John the Baptist - The Gospels

In this Bible Story, we learn about the brutal beheading of John the Baptist. The man who spends his entire life paving a way for the Son of God is executed. However, his death would not be in vain. He would be embraced by God the Father into the gates of heaven. This story is inspired by Mark 6:12-29, Luke 9:6-9. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.

Today's Bible verse is Mark 6:15 from the King James Version.

Episode 192: Out of anger, Herod imprisoned John the Baptist, and though he feared John, he would not kill him. His wife, however, manipulated Herod to make him promise to kill John. And though he regretted this offer, his social standing meant more to him than doing the right thing. Afterward, Jesus' fame began to rise more and more and Herod once again became worried.

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Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max Bard

Producer: Ben Gammon

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Music by: Andrew Morgan Smith

Bible Story narration by: Todd Haberkorn

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let us pray. Others said that it is Elias, and
others said that it is a prophet or one of
the prophets Mark six fifteen. Through the life of John
the Baptist, I see that the ultimate sign of life
well lived is to say that, no matter where I

(00:22):
end up, I can with full confidence say that I
lived and represented Christ in everything I did. In the
face of persecution, I will praise you. In the face
of ridicule, I will praise you. Even when my head
is on the chopping block and I could lose everything.

(00:46):
I know that in Jesus he'll restore what the enemy
has stolen from me. My strength comes from the fact
that Jesus conquered sin and death, and because he did,
conquering the trial and obstacles on the journey to my
destiny is a given, for greater is he who is
in me than he that is in the world. In Jesus' name, Amen,

(01:15):
thank you for praying with us today. Continue your time
with God by listening to today's Bible story, brought to
you by Bible in a year dot.

Speaker 2 (01:24):
Com John the Baptist. In our last story, Jesus healed.

Speaker 3 (01:39):
A man who had been lame and sick for over
thirty eight years. The man had been sick for so
long that he lost all hope of being healed. More so,
he fell into a cycle of bitterness. He felt helpless, alone,
and angry at the world. Yet one moment with Jesus
changed his life forever, and the Pharisees continued to hate

(02:02):
him for his mighty works. Now we learn about the
fate of John the Baptist, the man who prepared the
way of Jesus, meets a bitter end. However, John's story
does not end without hope. It ends with a promise
inspired by the Gospels.

Speaker 4 (02:21):
Hello, this is Jack Graham with today's episode of the
Bible in a Year. Thank you for joining us. In
yesterday's episode, we heard how Jesus healed a man who
was crippled and helpless, even hopeless. Years of being overlooked
by society and left alone to finn for himself had
let this man stuck and bitter, plagued with a sense

(02:43):
of scarcity and hopelessness. But Jesus changed it all with
his words of healing and comfort. Still, the religious crowd,
led by the Pharisees, hated Jesus for challenging their typefisted
rule over the people's hearts. Today we'll discuss how John
the Baptist earthly story ends. This man who heralded the

(03:04):
coming of the Messiah will die at the hands of
an evil, hateful king and his wife. Let's listen to
the word of God.

Speaker 3 (03:12):
Now, blood sprayed across the stone walls of John's jail cell.
Herod's guards drove their fists into his stomach, then across
his head. John's grunts echoed through the prison halls as
they relentlessly beat him. He fell to the floor, unable
to prop himself up. Before he could take a breath,

(03:32):
a guard's foot went upward and cracked a few of
his ribs. He screamed in agony and closed his eyes.
All he could hear were the guards leaving his jail cell.
Then all went black. John had been captured by Herod.
He was taken because he called out against Herod, who
stole his brother's wife Herodius out of anger. Herod captured

(03:56):
John to silence him, so he wrought in his cell
until Herod decided what to do with him. Even though
John was captured, Herod still feared him. He knew that
he was a righteous man, and John held the quiet
strength of a prophet. However, Herodias, Herod's stolen wife, teemed
with hatred against him. She wanted his head rolling off

(04:19):
his shoulders. She wanted him hung from his own entrails.
Her contempt for him ran deep. It was Herod's birthday,
and a large party was held in his honor. Drinks
flowed endlessly, and Herod grew loud and boisterous. Herodias watched
Herod laugh among his friends. She knew that he was
in prime condition to manipulate. Herodias sent out her daughter,

(04:44):
a beautiful young woman, to dance before Herod and his guests.
She moved sensually to the erotic music. Herod locked his
gaze onto her young hips. He was mesmerized and aroused.
Dull of thinking, Herod blurted out, ask me anything. His
words slurred and his cheeks blushed. Ask me anything, and

(05:06):
I will do it. I will give you up to
half my kingdom. The room was hot, and the daughter
moved sensually towards Herod. Her fingers wrapped around a few
strands of his hair. She leaned her lips closely towards
Herod's ear and whispered, give me the head of John
the Baptist. Herod's eyes widened at the request. Her words

(05:28):
sobered him. He looked at his friends. They were expecting
him to keep his word. Additionally, he thought there may
be a chance for him to sleep with his stepdaughter.
Out of embarrassment, drunkenness, and foolishness, Herod sent for his
men to execute John. John's cell doors opened abruptly. He
saw the silhouette of two guards holding chains in an axe.

(05:51):
John sighed deeply. He knew it was time. He stood
to his feet and walked towards them. They bound him
and drug him out to the back of the palace.
John thought about his life and purpose. He had proclaimed
and prepared the way of Jesus. Thousands had followed him
and then left him to follow the Messiah. As John

(06:11):
was shoved to his knees, he remembered the words he
once spoke on the Jordan River, he must increase, and
I must decrease. The words held much more weight now.
As John's head was shoved under the cold stone table,
he thought about the Christ. His joy was complete and
his purpose was fulfilled. Death would be a welcomed friend

(06:33):
for the one who came after him would prove death
to be powerless. He would strip away its sting, and
life everlasting would follow. John smiled, closed his eyes and
allowed the axe to fall on his neck. John's head
was handed to Herodia on a silver platter. Her pupils
widened at the sight of it. However, the momentary pleasure

(06:54):
was replaced with sickness. She thought John the Baptist was
the source of her embarrassment and shame. However, looking at
his lifeless head laying on a platter offered her no solace.
She still felt empty. Her revenge fell flat, as all
revenge does. Her soul would not be satisfied, and her

(07:14):
sins would eventually find her out. The next day, John's
friends gathered his body and laid it in a tomb.
Months had passed and Jesus's name had become so well
known that even Herod's servants were talking about him. He
heard of his miracles and words of power. Herod's heart raced,
for he had a feeling that Jesus was John himself,

(07:34):
risen from the dead. It was wrong, of course, John
was buried and de dirt and would not raise again. However,
Jesus would one day die, and unlike John, he would
rise again. He would rise above the sting of death.
He would rise above the power of sin and darkness.
He would rise where all men fell, and those who

(07:56):
believed in him would rise with him.

Speaker 4 (08:03):
Today's reading begins in a prison cell. John the Baptist,
the prophet who foretold the coming Messiah, had angered the
Jewish ruler, King Herod. This was the son of the
maniacal Herod the Great, who tried to have an infant
Jesus killed. And like his father, this Herod was not
opposed to spilling the blood of those who challenged him

(08:23):
or spoke out against him. And that's precisely what John
the Baptist had done. He'd called out Herod for stealing
his own brother's wife, a wicked woman named Herodius. The
rule of these two and their persecution of John is
reminiscent of some of Israel's evil kings and queens, like
Ahab and Jezebel. They had no regard for men of God,

(08:47):
so as John said in a cell, they were still
not satisfied. He needed to be disposed of, canceled. But
Herod was also fearful of the people who loved John,
so he was relied to have him killed. His wife, Herodius, however,
had no interest in such caution, so she hatched a plan,

(09:07):
an evil plot, to ensure that John would be put
to death. She sent her daughter Saloon to dance for
Herod and his court on his birthday. Herod, surely intoxicated
from his partying, was pleased with Salome's dance and vowed
to give her whatever she asked. This is always a
dangerous promise to make, and Herod would soon regret his offer,

(09:32):
for at her mother's direction, she made her request. She
wanted the head of John the Baptist on a platter,
and so John, after having served God's purpose for him
on earth, went quietly into death. That day. His head
was cut off without any ceremony or dignity for this
man of God. But there is no doubt that when

(09:54):
he entered eternity he was in the presence of God,
immediately rejoicing in heaven, and heard the words well done,
good and faithful servant He had announced and made a
way for the coming of the Lord, the Messiah Jesus,
who was going to take away the sins of the world.
In Matthew fourteen, Verses thirteen to fourteen. Here's what we read. Now.

(10:16):
When Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a
boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the
crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.
And when he went ashore, he saw a great crowd,
and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
Jesus mourned the death of his forerunner and friend and

(10:38):
family member, John the Baptist. This man had meant so
much to the Lord Jesus, and though he isolated himself
in grief for a while, he soon saw the need
of the people who followed him. Christ had compassion and
mercy upon each one. It's another sign of God's unending
grace and mercy and his willingness to hear and answer

(10:59):
the cries of his people. You see Jesus as God,
and in his deity he can heal. He is also
man in his humanity. He had compassion for people, so
as God and man, he loved each one. Jesus knew
that soon he also would die, He would be killed, crucified,

(11:20):
and Herod himself would also have a hand in it.
But unlike John, whose body remained in the ground, Jesus
would rise victorious, conquering sin and death as the Savior,
the redeemer of all who would call upon his name.
John's life was well lived because he fulfilled his purpose.
He served with courage and boldness and faithfulness all the

(11:43):
way to heaven. Oh, that the same might be said
of each of us as we live and die and
then experience the eternal reward of our Savior and our God.
Dear Lord, we thank you for the tremendous example of
John the Babtis, and how his bold, courageous, faithful life

(12:03):
shows us how to live and how to die. May
we live in your grace, and may we die in
your peace, and all along, may we fulfill your purpose
for our lives in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you for
listening to Today's Bible in a year. I'm pastor Jack
Graham from Dallas, Texas. You can download the pray dot

(12:25):
Com app and make Bible study in prayer the priority
of your life. And if you appreciate this podcast, please
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Graham dot org, for we have resources that are free
and available for you, so that you may know Christ

(12:46):
and grow in him. God bless you.