We too, like David or John the Baptist,

can serve God's will our whole lives and then die.

John the Baptist, who prepared the way for the Lord (Mark 1:2-3),

after being cruelly arrested by the religious leaders who envied him

and by King Herod’s soldiers (14:4, Hoakma),

Jesus went to Galilee to preach the good news of God, saying,

“The time has come! The kingdom of God has come near.  

Repent and believe the good news!”

(vv. 14-15, Korean Modern Bible). 

As I reflect on this passage, I think about this:

John the Baptist, after fulfilling his mission

of preparing the way for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ,

was ultimately “captured” (14:4) and beheaded by King Herod (6:16-29).  

Although Jesus later said about John, “Among those born of women,

there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11),

John came “not to gain recognition for his greatness or to be taken up,

but to fulfill the role of being the forerunner of the Messiah.  

After completing his mission of preparing the way for the Messiah,

he quietly disappeared from the stage of history” (Hoakma). 

As I meditate on John the Baptist, I am reminded of a seminar

I attended years ago at Saddleback Church,

where Pastor Rick Warren shared a Bible verse

he said was his favorite, from Acts 13:36:

“Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation,

he fell asleep; he was buried with his ancestors and his body decayed”

(Korean Modern Bible). 

Like David and John the Baptist,

we too can live our lives serving God’s purpose,

and when our time comes, we will pass away in the same way.