given him by his father Zechariah immediately after his birth and naming, see Luke 1:76) was to be the recipient of the highest accolade possible for a prophet to receive when, years later, Jesus declared "there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist" (Matt 11:11). Clearly, it is essential to include a consideration of John's prophetic ministry as we seek to understand 'What is a prophet?'

Contemporary Religious Outlook

The Jewish people, smarting under the Roman army of occupation, had been saved from complete despair by the messages of the great Hebrew prophets to which they listened in their synagogues Sabbath by Sabbath. Most of them wanted God's promise of deliverance to bring them a Messiah, a King of outstanding strength, who would rid them of their foreign overlords. However, there were a smaller number, sometimes styled the 'quiet in the land', who prayed continuously and looked expectantly for a righteous leader, a great prophet like Moses.

At a time when many nations are facing great political uncertainty with immorality, crime and violence apparently unstoppable; like Israel of old they need the prophetic warning that unless they repent disaster is inevitable, together with the persistent cry of the 'quiet' intercessors who prepare the Lord's way into their crisis situations.

At a time of such uncertainty, like Israel of old we need both prophetic warnings and the persistent cry of the 'quiet' intercessors who prepare God's way."

Similar Background

John and Jesus, who were cousins, both shared this latter background and were brought up among those who like Simeon "were waiting for the consolation of Israel" (Luke 2:25). There are intriguing parallels between the lives of these two. John and Jesus were born at nearly the same time, and in both cases their births were miraculous. They both had a long period of 'hidden years' before their public ministry, yet in total their lives were both short. At the commencement of their public ministry they knew tremendous popularity, but for both this later gave place to unmerciful hatred.

Finally both were killed by those who hated them and their righteousness. In each case only a handful of their disciples mourned their master's death and cared enough to carry their dead bodies away for burial. Today's prophets, like those of long ago, must be prepared to face rejection and suffering. Their demand for personal holiness and national righteousness is unlikely to improve their popularity rating.

Yet So Different

That there are striking similarities in the backgrounds and subsequent life experience of John and Jesus cannot be denied, and yet in other ways they were so different.

First, in their attitude to life. Jesus summed up their differences in his familiar words: "For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax-collectors and sinners" (Matt 11:18-19).

Second, in their kind of ministry. Folk who were commending John's ministry nevertheless admitted "John never performed a miraculous sign" (John 10:41). Whereas, when John's disciples asked Jesus if he was the coming Messiah, he pointed to his miracles as evidence and told them to tell John: "The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the deaf hear, the dead are raised", and that he should cease doubting that Jesus was the Messiah, even though their ministries were so different.

There are intriguing parallels between the life of Jesus and that of John the Baptist, but they also differed greatly in their attitude to life, their ministry and witness."

Third, in the duration of their witness. Jesus showed that John was "a lamp that burned and gave light" (John 5:35) and for a while they had enjoyed his light. As a lamp attracts moths so for a while did John attract the crowds and even Herod himself (Mark 6:20). John was just a lamp which had to be lit and fed with oil. Jesus however is the self-perpetuating light to which John came to bear witness (John 1:8-9). Prophets may differ in their interpretation of Scripture and in the lifestyle they choose to adopt, but they need to be careful that their opinions and actions do not colour or conceal the pure light of Christ shining through them.

Fundamental Difference

The basic difference between John and Jesus was one that John was ever eager to point out. Jesus was 'the coming one', the one whose coming the prophets had foretold. John's coming was also foretold in Scripture but he was never more than a herald, a messenger sent to prepare the way of the Lord (Isa 40:3; Matt 11:10).

John stated that he was not fit to carry Jesus' sandals (Matt 3:11) for God had made it clear to him that when the dove came down and remained on Jesus after his baptism, this indicated that Jesus was nothing less than the Son of God (John 1:32-34). John is forever the servant of, and is inferior to, the Lord Jesus.

Jesus went even further when he said that "he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than [John]" (Matt 11:11). Those who are in the Kingdom are brought nearer to God, have a clearer knowledge of God and have higher privileges than the greatest that were before Christ. So the prophets who prepare the way for the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus have a greater and more glorious message than John could have imagined.

John and the Earlier Prophets

Jesus regarded John as the greatest of the Old Testament prophets (Matt 11:11). In what ways was he like them and did he differ from them? John the Baptist did not reproduce all the aspects to be seen in the Old Testament prophets. We have already seen that he did not perform any miracles to confirm his spoken word, neither do we have any record of his making public intercession for the nation.

Jesus regarded John the Baptist as the greatest of the Old Testament prophets. John may not have performed miracles, but he was given the privilege of introducing the Saviour of mankind onto the public stage."

However, we hear him making strong ethical demands of his hearers and he reiterates the earlier prophets' demand for repentance. Unlike those who preceded him he was able to announce that God's promised visitation of his people was imminent. He stands alone in his use of baptism as an act of prophetic symbolism and is unique in his being able physically to introduce the Saviour of mankind on to the stage of his public ministry.

Jesus' Admiration of John

On the occasion when the deputation of John's disciples were leaving, Jesus spoke to the crowd about John. "What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in king's palaces. Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written 'I will send my messenger ahead of you who will prepare your way before you'" (Matt 11:7-10).

John was not someone who would allow the winds of opposition to deter him from doing what he knew was right. Neither was he a pampered courtier fawning over the monarch. He was a man with a message and a man who had the courage to deliver that message. In fact this was how John came to spend the last part of his life in prison, because he had the courage to rebuke Herod the Tetrarch for taking his brother's wife (Matt 14:3-4).

John never allowed opposition to deter him from doing the right thing. He was a man with a message, the delivery of which required great courage and a strictly disciplined life."

Earlier John had given very clear and critical advice to tax collectors, soldiers and others who came to him seeking baptism (Luke 3:10-14). Even the religious leaders were made to face the need for a change of lifestyle before their professed repentance could be accepted. John likened them to the snakes that came scurrying out of their shelter in the grass and bushes when a desert fire broke out (Matt 3:7). It is a demanding role to declare what God requires of people both in secular and religious spheres of life, requiring not only considerable courage but also a strictly disciplined life.

Holy Violence

Jesus commended the single-minded determination he saw in John the Baptist and said that this was the attitude required of those who would seek to enter the kingdom. "From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and men of violence take it by force" (Matt 11:12 RSV). The time had come to cast aside indifference and to maintain a holy resolution. Jesus' crusade for 'holy violence' was not a physical one, but a spiritual one: it required the death of formality in the quest for utter holiness.

John the Baptist's Problems

There were two temptations that John had to face. The first was when people began to turn away from John to join up with Jesus in considerable numbers, as their ministries proceeded side by side in Judea. One of John's lieutenants reported: "Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan...well, he is baptising and everyone is going to him" (John 3:26). As happens so often, the truth was spiced up with a bit of exaggeration, but John refused the temptation as he replied: "A man can receive only what is given to him from heaven." He may have been tough, but he was certainly also gracious.

The greatest problem for John was being imprisoned by Herod. It must have been terrible for this man of the desert used to the wind blowing through his hair and able to freshen his sun-tanned face in the waters of the Jordan - he must have felt like a caged animal. In such circumstances John fell victim to doubt and depression (see Matt 11:2-6). Was this Jesus really the Messiah? Why wasn't he burning up the chaff? Why was he not demolishing all opposition to his kingdom? Jesus' reply warned him not to be offended at Jesus' very different approach (Matt 11:6).

It is important to remember that even John had doubts, and faced temptations. But his grasp of who Jesus was and what his ministry was about remained outstanding."

A Christ Centred Message

Apart from moments of self-questioning, John is outstanding for his grasp of who Jesus was and what his ministry was about. To John, Jesus is: the Son of God, the Lamb of God, the Baptiser in Holy Spirit, the coming one who had arrived, the one who was before John and greater, the wielder of his winnowing fork, the axe-man aiming at the root of the tree, the one from above, the bridegroom, the one whose sandals John was unfit to untie or carry and supremely the one who comes from heaven and is 'above-all' (Matt 3:10-12; Mark 1:7; John 1:27-34; John 3:29-34)!

John the Baptist shows all today's prophets the right attitude to Jesus when he says: "He must become greater; I must become less!" (John 3:30).

First published in Prophecy Today, Vol 2 No 6, November/December 1986.