Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Mark 6:14
And king Herod heard [of him]; (for his name was spread abroad: ) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him.
14 29. The Murder of John the Baptist
14. And king Herod heard of him ] This first missionary journey of the Apostles was but short, and they would seem to “have returned to Capernaum as early as the evening of the second day,” Bp. Ellicott’s Gospel History, p. 196. This Herod was Herod Antipas, to whom, on the death of Herod the Great, had fallen the tetrarchy of Itura and Pera. He is here called “king,” or “prince,” in the ancient and wide sense of the word. St Matt. (Mar 14:1), and St Luke (Luk 9:7), style him more exactly “the tetrarch.”
his name ] It is peculiar to St Mark that he connects the watching observation of Herod Antipas with the work of Christ as extended by the preaching and miracles of His Apostles.
was risen from the dead ] Herod’s guilty conscience triumphed over his Sadducean profession of belief that there is no resurrection. Comp. Mat 16:6; Mar 8:15.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
See this account of the death of John the Baptist fully explained in the notes at Mat 14:1-12.
Mar 6:20
For Herod feared John – That is, he stood in awe of him on account of his sanctity, and his boldness and fearlessness in reproving sin.
Knowing that he was a just man and an Holy – A holy, pious, upright, honest man – a man who would not be afraid of him, or afraid to speak his real sentiments.
And observed him – Margin, kept him, or saved him. This does not mean that he observed or obeyed his teachings, but that he kept him in safe custody in order to preserve him from the machinations of Herodias. He was willing to show his respect for John, and to secure him from danger, and even to do many things which might indicate respect for him – at least, to do so much as to guard him from his enemies.
And did many things – But he did not do the thing which was demanded of him – to break off from his sins. He attempted to make a compromise with his conscience. He still loved his sins, and did other things which he supposed might be accepted in the place of putting away, as he ought, the wife of his brother – the polluted and adulterous woman with whom he lived. Perhaps he treated John kindly, or spoke well of him, or aided him in his wants, and attempted in this way to silence his rebukes and destroy his faithfulness. This was probably before John was imprisoned. So sinners often treat ministers kindly, and do much to make them comfortable, and hear them gladly, while they are still unwilling to do the thing which is demanded of them – to repent and believe the gospel. They expect that their kind attentions will be accepted in the place of what God demands – repentance and the forsaking of their sins.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Mar 6:14-29
And king Herod heard of Him; (for His name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead.
The sovereign power of conscience
I. Now we are to begin with simply considering Herod as acted on by conscience: for it is evident that nothing but the workings of a mind ill at ease would have led him to conjecture that Jesus was the Baptist. Conscience was continually plying Herod with the truth, that a record had been made of his crime by a Being who would not suffer it to pass unavenged, but who, sooner or later, would let loose His judgments. In the midst of his revelry, in the midst of his pomp, there was a boding form flitting to and fro, and no menace could compel it to depart, and no enchantment wile it from the scene. It came in the silence of the midnight, and it came in the bustle of the noon; it mingled with the crowd in the city, and it penetrated the solitude of the chamber. And thus was Herod a witness to himself that this world is under the rule of a supreme moral Governor. And there is this peculiarity in the evidence of conscience, that it is independent of observation, it is independent on deduction: it asks no investigation, it appeals to no logic. A man may take great pains to stifle conscience, so that its voice may be drowned in the storm and in the mutiny of his passions; but this is after its testimony has been given. He could do nothing to prevent the testimony being given. He must receive the testimony, for it in given at once in the chambers of his soul, unlike every other which has to knock at the door, and to which if he will the man may refuse audience. Herod might have met argument, proof by proof, had it depended upon the result of a controversy whether he was to admit the existence of a Being who takes cognizance of actions, and that too for the very purpose of awarding them their just retribution; but he could do nothing with reference to conscience. Conscience left no place for subtleties: conscience allowed no room for evasions. Conscience was judgment already begun; and what had the most ingenious debater to say against that? And if there be one of you in this crowded gathering, who is pursued by the remembrance of his sin, and cannot free himself from dread of its punishment, he is precisely such a witness as was Herod to the retributive government beneath which the world lies. He may be a deist; it matters not; he wants no external revelation to certify him that there is a God who will take vengeance: the revelation is within him, and he cannot disguise it if he would. He may be an atheist-or rather let me say he may call himself an atheist; he may tell me that he sees no foot prints of the Deity in the magnificent spreadings of creation, he may tell me that he hears no voice of the Deity, either in the melodies or the tempests of nature: it matters not; the foot prints are in his own soul, the voice rings in his own breast. A being with a conscience is a being with sufficient witness of a God.
II. To consider him as driven in his distress to acknowledge a truth which he had banished from his creed. Conscience is not to be stifled with bad logic.
III. There is yet one more point of view, under which we propose to regard Herod; he had what might have passed as a specious apology for his conduct, but nevertheless he was unable (it appears) to quiet his anxieties. No doubt Herod pleaded the oath in excuse for the murder, and endeavoured to extenuate his crime to himself by representing it as forced upon him by a combination of circumstances. Our wits are never so sharp, as when our vices are to be excused. But learn ye from the instance of Herod, that all the wretched sophistry, in whose meshes ye thus entangle conscience, will break away, as a thread of tow when it touches the fire, as soon as ye shall find yourselves within the view of death and judgment. God allows no apology for sin; He can forgive it, He can forget it, He can blot it out as a cloud, and bury it in the depths of the sea, but He will take no excuse for it. (H. Melvill, B. D.)
John and Herod
There are some men who would rather be without a head than without a conscience; John was one of this kind.
I. A self-revelation. The text with a single stroke lays open before us the mind of Herod. Deeper than mere speculation, below all the apathy of worldliness, there exists in man some conviction of spiritual reality and of moral obligation. The awe of Christs marvellous works awoke the solemnities of even that debased nature. Deep called unto deep. The vibration of miraculous power brought up the secret shapes of conscience, as it is said the vibration of cannon will bring drowned men to the surface of the water. Now, this spiritual substance, in which man differs widely from all other creatures, and in which all men are most alike, is both a point of recovery and a ground of condemnation. I say, in the first place, this is a point of recovery. In the worst man-though his nature, like Herods, be enslaved to passion, though his hand, like Herods, be stained with blood,-there is this profound relation to spiritual things. In some way they are acknowledged. And, however vile the man may be, it is a sign of hope and a point of recovery. But this spiritual consciousness is also a ground of condemnation. Responsibilities are in proportion to capabilities. In the reckoning for talents used, we rate as a decisive element the amount of talents possessed. The depth of a mans fall must be measured by the dignity of his original position. Let no man delude himself, by any manner of sophistry, with the notion that the evil of his guilt ends with the guilty act, or that the wrong which he has done lies buried in his memory as in a grave. It may lie as in a grave; but there will be trumpet blasts of resurrection, when conscience calls, and memory gives up its dead. Confessions of faith, so called, may be sincere, or they may be heartless and formal. Yet the most genuine confessions of faith are not expressed in any creed or catechism, but in utterances of the moment, that come right out of the heart. So Herod made his confession of faith. So might any man be startled by his own self-revelation.
II. But the text also suggests a point of contrast. The contrast is between Herod, and John whom he beheaded. Here are two different types of men,-a type of worldliness, and a type of moral heroism. Two different types of men; and yet let it not be considered a mere play upon words, when I say not two types of different men. Beneath all external and all moral contrasts lay the same essential humanity. The self-willed and voluptuous king was forced to acknowledge the same spiritual realities as those in reference to which John so steadfastly acted. But starting from this common root, see how unlike these two men were in the branching of their lives. Herod illustrates the sensuality of the world, the imperious domination of appetite and passion. He treated the world ass mere garden for the senses. But there appears in Herod another phase of worldliness,-the phase of policy. I do not mean wise policy, but policy divorced from principle. Herod had no honest independence: he vacillated with the wind. Now, I suppose there are a great many such men in our day,-men who, on the whole, are disposed to honour truth, to eulogize it, even to put it foremost, if just as well for themselves. But they would imprison it, behead it, and send the desecrated head around in a charger, if they could gain votes or get pleasure by doing so. Moreover, Herod was obedient to a false code of honour. For his oaths sake, and for the sake of them that sat with him, he commanded that John should be beheaded. All men, however faithful and earnest they may be, are not cast in the mould of John the Baptist, or tempered to such a quality. But such a soul crying out in the world does the world good. It is refreshing to see the moral heroism of John set sharp against the worldliness of Herod. But, in closing, let us consider the fruit and consummation of these two lives thus brought in contrast. The worlds power triumphant. O sad type of many a defeat of many a fallen cause! Such, then, is the upshot of these two lives,-Herod victorious in his wickedness; John in his moral loyalty defeated and slain. But we do not, we cannot, say this. We form a different estimate than this of John and Herod. Even in the conditions of this world and of time, we hear the tetrarch crying out, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead! We see him driven into exile, and dying an inglorious death. We see, too, the Baptist, in the processes of his truth, going abroad throughout the earth in the spirit and power of Elias. So, in other instances, we are to judge not by the transient event, or the aspect of the hour, but by the prevailing influence, the product that abides. Truth conquers in the long run, and right vindicates itself against the wrong, as John risen from the dead. (E. H. Chapin.)
On the character of Herod Antipas
I. Contemplate in the conduct of Herod and of his queen the natural progress of depravity. Look primarily to Herodias.
II. Let me add some observations, applicable to your own conduct, which are suggested by the history before us.
1. In the first place, allow not yourself to be entrapped into sin by the solicitations and importunities of others, not even of your friends and your nearest relations, should you be unhappy enough to perceive tempters among them.
2. That one sin naturally leads to another: that, if you indulge in small offences, you will be carried headlong into greater. You have drawn up the floodgates: and who shall pronounce where |he torrent shall be stayed? How frequently doth a similar progress occur. In the humbler ranks of life you see a man beginning to be idle, and to neglect his business. This evil habit grows upon him. His time soon hangs heavily upon his hands: and he fills it up at the public house; at first going thither sparingly, but ere long to be found there almost every day. Now drunkenness is added to idleness. These two sins speedily make him poor: and he resorts to dishonest means of gaining money: till justice overtakes him, and he finishes his days in exile or on the gallows. The criminal of high life, in the meantime, pursues a kindred career, but in a wider and a more splendid circle. He commences with fashionable extravagance. He grows hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Make your stand through Divine grace against the beginnings of sin: for you know not what will be the end thereof.
3. Contemplate the inconsistency, the weakness and the corruption of human nature. Herod withstood for a season the arts and importunities of Herodias. She waited until she found a convenient time; renewed the attempt and succeeded. The great enemy of man is ever on the watch to betray you. He is waiting for the hour when you shall no longer be on your guard; or when you shall have grieved by a recent offence the Spirit of God; or when a concurrence of ensnaring circumstances shall heighten the allurements of sin. The birthday of Herod shall arrive. Thy heart shall be opened to enticement. The year shall not revolve without bringing the convenient time. Mirth shall render thee thoughtless: or sorrow shall bow thee to despondence. Pride shall inflate thee with confidence: or sloth shall indispose thee to exertion. Then shall the temptation present itself afresh: perhaps in its original garb; or, if need be, in colours more attractive.
4. That nothing short of a settled determination to labour to avoid all sin, joined with constant application to God, through Christ, for the influence of His sanctifying Spirit, can authorize you to hope that you will preserve for a single hour a conscience void of offence. (T. Gisborne, M. A.)
Herods conjectures
The young woman retires to consult her mother. In her absence behold Herod amusing himself with conjectures concerning the nature of the recompense which she will prefer. Will she demand a jewelled robe? A sumptuous palace? The revenues of a city? The government of a province? He knows not what is passing in the mind of Herodias. He knows not that vanity and pride and avarice and ambition have retired, and have relinquished the whole heart to revenge. His speculations are interrupted by the entrance of her daughter. Mirth and curiosity sparkle in her eyes. She advances straightway with haste. All is silent. She requires the head of John the Baptist. (T. Gisborne, M. A.)
John Baptist and Herod
I. The best people often experience a hard fate. No garland of roses for the followers of Him Who wore the crown of thorns. Do not suppose from this that God is indifferent to goodness. He is with His people when they are in affliction, even more than at other times. The loss of material comfort is made up to them by a richer spiritual gain.
II. Bad ken have good feelings and purposes. The spiritual nature may be repressed and brought into bondage by sin, but it cannot be destroyed. Conscience and memory make themselves felt.
III. An irresolute mind in respect to good is the cause of great mischief. Herod was but the tool of Herodias. Although he did not originate the murder of John, he executed it. Without him it might not be done.
IV. The danger of dalliance with sin. Herod gladly listened to John, but would not obey him. Had he heeded the faithful prophet and put away Herodias, he might never have had the sin of murder to answer for. No safety in partial courses. We must not only hear, but heed the warning voice.
V. The haunting alarms of guilt. A Sadducee conjuring up a ghost-what a contradiction! No safeguard can protect a wicked man from the most absurd, but to him terrible, alarms. They spring up to poison his enjoyment in unexpected hours. Never again would Herod enjoy a happy birthday. There is no misery more exquisite than that proceeding from an evil conscience. Think of it when proceeding to sin. This sin does not sink into oblivion, and nothing come of it. Committed, it becomes a pursuing vengeance. It assumes a dreadful voice and takes to itself feet, and, like a bloodhound, follows the evil-doer, baying frightfully on his track. (A. H. Currier.)
Results of Herods sin
The issues of the act are not all seen immediately. But it is worth noting them.
1. There is the terror that seizes him. Haunted with feeling that he is not done with the prophet yet.
2. He gains nothing by the murder, for no sooner is John slain than Jesus rises ominously on his horizon.
3. He seals in death the only lips that could teach him the way of mercy.
4. All his improvement at once evaporates, and he lives to mock the Saviour (Luk 23:11).
5. The woman whom he gratified at such a cost became his ruin. Her ambition moved her to long for a higher title for Herod than that of tetrarch. Against his own judgment Herod permitted himself to be overborne, and going to Rome to ask for higher honour he found himself accused before Caligula. They were banished to Gaul, and died in obscurity and dishonour. (R. Clover.)
Herod-a startled conscience
I. You have here the voice of a startled conscience. We all of us do evil things that it is not hard for us to seem to forget, and with regard to which it is not hard for us to bribe or silence memory and conscience. The hurry and bustle of daily life, the very weakness of our characters, the rush of sensuous delights, may make us blind and deaf to the voice of conscience; and we think all chance of the evil deed rising again to harm us is past. But some trifle touches the hidden spring by mere accident; as in the old story of the man groping along a wall, till his finger happened to fall upon one inch of it, and immediately the hidden door flies open, and there is the skeleton. An apparently trivial circumstance, like some hooked pole pushed at random into the sea, may bring up by the locks some pale and drowned memory long plunged in an ocean of oblivion.
II. Here is an example of a conscience awakened to the unseen world. Theoretical disbelief in a future life and spiritual existence is closely allied to superstition. So strong is the bond that unites men with the unseen world, that, if they do not link themselves with that world in the legitimate and true fashion, it is almost certain to avenge itself upon them by leading them to all manner of low and abject superstitions. Spiritualism is the disease of a generation that does not believe in another life.
III. An illustration of a conscience which, partially stirred, soon went finally to sleep again. Do not tamper with a partially awakened conscience; do not rest until it is quieted in the legitimate way. It is possible so to lull the conscience into indifference, that appeals, threatenings, pleadings, mercies, the words of men and the gospel of God, may all run off as from a waterproof, leaving it dry and hard. The convictions of conscience which you have not followed out, like the ruins of a bastion shattered by shell, protect your remaining fortifications against the impact of Gods truth. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
Conscience removes illusions
When the evil deed was done, Herod scarcely felt as if he did it. There was his plighted oath, there was Herodias pressure, there was the excitement of the moment. He seemed forced to do it, and scarcely responsible for doing it. And no doubt, if he ever thought about it after, he shuffled off a large percentage of the responsibility of the guilt upon the shoulders of the others. But when, in the silent sessions of things past, the image and remembrance of the deed comes up to him, all the helpers and tempters have disappeared, and it is John whom I beheaded. There is an emphasis in the Greek upon the I; whom I beheaded. Herodias tempted me! Herodias daughter titillated my lust; I fancied that my oath bound me; I could not help doing what would please those who sat at the table. I said all that before I did it. But now, when it is done, they have all disappeared, every one of them to his quarter; and I and the ugly thing are left there together alone. It was I who did it, and nobody besides. And the blackness of the crime presents itself to the startled conscience as it did not in the doing. There are many euphemisms and soft words in which, as in cotton wool, we wrap our evil deeds, and so deceive ourselves as to their hardness and their edge; but when conscience gets hold of them, and they pass out of the realm of fact into the mystical region of remembrance, all the wrap pages and all the apologies and all the soft phrases drop away; and the ugliest, briefest, plainest word is the one by which my conscience describes my own evil. I beheaded him! I, and none else, was the murderer. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
The storehouse of memory
Take care of the storehouses of memory and of conscience, and mind what kind of things you lay up there. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
Conscience
I. The facts of conscience.
1. We have a discernment of the difference between right and wrong.
2. We approve of the one and we disapprove of the other, as of good and bad laws.
3. We condemn ourselves for what conscience disapproves in our states and acts.
4. We are impelled by conscience to do what is right, and deterred by it from what is wrong.
II. Of this mysterious power the obvious characteristics are-
1. That it is independent of the understanding and will.
2. It is authoritative.
3. It does not speak in its own name. The authority which it exercises is not its own.
4. It is avenging. Remorse is a state produced by conscience.
III. Our duty in regard to conscience.
1. To enlighten it.
2. To obey it.
3. Not only to obey it in particular cases, but to have a fixed and governing purpose to permit it to rule.
The ground of this obligation to obey conscience is-
1. The authority of God in whose name it, speaks.
2. Respect for our own dignity as rational and moral beings. (C. Hedge, D. D.)
The cause and manner of the Baptists death
I. An example of the length to which ungodly men will go in the way of religion. Herod feared and honoured John. He heard him preach-gladly. Let no one be too hasty in concluding that he is religious.
II. An example of ministerial faithfulness.
III. An illustration of the certainty and the reason of persecution. The certainty-the reproof. The reason-pride, interest, conscience. The favour of worldly men worthless.
IV. We have exemplified the two-fold aspect of the world-to its own, to the Church. The festival for the one-the dungeon for the other. The world in miniature.
V. A sample of the worlds highest pleasures. Masked pride, vanity, envy. Masked misery.
VI. An instance of an abandoned parent sacrificing her child.
VII. An instance of mingled hypocrisy and cowardice. Herods oath, cowardice-through fear. (Expository Discourses.)
Remembrance of past sin
Henry of Essex, struck down in a duel, attributed his defeat to the imagined appearance of a knight whom he had murdered, standing by the side of his adversary. Speaking of the man who planned the massacre of Glencoe, Macaulay tells us that Breadalbane felt the stings of conscience. He went to the most fashionable coffee house in Edinburgh, and talked loudly about what he had done among the mountains; but some of his soldiers observed that all this was put on. He was not the same man that he had been before. In all places, at all hours, working or sleeping, Glencoe was forever before him.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 14. And king Herod heard?] , his fame, is added by KM, fifteen others, and in the margin of several. It seems necessary to complete the sense.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
We meet with this history in Mat 14:1-12, to which I refer the reader, having there taken in the most considerable things in the relation of the same thing by Matthew or Mark. Mark calleth him Herod the king, whom Mark and Luke called tetrarch. Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, but under that title he exercised a regal power within his province. The whole history teacheth us several things.
1. The notion of a faithful minister. He is one that dares to fell the greatest persons of what they do contrary to the plain law of God.
2. It also teacheth us the malice of souls debauched with lust. It was not enough for Herodias to have John in prison, where he could do her no great prejudice, she must also have his head cut off.
3. The ill influence of corrupt persons in princes courts. Herod had in his government appeared no cruel, bloody man. Our Saviour in great quiet preached the gospel, and wrought miracles for the confirmation of it, within Herods jurisdiction; in Galilee we find no inquiry made by Herod after him, no calling him in question: and for John the Baptist, he did not only tolerate him, but brought him to his court, reverenced him as a just and holy man, did many things upon his instructions, heard him gladly; but by the influence of Herodias (his courtiers being at least silent in the case) he is prevailed with to put him to death.
4. The arts likewise of these persons are observable; they take the advantage of his jollity on his birthday, when in the excess of mirth it was likely he would be more easy and complying to grant their requests.
5. We may also from hence learn the mischief of rash oaths and general promises, especially when they flow from souls ignorant of the law of God; for had Herod understood any thing of that, he could not have thought that his oath could have been the bond of iniquity, or obliged him to any sinful act.
6. We may also understand the mercy of God to that people who are governed by laws, whose lives and liberties do not depend upon the will of any.
7. Lastly, we may observe how far men may go, and yet be far enough from any saving grace. They may have a reverence for godly ministers, they may hear them gladly, they may do many things. The hypocrite hath some principal lust in which he must be gratified, and cannot bear a reproof as to that.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
14. And King Herodthat is,Herod Antipas, one of the three sons of Herod the Great, and ownbrother of Archelaus (Mt 2:22),who ruled as ethnarch over Galilee and Perea.
heard of him; (for his namewas spread abroad); and he said“unto his servants”(Mt 14:2), his councillors orcourt ministers.
That John the Baptist wasrisen from the deadThe murdered prophet haunted his guiltybreast like a specter, and seemed to him alive again and clothed withunearthly powers, in the person of Jesus.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And king Herod heard [of him],…. “Of Jesus”, as the Syriac version supplies it; or “the miracles of Jesus”, as the Persic version. This Herod here called a king, as he might be by his courtiers, and the common people, is the same with the Tetrarch in
Mt 14:1, for he was only Tetrarch of Galilee. This was Herod Antipater, the son of Herod the Great; the fame of Jesus reached his ears, he being governor of those parts, which were mostly visited by Christ:
for his name was spread abroad; by means of his ministry and miracles, and through those of his disciples, whom he had sent two by two into all parts of the country:
and he said that John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him; for Herod had some time before put John to death; and hearing of these wonderful things that were done by Christ, his conscience smote him for the murder of John; and such a thought struck into his mind, that he was risen from the dead, and did these miracles: and the more he thought of it, the more strongly he was persuaded of it; and told it to his courtiers with a great deal of assurance, that it was certainly he; [See comments on Mt 14:2].
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| The Death of John the Baptist. |
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14 And king Herod heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him. 15 Others said, That it is Elias. And others said, That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets. 16 But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead. 17 For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias’ sake, his brother Philip’s wife: for he had married her. 18 For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife. 19 Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not: 20 For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly. 21 And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee; 22 And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. 23 And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. 24 And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. 25 And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist. 26 And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath’s sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. 27 And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, 28 And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother. 29 And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb.
Here is, I. The wild notions that the people had concerning our Lord Jesus, v. 15. His own countrymen could believe nothing great concerning him, because they knew his poor kindred; but others that were not under the power of that prejudice against him, were yet willing to believe any thing rather than the truth–that he was the Son of God, and the true Messias: they said, He is Elias, whom they expected; or, He is a prophet, one of the Old-Testament prophets raised to life, and returned to this world; or as one of the prophets, a prophet now newly raised up, equal to those under the Old Testament.
II. The opinion of Herod concerning him. He heard of his name and fame, of what he said and what he did; and he said, “It is certainly John Baptist, v. 14. As sure as we are here, It is John, whom I beheaded, v. 16. He is risen from the dead; and though while he was with us he did no miracle, yet, having removed for awhile to another world, he is come again with greater power, and now mighty works do show forth themselves in him.“
Note, 1. Where there is an idle faith, there is commonly a working fancy. The people said, It is a prophet risen from the dead; Herod said, It is John Baptist risen from the dead. It seems by this, that the rising of a prophet from the dead, to do mighty works, was a thing expected, and was thought neither impossible nor improbable, and it was now readily suspected when it was not true; but afterward, when it was true concerning Christ, and a truth undeniably evidenced, yet then it was obstinately gainsaid and denied. Those who most wilfully disbelieve the truth, are commonly most credulous of errors and fancies.
2. They who fight against the cause of God, will find themselves baffled, even when they think themselves conquerors; they cannot gain their point, for the word of the Lord endures for ever. They who rejoiced when the witnesses were slain, fretted as much, when in three or four days they rose again in their successors, Rev 11:10; Rev 11:11. The impenitent unreformed sinner, that escapeth the sword of Jehu, shall Elisha slay.
3. A guilty conscience needs no accuser or tormentor but itself. Herod charges himself with the murder of John, which perhaps no one else dare charge him with; I beheaded him; and the terror of it made him imagine that Christ was John risen. He feared John while he lived, and now, when he thought he had got clear of him, fears him ten times worse when he is dead. One might as well be haunted with ghosts and furies, as with the horrors of an accusing conscience; those therefore who would keep an undisturbed peace, must keep an undefiled conscience, Acts xxiv. 16.
4. There may be the terrors of strong conviction, where there is not the truth of a saving conversion. This Herod, who had this notion concerning Christ, afterward sought to kill him (Luke xiii. 31), and did set him at nought (Luke xxiii. 11); so that he will not be persuaded, though it be by one risen from the dead; no, not by a John the Baptist risen from the dead.
III. A narrative of Herod’s putting John Baptist to death, which is brought in upon this occasion, as it was in Matthew. And here we may observe,
1. The great value and veneration which Herod had some time had for John Baptist, which is related only by this evangelist, v. 20. Here we see what a great way a man may go toward grace and glory, and yet come short of both, and perish eternally.
(1.) He feared John, knowing that he was a just man, and a holy. It is possible that a man may have a great reverence for good men, and especially for good ministers, yea, and for that in them that is good, and yet himself be a bad man. Observe, [1.] John was a just man, and a holy; to make a complete good man, both justice and holiness are necessary; holiness toward God, and justice toward men. John was mortified to this world, and so was a good friend both to justice and holiness. [2.] Herod knew this, not only by common fame, but by personal acquaintance with him. Those that have but little justice and holiness themselves, may yet discern it with respect in others. And, [3.] He therefore feared him, he honoured him. Holiness and justice command veneration, and many that are not good themselves, have respect for those that are.
(2.) He observed him; he sheltered him from the malice of his enemies (so some understand it); or, rather, he had a regard to his exemplary conversation, and took notice of that in him that was praiseworthy, and commended it in the hearing of those about him; he made it appear that he observed what John said and did.
(3.) He heard him preach; which was great condescension, considering how mean John’s appearance was. To hear Christ himself preach in our streets will be but a poor plea in the great day, Luke xiii. 26.
(4.) He did many of those things which John in his preaching taught him. He was not only a hearer of the word, but in part a doer of the work. Some sins which John in his preaching reproved, he forsook, and some duties he bound himself to; but it will not suffice to do many things, unless we have respect to all the commandments.
(5.) He heard him gladly. He did not hear him with terror as Felix heard Paul, but heard him with pleasure. There is a flashy joy, which a hypocrite may have in hearing the word; Ezekiel was to his hearers as a lovely song (Ezek. xxxiii. 32); and the stony ground received the word with joy, Luke viii. 13.
2. John’s faithfulness to Herod, in telling him of his faults. Herod had married his brother Philip’s wife, v. 17. All the country, no doubt, cried shame on him for it, and reproached him for it; but John reproved him, told him plainly, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife. This was Herod’s own iniquity, which he could not leave, when he did many things that John taught him; and therefore John tells him of this particularly. Though he were a king, he would not spare him, any more than Elijah did Ahab, when he said, Hast thou killed and also taken possession? Though John had an interest in him, and he might fear this plain-dealing would destroy his interest, yet he reproved him; for faithful are the wounds of a friend (Prov. xxvii. 6); and though there are some swine that will turn again, and rend those that cast pearls before them, yet, ordinarily, he that rebuketh a man (if the person reproved has any thing of the understanding of a man), afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with his tongue, Prov. xxviii. 23. Though it was dangerous to offend Herod, and much more to offend Herodias, yet John would run the hazard rather than be wanting in his duty. Note, Those ministers that would be found faithful in the work of God, must not be afraid of the face of man. If we seek to please men, further than is for their spiritual good, we are not the servants of Christ.
3. The malice which Herodias bore to John for this (v. 19); She had a quarrel with him, and would have killed him; but when she could not obtain that, she got him committed to prison, v. 17. Herod respected him, till he touched him in his Herodias. Many that pretend to honour prophesying, are for smooth things only, and love good preaching, if it keep far enough from their beloved sin; but if that be touched, they cannot bear it. No marvel if the world hate those who testify of it that its works are evil. But it is better that sinners persecute ministers now for their faithfulness, than curse them eternally for their unfaithfulness.
4. The plot laid to take off John’s head. I am apt to think that Herod was himself in the plot, notwithstanding his pretences to be displeased and surprised, and that the thing was concerted between him and Herodias; for it is said to be when a convenient day was come (v. 21), fit for such a purpose. (1.) There must be a ball at court, upon the king’s birth-day, and a supper prepared for his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee. (2.) To grace the solemnity, the daughter of Herodias must dance publicly, and Herod must take on him to be wonderfully charmed with her dancing; and if he be, they that sit with him cannot but, in compliment to him, be so too. (3.) The king hereupon must make her an extravagant promise, to give her whatever she would ask, even to the half of the kingdom; and yet, that, if rightly understood, would not have reached the end designed, for John Baptist’s head was worth more than his whole kingdom. This promise is bound with an oath, that no room might be left to fly off from it; He sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask, I will give. I can scarcely think he would have made such an unlimited promise, but that he knew what she would ask. (4.) She, being instructed by Herodias her mother, asked the head of John Baptist; and she must have it brought her in a charger, as a pretty thing for her to play with (Mar 6:24; Mar 6:25); and there must be no delay, no time lost, she must have it by and by. (5.) Herod granted it, and the execution was done immediately while the company were together, which we can scarcely think the king would have done, if he had not determined the matter before. But he takes on him, [1.] To be very backward to it, and that he would not for all the world have done it, if he had not been surprised into such a promise; The king was exceeding sorry, that is, he seemed to be so, he said he was so, he looked as if he had been so; but it was all sham and grimace, he was really pleased that he had found a pretence to get John out of the way. Qui nescit dissimulare, nescit regnare–The man who cannot dissemble, knows not how to reign. And yet he was not without sorrow for it; he could not do it but with great regret and reluctancy; natural conscience will not suffer men to sin easily; the very commission of it is vexatious; what then will the reflection upon it be? [2.] He takes on him to be very sensible of the obligation of his oath; whereas if the damsel had asked but a fourth part of his kingdom, I doubt not but he would have found out a way to evade his oath. The promise was rashly made, and could not bind him to do an unrighteous thing. Sinful oaths must be repented of, and therefore not performed; for repentance is the undoing of what we have done amiss, as far as is in our power. When Theodosius the emperor was urged by a suitor with a promise, he answered, I said it, but did not promise it if it be unjust. If we may suppose that Herod knew nothing of the design when he made that rash promise, it is probable that he was hurried into the doing of it by those about him, only to carry on the humour; for he did it for their sakes who sat with him, whose company he was proud of, and therefore would do any thing to gratify them. Thus do princes make themselves slave to those whose respect they covet, and both value and secure themselves by. None of Herod’s subjects stood in more awe of him than he did of his lords, high captains, and chief estates. The king sent an executioner, a soldier of his guard. Bloody tyrants have executioners ready to obey their most cruel and unrighteous decrees. Thus Saul has a Doeg at hand, to fall upon the priests of the Lord, when his own footmen declined it.
5. The effect of this is, (1.) That Herod’s wicked court is all in triumph, because this prophet tormented them; the head is made a present of to the damsel, and by her to her mother, v. 28. (2.) That John Baptist’s sacred college is all in tears; the disciples of John little thought of this; but, when they heard of it, they came, and took up the neglected corpse, and laid it in a tomb; where Herod, if he had pleased, might have found it, when he frightened himself with the fancy that John Baptist was risen from the dead.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Heard (). This tour of Galilee by the disciples in pairs wakened all Galilee, for the name of Jesus thus became known () or known till even Herod heard of it in the palace. “A palace is late in hearing spiritual news” (Bengel).
Therefore do these powers work in him ( ). “A snatch of Herod’s theology and philosophy” (Morison). John wrought no miracles (Joh 10:41), but if he had risen from the dead perhaps he could. So Herod may have argued. “Herod’s superstition and his guilty conscience raised this ghost to plague him” (Gould). Our word energy is this same Greek word here used (). It means at work. Miraculous powers were at work in Jesus whatever the explanation. This all agreed, but they differed widely as to his personality, whether Elijah or another of the prophets or John the Baptist. Herod was at first much perplexed (, Lu 9:7 and Mr 6:20).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Was spread abroad. “But for the rumor, Herod would not have known of him. A palace is late in hearing spiritual news” (Bengel).
Mighty works do show forth themselves in him (ejnergousin aiJ dunameiv ejn aujtw). Rev., these powers work in him. As Dr. Morison observes, “A snatch of Herod ‘s theology and philosophy.” He knew that John wrought no miracles when alive, but he thought that death had put him into connection with the unseen world, and enabled him to wield its powers.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
HEROD’S TORMENTED CONSCIENCE FROM MURDER OF JOHN THE BAPTIST, V. 14-29
1) “And king Herod heard of Him (kai ekousen ho basileus herodes) “And king Herod heard,” heard of the name and fame of Jesus. This tetrarch Herod, was the son of the king Herod, who was king at the time of the birth of Jesus, Mat 2:1-16; Mat 2:19-22; Mat 14:1.
2) “(For His name was spread abroad:)” (phaneron gar egeneto to onoma autou) “For His name became manifest,” of became known far and near, by the teaching, preaching, and miracles that both He and His apostles had done in all the Galilean area. Even the Herodians and the Pharisees had already consorted to put Him to death, Mar 3:6.
3) “And he said that John the Baptist was risen from the dead,” (kai elegon hoti loannes ho baptizon egegretai ek nekron) “And they said (the masses said) that John the Baptist had been raised out from the dead,” and was alive again, because the Pharisees allowed that there was a resurrection, Act 23:8. His conscience of guilt and shame and fear held him in torments of accountability and waiting judgment for the murder of John the Baptist, Heb 2:15; Act 17:31; Mat 14:2.
4) “And therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.” (kai dia touto energousin hai dunameis en auto) “And that mighty works, supernatural works, or powerful deeds did operate in and through him,” if and since he was alive, Mat 14:2; Luk 9:7-9.
SINCE JESUS CAME INTO MY HEART
What a wonderful change,
In my life has been wrought,
Since Jesus came into my heart!
I have light in my soul,
For which long I had sought,
Since Jesus came into my heart!
I’m possessed of a hope,
That is steadfast and sure,
Since Jesus came into my heart!
And no dark clouds of doubt,
Now my pathway obscure,
Since Jesus came into my heart,
I shall go there to dwell,
In that city, I know,
Since Jesus came into my heart!
And I’m happy, so happy,
As onward I go,
Since Jesus came into my heart.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES
Mar. 6:19. Had a quarrel.Fostered a grudge. Her inward enmity only waited for an opportunity to break forth in open hostilities.
Mar. 6:20. Observed.Or preserved, i.e. guarded him. Did many things., B, L, and Coptic read, he was much perplexed, which, however, hardly seems to harmonise with the next words,and heard Him gladly.
Mar. 6:21.Mark alone mentions the three classes of guests:
(1) Herods political magnates;
(2) the military dignitarieschiliarchs, i.e. commanders of a thousand men;
(3) the grandees of Galileepersons of substance and distinction.
Mar. 6:22.The reading best supported by MS. authority (, B, D, L, ) is that of R.V. marginhis daughter Herodias, thus making mother and daughter bear the same name. It would not be a conclusive argument against this that this child of shame is not otherwise mentioned in history. The circumstances of her birth would condemn her to obscurity, and she may have died young. Against the common reading it may be urged that in A. D. 29 Salome, who was left a widow in A. D. 34, might perhaps barely (but not more than barely) be described as ; while the other reading would throw back the beginning of Herods connexion with Herodias to the year 20 or 21. This would then have to be reconciled with the history of his relations to the daughter of Aretas. Josephus says that at the time when Herodias joined him (which may, indeed, have been some little time after his first connexion with her) he had then been married to the daughter of Aretas for a considerable time (Antiq. Jud., XVIII. Mar. 6:1; Mar. 6:4). He also speaks of the repudiation of Aretas daughter as the beginning (be it observed) of the quarrel which led to the war between Antipas and the Arabian King in A. D. 36.
Mar. 6:25. By-and-by.Instantly. Same word, , in Mat. 13:21; Luk. 18:7; Luk. 21:9.
Mar. 6:26. Reject.Disappoint, or break faith with.
Mar. 6:27. Executioner.The speculator was originally one whose duty it was to act as a spy or scout; then it came to be applied generally to any member of the armed body-guard of the Roman Emperor. Herod, who loved to imitate the customs of the Imperial Court, kept about him a company of speculatores to carry out his orders.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Mar. 6:14-29
(PARALLELS: Mat. 14:1-2; Mat. 14:6-12; Luk. 9:7-9.)
Death and burial of the Baptist.John the Forerunner, like the Master whose way he came to prepare, died by violence. Both died in the prime of life; both were slain by cruel hands. John had precedence of Jesus both in the time and the manner of his death; for while Jesus died as a malefactor on the Cross of shame, John died the death of a Roman citizen by decapitation. Moreover, while mocking crowds insulted Jesus as He hung in the agonies of torture, Johns death was instantaneous and in the privacy of a dungeon.
I. Faithful goodness on the part of the Baptist.
1. John was pre-eminently a good man. The light of personal holiness shone in all he said and did (Joh. 5:35). When Christ challenged the Jews concerning him, no man durst speak disparagingly of him. The verdict of the whole land was in his favour (Mar. 11:30-32).
2. Johns goodness was essentially faithful goodness. He had the courage of his convictions. He dared to press goodness upon a corrupt land, and to enforce holiness among a degenerate people. Wherever he saw sin he denounced it unsparingly, without respect of persons or consideration of self-interest (Luk. 3:7-14; Mat. 3:7-10). Even the palace did not escape his faithful testimony to the truth; and as the truth was unpalatable, his adherence to it brought him at length to prison and to death. Ease, honour, and pleasure might all have been his, if he would but abstain from interfering with the guilty Herod; but these he regarded as but dross in comparison with a good conscience and a holy lifenay, life itself he gladly relinquished rather than swerve a hairs-breadth from his loyalty to God.
II. Cruel sin on the part of his enemies.
1. In Herod sin gained power day by day. Though all history brands him as vile and despicable in his iniquity to an unusual degree, yet sin was not always so strong in him as it became at last. By self-indulgence it gradually mastered him, in spite of checks and warnings, and even of convictions.
2. Bad as Herod was, Herodias was infinitely worse. Terrible as it is to be a great sinner, what is that to being a great tempter? We may, from the force of temptation, be led wrong ourselves; but calmly, persistently, and in cold blood to say and do and plan things destructive to the welfare of others is diabolical.
3. Sin is always a cruel thing. See here how it so steeled the heart of what was once a woman that she counselled murder in the gay moments of a birthday feast. There had been days of innocence now long gone by, when Herodias was a girl, a child, an infant. As she played by her mothers knee, who could have foretold that those prattling, laughing lips would one day frame such a demand as this (Mar. 6:24)? The various stages which led her step by step to such an abyss of inhuman cruelty it is not now possible to trace; nor is that necessary, for the course of sin never varies in its main features, but is ever the same,as it flows on, it gradually carries all before it; it ever deepens, increases, hardens, and pollutes, until all high principle vanishes, every tender feeling is eradicated, all self-rule is destroyed, and the wretched victim is henceforth the slave of Satan, bound and tied by the chain of sin with which he once thought he was only amusing himself.
4. The hideous nature of sin is still more evident in the case of Herodias. For not only had she herself arrived at a fearful stage of cruelty, but she had brought herself to teach her own daughter the same. Can there be conceived a lower depth of depravity than that?
III. Swift retribution on the part of conscience.The tragedy was soon ended; but its consequences were not so easily got rid of. No matter that Herod was by profession a Sadducee, with no faith in the resurrection; his creed was forgotten in the superstitious dread which the memory of his crime fostered. The shade of the murdered prophet haunted him wherever he went; it followed him even beyond the seas; and the fear it engendered became a by-word and a proverb in Roman society, and furnished material for the biting satire of Persius,
But when the feast of Herods birthday comes,
Thou movst thy lips, yet speakst not in fear,
Thou keepst the Sabbath of the circumcised,
And then there rise dark spectres of the dead.
IV. Last offices of love on the part of Johns disciples.Whether or not there be any truth in the tradition that Herod threw the head over the walls of the black fortress of Machrus, where the bloody deed was done, we may be certain that his cruel paramour, when she had once got into her possession her strange plaything, on its golden charger, would never think of gratifying his disciples by giving it to them for decent burial. So that we may, with perfect certainty, conclude, in thinking of that funeral somewhere among the lonely wilds, on the eastern side of the Dead Sea, that it was a mutilated corpse that these men took up, and that, wrapping it in the garment of camels hair, with which they were so familiar, they tenderly and sadly placed in some cave of the desert. But we can well believe that, though in one sense not before them, that noble head was ever present to their minds eye, with the flowing locks that had never been cut, with its tongue that had never faltered in its holy message, and its eyes that had never flinched before tyrant mob or tyrant king. The very fact that they were close at hand when those services were required of them, in this distant place, shews the depth of their attachment to him. If they could not share his prison, they could at least keep near it, and shew their devotion and their love by ministering to him even when he was in the clutches of the cruel Herod; and now, when the end had come, they were there, ready to do their part, tenderly and courageously. They took his bodyhis poor, headless bodyand buried it. It may be that before they left, when they had carefully closed the cave in which their dead was placed, they rudely scratched upon the rock some epitaph in his honour. What was it? Methinks it might well be the words in which His Master bore testimony to him: Among them that are born of women, there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist.
Herod and John.General history is at once an entertaining and an edifying study. It brings before us human agents with their passions and pursuits, and arrests our attention, and promotes our advantage by the virtues and vices which it exhibits, with their opposite consequences. Biography, or the history of particular persons, is in a high degree interesting and improving. It is like turning the attention from a general group in painting, and directing it to a single portrait, where we not only mark how the colours swell from the canvas, but study the turn and expression of every feature, and arrive at a knowledge of the character and disposition.
I. The weakness and degeneracy of human nature, by which we can be led to commit deeds which we regard as in the last degree heinous.In speculation, and when left to the unbiassed dictates of our own hearts, guilt is always the object of our abhorrence. In a particular manner inhumanity and cruelty strike us as crimes of a most odious description, and we shrink from them as disgraceful to our nature. But the cool convictions of the moral principle weighing the merit of actions in abstract theory, and the inflamed suggestions of passion rushing to its object in real life, are widely different from each other; and though perfectly friendly to virtue in speculation, we may be led in practice to the perpetration of deeds fearful for atrocity. Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation. Be not high minded, but fear. Strive, according to His working who worketh within you mightily. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you.
II. The danger of bad counsel and bad company.Herodias was the evident means of Herods great guilt. Of himself, it would appear that he was far from being an utterly depraved character. Though reproved by the Baptist, he had no wish to cast him into prison, nor would his anger ever have proceeded so far against him as to have taken away his life. But the artifices of her with whom he had connected himself in unlawful intercourse triumphed over his more amiable feelings, and in the end rendered him deaf to the remonstrances of conscience. Such is the usual effect of bad associates. If you have companions of this description, they will, how innocent soever or well disposed you may at present be, accomplish your destruction by availing themselves of all your weak and unguarded moments. They will not desist from their importunities till they have estranged you from God, and made you instruments of their unhallowed desires and passions. What have they to give that can be equivalent for such a sacrifice? The pleasures of guilt which awaken a foreboding that is never laid, though the pleasures themselves perish in the using.
III. The rapid progress of the sinner from guilt to guilt.Herod not only continued in unlawful connexion with Herodias, but seized John for remonstrating with them, and cast him into prison. With this despotical stretch of his authority he was not long contented. The servant of God and the reprover of sin must not only be deprived of his liberty, he must be bereaved of his life. Do not suppose that the complicated guilt of this monster of iniquity can never become yours. Look into life, both low and high, and tremble for yourselves. In the humblest ranks of society you have repeated proofs of the progress of iniquity. There you see the artificer and the day-labourer, in their aversion to toil, ceasing to work with their accustomed regularity. Idleness involves them in want, and impels them to fraud and rapine, and every unlawful means of getting money. At length they lay hold of their neighbours person on the highway, and rob and plunder him, and murder him to escape detection. Ascend the scale, and you see similar results from similar beginnings. The libertine of fashion becomes at last fearless of God, and regardless of the rights and callous to the sufferings of his acquaintance. He contracts debts which he never intends to pay, ruins characters whom he promised to protect, seduces the unsuspecting from kindred and parents and home; and after being satiated with the pleasures of guilt, he abandons them without a scruple to poverty and misery. Extend your observations to the course of all the wicked, and you will see that when once men enter into the path of sin they seldom or never stop. But the vices not only spring out of each other, they increase perpetually in enormity. Herod began with an act of wrongful imprisonment; next he was guilty of a bloody murder; and, at an after-period, he surpassed even this complication of iniquity by insulting the last moments of Christ, and delivering Him into the hands of His enemies to be crucified as a traitor and blasphemer. Guard your heart; guard and fence your conduct; and beware of the repetition of any heinous act as certain to lead you to another still more heinous, till it end you in the extremity of guilt.
IV. The unspeakable terrors of an awakened conscience.Impelled by passion and appetite, you may despise the monitor within, and rush on fearless of consequences. But all this obstinacy and intrepidity neither alters the nature of guilt nor ends the supremacy of conscience. The power of this moral ruler is suspended, not destroyed; and the recovery of its ascendency will prove to you most terrible. Then it will bring up your crimes, and marshal them in battle-array against you; and as the supposed return of the beheaded Baptist into life disturbed the heart of the king who murdered him, so shall they rack your soul with unspeakable horrors, and distract and drive you mad, with the prospect of final damnation.W. Thorburn.
Imperfect reformation insufficient.Herods proficiency in matter of religion.
1. Herods preservation of John Baptists life, and sheltering and protecting him against Herodias malice. Wicked and unregenerate men may take such a liking to the Word of God, and be so affected with it, as to become maintainers and protectors and defenders of the servants of God that minister it to them.
2. The Word of God may so far prevail upon an unregenerate man as to work in him a fear and an awful regard, and to captivate him to the authority of religion in the servants of God.
(1) Did Herod stand in fear of John? Tis then no evidence of piety and goodness not to do evil for fear of others.
(2) Did Herod fear John, and keep within some compass and bounds of moderation because of John? In what case are they that are of his temper in the gospel, that could boast and profess that he neither feared God nor reverenced man? Licentious, audacious, profane wretches, such as those graceless Jews were, that, when they saw Stephens face shine like an angel, yet durst oppose him and offer violence to him.
3. A third effect that was wrought in Herod towards John Baptist is a worthy esteem and acknowledgment of Johns piety and sanctity, and those graces that were in him; he accounted him a just man and holy. Carnal and unconverted and sensual men yet can come thus far, as to have the virtues and graces that shine in others in a fair esteem and in some admiration.
4. There is a fourth effect wrought in Herod towards John Baptistthat is a reverent behaviour towards him. He observed him, had a care to please him in his demeanour; he would be loath to offend him as little as he could. A carnal, unconverted man may be so affected towards religion as to be willing to accommodate his carriage to the best content of the servants of God.
5. A fifth effect of Johns ministry in Herod is a willing attention to his preaching. He heard him gladly. Even an unregenerate man, living in a state of sensuality, may be a diligent, and constant, and willing, and ready frequenter of the preaching of the Word.
6. There is yet a further step of proficiency in Herod that was a very specious conformity to St. Johns doctrine. He did many thingsyielded obedience to many instructions. An unregenerate man may come thus far, as to be won and persuaded by the Word to the performance of many good duties. Herod, it seems, yielded obedience to Johns preaching in many particulars.
(1) In his private conversation tis like he abstained from some vicious courses.
(2) In his public administration and government he listened to John in reforming of abuses, made many good laws for the well-ordering of his kingdom and repressing of vices.
(3) Was not wanting in ecclesiastical affairs. He countenanced Johns preaching, and assisted him against gainsayers and opposers. He did not only hear him gladly, but was persuaded by him to do, yea to do many things in conformity to his doctrine. Tis much to come thus far, not only to afford him audience, but to perform obedience: not to rest in the notional part, but to make some progress in the practical part of religion. Yet so did Herod and many others that never attained to true conversion, and so fell short of life and salvation.
II. The insufficiency of this his progress, and wherein it failed and came short.
1. For his esteem and regard of Johns person and piety. Tis very questionable, as unsound, upon the suspicion of those false grounds, from which it did arise; and we may see three suspicious grounds of it.
(1) The first suspicious ground of this high esteem of John we may justly conceive was popularity. When religion is in request and grown into fashion, and becomes a matter of reputation, tis no great matter then to become an admirer and honourer of it.
(2) A second suspicious ground of Herods respect to John that makes it insufficient is policy. Herod was a fox, as our Saviour terms him. He thought it safe to hold in with John, to get him to the court, and to put countenance upon him; it would satisfy the people well.
(3) To make the best of it, a third ground of Herods good respect to John, that makes his proficiency to be insufficient, might be a natural ingenuity, a remainder of right reason and common honesty, which might be in Herod, and might move him to think well of John Baptist, and esteem worthily of him. Besides those things that are truly and properly spiritual, there are some excellences that do accompany piety and religion, that may be apprehended and well esteemed by mere natural men; and accordingly their natural ingenuity will affect and approve them, though they have no true relish of that which is indeed spiritual in piety and religion: thus deceiving their own hearts as if they loved religion for the sanctity of it. St. Gregory speaks excellently to this purpose: Many a man deceives himself, and thinks he loves that in religion which indeed he loves not, but some other thing for it. (a) Natural ingenuity will see and discern a great deal of innocence in religion. True piety and Christianity will make Christians unblamable, inoffensive, and of a harmless conversation, so that they gain a good report of them that are without. (b) Ingenuity observes a great deal of utility and profitableness in religion. Good Christians are not only harmless and inoffensive, but they are useful and helpful, and beneficial to the times and places wherein they live. (c) Ingenuity can observe a great deal of beauty and comeliness in religion. Piety, when it appears in the life of a Christian, is exceedingly lovely; as Solomon speaks, it makes the face to shine. It was not Johns piety that relished with Herod, but these condimenta pietatis which were as sauces and sweetenings unto it.
2. His diligent attention to Johns preaching and ministry: he heard him gladly. But even this forwardness falls short and will appear insufficient upon two suspicions.
(1) We have just cause to suspect his disposition out of which he did it. (a) All this his forwardness in hearing, it was but a passion, a pleasure, and a delight that he took, and that brought him on to give John the hearing. (b) His delight and joy was too forward. Some other motion and affection should have been stirred up in him. No question, Johns preaching, had it been suffered to work kindly, would have stirred up fear, and care, and sorrow, and repentance, and humiliation: we hear of none of these; but only Herods fancy was taken, and begat delight in him. The matter of salvation, tis not a jocund and a sporting work; it must be wrought out with fear and trembling. (c) He delighted in Johns preaching with the same affection that he shewed in other things. John preaches, and he pleases him; Herodias dances, and she pleases him,no difference. A religious man, even in outward delights, rejoices spiritually; a carnal man, even in spiritual things, rejoices carnally. (d) It was a passion of joy in hearing the Word; but it was yet controllable, and easily overcome by another delight. His birthday joy, and his delight he takes in the damsels dancing, hath exceeded and overcome all the delight he took in John. Was Herod ever so much taken with Johns preaching as to yield to him so great a suit as he granted to his minstrel?
(2) The motives that made him thus attentive are very suspicious. (a) Was it not the novelty of Johns teaching that did thus delight him? Let John hold on for some time, all this forwardness will cool again. Tis but the crackling of thorns in the fire; a sudden blaze for a time, and soon out again. (b) Was it not some generality of truth that might give Herod content? No doubt John had many deep discourses in matters of divinity about the nature of God and the controversies of the times. And Herod can hear these discourses gladly. There is in many men a kind of spiritual lust in their understanding, that is much pleased with such high strains and contemplative discourses. (c) Tis like Johns preaching cleared a great doubt and scruple in Herods mind concerning the Messiah that had much troubled him. That Christs kingdom was not of this world, that Christianity teaches obedience to worldly powers and potentates, doth not disturb them, much less destroy themthis doctrine was welcome to Herod; he heard it gladly. (d) John had his thunderings against the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the priests, and scribes, and doctors of the law; he was a sharp reprover of vice and disorders; he taught the soldiers to be content with their wages, and not to mutiny. And Herod could hear other mens faults taxed and reproved; it was music to him. (e) Were there not some personal excellences in Johns preaching that Herod delighted inhis wit, or elocution, or some graceful delivery?
3. The third thing considerable is Herods conformity to Johns preaching; he yielded to his doctrine in many things, and submitted to it. He was not a bare auditor, gave John the hearing only, but made some progress in practice too. Johns preaching prevailed with him, and made him do many things. Now, surely, a very specious conformity, had it not some suspicions and failings in it.
(1) This conformity is suspicious, because(a) These many things which Herod did, they were some light, easy performances. He put himself to no great pain in this doing or forbearing. Canst thou mortify thy dearest sins, cross thy lusts, and strive against them? work thyself to the practice of those good duties that are painful and laborious? Such a conformity argues truth of grace in thee. (b) These many things which Herod did, tis like they were some plausible performances that the world will take notice of and speak well of; such make for Herods reputation in the world, and you may win him unto them. But try Herod with the more inward and private and secret parts of piety, that men cannot discern or take notice of; thy secret devotion and prayer to God, thy daily bewailing thy sins twixt God and thine own conscience, and the strivings of thy soul against sinful inclinations, thine alms in secret, as Christ directs,oh! these make no noise, they are not matter of ostentation; and so Herod forbears them. (c) These many things that Herod did might be some civil and public and outward administrations, the redress of public abuses, some good orders published and enjoyed. No doubt many an honest cause sped the better for John, the course of justice went on more speedily. These good duties put Herod to no great trouble or pain. Tis more hard to mortify one bosom sin that thy soul delights in, than to bring thyself to the outward performance of the whole law of God.
(2) As the obedience of Herod was suspicious, so we find it to be failing and defective. He did many things, but yet fell short; he failed in other things; he dispensed with himself for some sins which he would not part with. This he would do, but that he would not do. Twas like Naamans conversion; he promises some duties in religion, but sues for a dispensation in others. Herein God be merciful to me: this sin I cannot part with. Whereas entire and universal obedience is only acceptable and of account with God (Psa. 119:6). Satan knows this so well that he can be content to have us yield to God in many things, only be true to Satan in some one thing. He knows one dram of poison may spoil all the wholesome ingredients, and make them deadly. One dead fly may taint the most precious ointment, saith Solomon. One sin unrepented of and retained in practice, the cherishing of one lust, will corrupt all other laudable and commendable duties. As a bird, saith Chrysostom, if the snare catch but one of her feet, though her wings be free and ready for flight, yet she is taken, and becomes a prey to the fowler. Or as Augustine compares it, Though all the parts of our body be sound, save only one, that one diseased and ulcerous part may be deadly to thee. All the sound members cannot preserve life; but even one diseased member shall hasten thy death. (a) See Johns fidelity. For all Herods forwardness, he will not abate him the commission of one gross sin. (b) See Johns simplicity. A politic man would have winked at this one fault of Herod, thought it wisdom to preserve his interest with Herod. I may prevail much with him, if I hold good terms with him; many good causes may speed the better, if I hold fair with Herod; but to deal roughly with him, and affront him in his sin, may set him farther offno good shall be done with him. No; Johns piety abhors this policy. God allows no such compliances upon any such pretences. (c) See Johns importunity in admonishing of Herod. He tells him plainly of his sin. John must do his duty, though it cost him the loss of Herods favouray, and his life too. And so it did; and that will give you to see Herods deficiency, to what he falls, even to open persecution.
Lessons.
1. Bare formality in matters of religion is not lasting. It will wear offlike some waterish colours that are lightly laid on, will fade and vanish, are of no continuance.
2. One unmortified sin wilfully retained will eat out all appearances of virtue and piety.
3. An unmortified sin, rather than be crossed, will fall to persecution. Reigning sins will at last prove raging sins, and grow impatient of any reproof. Cast pearls and precious truths before fierce dogs, they will not only trample them under their feet, but will rend and worry you (Mat. 7:6). This is the dreadful downfall of unsoundness in religion. A false friend to religion will at last prove an open enemy to it.Bishop Brownrigg.
OUTLINES AND COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Mar. 6:14. Lessons.
1. The innocence and uprightness of Gods faithful servants are of great power to strike terror into their wicked enemies, and that not only while living, but even after their death.
(1) The best way for Gods servants to dismay their enemies is to walk in holiness and innocence of life.
(2) Beware of offering wrong to any innocent and holy servant of God, lest thy conscience terrify thee for it.
2. This is one effect and property of a guilty conscience: to disquiet and vex the heart with great terrors and fearsyea, often with vain fears for which there is no cause (Job. 15:21; Isa. 57:20; Deu. 28:65; Lev. 26:36; Pro. 28:1).
3. Sin once committed lies heavy on the conscience, accusing and troubling it long afterwards (Gen. 42:21; Psa. 25:7).
4. Murder, or shedding of innocent blood, is such a sin as will lie heavy on the conscience of those guilty of it, breeding great terror to them (Gen. 4:13; Psa. 51:14).G. Petter.
Mar. 6:15. The speculators of society.Conscience is hardly concerned in their case. They give themselves to the consideration of mere problems or puzzles. They represent, too, the persons who can talk about religious subjects without having any religious feeling. Religion is to them only a topic of the day. It is something to be remarked upon, and then dropped in favour of something else. There are men around ourselves who suppose that to admire a preacher is to admire Christ, and that to be critical about sermons is to be concerned about truth.J. Parker, D.D.
The judgment of the world is very uncertain in all things, but extremely blind in those which relate to God. There are no conjectures so extravagant but men will have recourse to them rather than believe the Word of God: so corrupt is the heart of man, so true is it, that blindness is the just punishment of incredulity. These Jews, in their several judgments, afford us a lively representation of those pretended masters of reason who affect always singularity in their opinions, and who believe everything except truth.P. Quesnel.
Mar. 6:16. Conscience.
1. Conscience will not be silenced by wealth or earthly surroundings.
2. A guilty conscience is troubled with not only real but imaginary troubles.
3. A guilty conscience will torment a man in spite of his avowed religious belief.T. Kelly.
Conscience bribed.We all of us do evil things that it is not hard for us to seem to forget, and with regard to which it is not hard for us to bribe or to silence our memories and our consciences. The hurry and bustle of daily life, the very weakness of our characters, the rush of sensuous delights, may make us blind and deaf to the voice of conscience; and we think that all chance of the evil deed rising again to harm us is past. But some trifle touches the hidden spring by mere accident. As in the old story of the man groping along a wall, till his finger happened to fall upon one inch of it, and immediately the hidden door flies open and there is the skeleton, so with any of us some merely fortuitous association may freshen faded memories and wake a dormant conscience. An apparently trivial circumstance, like some hooked pole pushed at random into the sea, may bring up by the locks some pale and drowned memory long plunged in an ocean of oblivion.A. Maclaren, D.D.
Unbelief and superstition.There is a very close connexion, as all history proves, between theoretical disbelief in a future life and spiritual existence and superstition. So strong is the bond that unites men with the unseen world, that if they do not link themselves with that world in the legitimate and true fashion, it is almost certain to avenge itself upon them by leading them to all manner of low and abject superstitions. Spiritualism is the disease of a generation that disbelieves in another life. The French Revolution with its infidelities was also the very seed-field for all manner of quacks and impostors such as Cagliostro and the like. The time when Christ lived presented precisely the same phenomena. If Herod was a Sadducee, Herods Sadduceeism, like the frost upon the window-panes, was such a thin layer shutting out the invisible world that the least warmth of conscience melted it, and the clear daylight glared in upon him. And I am afraid that there are a great many of us who may be half inclined to regret supernatural religion and the thought of another life who would find precisely the same thing happening to them.Ibid.
Mar. 6:17. Persecution of the good.
1. Think it no new or strange thing if in our times we see good and faithful ministers unjustly troubled and persecuted by those in authority, and that even for the faithful discharge of their ministry. Pray for them, and use all good means to help them.
2. Let all faithful ministers prepare and arm themselves for troubles and persecutions in the world (Mat. 10:24).
3. It should comfort and encourage faithful ministers to bear such troubles patiently, and not be dismayed at them, seeing they suffer no other but what the most excellent prophets and ministers of God have gone through before them.
4. See the wretched blindness and corruption of our nature, causing us to hate and persecute such as are called and sent of God to do us goodyea, the greatest good.G. Petter.
The propensity of the heart to self-delusion.It is not improbable that Herod, conscious as he was that he most unjustly detained John the Baptist in prison, applauded himself with complacency, and assumed in his own estimation great credit for virtue, because he had withstood the solicitations of Herodias for his death. Have you not also, while aware that you have lived under the habitual influence of some unchristian temper, in the habitual indulgence of some unchristian practice, proudly congratulated yourself on your goodness, because you have abstained from other crimes to which you were tempted? Have you not satisfied yourself for yielding to the one temptation by reminding your conscience that you did not yield to the other? Have not you hankered after a compromise with Divine justice, and meditated with complacent self-righteousness the production of a balance of imaginary merit to countervail the penalty of guilt? See Hag. 1:5; Isa. 44:20; Rev. 3:17; Gal. 3:10. If example can affect you, look to that of Herod. Behold in him an illustration of the consequences entailed on perseverance in a single sin. In him behold a picture of that abandoned depravity of which perseverance in a single sin is naturally the forerunner. Is there an Herodias whom you will not put away? Let suitable temptations arise, and guilt equal to that of Herod may become yours.T. Gisborne, D.D.
Mar. 6:18. The duty of reproving sin.
1. Ministers ought not to wink at sin in those of their charge, not to be silent at the committing of it; but to admonish and reprove the same as occasion offers, in public and private (2Ti. 4:2; Tit. 2:15).
2. Ministers must deal impartially in admonishing and reproving sin, not only in mean persons, but in the great ones.
3. Such as have a call to reprove sin in others should do it plainly and directly, shewing them their sin, and the danger of it by the Word of God, in such sort as they may be in conscience convinced of it.G. Petter.
Mar. 6:19. Hatred against reprovers.It is very shocking, but is there nothing in our own hearts that can interpret to us this womans hate? Has the reproof of some cherished sin never stirred within us a feeling of bitter enmity towards the reprover? Doubtless we should shrink back in horror from the mere thought of murder; but, remember, the spirit of hatred, of revenge, whether it lead to murder or stop short at some lesser vengeance, is essentially the same (Mat. 5:21-22).W. T. Wilson.
Mar. 6:20. Vice respects virtue.Feared John there in prison?feared the helpless captive, bound and confined far from the sight of a friend? A trait how deeply true to the human soul! Yes, vice must respect virtue all the time: ever putting it to shame, counter-mining and insulting it, banishing it, loading it with chains, it must fearfully respect it. Is it not so? Whenever you have been the aggressor in any difference or quarrel with a fellow-man, though you may have added defence to defence, and piled vindication on vindication, have you been able, after all, to uproot a deep-seated regard even for him you differed with? When the passion and turbid commotion of the hour have passed by, has not that solemn regard subsided to the very bottom of your mind, and, in the light of transparent reflexion, made you ashamed of yourself, if not caused you to stand aghast at the wrong you see scored against you, as with the point of a diamond, on the page of your own heart?C. A. Bartol.
Religion too costly for Herod.Think of all the weary steps which Herod must retrace before he could be even on a moral level to start on St. Johns principles of religion. Perhaps in intense moments, when martyrdom was the consequence, it would have been in some ways easier to make a professionto stand forth from the parody of baptism on the stage, and to own oneself converted and be torn to deathto jump down into the amphitheatre where men were fighting, and say, You shall not do it, and be cut to piecesto be carried away by the impulse of a great movement, and die in the heat of enthusiasm. But in the quiet of a great lull, among people who are not intensely committed one way or another, to alter the mode of life, to cut away with their own hands the hindrances and barriers, to be known to have plucked out a right eye or to have cut off a right foot, to be earnestly preaching renunciation instead of a faint disapproval of things which we do not think are quite right, to be practising faith instead of an eclectic appreciation, an earnest practice of true religion instead of being an honorary member of all forms of beliefit costs a good deal, it means a good deal. Herod shrinks from it; giving up that bad connexion was not so much in itself, but it meant a good deal, and there was more than one person to be considered.Canon Newbolt.
Did many things.What those many things were which Herod amended at the bidding of John we vainly surmise. A few of the grosser corruptions of his foul court were perchance removed, or it may be John could hold back the stubborn king in some one occasional act of cruelty, or persuade him to pay some attention to the outward worship of God; but he could not, did not, win him to a thorough reformation of his own life. It was all surface work. The deep, ingrained depravity was not shaken off. There was pleasure in hearing trutha partial obedience to truthbut not a thorough casting away of impurity and cruelty and fraud. And we know the result. The evil spirit, driven out in a measure, returned again. One day of excess, one hour of ungoverned passion, swept away the edifice of sand, and a crime which stamps him for ever in the ranks of the Pilates and Judases, the unjust judges and false friends, plunged his soul again into unutterable darkness. The only voice which had ever stirred the better spirit within him was quenched in blood, and the last state became worse than the first.Bishop Woodford.
Herod and John.Here are two men, each swayed by his past, each working out a future; living in the same age, within touch, as it were, of the same wonderful crisis of historywith the same God, the same nature, the same heaven to win, the same hell to avoid. And now under the same roof, and yet how separated in every possible way! With a value to the world which varied with terrible irony in inverse ratio to their outward circumstances! The one pledged up to the hilt to the service of God, the maintenance of principle, and the integrity of his life; the other a mere plaything of the world, tossed up and down like a cork upon its turbulent waters, the victim of every whim, the slave of every pleasure, hounded along by his lusts, his very principle of morality given in pawn to an adulteress; and yet with a lingering appreciation still left of a noble character when he saw one; the power of still snatching at an ornament which he had sense enough left to know was precious, as it was swept by on the waves. It was politic to shut up the open-mouthed prophet. Yes; but that was not allhe had liked to keep him by him. His stern words roused a delightful thrill of self-distrust; gave him, if we follow one reading of the passage, deep perplexity; perhaps even led him to do certain things, to take certain steps in the direction of right; and, at all events, it was a real pleasure to him to hear him speak on great and deep subjects. It might be just a link with a better past to have a prophet on the premises, albeit in the dungeon.Canon Newbolt.
The downward path.In our own days, amidst our own homes, there are souls taking the downward path, because they, like Herod, will not give up their besetting sin. Perhaps it is the seductive wine-cup, perhaps the perilous friendship of some sceptic. Perhaps it is the strange delusion which makes the happiness of some menadding bid to bit of shining metal, of which they make no use; or that sin in disguise, the idolatry of self, making everything and everybody bow down to ones own ease and comfort! One is reminded of the account given of the way in which old Westminster Bridge came to ruin. The stone-work piers on which the arches rested were built on piles of wood firmly driven into the rivers bed; but the scour of the ebbing tides, and the force of the currents, swept away the earth and gravel from around the piles, till they were no longer secure. So with the soul. We make firm resolutions, as we think, and for a time they last; but the powerful stream of temptation gradually loosens them, and the whole superstructure of the Christian life is ready to fall in pieces. Many a gallant ship has been wrecked by a simple leak; so one sin worked the ruin of Herod Antipas.Dr. Hardman.
Mar. 6:21. A convenient day.A crime is more than half committed when it is once resolved on; a convenient day cannot be long wanting to a passion so violent and vigilant as revenge animated by an infamous love. The feasts of the world are days very convenient for sin, as the feasts of the Church are for piety. It is a great misfortune to be engaged to be at the former; a great imprudence not to provide against the infectious air which is there breathed; a great piece of unfaithfulness not to excuse ourselves from going when we can; and a very great folly to appear there without any manner of obligation.P. Quesnel.
Mar. 6:22. Lessons.
1. How dangerous it is to make rash and unadvised promises!
2. How much wicked men are addicted to their sinful lusts, and what great account they make of them in that they are content, for the satisfying of them, to be at great cost and charge!
3. The cursed fruit and effect of sin and sinful lusts in such as are given over to them; that they even besot them and make them foolish, depriving them of sound reason and judgment (Hos. 4:11; Rom. 1:21; Rom. 1:28; Pro. 7:22; Pro. 23:35).G. Petter.
Mar. 6:25. Resist solicitation to sin.Allow not yourself to be entrapped into sin by the solicitations and importunities of others, not even of your friends and your nearest relations, should you be unhappy enough to perceive tempters among them. You will not be urged, it may be presumed, to procure the imprisonment or the murder of another. But were tempters ever at a loss for grounds of temptation? If you are in poverty, may they not impel you to meliorate your condition by depredations on the property of a neighbour, or to excite charity by exaggerated representations of your distress? Are you moving in a higher sphere? May they not ensnare you into captivity to ambition, or seduce you into the habit of squandering in dissipation that sacred talent, time, entrusted to your charge? And whether you occupy a lower or a higher station, may they not encourage you to over-reach an ignorant or a careless man in a contract; to revenge yourself on some person who has offended you, or whom you envy, by spreading a slanderous tale to his disadvantage; to withhold reparation from those whom you have wronged; to surrender your heart to things temporal; to live not unto God and Christ, but unto the world and yourself? Stand prepared upon the watch-tower. Obey the Lord Omnipotent, not man. Resist the assaults of the devil, whatever be the instruments which he employs. Away with fear, with irresolution, with false shame. Be strong in the grace of Christ.T. Gisborne, D.D.
Callousness in youth.This is a picture of human sin more loathsome, it seems to me, than the other. For this damsel could have had no revengeful hate, no vindictive passion, rankling in her heart. The prophet had not rebuked her. Hers was a cool, deliberate, passionless crueltycruelty at which one shudders when associated with her age and sex; for if not with youth and girlhood, where should pity and compassion dwell? Doubtless Salome had a motive. Perhaps she feared the loss of her position and her pleasures, and fear can be quite as powerful an incentive to crime as revenge or hate. The prophet had unwittingly laid his hand upon this young girls world, and she turned again and stung him. Ah! believe me; youth, apparently so bright and fresh and winning, if you venture to touch its pleasures, can show a callousness, a steely hardness of the heart, which you would have deemed incredible.W. T. Wilson.
Lessons.
1. How apt children are by nature to follow wicked counsel and advice given them by their parents!
2. The wicked make but a light matter of sinyea, of great and grievous sins, such as murder.G. Petter.
Mar. 6:26. Herods dilemma.The dilemma of Herod was the dilemma of a man whose conduct was governed not by the principles of an immutable morality, the eternal distinctions of right and wrong, but by a vague superstition and a miserable conventionalism. The petty rules and obligations which he recognised were below the requirements and emergencies of life, and therefore only served to betray him into sin.
1. Is it not strange to hear this man, face to face with crime, pleading the sanctity of an oath to justify his commission of it? What a moral bewilderment was that! Had Herod been a man of pure life and clear conscience, how long would such a monstrous sophism have entangled him? The guilt of such oaths consists in making and keeping them, not in breaking them. If they are registered at all, it is not in heaven, but in hell.
2. Reference to the opinion of the world, and deference to it, and conference with it, and preference of it above every principle and rule and law, human or Divineis not this a tendency that grows upon us very, very fast?
3. Is idle sorrow ever availing? It did not save John. Will it save Herod at the day of judgment?W. T. Wilson.
Conscience darkened by sin.The pleasures which chiefly affect or rather bewitch the body, and by so doing become the pest and poison of the nobler and intellectual part of man, are those false and fallacious pleasures of lust and intemperance. Nothing does or can darken the mind or conscience of man more. Could Herod have ever thought himself obliged by the religion of an oath to murder the Baptist, had not his lust and his Herodias imprisoned and murdered his conscience first? It seems his besotted conscience, having broken through the seventh commandment, the sixth stood too near it to be safe long.R. South, D.D.
Herods duty plain.The case cannot be supposed wherein a man should be so straitened as he could not come off fairly without sinning. Say a man through heat of blood made a wicked vow to kill his brother: here he hath, by his own rashness, brought himself into a seeming strait, that either he must commit a murder or break a voweither of which seemeth to be a great sin, the one against the sixth, the other against the third commandment. But here is in very deed no strait nor perplexity at all. Here is a fair, open course to him without sin. He may break his vow, and there is an end. Neither is this the choice of the lesser sin; but only the loosening of the lesser bondthe bond of charity being greater than the bond of a promise, and there being good reason that (in terms of inconsistency, when both cannot stand) the lesser bond should yield to the greater. But is it not a sin for a man to break a vow? Yes, where it may be kept salvis charitate et justiti; then the breach is a sin; but in the case proposed it is no sin (Exo. 1:16, etc.; Jdg. 11:30-31; Act. 23:12).Bishop Sanderson.
Mar. 6:27. Guilty compliance.Thus it has often been: what is noblest and best sacrificed, not to policy or necessity, or in the hot, fierce conflict of opposing issues, but in a mood of dalliance, and in compliance with what appeals to the baser part of our nature. There is cruelty in the brutal fury of a mob; there is cruelty in the vindictive apprehension of an imperilled order; but there is no cruelty equal to the cruelty of thorough worldlinessthe light, careless gaiety which sends a prophet to the block because the wine flows, and the jest goes round, and the thrilling mazes of a voluptuous dance have fired the heart of King Herod.W. T. Wilson.
Mar. 6:29. Lessons.
1. Such as have reaped spiritual good and profit by others do owe special thankfulness to them; and this thankfulness they ought to shew toward them by the fruits of it, in doing duties of love to them; and that not only in their lifetime, but even after they are dead.
2. It is a duty of love and mercy which we owe to our Christian friends departed this life, to be careful to bury them in good and decent manner, and with such honour and respect as is fitting to their persons.
3. God takes special care of the good name and credit of His faithful servants, even after they are dead and gone (Psa. 112:6; Pro. 10:7).G. Petter.
Johns mission fulfilled.So ended to human eyes the life and ministry of St. John the Baptist. But if we regard this as the real end of all, we manifestly make an infinite mistake: St. John had made preparation for the coming of Christ, and now Christ was come, and so St. John was called to his rest, and his works followed him. And we may draw from his history this conclusion, applicable to our own timesnamely, that when missionaries of Christs gospel lose their lives in the work, have their heads cut off, it may be, by savages, and when their bodies are buried in the tomb, the end is not yet; they have prepared the way for the coming of Christ, and their work will not be useless in the eye of Him whom appearances can never deceive.Bishop H. Goodwin.
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 6
Mar. 6:16. Herods thoughts.What were Herods thoughts? Not long before a remarkable poem had been written in which the hero is represented as having entered by the Sybils agency the dark regions of Tartarus, the abode of the spirits of the departed dead. There, crowding around him, are multitudes of shadowy forms, wearing the semblance of what they bore whilst on earth. Flitting in restless disquietude are the unburied dead; there, too, are parricides, dishonest trustees who have wronged widows and orphans, betrayers of the honour of wife and country, all showing in phantom face and visage that they are enduring the righteous retribution of the gods. And there, likewise, in more blissful regions are the ghosts who, when alive on earth, did good and honourable deeds. Amidst the throng he recognises his honoured father, whom, indeed, he had come to see, and he receives from him sundry admonitions as to the future of his race and country, and the duties thereby required. He inquires if the shades of the dead wish or are allowed to revisit the upper world, and the answer he receives seems to leave the question somewhat open, and is followed by a philosophical disquisition on the nature and origin of the creation. That poem was dedicated to Augustus, the immediate predecessor of Tiberius, the then wearer of the imperial purple, and had been rehearsed before him in the presence of his court. The poem, like all great poems, reflected not only the thoughts of the age, but the thoughts of human nature itself. Had Herod heard it or read it? Most likely he had. Was he acquainted with the history of the Sybil, and the Sybilline Oracles? If so, there would be no antecedent improbability in the reappearance of John the Baptist. Nay, similar apparitions were reported to have been actually seen. Thus the ghost of the mighty Csar was said to have appeared to his murderer, and to have summoned him to a meeting after the fateful field at Philippi. Jewish traditions told, too, of the apparition of the prophet Samuel to Saul with the awful message, To-day shalt thou and thy sons be with me. If, then, the Baptist were risen from the dead, no wonder that mighty works should shew forth themselves in him. But to whom should his first visit be more likely paid than to his murderer? and what would be the terrible nature of his message? In vain the licentious dances of voluptuous women, the flattery of his courtiers, the luxuries of his table! They could not stifle the whispers of the inward monitor; adultery and murder were ugly facts, and so Herod might have said with Juvenal,
If the anger of the gods be great, yet certainly it is slow;
If, therefore, they take care to punish all the guilty,
When will they come to me?
Sat.xiii., l. 100.
Stings of conscience.Henry of Essex, struck down in a duel, attributed his defeat to the imagined appearance of a knight whom he had murdered standing by the side of his adversar. Speaking of the man who planned the massacre of Glencoe, Macaulay tells us that Breadalbane felt the stings of conscience. He went to the most fashionable coffee-house in Edinburgh, and talked loudly about what he had done among the mountains; but some of his soldiers observed that all this was put on. He was not the same man that he had been before. In all places, at all hours, working or sleeping, Glencoe was for ever before him.
Rustled by a breeze.There is a species of poplar whose leaves are often rustled by a breeze too faint to stir the foliage of other trees. Noticing the fact one day when there was scarce a breath of air, Gotthold thought within himself, This tree is the emblem of a man with a wounded and uneasy conscience, which takes alarm at the most trifling cause, and agitates him so that he knows not whither to fly.
A guilty conscience.King Theodoric could not endure the senator Symmachus, a good and virtuous man, so he caused him to be put to death. But after this proceeding he lost his accustomed high spirits, and took to looking gloomy and soliloquising apart. One day while at dinner, on a fish being served, he thought he saw the head of Symmachus attached to the body, and this optical illusion caused his death.Bessus, while surrounded by his courtiers, suddenly drew his sword, and rushing at a nest of swallows, hacked the whole family to death. Having been allowed time to recover himself after this unwonted exertion, he was asked the reason for his sudden outbreak, when, in a virtuously indignant tone, he replied, Did you not hear them reproach me with the murder of my father? It afterwards transpired that he was really guilty of this crime.
Mar. 6:18. Testimony before Kings.On one occasion St. Hugh is reported to have said to King John, I trust you mean what you say; you know I dislike lies. He warned him also against trusting to a stone amulet which he wore round his neck, saying, Trust not in that senseless stone, but in the Living Stone, the Lord Jesus Christ. And at Fontevrault he pointed out to John a sculpture of the Day of Judgment, with a group of crowned kings being led away by demons to the smoking pit.
Mar. 6:20. Reverence for the good.We may be reminded perhaps of our own monarch Charles II., who certainly reverenced Bishop Ken and several others like him, and reverenced them because they were just men, but who could not shake himself free from his lusts and submit himself to their teaching.
Royal inability.Palissy, the famous French potter, was imprisoned in the Bastille, when nearly eighty years old, on account of his religious opinions. The King of France visited him, and strove to make him recant. My good man, said the King, you have been forty-five years in the service of my mother, or in mine, and we have suffered you to live in your own religion, amidst all the executions and the massacres. Now, however, I am so pressed that I have been compelled in spite of myself to imprison you; you will be burnt, if you will not be converted. Sire, answered Palissy, you have said several times that you feel pity for me; but it is I who pity you, who have said, I am compelled. That is not speaking like a king. I will teach you to talk royally. All your people and yourself cannot compel a potter to bow down to images of clay.
Mar. 6:25. Unwomanly women.There is a similar instance in Roman history of a woman requiring the head of an enemy to be brought to her. Agrippina, the mother of Nero, who was afterwards emperor, sent an officer to put to death Lollia Paulina, who had been her rival for the imperial dignity. When Lollias head was brought to her, not knowing it at first, she examined it with her own hands, till she perceived some particular feature by which that lady was distinguished.
Mar. 6:29. Relics of the Baptist.At Sebaste (Samaria) a dungeon is pointed out as the place where the Baptist was beheaded, though Josephus says it took place in the castle of Machrus. At any rate he seems to have been buried at Samaria, between two prophets, Mandeville declares, Elisha and Abdias. In the time of Julian some pagans broke into the tomb, burnt the bones, and scattered the ashes to the winds. Some small portions were collected by the Christians, and sent to St. Athanasius at Alexandria, where the Emperor Theodosius, in 396 A.D., built a magnificent church for their reception.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
6. THE DEATH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST 6:14-29
TEXT 6:14-29
And king Herod heard thereof; for his name had become known: and he said, John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore do these powers work in him. But others said, It is Elijah. And others said, It is a prophet, even as one of the prophets. But Herod, when he heard thereof, said, John, whom I beheaded, he is risen. For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philips wife: for he had married her. For John said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brothers wife. And Herodias set herself against him, and desired to kill him; and she could not; for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous man and a holy, and kept him safe. And when he heard him, he was much perplexed; and he heard him gladly. And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, and the high captains, and the chief men of Galilee; and when the daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and them that sat at meat with him; and the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. And she went out, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou forthwith give me in a charger the head of John the Baptist. And the king was exceeding sorry; but for the sake of his oaths, and of them that sat at meat, he would not reject her. And straightway the king sent forth a soldier of his guard, and commanded to bring his head: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, and brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel; and the damsel gave it to her mother. And when his disciples heard thereof, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb.
THOUGHT QUESTIONS 6:14-29
273.
Just who was this Herod? i.e. who was his father?brother?wife? etc.
274.
Why did Herod associate the words of Jesus with John the Baptist?
275.
Was Jesus like Elijah or one of the Old Testament prophets? In what way?
276.
Why did Herod want to see Jesus?
277.
Who was Herod Philip? Who was Herodias?
278.
If Herods sin was so plainly and publicly condemned by John why did Herod want to see him and hear him?
279.
Was the fear of the popularity of John a factor in Herods respect for John? Cf. Mat. 14:5.
280.
Who attended the birthday banquet?
281.
Why make such a rash offer?was the dance professional?
282.
Was Herodias behind the dance and its purpose? Why?
283.
Why the urgency in the request for the head of John?
284.
Who beheaded John?
285.
Where did this incident take place?
286.
What do you imagine Salome and Herodias did with the head after it was brought to them?
COMMENT
TIMEWinter of A.D. 29.
PLACESAt Herods Palace and capital, Tiberias on the Lake of Galileeor at Machaerus the palace-fortress east of the Dead Sea.
PARALLEL ACCOUNTSMat. 14:1-12.
OUTLINE1. The fear of Herod and of others, Mar. 6:14 to Mar. 16:2. The imprisonment and its reason, Mar. 6:17-18. 3. The hatred of Herodias, Mar. 6:19-20. 4. The dance and the death, Mar. 6:21-29.
ANALYSIS
I.
THE FEAR OF HEROD AND OF OTHERS, Mar. 6:14-16.
1.
Fear based on what he heard of the miracles of Jesus.
2.
His conscience said, this is John risen from the dead.
3.
Others saidthis is Elijah, or a prophet like the prophets of our fathers.
II.
THE IMPRISONMENT AND ITS REASON, Mar. 6:17-18.
1.
John in prison because of the hatred of Herodias.
2.
John had rebuked Herod for his marriage to his brothers wife.
III.
THE HATRED OF HERODIAS, Mar. 6:19-20.
1.
A continual desire to kill in the heart of Herodias.
2.
Prevented by the respect of her husband for John.
IV.
THE DANCE AND THE DEATH, Mar. 6:21-29.
1.
The time of the dancea birthday supper.
2.
The reward of the dancepromised by an oath.
3.
The mother of death.
4.
A sad departure.
5.
The trophy of lust and hate.
EXPLANATORY NOTES 6:14-29
Mar. 6:14. King Herod: King by courtesy only, since Herod was but a Tetrarch, that is, a governor of the fourth part of a kingdom or province. Jesus warned His disciples to beware of Herod, saying: Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the leaven of Herod (Mar. 8:15).
heard: of the fame of Jesus, which the Apostles by their miracles and preaching had helped to spread.
John the Baptist is risen again from the dead. He must have suffered martyrdom during or after the Apostles first mission, and before the fourth Passover after our Lords baptism.
is risen again. Evidently Herod was no Sadducee, who said there is no resurrection, neither angel nor spirit (Act. 23:8), or his guilty conscience and superstitious fears had obscured his religious belief.
mighty works: miracles. John the Baptist had worked no miracles during his lifetime. And many resorted to him, and they said: John indeed did no sign (Joh. 10:41). Herod seems to have imagined that John the Baptist having risen would necessarily do mighty works.
Mar. 6:14-15. In these verses three opinions are given concerning our Lord. He is John the Baptist risen from the dead, or Elijah or another prophet.
It is Elijah. According to the prophecy, Behold 1 will send you Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord (Mal. 4:5). Elijah had not died, but had been taken up to heaven while conversing with Elisha. And as they went on, walking and talking together, behold a fiery chariot, and fiery horses parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven (2Ki. 2:11). There was therefore an expectation among the Jews that Elijah should return to earth as the forerunner of the Messiah. Moses had said, a Prophet should be raised up by God (Deu. 18:15), but this refers to Christ Himself.
Mar. 6:16. John whom I beheaded. Herod fears to meet his victim again.
Mar. 6:17. Herod . . . had apprehended John, etc. Mark here refers to a preceding event. Herod had had John the Baptist bound and then imprisoned him, probably in Machaerus (the Black Fortress), which Herod the Great had built, and which was situated east of the Dead Sea.
This castle had been in the possession of Aretas, father-in-law to Herod Antipas, and Emir of Arabia Petraea. Probably Herod had seized this castle when his lawful wife, hearing of his approaching marriage with Herodias, had fled to her father at Petra. Machaerus was both a palace and a prison. At this period Herod was probably living there with an armed retinue, on account of the war with Aretas in which he was engaged. Herod lost the day, and the Jews considered this defeat a punishment for the beheading of John the Baptist.
for the sake of Herodias. Herods sister-in-law and niece.
he had married her. This was unlawful for four reasons:
(1)
Herodias first husband, Herod Philip I. (not the Tetrarch) was still living.
(2)
The daughter of Aretas, Herods wife was also alive.
(3)
Herodias was niece to Herod, being the daughter of Aristobulus, his eldest half-brother.
(4)
Herod Antipas was a convert to Judaism, and hence bound to observe the Jewish law. This distinctly forbade marriage with a deceased brothers wife (Lev. 20:21) unless that brother died without issue which was not the case, since Salome was the child of Herodias and Herod Philip I.
Mar. 6:18. to have,i.e. to marry.
it is not lawful for thee, etc. John boldly rebuked vice even in the great. As our Lord said, when speaking of him, John was no reed shaken with the wind; he was a prophet and more than a prophet, and spoke with a prophets fearlessness. Luke tells us that John also reproved all the evils which Herod had done (Luk. 3:19).
Mar. 6:19. Herodias laid snares. Naturally his boldness in rebuking Herod would arouse her anger and resentment, which was all the keener because she perceived that John had a great influence of Herod, who feared John.
Mar. 6:20. kept him. Preserved him from Herodias vengeance, at least for a time.
when he heard him, did many things. Herod was awed by Johns virtue. He feared and esteemed him, and did many things to please the Precursor, but not the one thing against which Johns rebukes were chiefly directed. Herod would not put away Herodias.
heard him willingly. Herod had his better moments, but he had not the courage to conquer his vices and to amend. It was easier to listen than to yield, and the many things evidently did not cost him so much as the one necessary sacrifice would have done. They were matters of less moment than his sinful marriage. In like manner, Felix coming with Drusilla (a daughter of Herodias), his wife who was a Jew, sent for Paul, and heard of him the faith that is in Christ Jesus (Act. 24:24).
Mar. 6:21. a convenient day,i.e. for the vengeance of Herodias, that she might win by stratagem, where she had failed by direct petition.
made a supper. Probably at the castle of Machaerus.
for his birthday, Herod, like the Roman emperors, made a great banquet on his birthday. The Jews disliked the observance of birthdays, as being connected with idolatry and favouring it, since at these banquets libations and sacrifices were frequently offered to the gods.
princes. High civil or military officials.
tribunes. Doubtless here military tribunes are referred to, of whom there were four or six in each legion. Ten Roman civil tribunes were chosen by the people to protect them from the oppression of the senate and nobles. These tribunes would hardly be living in Palestine.
chief men of Galilee. The local authorities, the great landowners.
Mar. 6:22. when the daughter . . . had danced. Salome here dishonors herself and family by performing the part of a hired scenic dancer, Moreover these oriental dances were generally immodest. It was customary to give some such entertainment at the close of the banquet. Herod and his guests, from their couches, would have a full view of the performers.
Ask me what thou wilt. It would seem as though Salome hesitated as to what request to proffer, since Herod reiterates his offer, and enforces it with oaths, as the original expression indicates.
Mar. 6:23. though it be the half, etc. Not to be taken literally, but meaning that Herod was willing to bestow great gifts on her. It was a boastful assertion made in presence of his flatterers; possibly he was not sober when he made it. Assuerus had promised Esther the half of his kingdom, but at least it was his to give (Est. 5:3).
Mar. 6:24. What shall I ask? Herodias does not hesitate as to her reply; she had long since decided what she wished to obtain.
Mar. 6:25. Immediately with haste. Herodias feared delay, lest she should ultimately meet with a refusal. When Herod was sober, he might again refuse to accede to the request of Salome.
Mar. 6:26. struck sad. Marks graphic expression for denoting Herods consternation. The original Greek word indicates great sorrow and grief. Herod feared to keep his rash oath, yet had not the manliness to break it, by refusing to commit a crime. To keep a rash oath is a sin against the Second Commandment. Herod, by keeping his oath, broke the fifth Commandment also.
Mar. 6:27. an executioner, literally a spiculator which signifies either (1) a scout, (2) a special adjutant, (3) a soldier of the guard. The spiculators formed a special division of the legion, and each emperor had a body of them to guard his person and execute his orders. They were often employed as instruments to execute the emperors private vengeance. As Herod was at war with Aretas, these spiculators would be in attendance.
Mar. 6:28. the damsel gave it to her mother.
The crime is now accomplished. Jerome says that Herodias glutted her vengeance by piercing the saints tongue with needles (as Fulvia did to her enemy Cicero). Nicephorus states that Salome met with a terrible death as a punishment for her share in the sacrilegious crime. When crossing the ice it broke under her, and the fragments drifting together severed her head from her body.
Mar. 6:29. his disciples . . . took his body. Jerome tells us they buried their master in Sebaste (Samaria). Herod allowed them to perform this act of respect. They buried the headless corpse only. Matthew adds that these disciples came and told Jesus. Possibly some of Johns disciples now attached themselves to Christ, while others in outlying districts entered the Church later, through the ministry of the Apostles (see Act. 19:1-7). In this narrative four details are given by Mark alone:
(1)
Herodias was John the Baptists enemy rather than Herod, who esteemed him.
(2)
Herod kept him for a time at least from her vengeance.
(3)
Salome consulted her mother regarding the request.
(4)
Herod sent a special executioner to behead John. (Cecilia)
FACT QUESTIONS 6:14-29
305.
In what sense was the title king used for Herod?
306.
Was Herod a Sadducee? Discuss.
307.
Why associate mighty works with John when John did no mighty works?
308.
Show how Mal. 4:5 related to the opinion of some.
309.
In what place had Herod imprisoned John? Who was Aretas?
310.
Give the four reasons it was unlawful for Herod to marry Herodias.
311.
Show how the description of John given by our Lord fit him.
312.
Johns imprisonment was actually a protectionshow how.
313.
What respect did Herod show for John the Baptist?
314.
Who attended the birthday banquet?
315.
Why offer a reward for the dance?
316.
Was the dance and the request prepared ahead of time?
317.
Why was Herod so sad?why carry out the rash vow?
318.
What does Jerome add to the story?
319.
What does Matthew add?
320.
State the four details given by Mark not included in the other gospels.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(14) That John the Baptist was risen from the dead.See Notes on Mat. 14:1-2. In addition an interesting illustration of what is stated as to Herods belief may be given from the Roman poet Persius. He is describing in one of his satires (v. 180-188) the effect of superstitious fear in marring all the pleasures of the pride of luxurious pomp, and this is the illustration which he chooses:
But when the feast of Herods birthday comes,
And, through the window, smoke-besmeared, the lamps,
Set in due order, wreaths of violets round,
Pour out their oily fumes, and in the dish
Of red-clay porcelain tail of tunny swims,
And the white flagon bellies out with wine,
Thou movst thy lips, yet speakst not, and in fear
Thou keepst the Sabbath of the circumcised,
And then there rise dark spectres of the dead,
And the cracked egg-shell bodes of coming ill . . .
It is clear that a description so minute in its details must have been photographed, as it were, from some actual incident, and could not have been merely a general picture of the prevalence of Jewish superstition in Roman society. Commentators on the Roman poet have, however, failed to find any clue to the incident thus graphically related. Can we, starting from what the Gospels tell us as to the character of Antipas, picture to ourselves a scene that explains his strange mysterious hints? In A.D. 39 Herod Agrippa I., the nephew of the Tetrarch, obtained the title of king from the Emperor Caligula. Prompted by the ambition of Herodias, Antipas went with her to Rome, to seek, by lavish gifts and show of state, the same distinction. The emissaries of Agrippa, however, thwarted his schemes, and he was deposed and sent into exile at Lugdunum. May we not conjecture that the same superstitious terror which made him say that John the Baptist was risen from the dead followed him there also? Herods birthday again comes round, and there is a great feast, and instead of the lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee, senators and courtiers and philosophers are there, and, lo! there is a pause, and the Tetrarch rises in silent horroras Macbeth at the apparition of Banquos ghostand he sees the dark form shaking its gory locks, and his lips move in speechless terror, and he does many things on the coming Sabbath, and the thing becomes a by-word and a proverb in the upper circles of Roman society, and is noted in the schools of the Stoics as an illustration of what superstition can effect. The view thus stated is, of course, not more than a conjecture, but it at least explains phenomena. Persius died, at the age of twenty-eight or thirty, in A.D. 62, and may well therefore have heard the matter talked of in his boyhood.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
61. HEROD HEARS OF JESUS AND DESIRES TO SEE HIM, Mar 6:14-16 .
(See notes on Mat 14:1-2.)
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
14. King Herod Mark calls Herod king here in compliance with popular custom; yet his true title of tetrarch is more accurately given by Matthew and Luke.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And King Herod heard of him, for his name had become known, and he said “John the Baptiser is risen from the dead, and that is why these powers work in him”. But others said, “It is Elijah”. And others said, “It is a prophet, even as one of the prophets”. But Herod when he heard of it said, “John whom I beheaded, he is risen”.’
This Herod was Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great. He was tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea from his father’s death, the date of which is not certain, dating anywhere from 5 to 0 BC. (The date is dependent on the identifying of certain astronomical occurrences and interpretation of other evidence, and is complicated by the question as to whether coinage was issued with spurious dates on it in order to magnify royal claims. If the enrolment of Luk 2:1 was that of Augustus’ twenty fifth anniversary of his reign, and the celebration that of the 750th anniversary of Rome, his father’s death was after 3 BC, the year of the celebration). He ruled until 39 AD. He was not strictly a king (he was a tetrarch) but he was popularly known as one. Matthew and Luke style him correctly, Mark popularly. His attempt to be officially named ‘king’ in fact led to his downfall and he was exiled to Gaul.
When Herod heard about this man Jesus Who was going around like a prophet and doing great wonders, his conscience struck him, and he was afraid, for he had reluctantly had John the Baptiser executed and now thought that he had come back from the dead. His conscience was giving him no rest.
‘Herod heard of Him.’ The news about this new prophet who drew such large crowds and performed miracles, although not directly affecting Tiberias where Herod had his palace, would hardly remain hidden. His police would have drawn it to his attention, and also the fact that He was proclaiming the coming of the Kingly Rule of God.
‘For His name had become known.’ Everyone was talking about Him for good or bad, especially so now that His Apostles were also going around preaching. Some were saying that He was the expected Elijah (Mal 3:1), others that He was a great prophet like the revered prophets of old. Thus some at least were positive in their thoughts about Him. It is noteworthy that they did not at this stage think Him to be the Messiah. He was not behaving like they expected a Messiah would. But they did recognise His status as a man of God. The views of the leading Pharisees that He was of the Devil had not taken hold in Galilee, nor seemingly with most of the Herodians. But Herod was burdened down with guilt and was convinced that John the Baptiser had returned and he feared what would happen next. But why was he so afraid?
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Response of King Herod In View Of His Previous Execution of John the Baptiser (6:14-29).
Meanwhile it was inevitable that news of the activities and power of Jesus, and of His disciples, would reach Herod’s palace through his spy system, and when it did his conscience struck him, for he had had John the Baptiser executed, and hearing about the miracles, he thought that this must be John come back to life, and was greatly troubled.
This section is inserted here for a number of reasons.
‘b7 Firstly in order to indicate the impact that Jesus’ ministry was having. It was even affecting the palace. Nowhere was being left untouched by what God was now doing.
‘b7 Secondly by being placed between the sending out of the Apostles and their return it is giving an indication that the Apostles’ ministry did continue for some time, a few weeks at least (he did not just want to say simply that ‘they went and returned’, which might have been misleading).
‘b7 Thirdly it is part of the picture Mark is building up of the different opponents of Jesus. The Herodians (supporters of Herod and his attitudes) have been mentioned as opponents in Mar 3:6, now more information is given about the court and its views. Compare also Mar 8:15; Mar 12:13, and their mention as ‘they’ in Mar 9:13. They are one of the continual shadows in the background of Jesus’ ministry. That the Pharisees are mentioned more is due to the fact that Jesus tended to avoid the main cities where the Herodians predominated, whereas there were Pharisees and their supporters everywhere. But the Herodians were equally as dangerous, and were equally at loggerheads with Him and His message.
‘b7 Fourthly it is a reminder, after a series of incidents in which Jesus has been revealed as the Lord of all, that nevertheless through His own will in coming to earth He has humbled Himself and has subjected Himself to man’s rule. He has to beware of Herod.
Fifthly it helps to explain why Herod never actually directly intervened in Jesus’ ministry. He never got over what he had had to do to John the Baptiser, whom he feared. Although one reason why Jesus began to move out of Galilee may well have been because He was aware of rising opposition, and he knew that His time was not yet (see Luk 13:31-33).
Sixthly it contrasts the success of the going forth of the new heralds with the seemingly backward step of the execution of John the Baptiser. What had seemed a great blow to the work of God had turned out in fact to be a stepping stone to greater things. John’s ministry had in fact accomplished its purpose and was now flowering in the ministry of Jesus and of the Twelve.
‘b7 Seventhly it brings out the threat that was continually impending in the life of Jesus. Jesus had already spoken of His being ‘snatched away’ (Mar 2:20). Now the threat of Herod loomed, and He knew that what had happened to John could also happen to Him at any time. This will eventually lead on to His own warnings about His final end.
Eighthly, there is a contrast between John’s head being offered up on a platter through Salome to the ungodly Herodias, with the bread of God which Jesus was offering through His disciples to all who genuinely responded to Him. The one could only leave Salome and Herod covered in guilt and remorse. But that was all that Herod could offer his followers. Guilt and remorse. The other offered true repentance and eternal life.
‘b7 Ninthly it provides the vivid contrast between the drunken and orgiastic nature of a typical oriental feast, along with the kind of fruit that it produced, and the wholesome and pure provision of God for His own, which left all satisfied.
‘b7 Tenthly and finally, it contrasts the new Kingly Rule of God being offered around Galilee with the Kingly Rule of Herod with which no one could be satisfied. It was a contrast of extremes. Yet foolishly the majority chose the way of Herod, disgusting though it had revealed itself to be.
It may also suggest that Mark might not have been aware of what Jesus did while the Apostles were away, and thus could not tell us. His chief source of such information (Peter) was out preaching the good news. There is no suggestion at this stage that Herod became threatening, although his police might have begun to take a deeper interest in what was going on, especially once preachers suddenly began appearing all over the kingdom. Later this would change and he would become more threatening (see Luk 13:31). But while not willing to hear them he seems to have had a deep respect for genuine men of God, unless he felt that they were threatening his position, and he had perhaps learned a salutary lesson with John.
Analysis.
a
b But others said, “It is Elijah”. And others said, “It is a prophet, even as one of the prophets”. But Herod when he heard of it said, “John whom I beheaded, he is risen” (Mar 6:16).
c For Herod himself had sent out and laid hold on John and bound him in prison, for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, for he had married her. For John said to Herod “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife” (Mar 6:17-18).
d And Herodias set herself against him and desired to kill him, but she could not, for Herod feared John knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and kept him safe. And when he heard him he was greatly perplexed, and he heard him gladly (Mar 6:19-20).
e And when an opportune day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a feast for his court officials and military officers and the chief men of Galilee
f And when Herodias’ daughter herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and those who sat at meat with him, and the king said to the young woman, “Ask of me whatever you will and I will give it to you” (Mar 6:21-22 b).
e And he swore to her, “Whatever you will ask of me, I will give it to you, to as much as half of my kingdom” (Mar 6:23).
d And she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask?” And she said, “the head of John the Baptiser” (Mar 6:24).
c And she came in immediately and hastily to the king, and asked saying, “I will that you forthwith give me on a plate the head of John the Baptiser.” And the king was deeply sorry, but for the sake of his oath and of those who sat at meat, he would not reject her (Mar 6:25-26).
b And immediately the king sent out an executioner and commanded to bring his head, and he went and beheaded him in prison, and brought his head on a plate and gave it to the young woman, and the young woman gave it to her mother (Mar 6:27-28).
a And when his disciples heard, they came and collected his corpse and laid it in a tomb (Mar 6:29).
Note that in ‘a’ Herod says that Jesus is John the Baptiser risen from the dead, and in the parallel John’s body is laid in a tomb. In ‘b’ Herod speaks of ‘John the Baptiser whom I beheaded’, and in the parallel we have the description of how he did so. In ‘c’ John had condemned Herod’s marriage to Herodias, and in the parallel Herodias’ daughter asks for his head on a serving plate. In ‘d’ Herodias set herself to have John put to death, and in the parallel that is what she tells her daughter to demand. In ‘e’ we find a description of Herod’s kingdom, and in the parallel he offers Herodias’ daughter half his kingdom. Centrally in ‘f’ Herodias’ daughter pleases Herod and he offers her whatever she wants (there is here a perverted similarity to what Jesus says that God offers to believers – Mat 7:7-12; Luk 11:9, as symbolised in the feeding of the five thousand which follows). Note also the repetition of the offer, “Ask of me whatever you will and I will give it to you” followed by “Whatever you will ask of me, I will give it to you’, the kind of repetition found in the second part of chiasms in the Pentateuch.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Herod’s Reaction to the Spread of the Gospel ( Mat 14:1-12 , Luk 9:7-9 ) Mar 6:14-29 records the reaction of King Herod to the spread of the Gospel as Jesus sends forth His twelve disciples to preach with signs and miracles accompanying them.
The Death of John the Baptist When comparing this story in the Synoptic Gospels, we see that Mar 6:14-29 records the most lengthy account of the death of John the Baptist. Mark gives more detail of the reason for his death, which was because of his preaching a Gospel of repentance to King Herod, and it records Herod’s perplexity of Jesus’ miracles; thus making an emphasis upon preaching and miracles. Luke’s Gospel gives the shortest account by simply noting Herod’s testimony of perplexity as to who Jesus was, having heard so many things about Him. Matthew’s record of this account is placed among a collection of accounts of how to handle offences in the Kingdom of God; for the death of John the Baptist was an opportunity to get offended.
Mar 6:14 “And king Herod heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad:)” Comments – The name of Jesus became widespread when He sent His disciples out to preach and heal the sick and cast out demons in His wonderful Name, as we read in the previous passage (Mar 6:7-13).
Mar 6:18 Comments The part of the Mosaic Law that John the Baptist used to condemn King Herod is found in Lev 18:16, “Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother’s wife: it is thy brother’s nakedness.”
This type of incestuous sin may have been brought into the family of Herod Antipas (4 b.c. to a.d. 39), as the king was unrepentant, and expressed itself with his grandson, Herod Agrippa II (a.d. 50 100), who is believed to have had an incestuous relationship with his sister Bernice (Act 25:13) (see Josephus, A ntiquities 20.7.2-3). [106]
[106] E. M. B. Green and C. H. Hemer, “Bernice,” in New Bible Dictionary, second edition, ed. J. D. Douglas (Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishing, c1962, 1982), 132.
Act 25:13, “And after certain days king Agrippa and Bernice came unto Caesarea to salute Festus.”
Mar 6:19 Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not:
Mar 6:19
Luk 1:17, “And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias , to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
Naturally, the woman (Herodias) responded with more emotion to John’s rebuke that did the man (Herod). Herodias eventually succeeded in having John killed, while the king was trying to appease both sides in this dispute.
Mar 6:30-56 Jesus Trains His Disciples to Work Miracles In Mar 6:30-56 Jesus trains His disciples to work miracles.
Outline – Here is a proposed outline:
1. Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand Mar 6:30-44
2. Jesus Walks on the Water Mar 6:45-52
3. Jesus Heals the Multitudes in the Land of Gennesaret Mar 6:53-56
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Narrative: Persecutions Arise In Mar 6:14-29 Herod becomes concerned because of the rising popularity of Jesus’ public ministry, so that Jesus retreats with His disciples. Jesus uses His disciples to distribute the loaves and fishes to the five thousand, and He walks on the water so that His disciples marvel, and heals the multitudes.
Outline Here is a proposed outline:
1. Herod’s Reaction to the Spread of the Gospel Mar 6:14-29
2. Jesus Trains His Disciples to Work Miracles Mar 6:30-56
a) Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand Mar 6:30-44
b) Jesus Walks on the Water Mar 6:45-52
c) Jesus Heals the Multitudes Mar 6:53-56
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Perseverance: Preaching in the Midst of Offences – In Mar 6:14 to Mar 7:23 the emphasis moves from divine service through preaching the Word of God to perseverance in the midst of persecutions, where Jesus begins to train to His disciples in the midst of rising unrest among the Jews.
Outline Here is a proposed outline:
1. Narrative: Persecutions Arise Mar 6:14-56
2. Sermon – Jesus Preaches Against Tradition Mar 7:1-23
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Death of John the Baptist.
Conjectures concerning the identity of Christ:
v. 14. And King Herod heard of Him; (for His name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him.
v. 15. Others said, That it is Elias. And others said, That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets.
v. 16. But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded; he is risen from the dead. Where there is no fear of God, superstition reigns supreme. Herod’s conscience was bothering him for a crime which had been committed some time before. Hearing of the mighty deeds of Jesus, as His name and fame spread throughout the country, Herod advanced the theory that John the Baptist had arisen from the dead and because of that fact supernatural powers were being manifested in him; the fear of ghosts and haunts coming to the foreground. Others believed that Elijah, who had always been vested with special powers, and whose return was definitely looked for by a great many Jews, in a misunderstanding of Mal 4:5, was represented in the person of Jesus. Still others thought that the Lord was a prophet like one of the prophets of old, that also had gone about in the country of the Jews, preaching and performing miracles. But though Herod may have heard the opinions of the others through his courtiers, he clung to his statement: Him whom I beheaded, John, it is; he is risen. The torment of a bad conscience, of a guilty heart, is worse than any torture that might be devised by man. It causes people to suspect where there is no ground for suspicion, and puts ghosts before the eyes of men where there is no reason for fear. Herod had reasons for trembling.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Mar 6:14-16 . See on Mat 14:1-2 . Comp. Luk 9:7-9 . Mark bears the impress of the original in his circumstantiality and want of polish in form.
] in the wider sense (Theophylact): the prince (comp. the of the Athenians, and the like), a more popular but less accurate term than in Matthew and Luke: . Comp. Mat 2:22 .
. . . ] is not to be put in a parenthesis, since it does not interrupt the construction, but assigns the reason for the , after which the narrative proceeds with .
As object to (generalized in Matthew and Luke) we cannot, without arbitrariness, think of aught but the contents of Mar 6:12-13 . Comp. , Mar 6:16 . Antipas heard that the disciples of Jesus preached and did such miracles. Then comes the explanation assigning the reason for this: for His name became known, i.e. for it did not remain a secret, that these itinerant teachers and miracle-workers were working as empowered by Jesus . Comp. also Holtzmann, p. 83. According to Grotius, Griesbach, and Paulus (also Rettig in the Stud. u. Krit. 1838, p. 797), the object of is: , so that . . . would be parenthetic. This is at variance with the simple style of the evangelist. According to de Wette, Mark has been led by the alleged parenthesis to forget the object, so that merely something indefinite, perhaps , would have to be supplied. But what carelessness! and still the question remains, to what the applies. Ewald (comp. Bengel) takes as a parenthesis, which was intended to explain what Herod heard, and holds that in Mar 6:16 the of Mar 6:14 is again taken up (that instead of in Mar 6:14 is to be read, which Hilgenfeld also prefers; see the critical remarks). But the explanation thus resorted to is not in keeping with the simple style of the evangelist elsewhere (in the case of Paul it would create no difficulty).
] substantival (see on Mat 2:20 ). Observe with what delicacy the set evangelic expression is not put into the mouth of Antipas; he speaks from a more extraneous standpoint. Moreover, it is clear from our passage that before the death of John he can have had no knowledge of Jesus and His working.
] , Theophylact.
] the powers , i.e. the miraculous powers, the effluence of which he saw now also in the working of the disciples.
Mar 6:15 . The difference between these assertions is that some gave Him out to be the Elias , and so to be the prophet who was of an altogether special and distinguished character and destination; but others said: He is a prophet like one of the prophets, i.e. (comp. Jdg 16:7 ; Jdg 16:11 ), a usual, ordinary prophet, one out of the category of prophets in general, not quite the exceptional and exalted prophet Elias. Comp. Ewald, p. 258 f. The interpolation of before could only be occasioned by the expression not being understood. [97]
Mar 6:16 . ] namely, these different judgments. Mark now relates the more special occasion of the utterance of Herod.
] a familiar form of attraction. See Winer, p. 148 [E. T. 205].
] has the stress of an evil conscience. Mockery (Weizscker) is, in accordance with Mar 6:14 f., not to be thought of.
] anaphorically with emphasis (Khner, ad Xen. Mem. ii. 1. 19): this is he.
] the emphatic He, precisely he , for designation of the identity. Observe the urgent expression of certainty, which the terror-stricken man gives to his conception: This one it is: He is risen!
[97] The Recepta . , . would have to be explained: he is a prophet, or (at least) like to one of the prophets .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
2. Beheading of John the Baptist. Mar 6:14-29
(Parallels: Mat 14:1-12; Luk 9:7-9.)
14And king Herod heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad;) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do show forth themselves [miraculous powers work] in him. 15Others said, That it is Elias. And others said, That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets. 16But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded:6 he is risen from the dead. 17For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias sake, his brother Philips wife; for he had married her. 18For John had said 19unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brothers wife. Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not: 20For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed [protected] him; and when he heard him, he did many things,7 and heard him gladly. 21And when a convenient [favorable] day was come, that Herod, on his birth-day, made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee: 22And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod,8 and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. 23And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. 24And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. 25And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me, by and by [immediately ] in a charger, the head of John the Baptist. 26And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oaths sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. 27And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, 28And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel; and the damsel gave it to her mother. 29And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
See on the parallel passages of Matthew and Luke.The time of this occurrence was the return of Jesus from the Feast of Purim at Jerusalem, in the year 781; that is, in the second year of His ministry. On His return from this feast, the disciples were once more gathered round Him at the Sea of Galilee. It is peculiar to Mark, that he connects the suspicious observation of Herod Antipas (see Matthew) with the work of Christ as extended by the twelve Apostles. And this is quite natural; since the fame of Jesus was not only extraordinarily increased by their means, but also invested with the semblance of a political import. With regard to Herods judgment of Jesus, Mark is more distinct than Luke; in exhibiting the relation in which Jesus stood to the Baptist, he is more distinct than Matthew. He is moreover very circumstantial in detailing the binding of John, the favorable crisis for Herodias, Herods promise to the dancer, the scheme concerted between mother and daughter, the daring urgency of the latter, and other similar traits. But he omits the circumstance, that the disciples of John carried intelligence of the event to the Lord.
Mar 6:14. King Herod.The in the ancient and wide sense. Matthew and Luke say more precisely, the tetrarch (here equivalent to prince). Starke: Luke calls him, after the manner of the Romans, a tetrarch; Mark, after the manner of the Jews, a king.Heard.That is, that the disciples of Jesus preached and performed such miracles (Meyer), and that Jesus sent them forth. Hence what follows: for His name was spread abroad. Therefore, not (according to Grotius and others), he heard the name of Jesus.John the Baptist. , substantively. Yet, perhaps, hinting an avoidance of the acknowledgment of his authority9 According to Luke, others declared that John was risen from the dead, and Herod was troubled at it. But the apparent contradiction is solved by our assuming that the idea was introduced by the courtiers, and that Herod, after slight hesitation, entered into their views with hypocritical superstitious policy (Leben Jesu, ii. 2). The expression might then be regarded as blending in itself a secret political meaning and a more popular one. According to the former it says, This new movement proceeds from the execution of John the Baptist; and if John was politically dangerous, the appearance of Jesus with His twelve Apostles is tenfold more so. Yet, at the same time, the expression might have been employed, in order to burden the conscience of the king and the people in reference to the execution of John.Therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him.John had wrought no miracle; and the prince seems to have made this his excuse, the high legitimation of a prophet having been wanting to the Baptist. Now, in his new form, said the theologizing king, it is seen that he is actually a prophet; the miraculous powers at length manifest themselves in him.
Mar 6:15. As one of the prophets.That is, of the old prophets, even if not so great as Elias. It is manifest, first, that the opinions which then prevailed concerning the Person of Jesus, agreed in a certain acknowledgment of His higher mission; secondly, they differed in regard to the more specific definition of His dignity; thirdly, they presented a descending scale of lessening honor paid to Him, starting from a point below the primary recognition that He was the Messiah. And thus they mark the time when the persecution of Jesus was beginning, although the people generally were, in a narrower sense, entirely absorbed with His works and words. Matthew introduces this index of public opinion in connection with another event, which, however, falls within the same year of persecutions, Mar 16:14; and now this wavering judgment has become the popular cry.
Mar 6:16. Whom I beheaded.Meyer: has the emphasis of a guilty conscience. Mark the urgent expression of confident assurance which the terrified man utters: This is he; he is risen.
Mar 6:20. For Herod feared John.Seeming discrepancy when compared with Matthew, as Meyer here and always urges. Compare, on the contrary, Ebrard, p. 384; Lange, Leben Jesu, ii. 2, p. 783. The often indicates, in the New Testament, the natural willing in its weakness, the fain would, which, however, does not involve necessarily the full and perfect purpose of the will. Matthew, in his exhibition of the feeble, vacillating Herod, at the same time has in view his position on the side of Herodias as in opposition to the people; while Mark has in view his position on the side of the people in opposition to the thoroughly decided and resolute Herodias (see Macbeth).And observed him, or Kept him.Not, esteemed him highly (as Erasmus and others, with De Wette, contend), but he protected him a long time against the attempts of Herodias (as Grotius and Meyer). And this, at the same time, reveals the vacillation of the man, since, as prince, Herod might have set John free. Herodias was instigated partly by revenge, but partly by fear that her present husband might, in consequence of the exhortations of the Baptist, repent of his sin, and separate from her. Beda.
Mar 6:21. And when a convenient day was come; that is, favorable for Herodias.Grotius: Opportuna insidiatrici, qu vino, amore et adulatorum conspiratione facile sperabat impelli posse nutantem mariti, animum.Lords, high captains, and chief estates.The first two classes are servants of the state, civil and military officials; the third includes the great men of the land generally.
Mar 6:22. The king said unto the damsel.The antithesis between king and damsel gives emphasis to his wicked folly.To the half of my kingdom.Starke: This was a grand imitation of the great Ahasuerus; but in one without the supreme power, it was idle and boastful enough.
Mar 6:25. I will that thou give me, by and by.Strong emphasis, in the . Observe the boldness of the malignant girl. Meyer.
Mar 6:26. Would not reject her., to make anything an , illegal: therefore, to make invalid, or abolish, a decree, ordinance, covenant, or oath; and, in reference to persons, it means to deprive of a legal claim, or declare one unjustified: hence it involves the notion of humiliating, the repudiare. But the translation to suffer her to ask in vain, is much too weak.
Mar 6:27. An executioner, : one of his body-guard.To them was committed the execution of capital sentences (Seneca, De Ira, i. 16, Wetstein). Meyer.
Mar 6:28. And the damsel gave it to her mother.Salome, the dancer, afterwards married her fathers brother, the tetrarch Philip.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. See on the parallel passages in Matthew and Luke.
2. The institution of the apostolate, and the mission of the Apostles, were like a revelation of avenging spirits to worldly policy and despotism, cowardly and superstitious, suspicious and fearful from the beginning.
3. Herod a forerunner and confederate of Pilate in this, that he acknowledged the innocence and dignity of John, and yet had not the courage to set him free. He is also like Pilate in the vacillation of his weak character.
4. The opinions of those who surrounded Herod were like the verdicts of the great world concerning Christianity.
5. Herodias a typical character: woman in the demoniac grandeur of wickednessthe opposite of Mary. The New Testament Jezebel, as Herod is the New Testament Ahab. Herodias, the murderess of the greatest prophet, with whom the old covenant ended; Mary, the mother of the Lord, in whom the new covenant is sealed.
6. The intriguing woman, the courtezan in the royal court, an historical symbol. So also the dancer, and the vain festivity, and the sympathies of pride and presumption.
7. One sample of the influences of Grecian habits, as introduced into Palestine and spread there by the Herodians. Doubtless this influence could not but serve to efface the limits between Judaism and heathenism; but the true reconciliation between Greece and the theocracy could be effected only by Christianity.
8. The oath, and the word of honor, and the honorable deeds of the worldly-minded great, as they often clash with the eternal laws of God. In the godless oath there is a real and essential nullity; for God cannot be the avenger of a broken vow which was in itself impious. But the breach of an ungodly oath demands an open confession. Gerlach. Herod should have said, Thou askest of me more than my kingdom, for what shall it profit a man? etc.
9. Fearful contrasts, in which are reflected the Satanic powers of wickedness: the head of the greatest preacher of repentance in the ancient world made a fee by an Israelite prince to a little Greek dancer at the court (a Jewess, who dances after the Greek fashion at the Israelite court); Christ, the Messiah of the Jews, betrayed by the kiss of a disciple to the hierarchy, condemned and given over to the Gentiles by the high-priests and the priesthood in Zion.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
See on the parallel passages in Matthew and Luke, and also the Reflections above.Christ, with His twelve Apostles, described as John the Baptist risen from the dead: 1, How far this was a gross error, composed of a mixture of guilty conscience, superstition, policy, cunning, ignorance, and blindness; 2. how far, in another sense, a great truth, in which the living law of the kingdom of God found expression (ineffaceableness, growth, progress, consummation, the blood of the martyrs, the seed of the Church).The internal conflict of Herod and Pilate: 1. Similarities: impotent striving, long delay, critical suspense, shameful surrender. 2. Differences: a Jew, a Gentile; Herodias in the one case, the warning devout woman in the other; the people against the evil deed, the people in favor of it.John the Baptist dignified and self-consistent as the great, heroic preacher of repentance: 1. Confronting the prince of the land, Herod; 2. in prison, and with the fear of death before his eyes,The good impressions, which Herod had lost: therefore, 1. He continued in the sin; 2. in vacillation between the right and wrong; 3. in self-deception; 4. under the power of temptation.The conflict between good living and living good.The convenient season; or, the feasts and banquets of the world, and those of the kingdom of God.The worlds estimate of the value of things: the head of a prophet of less importance than a dance; a blasphemous, drunken oath more sacred than the eternal law of God.How the weak and wavering characters, whilst they delay, are overcome by the bold and daring conduct of those who are resolute in their wickedness.The judgment which followed the beheading of the Baptist: pierced conscience, further guilt touching Jesus, a death of misery.The frightful abandonment by the Spirit, which, in the great world, may cloak itself under the disguise of brilliance and vigor of spirit.The fidelity and troubles of the disciples of John figurative of the troubles of faith as held bound in legality: 1. The heroic courage with which they buried their master; 2. the lack of believing courage to attach themselves to Jesus.
Starke:Even the great of this world have always been excited and moved by the Gospel of Christ.Quesnel:The sinner has no peace when he would seek it; because he rejected it when it was offered him by God.Hedinger:The judgments of this world are always out of square when they deal with spiritual things; therefore, dear fellow-Christian, inquire not about them.Public teachers should without fear rebuke the sins and blasphemies even of the great; they may rely, in doing so, on the Divine help.Lange:O ye court-preachers, learn of John what your duty is: he was no court-preacher, and yet he bore fearless testimony to the truth.Hedinger:Devotion is always honorable, even in the eyes of the most frenzied children of the world.Carnality befouls the best thoughts.Quesnel:The festivities of the world are the best appointed tables of sin.Zeisius:The poor have to give the rich their sweat and blood, and they riot in the proceeds, etc.Vain swearing.Promises made over the wine-cup.Osiander:At the court there are often heavy payments for ridiculous trifles.A foolish promise brings repentance after it.Quesnel:The oath is sinful, and therefore null, when it cannot be carried out but with sin and injustice.Lange:No servant or official should let himself be made an instrument of injustice; rather should he let everything go.Christians pay honor to the pious on their death, and carry them reverently to their tombs.Gerlach:Close connection between debauchery and cruelty.Gossner:Thus does the world deal with Gods ambassadors.Bauer:See, what a marriage this was!
Footnotes:
[6]Mar 6:16.The reading which drops , (B., D., L., ., &c.), is strongly authenticated; but the omission is explained here by the similarity of and .The omission of (Tischendorf, after B., D., L., .) is not sufficiently supported.
[7]Mar 6:20.The reading (was often in doubt) has B., L. in its favor. So Ewald and Meyer. But it is probably a modification of the strong .
[8]Mar 6:22.Instead of the Participle , the Codd. B., C., L., and others read , and . This construction loses the emphatic preparation of the words: Then the king said unto the maiden. But the Greek construction of the Recepta may seem to be simply a softening of the text.
[9]He whom men call John the Baptist, i.e.Ed.
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
(14) And king Herod heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him. (15) Others said, That it is Elias, and others said, That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets. (16) But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead. (17) For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison, for Herodias’ sake, his brother Philip’s wife: for he had married her. (18) For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife. (19) Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not: (20) For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man, and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly. (21) And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birth-day made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee; (22) And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod, and them that sat with him, the king, said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I. will give it thee. (23) And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask Of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. (24) And she went forth and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? and she said, The head of John the Baptist. (25) And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist. (26) And the king was exceeding, sorry; yet for his oath’s sake, and for their sakes which sat with him , he would not reject her. (27) And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought. And he went, and beheaded him in the prison, (28) And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother. (29) And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corps, and laid it in a tomb.
In addition to what was remarked on the parallel passage, Mat 14:1 , etc. to which I refer the Reader, I would beg to observe, what an awful view is here, held forth to us, of the horrors of a guilty conscience. There was not the smallest resemblance between the LORD JESUS CHRIST, and his servant and herald, John the Baptist. John did no miracles: and the LORD JESUS was continually manifesting his commission in this way. John came in a way of austerity and fasting; but JESUS most endearing, and as the friend of publicans and sinners; so that nothing could be more unlike each other. But Herod was too much alarmed to mark the difference. This is John, said he, whom I murdered. Reader! what must the everlasting horrors, and self-reproaches of the miserable be, when in this life only their consciences are so haunted before the time?
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
14 And king Herod heard of him ; (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.
Ver. 14. For his name was spread ] By miracles, as by wings the gospel quickly spread far and near. Eusebius saith that the gospel spread at first through the world like a sunbeam. a When Luther first stirred, it was carried through the Christian world as on angels’ wings. This was that miracle, which we, in these last times, are to look for.
a .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
14 29. ] HEROD HEARS OF IT. BY OCCASION, THE DEATH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST IS RELATED. Mat 14:1-12 .Luk 9:7-9Luk 9:7-9 . (The account of John’s death is not in Luke.) Our account is, as usual, the fullest of details. See notes on Matt.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
14. ] Herod was not king properly, but only tetrarch : see as above. He heard most probably of the preaching of the twelve .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mar 6:14-16 . Herod and Jesus (Mat 14:1-2 , Luk 9:7-9 ).
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Mar 6:14 . : Herod heard , what? Christ’s name, . . ( ., a parenthesis)? Or all that is stated in Mar 6:14-15 , court opinion about Jesus (from to , a parenthesis)? Both views have been held, but the simplest view is that Herod heard of the doings of the Twelve, though it is difficult to believe that the report of their mission was the first tidings he had received of the great work of Jesus, especially in view of the understanding between the Pharisees and Herodians mentioned in Mar 3:6 . In the reports which reached Herod the Twelve were merged in their Master. He was the hero of the whole Galilean movement. Such is the import of the statement that His name had become known. : strictly, Herod was only a tetrarch (Matthew and Luke), but it was natural for Mark writing for the Roman world to use this title, as it was applied freely in Rome to all eastern rulers. , he said, i.e. , Herod. , the reading of [42] [43] , and adopted by W.H [44] , puts the saying into the mouth of the court people. Matthew has taken it the former way, Luke the latter. The theory that Jesus was John risen looks more like the creation of a troubled conscience than the suggestion of light-minded courtiers, unless indeed it was thrown out by them as a jest, and yet it appears to be the aim of the evangelist first to report the opinions of others and then to give the king’s, emphatically endorsing one of the hypotheses. , is risen, and is now alive and active , the latter the point emphasised. .: vide notes on Matthew.
[42] Codex Vaticanus (sc. iv.), published in photographic facsimile in 1889 under the care of the Abbate Cozza-Luzi.
[43] Codex Bezae
[44] Westcott and Hort.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mar 6:14-16
14And King Herod heard of it, for His name had become well known; and people were saying, “John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him.” 15But others were saying, “He is Elijah.” And others were saying, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” 16But when Herod heard of it, he kept saying, “John, whom I beheaded, has risen!”
Mar 6:14 “King Herod” “King” was not the official title of Herod Antipas. He was called Tetrarch, which meant “a rule by four.” He was the son of Herod the Great and a Samaritan woman. He ruled Perea and Galilee between 4 B.C. and A.D. 39 when he was exiled for asking Caesar to make him a King.
See Special Topic on The Family of Herod the Great at Mar 1:14.
“people were saying John the Baptist has risen from the dead” This reflects the Pharisaic belief in a physical resurrection (cf. Act 23:6; Act 24:21; Heb 6:2). This was another attempt to explain away Jesus’ power and authority (i.e., the religious leaders attribute it to Satan or the demonic; the hometown folks deny it because of their familiarity with Jesus’ childhood; these people attribute it to John the Baptist or some other OT prophet).
Mar 6:15 “Elijah” This showed the Messianic implications of Jesus’ ministry. This relates to the specific predictions in. Mal 3:1-2; Mal 4:5-6.
“He is a prophet like one of the prophets of old” This shows the people sensed a new authority in His teaching that had not been in Israel for hundreds of years, since Malachi (or the author of Chronicles). It also reflects the Mosaic Messianic prophecy of Deu 18:15 ff about the coming of a prophet like Moses.
Mar 6:16 “whom I beheaded” This shows Herod’s guilty conscience (cf. Mat 14:10; Luk 9:9) and lack of information about the relationship between John and Jesus.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Herod. See App-109.
was risen = had been raised.
from = out front. Greek. ek. App-104. See Mat 17:9
the dead. No Art. Sec App-139.
therefore = 0n account of (App-104. Mar 6:2) this.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
14-29.] HEROD HEARS OF IT. BY OCCASION, THE DEATH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST IS RELATED. Mat 14:1-12. Luk 9:7-9. (The account of Johns death is not in Luke.) Our account is, as usual, the fullest of details. See notes on Matt.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mar 6:14. , manifested [spread abroad]) Jesus had not come to be known by many before that Johns death became known, otherwise they would not have supposed Him to be John. This observation is to be marked in opposition to those who extend the length of the times after the baptism of John too much.-, for) Except for the public rumour, Herod would not have known of Him. A palace is generally late in hearing of spiritual news.-, he said) The plural is given in Luk 9:7, and the circumstances of the case even in Mark require that number; for there are enumerated the opinions of men concerning Him, one of which in particular above the rest is indicated in fine in Mar 6:16, as having seemed probable to Herod. Therefore the parenthesis, if it be desirable to mark one before , ought to close, not at , but at , Mar 6:15, so that the of Mar 6:14 should be evidently resumed in the of Mar 6:16. Nor should Mark thus be said to ascribe to Herod twice, although to others not even once, the opinion which Herod received from others, especially inasmuch as Herod was more in doubt than the others. Therefore either ,[47] they were saying, ought to be read; or else , he said, does not refer to Herod; but the participle [one] saying is to be supplied in an indefinite sense to that verb, as , said one, is often used, viz. , one saying [the sayer] being understood. See on Chrysost. de Sacerd., p. 477; Glass. Can. 23, de Verbo; and Hiller, Syntagm., p. 325.
[47] Tisch. reads with ACGL Vulg. c. Lachm. with B and D () ab.-ED. and TRANSL.
The Germ. Vers. does not follow the observation of the Gnomon in this place, but the margin of both editions, preferring the reading .-E. B.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Mar 6:14-29
3. THE OPINIONS OF HEROD AND OTHERS ABOUT JESUS
Mar 6:14-29
(Mat 14:1-12; Luk 9:7-9)
14 And king Herod–Called by Matthew and Luke “Tetrarch,” a Greek word, meaning “a ruler of the fourth part,” and which became a common title for those who governed any part of a province, subject only to the Roman emperor. This was Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great. His dominion comprised Galilee, Samaria, and Perea. He first married a daughter of Aretas, king of Arabia Retrea; but later took Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. Aretas, indignant at the insult offered his daughter, waged war against Herod and defeated him. This defeat, according to Josephus (Ant. XVIII. 5, 2), was regarded by many as a punishment for the murder of John. In A.D. 39 he was banished to France, whither Herodias followed him. Both died in exile. He was sensual, weak (Mat 14:9), cunning (Luke 13.:32), unscrupulous (Luk 3:19), and superstitious (verse 20; Luk 9:9).
heard thereof; for his name had become known: and he said, John the Baptizer is risen from the dead,–The guilty conscience of Herod suggested that Jesus was John, whom he had beheaded, now risen from the dead.
and therefore do these powers work in him.–Herod thought because he is risen from the dead, the powers, that is, superhuman or miraculous powers, work or are active in him. John did not work miracles (Joh 10:41); but now, Herod reasons, the powers are active in John’s person because he was come forth from the dead, having thus acquired new spiritual and miraculous power. His fears may have been excited lest Jesus might become a political rival, or lest his superhuman powers might be directed against him. According to Luke (Luk 9:7) he “was much perplexed” because some said that John was risen.
15 But others said, It is Elijah.–The coming of Elijah had been foretold by the prophet Malachi (Mal 4:5) and was expected by the Jews. John was indeed the Elijah that was to come.’ (Mat 1:14.)
And others said, It is a prophet, even as one of the prophets.–There was a diversity of opinions among the people as to who Jesus was. These were not ready to regard him as the prophet Elijah, but as one of the old prophets, though not so great as Elijah. This is the general estimate of the people concerning Jesus. In opinion they were not agreed.
16 But Herod, when he heard thereof, said, John, whom I beheaded,–“I” is emphatic, made so by his feeling of guilt. Here he confesses his guilt.
he is risen.–His conscience would not allow him to abandon the idea that John had risen from the dead. His guilty conscience impelled him to this opinion. The memory of his crime doubtless haunted him so that he could not get away from the idea.
[We have presented in this case a diversity of character. Not the least important of the revelations of the Bible is that of human character. Man should know himself. He knows things only relatively. Without a correct standard no true judgment can be formed. God in his own character gives the true standard by which all character is to be tested. The delineations of the various characters laid open in the Bible by God, whose knowledge is perfect and judgment just and righteous, are a profitable study to man. In this is presented John, the stern, fearless, and impartial reprover of wrong in the subject and in the king, even though it brought to him imprisonment and death; King Herod, with strong convictions of right, overruled by unlawful attachment to a bad woman and false pride to appear consistent before his courtiers; a wicked and vindictive woman, relentless in cruelty, sacrificing her daughter’s good and making her an accomplice in crime to gratify her resentfulness on account of the reproval of her wrongs, the daughter, with fleshly charms, using them to gratify the mother’s vengeance.]
17 For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison–At Macherus seven miles northeast of the Dead Sea. (Josephus Ant., 18:5, 12.)
for the sake of Herodias.–This states why John was cast into prison, on account of the instigation of the adulterous woman, a fact omitted by Matthew. Herodias was a granddaughter of Herod the Great, daughter of Aristobulus, and niece of Herod Antipas. As Jezebel was the foe of the first Elijah (1Ki 19:2), so was Herodias of the second.
his brother Philip’s wife; for he had married her.–Not the tetrarch of Iturea (Luk 3:1), but another brother, who lived in private life, having been disinherited by his father , and thus uncle to Herodias, whom he married. But she, preferring royalty, left him, and married Herod Antipas, who, to make way for her, divorced his own wife, daughter of Aretas, king of Arabia, supposed to be the one mentioned by Paul in 2Co 11:32. Philip was half brother of Herod Antipas. The imprisonment and murder of John had taken place previous to this time. It is here recalled and narrated in connection with the life of Jesus at this time, because Herod insisted that Jesus was John raised from the dead. John had reproved Herod for taking his brother’s wife from him and marrying her. Herod claimed to be an observer of the Jewish law. As such he came under the teaching of John, who, regardless of his high position and his power, reproved him as he would his humblest subject. This is not common. Men, preachers, flatter the great and honorable ones of earth to secure their favor. A great source of corruption in the church is the temptation to preachers to palliate and overlook the sins of the great–to flatter them to secure their favor and help. They often persuade themselves that they do good in this, as the favor obtained helps forward the cause of truth. But the approved servants of God pursued a wholly different course. They reproved the rich equally with the poor, and Peter said to Simon, “Thy silver perish with thee.” Every preacher ought to say the same, and make no impression that money can secure immunity from strict obedience to the law or favor of God without consecration. When he reproved them Herod seems to have resented the reproof not on his own account, but at the instigation of Herodias. For her sake–to gratify her–he imprisoned John. While he did this much, he refused for the time to go further to please her. But one step in the wrong direction prepares for another.]
18 For John said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife.–Here is John’s rebuke and which led to his death. [It was contrary to the law of Moses, as it has been contrary to the law of God at all times, for a man to take the wife of another. Adultery with a married woman has always been a higher crime than lewdness with an unmarried one. To take a brother’s wife or the wife of a near kinsman is worse than to take the wife of another. (Lev 18:16; Lev 20:21.) John had not only reproved Herod for this sin (Luk 3:19), “but Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother’s wife, and for all the evil things which Herod had done.” Although claiming to obey the law of Moses, he let his interest, his lusts, his ambition, his personal feelings, his wicked associates draw him into the commission of many wrongs. For these John fearlessly reproved him as a sinner.]
19 And Herodias set herself against him, and desired to kill him;–She would kill the physician who only could cure her disease. Doubtless she reasoned that if Herod yielded to John’s advice, she was a lost and ruined woman, dethroned, abandoned, disgraced, with nowhere to go. Either John must die, or her whole life was lost, was the way she viewed the situation.
and she could not;–Could not as yet persuade Herod to give the necessary orders. The reason is given in the next verse. [The reproof for the unlawful marriage was as much against her as against Herod. They were partners in guilt, and John reproved them both. God regards sins alike in men and women. Only as man was the head and the stronger, he holds him to a stricter accountability as the more responsible of the two. Society holds woman the more responsible of the two, especially in all crimes of this character, but God holds man. Woman is by nature more gentle and kind, more sympathetic to suffering, more emotional than man; yet when aroused she is more bitter, unrelenting, and vindictive. Intensity of emotional feeling is her character. Whichever way it is directed she is more intense than man; hence when aroused and infuriated she is more cruel. Woman is not apt to be lukewarm. She is either hot or cold. When a Christian she is more earnest than man; when wicked, more wicked. Herodias would have killed John, but could not. Herod restrained her. He imprisoned John for her, but would go no further. But one step in the wrong only makes ready for another.]
20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man,–Here we get a glimpse of the esteem in which Herod held John. He was just, righteous, upright in his relations toward men;and holy, pious and devoted toward God.
and kept him safe.–From the designs of Herodias and her friends. Herod did not wish to slay John. He and his wife were divided on the question and working in opposite directions. The one seeking his life, the other protecting it.
And when he heard him, he was much perplexed;–Perplexed whether to obey his conscience or to continue in his sins. He wanted to please Herodias, but he dare not kill John on account of the people. Herod was afraid of everything except God. John feared God, but no human being.
and he heard him gladly.–[Herod knew he had sinned. He had enough sense of right to know John had done right in reproving him. So as a just man he feared him. Matthew says, “When he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet”–which does not contradict Mark, but shows that fear of the multitude coincided with his own sense of right in restraining him from murdering John when he would have done so to please Herodias. Many diverse influences combine often to direct a man’s course. His own and the people’s respect for John made him hear John gladly, and do many things he commanded. Men are often willing to do many things God commands, but are unwilling to yield up some special sin. Herod could do many things, but could not give up his adulterous marriage at the teaching of John. The dear sin is the test of our love of God.]
21 And when a convenient day was come,–Convenient day for Herodias to execute her malicious designs. Wine, dissipation, licentiousness were all favorable to this.
that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, and the high captains, and the chief men of Galilee;–The first men, the chief men of the land. [A favorable day for Herodias to carry out her purpose of vengeance on John. It was the birthday of Herod. A feast was given to the lords and chief estates–under rulers of the different sections and estates of Galilee–and his high military officers were present.]
22 and when the daughter of Herodias–A daughter by Philip, and her name, according to Josephus, was Salome. Later she was married to her uncle Philip, the tetrarch of Iturea. (Luk 3:1.)
herself came in and danced,–Dancing was usually with the accompaniment of tambourines or bells attached to the fingers, and with songs. “No reputable maiden could ever have done what she did. The dancing girls in the Orient are exceedingly popular as entertainers, but their profession is one the practice of which, it is not too much to say, is ruinous alike to themselves and to the spectators.” (W. Ewing.)
she pleased Herod and them that sat at meat with him; and the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee.–The scheme succeeded. [This was no doubt a daughter by her former husband, as she was not Herod’s daughter. She was young, no doubt with bodily charms, and accomplished in the art of pleasing. Herod at the feast, as was usual, drank freely of wine and strong drink, had his animal feelings excited and exhilarated, was flattered and aroused by the honors done him, was thrown off his usual prudence, and made a promise that he afterwards regretted. He rashly told the young woman he would give whatsoever she desired, not thinking the revengeful feeling of the mother would lead her to make the request she did. This was promising much for little. Excited by the dancing of the girl, he made that rash promise.]
23 And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom.–A wild and reckless promise that could have been made only by one who had lost his wits by drunkenness. A drinking man is not a safe business man. Herod was willing to give away half of his kingdom for the sight of an immoral dance. Poor fool! But how many in our day give away the whole kingdom of their souls, with health and hope, prosperity, peace, and goodness–yea, the whole kingdom of heaven–for the paltry price of a glass of wine; the pleasure of the table; the acquisition of a little money! The race of Esau still lives, who sell their birthright for a mess of pottage.
24 And she went out, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask?–Which of all the beautiful things offered her–palaces, jewels, gorgeous apparel–all that a girl’s heart could desire.
And she said, The head of John the Baptizer.–By what argument could she persuade her daughter to ask such a gift instead of riches, palaces, and jewels? [Matthew (14:8) says, “She, being put forward by her mother.” This does not mean instructed before the offer was made, but before she decided what she would ask, she consulted her mother, and at her instigation she asked the head of John the Baptist. What a choice under such an offer! What a throwing away of an opportunity! Wealth, honors, goods to the half of a kingdom and the choice that of a bleeding head severed from the body!
And then to think that such a choice was made at the suggestion of her mother! Most mothers, even the wicked and worldly, would have asked place, position, honor, and riches; but here the bitter revengeful feelings of the mother at John for having rebuked her wrong blinded her to the interests of her daughter, and made her ask for that which could bring no good or pleasure, present or future, to the daughter, but could gratify only her own wicked and spiteful feelings. Wicked, revengeful feelings, cherished and gratified, more completely destroy the happiness and peace of the heart that cherishes them than any other influence. They blind to the true interest of ourselves and families. God warns against cherishing them: “Vengeance belongeth unto me; I will recompense, saith the Lord.” (Rom 12:19.) “Not rendering evil for evil, or reviling for reviling; but contrariwise blessing; for here-unto were ye called, that ye should inherit a blessing.” (1Pe 3:9.) Christians are called upon to suffer wrong, and return good for evil, that they may be fitted to inherit a blessing from God. Parents often gratify their vindictive feelings, deprive themselves of good, and lead their families to misery.]
25 And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou forthwith give me on a platter the head of John the Baptist.–[It was cruel to desire John’s death. It was more than cruel, coarse, and brutal to desire the bleeding head brought her during the feast in a charger, or on a waiter or tray. What a dish ordered for a feast by the young woman! Woman with her strong, emotional nature and intensity of feeling in the way of right, virtue, and purity, is an angel of love and mercy. Traveling the downward road of impurity, sin, and crime, she is a demon of cruelty and crime.]
26 And the king was exceeding sorry;–He was sorry but not penitent. He was sorry for her that she should make such a choice. He was sorry that he should be called on to have a man beheaded that he knew was a just and holy man, who had only done his duty. Herod respected the man who was just and upright, although he himself let his lust and passion hinder him from so acting. He was sorry to see the just and upright man beheaded. His sense of justice protested; his conscience was not seared. He was not totally depraved. He was led on step by step from one degree of wrong to another. His first wrong step was to have John imprisoned to please his wicked wife.]
but for the sake of his oaths, and of them that sat at meat, he would not reject her.–He granted the request though against his conscience. [Herod imprisoned John. This was unjust and sinful. He did it at the suggestion of the wicked woman. The devil used the woman. He waited and watched his opportunity until the king was aroused with wine, surrounded by his courtieurs and the great ones of earth. He is excited by the dancing of the girl, and makes the rash promise and confirms it with an oath. The devil sees at once his opportunity–his pride, his show of regard for his oath, the humiliation there would be in drawing back from his oath in the presence of his great ones. He uses the woman again, and the king had John beheaded, and his head brought into the presence of the guests in a charger. How must Herod feel after having been so drawn into what he knew was wrong! The only time we can safely resist wrong is before the first step is taken in that direction. There is another principle involved here that ought to be studied. Herod made a foolish promise. It became a wicked promise when connected with the request made under it. For the sake of the oath he beheaded John. His pride prompted him to perform the oath when he knew it was wrong. What was his duty after the oath was made and he saw it led to sin? Many young people especially say when an oath is made or a promise given it should be fulfilled. If the making of the oath was wrong, it was a greater sin to perform it. Two wrongs do not make a right, but doubles the wrong.]
27 And straightway the king sent forth a soldier of his guard, and commanded to bring his head:–It seems the king had the authority to have John beheaded without a trial of justice.
and he went and behaded him in the prison,–[He did this out of false pride–a false principle of honor. Out of regard for a rash promise and an oath to do wrong he became a murderer of a holy and just person. The promise was a sin. The fulfillment made him a cruel murderer.]
28 and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the damsel; and the damsel gave it to her mother.–[What a present! What a dish! The bleeding head of an upright and holy man of God to grace the birthday feast of a king! How one sinner leads another into sin! How yielding to one sin leads to a greater one! How false principles, false pride, an improper regard for the opinions of others, and of our own wrong promises lead on to deeper crime! How, when we start wrong, influences multiply to lead us on deeper and deeper into wrong!]
29 And when his disciples heard thereof, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb.–Where, we do not know. Herodias was in possession of the head. Whether she allowed it to be buried with the body is not known. [It was done in prison. His disciples without heard of it, and “came, and took up the corpse, and buried him; and they went and told Jesus.”]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
CHAPTER 25
John the Baptist Beheaded
And king Herod heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him. Others said, That it is Elias. And others said, That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets. But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead. For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias sake, his brother Philips wife: for he had married her. For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brothers wife. Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not: For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly. And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee; And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist. And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oaths sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother. And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb
(Mar 6:14-29)
We have before us Marks divinely inspired account of the cruel, barbaric murder of Gods faithful servant, John the Baptist. I have never understood why so many seem to be ashamed to wear the name Baptist, when it was so honorably worn by John, the first Baptist. I count it an honor to wear the name he wore and pray for grace to walk in his steps until my work on this earth is done. Mark tells the melancholy story of Johns slaughter by Herod in greater detail than either Matthew or Luke. Always read it with the reverence it deserves, praying that God the Holy Spirit will graciously seal to our hearts the lessons it contains.
Human Depravity
Here we are given a very plain display of humanity. As we read these verses, we cannot avoid the fact that the human race is fallen, sinful, and utterly depraved. We do not like to acknowledge that fact, because such an acknowledgement forces us to acknowledge our own depravity. Yet, the wickedness of Herod, Herodias, and her daughter is the wickedness of your heart and mine (Mat 15:19-20). How savage, cruel, and barbaric proud man is! Rather than lose face before men, Herod had a man he knew to be innocent of any crime, a man he believed to be the servant of God, beheaded! And the evil one man is capable of performing every man is capable of performing. I hope we truly recognize that fact. Robert Hawker rightly observed, Until this is feelingly known in the heart, never will the infinitely precious redemption by the Lord Jesus Christ be understood or valued. The seeds of sin are the same in every heart, because of the sin and fall of our father Adam. Until the Spirit of God convinces us of that fact, we will never know and acknowledge that it is Christ alone who puts a difference between Israel and Egypt, between his chosen and the world (1Co 4:7).
Mans Conscience
Herods conscience was so tormenting to him, after the murder of John the Baptist, that when he heard about the miracles the Lord Jesus performed, he was terrified at the thought that John had come back from the dead to destroy him. Herod convinced himself that it was so, simply because his conscience tormented him with guilt. How great, how completely unimaginable the everlasting torments of the damned must be in hell, where the gnawing worm of a guilty conscience never dies!
God has not left himself without a witness, even in the depraved hearts of fallen men. A sinners conscience is an amazing thing. Like the rest of our nature, our consciences are depraved and sinful. Yet, truth has an amazing power over the consciences of men. Herod the king was afraid of John the preacher, while John was living. And, even after he had been dead for some time, the memory of the Baptist street preacher and the sound of his voice tormented him.
Herod feared John the Baptist. Felix trembled as he listened to Paul preach the gospel. Agrippa was almost persuaded, as the imprisoned preacher reasoned with him about the things of God. Fallen and depraved as man is there is within him a voice called conscience, a voice that either accuses or excuses him, a voice that cannot be silenced, a voice that can make even great and powerful kings tremble.
This voice, the conscience, is one of many things that distinguish men from beasts. The conscience is, or is at least the reflection and result of the law of God written upon the hearts of all men by their Creator.
The conscience may be temporarily quietened by many things. But the only thing that can purge a guilty conscience is the blood of Christ. It takes the same thing to speak peace to the troubled conscience that it takes to satisfy the law of God, the sin-atoning sacrifice of Gods dear Son.
Herod was a terribly vile and wicked man. Luke tells us that John reproved him for all the wickedness he had done, though Matthew and Mark mention only the two most notable, obvious, commonly known things practiced by the king. Herod was guilty of incest and adultery. Not only had he taken his brother Philips wife, divorcing his own, but he publicly flaunted his depraved behavior.
According to Josephus, the Jewish historian, the situation was this: Herod being sent for to Rome, called at his brother Philips by the way, where he fell into an amorous intrigue with his wife, and agreed, upon his return, to take her with him and marry her; as he accordingly did, and divorced his own wife, who was daughter of Aretas, king of Arabia Petraea; which occasioned a war between Herod and his wifes father, in which the former was beaten. (Quoted by Gill)
Gods Faithful Servant
For these public disgraces, these public displays of contempt for Gods holy law, John publicly reproved the king. For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brothers wife. In doing so, this faithful man stands as an example and pattern for every gospel preacher to follow. In this day and age, when everyone, from the white house to the wash house, is advocating and promoting homosexuality, lesbianism, fornication, and adultery, those things are still brazen, contemptuous violations of Gods law, for which things sake the wrath of God cometh upon the children of disobedience. Those who live in such debauchery not only bring upon themselves the wrath of God, they continually demoralize society, teaching all who are under their influence to disregard God. They wreck families for generations to come.
John the Baptist, when called to preach in the kings court, spoke to Herod, Herodias, and the assembled crowd, with the courage and boldness of a lion pursuing a lamb. He did not smooth his words, soften his language, or try to find a way to get out of telling Herod exactly what God required him to say.
Many men, like Balaam, try to serve both God and their own bellies. They do not exactly lie to men. They do not exactly deny Christ and the gospel of his grace. However, they try to make the gospel palatable to unregenerate men by stating things very carefully so that they do not offend their hearers. Some men call such behavior wisdom. I call it compromise and treason.
That man who serves Christ, that man who is led by and filled with the Holy Spirit carefully words his message to expose mans sin and enmity against God, probe his conscience, and demand that he acknowledge and bow to the truth of God (Act 4:5-12).
Gods servant, John the Baptist, was faithful in his preaching and faithful in his behavior. Herod knew that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly. The Spirit of God tells us, A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach (1Ti 1:2). Gods servants must, for the gospels sake, live as blameless men in a crooked and perverse generation. I do not mean that Gods servants are perfect in their behavior. They are not. They do not claim to be. Neither do I suggest that wicked men will acknowledge and willfully honor faithful preachers. They seldom do. However, God requires that those men who preach the gospel behave in such a manner that they do not give men a reason to hold them in contempt, or give Gods enemies occasion to blaspheme. Herod did not repent of his sin, but he knew that John the Baptist was Gods man and that, as such, he was blameless in his behavior, just and holy.
Point of Rebellion
Herod also demonstrates the fact that God always meets sinners at their point of rebellion and demands surrender. People may go far and do much in the exercise of religion and yet miss Christ and his salvation, because they refuse to yield at their point of rebellion. Herod went further than many. We are told that he feared John. He observed him and knew that he was a just man and holy. He heard him gladly and did many things in response to his preaching. However, there was one thing Herod would not do. He would not give up Herodias. He would not give up his adultery. Therefore he is in hell today!
Let all be warned. We will either bow to Christ at our point of rebellion, or we will perish in our sins under the wrath of God. Christ demands surrender. Naaman had to dip in the Jordan seven times, or die as a leper. Herod had to give up Herodias or perish. And you and I will either surrender to Christ as Lord at that very spot where we most ardently desire to have our own way, or we will perish in hell.
We must keep back nothing. It is better far to cut off your right arm and pluck out your right eye, and enter into the kingdom of God halt and blind than to go to hell with them. It is not enough that a person admire his favorite preacher and hear him gladly. Christ demands the surrender of our hearts and lives to his dominion as our Lord (Luk 14:25-33).
Often Despised
Another thing displayed in this passage is the fact that those who will not hear Gods messenger often become his implacable enemy. As Herodias sat beside Herod and heard John, she was seething. No doubt, she hid her anger, smiled politely, and may have even said, as John greeted her at the door, You sure stepped on our toes today. But from that moment, she was Johns resolved enemy, determined to destroy him if she could. Like a lion waiting to catch its prey, she waited for her opportunity to kill him.
We must never be surprised when faithful men are vilified by those who hate God. Elijah was accused of being the cause of Israels troubles. Ahab hated Micaiah, because he never prophesied good things to him, but only evil. And Herodias hated John the Baptist, because he exposed her adultery. You can mark it down as a matter of certainty, when a man or woman suddenly turns against a preacher, though he or she may not know how, when, or where, that preacher has, by his faithful preaching of the gospel, stuck his finger right in the sore spot of their hearts and exposed their sin.
It is no disgrace to a preacher to be unpopular, disliked, and evil spoken of by men. It is not an honor, but a dishonor for a preacher to be applauded by the community. Our Lord said to his disciples, Woe unto you when all men speak well of you! We must never forget it.
Dangerous Reveling
Herod threw a big birthday party for himself. Everybody who was anybody was there. The place was crowded with people, eating, drinking, dancing, and having a good time in harmless fun. But when the harmless fun was over, sitting in the laughing queens lap on a silver platter was the head of John the Baptist!
Herodias and her daughter knew what a weakness Herod had for women. So the queen sent her daughter in to do a striptease act before Herod. When his passions were hot, in a moment of unguarded excitement, the king made a ridiculous oath publicly. He promised the stripper anything she requested, up to half his kingdom. Now, she had him exactly where she wanted him. Herod backed himself into a corner, from which he could not extricate himself without embarrassment. And, rather than embarrass himself before all those important people, he did something that haunted him until his last breath, something that continues to haunt his tormented soul in hell today. He brutally murdered John the Baptist, a just and holy man who had been faithful to his soul!
Perhaps you are thinking, Whats the point? The point is just this: People often do things at or immediately after times of great reveling, when passions are high, which they normally would not do, things which they regret for the rest of their lives. We would be wise always to avoid giving space to the devil. We would be wise never to willingly put ourselves in the place of temptation. Mischief and misery often follow the harmless pleasures of this world.
Young people often wonder why their parents refuse to allow them to go to the parties all their friends get to attend, why they refuse to let them run around all hours of the night, why they do not seem to trust them to always do what is right. It is because they know what can happen when passions are high. None of us knows what we are capable of doing. Mischief and misery often follow the harmless pleasures of this world.
A Better World
Our best things are yet to come. We must never look for good in or from this world. John the Baptist was beheaded. Stephen was stoned to death. The apostles were imprisoned, tortured, and cruelly murdered. This was the worlds thank you to those faithful men, of whom the world was not worthy, for their labors. The histories of these men are meant to remind us that our reward is not here. Our rest, our crown, our wages, our reward is on the other side of the grave. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable!
There is a day of retribution. There is a time of reaping. There is a glorious harvest yet to come. The value of Christianity is not to be measured by the things of this world, by the things of time, or by the things that are seen. We are moving rapidly to a better world; and Heaven will make amends for all! For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. As it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.
Lifes day will soon be oer, all storms forever past,
Well cross the great divide to glory, safe at last;
Well share the joys of heaven a harp, a home, a crown,
The tempter will be banished, well lay our burden down!
It will be worth it all when we see Jesus!
Lifes trials will seem so small, when we see Christ!
One glimpse of His dear face all sorrow will erase,
So bravely run the race till we see Christ.
Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible
Herod
Son of the Herod of our Lord’s nativity; also vs. Mar 1:16-18; Mar 1:20-22 See margin ref., Mat 14:1 (See Scofield “Mat 14:1”)
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
king Herod: Mar 6:22, Mar 6:26, Mar 6:27, Mat 14:1, Mat 14:2, Luk 3:1, Luk 9:7-9, Luk 13:31, Luk 23:7-12
his name: Mar 1:28, Mar 1:45, 2Ch 26:8, 2Ch 26:15, Mat 9:31, 1Th 1:8
Reciprocal: Mat 9:26 – the fame hereof Mat 13:57 – A prophet Mat 14:9 – the king Mat 17:12 – but Mar 8:28 – John Mar 9:13 – and they Luk 4:37 – the fame Luk 7:17 – General Luk 13:32 – I cast Luk 23:8 – for Joh 8:9 – being
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Chapter 2.
Herod and John the Baptist
“And king Herod heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him. Others said, That it is Elias. And others said, That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets. But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead. For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias’ sake, his brother Philip’s wife: for he had married her. For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife. Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not: For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly. And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee; And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist. And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath’s sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother. And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb.”-Mar 6:14-29.
Good News spreads.
The mission of the Twelve and the excitement caused by the works of power wrought through their hands (to which we find a reference in the closing sentence of the preceding paragraph) naturally spread abroad the name and fame of Jesus. For we may be sure that the Apostles made it clear to the people, as Peter and John did at a later day, that it was not by their own wisdom, or skill, or power, that they accomplished these wonderful cures, but in the name of “Jesus of Nazareth.” And thus all Galilee rang with talk about this Jesus, so that at last it reached the palace and the ears of the King. “King Herod heard thereof.”
-Amongst the People.
The report about Jesus was, I imagine, good news to the mass of the people of Galilee. If any were sick or had dear ones sick, the report about this Man who could cleanse the leper, cast out devils, give sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and life to the dead, must have opened a door of hope for them. And, quite apart from sickness, the advent of a One in whom such mighty works manifested themselves must have made the people at large realise that God had come near them. For when they heard of Jesus, they said, “This is Elijah,” and others, “He is a prophet even as one of the prophets”-that is to say, as true a prophet as Isaiah or Jeremiah, or Amos or Hosea, or any one of the recognised order of prophets, of whom they boasted, and in whom they took such great pride. They did not, it is true, rise to the great faith that Jesus was Messiah Himself. But the report of His doings filled them with a solemn joy; they felt the Kingdom of God had come near to them.
-And reaches the King.
“And King Herod heard thereof”; but it was no good tidings to him. The report about Jesus fell upon him like a clap of doom. It terrified him. It flung him into a perfect panic of fear. When he heard about Jesus and His wonderful works, his knees shook and his face blanched. He saw ghosts, and he gasped out, “John, whom I beheaded-he is risen from the dead!” Thereupon the Evangelist proceeds to tell us why it was that Jesus suggested John, and why it was that the thought of John filled this King Herod’s heart with mortal terror.
Well-justified Alarm.
It is a ghastly story. You know it well, and I scarcely need repeat it. Herod’s shameful and incestuous union with Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife; John the Baptist’s plain and unvarnished rebuke of the monarch’s sin; his consequent imprisonment in the castle of Machrus; Herod’s birthday feast; Salome’s degrading and lascivious dance; the King’s drunken vow to the girl who had so disgraced her sex; her demand for John the Baptist’s head, and the murder of the prophet to glut a woman’s hate-these are the steps in the lurid and awful story.
A Haunting Crime.
It was a story Herod was for ever trying to forget. For he had been rushed into a crime he loathed by the stronger will of his wicked and cruel wife. He knew John for a just man and a holy. He reverenced him. He heard him gladly. The suggestion that he would ever imbrue his hands in the Baptist’s blood would have shocked Herod. “Is thy servant a dog,” he would have said, “that he should do this thing?” But he had done it. Driven by false shame and false pride, and the stronger will of the malignant Herodias, he had done the very thing he loathed. And ever since he had done it he had been trying to forget it. He had been trying to bury the ghastly crime out of sight. But it would not be buried. Here we see the wretched king confronted by his terrible sin. The report about Jesus did this for Herod-it conjured up the ghost of the murdered John. “John!” he cried, and you can almost hear the sentence come in jerky gasps from his ashen lips-“John, whom I beheaded,-he is risen from the dead.”
An Unwilling Criminal.
When I read this sordid and awful story, I can find it in ray heart to be sorry for Herod. For this very paragraph, which tells us of his wickedness and shame, is not without indications that under happier home conditions Herod might have been a very different man. His treatment of John the Baptist shows this much-that he was not insusceptible to the appeal of goodness and purity. Herodias hated, with a hate as cruel as the grave, the plain-spoken Baptist. From the first she set herself against him and desired to kill him. But, however pliable Herod might be in the hands of his wicked queen in other respects, he obstinately refused to yield to her wishes in this. “She could not,” the Evangelist says, i.e. she could not kill him; “for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous man and a holy, and kept him safe.”
The Supremacy of Character.
Now all this, as the commentators tell us, is an illustration of the supremacy of character. It is a testimony to the essential greatness of John. The king and his prisoner seemed to have changed places. It is not the prisoner who fears the king, it is the king who fears the prisoner. “Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous man and a holy.” But if you look at that sentence for a moment, you will begin to see in it more than a tribute to the kingliness of John’s character-as the commentators point-you will begin to see that to a certain extent it is a testimony to Herod himself. Whatever Herod became in later days-and it was something terrible enough, seeing that he was able without a qualm to make a mock of Christ Himself-at this stage in his career his case was not hopeless. He was sensitive to goodness. He could feel the appeal of the beauty of holiness.
Herod as a Man.
When we think of Herod we are apt to think of him as a man utterly and wholly wicked. The black in our mental picture of him is unrelieved by any single touch of white. But that is not at all the Bible picture of him. Even this paragraph is not all black. There are glimmerings and suggestions of white. There was something in him that responded to John’s appeals. He had done much to smother the power of goodness in him and over him by his shameful union with Herodias. But he had not utterly stifled and extirpated it. I have read of a sufferer whose skin, through the effect of some serious malady, had lost all its sensitiveness. Hands, limbs, body, all had been deprived of the sense of feeling. Only one tiny spot on the cheek responded to the touch. And by touching that spot friends could communicate with the imprisoned soul within. Herod had hardened his heart and seared his conscience by his sin with Herodias, but there was still a tender spot left, and John touched it. “He was much perplexed; and he heard him gladly.” Goodness was making its final struggle in the soul of Herod during those days when he had listened to John. And when, later on, I see the king all eagerness to listen to his prisoner-it looks as if Herod might yet repent and turn to God. Indeed, that might have been the issue of the conflict going on in Herod’s soul. But for Herodias’ cruel craft, this Herod, who ended by making a mock of Christ, might have repented of his sin, and have taken a place at last amongst those saints, arrayed in the white robes, who stand before the throne of God and of the Lamb.
Herod’s Failure.
I can very easily believe that John himself had his hopes of the king. I can believe that he may have begun to comfort himself with the thought that his imprisonment was, after all, going to turn out a blessing in disguise; that he had been taken away from his work amongst the multitude in order to bring about the conversion of the king. But the story does not end with a converted king; it ends, as you know, with a murdered prophet. How came it about that the monarch who reverenced John so much, who, indeed, was almost a convert to his teaching, became John’s murderer?
-Its Causes.
Looking at the narrative, I think that the real root reason is to be found in Herod’s weak and vacillating will. In a sense Herod was not a deliberately wicked man, but he was a weak man, and, through his weakness, he allowed himself to be swept into this awful wickedness. He is in the New Testament what Ahab is in the Old Testament. Both of them were weak and sensual men. Neither, however, if left to himself, would have steeped his hands in blood. But they both had queens of masterful will. Driven by this stronger will of their queens, both these weak men committed great and awful wickedness.
The King’s Irresolution and Timidity.
Look at that expression, “He was much perplexed” (Mar 6:20, R.V.). The whole secret of Herod’s tragic failure is there. It gives us a picture of a weak and irresolute man. He could not make up his mind what to do. Between the Baptist and his own conscience on the one side, and his wicked queen upon the other, “he was much perplexed.” He was torn by conflicting impulses. And so he temporised and procrastinated until that shameful day came when Herodias’ cunning trapped him with the crime which in his sober moments he had steadfastly refused to commit. Yes, at the root of Herod’s awful and tragic lapse lies his weakness and timidity and cowardice. Herod had not the strength of will to do the right thing in scorn of consequences. He could not rise above what the old Book calls “the fear of men.” That was Herod’s curse all his life through. He was weak-willed-was swept into crime he abhorred by wicked associates of stronger will than himself.
Herod as a Type.
Herod is a type of multitudes still. Timidity, which takes the form of false pride, is accountable for the moral failure of thousands. Herod’s story is being repeated every week in all our centres of population. We hear heart-breaking stories of moral lapses, amongst, for example, our young people in shops. I will venture to say that in nine cases out of ten the cause of the failure is not so much wickedness as weakness. They come into the town from country homes. They find themselves amongst evil associates, who laugh at them and make fun of them and dare them. Then, through a false shame and a silly pride, they allow themselves to be swept into sins they loathe. “For the sake of them that sat at meat,” in fear of his companions and associates, fear of their scornful comments, Herod became a murderer; and for the same reason men sacrifice their innocence and honour still.
The Will and the Way of Salvation.
One condition of salvation is a resolute and steadfast will. I am not so sure that we do not talk too much and depend too much in our religious life about feeling, and too little about “willing.” Because after all it is on willing, not feeling, that our salvation depends. That is to say, it costs effort and strong resolutions to enter the straight gate and to tread the narrow way. For men do not slip or glide or drift into it on the flood of some kindly and altogether admirable emotion. Listen: “Agonise to enter in by the strait gate.” That is our Lord’s warning. If it had depended on emotion, Herod would have been secure, for his feelings were all that could be desired. But he perished for lack of that strength of will which would have set Herodias and Salome and all the courtiers at defiance, and would simply and bravely have done the right. Do you remember John Bunyan’s picture of the crowd outside the palace, the moral of which is that a man must be resolute and bold who would be a Christian? Let me remind you of it. “Then the interpreter took Christian and led him up toward the door of the palace, and behold, at the door stood a great company of men, as desirous to go in, but durst not. There also sat a man at a little distance from the door at a table-side, with a book and his inkhorn before him, to take the name of him who should enter therein. He saw also that in the doorway stood many men in armour to keep it, being resolved to do the men that would enter what hurt and mischief they could. Now was Christian somewhat in a maze. At last, when every man started back for fear of the armed men, Christian saw a man of a very stout countenance come up to the man that sat there to write, saying, ‘Set down my name, sir’; the which when he had done he saw the man draw his sword, and put an helmet upon his head, and rush toward the door upon the armed men, who laid upon him with deadly force; but the man, not at all discouraged, fell to cutting and hacking most fiercely. So after he had received and given many wounds to those that attempted to keep him out, he cuts his way through them all, and pressed forward into the palace; at which there was a pleasant voice heard from those that were within, even of those that walked upon the top of the palace, saying,
‘Come in, come in; eternal glory thou shalt win.'”
The Strife of him that would enter in.
That is but a parable of the effort and courage it needs to force one’s way into the Kingdom of God. Herod would fain have entered it, but between him and the gate stood his enemies in the shape of Herodias and his courtiers; and he had not the courage to force his way through them all, and say to the man with the inkhorn, “Set down my name, sir.” He drew back into perdition. Between men and the gate of the palace there still stand many fierce foes-our own foolish appetites and sinful lusts, wicked companions and friends; and sometimes our worst foes are those of our own household. It needs courage to break from them all and through them all and say, “Set down my name, sir.” If any man hateth not his own father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.” There is some hacking and cutting to be done. But if we have the courage to do it, the strength of will to do to face the world for the right and the truth, we too shall hear the pleasant voice from the palace roof, “Come in, come in; eternal glory thou shalt win.”
Herod’s Fate.
We cannot here pass without thought or comment Herod’s Fate. His promise and his failure are in this paragraph. His fate you may read for yourselves in Luke xxiii., when it is said, “And Herod with his soldiers set Him (i.e. Jesus) at nought, and mocked Him.” Contrast these two facts, Herod feared John-Herod set Jesus at nought and mocked Him. In the contrast you see the calamitous issue of sin. This chapter is full of the most tremendous teaching about sin. The way in which it breeds-for all this tragedy sprang from Herod’s unholy passion for Herodias. The way in which it haunts the conscience, as illustrated in Herod’s terror-stricken outcry. The solemn fact of personal responsibility, “John, whom I beheaded.” And the tragic doom of sin, “The wages of sin is death.” It is no empty threat. It is no theological bogey. It is the inexorable law. See it working itself out. He feared John; but in a few months he had become so dead to purity and holiness that he could make a mock of Christ.
Sin’s Penalty.
You remember the sequence Paul traces in Romans i.-lusts of the heart, vile passions, a reprobate mind. It is illustrated in Herod’s case. That was his doom, his fate, a reprobate mind. There is no whittling sin away, or minimising its awful consequence. We make mistakes when we even postpone the punishment of sin to some future judgment. The punishment takes place here and now. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The worst and most dreadful punishment of sin is the havoc it works in character-the loss of sensitiveness, the seared and hardened conscience. When faith is lost and honour dies, the man is dead. It came to that with Herod. He began by neglecting John; he ended by mocking Christ. He refused to have God in his knowledge, and this was the tragic result. God gave him up to a reprobate mind.
“Let him alone.”
That is the final and dread issue of persistent neglect of conscience and repeated sin-a deadened conscience, a reprobate mind. The most terrible punishment of sin is that man ceases to feel it is sin. “Ephraim is turned to his idols,” says God by the lips of one of His prophets. “Let him alone.” “Let him alone!” What a sentence of dread and doom and despair that is! There is no hope left when God despairs, when the Lord says, “Let him alone.” It has not come to that with any one of us. But do not neglect the warning; a neglected conscience is a seared conscience, a life of sin may issue in the reprobate mind. Therefore, if you hear the call, do not put it off or procrastinate. But listen to it and obey it.
If Herod had only listened to John, what a different life-story his might have been! For though he had committed a terrible and awful sin, it was not an unpardonable sin. David, the man after God’s own heart, had committed a sin every whit as black. But David, when Nathan rebuked him, and brought his sin to his remembrance, listened, and humbled himself, and repented in dust and ashes, and cried, “Be merciful to me, O God.” And Herod might have been where David is; he might have sat at the same King’s table as David does; he might have worn the white robe which David does; he might have joined in the song which David sings; he might have been called “a man after God’s own heart,” as David is-if only he had listened to John and humbled himself and repented. But though he listened and was much perplexed, he failed to repent, and so he makes his bed in hell. With Herod’s fate before me, I proclaim the old message, “Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation.” And I issue the old appeal, “To-day, if ye will hear My voice, harden not your hearts.”
Fuente: The Gospel According to St. Mark: A Devotional Commentary
Herod, or, Almost-But Lost
Mar 6:14-31
INTRODUCTORY WORDS
The record of Herod shall ever remain as a warning to those who are almost saved. Let us suggest a few others who came close to the door of entrance unto eternal life, and yet were lost.
1. There was Felix as described in Act 24:24-27.
(1) Felix sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. Observe, then, that Felix had a notable preacher to unfold to him the Gospel. Paul led his thousands to Christ. He turned the world of his day upside down with his evangelistic message.
Great preachers, however, cannot suffice to save men. Many of the godless of today have had noble ministers of the Word, They have heard enough Gospel to save a thousand sinners, yea, all sinners who believed; yet they went away still in their sins.
Observe also that Paul had a great text-he preached on the faith in Christ. Nothing more than faith, and nothing less than faith. He preached of the righteousness which is by faith, the self-control which is by faith, and the judgment which is upon them that reject the faith.
Nevertheless Felix turned away unsaved.
(2) Felix trembled. When a sinner trembles under the conviction of his evil ways, he is not far from being saved. Trembling, however, is not enough. One may be ever so deeply stirred by the depth of his sin, and ever so deeply burdened and yet be lost.
(3) Felix said, “Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.” In other words Felix said: “Not now-by and by.” Truly this man was almost saved.
2. There was Agrippa as described in. Act 26:27-32. This man plainly acknowledged that, with a little more persuasion, Paul might have made him a Christian. Agrip-pa may have spoken with more or less of sarcasm and yet he was, beyond doubt, strangely stirred by Paul’s message of life.
The Apostle Paul took it that way, for he said, “I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost and altogether such as I am, except these bonds.”
3. There were the ten cleansed of leprosy, of whom only one returned to give thanks unto God. You may not agree with me, but my thought is that only the one who returned was truly saved; the nine were satisfied with a physical healing, and cared not to follow Jesus in the way.
4. Last, there was Herod. He, too, was almost saved. Mark the words of Mar 6:20 of our study. Here are its positive statements:
1.Herod heard John.
2.Herod heard John gladly.
3.Herod feared John.
4.Herod knew that he was a just man and holy.
5.Herod observed John.
6.Herod did many things.
Remember, all these things are good, but anything short of receiving Christ as personal Saviour and believing on His Name is not salvation. Near salvation is not being saved.
“‘Almost persuaded,’ now to believe;
‘Almost persuaded,’ Christ to receive;
“‘Almost’ cannot avail,
‘Almost’ is but to fail,
Sad, sad that bitter wail,
‘Almost’-but lost.”
I. JOHN THE BAPTIST’S STRONG CHALLENGE (Mar 6:18)
1. Hear John’s challenge to the Pharisees (Mat 3:7). He said unto them, “O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” John the Baptist knew the hearts of these men who posed as Israel’s spiritual leaders. He knew that they acknowledged no need of fleeing from the wrath to come, for they thought themselves the acme of sainthood.
John was plain and positive in his challenge to them. Of one thing we are certain-John never compromised the message which God gave to him, and he never lowered the standard of discipleship.
2. Hear John’s challenge to the multitude (Luk 3:7-9). To the multitudes John said: “Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father.” Then John added, “And now also the ax is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.” Would that churches of today would be as faithful to God and the truth in accepting members into their fellowship.
3. Hear John’s challenge to the soldiers (Luk 3:14). To these men who fought the battles of the State, John said, “Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.”
Thus it did not matter to whom John spoke-he held high the standard of God, and made it mean something to follow the Lord.
4. Hear John’s challenge to Herod (Luk 3:19-20). To Herod the tetrarch, John gave the same vital challenge to purity and fidelity to God and man. John reproved Herod for Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done.
Some one may say, Why be so hard on so great a man? We reply, Why make it easy for one man more than for another? With God there is no respect of persons. All stand or fall alike in His presence.
II. THE PART OF A WOMAN IN HEROD’S FATEFUL DECISION AGAINST CHRIST (Mar 6:19)
1. The quarrel of Herodias. “Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not.” Herodias had stiffened her neck and hardened her heart in her sin. She was determined to have her own way, at all costs.
2. The strategy of Herodias. A wicked woman will bide her time. Vengeance was in her heart, and what she could not do at once by sheer force, she would do by strategy and underhanded scheming. God had evidently given her up to the folly of her own sinful self.
When the ungodly sin against light, and press on to do evil, the Lord will send upon them strong delusions that they may believe a lie and be damned. They move on their way like a mute beast doomed to slaughter.
3. The dancing of Salome. This was the plan of Herodias. She would give a birthday party for Herod. She would congregate the highest estates of the land at her party. She would do the unusual and never-heard-of thing, and send forth her own daughter to dance before the assembled guests. She would make Herod dizzy with pride and glory; and then, when he, according to the custom of kings, should present in a royal way his pledge, “I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom,” she would ask the head of John the Baptist in a charger. It all worked out as she had planned.
III. THE WEAKNESS OF A GREAT CHARACTER (Mar 6:26)
1. No chain is stronger than its weakest link. Herod was, indeed, very near to receiving Christ in those days when he heard John, and heard him gladly, and did many things, and observed John. He was almost, but not altogether, persuaded. He came near, but did not enter in.
Is Herodias to be blamed altogether for Herod’s placing John in prison? Is she alone to be blamed for Herod’s order for John’s beheading? She certainly was a party to it all. However, Herod himself was to blame for all that Herod did. He lacked that decisiveness of character which takes a stand against every wind that blows. He was too easily moved by others.
Yes, he did many things; but what were all his good things worth, when in the one vital thing he was a vacillating coward, and a worker of evil?
2. Are there others who have sold out to the devil? Let us not, nevertheless, be too harsh in our judgment of Herod. Many besides Herod have sold out to the devil. The truth is that thousands are fast nearing “eternal damnation” for the simple reason that there was one dominant sin in their lives that they would not give up.
An old gentleman told us that his prayers seemed to strike a stone wall. God would not hear him, nor answer his cry. At once we knew that there was some sin in his heart and life which he was unwilling to yield.
With Herod the sin was a woman; with you it may be something else. You say, “I want to be a Christian, but I cannot.” The fact is you are unwilling to turn from some sin that grips you like a vise.
God says, “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord.” It is then that the Lord will have mercy on him. Christ came to save us from our sins, not in or into them. When we come to the Cross, like “Christian” in The Pilgrim’s Progress, we must leave our sins at its foot, and follow Jesus.
IV. A MARTYR TO THE WHIMS OF A WOMAN AND THE LUSTS OF A MAN (Mar 6:26-28)
1. Should we keep an evil promise? There are some that would say that Herod, without knowing what would happen, promised Salome anything she wanted to the half of his kingdom, therefore had to keep his word. Thus you may argue, but you are wrong.
Herod should at once have faced the subtlety of Herodias and Salome with a positive, “Nay!” He should have faced the audience and said, “I have been tricked. I am unwilling to sacrifice the head of John the Baptist upon the intrigue and underhanded strategy of my wife.”
2. Should we yield to the pressure of a crowd? It was for the sake of the ones at the feast that Herod kept an evil oath. Let us never do anything because of the crowd.
3. The head in a charger. We would not try to picture the gruesome scene. It is too filled with horror and shame. Think only of a great preacher and fearless defender of the truth, a martyr to the whims of an evil woman and a vacillating man.
There is a God in Heaven who will bring all such to judgment. He will avenge His elect on the one hand, and punish the wicked on the other.
There is a great contrast between Herod and John. Herod yielded his convictions and honor at the behest of a woman; John stood fearlessly for the right, and died rather than recant. Thank the Lord for men and for women who, with their blood, have been happy to pay the price of their devotion to truth, and to their Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
V. AN AWAKENED CONSCIENCE (Mar 6:14-16)
1. “Be sure your sin will find you out.” Did Herod get off easy in this life? We might, perhaps, have thought so, if it were not for the statement in Mar 6:14-16.
Jesus Christ was working many mighty miracles. His words, too, were giving Him great fame. His words and deeds were the talk of the land. Some said that Elijah had come; some said that it was some prophet. In Herod’s mansion the matter was discussed. Herod said, without hesitancy, that John the Baptist was risen from the dead. His court tried to dissuade him, saying the miracle worker was another; but Herod was firm; he said, “It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead.” He knew he had slain innocent blood.
Yes, sin always finds us out. One may try to cover it, but one cannot.
2. “Son, remember.” Our minds go to the rich man who died, and in hell lifted up his eyes being in torments. When he appealed to Abraham, across the great gulf, Abraham pronounced those vibrant words, that have rung down through the ages: “Son, remember.” To a man, in the old days of Southern history, who had in a fit of anger slain his son, the judge said, “Your sentence is the memory of your deed.” Whether his sentence was sufficient, you may decide. However, his conscience never had a moment’s rest. He never forgot that last cry of his dying lad.
The only hope of relief is a present coming to the Blood of Christ which takes away our sin, and washes us and makes us whiter than snow.
VI. ASKING THE WICKED FOR GUIDANCE (Mar 6:24)
There is a remarkable statement in this Mar 6:24. It reads: “And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? and she said, The head of John the Baptist.”
1. Let us observe the evil effect of a wicked mother. The mother works the weal or the woe of her children. If the mother is evil, how difficult it is for the children to be good.
It is for this reason that someone said, We should begin to train a child with its parents and grandparents, just so.
Here is a mother whose highest ambition is for her son or daughter to shine in a godless and world-centered society. She leads the way, the child follows on. God pity such a child in such a home.
2. Let us ask, Should anyone go to an evil person for advice in moral or spiritual crises? Certainly not. Can the unjust guide the pathway of the just? Can the sinner tell the saint how to act and how to choose? Can a Christian who is carnal, safely guide a Christian who desires to be spiritual?
We might go a bit deeper in this discussion. Can deacons who are worldly themselves, fitly lead a church of God in the ways of righteousness? Can a Sunday School teacher who dances and plays cards or smokes cigarettes, properly teach young boys or girls in the ways of the Lord?
We may even go deeper still. What about a preacher who loves the world, and bows to the worldly whims of his church leaders-can such a man stand in the pulpit and tell the lost the way to life, or the saved the way to holiness?
3. Let us note how a girl followed her mother and became a joint murderer with her. What-Salome a murderer! Certainly she was a murderer, and a murderer of the greatest man who had been born of woman. She gave the word that cut off his head. In that great assize shall she be guiltless?
Salome, her mother, and Herod shall stand forever with the blood of John the Baptist on their hands.
VII. TELLING THE LORD JESUS ALL ABOUT IT (Mar 6:30-31)
1. The disciples came and told Jesus. That was just what they should have done. He is the One to whom we may take, and to whom we should take, our every care. “Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.”
Let us practice telling Him all. Let the children at school, who are saved, early learn to go to the Lord Jesus with every problem. Tell it all to Him.
It is far best to go and ask the Saviour to help you, and to guide you, than to ask some Herodias her will.
Let the middle-aged, facing the issues of life and of business, take it all to the feet of the Master. Tell Him your home problems, your social problems, your business problems-tell Him everything.
Let the aged, as they near the sun-setting of life, go to the One who says, “E’en down to old age will I carry you.” Let them bring their burdens, fears, their loneliness, and their heart longings all to Him.
2. Jesus took them apart into a desert place, to rest awhile. He took them away from the crowds that thronged the streets, apart from contact with men, and hid them away in the desert with Himself.
When we are away from the commotion of the city, and out in the deserts, God has some chance of getting into our lives.
It was in the wilderness that God spoke to Israel.
It was in the wilderness that God spoke to Paul, and revealed Himself to Paul in the revelation concerning the Church.
It was in the wilderness, at the backside of the desert, God spoke first of all to Moses, as he turned aside to see the burning bush.
It was in the wilderness, as David fed the sheep that God first came to him with visions of God.
It was in the wilderness, shut up to God, that God appeared unto Jacob as he lay with his head pillowed on a stone.
Yet, not shut in alone,
The Lord is with you there,
He shows to you His face,
And carries all your care.
Shut in your lonely place,
His glories you explore,
You roam in realms of grace
With Him, whom you adore.
AN ILLUSTRATION
Herod’s memory quickened his conscience and filled his heart with fear.
Man looks before and after, and has the terrible gift that by anticipation and memory he can prolong * * sadness. The proportion of solid matter needed to color the Irwell is very little in comparison with the whole of the stream. But the current carries it, and half an ounce will stain miles of the turbid stream. Memory and anticipation beat the metal thin, and make it cover an enormous space. And the misery is that, somehow, we have better memories for sad hours than for joyful ones; and it is easier to get accustomed to “blessings,” as we call them, and to lose the poignancy of their sweetness because they become familiar, than it is to apply the same process to our sorrows, and thus to take the edge off them. The rose’s prickles are left in the flesh longer than its fragrance lives in the nostrils, or its hue in the eye.* * So it comes to be a piece of very homely, well-worn, and yet always needful, practical counsel to try not to magnify and prolong grief, nor to minimize and abbreviate gladness. We can make our lives, to our own thinking, very much what we will. We cannot directly regulate our emotions, but we can regulate them, because it is in our own power to determine which aspect of our life we shall by preference contemplate.-Alexander Maclaren.
Fuente: Neighbour’s Wells of Living Water
4
This was Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great. His remarks about Jesus are explained in the note at Mat 14:2 on “transmigration.”
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
THESE verses describe the death of one of the most eminent saints of God. They relate the murder of John the Baptist. Of all the evangelists none tells this melancholy story so fully as Mark. Let us see what practical lessons the passage contains for our own souls.
We see, in the first place, the amazing power of truth over the conscience. Herod “fears” John the Baptist while he lives, and is troubled about him after he dies. A friendless, solitary preacher, with no other weapon than God’s truth, disturbs and terrifies a king.
Everybody has a conscience. Here lies the secret of a faithful minister’s power. This is the reason why Felix “trembled,” and Agrippa was “almost persuaded,” when Paul the prisoner spoke before them. God has not left Himself without witness in the hearts of unconverted people. Fallen and corrupt as man is, there are thoughts within him accusing or excusing, according as he lives-thoughts that will not be shut out-thoughts that can make even kings, like Herod, restless and afraid.
None ought to remember this so much as ministers and teachers. If they preach and teach Christ’s truth, they may rest assured that their work is not in vain. Children may seem inattentive in schools. Hearers may seem careless in congregations. But in both cases there is often far more going on in the conscience than our eyes see. Seeds often spring up and bear fruit, when the sower, like John the Baptist, is dead or gone.
We see, in the second place, how far people may go in religion, and yet miss salvation by yielding to one master-sin.
King Herod went further than many. He “feared John.” He “knew that he was a just man and a holy.” He “observed” him. He “heard him, and did many things” in consequence. He even “heard him gladly.” But there was one thing Herod would not do. He would not cease from adultery. He would not give up Herodias. And so he ruined his soul for evermore.
Let us take warning from Herod’s case. Let us keep back nothing-cleave to no favorite vice-spare nothing that stands between us and salvation. Let us often look within, and make sure that there is no darling lust or pet transgression, which, Herodias-like, is murdering our souls. Let us rather cut off the right hand, and pluck out the right eye, than go into hell-fire. Let us not be content with admiring favorite preachers, and gladly hearing evangelical sermons. Let us not rest till we can say with David, “I esteem all Thy commandments concerning all things to be right, and I hate every false way.” (Psa 119:128.)
We see, in the third place, how boldly a faithful minister of God ought to rebuke sin. John the Baptist spoke plainly to Herod about the wickedness of his life. He did not excuse himself under the plea that it was imprudent, or impolitic, or untimely, or useless to speak out. He did not say smooth things, and palliate the king’s ungodliness by using soft words to describe his offence. He told his royal hearer the plain truth, regardless of all consequences-“It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife.”
Here is a pattern that all ministers ought to follow. Publicly and privately, from the pulpit and in private visits, they ought to rebuke all open sin, and deliver a faithful warning to all who are living in it. It may give offence. It may entail immense unpopularity. With all this they have nothing to do. Duties are theirs. Results are God’s.
No doubt it requires great grace and courage to do this. No doubt a reprover, like John the Baptist, must go to work wisely and lovingly in carrying out his Master’s commission, and rebuking the wicked. But it is a matter in which his character for faithfulness and charity are manifestly at stake. If he believes a man is injuring his soul, he ought surely to tell him so. If he loves him truly and tenderly, he ought not to let him ruin himself unwarned. Great as the present offence may be, in the long run the faithful reprover will generally be respected. “He that rebuketh a man, afterwards shall find more favor than he that flattereth him with his tongue.” (Pro 28:23.)
We see, in the fourth place, how bitterly people hate a reprover, when they are determined to keep their sins. Herodias, the king’s unhappy partner in iniquity, seems to have sunk even deeper in sin than Herod. Hardened and seared in conscience by her wickedness, she hated John the Baptist for his faithful testimony, and never rested till she had procured his death.
We need not wonder at this. When men and women have chosen their line, and resolved to have their own wicked way, they dislike any one who tries to turn them. They would fain be let alone. They are irritated by opposition. They are angry when they are told the truth. The prophet Elijah was called a “man that troubled Israel.” The prophet Micaiah was hated by Ahab, “because he never prophesied good of him, but evil.” The prophets and faithful preachers of every age have been treated in like manner. They have been hated by some, as well as not believed.
Let it never surprise us when we hear of faithful ministers of the Gospel being spoken against, hated, and reviled. Let us rather remember that they are ordained to bear witness against sin, the world, and the devil, and that if they are faithful, they cannot help giving offence. It is no disgrace to a minister’s character to be disliked by the wicked and ungodly. It is no real honor to a minister to be thought well of by everybody. Those words of our Lord are not enough considered-“Woe unto you when all men speak well of you.”
We see, in the fifth place, how much sin may sometimes follow from feasting and reveling. Herod keeps his birth-day with a splendid banquet. Company, drinking, dancing, fill up the day. In a moment of excitement, he grants a wicked girl’s request to have the head of John the Baptist cut off. Next day, in all probability, he repented bitterly of his conduct. But the deed was done. It was too late.
This is a faithful picture of what often results from feasting and merry-making. People do things at such seasons, from heated feelings, which they afterwards deeply repent. Happy are they who keep clear of temptations, and avoid giving occasion to the devil! Men never know what they may do when they once venture off safe ground. Late hours, and crowded rooms, and splendid entertainments, and mixed company, and music, and dancing, may seem harmless to many people. But the Christian should never forget, that to take part in these things is to open a wider door to temptation.
We see, finally, in these verses, how little reward some of God’s best servants receive in this world. An unjust imprisonment and a violent death, were the last fruit that John the Baptist reaped, in return for his labor. Like Stephen and James, and others, of whom the world was not worthy, he was called to seal his testimony with his blood.
Histories like these are meant to remind us, that the true Christian’s best things are yet to come. His rest, his crown, his wages, his reward, are all on the other side of the grave. Here, in this world, he must walk by faith, and not by sight; and if he looks for the praise of man, he will be disappointed. Here, in this life, he must sow, and labor, and fight, and endure persecution; and if he expects a great earthly reward, he expects what he will not find. But this life is not all. There is to be a day of retribution. There is a glorious harvest yet to come. Heaven will make amends for all. Eye hath not seen, and ear hath not heard the glorious things that God has laid up for all that love Him. The value of real religion is not to be measured by the things seen, but the things unseen. “The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed.” “Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” (Rom 8:18; 2Co 4:17.)
Fuente: Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels
Mar 6:14. King Herod. Herod Antipas, the Tetrarch (Matt. Luke).
Heard. The activity of the Apostles, preaching and performing miracles as the messengers of Jesus, now specially attracted his attention.
For his name had became known. The necessary result of the labor of the Apostles.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
The history of John the Baptist’s death is here recorded by this evangelist, as St. Matthew had done before, Mat 14:1-2.
Here we have these particulars further observable; 1. The character and description of a zealous and faithful minister. He is one that deals plainly, and dares tell the greatest persons of their faults. Herod, though a king, is reproved by the Baptist for his incest, in taking his brother’s wife. The crown and sceptre of Herod could not daunt the faithful messenger of God. There ought to meet in the ministers of God both courage and impartiality. Courage, in fearing no faces; impariality., in sparing no sins.
Observe, 2. Who it was that commanded the Baptist to be beheaded. It was Herod the king, whom he had reproved. How sad is it when kings, who should be nursing fathers to the church, do prove the bloody butchers of the prophets of God! The severest persecutions which the prophets of God have fallen under, are usually occasioned by their telling great men of their crimes. Men in power are impatient of reproof, and imagine that their authority gives them a license to transgress.
Observe, 3. The time of the Baptist’s death; it was upon Herod’s birth-day. It was an ancient custom among the eastern kings to celebrate their birth-days: Pharaoh did so, Gen 40:20 and Herod here, but both with blood; yet these personal sins do not make the practice unlawful, when we solemnize our birth-days with thankfulness to our Creator and Preserver, and recommend ourselves by prayer to his gracious providence and protection for the remainder of our days; this is an act of piety and religion. But Herod’s birth-day was kept with revelling, with feasting, with music and dancing: all which were made sinful to him by the circumstances which did attend it. Great men’s feasts and frolics are too often the season and occasion of much sin.
Observe, 4. The instigators and promoters of the holy Baptist’s death: Herodias and her daughter. Lord, how deadly is the malice of souls debauched with lust! Imprisonment would not satisfy them, they must have his blood. Resolute sinners, who are mad upon their lusts, run furiously upon their opposers, and resolve to bear down all opposition they meet with in the gratification of their unlawful desires.
Observe, 5. With what great reluctance Herod consented to this villany: The king was exceeding sorry. Wicked men oft-times sin with a troubled and disturbed conscience; there is a mighty struggle betwixt their reason and their lusts; but at last they master their consciences, and choose rather to gratify their lusts, than to obey their reason. So did Herod here: for notwithstanding his sorrow, he commands the act; he sent and beheaded John in the prison.
Observe, 6. The motives and inducements which prevailed with Herod to behead this holy man.
1. The conscience of his oath: Nevertheless, for his oath’s sake. See his hypocrisy; he made scruple of a rash oath, who made no scruple of real murder. See here not only the folly, but great impiety of rash vows; especially in ignorant persons, who think themselves obliged by them, whereas it is their duty, first to repent of them, and then to break them as fast as they can. St. Chrysostom says, Herod might have spared the Baptist’s head, and yet have kept his oath to Herodias; for he swore to give her only half of his kingdom, and his head was worth more than his whole kingdom.
2. Respect to his reputation, not only for his oath’s sake, but for them that sat with him. They heard him promise, and will be witness of his inconstancy if he do not perform. Insisting upon punctilios of honour has hazarded the loss of millions of souls.
3. His great unwillingness to discontent Herodias and her daughter. O vain and foolish hypocrite, who dreaded the displeasing of a wanton mistress more than the offending of God and conscience!
Observe, 7. These bloody women do not only require the Baptist to be beheaded, but that his head be brought in a charger to them. What a dish was here to be served up at a prince’s table on his birth-day! a dead man’s head swimming in blood. How prodigiously insatiable is cruelty and revenge! Herodias did not think herself safe till John was dead; she would not think him dead till his head was off, and would not believe his head was off till she had it in her hand. Revenge never thinks it has made sure enough. O how cruel is a wicked heart, that could take pleasure in a spectacle of so much horror! Methinks I see how that holy head was tossed upon Herod’s table by impure and filthy hands. That true and faithful tongue, those sacred lips, those chaste eyes, those mortified cheeks, are now insultingly handled by a lewd and incestuous harlot, and made a scorn to Herod’s drunken guests.
Observe, 8. That neither the holiest of the prophets, nor the best of men, are more secure from violence than from natural death. The holy Baptist, who was sanctified in the womb, conceived and born with so much miracle, lived with so much reverence and observation, is now at midnight obscurely murdered in a close prison.
Observe, 9. That it is as true a martyrdom to suffer for duty as for faith. He dies as truly a martyr that dies for doing his duty, as he that dies for professing his faith, and bearing witness then to the truth.
Observe, 10. How far men may go in religion, and yet be far enough from saving grace: they then may reverence God’s minister’s, believe them to be holy and just men, hear them with delight and pleasure, protect and defend them from their opposers; they may reform, and do many things; and yet be far from the kingdom of God. Herod did all this; he knew John to be a holy and just man, reverenced and respected him, guarded and kept him safe from Herodias’s malice. For though he was imprisoned before, yet Herod suffered none to hurt him, but heard him often with pleasure and delight.
Wicked and unregenerate men may be so affected with the word of God as to become protectors and defenders of those that dispense it, and yet receive no saving advantage by it. The plain and powerful preaching of the word may win upon and prevail with an unregenerate man to perform many good duties and to forsake many known sins; and yet may he, after all, remain under the power of hypocrisy.
Nay, from Herod’s example we may learn, That a wicked man may take some pleasure and delight in hearing the word preached; either the generality of the truths asserted, or the novelty of the notions delivered, or the wit and fancy, the graceful elocution and delivery, of the preacher, may create a present delight; but it is neither a spiritual delight, nor an abiding delight. And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb. When his disciples heard of it; that is, the disciples of John hearing that their holy master was thus barbarously murdered, they took up his dead body, and decently interred it.
Learn hence, That the faithful servants of God are not ashamed of the sufferings of the saints, but will testify their respect unto them, both living, dying, and dead. The disciples of John gave their master an honourable and respectful burial, fearing neither Herod’s power nor Herodias’s malice.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Mar 6:14-16. And King Herod (the tetrarch; see notes on Mat 2:1; Mat 14:1) heard of him While the apostles were making their circuit about the country, proclaiming everywhere the glories of their great Master, and working miracles in his name, information concerning him and his marvellous works came to the ears of King Herod; for his name was spread abroad And reached many places far more distant than the court of Herod, Mat 4:24-25. And he said, that John the Baptist was risen from the dead This his own guilty conscience suggested, and he could not forbear speaking of it to those that were about him. Others said, That it is Elias; and others, That it is a prophet It is easy to account for the opinion of those who, upon Christs appearing in this part of the country, began to take notice of his miracles, and, being struck with them, imagined that he was Elias, or one of the prophets. For they expected that Elias would actually descend from heaven, and usher in the Messiah, Mat 16:14; and that one of the prophets was to be raised from the dead for the same end. But when Herod heard thereof Of their various judgments concerning Jesus; he still said, It is John, whom I beheaded, &c. The suggestions of his guilty conscience were too powerful to be removed by the flattery of his servants; and he persevered in affirming that it was certainly John whom he had beheaded, and that he was risen from the dead.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
LXII.
HEROD ANTIPAS SUPPOSES JESUS TO BE JOHN.
aMATT. XIV. 1-12; bMARK VI. 14-29; cLUKE IX. 7-9.
b14 And c7 Now a1 At that season bKing Herod [Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great. See Mat 10:41), but there was a prevalent idea among the ancients that departed spirits were endowed with superhuman powers, and Herod therefore supposed that the risen John had brought these powers with him from the spirit world.] cAnd he sought to see him. [Jesus purposely kept out of the reach of Herod, knowing the treacherous cunning of his nature ( Luk 13:32), and Herod’s curiosity was not gratified until the day of Christ’s crucifixion ( Luk 23:8-12), and then its gratification was without sanctification.] b15 But others said, It is Elijah. And others said, It is a prophet, even as one of the prophets. 16 But Herod, when he heard thereof, said, John, whom I beheaded, he is risen. [Some thought that Elijah might have returned, as the Scripture declared, or that Jesus might be a prophet just like the great prophets of old. Matthew, by introducing what follows with the word “for,” gives us the reason why Herod clung to this singular opinion of Jesus. He did so because this opinion was begotten in the morbid musings of a conscience stained with the blood of John.] 17 For Herod himself had sent forth [370] and laid hold upon John, aand bound him, and put him in prison the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. bfor he had married her. [Herodias was the daughter of Aristobulus, who was the half-brother of Herod Philip I. and Herod Antipas, and these two last were in turn half-brothers to each other. Herodias, therefore, had married her uncle Herod Philip I, who was disinherited by Herod the Great, and who lived as a private citizen in Rome. When Herod Antipas went to Rome about the affairs of his tetrarchy, he became the guest of his brother Herod Philip I., and repaid the hospitality which he received by carrying off the wife of his host.] 18 For John said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife. [The marriage was unlawful of three reasons: 1. The husband of Herodias was still living; 2. The lawful wife of Antipas (the daughter of Aretas, king or emir of Arabia) was still living; 3. Antipas and Herodias, being nephew and niece, were related to each other within the forbidden degrees of consanguinity.] 19 And Herodias set herself against him, and desired to kill him; but she could not: 20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and kept him safe. And when he heard him, he was much perplexed, and he heard him gladly. a5 And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet. [Herod feared both John and his influence. His fear of the man as a prophet caused him to shelter John against any attempts which his angry wife might make to put him to death, and led him to listen to John with enough respect to become perplexed as to whether it were better to continue in his course or repent. At other times, when the influence of Herodias moved him most strongly, and he forgot his personal fear of John, he was yet restrained by fear of John’s influence over the people.] 6 But when Herod’s birthday came, b21 And when a convenient day was come [A day suited to the purposes of Herodias. The phrase refers to Mar 6:19], that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, and the high captains, and [371] the chief men of Galilee; 22 and when the daughter of Herodias herself [the language seems to indicate that others had first come in and danced] came in and danced, ain the midst, bshe pleased Herod and them that sat at meat with him [This dancer was Salome, daughter of Herod Philip and niece of Herod Antipas. The dancing of the East was then, as now, voluptuous and indecent, and nothing but utter shamelessness or inveterate malice could have induced a princess to thus make a public show of herself at such a carousal]; a7 Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she should ask. band the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. 23 And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. [The rashness of the king’s promise is characteristic of the folly of sin. Riches, honors, kingdoms, souls are given for a bauble in the devil’s market.] 24 And she went out, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? [She may have known beforehand what to ask. If so, she retired and asked her mother that the brunt of the king’s displeasure might fall upon her mother.] And she said, The head of John the Baptist. a8 And she, being put forward by her mother, bcame in straightway with haste unto the king [she wished to make her request known before the king had time to put limitations upon her asking], and asked, saying, {asaith} bI will that thou forthwith give me ahere on a platter the head of John the Baptist. [She asked for the prophet’s head that she and her mother might have the witness of their own eyes to the fact that he was dead, and that they might not be deceived about it.] 9 And the king was grieved; bwas exceeding sorry [because the deed went against his conscience and his sense of policy as above stated]; but for the sake of his oaths, and of them that {awhich} sat at meat, bhe would not reject her. ahe commanded it to be given [The oath alone would not have constrained Herod to grant Salome’s request, for if left alone [372] he would rightly have construed the request as not coming within the scope of the oath. The terms of his oath looked to and anticipated a pecuniary present, and not the commission of a crime. But Herod’s companions, being evil men, joined with the evil women against the man of God, and shamed Herod into an act which committed him forever to a course of guilt. Thus, a bad man’s impulses are constantly broken down by his evil companions]; b27 And straightway the king forth a soldier of his guard, aand beheaded John in the prison. band commanded to bring his head: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, 28 and brought his head {ahis head was brought} bon a platter, and gave it {aand given} bto the damsel: and the damsel abrought it bgave it to her mother. [To the anxious, unrestful soul of Herodias this seemed a great gift, since it assured her that the voice of her most dangerous enemy was now silent. But as Herod was soon filled with superstitious fears that John had risen in the person of Christ, her sense of security was very short-lived. The crime stamped Herod and Herodias with greater infamy than that for which John had rebuked them.] 29 And when his disciples heard thereof, they came and took up his {athe} corpse, band laid it in a tomb. aand buried him; and went and told Jesus. [Herod had feared that the death of John would bring about a popular uprising, and his fears were not mistaken. As soon as they had decently buried the body of the great preacher, John’s disciples go to Jesus, expecting to find in him a leader to redress the Baptist’s wrongs. They knew the friendship of John for Jesus, and, knowing that the latter intended to set up a kingdom, they believed that this would involve the overthrow of Herod’s power. They were ready now to revolt and make Jesus a king. See Mat 12:13, Joh 6:1, Joh 6:2, Joh 6:15. But Jesus would not aid them to seek the bitter fruits of revenge, nor did he intend to set up such a kingdom as they imagined.]
[FFG 369-373]
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
Mar 6:14-29. Herod and Jesus. The End of John the Baptist.Wellhausen, J. Weiss, and Klostermann would begin a new period with this sectionthe period of constant wandering, in which Jesus is mostly outside Galilee, e.g. in the districts of Tyre and Sidon (Mar 7:24), Decapolis (Mar 7:31), Bethsaida (Mar 8:22), Csarea Philippi (Mar 8:27). The restless journeying across the lake, and the avoidance of Galilee, would be explained by the fact that the suspicions of Herod have been aroused. This characterisation of the period is correct and the hint as to its cause is also probable (cf. Luk 13:32). Mar 6:14-16 seems to lead up to a reference to the hostility of Herod which is forgotten in the eagerness of the writer to tell the story of Johns end. But Mk. does not make a sharp division here. The story of Herod and John the Baptist is intended to fill up the interval during which the apostles are away from Jesus (cf. the insertion of the discussion with the scribes (Mar 3:22-30) between the two parts of the story of the attempt made by the relatives of Jesus to interfere with His work). The historical worth of this section is doubtful. Lk., who seems to have fuller and more accurate information concerning Herod, corrects the saying of Mar 6:16 (see Luk 9:9) and omits the account of Johns end. It is unlikely that Herod thought John to have risen again. The beheading of John is narrated in a popular form, not without inaccuracies and improbabilities. In true popular style Mk. speaks of Herod Antipas as king (Mar 6:14) instead of using the technical term tetrarch (Herod was ruler of Galilee and Pera). Philip was the husband of Salome not of Herodias. Salome was probably married already, and could no longer be described as a damsel, at the time of her supposed dance. Josephus assigns a political not a personal motive for the execution of John. The whole narrative is coloured perhaps by the story of Jezebel and Elijah, and certainly by the book of Esther (cf. Mar 6:23 with Est 7:2). However, Johns rebuke of Herod based on Lev 18:16; Lev 18:20 f., and the consequent enmity of Herodias may well be historical, and it is possible to combine Mk. and Josephus (see p. 654, and Schrer, Hist. of Jewish People, I. ii. 21f.).
[Mar 6:26. reject: E. A. Abbott suggests break faith with her (Johannine Vocabulary, p. 322); this is accepted by Moulton and Milligan, Vocabulary, p. 12, and by Souter, Pocket Lexicon, p. 7. Field, Notes, p. 30, suggests disappoint.A. S. P.]
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
Verse 14
Men who have the least faith have often the greatest superstition; and there is no more fruitful source of superstitious fears than remorse for crimes.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
14 And king Herod heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him. 15 Others said, That it is Elias. And others said, That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets. 16 But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead.
It is of note from the context that Herod heard of Christ due to the work of the apostles going out and around preaching. One might wonder if this is true of our preaching today. Are we stirring the thoughts of the political leaders? Are we causing them alarm over our message? Herod misinterpreted the stir in his realm, but do our leaders even hear a stir from our witness to the world?
It is also of note that Christ had been about his ministry for some time by now and Herod is just now hearing of His work and ministry. Was Herod being protected from hearing of the Lord’s work or was he just too busy with the affairs of state?
Either way he was remiss in knowing what was going on in his land. A leader must know of the lay of his land to rule properly. I fear today in America this is true of our own leaders. Some call it being out of touch with the common man but I would call it not knowing what is going on in reality. These people get so tied up in what they think is important and loose sight of all that is important to their people.
Herod was one of three sons of Herod the great. One ruled over Galilee and Perea while this oneruled over Galilee. This Herod was Antipas while the one ruling over Judea was Archelaus Mat 2:22. Their dear old dad was the one that killed all the babies when Christ was born.
Gill gives us a more complete look at the family, “And though he is here called a “tetrarch”, he is in Mar 6:14 called a king: the reason of his being styled a “tetrarch” was this; his father Herod divided his large kingdom into four parts, and bequeathed them to his sons, which was confirmed by the Roman senate: Archelaus reigned in Judea in his stead; upon whose decease, that part was put under the care of a Roman governor; who, when John the Baptist began to preach, was Pontius Pilate; this same Herod here spoken of, being “tetrarch” of Galilee, which was the part assigned him; and his brother Philip “tetrarch” of Ituraea, and of the region of Trachonitis; and Lysanias, “tetrarch” of Abilene, Luk 3:1 the word “tetrarch”: signifying one that has the “fourth” part of government: and in Munster’s Hebrew Gospel, he is called “one of the four princes”; and in the Arabic version, “a prince of the fourth part”; and in the Persic, a “governor of the fourth part of the kingdom”. The “time” referred to, was after the death of John the Baptist; and when Christ had been for a good while, and in many places, preaching and working miracles; the particular instant which respect is had unto, is the sending forth of the twelve disciples to preach and work miracles; and which might serve the more to spread the fame of Christ, and which reached the court of Herod; who, it is said here, heard of the fame of Jesus: what a wonderful preacher he was, and what mighty things were done by him.”
The Net Bible notes “Herod was technically not a king, but a tetrarch, a ruler with rank and authority lower than a king. A tetrarch ruled only with the approval of the Roman authorities. This was roughly equivalent to being governor of a region. In the New Testament, Herod, who ruled over Galilee, is called a king (Mat 14:9; Mar 6:14-29), reflecting popular usage rather than an official title.”
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown put Herod’s feelings thusly “The murdered prophet haunted his guilty breast like a specter, and seemed to him alive again and clothed with unearthly powers, in the person of Jesus.”
Speculation is the root of all rumors. The king heard of Christ, did not understand who He was and assumed He was the reincarnation of one whom he had beheaded.
We see the spiritual makeup of Herod quite easily. He seems to have believed in nothing based on the Bible, but only on the speculations and wisdom of his day. We were honored to pastor a tiny church southwest of Denver years ago. We had an older couple that assisted in the ministry and a young mother with two children. The mother was from the hippie generation and lived in a quaint little log home way back in the hills. Her brother came to visit her and came to church one morning. The older man was teaching the Sunday School class and we read this passage. The brother lit up like a roman candle and blurted out loud I’ve always believed in reincarnation and now I have Biblical proof of it. We took the rest of the class showing him that this was not a proof text for reincarnation, even though Herod was in agreement with the young man. As much as some might want reincarnation to be true, it is not, and there is no Biblical text to show otherwise.There is a little side information about John the Baptist here. Herod thought Christ was John because of the great works that were happening. John must have been doing some miracles or else the gossip mill was running very much overtime about him. We do not have indication that there were miracles though Joh 10:41 may indicate that there were none. “And many resorted unto him, and said, John did no miracle: but all things that John spake of this man were true.”
It would seem from what we know of Herod that he may even have been protecting John to some extent. He must have had a great admiration for someone that could turn so many people into the wilderness to be baptized in a dirty river.
Even with such admiration Herod was not willing to turn from his sin, indeed his sin is what caused him to kill the man who he respected. His sin wanted John beheaded and so it came to pass.
This is not a great picture of Herod. Herod means “hero like” but we do not seem to see that side of the man in either his failure to protect John’s life nor in his fear of what Christ seemed to be doing.
Many there are today that go to church, may admire the pastor, may even enjoy the stirring sermons as long as they relate to someone else. Many church members are there only for the financial and social benefit.
My brother, a contractor, and I were raised in a Christian church but neither of us were saved by its ministry. Later when we were both married he joined the local Methodist church. I had been saved and living for the Lord for a number of years at this point and wondered aloud of his joining that particular church. Knowing his Christian church background it was rather odd.
When I asked him of the decision his answer was “Well, all the business people in town belong there.” Financial and social advantage brought him to church membership rather than any desire of spiritual benefit or thought of God.
It is feared that many in our evangelical/fundamental churches today are members only for their personal advantage be it social, financial, or physical good. A desire to serve God in a particular body of believers is the only reason to ever join the membership of a church. What the people can do for you should never enter into your mind while making such a decision. You are becoming a part of that body of believers to serve as part of that body rather than to be served by it.
Some churches only exist to serve the social interests of the congregation. This is not the purpose of a church and a church for that purpose is not really a church.
Another issue must be the fear and concern Herod had over his part in the death of John. There must have been a great guilt built into his mindset at this time in his life. His life must have been rather terrible down deep inside when he took time to consider his actions and lifestyle.Again many believers share a close affinity with Herod. They are plagued by guilt over the actions of the past. They may have done some terrible things to others, or they might have just done terrible things by way of their own personal actions. When they consider their life, often people allow guilt to master them. Not that they should not feel guilty, but the point of being a Christian is to leave that guilt at the cross when you have realized your sin and seek forgiveness. Many lay their guilt at the cross and seek forgiveness but immediately take up the guilt, put it back on their shoulder and walk away from God to suffer in mental misery.
There is indication that Herod had an interest, if not real interest in Christ in that Luk 9:9 mentions of Herod “And he sought to see him.” The word “see” relates to knowing someone or perceive and the word “sought” or in some translations “desired” relates to seeking or possibly plotting – planning deliberately would be the thought. This is not a simple, “Oh that is interesting, I’d like to see him.” But rather the idea of I will seek Him out to get to know Him.
Whether Herod acted on his desire we do not know. Matthew Henry suggests that Herod wanted to see if Jesus looked like John the Baptist. This is possible but more is suggested by the words used. Herod found himself meeting Christ when Jesus was being judged prior to the crucifixion. Pilate sent Christ before Herod. Herod, it is clear wanted to know Christ, but not for spiritual reasons, but for “entertainment” reasons it would seem.
Luk 23:6 “When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked whether the man were a Galilaean. 7 And as soon as he knew that he belonged unto Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem at that time. 8 And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had heard many things of him; and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him. 9 Then he questioned with him in many words; but he answered him nothing. 10 And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused him. 11 And Herod with his men of war set him at nought, and mocked him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate. 12 And the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together: for before they were at enmity between themselves.”
At least verse twelve proves that Christ was a peace-maker – not that this peace gave the two men real peace.
Fuente: Mr. D’s Notes on Selected New Testament Books by Stanley Derickson
6:14 {5} And king Herod heard [of him]; (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty {i} works do shew forth themselves in him.
(5) The gospel confirms the godly and vexes the wicked.
(i) The word signifies powers, by which is meant the power of working miracles.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
2. The failure of Antipas to understand Jesus’ identity 6:14-29
The writer of the second Gospel inserted this account into his narrative about the mission of the Twelve. It is similar to the filling in a sandwich (cf. Mar 6:30). The incident probably happened during the mission of the Twelve just announced. It illustrates the mounting opposition to Jesus, and it provides helpful guidance for disciples of Jesus. Mark’s is the fullest of the synoptic records at this point.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
The varying opinions about Jesus’ identity 6:14-16 (cf. Matthew 14:1-3; Luke 9:7-9)
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Herod Antipas was not really a king, "king" being a popular designation rather than an official title in his case. He was the tetrarch who was born in 20 B.C. and ruled over Galilee and Perea from 4 B.C. to A.D. 39, when he was banished to Gaul. Perea lay east of the Jordan River and south of the Decapolis. Its northern border was about half way between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea, and its southern border was about half way between the north and south ends of the Dead Sea. The territory of Ammon lay to its east. Mark probably called Antipas a king because that is how the people in his territory spoke of him popularly. [Note: Taylor, p. 308.] It was natural for Mark, who was writing for Romans, to use this title since the Roman government used it to describe all eastern rulers. [Note: Bruce, 1:380.]
The antecedent of "it" (NASB) or "this" (NIV) seems to be the ministry of Jesus’ disciples (Mar 6:7-13). Their ministry focused on the identity of Jesus, which is the subject of this pericope. Interestingly, Jesus sent them on this mission even though their own understanding of His identity was still partial. He wanted them to share what they knew then even though they would understand more later.
Matthew recorded that Herod had heard the report concerning Jesus (Mat 14:1), and Luke wrote that he heard of all that happened (Luk 9:7). These are complementary, not mutually exclusive descriptions. Herod heard about the ministry that Jesus was carrying on.
People were explaining Jesus’ miraculous powers in several different ways. Mark mentioned three. Some said John the Baptist had risen from the dead, and he was the person doing these miracles. John had not performed miracles before his death (Joh 10:41), so this view may have arisen from misinformation.
"John was a forerunner of Jesus in his birth, ministry, and death. Also the way people identified John the Baptist was as varied as the way they identified Jesus." [Note: Bailey, p. 77.]
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
CHAPTER 6:14-29 (Mar 6:14-29)
HEROD
“And King Herod heard thereof; for His name had become known: and he said, John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore do these powers work in him. But others said, It is Elijah. And others said, It is a prophet, even as one of the prophets. But Herod, when he heard thereof, said, John, whom I beheaded, he is risen. For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife: for he had married her. For John said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife. And Herodias set herself against him, and desired to kill him; and she could not; for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous man and a holy, and kept him safe. And when he heard him, he was much perplexed; and he heard him gladly. And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, and the high captains, and the chief men of Galilee; and when the daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and them that sat at meat with him; and the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. And she went out, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou forthwith give me in a charger the head of John the Baptist. And the king was exceeding sorry; but for the sake of his oaths, and of them that sat at meat, he would not reject her. And straightway the king sent forth a soldier of his guard, and commanded to bring his head: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, and brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel; and the damsel gave it to her mother. And when his disciples heard thereof, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb.” Mar 6:14-29 (R.V.)
THE growing influence of Jesus demanded the mission of the Twelve, and this in its turn increased His fame until it alarmed the tetrarch Herod. An Idumaean ruler of Israel was forced to dread every religious movement, for all the waves of Hebrew fanaticism beat against the foreign throne. And Herod Antipas was especially the creature of circumstances, a weak and plastic man. He is the Ahab of the New Testament, and it is a curious coincidence that he should have to do with its Elijah. As Ahab fasted when he heard his doom, and postponed the evil by his submission, so Herod was impressed and agitated by the teaching of the Baptist. But Ahab surrendered his soul to the imperious Jezebel, and Herod was ruined by Herodias. Each is the sport of strong influences from without, and warns us that a man, no more than a ship, can hope by drifting to come safe to haven.
No contrast could be imagined more dramatic than between the sleek seducer of his brother’s wife and the imperious reformer, rude in garment and frugal of fare, thundering against the generation of vipers who were the chiefs of his religion.
How were these two brought together? Did the Baptist stride unsummoned into the court? Did his crafty foemen contrive his ruin by inciting the Tetrarch to consult him? Or did that restless religious curiosity, which afterwards desired to see Jesus, lead Herod to consult his forerunner? The abrupt words of John are not unlike an answer to some feeble question of casuistry, some plea of extenuating circumstances such as all can urge in mitigation of their worst deeds. He simply and boldly states the inflexible ordinance of God: It is not lawful for thee to have her.
What follows may teach us much.
1. It warns us that good inclinations, veneration for holiness in others, and ineffectual struggles against our own vices, do not guarantee salvation. He who feels them is not God-forsaken, since every such emotion is a grace. But he must not infer that he never may be forsaken, or that because he is not wholly indifferent or disobedient, God will some day make him all that his better moods desire. Such a man should be warned by Herod Antipas. Ruggedly and abruptly rebuked, his soul recognized and did homage to the truthfulness of his teacher. Admiration replaced the anger in which he cast him into prison. As he stood between him and the relentless Herodias, and “kept him safely,” he perhaps believed that the gloomy dungeon, and the utter interruption of a great career, were only for the Baptist’s preservation. Alas, there was another cause. He was “much perplexed”: he dared not provoke his temptress by releasing the man of God. And thus temporizing, and daily weakening the voice of conscience by disobedience, he was lost.
2. It is distinctly a bad omen that he “heard him gladly,” since he had no claim to well-founded religious happiness. Our Lord had already observed the shallowness of men who immediately with joy receive the word, yet have no root. But this guilty man, disquieted by the reproaches of memory and the demands of conscience, found it a relief to hear stern truth, and to see from far the beauteous light of righteousness. He would not reform his life, but he would fain keep his sensibilities alive. It was so that Italian brigands used to maintain a priest. And it is so that fraudulent British tradesmen too frequently pass for religious men. People cry shame on their hypocrisy. Yet perhaps they less often wear a mask to deceive others than a cloak to keep their own hearts warm, and should not be quoted to prove that religion is a deceit, but as witnesses that even the most worldly soul craves as much of it as he can assimilate. So it was with Herod Antipas.
3. But no man can serve two masters. He who refuses the command of God to choose whom he will serve, in calmness and meditation, when the means of grace and the guidance of the Spirit are with him, shall hear some day the voice of the Tempter, derisive and triumphant, amid evil companions, when flushed with guilty excitements and with sensual desires, and deeply committed by rash words and “honor rooted in dishonor,” bidding him choose now, and choose finally. Salome will tolerate neither weak hesitation nor half measures; she must herself possess “forthwith” the head of her mother’s foe, which is worth more than half the kingdom, since his influence might rob them of it all. And the king was exceeding sorry, but chose to be a murderer rather than be taken for a perjurer by the bad companions who sat with him. What a picture of a craven soul, enslaved even in the purple. And of the meshes for his own feet which that man weaves, who gathers around him such friends that their influence will surely mislead his lonely soul in its future struggles to be virtuous. What a lurid light does this passage throw upon another and a worse scene, when we meet Herod again, not without the tyrannous influence of his men of war.
4. We learn the mysterious interconnection of sin with sin. Vicious luxury and self-indulgence, the plastic feebleness of character which half yields to John, yet cannot break with Herodias altogether, these do not seem likely to end in murder. They have scarcely strength enough, we feel, for a great crime. Alas, they have feebleness enough for it, for he who joins in the dance of the graces may have his hand to the furies unawares. Nothing formidable is to be seen in Herod, up to the fatal moment when revelry, and the influence of his associates, and the graceful dancing of a woman whose beauty was pitiless, urged him irresistibly forward to bathe his shrinking hands in blood. And from this time forward he is a lost man. When a greater than John is reported to be working miracles, he has a wild explanation for the new portent, and his agitation is betrayed in his broken words, “John, whom I beheaded, he is risen.” “For” St. Mark adds with quiet but grave significance, “Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him.” Others might speak of a mere teacher, but the conscience of Herod will not suffer it to be so; it is his victim; he has learnt the secret of eternity; “and therefore do these powers work in him.” Yet Herod was a Sadducee.
5. These words are dramatic enough to prove themselves; it would have tasked Shakespeare to invent them. But they involve the ascription from the first of unearthly powers to Jesus, and they disprove, what skeptics would fain persuade us, that miracles were inevitably ascribed, by the credulity of the age, to all great teachers, since John wrought none, and the astonishing theory that he had graduated in another world, was invented by Herod to account for those of Jesus. How inevitable it was that such a man should set at nought our Lord. Dread, and moral repulsion, and the suspicion that he himself was the mark against which all the powers of the avenger would be directed, these would not produce a mood in which to comprehend One who did not strive nor cry. To them it was a supreme relief to be able to despise Christ. Elsewhere we can trace the gradual cessation of the alarm of Herod. At first he dreads the presence of the new Teacher, and yet dares not assail Him openly. And so, when Jesus was advised to go thence or Herod would kill Him, He at once knew who had instigated the crafty monition, and sent back his defiance to that fox. But even fear quickly dies in a callous heart, and only curiosity survives. Herod is soon glad to see Jesus, and hopes that He may work a miracle. For religious curiosity and the love of spiritual excitement often survive grace, just as the love of stimulants survives the healthy appetite for bread. But our Lord, Who explained so much for Pilate, spoke not a word to him. And the wretch, whom once the forerunner had all but won, now set the Christ Himself at nought, and mocked Him. So yet does the god of this world blind the eyes of the unbelieving. So great are still the dangers of hesitation, since not to be for Christ is to be against Him.
6. But the blood of the martyr was not shed before his work was done. As the falling blossom admits the sunshine to the fruit, so the herald died when his influence might have clashed with the growing influence of his Lord, Whom the Twelve were at last trained to proclaim far and wide. At a stroke, his best followers were naturally transferred to Jesus, Whose way he had prepared. Rightly, therefore, has St. Mark placed the narrative at this juncture, and very significantly does St. Matthew relate that his disciples, when they had buried him, “came and told Jesus.”
Upon the path of our Lord Himself this violent death fell as a heavy shadow. Nor was He unconscious of its menace, for after the transfiguration He distinctly connected with a prediction of His own death, the fact that they had done to Elias also whatsoever they listed. Such connections of thought help us to realize the truth, that not once only, but throughout His ministry, He Who bids us bear our cross while we follow Him, was consciously bearing His own. We must not limit to “three days” the sorrows which redeemed the world.