Jesus, Prophet of Islam - The Islamic Bulletin

22 Jesus, Prophet of Islam

public movement. He called on everyone to turn to [ehovah, and

assured them that the Kingdom of God would soon be established,

since theirpromised Messiah would soon be making himself known

tothem.

. In connection with this, it is of interest to read in the history
written by Iosephus of another hermit whose disciple this histo­
rian was: [osephus spent three years in the desert as an ascetic.
During this time he was under the guidance of à hermit called
Bannus who clothed himself with what grew on trees, ate only such
food as grew wild and disciplined himself to chastity by constant
cold baths. Thus it is apparent that John was following the tradi­
tion common to hermits.
The wilderness had been the place of refuge for David and other
Prophets before him, It was a place where the Jews could be free
from the d~mination of their foreign rulers and from the influence
of false gods. In the wilderness, there were no aspirations towards
the favours of the pagan rulers. In this atmosphere, there could
only be dependence on the Creator and worship of Him alone. It
was the cradle of monotheism. The desert wilderness removed any
false sense of security, and a man learned to rely on Reality alone:

In the barrenness of the wilderness, all other support

falls and one is laid bare to the One God, the Power, the

Constant Source of all life, and the Root of all security."

Thus the struggle in the wilderness had two aspects. Primarily, it
took place within the hearts of men who had to do battle with them­
selves if they were to live in a manner pleasingto their Lord. And,
as we have already seen, the choice of this course of action inevita­
bly resulted in conflict with those who wished to live otherwise.
The first struggle was a question of faith in [ehovah, and of spir­
itual gain, irrespective of whether the second battle was won or
lost.
The c1arion call of John began to attract large crowds. He had
ceased to observe one important stipulation in the Essene code of
conduct - namely, 'to disclose none of the secrets of the sect to oth­
ers even though tortured to death.' 6 His failure to follow this rule
made it all the more easier for the Romans to infiltrate the move­
ment with spies. John, with his prophetie vision, saw through their
guise, and called them 'vipers'. (Matthew3: 7). Jesus, his younger

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