John the Baptist Beheaded - Mark 6:14-29
John the Baptist Beheaded
14 King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
15 Others said, “He is Elijah.”
And still others claimed, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago.”
16 But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!”
17 For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, 20 because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him.
21 Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests.
The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” 23 And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”
24 She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?”
“The head of John the Baptist,” she answered.
25 At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
26 The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27 So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, 28 and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. 29 On hearing of this, John’s disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
Reflection:
The immediate occasion for this somewhat horrific story about John the Baptist's beheading is Herod's fascination with Jesus and the haunting fear that John the Baptist had been raised from the dead. Herod had a personal court with John and was interested in his teaching. He even deemed him a holy and just man. He was being convicted by the Holy Spirit of his need to repent of marrying his brother's wife and yet he also didn't want to repent.
At this point the story of John's beheading at the request of this same wife as a result of her daughter's dancing presumably forced Herod's hand to keep the oath he made. But at the end of the day we see the cover up of his own sin and his refusal to repent ended up in him killing the very one who had the words to give him life. Because he was so guilty of this horrific act, he interpreted Jesus to be John reincarnated. Instead of the life and peace he would have had by turning from his sin and being saved, he denied it and killed the very source of it.
It would be easy for us to spend all of our time reflecting on how horrible and gruesome King Herod was. But we know at a point Herod was open and curious to the Christian faith. He was what we might call a seeker. But in the end his sin and the people around him prevented him from coming into the abundant life Jesus came to give.
So the question for is to ponder today is, where is God calling us to turn from things we know are wrong? Where are we covering up sin despite the Holy Spirit's nudging us to repent and turn to God for forgiveness? And do we kill the prophets who point out our sin. God will use other people to point out our sin, but when they do we kill the prophet to maintain our own righteousness. The problem with that is that we will never be at peace. We end up paying the price for holding on to something we know is wrong.
May we not be like Herod who knew what he did was wrong, and even was open to the truth. But in the end he snuffed it out only to his eventual demise in both body and spirit.
14 King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
15 Others said, “He is Elijah.”
And still others claimed, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago.”
16 But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!”
17 For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, 20 because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him.
21 Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests.
The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” 23 And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”
24 She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?”
“The head of John the Baptist,” she answered.
25 At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
26 The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27 So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, 28 and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. 29 On hearing of this, John’s disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
Reflection:
The immediate occasion for this somewhat horrific story about John the Baptist's beheading is Herod's fascination with Jesus and the haunting fear that John the Baptist had been raised from the dead. Herod had a personal court with John and was interested in his teaching. He even deemed him a holy and just man. He was being convicted by the Holy Spirit of his need to repent of marrying his brother's wife and yet he also didn't want to repent.
At this point the story of John's beheading at the request of this same wife as a result of her daughter's dancing presumably forced Herod's hand to keep the oath he made. But at the end of the day we see the cover up of his own sin and his refusal to repent ended up in him killing the very one who had the words to give him life. Because he was so guilty of this horrific act, he interpreted Jesus to be John reincarnated. Instead of the life and peace he would have had by turning from his sin and being saved, he denied it and killed the very source of it.
It would be easy for us to spend all of our time reflecting on how horrible and gruesome King Herod was. But we know at a point Herod was open and curious to the Christian faith. He was what we might call a seeker. But in the end his sin and the people around him prevented him from coming into the abundant life Jesus came to give.
So the question for is to ponder today is, where is God calling us to turn from things we know are wrong? Where are we covering up sin despite the Holy Spirit's nudging us to repent and turn to God for forgiveness? And do we kill the prophets who point out our sin. God will use other people to point out our sin, but when they do we kill the prophet to maintain our own righteousness. The problem with that is that we will never be at peace. We end up paying the price for holding on to something we know is wrong.
May we not be like Herod who knew what he did was wrong, and even was open to the truth. But in the end he snuffed it out only to his eventual demise in both body and spirit.
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