Execution of John the Baptist

82 – Execution of John the Baptist; Matthew 14:3-12, Mark 6:17-29 

Matthew 14:3 Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, 4 for John had been saying to him: “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered John a prophet. 

6 On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for the guests and pleased Herod so much 7 that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” 9 The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted 10 and had John beheaded in the prison. 11 His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother. 12 John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus. 

Mark 6:17 For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, 20 because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled[a]; yet he liked to listen to him. 

21 Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 When the daughter of[b] Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” 23 And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.” 24 She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” 

“The head of John the Baptist,” she answered. 

25 At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” 

26 The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27 So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, 28 and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. 29 On hearing of this, John’s disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb. 

Footnotes 

a. Mark 6:20 Some early manuscripts he did many things 

b. Mark 6:22 Some early manuscripts When his daughter 

Commentary 

The story of John the Baptist’s death is the only major event in Mark’s gospel account that doesn’t revolve around Jesus. Both Matthew and Mark flash back to this episode after discussing Herod’s fear and misidentification of Jesus earlier in the chapter. Because of the chronology, I am focusing on John the Baptist first, and then we will look at the previous verses in a later study. Previously, we learned that John had been imprisoned, and some scholars believe that he could have been in prison up to two years before his execution. Meanwhile, the gospels covered Jesus’s activity, but now they pick back up on John’s story. 

The monarch referred to in this passage is Herod Antipas, second son of Herod the Great. We did a study of the Herods previously, and this is a worthwhile distinction to understand. It is not the same Herod who was in power when Jesus was born (King Herod died shortly after the Magi visited Jesus). We are introduced to this Herod (the tetrarch) in Luke chapter 3, at the beginning of John the Baptist’s ministry: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— 2 during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.” Previously, we extensively explored Herod’s sinful family situation, but as a review, here is what the Nelson KJV Bible Commentary reminds us. “Herodias was the daughter of Aristobulus, a half-brother of Antipas. She had been married to her [other] uncle, Herod Philip, and had borne him a daughter, Salome. However, she divorced her husband and married Antipas, who was already married himself” (Nelson KJV Bible Commentary, pg. 1202). Antipas divorced his previous wife to marry his niece Herodias, who was not only the daughter of one of his half-brothers, but the wife of his other half-brother. Furthermore, his lust extended his sin further as he watched his great-niece/stepdaughter dance. The author of the Nelson KJV Bible Commentary suggests that Herodias orchestrated her daughter’s performance for the king, coaching Salome into a tantalizing and provocative dance that she knew would entice Antipas if it were performed at the right time of the evening, when he was suitably intoxicated. There is an even more in-depth explanation of the Herodian family here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmFZmk0QAro. I highly recommend watching it because it not only details the family relationships, but further exposes the many sins all converging in this one situation (such as the fact that Salome was probably a pre-teen girl when she was basically trafficked by her mother and ogled by a large group of grown men). 

If you read the references for the verses in Mark, you will see several verses with references to Esther. The Old Testament tells us that king Xerxes/Ahasuerus also held a banquet, like Herod, and that he also offered Esther anything she wanted, up to half his kingdom. Xerxes, on the one hand, was a king and had the power to offer whatever portion of his kingdom he chose, but Antipas was a tetrarch, and, as such, only managed a territory for the Roman empire; he didn’t actually have the authority to offer Salome any part of the property he stewarded. According to Jewish law (see Leviticus 5:4-6 in the references), Herod’s promise constituted a careless oath, regardless of whether or not he had the authority to do so. The ironic difference between the two outcomes is that Esther asked for the king to save her people’s lives, which the king could not command because he was bound by a previous decree (it was a creative subsequent decree, designed by Esther’s uncle, which saved the Jews), whereas Herodias (through Salome) asked for the tetrarch to take a life, and Antipas, who had the power to decline, fulfilled her wish out of weakness. Both royal women (Esther and Herodias) used their wiles to circumvent the system and achieve their desired ends, but one aimed to use the king’s power for good and the other abused the ruler’s power for the sake of vengeance. 

Herod, having been caught in Herodias’s trap, finally committed the sin that he had been putting off for the entirety of John’s imprisonment, and this foreshadowed Herod’s fate. “The secular world during the New Testament era was filled with mysticism and superstition. Thus, even though Herod did not understand his message, he feared John. Recognizing his dedicated life-style, Herod was reluctant to harm John lest God be vengeful” (Nelson KJV Bible Commentary, pg. 1246). He may not have been wrong to think so. Antipas’s army was defeated by an attack in AD 36 (approximately 4-5 years after the death of John), and after the defeat, Antipas was politically banished by emperor Caligula (The Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, Vol 3 pg. 142). “Years later, Josephus could still write that many people in his day held to the theory that Herod suffered defeat because of his treatment of John, and this proves how deep a loyalty and impression John created in the minds of the men of his generation” (The Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, Vol 3 pg. 647). 

References 

Matthew 14:3 

Matthew 4:12 When Jesus heard that John had been imprisoned, He withdrew to Galilee. 

Matthew 11:2 Meanwhile John heard in prison about the works of Christ, and he sent his disciples 

Matthew 14:4 

Leviticus 18:16 You must not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife; that would shame your brother. 

Leviticus 20:21 If a man marries his brother’s wife, it is an act of impurity. He has uncovered the nakedness of his brother; they shall be childless. 

Proverbs 28:4 Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law resist them. 

Matthew 14:5 

Jeremiah 26:21 King Jehoiakim and all his mighty men and officials heard his words, and the king sought to put him to death. But when Uriah found out about it, he fled in fear and went to Egypt. 

Matthew 11:9 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 

Matthew 14:6 

Genesis 40:20 On the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he held a feast for all his officials, and in their presence he lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker. 

Mark 6:14 Now King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known, and people were saying, “John the Baptist has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.” 

Mark 8:15 “Watch out!” He cautioned them. “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod.” 

Matthew 14:8 

Numbers 7:13 His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; 

Matthew 14:9 

Jeremiah 44:25 This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: As for you and your wives, you have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled with your hands your words: ‘We will surely perform our vows that we have made to burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and to pour out drink offerings to her.’ Go ahead, then, do what you have promised! Keep your vows! 

Matthew 14:12 

Matthew 14:13 When Jesus heard about John, He withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. But the crowds found out about it and followed Him on foot from the towns. 

Mark 6:17 

Matthew 11:2 Meanwhile John heard in prison about the works of Christ, and he sent his disciples 

Mark 6:16 But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has risen from the dead!” 

Luke 3:19 But when he rebuked Herod the tetrarch regarding his brother’s wife Herodias and all the evils he had done, 

John 3:24 (For John had not yet been thrown into prison.) 

Mark 6:18 

Matthew 27:30 Then they spit on Him and took the staff and struck Him on the head repeatedly. 

Mark 6:20 

Ezekiel 33:32 Indeed, you are to them like a singer of love songs with a beautiful voice, who skillfully plays an instrument. They hear your words but do not put them into practice. 

Matthew 21:26 But if we say, ‘From men,’ we are afraid of the people, for they all regard John as a prophet.” 

Acts 2:12 Astounded and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” 

Acts 5:24 When the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard this account, they were perplexed as to what was happening. 

Mark 6:21 

Esther 1:3 In the third year of his reign, Xerxes held a feast for all his officials and servants. The military leaders of Persia and Media were there, along with the nobles and princes of the provinces. 

Esther 2:18 Then the king held a great banquet, Esther’s banquet, for all his officials and servants. He proclaimed a tax holiday in the provinces and gave gifts worthy of the king’s bounty. 

Luke 3:1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 

Acts 25:23 The next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the auditorium, along with the commanders and leading men of the city. And Festus ordered that Paul be brought in. 

Mark 6:22 

Matthew 11:17 We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’ 

Mark 6:23 

Esther 5:3 “What is it, Queen Esther?” the king inquired. “What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given to you.” 

Esther 5:6 And as they drank their wine, the king said to Esther, “What is your petition? It will be given to you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be fulfilled.” 

Esther 7:2 and as they drank their wine on that second day, the king asked once more, “Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given to you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be fulfilled.” 

Mark 6:24 

Matthew 3:1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 

Mark 6:25 

Matthew 3:1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 

Mark 6:26 

Daniel 6:14 As soon as the king heard this, he was deeply distressed and set his mind on delivering Daniel, and he labored until sundown to rescue him. 

Mark 6:29 

Mark 6:30 Meanwhile, the apostles gathered around Jesus and brought Him news of all they had done and taught. 

Commentary 

Leviticus 5:4 or if anyone thoughtlessly takes an oath to do anything, whether good or evil (in any matter one might carelessly swear about) even though they are unaware of it, but then they learn of it and realize their guilt— 5 when anyone becomes aware that they are guilty in any of these matters, they must confess in what way they have sinned. 6 As a penalty for the sin they have committed, they must bring to the Lord a female lamb or goat from the flock as a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement for them for their sin.