And when he had been brought to Archelaus and the doctors of the Law had assembled, they asked him who he is and where he has been until then. And to this he made answer and spake: "I am pure; [for] the Spirit of God hath led me on, and [I live on] cane and roots and tree-food. But when they threatened to put him to torture if he would not cease from those words and deeds, he nevertheless said: "It is meet for you [rather] to cease from your heinous works and cleave unto the Lord your God." And there rose up in anger Simon, an Essæan by extraction, a scribe, and he spake: "We read every day the divine books. But thou, only now come from the forest like a wild animal,—thou darest in sooth to teach us and to mislead the people with thy reprobate words." And he rushed forward to do him bodily violence. But he, rebuking them, spake: "I will not disclose to you the mystery which dwelleth in you, for ye have not desired it. Thereby an untold calamity is come upon you, and because of yourselves."And when he had thus spoken, he went forth to the other side of the Jordan; and while no one durst rebuke him, that one did what [he had done] also heretofore. (Flavius Josephus)

Herod Archelaus ruled Judea, Samaria, and Edom from 4 BC to 6AD. If Josephus has his ruler right (the Herods can get confusing), John was considerably older than Jesus, much older than the six months suggested by Luke.

Archelaus was arguably the worst of the Herods, so cruel that he was removed by the Emperor Augustus and banished to what is now Austria.

I am as certain as John that each of us have a mystery that dwelleth in us. It does not usually hide. But it is shy and complicated and, sometimes, contradictory. It is after-all a mystery.

You get to know the mystery by asking it questions and listening carefully to its obscure answers. Or over many days (months and years) you work with it on intricate puzzles. Sometimes the mystery will ask you riddles.

Impatience, anger and threats - such as Simon's - only cause the mystery to tie itself into tighter and tighter knots.

The mystery welcomes us, but we must approach it ready to play, to take neither it or ourselves too seriously, and to enjoy mystery's company rather than always trying to solve the mystery. The goal is not so much to understand, but to be in relationship with the mystery