At
that time, Herod the tetrarch heard the report concerning Jesus, and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptizer. He is risen from the dead. That is why these powers work in him.” For Herod had laid hold of John, and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. For John said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” When he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet. But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced among them and pleased Herod. Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatever she should ask. She, being prompted by her mother, said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptizer.”
Matthew 14:1-8
Matthew 13 [53.] When Jesus had finished these parables, he departed from there. Coming into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom, and these mighty works? Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother called Mary, and his brothers, James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? Aren’t all of his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all of these things?” They were offended by him.
But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and in his own house.” He didn’t do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
Matthew 14 [1.] At that time, Herod the tetrarch heard the report concerning Jesus, and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptizer. He is risen from the dead. That is why these powers work in him.” For Herod had laid hold of John, and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. For John said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” When he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet. But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced among them and pleased Herod. Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatever she should ask. She, being prompted by her mother, said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptizer.”
Matthew 14 [9.] The king was grieved, but for the sake of his oaths, and of those who sat at the table with him, he commanded it to be given, and he sent and beheaded John in the prison. His head was brought on a platter, and given to the young lady: and she brought it to her mother. His disciples came, and took the body, and buried it; and they went and told Jesus. Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat, to a deserted place apart. When the multitudes heard it, they followed him on foot from the cities.
Meaning:
Jesus had just been rejected in his home town of Nazareth, where the people asked, “Where did this man get this wisdom, and these mighty works?” (Matthew 13:54). Now the news about him reaches the palace of the ruler of Galilee. Matthew uses Herod’s troubled reaction to tell, in a flashback, how John the Baptizer came to be arrested and killed.
- “Herod the tetrarch heard the report concerning Jesus”
This Herod is Herod Antipas, a son of Herod the Great, the king who had tried to kill the infant Jesus (Matthew 2:16). After his father’s death the Romans divided the kingdom, and Antipas ruled Galilee and Perea as “tetrarch”, a title meaning the ruler of a quarter of a kingdom. He was not truly a king, though people called him one (Matthew 14:9).
Herod’s first thought was not that Jesus might be the Messiah, but “This is John the Baptizer. He is risen from the dead.” Mark records that others said, “He is Elijah” or “a prophet”, but Herod insisted, “This is John, whom I beheaded” (Mark 6:14-16). A guilty conscience can make a man see the face of his victim everywhere.
- “It is not lawful for you to have her”
Herodias had been married to Herod’s brother Philip. The Jewish historian Josephus adds that Antipas sent away his own wife, a daughter of the Nabatean king Aretas, in order to marry her. The Law of Moses forbade such a union: “You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife. It is your brother’s nakedness” (Leviticus 18:16). Luke adds that John reproved Herod “for Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for all the evil things which Herod had done” (Luke 3:19-20).
John did not soften the word because the man in front of him held power. He stood in the line of the prophets who confronted kings, like Elijah before Ahab. Herodias, plotting against the prophet who exposed her, resembles Jezebel, who sent word to Elijah that she would take his life (1 Kings 19:2). Jesus later said that John was “much more than a prophet” (Matthew 11:9-10).
- “He feared the multitude”
Herod wanted John dead, but he was afraid of the people, who honored John as a prophet. Mark shows another side of his feelings: “Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and kept him safe” (Mark 6:20). A man who is ruled by fear of others will sooner or later do what he knows is wrong.
- “He promised with an oath to give her whatever she should ask”
At Herod’s birthday banquet the daughter of Herodias, whom Josephus names Salome, danced before the guests. Pleased, Herod made an extravagant promise. Mark reports that he swore to give her anything “up to half of my kingdom” (Mark 6:23), the same words King Ahasuerus used to Queen Esther (Esther 5:3). Esther used the king’s favor to save her people; Herodias used Herod’s promise to kill a prophet. The girl, “prompted by her mother”, asked for the head of John on a platter, as though it were one more dish at the feast (Mark 6:24-25).
The Significance of Matthew 14:1-8
- Speaking the truth to power
John lost his freedom, and then his life, for speaking plainly about sin in high places. Faithfulness to God sometimes means saying what powerful people do not want to hear.
- The danger of rash words
Herod’s careless oath trapped him. Scripture warns, “It is better that you should not vow, than that you should vow and not pay” (Ecclesiastes 5:5), and Jesus taught, “let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No.’” (Matthew 5:37). Words spoken to impress others can lead us where we never meant to go.
Cross-References:
Leviticus 18:16: "You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife. It is your brother’s nakedness." The law John applied to Herod.
Mark 6:20: "Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and kept him safe." Mark’s parallel account.
Esther 5:3: "It shall be given you even to the half of the kingdom." A king’s promise used for good.
Conclusion: Herod Antipas heard about Jesus and feared that John the Baptizer had risen from the dead. Matthew explains why: John had told Herod that his marriage to Herodias was unlawful, and Herod had imprisoned him. The passage honors a prophet who spoke the truth without fear and warns against the fear of people, careless promises and a hardened conscience.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible