A righteous and holy man: At the time of Jesus there was a popular expectation of the return of the prophet Elijah (Mal 3:1, 23; Mk 1:2; 9:9-13) to prepare the coming of the Lord. When John the Baptist appeared, he was regarded as an Elijah-figure. He preached repentance and conversion to all, rich and poor alike, the nobility and the masses. And, like past prophets, John was a source of trouble for the guilty members of the royal house. His denunciation of the adulterous union of Herod Antipas and Herodias led to his arrest, imprisonment, and eventual death.
Mark compares John the Baptist to the final prophet, Jesus. The imprisonment and death of John are paralleled to the passion and death of Christ (Mk 15:1-47). Moreover, “righteous and holy man” is an early Christian formula applied also to Christ who is called “the holy and righteous one” in Acts 3:14.