I was involved with a gnostic sect for a while, and the view they held was that John represents the ego. I'm assuming they view this character as the most righteous aspect of what we call me, myself, and I, yet still he is just ego.

Furthermore, they say there is an initiation in the internal worlds where the rulers cut your head off, and that is basically the decapitation of John.

A whole series of initiations are spoken of, and I will say that these groups do indeed have remarkable power in the physical/spiritual world, but I don't believe that violent inductions automatically prove a group is holy. Otherwise street gangs and fraternities are holy.

Still, it's true that suffering builds character, and suffering together develops mutual admiration, lending strength to a group's purpose. So in the end it comes back to the question of the group's purpose, and when I look into that I'm quite puzzled, because I don't know what the purpose of many groups really is.

The purpose of the police is to enforce the law, but the law can be twisted in many ways. Sometimes it seems that the law should not apply, as when you're stopped at a red light at 3 AM in the morning and nobody is around for miles.

Is it ever right to disobey a superior? What if they order you to kill somebody and your conscience objects? Who is superior, the person or my conscience? Does God speak more through one than another?

From what I can make of it, John was calling people to Justice, but as a "voice calling out in the wilderness". "The light that shined in the darkness, but the darkness didn't understand". Like that darkness, I often wonder, What is Justice?

Is John the voice of my conscience that calls me to reflect on my sin, on my separation from God, what that means, and all that it entails? It would seem to be a prerequisite to any understanding of Jesus, as if I don't understand my sin, I clearly cannot accept that Jesus is my savior.

Does the death of Moses relate to John in any way? I ask this because Moses assigned Joshua (i.e., Jesus) the task of leading the people into the Promised Land, but he himself was not allowed to enter. He was granted the right to see, but not to enter, just as John was able to see Jesus, yet would not be a great one in the Kingdom Come.

Moses also shared with John the vocation of preaching to ignorant captives. The hebrews Moses preached to didn't mind being slaves so much, and many of the hebrews John preached to weren't even aware of the fact that they were slaves. Moses brought Law to the people, and so did John.

John baptizing with water and Jesus baptizing with fire is another puzzle. What is that about? What did fire and water mean to them on a symbolic level? Or are they talking about elemental magic, as some mystical schools contend? Such magical practices are condemned by most Christian sects, and apparently by the Bible as well, so what are we to make of such passages?

"Gentle Jesus, meek and mild" sentimentality

This is a purely Western phenomenon. Eastern Christianity does not view Christ in this way at all. It is most apparent when you look at the difference in art between the East and the West. The East has maintained a very somber, masculine feel, while the West has evolved to a softer, feminine feel.

I don't see your quote from Matthew as enigmatic at all. Clearly Christ was pronouncing the glory of the coming Kingdom - the Resurrection and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.