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(Audio)
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.
The place of Herodias in the life of Herod was tenuous. Herod might have been convinced at any moment by the words of his prisoner John the Baptist, to whom "he liked to listen". We can imagine why the words of the one who called their union "not lawful" would be threatening to Herodias. There was always the possibility that the idle curiosity of Herod about the John would turn into something more serious. If it did, there was no guarantee that she would be able to retain her relationship the royal position it entailed.
She 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.
Herodias’ own daughter came in
and performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests.
Herodias preyed upon the same weakness that John condemned in Herod. Presumably it was to some degree sensuality that caused him to take Herodias as a wife in spite of the prohibition against such a marriage. And it was sensuality, drinking, a party, and a dance that again managed to captivate him and sufficiently mute the voice of his conscience in order permanently remove the danger represented to his hedonistic ego by John. The volume of the temptation was turned up to eleven, while the voice of reason was never more for him than a passing interest. It was not enough to provide proof against the temptation. In his desire to honor the pleasure he had received he surrendered his self-control and even his rationality. On some level he responded to the dance as though it were an idol to be rewarded, as though making promises would help to continue and increase the delight he had received. Thus, as is always the case with sin, he gave of himself but received nothing real in return. And indeed, what he gave of himself he was not able to claw back.
“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.”
The fact that Herod agreed to put John to death was not the end of the story for his afflicted conscience. We know that even after the death of John his memory continued to haunt the corrupt king. Thus, when he heard about Jesus, who was the fulfillment of everything represented by John, he said, "This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him" (see Matthew 14:2). The consequences of sin listed by Paul are clearly seen in Herod's own life choices: "they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened" (see Romans 1:21). Yet we also see that it is impossible to deaden the voice of conscience entirely. The form conscience takes when it is suppressed is increasingly experienced as antagonistic and thus perhaps even less easy to accept, at least without some kind of rock bottom experience leading to desperation for change. But we can see that the words of John the Baptist were not entirely wasted and even Herod was not left entirely without hope.
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.
The place of Herodias in the life of Herod was tenuous. Herod might have been convinced at any moment by the words of his prisoner John the Baptist, to whom "he liked to listen". We can imagine why the words of the one who called their union "not lawful" would be threatening to Herodias. There was always the possibility that the idle curiosity of Herod about the John would turn into something more serious. If it did, there was no guarantee that she would be able to retain her relationship the royal position it entailed.
She 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.
Herodias’ own daughter came in
and performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests.
Herodias preyed upon the same weakness that John condemned in Herod. Presumably it was to some degree sensuality that caused him to take Herodias as a wife in spite of the prohibition against such a marriage. And it was sensuality, drinking, a party, and a dance that again managed to captivate him and sufficiently mute the voice of his conscience in order permanently remove the danger represented to his hedonistic ego by John. The volume of the temptation was turned up to eleven, while the voice of reason was never more for him than a passing interest. It was not enough to provide proof against the temptation. In his desire to honor the pleasure he had received he surrendered his self-control and even his rationality. On some level he responded to the dance as though it were an idol to be rewarded, as though making promises would help to continue and increase the delight he had received. Thus, as is always the case with sin, he gave of himself but received nothing real in return. And indeed, what he gave of himself he was not able to claw back.
“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.”
The fact that Herod agreed to put John to death was not the end of the story for his afflicted conscience. We know that even after the death of John his memory continued to haunt the corrupt king. Thus, when he heard about Jesus, who was the fulfillment of everything represented by John, he said, "This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him" (see Matthew 14:2). The consequences of sin listed by Paul are clearly seen in Herod's own life choices: "they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened" (see Romans 1:21). Yet we also see that it is impossible to deaden the voice of conscience entirely. The form conscience takes when it is suppressed is increasingly experienced as antagonistic and thus perhaps even less easy to accept, at least without some kind of rock bottom experience leading to desperation for change. But we can see that the words of John the Baptist were not entirely wasted and even Herod was not left entirely without hope.
We see in John, who never appeared very impressive in terms of worldly status or wealth, precisely how "God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong". Exactly when John seemed more than ever to "count for nothing" he reduced to nothing one who appeared to be something. The reversal was among the greatest imaginable. Herod appeared victorious when he had John killed, yet was in the act defeated. John seemed to lose everything when he was slain, yet it was in fact then that he truly gained all things.
Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield,
For in him our hearts rejoice;
in his holy name we trust.
Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield,
For in him our hearts rejoice;
in his holy name we trust.
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