As we approach Christmas, we sometimes have a thought for the turkeys. If you eat meat, then you will perhaps consider the death of your Christmas lunch sad but a worthwhile sacrifice. If you are vegetarian or vegan, then your view will be different and you might even find it unjustifiable that other people eat turkeys on Christmas day. What is rather more distressing, though, is people losing their heads - something not uncommon in the Bible.
Looking further into the life of John the Baptist, we see that he wasn't just a warm up act for Jesus - although surely that would have been enough for anybody! He also made a stand for holiness in his own right. When people asked him how they should live after being baptized he was uncompromising in his advice; when they didn't ask his advice, that didn't stop him from giving it, even to the king. This was certainly putting his neck on the line.
John told soldiers to be satisfied with their wages and not force people to give them anything by threatening them or making false applications. Similarly tax collectors were instructed not to demand more than the legally required amount of revenue. More generally he said that people should share their possessions if those around them were in need. That's all good stuff if you've really given your life to God and are willing to comply.
John the Baptist was totally committed to God in life and willing to pay the price of death.
When John saw Pharisees and Sadducees coming forward for baptism, though, he knew that they were mostly there because being baptized had become the done thing - be there or be square; make sure that you're seen in the right places. He warned this 'bunch of snakes' in no uncertain terms that they needed to live lives that showed they were actually repentant. He explained that there was a judgment coming and that everyone not bearing good fruit would not come out well. This is, of course, all part of the message that Jesus continued in his own ministry.
Now making enemies of the Pharisees and Sadducees was one thing, quite dangerous but a calculated risk. Making an enemy of King Herod Antipas, though, was beyond a risk. Antipas had decided that he wanted his brother's wife for himself, so he took her. John told him off and ended up in prison. Antipas' new woman, Herodias, didn't seem unhappy with the arrangement and, in fact wanted John dead, rather than in prison. The king, though, knew that killing a national prophet was bad for public opinion. So John languished in prison for a few months, keeping up to date with what Jesus was doing by sending messengers.
The time came eventually for Herodias to have her way. There was a royal feast and at that her daughter, Salome, danced for the king, apparently very well. He was really pleased and offered her whatever she wanted as a gift. Herodias told her to ask for the head of John the Baptist. So as not to lose face in front of his powerful guests, Antipas agreed and John's head was brought in.
John held out for what was right and lost his life in the bargain. He was not only the greatest person born before Jesus while alive (Luke chapter 7, verse 28; Matthew chapter 11, verse 11), but also the first martyr in the New Testament. He joined the ranks of the Old Testament prophets who gave their lives for God and set a New Testament precedent of total commitment to Jesus. No wonder he is given a whole week in Advent for us to consider his example.
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