King Herod heard about Jesus, for his fame had become widespread,
and people were saying,
“John the Baptist has been raised from the dead;
That is why mighty powers are at work in him.”
Others were saying, “He is Elijah”;
still others, “He is a prophet like any of the prophets.”
But when Herod learned of it, he said,
“It is John whom I beheaded. He has been raised up.”
Herod was the one who had John arrested and bound in prison
on account of Herodias,
the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married.
John had said to Herod,
“It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
Herodias harbored a grudge against him
and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so.
Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man,
and kept him in custody.
When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed,
yet he liked to listen to him.
Herodias had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday,
gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers,
and the leading men of Galilee.
His own daughter came in and performed a dance
that delighted Herod and his guests.
The king said to the girl,
“Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you.”
He even swore many things to her,
“I will grant you whatever you ask of me,
even to half of my kingdom.”
She went out and said to her mother,
“What shall I ask for?”
Her mother replied, “The head of John the Baptist.”
The girl hurried back to the king’s presence and made her request,
“I want you to give me at once on a platter
the head of John the Baptist.”
The king was deeply distressed,
but because of his oaths and the guests
he did not wish to break his word to her.
So he promptly dispatched an executioner
with orders to bring back his head.
He went off and beheaded him in the prison.
He brought in the head on a platter
and gave it to the girl.
The girl in turn gave it to her mother.
When his disciples heard about it,
they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
Herod was a man of the world and only part Jewish. He was a usurper to the throne, and did not have a rightful claim to the throne of David because he was not even a decendant of david. He was placed on the throne by the romans, because the romans knew that they could control him with the trappings of royalty and wealth, and there is no doubt that Herod was deeply enthralled with these things and deeply concerned about the potential loss of them.
Herod being king thought he could do anything he wanted and as such he took his brothers wife for his own. John told him this was unlawful, and would not sanction the marriage. John upset all involved especially Herodias, Herod’s brothers’ wife. John was placed in prison for his outspoken opposition to what Herod was doing and the embarassment it was causing him. But Herod would not execute John because he knew that there was something special about John. Something that he feared transgressing against. And it was because of this fear that he kept John in prison instead of killing him for his disrespect.
Thus we come to the reading today. Herod again lets his desire and pride get the best of him, and he makes a promise that he should not have made. Herod knows that what this girl asks is terribly wrong…, but because of his promise, and even more because of his pride, he does the one thing that he knows he shouldn’t, for fear of looking bad among his courtiers.
It seems insane, that you would kill a man for the sake of “saving face.” But in truth this is done millions of times a day, every day on social networks, people slander and libel each other constantly, and say all kinds of horrible things to each other. Remember that the torah says that to kill a mans “name” is no different than killing his body. If you add in all of the aborted babies, and elderly people that were killed for the sake of convenience, it is not so hard to see the connection to what Herod did.
And so pride strikes again. It caused Satan to fall, it is the reason that many refuse to accept the truth of the Jesus Christ, and it still today is the source of so much pain and suffering. If Herod had simply said, “I let my delight get the best of me, and I made a promise that I clearly cannot fullfill, please accept my apology, and choose something else,” things might have gone very differently for John, but no, the devil was wispering in his Herods ear, saying, “what will they think of you, what will they say about you? They will all say that Herod is a boastful ass, and cannot be trusted.” And then pride took over.
This is the reality that we all must be on guard against, and we must all check our desires, before they get out of control, and this is a very good warning for us all to carefully heed. We should never allow the earthly things of this world and the trappings of power, to subvert our knowledge of what is right and wrong, and we should never boast of anything other than the Lord. If we follow these warnings, then we can be more assured of living in Gods grace, and we can hope in His mercy and forgiveness forever.
