The martyrdom of St. John the Baptist, and really his entire life, provides a lens for us to view ourselves; our life, our accomplishments, our value, compared with the life of Christ. That was after all, St. John’s job: to point to Jesus. To take the focus off of himself and put it on Jesus. John famously said of Jesus, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). This defined John’s entire life and ministry. By even the method of his death, John literally decreases, and Jesus is increased. And what was witnessed at John the Baptist’s death is what we see happening even today at Baptism. Sermon by Rev. Jeff Hendrix on Mark 6:14–29 for the Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist.
