The child was growing, and becoming strong in spirit, and was in the desert until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
There has been considerable speculation about whether John became a member of the ascetic Essene community at Qumran because he lived in the deserts. [Note: See A. S. Geyser, "The Youth of John the Baptist," Novum Testamentum 1 (1956):70-75; and J. A. T. Robinson, Twelve New Testament Studies, pp. 11-27.] There is no way to prove or to disprove this theory presently. The factors in its favor are their common eschatological expectations, their use of Isaiah 40:3, and their use of ritual washings. Against it is John’s connection with the Jerusalem temple through his father, which the Essenes repudiated. [Note: Marshall, The Gospel . . ., p. 96.] Probably John was not an Essene but simply a prophet who went into the deserts to commune with God to be free of the distractions of ordinary life. [Note: John C. Hutchinson, "Was John the Baptist an Essene from Qumran?" Bibliotheca Sacra 159:634 (April-June 2002):187-200.] 