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Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man. (Mark 6:20)
The embodiment of radicalism, John the Baptist dressed in camel’s hair, “ate locusts and wild honey” (Mark 1:6), and prepared the way for Jesus by boldly exhorting people to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins (Mark 1:4). All during his life, John stood as a prefigurement of Jesus, the one he heralded. An angel foretold both of their births and named both of them (Luke 1:13,31; Isaiah 49:1). They were both conceived as a result of God’s miraculous intervention (Luke 1:24-25,35). Even in infancy, people recognized God’s hand upon them (Luke 1:66; 2:18-19).
Both John and Jesus “grew and became strong in spirit,” and each spent time alone before beginning his public ministry (Luke 1:80; 2:40; Mark 1:12-13). The Lord made both their mouths like sharp swords (Isaiah 49:2), able to cut through the deceptions of human…
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