About this time, John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the Judean wilderness,

John had clothing made of camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist. His diet consisted of grasshoppers and wild honey.

But when John saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he told them, "You children of serpents! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John.

But John tried to stop him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and are you coming to me?"

Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he went back to Galilee.

Going on from there he saw two other brothers James, son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee repairing their nets. When he called them,

Then John's disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples don't fast?"

These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John;

Now when John heard in prison about the activities of the Messiah, he sent a message by his disciples

Jesus answered them, "Go and tell John what you hear and observe:

As they were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John. "What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?

I tell all of you with certainty, among those born of women no one has appeared who is greater than John the Baptist. Yet even the least important person in the kingdom from heaven is greater than he.

"From the days of John the Baptist until the present, the kingdom from heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people have been attacking it,

because the Law and all the Prophets prophesied up to the time of John.

Because John didn't come eating or drinking, yet people say, "He has a demon!'

told his servants, "This is John the Baptist! He has been raised from the dead, and that's why these miracles are being done by him."

Herod had arrested John, bound him with chains, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife.

John had been telling him, "It is not lawful for you to have her."

Although Herod wanted to kill him, he was afraid of the crowd, since they regarded John as a prophet.

Prompted by her mother, she said, "Give me, right here on a platter, the head of John the Baptist."

So he sent word and had John beheaded in prison.

When John's disciples came, they carried off the body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.

They said, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John and led them up a high mountain by themselves.

Then the disciples understood that he had been speaking to them about John the Baptist.

Where did John's authority to baptize come from? From heaven or from humans?"

They began discussing this among themselves: "If we say, "From heaven,' he will ask us, "Then why didn't you believe him?' But if we say, "From humans,' we are afraid of the crowd, because everyone regards John as a prophet."

Jesus told them, "I tell all of you with certainty, tax collectors and prostitutes will get into God's kingdom ahead of you! John came to you living a righteous life, and you didn't believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes did. But even when you saw that, you didn't change your minds at last and believe him."