There are plenty of people that profess their religious faith, be it Christian, Jewish, Islam, Buddhist, or whatever, and in all those faiths there are a special few that end up becoming great heroes and prophets, who are rightly admired by the adherents of that faith. Yet, in many instances, many of those prophets have met with ignoble ends, such as John the Baptist, who was beheaded, not only because of his powerful influence over the common people, but also as a vengeful act for the inconvenience and embarrassment that John the Baptist had caused in regards to the relationship of Herodias to her husband, Herod Antipas, who was not only her uncle but also because she had been already married, that she was in an adulterous relationship with the tetrarch of Galilee.
John the Baptist lived in the wilderness, and we learn that he: "… had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey," (Matthew 3:4). We also learn that John the Baptist was: "…preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins," (Luke 3:3). So John the Baptist was a man that lived off of the land, with the simplest of clothing that commanded that his adherents repent so as to receive the forgiveness of their sins.
The problem, therefore, for so many of today's Christians, is that they fail to understand that this repentance that John preached, was not something that was only applicable to people at the time of Christ's ministry, but applicable for all times, without end. That is to say, when John the Baptist said: "… Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight," (Matthew 3:3), this was not meant to be interpreted as being of just that one certain time period, of when Christ was physically incarnated here on earth, but for all time periods, for all time, because Christ's reign is forever.
The point is, that there are few people, that are willing to walk the way of the Cross, and to suffer, if need be, or to sacrifice, as they must, for their faith. Far too many people today, are fair-weather Christians that merely want to hear things or to accomplish things that really don't inconvenience them and find it somewhat offensive to be preached to in such a manner, as to convict them of any wrongs or any sins, whatsoever. But that wasn't the message of the Baptist, nor was this the message of the Christ, who upon being questioned as to what law should apply to the woman taken in adultery, told her, after the stones that had been taken up to slay her, had been cast away, that: "… neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more," (John 8:11).
So you must therefore picture this, there is a man in the wilderness, probably not a real educated man, poorly clothed, living off of the land, and preaching this "madness" that you need to repent of your sins, so that you can thereby be baptized into repentance, and further to prepare yourself to straighten up your act so as to be worthy to receive the real baptism of the Holy Spirit. How many of you, would really participate, and how many, on the other hand, would simply want this rather "annoying" man to just to shut-up, once and for all.
Today's world wants so badly to believe that they are so much more civilized, but beneath that surface, is a savage, a savage that is easily unleashed against those that have the audacity to make us question ourselves, and when we duly find out that indeed we are truly lacking, that in fact, we are the Pharisees of old, hypocrites, who merely look the part of being a Christian, but beneath are "… full of greed and self-indulgence," there wouldn't be any doubt, that they would surely want to silence the Baptist, today.