Matthew 14:1-13  At that time Herod the ruler heard reports about Jesus;  ² and he said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist; he has been raised from the dead, and for this reason these powers are at work in him."  ³ For Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife,  ⁴ because John had been telling him, "It is not lawful for you to have her."  ⁵ Though Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded him as a prophet.  ⁶ But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company, and she pleased Herod  ⁷ so much that he promised on oath to grant her whatever she might ask.  ⁸ Prompted by her mother, she said, "Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter."  ⁹ The king was grieved, yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he commanded it to be given;  ¹⁰ he sent and had John beheaded in the prison.  ¹¹ The head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, who brought it to her mother.  ¹² His disciples came and took the body and buried it; then they went and told Jesus.  ¹³ Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.

            Since for two weeks now we have mainly talked about John the Baptist, I thought I would put together a series of links for you that contain various images, info, and such about him.  Enjoy!

From wikipeidia:

“John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River. Most historians agree he baptized Jesus.

John was a historical figure mentioned in each of the Canonical gospels, Aramaic Matthew and by the Jewish historian Josephus.  He followed the example of previous Hebrew prophets, living austerely, challenging sinful rulers, calling for repentance, and promising God's justice. John is regarded as a prophet in Christianity, Islam, the Bahá'í Faith, and Mandaeism. Some scholars maintain that he was influenced by the Essenes, who were semi-ascetic, expected an apocalypse, and practiced rituals conferring strongly with baptism, although there is no direct evidence to substantiate this.

John's baptism was a purification rite for repentant sinners, performed in "living water" (in this case a running river) in accord with Jewish custom. John anticipated a messianic figure who would be greater than himself. Jesus may have been a follower of John. Herod Antipas saw John as a threat and had him executed at his wife's request. Many Christian theologians believe that the ministry of Jesus followed John's, and some of Jesus' early followers had previously been followers of John. Both John and Jesus preached at times of great political, social, and religious conflict.

Accounts of John in the New Testament are not incompatible with the account in Josephus. In the New Testament Jesus is the one whose coming John foretold. Herod has John imprisoned for denouncing his marriage, and he is later executed. Christians commonly refer to John as the precursor or forerunner of Jesus, since in the Gospels, John announces Jesus' coming. He is also identified with the prophet Elijah, and is described by the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus.

Because Scripture described John as endowed with prenatal grace, the feast day of his birth (June 24) became celebrated more solemnly than that marking his martyrdom (August 29). In art, John's head is often depicted on a platter, which represents the request of Herod's stepdaughter, Salome. A theme of Christian art is the beheading of St. John the Baptist. He is also depicted as an ascetic wearing camel hair and with a staff and scroll inscribed "Ecce Agnus Dei", or bearing a book or dish with a lamb on it. In Orthodox icons, he often has angel's wings, since Mark 1:2 describes him as ἄγγελος (angelos) (messenger).^”

Paintings of John:

An icon of John:

In our prayers this week:  Norm, Jane, Jane’s Parents, Karl, Ann, and Scot

God’s Peace,