A Life Given

He was what we would see as a bit of an eccentric man, wearing animal skins and eating bugs for dinner. But, Jesus' cousin John had a very clear mission in life, to magnify Jesus and point people to their Messiah. He was known as John the Baptizer, because he called people to repent of their sin and self-salvation and he would then baptize those who did. As he preached he announced the imminence of God’s Kingdom, because the true King was here. But, his message put him at odds with another man, Herod Antipas, and John’s end was not what we might hope for this messenger. This morning we will look at a true tragedy, but the tragedy is not really what we are expecting.