14:1–12 “At that time,” Matthew says, Herod the tetrarch hears about the fame of Jesus (v. 1).234 The tetrarch is Herod Antipas, a lesser son of Herod the Great. This lesser Herod governed Galilee and Perea but not Judea. He could be called a king (v. 9) in a loose sense. Most of Jesus’ ministry occurred in his lands. While Herod Antipas had fewer skills and smaller territories than his father, family resemblances still held. The Herods had Jewish and Edomite blood. Friends of Rome, they served at Rome’s will and for its purposes. Their concern for Jewish law was external. They merely wished, if possible, to avoid offending their Jewish subjects. Wealthy, proud, murderous, and prone to use the same names over and over, the Herods married as they wished, often incestuously. The two women mentioned in chapter 14 are Herodias and her daughter, Salome. Herodias had married her uncle Herod Antipas after divorcing another of her uncles, Herod Philip, with whom she had birthed Salome. Herod Antipas had likewise divorced his spouse, Phasaelis, in order to marry Herodias. When Salome matured (she was perhaps fourteen when she danced for Herod Antipas), Salome married Philip the tetrarch, son of Herod the Great by another woman and thus the half brother of Herod Antipas. By this marriage “she became both aunt and sister-in-law to her mother.”235 This dizzying set of events conflicted with the biblical view of marriage as a covenant (Mal. 2:14) and violated Levitical laws governing consanguinity (Lev. 18:16; 20:21). John dared to tell Herod that his marriage was “not lawful,” and Herod ultimately beheaded John for it (Matt. 14:4, 9–11).

The report of John’s death fits chapter 14 thematically. Herod hears of Jesus’ miracles at this time. In a confused attempt to account for these miracles, Herod guesses that “this is John the Baptist . . . raised from the dead” (v. 2). Bad theology and a guilty conscience lead Herod to his conclusion. He evidently believes in the resurrection, but his supernaturalism is superstitious and vain.

When sometime in the past John had told Herod that his recent marriage was “not lawful,” (v. 4), it especially offended his new wife and former sister-in-law (Matthew calls her “his brother Philip’s wife” in verse 3, since she was so, and since that marriage had not ended legitimately). In the end Herod seized John, bound him, imprisoned him, and finally killed him.

Some detect a conflict between the Gospel accounts of these events. Matthew says Herod “wanted to put [John] to death” but hesitated since “he feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet” (v. 5). Mark 6:20 reports that Herod occasionally visited John, adding that “Herod feared John, . . . kept him safe. . . . And . . . heard him gladly.” The discrepancy is superficial. It is easy to see how Herod could simultaneously want to kill John, since his prophecy caused him trouble, and wish to protect him (Matt. 14:5; Mark 6:20).236 Herod could certainly hate one part of John’s message and hear him gladly on other points. Every historian is familiar with the sensitive tyrant: the man who kills those he loves, then weeps over his loss. The father of Herod Antipas, Herod the Great, did the same thing. And every pastor knows that great sinners can admire righteous men, love to hear of a nobler path, and wish, lamely, for virtue without ever pursuing it. The accounts, taken together, make perfect sense.

As absurd as the account seems, the death of John fits Herodian history. The Herods were undisciplined. A dance, almost certainly a sensual element of a drunken party, had impressed Antipas.237 Affecting the ways of oriental potentates (Est. 5:3), he had taken an oath offering Herodias’s daughter “whatever she might ask” (Matt. 14:7). When, after consulting her mother, she had asked for the head of John, “The king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given” (v. 9).238 Clearly, Herod had made a rash vow. He should not have made it. Once he did make it, he should not have kept it. But sin—here, drunkenness and lust—makes people foolish. Besides, Herod was a weak man, and “like most weak men, Herod feared to be thought weak.”239 So he executed John. This violated Jewish law, which prohibited execution without trial and had no provision for beheading.

The death of John is senseless due to his innocence, tragic due to his importance, and ominous due to his connection to Jesus. Both are prophets, called by God. Both open their ministry by proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (3:2; 4:17). Both draw great crowds and gather disciples from those crowds. Both attract irrational opposition from political leaders. In both cases, hostile leaders hesitate to harm their targets because the people regard them as prophets (14:5; 21:26). But when Herod kills John, who has prepared the way for the Lord (3:3), it prompts the question: Does the fate of John foreshadow Jesus’ death? Perhaps so; when Jesus hears of John’s death, he leaves the area (14:13).