Matthew 14:1-12 Death of John the Baptist

At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the news about Jesus, and said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him."  For when Herod had John arrested, he bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. For John had been saying to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her." Although Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded John as a prophet.  But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod, so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. Having been prompted by her mother, she said, "Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist." Although he was grieved, the king commanded it to be given because of his oaths, and because of his dinner guests. He sent and had John beheaded in the prison. And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. His disciples came and took away the body and buried it; and they went and reported to Jesus. [Matthew 14:1‭-‬12 NASB]

When Herod the Great died, he divided his kingdom among three sons. Archeleaus ruled in Judea,  Herod Antipas (Herod the tetrarch) ruled in Galilee, and Philip ruled in Syria. Antipas visited his brother, Herod Philip in Rome (note: this is not the same Philip that ruled in Syria), then returned to Galilee after divorcing his own wife and marrying Philip's wife, Herodias. She was a power grabbing schemer. Herod Philip was expected to have a position of power after the death of Herod the Great, but Herod excluded Philip from his inheritance, so he returned to Rome. When Antipas came along, she latched onto him since he was ruler over the Galilee. Later, at her urging, Antipas petitioned the emperor to be named a king in Galilee instead of a tetrarch. She wanted to be called Queen Herodias. The request was denied, and Antipas and Herodias were sent into exile instead, where they committed suicide.

John the Baptist was particularly irksome to Herodias because he called them out in their sins. The account in the gospel of Mark tells us that she wanted to put John to death, but Herod kept him alive, knowing that he was a righteous man. He was also afraid to put John to death because he feared the people who considered John to be a prophet.

Herodias, knowing Herod's passions, manipulated the circumstances to have her way. It was Herod's birthday. He had invited his lords, military commanders, and leading men of Galilee to a banquet. of course there would be lots and lots of wine. Then, Herodias had her daughter, Salome, dance for the men of the banquet. Salome was about 16 or 17 years old, and her dance was more strip tease than ballet. The goal was to stir the men's passions. She succeeded. Herod responded just as predicted, "Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you." [Mark 6:22 NASB] Salome responded just as her mother had prompted her, "Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist."

Herod acquiesced because he was afraid to lose face in front of his guests.

About this time, the fame of Jesus was spreading, and word of Jesus' miracles reached Herod. Being a superstitious and self-centered man, he convinced himself that John the Baptist had returned from the dead to torment him. John the Baptist never performed a miracle, but when Herod heard of Jesus' miracles, he decided that these supernatural powers accompanied the risen dead. There is no indication that Herod had faith in the resurrection, but rather saw Jesus as John's ghost, or perhaps a something like a zombie.

Herod was a fearful man. He feared the crowds. He feared his wife. He feared his own superstitions. He feared the opinion of men instead of God.

John said, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us." [1 John 4:18-19 NASB]

As humans it is easy to be swayed by fear. As Christians, let us place our faith in God, and rise above our fears.