“When Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee, heard about Jesus, he said to his advisers, ‘This must be John the Baptist raised from the dead! That is why he can do such miracles.” For Herod had arrested and imprisoned John as a favor to his wife Herodias (the former wife of Herod’s brother, Philip). John had been telling Herod, ‘It is against God’s law for you to marry her.’ Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of a riot, because all the people believed John was a prophet.
But at a birthday for Herod, Herodias’s daughter performed a dance that greatly pleased him, so he promised with a vow to give her anything she wanted. At her mother’s urging, the girl said, ‘I want the head of John the Baptist on a tray!’ Then the king regretted what he had said; but because of the vow he had made in front of his guests, he issued the necessary orders. So John was beheaded in the prison, and his head was brought on a tray and given to the girl, who took it to her mother. Later, John’s disciples came for his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus what had happened.”
This is not the Herod who ruled when Jesus was born, who had an audience with the Magi and ordered the death of all the male infants and toddlers in Bethlehem, hoping to kill Jesus along with all the others. This Herod, Antipas, was one of Herod the Greats’ three surviving sons, in power during the ministry of John the Baptist and of Jesus. Jesus appeared before Antipas after his arrest. Hoping to pass off the decision of what to do with Jesus, Pilate sent him to Antipas for judgment, as Antipas was in Jerusalem for Passover. Luke says, “When Herod (Antipas) saw Jesus he was very glad for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by him.” But Antipas was unwilling to pass judgment on Jesus, and so passed him back to Pilate.
But Antipas is not the central character in this passage, John the Baptist is.
I think it completely ignoble and unjust that John’s end was brought about in prison, by the decision of an evil woman and her foolish, unthinking daughter. Angel Gabriel told John’s father that his son would be a joy and delight to him, that he would be great in the eyes of the Lord, and that he would be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from birth. He further promised that many of the people in Israel would be brought back to the Lord because of John, that he would go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, and that he would turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—that he would make ready a people prepared for the Lord. We know from the gospel accounts that John did all those things…all of them.
We all get to choose the final end that will come to us. Herod Antipas, Herodias, and daughter, Salome, were eventually deposed by Emperor Caligula and exiled to southern France, which is now the French Rivera, but then was rough and difficult territory. No more is known of them. But John the Baptist is still regarded as the righteous man he was, the powerful preacher who prepared the way for Jesus. He chose to be forever faithful to God and God will be forever faithful to him. In heaven he will be great, companion of Jesus, partaker of the joy and favor of God.
Prayer: “Faithful Father, I am so glad that your scripture is full of the examples of faithful people, who endured difficulty and disfavor because they stood for right. I am eager to walk the streets of heaven, to meet them and to rejoice with them. Strengthen my heart and my mind so that I am never turned aside from faith in Jesus. Grant that I too will witness your joy and know your favor. Direct my path and my thoughts in this day so that I bring honor to you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”