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Every light opens another layer.
Begin with Jesus. Select any connected record to recenter the constellation, reveal another layer, and inspect the evidence behind every line. Every verse in the Bible is a door into the graph.
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21 records · 25 visible lines
+ 3 more records in the list below
Accessible trail
Every visible record, in words.
The constellation is an overview, not the source of truth. These links and evidence records preserve the same selection for keyboard, screen-reader, and close reading.
- Event
Mary visits Elizabeth
Mary hurried to the hill country to her relative Elizabeth, who was six months pregnant with John. At Mary's greeting the child leaped in Elizabeth's womb, Elizabeth blessed Mary and her child, and Mary sang the song of praise known as the Magnificat.
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The birth of John the Baptist
Elizabeth gave birth to a son, and against family expectation both parents insisted his name was John. Zechariah's speech returned and, filled with the Holy Spirit, he prophesied that the child would go before the Lord to prepare His way.
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The ministry of John the Baptist
John came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, calling Israel to repent because the kingdom of heaven was near, and baptizing in the Jordan those who confessed their sins. He dressed like Elijah, warned the religious leaders, pointed to one greater than himself, and was later imprisoned by Herod Antipas for rebuking him.
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The baptism of Jesus
Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan River. As He came up from the water the Spirit descended on Him like a dove and a voice from heaven declared Him the beloved Son. This marks the public beginning of His ministry.
Focus this layer - Passage
Malachi 4:5-6
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The annunciation to Mary
God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth to tell Mary, a virgin betrothed to Joseph, that she would conceive by the Holy Spirit and bear a son named Jesus, who would receive the throne of David and reign forever. Mary answered as the Lord's servant.
Focus this layer - Person
Elizabeth
Elizabeth was a descendant of Aaron, the wife of the priest Zechariah, righteous and childless until old age. God gave her a son, John the Baptist. When the pregnant Mary visited her, she was filled with the Holy Spirit and blessed Mary as the mother of her Lord.
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Mary, mother of Jesus
Mary was a young woman of Nazareth, betrothed to Joseph, who received the angel Gabriel's announcement that she would conceive a son by the Holy Spirit and name Him Jesus. Luke records her consent and her song of praise; John places her at the cross.
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The birth of Jesus
Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea to Mary, a virgin betrothed to Joseph, during the reign of Herod the Great. Luke records the manger and the angels' announcement to shepherds; Matthew records Joseph's obedience and the visit of the magi.
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Zechariah, father of John
Zechariah was a priest of the division of Abijah serving in the temple when Gabriel told him his elderly wife Elizabeth would bear a son named John. Because he doubted, he was silent until the child was named. His speech returned in a prophecy about the dawn from on high visiting God's people.
Focus this layer - Theme
Promise and fulfillment
Promise and fulfillment is the pattern by which the New Testament reads the Old: God speaks in advance through prophets, patterns, and covenants, and the Gospels show those words coming true in Jesus. FaithGraph labels each such link by the kind of evidence behind it.
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Herod Antipas
Herod Antipas, a son of Herod the Great, ruled Galilee and Perea as tetrarch during the ministry of Jesus. He imprisoned and executed John the Baptist, was curious and uneasy about Jesus, and in Luke's account questioned and mocked Him during the Passion before sending Him back to Pilate.
Focus this layer - Place
Jordan River
The Jordan is the river that flows south from the foothills of Mount Hermon, through the Sea of Galilee, and on to the Dead Sea. Israel crossed it into the promised land under Joshua, and John the Baptist baptized in it, including the baptism of Jesus.
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Wilderness of Judea
The wilderness of Judea is the dry country east of Jerusalem falling toward the Jordan valley and the Dead Sea. John the Baptist preached there, and the Gospels place the forty days of Jesus's testing in the wilderness after His baptism.
Focus this layer - Theme
Repentance
Repentance is turning from sin back to God, a change of mind that shows itself in a changed life. The prophets called Israel to it, John the Baptist demanded fruit in keeping with it, and Jesus opened His ministry with the call to repent and believe the good news.
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The Kingdom of God
The Kingdom of God is God's active reign, promised through Israel's prophets and announced by Jesus as having come near in Himself. Jesus taught its character in parables, displayed it in healings, and said it would grow until His return.
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Isaiah 40:3
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The boy Jesus in the temple
When Jesus was twelve, His family went up to Jerusalem for the Passover. On the way home His parents realized He was missing and found Him three days later in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers. Asked why, He replied that He had to be in His Father's house.
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The temptation of Jesus
After His baptism the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness, where He fasted forty days and was tempted by the devil to turn stones into bread, to throw Himself from the temple, and to gain the kingdoms of the world by worship. He answered each with words from Deuteronomy, and angels ministered to Him.
Focus this layer - Person
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth is the center of the Christian faith and of FaithGraph. The Gospels present Him as the promised Messiah of Israel, the eternal Word made flesh, who taught, healed, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, rose bodily on the third day, and commissioned His followers to carry the good news to all nations.
Focus this layer - Passage
Luke 1:17
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Connections around John the Baptist
John the Baptist participates in Mary visits Elizabeth
Explicit in ScriptureMedium confidenceThe unborn John leaps in Elizabeth's womb at Mary's greeting; Luke presents this as the child's response.
John the Baptist participates in The birth of John the Baptist
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidenceThe child born and named John is the one who will go before the Lord.
John the Baptist participates in The ministry of John the Baptist
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidenceJohn is the preacher and baptizer in every account of the wilderness ministry.
Evidence:John the Baptist participates in The baptism of Jesus
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidenceJohn is the one who baptizes Jesus in all three Synoptic accounts.
Evidence:John the Baptist explicitly fulfills Malachi 4:5-6
Explicit fulfillmentHigh confidenceJesus says that John is the Elijah who was to come, and after the transfiguration the disciples understand His words about Elijah to mean John.
Other responsible views
- John's own denial: When asked directly, John said he was not Elijah (John 1:21). Most readers hold that he denied being Elijah in person while fulfilling Elijah's role, as Jesus said.