NARRATOR 1: Here begins the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In Isaiah the prophet, it is written:
ISAIAH: I send my messenger before you to prepare your way: a heraldUs voice in the desert, crying, “Make ready the way for God’s coming; clear God a straight path.”
NARRATOR 2: Thus John the Baptizer appeared in the desert, proclaiming a baptism of repentance which led to the forgiveness of sins.
NARRATOR 1: All the Judean countryside and the people of Jerusalem went out to him in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.
NARRATOR 2: John was clothed in camelUs hair and wore a leather belt around his waist. His food was grasshoppers and wild honey. He preached, saying:
JOHN THE BAPTIST: One more powerful than I will come after me. I am not fit to stoop and untie his sandal straps. I have baptized you in water; the one who is coming will baptize you in the Holy Spirit.
Mark 1.1-8