Yochanan. He turns out to be one of the more colorful characters described in the New Testament. Yochanan was in fact a cousin of Yeshua, born just six months before him (cf. Luke 1:56–57). His name means, “God is gracious,” which is an apt description of the one who will prepare the way of Mashiach. The secondary title given to him is the The Immerser (ha-matbil), not because he was a member of a particular modern denomination, but because he was one who performed ritual immersions within the context
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