The Murder of John the Baptist

Our text this morning is more intriguing than any Hollywood Script you might read today.

It involves:

Politics

Jealousy

Immorality

Divorce

Lust

Revenge

This text contains the story of the murder of the man Jesus said was the greatest born among women. Who was John?

He was a young man. Likely 32 years old at the most.

He was an only child. Born to elderly parents.

He was a godly man- a Nazirite, devoted to God since birth.

He was the first prophet Israel had known in 400 years.

He was also the cousin to the Lord Jesus Christ.

He was arrested without reason.

He was convicted without a trial.

He was executed without a verdict.

In my opinion the murder of John the Baptist is the greatest travesty of justice behind the arrest, trial, and execution of Jesus Christ.

Matthew is speaking of the fame of Jesus when he mentions that John the Baptist had died. But he doesn’t want to just skip over the manner in which John died. So Matthew takes us back in time to tell us something that had already occurred.

God doesn’t just want us to know John died. He wants us to know the circumstances of his death. I will do my best this morning to show what Scripture says concerning this horrible event.

We will look at:

The Players (1-5)

The Plan (6-9)

The execution (10-12)

1. The Players (1-5).

A sinister trinity- three godless, selfish, depraved individuals.

A. Herod the Tetrarch.

His Father- Herod the Great.

An Edomite- Descendants of Esau, Jacob’s twin brother. Israel descended from Jacob, the Edomites descended from Esau.

Enemies of Israel throughout history.

The Roman Empire rose to power an Edomite name Herod was appointed as ruler over Judea. He was known as Herod the Great.

Once had 46 members of the Sanhedrin killed for challenging his authority.

Had one of his own wives killed.

Had two of his sons killed.

Ordered the murder of all children under two years old in Bethlehem.

Three of his sons were appointed as rulers at his death.

Archaelus ruled over Judea

Antipas ruled over Perea.

Philip ruled to the North and East of the Sea of Galilee

Herod Antipas is the one referenced in our text. At this point he had been ruling some 30 years.

It seems he was a superstitious man.

When he heard about the miraculous works of Jesus, he thought John the Baptist had come back to life. He was afraid John was coming to get him.

He was haunted by the memory of what he had done.

Listen to me: Great preaching will haunt sinners for years.

John was dead, but his message was still alive.

You can kill the preacher, but you can’t unhear what you have heard.

Some say “I’m not going to church anymore. I don’t like what I heard!”

But what about what you’ve already heard? God will remind you wherever you find yourself.

B. Herodias.

Her father was a son of Herod the Great. She was the half sister of Herod Antipas. Now we have thrown another layer of drama in this mess: incest. Herod was her uncle.

But there’s more. She was originally married to Philip, Herod’s brother. So, she left one uncle to be married to another uncle.

Herod himself was married to another woman whom he left to be with Herodias. He was married to a neighboring Kings daughter, King Aretas of Arabia. When Herod left her, it so angered the King it started a war which led to the Romans losing some territory by the Jordan River. If the Roman Empire had not stepped in Herod himself would have been killed.

I don’t know anything about Aretas’ daughter, but she could not have been worse than Herodias.

Herodias is:

Sinfully ambitious, cunning, & immoral.

Calloused, cunning and classless.

Proud, deceitful, and willing to whatever she needs to do to get her way.

She is a complete narcissist. She puts herself before her husband, her child, the innocent, and God.

C. Salome.

She is nameless in Scripture, but the historian Josephus tells us her name.

Her father is Philip, Herod’s brother. She would go on two marry two of her uncles just as her mother did.

She is probably a teenager here.

She is likely very attractive.

She is no doubt unmarried.

She was born into great wealth.

She had everything she wanted in life.

She had an unhealthy relationship with her mother.

Probably pampered and spoiled, groomed to be a seductress.

Herodias had found a way to get whatever she wanted in life and she was teaching her daughter the same trade.

Like mother, like daughter. It’s obvious her father is not involved in her life. She probably had no respect for men at all.

2. The Plan (6-9).

A. It all began with a sermon.

John the Baptist was also John the preacher. He was a great preacher!

Great in his convictions- completely separated from the world.

Great in his ministry- multitudes repenting of their sin.

Great in his calling- chosen as the forerunner of Jesus.

Great in his preaching- pointed people to Jesus

Great in his humility- saw himself as just a voice.

Great in his courage- not afraid of death.

John publicly preached to Herod about his adulterous relationship with Herodias.

Not that everyone else wasn’t already talking about it. But John had the backbone to tell Herod to his face.

Herodias had probably never had anyone speak about her like John had. Her sin was being condemned in public by a funny looking preacher and she didn’t like it.

Some people think preachers should stay out of politics. Well, when politicians stay out of sin preachers can stay out of politics. Until then preacher have a responsibility to call out sin even in the arena of politics.

Moses called out Pharaoh.

Elijah called out Ahab and Jezebel.

Daniel called out Nebuchadnezzar.

Amos called out Jeroboam II.

Preachers aren’t the only ministers.

Romans 13:1-4 says God has ordained the government to be a minister of justice. The government is accountable to God. It is a preacher’s job to tell the government when the government is perverting justice or encouraging sin.

When a government says abortion is ok it’s the preacher’s job to say no it’s not.

When a government says homosexuality is ok, it’s a preacher’s job to say no it’s not.

By the way could you imagine this happening today?

A politician leaves his wife for another woman and a preacher stands outside his office and calls him to repentance? The church today would probably tell him to mind his business.

This is the sermon that started everything, and John was not wrong for preaching it.

B. John was arrested, but that wasn’t enough for Herodias.

She hated John. Mark 6:19 tells us that. It tells us she would have killed him herself, but she couldn’t at that time.

She had probably murdered him many times in her heart.

Friend. How do you respond when your sin is confronted? Do you want to kill the preacher or the sin?

The only thing keeping John from being killed was political expediency. Herod thought a riot might break out if he killed him.

I think she kept bothering Herod to kill John.

Everyday John lived, she probably felt like he was winning.

It didn’t matter that he had spent the last year locked up in a dungeon. Archaeologists have discovered this dungeon.

Deep in the earth.

No light could come in.

Chains on the walls.

Damp and unclean air.

She was in a palace; John was in a dungeon. But that wasn’t enough.

C. She devises a plan.

A devious plan.

A devilish plan.

Hatched from a depraved heart and a deranged mind.

She would use her daughter. A birthday party for Herod was coming up. She knew Herod’s friends would be there. She knew there would be drinking.

She would use ego and alcohol to get her way.

This is supposed to be Herod’s day but she would make it her day.

This was supposed to be a day celebrating birth but she would use it to celebrate death.

Herodias told her daughter to dance seductively in front of Herod and his friends. This was common among the Persian Monarchs. We see this in the book of Esther (Ch. 2). Herod, who was technically two ranks below a King as a tetrarch was being treated as if he were a powerful world ruler.

When the entertainment began, Herod and his friends were aroused. Likely in drunkenness, he promised her she could have whatever she wanted. Clearly, he was expecting more from her as well.

Her mother had told her that when this happens, she should ask for John the Baptist’s head on a charger. That’s exactly what she did.

I would imagine that everything grew silent. There was probably some sobering up.

We went from dancing to death.

We went from seduction to execution.

Herod didn’t see this coming and none of his friends did either.

3. The Execution (9-12).

A. Herod was sorry.

He wasn’t sorry enough!

He didn’t repent!

He didn’t tell his wife to straighten up!

He didn’t tell his daughter to put her clothes on!

He wasn’t sorry about was going to happen to John. He himself said in Mark 6:20 John was:

Just

Holy

True preacher

Herod was a pitiful man. He was sorry because he feared all the wrong people.

He feared John

He feared the crowd

He feared his peers

He feared his oath

He feared his wife

But he didn’t fear God. He was sorry he was snared with his own words. He was sorry for himself.

Jesus had no use for Herod. He once sent word to Herod for the people to tell him that he thought he was a “fox” (Luke 13:32). In Jesus culture that meant small and insignificant (Neh. 4:3).

When Jesus was on trial before Herod He refused to speak a single word to him. Herod wanted Jesus to do a miracle for Him. Jesus didn’t play Herod’s game. Herod rejected John; Jesus rejected Herod.

B. Herod sends word to have John killed.

Look at verse 10.

“He sent and beheaded John in the prison.”

The executioner went to the prison where John was housed.

John was the only light in that dungeon and he was about to be distinguished.

I’m sure he had been preaching to the other prisoners for the last year. He had a congregation of inmates to preach too.

John may have been chained to the wall. He was unchained. He may have thought Herod was bringing him up to talk to him as he had done many times (Mark 6:20).

But this time John wouldn’t be leaving the dungeon. The executioner beheaded him right in the prison, in front of all the other prisoners.

John died:

In the most undignified of ways

In the most undignified of places

With the most undignified of people.

It’s what Herodias wanted. She wanted him humiliated.

Remember what she wanted? She wanted his head on a platter.

The executioner put the severed head of John the Baptist on a platter, likely with a lid. He brought it up to the party where everyone was. He handed it the Salome. Salome presented it to her mother.

She wants to see it. She would have removed the lid to the platter for everyone to see. What they saw was brutal.

John’s hair had never been cut, his beard had never been trimmed. He was a Nazarite. All of that hair was probably matted with blood and it made the scene more dreadful.

I’m sure stomachs were turning. But No doubt, Herodias was smiling. She had humiliated John. She had murdered him. That’s what she wanted.

What had Herod done?

He rewarded a lustful dance.

He killed the man who sought the salvation of his soul.

C. John is buried.

His disciples came and got his body. They couldn’t have his head. But they were allowed to take the body and bury it. There are at least four places in the world that claim to have the skull of John the Baptist. People seem to be interested in things like that.

The only thing I know about John the Baptist’s head is it has a crown on it now. He fought the good fight! He finished his course!

I love the end of verse 12. They went and told Jesus.

John had pointed his disciples to Jesus and after his funeral that’s the first place they went! Why go to Jesus!

He can give comfort in death! Cast your cares upon Him!

He can administer justice! Herod, that old fox, Herodias and Salome would all stand before the King of kings one day!

John teaches us:

How to live- separate from the world.

How to suffer- hold fast to truth no matter how much it hurts.

How to die- with confidence that faithfulness to Christ is more valuable than our own lives