John Beheaded
TRANSLATION
(1) At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus (2) and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist. He has risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” (3) For Herod had seized John, bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, (4) for John had said to him, “It is not lawful for you to wed her.” (5) And though he had wanted to put him to death, he feared the people because they considered him a prophet.
(6) Now when it was Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced for the guests and pleased Herod so much that (7) he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. (8) And she, having been prompted by her mother, said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” (9) And the king was troubled, but for the sake of his oath and his dinner guests, he commanded it to be given. (10) And he had John beheaded in prison (11) and had his head brought on a platter and given to the girl who brought it to her mother. (12) Then John’s disciples came and took the body and buried him. And they went and reported it to Jesus. (13) When Jesus heard about it, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard about it, they followed him on foot from the towns.
OBSERVATIONS
In this tragic segment of Matthew’s narrative describing Herod’s execution of John the Baptist, the most frequently repeated words were the names of those involved: “Herod” (vss. 1, 3, & 6), “Jesus” (vss. 1, 12, & 13), “John the Baptist” (vss. 2, 3, 8, & 10), and “Herodias” (vss. 3 & 6). “Dead/death” is found twice (vss. 2 & 5) as are “prison” (vss. 3 & 10), “head” (vss. 8 & 11), and “platter” (vss. 8 & 11).
OUTLINE
I. Herod imprisoned John the Baptist for condemning his marriage to Herodias. (1-5)
II. Herod ordered John’s beheading at the request of Herodias’ daughter. (6-12)
IDEA STATEMENT
John the Baptist suffered imprisonment and execution for declaring God’s disapproval of the incestuous marriage of Herod and Herodias.
APPLICATION
The beheading of John the Baptist leaves us wondering about the sovereign purposes of God. Why, we ask, would a loving God allow such a miscarriage of justice to snuff out the life of one of his choicest servants, particularly at the hands of such a wicked couple as Herod and Herodias and in such a strange and sordid way? The passage provides no direct answers to such questions. However, Herod’s fear that Jesus, whose fame was increasing, was John the Baptist raised from the dead (vs. 2) implies that we should not be surprised that John, as the forerunner of the one who would soon be killed on a Roman cross, should likewise suffer death at an executioner’s hand.
The clash between the Messiah and the evil forces that opposed him had been foretold in the Garden of Eden. In pronouncing a curse on the Devil who, in the form of a serpent, had successfully tempted Adam and Eve, God had given this prophecy: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He (the coming Messiah) shall bruise your head (Satan), and you shall bruise his heel” (Gen. 3:15). Not only did this anticipate the cross where Jesus’ heel was bruised as he crushed Satan’s head, it also helps us understand why John was treated so cruelly at the hands of Herod and Herodias. His death was part of the cosmic conflict between the one who had come to accomplish the work of God in providing for the redemption of humanity through the sacrifice of his life and the one who was desperately seeking to thwart that work.
John’s death was yet another tragic event along the path which Jesus followed to the cross, but it was not the end of the story. In short order, the one with the bruised heel would destroy death and the one who held the power of death, that is the devil, by crushing his head. All those who have died as martyrs will one day be raised in triumph to reign with him in his coming Kingdom where there will be no more tears, no more sorrow, no more darkness and evildoing. We can rest assured that John had not lived in vain nor had his ministry been thwarted by Herod’s execution. Someday John will be raised to a position of great honor because he faithfully completed the work that God had given him to do as the one who “prepared the way for (the coming of) the Lord” (Is. 40:3).