The death of John the Baptist (Mark 6:14–29)

14 Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name had become well known. And he said, “John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him.” 15 Others said, “It is Elijah.”And others said, “It is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets.” 16 But when Herod heard, he said, “This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!” 17 For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife; for he had married her. 18 Because John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not; 20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him. And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly. 21 Then an opportune day came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee. 22 And when Herodias’ daughter herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, “Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you.” 23 He also swore to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom.” 24 So she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask?”And she said, “The head of John the Baptist!” 25 Immediately she came in with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” 26 And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her. 27 Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought. And he went and beheaded him in prison, 28 brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When his disciples heard of it, they came and took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb.

The miracles and teaching of Jesus, and now of the disciples, brought him to Herod’s attention. But Herod was uncomfortable at what he heard about Jesus. Some people thought Jesus was John the Baptist raised from the dead and that he was granting Jesus the power to perform miracles. This notion may also have arisen from the fact that Jesus’ message and the disciples’ message were a continuation of John’s message of the need for repentance. Herod, however, thought he knew exactly who Jesus was: John the Baptist raised from the dead. A guilty conscience can be a terrible thing. It makes one look suspiciously at everything and everyone. The belief that “everyone knows” permeates every thought, creating anxiety and worry. Such was the condition of King Herod.

I. Herod had imprisoned John.

A. John rebuked Herod for marrying Herodias, his brother’s wife.

While Jewish law required that a man marry his brother’s wife if the brother died in order to carry on the brother’s line, no such event had taken place. Philip, Herod’s brother, was still living. Therefore, Herod was in violation of Levitical law

Herod Antipas had married the daughter of King Aretas IV and then had divorced her so he could marry Herodias, the wife of his half brother, Herod Philip. It was a wicked alliance that was contrary to the Law of Moses (Lev. 18:16; 20:21), and the fearless John the Baptist had denounced the king for his sins.

B. John the Baptist had been cruelly and unjustly arrested.

John had shown tremendous courage by rebuking Herod publicly. Herod was a powerful Roman ruler who could have John executed whenever he pleased.

Even in this brief account, we sense the tension in the palace, for Herod feared John, privately listened to him preach, and was in a state of perplexity over what he should do. “Queen” Herodias, on the other hand, hated John, wanted to kill him, and patiently waited for the most convenient time.

II. The celebration of Herod’s birthday.

A. The “opportune day” came for Herodias to put her plan into action.

Royal feasts were extravagant both in their display of wealth and in their provision for pleasure. The Jews would not have permitted a woman to dance before a group of men, and most Gentile mothers would have forbidden a daughter to do what the daughter of Herodias did.

The girl was a part of the mother’s plan to get rid of John the Baptist, and Salome played her part well. The word translated “girl” (korasio) means a young girl of marriageable age. She was probably a teenager. Her dance was a suggestive, indecent dance, meant to incite the lust of Herod and his guests. Herodias’s hatred of John the Baptist led her to prostitute her own daughter in an effort to gain John’s death.

B. Herod was pleased with Salome’s performance.

Herod vowed to give her whatever she wanted. Scholars generally agree that his promise to give her up to half my kingdom is meant to show Herod’s greatness and generosity to those leaders who were attending the party.

When Herodias got her opportunity, she told Salome to ask for John’s death. Salome added two further requests to that of her mother. She wanted John’s death to take place at once and she wanted his head on a platter. Her cruelty was a mirror of her mother’s.

III. Herod’s impressing of his guests backfired.

A. Herod had not been courageous enough to obey John’s word, but now he had to obey his own word!

In this situation, Herod stood in pathetic contrast to Jesus. Jesus never played to the crowds. Herod, however, could not deny the girl’s request, no matter how much it went against his wishes. He had taken a rash oath. Rather than lose face in front of his guests, he granted Salome’s wish.

He could have repented as John had urged him to do. Instead, he sinned against God as well as his better judgment. The request was granted, and the bloody gift was handed to Salome and eventually to Herodias.

B. John’s death was the first of three notable violent deaths in the history of Israel.

The other two are the crucifixion of Christ and the stoning of Stephen. Herod had feared that John’s messages would stir up a revolt among the people, something he wanted to avoid. Also, he wanted to please his wife, even though it meant the murdering of a godly man.

It is remarkable that there is no evidence that any of the Jewish leaders did anything to rescue John the Baptist after he had been arrested. The common people considered John a prophet sent from God, but the religious leaders did not obey John’s message

Conclusion

Mark observes that Herod liked to listen to John. He listened to John with considerable interest, but interest was not enough. He needed to act, but because he would not make a decision about John’s words, he became someone else’s pawn and killed the man he had tried to protect.