What do we know about John the Baptist from the Gospel according to Mark?
The Texts Regarding John the Baptizer in Gospel According to Mark
Chapter
1
The
beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
2 As
it is written in the prophet Isaiah,
‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of
you,
who will prepare your way;
3 the voice of
one crying out in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the
Lord,
make his paths straight” ’,
4John the
baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for
the forgiveness of sins. 5And people from the whole Judean
countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were
baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6Now
John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and
he ate locusts and wild honey. 7He proclaimed, ‘The one who is more
powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the
thong of his sandals. 8I have baptized you with water; but he will
baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’
9 In
those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the
Jordan. 10And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the
heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11And
a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well
pleased.’
12 And
the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13He was
in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild
beasts; and the angels waited on him.
14 Now
after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of
God, 15and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God
has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.’
Chapter
2
18 Now
John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people came and said to
him, ‘Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your
disciples do not fast?’ 19Jesus said to them, ‘The wedding-guests
cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have
the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20The days will come
when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that
day.
Chapter
6
14 King
Herod heard of it, for Jesus’ name had become known. Some were saying, ‘John
the baptizer has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these powers
are at work in him.’ 15But others said, ‘It is Elijah.’ And others
said, ‘It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.’ 16But when
Herod heard of it, he said, ‘John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.’
17 For
Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison
on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because Herod had married
her. 18For John had been telling Herod, ‘It is not lawful for you to
have your brother’s wife.’ 19And Herodias had a grudge against him,
and wanted to kill him. But she could not, 20for Herod feared John,
knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he
heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him. 21But
an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers
and officers and for the leaders of Galilee. 22When his daughter
Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king
said to the girl, ‘Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it.’ 23And
he solemnly swore to her, ‘Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of
my kingdom.’ 24She went out and said to her mother, ‘What should I
ask for?’ She replied, ‘The head of John the baptizer.’ 25Immediately
she rushed back to the king and requested, ‘I want you to give me at once the
head of John the Baptist on a platter.’ 26The king was de eply
grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to
refuse her. 27Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard with
orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison, 28brought
his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her
mother. 29When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his
body, and laid it in a tomb.
Chapter
11
27 Again
they came to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the
scribes, and the elders came to him 28and said, ‘By what authority
are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do them?’ 29Jesus
said to them, ‘I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by
what authority I do these things. 30Did the baptism of John come
from heaven, or was it of human origin? Answer me.’ 31They argued
with one another, ‘If we say, “From heaven”, he will say, “Why then did you not
believe him?” 32But shall we say, “Of human origin”?’—they were
afraid of the crowd, for all regarded John as truly a prophet. 33So
they answered Jesus, ‘We do not know.’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Neither will I
tell you by what authority I am doing these things.’
Next Wednesday we will look at John the Baptist in the Gospel according to Luke. Join us!
