Now in those days John the Baptist came preaching in the Judean wilderness

This John it was of whom it was said through Isaiah, the prophet, The voice of one who cries aloud in the desert, "Prepare a way for the Lord, Make the paths straight for him."

Now John himself had his clothing made from camel's hair and a belt made of leather around his waist, and his food was locusts 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 John in order to be baptized by him.

But John tried to prevent him, saying, "{I need} to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"

So Jesus replied to him, "Let it happen now, for it is right for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then John yielded to him.

And as soon as Jesus was baptized, He at once went up out of the water, and look! the heavens opened, and John saw the Spirit of God coming down like a dove upon Him,

Now [when he] heard that John {had been arrested}, he withdrew into Galilee.

And going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the [son] of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them.

Then the disciples of John approached him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?"

Now these are the names of the twelve apostles: first Simon who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, James the [son] of Zebedee, and John his brother,

James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas, and Matthew the publican, James the son of Alpheus, and Labbeus, whose sirname was Thaddeus, Simon the zelot,

But whoever disowns me in front of people [i.e., denies that I am the Christ, or that he is a disciple. See John 18:15-17, 25-27], I will disown him in front of my Father in heaven.

Now [when] John heard in prison the deeds of Christ, he sent [word] by his disciples

And Jesus answered [and] said to them, "Go [and] tell John what you hear and see:

Now [as] these were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: "What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?

Truly I say to you, among [those] born of women there has not arisen [one] greater than John the Baptist. But the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

But from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven is treated violently, and the violent claim it.

For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John,

and if you are willing to accept it, John himself is the Elijah who was to come.

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon!'

At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the fame of Jesus, And said to his servants, This is John the Baptist:

and he said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist! He has been raised from the dead, and for this [reason] miraculous powers are at work in him."

For Herod, [after] arresting John, bound him and put [him] in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip,

because John had been saying to him, "It is not permitted for you to have her."

And although he wished to kill John, he feared the people, for they considered John a prophet.

And coached by her mother, she said, "Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter!"

Now King Herod became very distressed [over such a gruesome request]; but because he had [promised with] oaths and [to look good in front of] his party guests, he ordered John's head to be given [to her].

And he sent [orders] [and] had John beheaded in the prison,

Then John's disciples went and removed his body, and came and told Jesus.

Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the people heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities.

And they replied, "But we have here [only] five loaves of [barley] bread [See John 6:9] and two [probably smoked] fish."

And they said, {Some} [say] John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

And after six days Jesus took along Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves.

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

Then the mother of Zebedee's sons [i.e., James and John] came to Jesus with her sons and, bowing down in reverence before Him, made a request of Him.

But Jesus replied to her, "You [really] do not know what you are asking for. Are you able to drink the cup [i.e., of suffering] that I am about to drink?" They [i.e., James, John and their mother. See Mark 10:35ff] answered, "[Yes] we are able to."

He then left them and went out of the city [of Jerusalem] to Bethany [Note: This was a small village near Bethphage] and stayed there [i.e., probably at the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. See John 11:1].

The immersion of John, whence was it? from heaven, or from men? But they reasoned among themselves, and said, If we reply, From heaven, he will say to us, Why then did you not believe him?

But if we reply, From men, we fear the multitude; for all regard John as a prophet.

So, they answered Jesus, "We do not know [where John got the authority for his immersion]." Jesus then replied to them, "[Then] neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things [i.e., miracles and teaching].

For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you believed him not. But the publicans and the harlots believed him. And you, when you had seen it, after ward felt no regret, that you might believe him.

He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee [i.e., James and John] with Him, and [soon] began to be grieved and very distressed.

Just then, one of those who were with Jesus [i.e., Peter. See John 18:10], reached out with his sword and struck the head priest's servant [with it], shearing off his ear.

But Peter followed Him from a distance [as they were going] to the courtyard of the head priest. He went inside [i.e., eventually. See John 18:15-16] and sat down with the [Jewish] officers to see how things would turn out [i.e., with Jesus' trial].

Among them were Mary from Magdala; Mary, the mother of James and Joseph [i.e., probably the wife of Clopas. See John 19:25]; and the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee [i.e., Salome. Mark 15:40].

And when they met Him [there], they [knelt down] to worship Him; but some [still] had doubts [i.e., about His resurrection. See John 20:25].

the voice of one who cries in the desert, 'Make the way ready for the Lord, level the paths for him' ??4 John appeared baptizing in the desert and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;

John did baptise in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance, for the remission of sins.

And people from throughout all the regions of Judea and all of Jerusalem went out to John [in the desert]. And he immersed them in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.

John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a beast's skin about his loins. And he did eat locusts and wild honey,

In his preaching John said, "One who is more powerful than I am will follow my ministry. I am not [even] worthy to stoop down and loosen the straps of His sandals [i.e., to serve as His slave].

And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth, a city of Galilee, and was baptised of John in Jordan.

And as soon as he was come out of the water, John saw the heavens open, and the holy ghost descending upon him like a dove.

After that John was taken, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,

And when he had gone a little further thence, he saw James, the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, even as they were in the ship mending their nets.

And forthwith, as soon as they were come out of the Synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John.

And Simon and those who were with him [i.e., probably Andrew, James and John. See verse 29] followed Him.

And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees did fast, and they therefore came and said unto him, "Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, and thy disciples fast not?"

And he called James the son of Zebedee, and John, James' brother, and gave them Boanerges to name, which is to say, the Sons of Thunder.

Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew [i.e., the same as Nathaniel. See John 1:45], Matthew [i.e., the same as Levi. See Mark 2:14], Thomas [i.e., the same as Didymus. See John 11:16], James, the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus [i.e., the same as Judas, the son of James. See Luke 6:16], Simon the Canaanean [i.e., the same as the Zealot. See Luke 6:15],

And he suffered no man to follow him more than Peter, and James and John the brother of James.

They laughed at Him scornfully. But after having all the people wait outside He took the child's father and mother, along with those who came with Him [i.e., Peter, James and John] and went in to where the [dead] child lay.

And king Herod heard of him, for his name was spread abroad; And he said, "John Baptist is risen again from death, and therefore miracles are wrought by him."

But when Herod heard of him, he said, "It is John whom I beheaded, he is risen from death again."

For Herod himself had sent forth, and had taken John, and bound him and cast him into prison for Herodias' sake, which was his brother Philip's wife. For he had married her.

John said unto Herod, "It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife."

So Herodias bore a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she couldn't do it

For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man, and a holy, and gave him reverence; And when he heard him he did many things, and heard him gladly.

Then an ideal opportunity arose [i.e., for Herodias to do away with John] when Herod gave a dinner on his birthday for his influential friends, military commanders and the prominent officials of Galilee.

And she went forth and said to her mother, "What shall I ask?" And she said, "John Baptist's head."

And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, "I will, that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John Baptist."

So without delay the king sent a soldier and ordered him to bring John's head. The soldier went and beheaded him in prison.

And he went and beheaded John in prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the young girl, and she gave it to her mother.

When John's disciples heard of this, they came, and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.

And He said to them, "How many loaves [of bread] do you have? Go and see." And when had found out, they said, "Five [barley] loaves [See John 6:9] and two [probably smoked] fish."

And they answered, "Some say that thou art John Baptist: some, say Elijah, and some, one of the prophets."

And after six days, Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up into a high mountain out of the way alone, and he was transfigured before them.

And when Peter, James and John [See verse 2] returned to [the rest of] the disciples, they saw a large crowd gathered around them, and the experts in the law of Moses disputing with them.

And whosoever receiveth me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me." John answered him, saying, "Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, which followeth not us and we forbade him, because he followeth us not."

And then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came unto him, saying, "Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we desire."

And when the ten heard that, they began to disdain at James and John.

What about the baptism of John? Was it from heaven or from men?"

No, let us say, From men" ??but they were afraid of the multitude, for the people all held John had been really a prophet.

So, they answered Jesus and said, "We do not know [where John got his authority to immerse]." Jesus replied to them, " [Then] neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things [i.e., miracles and teaching]."

And as he sat on the mount of Olives, opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately:

And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly amazed, and sore troubled.

But a certain disciple that was standing nearby [i.e., Peter. See John 18:10] drew his sword and struck the head priest's servant [i.e., Malchus. See John 18:10], shearing off his ear.

It was nine o'clock in the morning and they crucified Him. [Note: John 19:14 indicates that the crucifixion took place about noon. This can be harmonized if we take Mark's account to mean when the entire process began].

And there were also some women watching all this from a distance. Among them were Mary from Magdala; Mary the mother of the younger James and [his brother] Joseph [i.e., probably the wife of Clopas. See John 19:25]; and Salome [i.e., the mother of James and John and wife of Zebedee. See Matt. 27:56].

Now when the Sabbath day was over [i.e., after sunset on Saturday evening], Mary from Magdala; Mary the mother of James [i.e., the "other Mary" of Matt. 28:1, who was probably Jesus' mother. See Matt. 27:56]; and Salome [i.e., the mother of James and John and wife of Zebedee. See Matt. 27:56], bought spices [i.e., consisting of aloes and other aromatic perfumes] in order to apply them to His body [i.e., as a means of embalming].

But the angel said, Have no fear, Zacharias, for your prayer has come to the ears of God, and your wife Elisabeth will have a son, and his name will be John.

For he will be great in the sight of the Lord and he will not drink any wine or intoxicating drinks [Note: This restriction suggests that John may have taken the special vow of consecration making him a "Nazarite"]. And he will be filled with the Holy Spirit from the time he is born.

So, Mary stayed with [her relative] Elizabeth for about three months [i.e., until about the time John was born. See 1:26-31], and then returned to her home.

But his mother made answer and said, No, his name is John.

And he sent for writing materials and put down: His name is John; and they were all surprised.

Yes, you [my] child [i.e., John], will be called the prophet of the Highest [i.e., God], for you will go ahead of the Lord's presence to prepare His ways.

So, the child [i.e., John] grew and became strong in [his] spirit and stayed in the desert until the day when he appeared publicly to the Israelites.

When Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of the Lord came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the waste land.