Herod
The beheading of John the Baptist was ordered by Herod to satisfy an oath he had given to his wife.
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See also Mark 6:14-29; Luke 9:7-9
1. “If this sounds superstitious to you, you are right. It is superstitious, but it is not the superstition of the Bible nor of Jesus nor of His apostles, nor is it the superstition of Christianity. It is the superstition of old Herod and also of other ignorant people of that day.” (McGee, J. Vernon, Thru the Bible: Volume IV. [Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1983], 82)
“‘At that time’ links this section to the previous one only very loosely.” (Blomberg, Craig L., The New American Commentary, Volume 22, Matthew. [Nashville: Broadman Press], 229)
2. “When Herod heard of the marvelous works of Jesus, he was sure that John had been raised from the dead. His conscience was troubling him, he was sure that John had been raised from the dead.” (Wiersbe, Warren W, The Bible Exposition Commentary New Testament Volume 1 Matthew-Galatians. [Colorado Springs: David C Cook, 2004], 49)
Herodias
3-5. “Herod had gone to Rome, where he met Herodias, the wife of his half-brother Philip. John warned Herod that his adulterous relationship with his brother’s wife was ‘unlawful’ (Lev. 18:6,16; 20:21).” [Max Anders and Stuart K. Weber (2012). HNTC Vol. 01: Matthew. B&H Publishing Group. Retrieved from https://read.lifeway.com]
“To silence John, Herod arrested him. In spite of his superstitious respect for John, Herod’s grudge was strong enough that he would have preferred to execute John immediately, but he knew John was popular with the Jewish people.” [Max Anders and Stuart K. Weber (2012). HNTC Vol. 01: Matthew. B&H Publishing Group. Retrieved from https://read.lifeway.com]
“Matthew emphasizes the crowd’s view of John as a prophet (v. 5b), which once again ties him closely to Jesus and links this narrative to the previous passage (cf. 13:57).” (Blomberg, 230)
Oath
6-7. “Salome, Herodias’s daughter by her previous husband, Philip, so entertains the crowd at a birthday celebration for Herod that he makes a rash vow.” (Blomberg, 230) (Mark 6:23)
8. “Herodias, who is more eager than her husband to be rid of John and his preaching, thus asks for his execution and the gruesome proof of it.” (Blomberg, 230)
9. Herod “was afraid of what his guests might think of him for having made a promise and not making it good.” (McGee, 82)
10. Herod ordered the execution of John.
11. “John’s head was given to Herod’s niece, who then presented it to her mother, revealing Herodias’s role in the trickery that led to John’s death. She had ‘won,’ and this was her prize.” [Max Anders and Stuart K. Weber (2012). HNTC Vol. 01: Matthew. B&H Publishing Group. Retrieved from https://read.lifeway.com]
12. “John’s disciples were given custody of John’s body, and they buried him.” [Max Anders and Stuart K. Weber (2012). HNTC Vol. 01: Matthew. B&H Publishing Group. Retrieved from https://read.lifeway.com]
“In their despair, they came to Jesus, knowing he would want to know about this tragic development.” [Max Anders and Stuart K. Weber (2012). HNTC Vol. 01: Matthew. B&H Publishing Group. Retrieved from https://read.lifeway.com]
References
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New King James Version (NKJV)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
In this article Scripture quotations taken from KJV.
Blomberg, Craig L., The New American Commentary, Volume 22, Matthew. Nashville: Broadman Press
McGee, J. Vernon, Thru the Bible: Volume IV. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1983
Robertson, A. T., A Harmony of the Gospels. New York, HarperCollins Publishers
Wiersbe, Warren W, The Bible Exposition Commentary New Testament Volume 1 Matthew-Galatians. Colorado Springs: David C Cook, 2004
