The parallels between the missions of John and Jesus have been building toward the climax of this paragraph. John has introduced Jesus, proclaiming the same message that Jesus would (3:2; 4:17). After Jesus promises persecution and speaks of prophets (10:17-42), he praises John in prison as his ally (11:2-19); narratives about those who reject Jesus follow that account (11:20-25; 12:1-14). But nowhere does John's fate prefigure that of Jesus so clearly as here: if Jesus himself proves to be "a prophet without honor" among his people (13:53-58), what is to keep him from the fate of John the Baptist (14:1-12; 17:12)? And if for Jesus, how much more for us who follow him (5:12)?