John the Baptist was a faithful messenger of the gospel. Though he was persecuted by a wicked leader, he was commended by Jesus for his faith. Scripture’s accounts of John’s imprisonment and beheading illustrate his devotion to Jesus, even as John suffered for advocating for the truth.
John was arrested for publicly rebuking Herod’s affair with a young woman who was both his niece and his brother’s wife. Herod wanted to kill John but was mindful of the crowd’s support of him as a prophet. Herod didn’t fear God but was swayed by the opinions of people.
Though John the Baptist centered his ministry on proclaiming Jesus as Messiah, John needed to be reminded that Jesus is truly the one God promised to send. Confined to a prison cell, John relayed his questions in his time of need to Jesus’ disciples and sent them to get an answer from the Lord. “Are you the one who is to come,” John asked Jesus, “or should we expect someone else?”
Jesus offered words of assurance to John and his followers by quoting Isaiah 35:5–6 and pointing to His miracles and proclamation of the gospel. Jesus’ purpose in coming to earth wasn’t to be a political hero for the Jews against the Romans, but to restore the relationship between God and man. Jesus asked the crowd why they followed John in the first place and declared that John was indeed a prophet.
John the Baptist’s message was even greater than that of the Old Testament prophets who preceded him. While the prophets of old declared the Messiah was coming, John declared that He was there among them—Jesus, their Emmanuel! Yet even though John had such an esteemed role in heralding the long-awaited Messiah, Jesus declared that the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John was. How blessed are partakers of the new covenant of Christ’s blood!
Just as John needed to be reminded of Jesus’ role as the Messiah, we, too, must be reminded of the good news of the gospel. John the Baptist trusted Jesus’ words of life and knew the threat of death was nothing compared to His promise of eternal life. May the kids in your class who hear this story experience the power of the gospel in their own lives, trusting in Jesus as Messiah and Lord.
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Every week, members of The Gospel Project for Kids team offer guidance to help you as you prepare to teach every session to preschoolers and kids.
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