In those days John the Baptist came on the scene, preaching in the desert of Judaea,

This John had his clothes made of camel's hair, with a leather girdle round his loins; his food was locusts and wild honey.

Then Jesus came on the scene from Galilee, to get baptized by John at the Jordan.

John tried to prevent him; "I need to get baptized by you," he said, "and you come to me!"

But Jesus answered him, "Come now, this is how we should fulfil all our duty to God." Then John gave in to him.

Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee; ??13 he left Nazaret and settled at Capharnahum beside the lake, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali

Then going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedaeus and his brother John, mending their nets in the boat beside their father Zebedaeus. He called them,

Then the disciples of John came up to him and said, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast a great deal, and your disciples do not fast?"

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

Now when John heard in prison what the Christ was doing, he sent his disciples

Jesus answered them, "Go and report to John what you hear and see:

As the disciples of John went away, Jesus proceeded to speak to the crowds about John: "What did you go out to the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind?

I tell you truly, no one has arisen among the sons of women who is greater than John the Baptist, and yet the least in the Realm of heaven is greater than he is.

From the days of John the Baptist till now the Realm of heaven suffers violence, and the violent press into it.

For all the prophets and the law prophesied of it until John: ??14 if you care to believe it, he is the Elijah who is to come.

For John has come neither eating nor drinking, and men say, 'He has a devil';

And he said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead. That is why miraculous powers are working through him."

For Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison on account of Herodias the wife of his brother Philip,

since John had told him, "You have no right to her."

He was anxious to kill him but he was afraid of the people, for they held John to be a prophet.

And she, at the instigation of her mother, said, "Give me John the Baptist's head this moment on a dish."

he sent and had John beheaded in the prison,

They told him, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

Six days afterwards Jesus took Peter, James and his brother John, and led them up a high hill by themselves;

Then the disciples realized he was speaking to them about John the Baptist.

Where did the baptism of John come from? From heaven or from men?" Now they argued to themselves, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say to us, 'Then why did you not believe him?'

And if we say, 'From men,' we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet."

For John showed you the way to be good and you would not believe him; the taxgatherers and harlots believed him, and even though you saw that, you would not change your mind afterwards and believe him.