St. John the Baptist Family -
Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, was a priest of the course of Abijah; Elizabeth, the Precursor's mother, "who was a descendent of Aaron", (Luke 1:5). Zechariah's home is designated only vaguely in St. (1:39): "Mary set out at that time and went as quickly as she could into the hill country to a town in Judah; She went into Zechariah's house and greeted Elizabeth" (Luke 1:40).

A tradition, which can be traced back to the time before the Crusades, points to the little town of Ain-Karim, five miles south-west of Jerusalem, as the place.

The birth of St. John the Baptist -
The birth of the Precursor was announced in a most striking manner, to Zechariah and Elizabeth, according to St. Luke (1:11-13), "Then there appeared to him the angel of the Lord, standing on the right of the altar of incense. The Sight disturbed Zechariah and he was overcome with fear. But the angle said to him 'Zechariah, do not be afraid, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth is to bear you a son and you shall name him John", and he continued "He will be your joy and delight and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord; he must drink no wine, no strong drink; even from his mother's womb he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, and he will bring back many of the Israelites to the Lord their God. With the spirit and power of Elijah, he will go before him to reconcile fathers to their children and the disobedient to the good sense of the upright, preparing for the Lord a people fit for him" (Luke 1:14-17).

The circumcision of St. John the Baptist and the Benedictus -
"Now it happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but his mother spoke up. 'No', she said, 'he is to be called John'. They said to her, "But no one in your family has that name', and made signs to his father to find out what he wanted him called. The father asked for a writing-tablet and wrote, 'His name is John'. And they were all astonished" (Luke 1:59-63).

They were not aware that no better name could be applied (John, Hebr.; Jehohanan, i.e. "Jahweh have mercy") to him, who, as his father prophesied:
"And you, little child, you shall be called Prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare a way for him, to give his people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the faithful love of our God in which the rising Sun has come from high to visit us, to give light to those who live in darkness and the shadow dark as death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace." (Luke 1:76-78).

The public Ministry of St. John the Baptist -
Of John's early life St. Luke tell us: "Meanwhile the child grew up, and his spirit grew strong. And he lived in the desert until the day he appeared openly to Israel" (Luke 1:80).
Later on St. Luke continues, "In the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar reign, When Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his bother Philip tetrarch of the territories of Ituraea and Trachonitis (*1), Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, and while the high-priesthood was held by Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah, in the desert" (Luke 3, 2).
"He went through the whole Jordan area proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins" (Luke 3:3).

The Gospels tells us: "John the Baptist was in the desert, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. All Judea and all the people of Jerusalem made their way to him, and as they were baptized by him in the river Jordan they confessed their sins. John wore a garment of camel-skin, with a leather belt around his waist, and lived on locusts and wild honey." (Mark 1:4-6) & (Matthew 2:4-6).

"He said, therefore to the crowds who came to be baptized by him. ' Brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming retribution? Produce good fruit in keeping with repentance" (Luke 3:7-8) & (Matthew 2:7-8).
"Yes, even now the axe is being laid to the root of the trees, so that any tree failing to produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown on the fire." (Luke 3:9).

"When all the people asked him, 'What must we do, then?' he answered, 'Anyone who has two tunics must share with the one who has none, and anyone with something to eat must do the same'. There were tax collectors, too, who came for baptism, and these said to him, 'Master, what must we do? He said to them, "Exact no more than the appointed rate'. Some soldiers asked him in their turn, 'What about us? What must we do?' He said to them, 'No intimidation! No extortion! Be content with you pay!' (Luke 3:10-14).

"A feeling of expectancy had grown among the people, who were beginning to wonder whether John might be the Messiah, so John answered them all, 'I baptize you with water, but someone is coming, who is more powerful than me, and I am not fit to undo the strap of his sandals; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." (Luke 3:15-16).
In St. Mark's we find a similar passage: "In the course of his preaching he said, 'After me is coming someone who is more powerful than me, and I am not fit to knell down and undo the strap of his sandals. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.' " (Mark 1:7-8).

When the priests and Levites were send to John to ask him who he was, he answered them: "I am, as Isaiah prophesied: A voice of one that cries in the desert: Prepare a way for the Lord. Make his path straight! " (John 1:23).
"And they asked him: 'Why are you baptizing if you are not the Messiah, and not Elijah, and not the Prophet?' John answered them, 'I baptize with water; but standing among you - unknown to you - is the one who is coming after me; and I am not fit to undo the straps of his sandals'. This happened at Bethany, on the far side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing." (John 1:25-28).

Jesus is baptized -
St. John's Gospel tells us: "The next day, he saw Jesus coming towards him and said, 'Look, there is the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. It was of him that I said, "Behind me comes one who has passed ahead of me because he existed before" (John 1:29-30). 
"And John declared, 'I saw the Spirit come down on him like a dove from heaven and rest on him" (John1:32).

And St. Luke narrates: "Now it happened that when all the people had been baptized and while Jesus after his own baptism was at prayer, heaven opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in a physical form, like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, 'You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased'." (Luke 3:21-22).

St. Mark writes: "It was at this time that Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. And at once, as he was coming out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the spirit, like a dove, descending on him. And a voice came from heaven, 'You are my Son, the Beloved; my favor rest on you.' " (Mark 1:9-11). 
St. Matthew narrated the event in a similar fashion (Matthew 3:16-17).

St. John the Baptist and Jesus -
"The next day as John stood there again with two of his disciples, Jesus went past, and John looked toward him and said, 'Look there is the lamb of God'. And the two disciple heard what he said and followed Jesus." (John1:35-37).
"One of these two who became followers of Jesus after hearing what John had said was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter." (John 1:40).

St. Luke goes on to say: "The disciples of John gave him all this news, and John, summoning two of his disciples, sent them to the Lord to ask, 'Are you the one who is to come, or are we to expect someone else?' " (Luke7:18-19).

However, St. Matthew narrates this passage as follows: "Now John had heard in prison what Christ was doing and he sent his disciples to ask him, 'Are you the one who is to come, or are we to expect someone else?' " (Matthew 11:2-3).

St. Luke continues: "When the men reached Jesus they said, 'John the Baptist has sent us to you ask, "Are you the one who is to come or are we to expect someone else?" ' At that very time he cured many people of deceases and afflictions and of evil spirits, and gave the gift of sight to many who were blind. Then he gave the messengers their answer, 'Go back and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind see again, the lame walk, those suffering from virulent skin-diseases are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, the good news is proclaimed to the poor; and blessed is anyone who does not take offence at me'." (Luke 7:20-23) & (Matthew 11:4-6).

"Jesus went with his disciples into the Judean countryside and stayed with them there and baptized. John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, where there was plenty of water, and people were going there and were being baptized. For John had not yet been put in prison." (John 3:22-24).

A long-standing tradition, traced back to A.D. 333, associates the activity of the Precursor, particularly the Baptism of the Lord, with the neighborhood of Deir Mar-Yuhanna (Qasr el- Yehud).

Jesus about St. John the Baptist -
"When John's messengers had gone he began to talk to the people about John, ' What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swaying in the breeze? No! Then what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? Look, those who go in magnificent clothes and live luxuriously are to be found are royal courts! Then what did you go out to see? A prophet: he is the one whom scripture say: Look, I am going to send my messenger in front of you to prepare your way before you. I tell you, of all the children born to women, there is no one greater than John; yet the least in the Kingdom of God is greater than he'. All the people who heard him, and the tax collectors too, acknowledged God's saving justice by accepting baptism from John." (Luke 7:24-29) & (Matthew11:7-11).

And continuing, Jesus pointed out the inconsistency of the opinions both of himself and his precursor:
"For John the Baptist has come, not eating bread, not drinking wine, and you say, "He is possessed". The Son of man has come, eating and drinking, and you say, "Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of the tax collectors and sinners". Yet wisdom is justified by all her children." (Luke 7:33-35) & (Matthew11:18-19).

When the disciples questioned Jesus about coming of Elijah, he replied:
"Elijah is indeed coming, and he will set everything right again; however, I tell you that Elijah has come already and they did not recognize him but treated him as they pleased; and the Son of man will suffer similarly at their hands.' Then the disciples understood that he was speaking of John the Baptist." (Matthew17:11-13).
 

St. John the Baptist imprisoned -
The above narrations recalls the fact that part of John's Baptists ministry was exercised in Perea: Aenon, another scene of his labors, was within the borders of Galilee; both Perea and Galilee made up the tetrarch of Herod Antipas. This prince, a son worthy of his father Herod the Great, had married, likely for political reasons, the daughter of Aretas, king of the Nabathaeans.
On a trip to Rome Herod Antipas, got to know Herodias, his brother's wife, and was very attracted by her that he venture a proposal of marriage. Herodia agreed and brought with her into the marriage her daughter [Josephus gives her the name: Salome]. (Josephus, Antiq.).

According to  Mosaic Law marriage with a sister-in-law was forbidden.
From the Gospels we learn that St. John dared to rebuke the tetrarch for his evil deeds, especially his public adultery. "But Herod the tetrarch, censured by John for his relations with his brother's wife Herodias and for all the other crimes he had committed, added a further crime to all the rest by shutting John up in prison." (Luke 3:19:20).

St. Mark's Gospel has a more detail account: "Herod who had sent to have John arrested, and had had him chained up in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife whom he had married. For John had told Herod, 'It is against the law for you to have your brother's wife.' As for Herodias, she was furious with him and wanted to kill him, but she was not able to do so, because Herod was in awe of John, knowing him to be good and upright man, and gave him his protection. When he had heard him speak he was greatly perplexed, and yet he liked to listen to him. (Mark 6:17-20).

"As great crowds clustered around John, Herod became afraid lest the Baptist should abuse his moral authority over them to incite them to rebellion, as they would do anything at his bidding; therefore he thought it wiser, so as to prevent possible happenings, to take away the dangerous preacher. . .and he imprisoned him in the fortress of Machaerus". (Josephus, Antiq.).

"Hearing that John had been arrested he withdrew to Galilee. Leaving Nazareth, he went and settled in Capernaum, beside the sea, in the region of Zebulum and Naphtali." (Matthew 4:12-13).

"After John had been arrested, Jesus went into Galilee. There he proclaimed the gospel from God saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of Good is close at hand. Repent, and believe the gospel.' " (Mark 1:14-15).

 "An opportunity came on Herod's birthday when when he gave a banquet for the nobles of his court, for his army officers and for the leading figures of Galilee. When the daughter of Herodias came in and dance, she delighted Herod and his guests; so the king said to the girl, 'Ask me anything you like and I will give it to you.' And he swore her an oath, 'I will give you anything you ask, even half of my Kingdom.' She went out and said to her mother, 'What shall I ask for?' She replied, 'The head of John the Baptist.' The girl at once rushed back to the king and made her request, 'I want you to give me John the Baptist's head immediately, on a platter.' The king was deeply distressed but, thinking of the oaths he had sworn and of his guests, he was reluctant to break his word to her. At once the king sent one of the bodyguards with orders to bring John's head. The man went off and beheaded him in the prison; then he brought the head on a dish and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother." (Mark 6:21-28) & (Matthew 14:6-11).

"John's disciples came and took the body and buried it; then they went off to tell Jesus" (Matthew 14:12) & (Mark 6:29).
"When Jesus received this news he withdrew by boat to a lonely place where they could be by themselves." (Matthew 14:13).

Thus was done to death the greatest "amongst them that are born of women", the prize awarded to a dancing girl, the toll exacted for an oath rashly taken and criminally kept. (St. Augustine).
At such an unjustifiable execution even the Jews were shocked, and they attributed to Divine vengeance the defeat Herod sustained afterwards at the hands of Aretas, his rightful father-in-law. (Josephus).

The date of John the Baptist's death, is  assigned in the liturgical calendars to 29 August.

After St. John the Baptist's death -
The lasting impression made by the Precursor upon those who had come within his influence cannot be better illustrated than by mentioned the awe which seize upon Herod when he heard of the wonders wrought by Jesus...

"At that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the reputation of Jesus and as said to his court, 'This is John the Baptist himself; he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him'. " (Matthew 14:1-2).

St. Luke narrates as follows: "Meanwhile Herod the tetrarch had heard about all that was going on; and he was puzzled, because some people were saying that John had risen from the dead" (Luke 9:7).
"But  Herod said, 'John? I beheaded him. So who is this I hear such reports about?' And he was anxious to see him." (Luke 9:9).

His burial-place has been fixed by an old tradition at Sebaste (Samaria). But if there is any truth in Josephus's assertion, that John was put to death at Machaerus, it is hard to understand why he was buried so far from the Herodian fortress.

Still, it is quite possible that, at a later date unknown to us, his sacred remains were carried to Sebaste. At any rate, about the middle of the fourth century, his tomb was  honored there, as we are informed on the testimony of Rufinus and Theodoretus.
These authors add that the shrine was desecrated under Julian the Apostate (c. A.D. 362), the bones being partly burned. A portion of the rescued relics were carried to Jerusalem, then to Alexandria; and there, on 27 May, 395, these relics were laid in the gorgeous basilica just dedicated to the Precursor on the site of the once famous temple of Serapis. The tomb at Sebaste continued, nevertheless, to be visited by pious pilgrims, and St. Jerome bears witness to the miracles there wrought. Perhaps some of the relics had been brought back to Sebaste.
Other portions at different times found their way to many sanctuaries of the Christian world, and long is the list of the churches claiming possession of some part of the precious treasure.

What became of the head of St. John the Baptist is difficult to determine. Nicephorus (I, ix) and Metahrastes say Herodias had it buried in the fortress of Machaerus.
Others insist that it was interred in Herod's palace at Jerusalem; there it was found during the reign of Constantine, and thence secretly taken to Emesa, in Phoenicia, where it was concealed, the place remaining unknown for years, until it was manifested by revelation in 453.
In the many and confusing stories concerning this relic, unfortunately much uncertainty prevails; their discrepancies in almost every point render the problem so intricate as to baffle solution. This relic, in whole or in part, is claimed by several churches, among them Amiens, Nemours, St-Jean d'Angeli (France), S. Silvestro in Capite (Rome). This fact, Tillemont traces, to a mistaking of one St. John for another, an explanation which, in certain cases, appears to be founded on good grounds and accounts well for this otherwise puzzling multiplication of relics.