During our John the Baptist Unit Study, one of my children dressed up like John the Baptist. We drew pictures of this prophet, made crafts, and dramatized his life. After hearing the Word of God regarding John the Baptist in the four gospels, I read the chapter about him from Wilkinson and Boa’s Talk Through Bible Personalities. My children had a well-rounded view of this prophet by the time we started doing hands-on activities.
The Birth of John the Baptist
First we saw prophecies that foretold the coming of John in Isaiah and Malachi. The birth of John the Baptist was surrounded by strange events, since his father Zacharias saw the angel Gabriel and didn’t believe the news when the angel told him that he was going to have a son in his old age. So he was struck dumb and wasn’t able to speak until the birth of his son. Meanwhile Elizabeth saw Mary, the mother of Jesus, and John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit and jumped in her womb before he was even born!
Here is a craft about the prophet’s birth:
John the Baptist Eats Locusts and Honey
In the wilderness, John ate locusts and wild honey. You can have your kids taste honey and observe a grasshopper in a terrarium. (Pet stores sell crickets for cheap, but beware that they chirp at night and are irritating.) John looked like a wild madman.
Here are a couple of activities depicting the wildness of John the Baptist:
Here is a printable craft about grasshoppers:
Here are some of my kids’ drawings of John the Baptist living in the wilderness:
John the Baptist Preaches Repentance
He spoke in sharp rebukes and harsh words, and people flocked to him to hear him preach and be baptized by him. He preached the gospel: “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand.”
Here is an activity to help children learn how to repent of sin:
When Jesus walked towards him, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!” He said he was not worthy to untie the sandal of Jesus. Here is a hands-on activity about untying sandals:
The Baptism of Jesus
John baptized Jesus. At His baptism, Christ’s identity was confirmed by God the Father speaking, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” The Holy Spirit descended as a dove at the same time.
Here is a video clip about the baptism of Jesus by John:
Here are some activities and printables to help you as you study the story of John baptizing Jesus:
Baptism of Jesus: Hands-on Lego Activity
Here is a re-enactment of the baptism of Jesus, done with Legos:
John is Beheaded
Even before John was born, he leaped for joy when Mary the mother of Jesus entered the room. John recognized the presence of Jesus even before birth. So why did he doubt when he was in prison? John’s doubts probably came from the fact that he didn’t know that Christ was going to come again, and a lot of the prophecies weren’t being fulfilled. Jesus answered John with Scripture that was being fulfilled at the first coming of Jesus.
Christ said this about John: “Among those born of women, there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist.” (Matthew 11:11)
Because Herod was not happy about being told he had done the wrong thing to marry his brother’s wife, he had thrown John into prison. Later when Herodias’ daughter danced for Herod, he granted her any wish she desired. After consulting with her mother, she asked for the head of John the Baptist on a platter.
Back when I taught at a Christian school, every Reformation Day, the students would come to school dressed up as characters from the Bible. One year I had a kid come as the head of John the Baptist on a platter on a table. I though it was clever how the head was covered up and uncovered by another student. A bit gruesome, but biblically correct. Thus ends the life of John the Baptist.
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My children drew pictures of Jesus feeding the 5,000. The story is found in Matthew 14: 15-21, Mark 6:33-44, Luke 9:12-17, and John 6:1-14. The disciples told Jesus to send the people away because it was getting late. The Bible says this took place “when it was evening.” For some reason I always picture it during the daytime. It might have been early evening, maybe around dusk, while it was still light outside.
The disciples found a boy with five loaves of bread and two fish, so they gave those to Jesus. Looking up to heaven, Jesus blessed the food and began breaking it apart and putting it into baskets. The food began multiplying itself. This was not the first time that food had multiplied itself. Elijah and Elisha had caused food to be multiplied many years before (through the power of God in prayer), to take care of widows who were starving during famine.
