Cartoon of  John the Baptist looking in a cabinet. He says. “Time for a trip to the store. I’m out of locusts.”

The story of John the Baptist has always piqued my interest. Just the beginning of the story made for some word pictures. Here’s what the passage reads in the book of Matthew:

^1-2 While Jesus was living in the Galilean hills, John, called “the Baptizer,” was preaching in the desert country of Judea. His message was simple and austere, like his desert surroundings: “Change your life. God’s kingdom is here.”

³John and his message were authorized by Isaiah’s prophecy:

Thunder in the desert!
Prepare for God’s arrival!
Make the road smooth and straight!

^4-6John dressed in a camel-hair habit tied at the waist by a leather strap. He lived on a diet of locusts and wild field honey. People poured out of Jerusalem, Judea, and the Jordanian countryside to hear and see him in action. There at the Jordan River those who came to confess their sins were baptized into a changed life. (Matthew 3:1-6, The Message)

I wrote and illustrated a book on the topic a few years ago. You can see the cover at Amazon.com. It’s not available right now, but I’m going to see if it can be resurrected in pdf form. You may be able to get it at Warner Press.