In those days John the Baptist appeared, and kept preaching in the desert of Judea,

This very John had his clothing made of camel's hair, and wore a leather belt around his waist; his food was dried locusts and wild honey.

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

But John tried to prevent Him, by saying, "I have need to be baptized by you, and you come to me!"

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 Jesus heard that John had been arrested, He set out for Galilee.

And as He was going on from that point, He saw two others, brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, getting their nets in order; and He called them.

Then John's disciples went up to Him, and said, "Why do we and the Pharisees practice fasting, but your disciples do not?"

Here are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, who was named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James the son of Zebedee and his brother John,

Now when John in prison heard of the doings of the Christ, he sent this message by his disciples:

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

But as they were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: "What did you go out into the desert to gaze at? A reed that is tossed to and fro by the wind?

"I solemnly say to you, of all men born of women no one greater than John the Baptist has ever appeared; and yet the one who is least important in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

And from the days of John the Baptist until the present moment the kingdom of heaven has been continuously taken by storm, and those who take it by storm are seizing it as a precious prize.

For up to the days of John all the prophets, and even the law, prophesied about it,

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

For John came neither eating nor drinking with others, and yet they said, 'He has a demon.'

and said to his attendants, "This is John the Baptist. He has risen from the dead, and that is why the powers are at work through him."

For Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him out of the way by putting him in prison, just to please Herodias, his brother Philip's wife,

for John had said to him, "It is not right for you to have her as wife."

And she, prompted by her mother, said, "Give me John the Baptist's head right here on a platter."

And he sent and had John beheaded in prison.

Then John's disciples came and carried off his corpse, and buried him, and went and reported it to Jesus.

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

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

Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them about John the Baptist.

Where did John's baptism come from? From heaven, or from men?" They argued it out among themselves in this way, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say to us, 'Then why did you not believe him?'

But if we say, 'From men,' we are afraid of the people, for they all consider John a prophet."

For John came to you walking in the way of uprightness, and yet you did not believe him. The tax-collectors and prostitutes did believe him, but you, even though you saw that, would not change your minds afterward and believe him.

John the Baptizer appeared in the desert and was preaching a baptism conditioned on repentance to obtain the forgiveness of sins.

Now John wore clothing made of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he used to live on dried locusts and wild honey.

Now in those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.

Now after John was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God:

He walked on a little farther and saw James, the Son of Zebedee, and his brother John; they too were in their boats getting their nets in order.

As soon as they left the synagogue, they went home with Simon and Andrew, in company with James and John.

Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were keeping a fast. So some people came and asked Him, "Why do John's disciples and the Pharisees' disciples practice fasting, but yours never do?"

James the son of Zebedee, and John, James's brother (He named them Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder),

He let no one go with Him but Peter, James, and James's brother John.

King Herod heard of Him, for His name was now on everybody's lips, and people were saying that John the Baptist had risen from the dead, and that this was why such mighty powers were working in Him.

But when Herod heard of Him, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has risen from the dead."

For this very Herod had sent and seized John and bound him and put him in prison, just to please Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because Herod had married her.

For John kept saying to Herod, "It is not right for you to be living with your brother's wife."

for Herod stood in awe of John, because he knew that he was an upright and holy man, and so he protected him. When he heard him speak, he was very much disturbed, and yet he liked to hear him.

She left the room and asked her mother, "What shall I ask him for?" And she answered, "The head of John the Baptist."

Then she rushed at once before the king, and made this request, "I want you this very minute to give me John the Baptist's head on a platter."

and so at once ordered a soldier of his guard to bring his head. The soldier went off and beheaded John in the prison

They answered Him, "John the Baptist; others say, Elijah, and others that you are one of the prophets."

Six days after this, Jesus took Peter, James, and John with Him, and led them up on a high mountain, alone by themselves. And in their presence His appearance was changed,

John said to Him, "Teacher, we saw a man using your name to drive out demons, and we tried to stop him, for he was not one of our followers."

And Zebedee's two sons, James and John, came up to Him and said, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask."

When the other ten heard of it, they were at first very indignant at James and John.

Was John's baptism from heaven or from men? Answer me."

On the other hand, can we say, 'It was from men'?" For they were afraid of the people, because everybody thought that John was really a prophet.

As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew, in a private group, were asking Him,

And he took Peter, James, and John along with Him, and He began to feel completely dazed and to realize His anguish of heart,

But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you must name him John.

But his mother said, "Never! But he must be named John."

Then he asked for a writing-tablet, and wrote, "His name is John." And they were all astonished.

in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the message of God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the desert.

Now while the people were on tiptoe in their expectations, and they were all arguing in their hearts about John whether he was himself the Christ,

John expressly answered them all, "I am baptizing you in water only, but there is coming the One who is stronger than I am, whose shoestrings I am not fit to untie. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and in fire;

So with many and varied exhortations John continued to proclaim the good news to the people.

added this on top of it all, that he put John in prison.

as well as James and John, Zebedee's sons, who were Simon's partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Stop being afraid; from now on you will be catching men."

After that they said to Him, "John's disciples rigidly practice fasting and offering up prayers; so do the Pharisees, but your disciples keep right on eating and drinking."

Simon whom he named Peter, his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew,

Now John's disciples told him about all these things.

So John called two of them to him and sent them to the Lord, to ask, "Are you the One who was to come, or should we continue to look for someone else?"

So the men went to Him and said, "John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, 'Are you the One who was to come, or should we continue to look for someone else?'"

And so He answered them, "Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind are seeing and the crippled are walking, the lepers are being healed and the deaf are hearing, the dead are being raised and the poor are having the good news preached to them.

But when John's messengers had gone, He began to speak to the crowds about John: "What did you go out into the desert to gaze at? A reed that is tossed to and fro by the wind?

"I tell you, of all men born of women there is not one greater than John; and yet the one who is of least importance in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

And all the people, even the tax-collectors, when they heard him, vindicated the righteous requirements of God by submitting to John's baptism,

"For John the Baptist came eating no bread and drinking no wine, and yet you say, 'He has a demon!'

When He reached the house, He let no one go in with Him but Peter, James, and John, and the child's father and mother.

Now Herod the governor heard of all that was taking place, and he continued to be puzzled over the reports -- by some that John had risen from the dead,

So Herod said, "John I beheaded, but who can this be about whom I hear such reports?" So he was trying to see Him.

They answered, "John the Baptist; though others say Elijah, and still others that one of the ancient prophets has come back to life."

Now about eight days after Jesus said this, He took Peter, John, and James, and went up on the mountain to pray.

Then John answered, "Master, we saw a man driving out demons by the use of your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not belong to our followers."

When the disciples, James and John, saw this, they said, "Lord, do you want us to bid fire come down from heaven and consume them?"

Once He was praying in a certain place, and when He ceased, one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples."

It was the law and the prophets until John, but ever since that time the good news of the kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everybody has been taking it by storm.

was John's baptism from heaven or from men?"

But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet."

So He sent Peter and John, saying to them, "Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover meal."

There appeared a man named John, sent from God.

John testified to Him and cried out, for this was the one who said, "The One who is coming after me has been put before me, because He existed before me."

Now this is the testimony which John gave when the Jews sent priests and Levites to him from Jerusalem, to ask him, "Who are you?"

John answered them, "I am baptizing only in water. There is standing among you One with whom you are not acquainted.

This took place at Bethany on the farther side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and he said, "Look! He is the Lamb of God who is to take away the world's sin.

Then John gave this testimony: "I saw the Spirit coming down from heaven like a dove, and it remained on Him.

Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples,

Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus.

Then he took him to Jesus. Jesus looked him over and said, "You are Simon, son of John. From now on your name shall be Cephas" (which means Peter, or Rock).

But John too was baptizing people at Aenon, near Salim, for there was plenty of water there, and so the people were coming and being baptized.

(For John had not yet been put in prison.)

Then a discussion came up between John's disciples and a Jew about purification.

And they went to John and said to him, "Teacher, the man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan, to whom you bore testimony yourself, is baptizing people and everybody is going to Him."