Beheading of John the Baptist

Charlton Heston, in the video clip, gave a powerful portrayal of the Baptist in The Greatest Story Ever Told, capturing the raw courage and energy that animated John the Baptist as a result of the blazing faith he had in God.

Like Elijah, John came out of the wilderness to fearlessly proclaim the word of God, but what Elijah and the other prophets could only glimpse darkly, the coming of the Messiah, John saw with his own eyes. The last and greatest of the prophets, John fulfilled the role of Elijah as proclaimed by the prophet Malachi: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord.”

August 29 is the feast day of the beheading of John the Baptist, the herald of Christ.

St. John the Baptist was a cousin of Jesus. His mother was St. Elizabeth and his father was Zechariah. The first chapter of Luke’s Gospel tells of the wonderful event of John’s birth.

John preached a baptism of repentance, preparing people for the Messiah. He baptized Jesus in the Jordan River and watched with quiet joy as the Lord’s public ministry began. John encouraged his own disciples to follow Jesus. He knew that Jesus’ fame would grow, while his would fade away.

In the first chapter of the Gospel of John, St. John the Baptist calls himself a voice crying in the desert to make straight the path of the Lord. He invited people to get ready, to prepare themselves to recognize the Messiah. His message is the same to each of us today.

King Herod and his wife refused to obey God. They wanted to make their own rules for their lives. So St. John the Baptist told them what they were doing was wrong. Because he was honest and would not agree to do wrong, it made Herod’s wife angry and she asked her husband for the head of John the Baptist.

Yet John would have had it no other way. He would not remain silent while sin and injustice were happening. He asked people to be sorry for their sins, obey God and be His friend as true happiness comes only from God.

Mark’s Gospel, chapter 6:14-29, tells of the cruel death of John the Baptist. What suffering John agreed to bear for teaching the truth.

Charlton Heston, in the video clip, gave a powerful portrayal of the Baptist in The Greatest Story Ever Told, capturing the raw courage and energy that animated John the Baptist as a result of the blazing faith he had in God.

Like Elijah, John came out of the wilderness to fearlessly proclaim the word of God, but what Elijah and the other prophets could only glimpse darkly, the coming of the Messiah, John saw with his own eyes. The last and greatest of the prophets, John fulfilled the role of Elijah as proclaimed by the prophet Malachi: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord.”