Matthew 14:1-12

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Introduction

The Death of John the Baptist

14 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus, 2 and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” 3 For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, 4 because John had been saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 And though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet. 6 But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod, 7 so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” 9 And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given. 10 He sent and had John beheaded in the prison, 11 and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12 And his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus.

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As I mentioned last week Matthew is now picking up where he left off prior to his kingdom parables in chapter 13. Matthew has put together a wide variety of historical accounts of Jesus’ life and ministry that give us a picture of how Jesus was received (i.e. how people responded to him). Some rejected him, some reviled him, others even hated him, some were entertained by his miracles, some followed him, some loved him, others didn’t know what to do with him, some feared him, and some saw him even as a threat. Jesus’ audience was a mixed bag, and Jesus wasn’t unaware of this. In fact, we saw in chapter 13 that Jesus gave the kingdom parables to his disciples with the intention to help them understand why some responded to him in one way or another.
And these 12 verses here in chapter 14 aren’t any different, they’re intended to highlight even Herod’s reaction to Jesus. That Jesus’ fame had even reached the ears of Herod Antipas. One theologian wrote that Jesus was so universally known that the Jews could not have been excused for rejecting their Messiah on a plea of ignorance (Calvin). The news of Jesus had spread everywhere throughout Israel, and had even penetrated the walls Herod’s court.

Herod Antipas

Herod Antipas was the tetrarch of Galilee and Perea, which meant that we was the governor who presided over those districts. Galilee, of course, was where Jesus had begun his ministry and where he had spent the first year of his ministry. Galilee was located on the western side of the Sea of Galilee (or Lake Tiberias), and the district of Perea was located on eastern side of the Jordan River, and along the northeastern shores of the Dead Sea (which is south of the Sea of Galilee). Therefore, it’s makes sense that Jesus’ fame could have easily reached Herod’s ears, given that he was the tetrarch of the area in which Jesus lived. In fact, it’ll be Herod Antipas who Pontius Pilate will try to deliver Jesus over to before his crucifixion.

Herod the Great

Therefore, it’s not too surprising that Jesus’ fame could have
Now, if you’re at all familiar with the New Testament you’ve probably noticed that there were many who went by the name of Herod. And if you spend much time looking into who’s who, you’ll quickly find out that the men who are often called Herod are all a part of the same family tree. However, you’ll also discover that this family tree is very complex, and it quickly becomes quite difficult to follow who’s who. Especially when you realized how many wives some of them had and how much intermarriage took place between family members.
Without going into too much detail, I want to give you a sketch of who Herod Antipas was and where he came from. Antipas is one among many brothers, some of whom were also called Herod, and they got their name from their father Herod the Great, who ruled before them. He ruled before Jesus’ birth and during Jesus’ early childhood years. He was the same man who attempted to murder Jesus shortly after his birth.
Herod the Great was employed by the Roman government to keep the peace with the Jews, as Rome imposed their rule. From Rome’s perspective they believed that he was particularly skilled at doing this. Herod tried to win over the Jews by marrying a Jewish woman despite being an Edomite himself (a man descended from Jacob’s brother Esau).

Macherus

Herod was also a renowned builder within Israel. He had multiple large building projects throughout the nation including a major renovation and expansion of the Temple, which he undoubtedly hoped would give him favor with the Jewish people. He also built several palace fortresses including one within the district of Perea known as the Macherus. According to the Jewish historian, Josephus, Macherus was also the site where John the Baptist was imprisoned and later beheaded. Which, obviously, connects us directly to Matthew’s account here in chapter 14.
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Flashback

When Herod Antipas (one of Herod the Great’s sons) heard about the fame of Jesus in Galilee his conscience is immediately pricked. And it calls to mind his prior actions against John the Baptist, so much so that he believes Jesus may, in fact, be John himself, risen from the dead. So it appears that Jesus’ fame has caused Herod to fear. Now, Herod had known that John was revered by the people as a prophet (we read that in verse 5), but in Mark’s gospel account we read further that even Herod himself regarded John as a righteous and holy man. In , verse 20 it says that,
In fact, Mark, in his Gospel account, calls Herod Antipas King Herod. While Antipas hadn’t been given the title of king by Rome, he undoubtedly fancied anyone who would call him king.

Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man,

for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man,

So Herod seems to fear that John has somehow come back from the dead to take vengeance on him for what he did to John. And it’s at this point, Matthew takes the opportunity to tell us what happened.
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And in one sense it’s not too surprising that Matthew would do this. He’s already recorded for us back in chapter 3 how John’s ministry began, then later how John participated in Jesus’ baptism. Then in chapters 9 and 11 we saw an overlap between Jesus and John’s ministries until John is finally imprisoned and put to death as it’s recorded for us here in chapter 14. John himself was even one of Matthew’s examples of how some people responded to Jesus, and here again John plays a role in how Herod will respond to Jesus.
It’s at this point Matthew uses this opportunity for a historical flashback.

John Imprisoned

And so we read there again starting in verse 3,

3 For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, 4 because John had been saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”

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Now, Matthew is known for being brief in his accounts compared to the other Gospel writers, whereas Mark is known for including far more detail, so turn with me to Mark chapter 6 starting in verse 17 and we’ll pick up a few more details,

17 For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death.

Thorn in the flesh

So Herod Antipas puts John in prison because John is publically rebuking him for marrying his brother Philip’s wife. And John’s objection to this marriage would likely have been twofold, 1) Herod’s marriage to his sister-in-law would have infringed upon the Mosaic Law’s restrictions prohibiting marriage between relatives, and 2) Herod’s marriage would have resulted in two divorces. Moreover, the underlying Greek text indicates that John had been saying this of Herod repeatedly, over and over again.
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So you can probably imagine how much of a thorn in the flesh John would have been to Herod. John was popular among the people, he was regarded as a prophet by the people, which likely resulted in putting tremendous pressure upon Herod. And it’s important to remember that Herod’s chief concern would have been to keep peace between the Jews and Rome.
In fact, the underlying Greek text indicates that John had been saying this to Herod repeatedly, over and over again. So you can probably imagine how much of a thorn in the flesh John would have been to Herod. John was popular among the people, he was regarded as a prophet by the people, which therefore could have put tremendous pressure on Herod.
Here we see what will ultimately lead to John’s death.
And there’s even more than that, other historical sources tell us that Herod had divorced his previous wife in order to marry Herodias, which doesn’t, at first, seem significant until you realize that Herod’s previous wife was a Nabatean princess whom he had married to keep the peace with one of Rome’s neighbors along the eastern border of the Perean district. So while John is publically rebuking Herod for his unlawful marriage, he’s simultaneously reminding Rome that Herod had jeopardized their relationship with one of their neighboring nations. And ironically enough in AD 36 the Nabateans would attack Herod and even overtake him, with Rome having to eventually send reinforcements to push them back. So you can see why we read there in verse 5 that Herod wanted to have John put to death.

Coveting your neighbor’s wife

So you can see why Herod wanted to put John to death.
Here we see what will ultimately lead to John’s death.
And you can also see the disastrous consequences of coveting your neighbor’s wife. You can see the surpassing value of keeping God’s law that “you shall not covet”. It’s one of the countless ways in which we love our neighbor as ourselves.
But John isn’t doing anything that
But he
But Herod stops short of killing him because he fears the people. Verse 5 back in reads,

5 And though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet.

Herodias’ grudge

So Herod puts him in prison instead. However, this isn’t enough for his new wife Herodias’, she wants John dead. Back in we read, almost as a footnote, in verse 19,

19 And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not,

So Herodias decides she’s going to wait, she’s going to wait for an opportunity to have John put to death, to do what her husband is too fearful to do.
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Herod’s birthday

So we read there in verse 6,

when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod, 7 so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.”

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Herodias seizes her opportunity. Herod’s birthday comes around and they all decide to head down to Machaerus, his father’s old palace fortress in the district of Perea, overlooking the Dead Sea. Mark says Herod gave a great banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee.
As the party ramps up Herodias’ young daughter (probably 12-13 years old) dances before Herod and his guests. No doubt intoxicated, Herod and his guests are so pleased by her performance that Herod hastily offers her anything she wants, up to half his kingdom. In the Gospel of Mark we read that she immediately consulted with her mother saying,

“For what should I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” 25 And she came in immediately 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.”

The king was sorry

And continuing in verse 9 of we read,
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9 And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given. 10 He sent and had John beheaded in the prison, 11 and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother.

I’ve always read that passage and wondered why all of a sudden Herod felt sorry for putting John the Baptist to death, why all of a sudden he felt compassion for him then? Then while I was studying these texts the other night I realized that Herod wasn’t so much sorry that he had to kill John, than he was sorry that he had made a rash vow. He refrained from putting John to death largely because of his fear of the people, but now, his foolish oath has given opportunity to his wife to force his hand, to force him to behead John. His fear of the people is pitted again his fear of his own peers (his military commanders, the Galilean elders and nobles). Herod was a man ruled by peer pressure, he was a man ruled by his fear of other men. Herod was a coward.
And so John’s disciples come and take the body to bury it, and afterward they go and tell Jesus what has happened. We don’t know precisely why they go to Jesus, but we get the impression that John’s disciples, to one degree or another, understood that Jesus was their only place to go. That he was the one their master had identified as the Lamb of God.

25  The fear of man lays a snare,

but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.

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And so John’s disciples come and took the body to bury it, and afterward they go and tell Jesus what has happened. We don’t know precisely why they go to tell Jesus, but we get the impression that John’s disciples to one degree or another understood that Jesus is their only place to go. Jesus
And so John’s disciples come and took the body to bury it, and afterward they go and tell Jesus what has happened. We don’t know precisely why they go to tell Jesus, but we get the impression that John’s disciples to one degree or another understood that Jesus is their only place to go. Jesus

Kingdom of Heaven disrupting the kingdoms of this world

Now, as we wrap up, I want to remind you that this story highlights Herod’s reaction to Jesus, that Jesus’ fame had reached even the ears of Herod Antipas. And it has struck fear into his heart. The ministries of John and Jesus would ultimately have an affect on all the kingdoms of the earth. The presence of this heavenly kingdom, mediated through God’s people on earth, would have a lasting impact.
And it began even as early as Jesus’ birth. We all know the story, a babe born in a manger at Bethlehem. The magi come from the east, asking, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? … [for] we saw his star and we’ve come to worship him.” And “when Herod the king (i.e. Herod the Great) heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.” Why is he troubled? He feels threatened! So threatened that he “sent and killed all of the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under.”
Jesus is seen as a threat even as an infant, because, as a king, Jesus ultimately represented a kingdom that stood opposed to the kingdoms of this world, therefore he had to be silenced by those who felt threatened by him. And so John the Baptist because he was a herald of this coming kingdom and of righteousness had to be silenced as well. For he was the precursor to the coming Messiah. He was intended to be like the prophet Elijah, announcing this coming kingdom, this heavenly kingdom, and preparing the way for its king.
There’s much more going on here than meets the eye, and I think Matthew wants us to see that. Jesus will face opposition (he will be seen as a threat), even by kings, but this will not stop the advance of his kingdom, this will not stop the advance of the Gospel message. In John chapter 16, while describing his coming crucifixion, and the tribulation that will follow, Jesus says to them,

33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

The wicked kingdoms of this earth will not prevail, those who opposed Jesus and his kingdom will not prevail, because Jesus has overcome them. The kingdoms of this world face the inevitable victory of Jesus over them, they cannot prevent the coming consummation of his kingdom.
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