Lives of Scripture

John's birth was announced by an angel to his father Zacharias, a priest struck mute for doubting that his elderly wife Elizabeth would bear a son set apart to "go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:13-17). John appeared years later in the Judean wilderness, dressed in camel's hair, preaching repentance and baptizing crowds in the Jordan, fulfilling Isaiah's "voice crying in the wilderness" (Matthew 3:1-4; Isaiah 40:3). He confronted religious leaders as a "brood of vipers" trusting false security in their ancestry (Matthew 3:7-10), and when Jesus came to be baptized, John objected -- "I have need to be baptized by You" -- before consenting, and saw the Spirit descend on Jesus like a dove (3:13-17). John pointed his followers to Jesus, calling Him "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" and insisting "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 1:29; 3:30). He publicly denounced Herod Antipas for unlawfully marrying his brother's wife Herodias, and Herod imprisoned him for it (Matthew 14:3-4). Even from prison, doubt crept in -- John sent disciples to ask Jesus, "Are You the Expected One?" and received a reply pointing to His works as proof (Matthew 11:2-6). At a feast, Herodias's daughter's dance so pleased Herod that he rashly promised her anything; prompted by her mother, she asked for John's head, and Herod had him beheaded (Matthew 14:6-11). Jesus called him the greatest man born of women (Matthew 11:11).