John the Baptist

He championed baptism, a practice derived from Jewish immersion for purification. Josephus attests that he existed and that Herod had him killed (around 28 or 29 CE in the book's timeline); the Gospels link him to Jesus.

According to the Gospels, Jesus was early on linked to John the Baptist, a popular prophet who baptized him, immersing him in water for the forgiveness of sins. Outside the New Testament the link cannot be confirmed, but Josephus independently attests that John existed, advocated baptism and was executed by Herod. Baptism seems to come from the Jewish use of immersion as purification. In the book's timeline the execution is dated 28 or 29 CE.1