John 4 John 4 John 4 is the fourth chapter of the Gospel of John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The Pharisees learn that Jesus is baptizing more people than John the Baptist. notes that "... in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples", although clearly suggests that Jesus himself was baptizing - "that man who was with you (John the Baptist) on the other side of the Jordan". Jesus learns this, leaves Judea, and sets off to return to Galilee. records that in order to reach Galilee it was necessary to pass through Samaria, although
John the Baptist rituals corresponding strongly with baptism, although no direct evidence substantiates this. According to the New Testament, John anticipated a messianic figure greater than himself. Christians commonly refer to John as the precursor or forerunner of Jesus, since John announces Jesus' coming. John is also identified as the spiritual successor of the prophet Elijah. John was sentenced to death and subsequently beheaded by Herod Antipas sometime between 28 and 36 AD after John rebuked him for divorcing his wife, Phasaelis, and unlawfully taking Herodias, the wife of his brother Herod Philip I. John the Baptist is mentioned in all four canonical