Two questions about John the Baptist.?

Question

When Jesus was born, Herod ordered all the children under the age of two to be killed. Mary and Joseph were told by an angel to flee to Egypt so Jesus wouldn't be killed.

Question 1: How come John the Baptist wasn't killed?

Question 2: How come Herod wanted Christ dead?

I would appreciate serious answers.

Answer 1

First question, Herod order that all the babies in Bethlehem be killed. John lived in Judah, which was in another area.

Second question, When Herod was given rule over Bethlehem, he asked for and got from Rome the title "King of the Jews". When he heard that someone was born "King of the Jews", he saw this as a threat to his authority.

Answer 2

There is no ablsouloute evidence that states where john lived at the time or why he wasn't killed. However it is logical to assume that.......

Answer 1: there are two possible reasons why john the Baptist wasn't killed. One would be simply that John was outside the targeted area Bethlehem. Herod said to kill all babies in Bethlehem in that region under two. Although I could not find out exactly were john lived, I do know he lived in a city in the hill country of Judah. Which may very easily have bean beyond Bethlehem and therefore out of danger (see Luke 1:39)
The second reason is that at the time john may have been older than two. when Mary was told by the angel that she would give birth to Jesus her relative Elizabeth was already 6 months along.( see Luke 1:36) from this we know that john the Baptist is 6 months older than Jesus. As you mentioned Herod said to kill all babies 2 and under. This provides that Jesus may have been as old as 2 when the decree was made, or at least Herod has reason to think so. And as I said earlier if john is 6 months older he would be past the age cut off and therefore could live.

Answer 2 before Herod decreed that the babies be killed he heard of the star in the east and that it marked the birth place of the king of the Jews. So in Matthew 2: 4-6 he gathers the chief priest and scribes and ask were the Christ was to be born. They told him it would be in Bethlehem of Judah according to the prophets (vs. 7) Herod was at this time in control of Judah and took the prophecies very seriously. He thought the prophecy was a danger to his control. A king of the Jews could only be a political threat. Basically he liked his job and didn’t want to lose it, so he sought to kill the Christ.

Answer 3

Could be a couple of reasons, 1. If Jesus was approximately two years of age at the time of Herod's order John was older than two years of age. 2. John's family lived in the mountains possibly out of the district. Herod wanting to kill Jesus was actually Satan's attempt to kill Jesus by using Herod.

Answer 4

Good question about John the Baptist . Just guessing, maybe as he was older he just made it past the age of those ordered killed or because he seemed to be of the wilderness he was somewhere safe. Why Herod wanted Him killed is because of the Wise men and the prophecy of a coming king w ho would be great and would deliver His people. He like many didn't understand that the Kingdom of Jesus is not of this world.

Answer 5

If you read in Luke 1: 5-25, you will see the prophecy of John's birth. John was also a miracle birth, since his mother was barren. The angel announcing his birth claimed that John would turn the sons of Israel back to the L-RD their G-d.
John would not have been able to accomplish this if Herod killed him, so I accept that G-d chose to keep this child hidden & safe until the time of his ministry.
As far as Herod wanting Jesus dead; you need to study history. Herod was a magnificant builder, but a mad man, as well. He offed family members who he thought might overthrow him. If he heard that Jesus would be "King of the Jews", he probably felt threatened & then instituted the law to kill all Jewish, male babies.

Answer 6

1) John would have been 2 1/2 by the time this order was issued.
2) Herod had heard the the Christ child was to be King and he wanted no threat to his line of rulers.

Answer 7

We have no record if John the Baptist's parents fled or not. I suspect that as soon as people heard about Herod's order many parents fled to save their children.

Herod wanted Christ dead because he was told that "a king was born" and Herod was paranoid that this new king would take his throne.

Answer 8

John the Baptist was not in Bethlehem, Herod wanted Jesus dead because he thought he was going to become a earthly king, he thought he was a threat.

Answer 9

I confess I never thought about dear old John. He was older than his cousin, but not that old. God sent Jesus to Egypt to fulfill a prophecy concerning him "out of Egypt I have called my son."

We are left in the dark about John, well done I might add. But, this does not pose a great problem. Jesus, had already been born and the Census was over. John's family most likely left to their remote area. Also, they probably hid him until the threat had ended and may even been the reason why he was so at home in the desert. That might have been when his family left and stayed away as well.

The Bible does go silent at the most inconvenient times to be sure, but this does not mean it is in ere.

Answer 10

1. Herod only sent the soldiers to Bethlehem ,not all of Israel.John's folks ,Zacharias and Elizabeth lived in the hill country.
2. The thought of another "King" in Israel infuriated Herod.This was a guy who had members of his own immediate family killed.He was a brilliant but miserable scum bucket.
The herod's were Idumeans which meant they were not Jews but "Edomites" ,descendants of Esau.He got to be King by buttering up the Romans,they put him in that position.