Saint John The Baptist: A Voice Crying Out In The Desert

Out of the desert God called a man to pave the way for the coming of Jesus— •

a courageous man who would stand up to the leaders of his day;

•

a humble man who recognized that he was not to be the star of salvation history;

•

a wild man who ate . . . grasshoppers and honey!?

ISBN 0-8198-9105-3

kids www.pauline.org

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Pauline Books & Media

$13.95 U.S.

Saucedo

Follow John as he escapes a massacre with his parents, brings God’s message of repentance to the people, and pays the ultimate price for speaking God’s truth. Read and discover the heroic holiness of Saint John the Baptist—a man Jesus himself described as one of the greatest men ever born.

Saint John the Baptist A Voice Crying Out in the Desert

Children/Saints/Intermediate

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Saint John the Baptist A Voice Crying Out in the Desert Written and Illustrated by

Ezekiel Saucedo

Boston

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Saucedo, Ezekiel, author.

Title: Saint John the Baptist : a voice crying out in the desert / written and illustrated by Ezekiel Saucedo.

Description: Boston, MA : Pauline Books & Media, 2019.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019008085| ISBN 9780819891051 (pbk.) | ISBN 0819891053 (pbk.)

Subjects: LCSH: John, the Baptist, Saint--Juvenile literature. | John, the Baptist, Saint--Comic books, strips, etc. | Christian saints--Biography--Juvenile literature. | Christian saints--Biography--Comic books, strips, etc. | Graphic novels.

Classification: LCC BS2456 .S28 2019 | DDC 232.9/4 [B] --dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019008085 ISBN-10: 0-8198-9105-3 ISBN-13: 978-0-8198- 9105-1 Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible‚ Revised Edition © 2010‚ 1991‚ 1986‚ 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine‚ Washington‚ D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All rights reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Copyright © 2019‚ Ezekiel Saucedo All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means‚ electronic or mechanical‚ including photocopying‚ recording‚ or by any information storage and retrieval system‚ without permission in writing from the publisher.

“P” and PAULINE are registered trademarks of the Daughters of St. Paul.

Published by Pauline Books & Media‚ 50 Saint Pauls Avenue‚ Boston‚ MA 02130–­349 1 Printed in the U.S.A. SJTB VSAUSAPEOILL3-1910148 9105-3 www.pauline.org Pauline Books & Media is the publishing house of the Daughters of St. Paul‚ an international congregation of women religious serving the Church with the communications media.

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To my Tía Emilia and Grandpa Julian

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CONTENTS

Chapter One: The Prophecy ....................... 3 Chapter Two: The Child ............................ 15 Chapter Three: The Desert ....................... 33 Chapter Four: The Voice ........................... 57 Chapter Five: The Baptism ....................... 71 Chapter Six: The Prison ........................... 87 Chapter Seven: The Messiah ................. 103 Prayer to Saint John the Baptist .........118

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INTRODUCTION

John the Baptist is one of the most recognizable figures in the Bible. In fact‚ Jesus says‚ “Amen‚ I say to you‚ among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist . . .”

(Matthew 11:11). That is some high praise! John prepared the way for Jesus by announcing to the people that the Messiah (or Savior) was coming and that the people should change their sinful behavior. John’s life of simplicity‚ humility‚ and faithfulness prepared him to make way for Jesus in his own life. So‚ when Jesus appeared‚ John willingly gave up his influence and told his disciples to follow Jesus‚ saying: “He must increase; I must decrease” (John 3:30). Because of this‚ John is one of the greatest examples of humility and fidelity to God. Although most of this graphic novel is based on the Bible‚ not all of John’s life is described in Scripture. For example‚ Scripture does not tell us much about John’s childhood. The Gospel of Luke tells us that he “grew and became strong in spirit‚ and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel” (1:80). That is all it says about John’s early years. To fill in the gap between John’s birth and his appearance in the desert as an adult‚ I used apocryphal stories. “Apocryphal” means that these 1 9105-3_int_SJBGN.indd 1

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stories are not part of the Catholic Bible because they are not divinely inspired. Still‚ they show us what many early Christians believed. And the depiction of John’s childhood in this graphic novel does not go against Scripture. It shows us how strong the Jewish people were in the face of cruelty. John’s childhood‚ in many ways‚ formed John for the mission that God had entrusted to him.

I highly encourage you to read more about John the Baptist in the Bible. You can learn about John’s birth in Chapter 1 of the Gospel of Luke. You can find John’s teachings and the Baptism of Jesus in Matthew 3‚ Mark 1‚ and Luke 2. You’ll find more of John the Baptist’s teachings in Chapters 1 and 3 of the Gospel of John.

And you can read about the death of John the Baptist in Matthew 14‚ Mark 6‚ and Luke 9.

Engage your imagination as you read about the lives of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ! Ask big questions!

And don’t stop learning about your faith!

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CHAPTER ONE

THE PROPHECY “Now I am sending to you Elijah the prophet‚ Before the day of the Lord comes‚ the great and terrible day; He will turn the heart of fathers to their sons‚ and the heart of sons to their fathers . . .”

Malachi 3:23–­24

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Jerusalem—­o ne year before the birth of Christ

Don’t you just love coming into the city‚ Elizabeth?

Of course! I never know who we’re going to run into.

ha Zec

ri a

h!

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Zechariah‚ we have a question.

My mom said we’re waiting for Elijah the Prophet to return.

What does that mean?

Ask away!

Yeah‚ w ho ’s Elijah? ’s a W hat et? h p p ro

Calm down‚ kids. One question at a time!

What’s up with your hat?

So‚ you want to learn about Elijah‚ huh?

Well‚ to answer your question‚ I’ll have to tell you a story!

It began a long‚ long time ago . . .

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In ancient times‚ the Lord sent many prophets to the people of Israel. These teachers proclaimed God’s word and guided our ancestors in His ways.

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One of the greatest prophets was Elijah.

When God was upset that his people were worshiping idols‚ God sent Elijah to try to turn the Israelites back to the Lord.

God performed many great miracles through Elijah.

These proved to our ancestors and to us that our Lord is the one true God.

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When Elijah’s time on the Earth ended‚ horses of fire and a chariot of fire took Elijah to heaven.

The Almighty promised that Elijah would return one day to prepare the way for our Messiah.* As you know‚ the Messiah is a holy king who will come to unite our people and bring an age of peace.

*See Malachi 3:23–­24

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This is what we still wait for.

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Some of our people have lost hope. It has been years since we have had a prophet to give us the words of the Lord.

We have suffered greatly at the hands of the Romans‚ who captured Jerusalem and took our land. They waged a brutal war against our people.

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The Romans won and took control of our land.

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A man named Herod helped the Romans win the battle.

Then‚ the Roman Emperor Augustus crowned Herod as king of Judea.

He is still king today.

Herod loves the power Augustus gave him. Even though he’s a Jew like we are‚ he rules over us with an iron fist.

But we are still a people of hope.

We wait for Elijah’s return. Elijah will announce the coming of the Messiah—the rightful king who will rule with justice!

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But when’s the Messiah coming? What does Elijah look like? Why is your beard so long?

Children! What did I tell you about bothering the priest Zechariah today?

I’m so sorry‚ Zechariah!

It’s his turn to offer incense in the Temple. This is a once­−in−a− lifetime honor!

Do you want him to be late?

No‚ ma’am .

Oh‚ no need to apologize . . . I love spending time with children!

But God has blessed us in many other ways.

Do you ever wish we had children of our own?

Yes . . .

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You’re right! Now let’s head to the Temple before you’re late!

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