Matthew 14:1 - Meaning and Application

This passage tells the story of John’s martyrdom. It begins with the reason Matthew brings it in here, in Matthew 14:1, 14:2. First, Herod the tetrarch, the chief ruler of Galilee, heard about the miracles Jesus was doing. At that time, when many of his own people looked down on Jesus because he seemed lowly and obscure, Jesus was becoming well known at court. God honors those who are despised for his sake. The gospel is like the sea, it gains in one place what it loses in another.

Jesus had already been preaching and working miracles for more than two years, yet Herod seems not to have heard of him until now, and even then only heard about his fame. This shows how unfortunate the great men of the world are, because they are often far from hearing the best things (1 Corinthians 2:8). They are the ones among whom “none of the rulers of this age knew” him (1 Corinthians 1:26). By now, Christ’s disciples had also been sent out to preach and to work miracles in his name, and that spread his fame even more. This was a sign of how the gospel would spread through them after Jesus returned to heaven.

Second, Herod made a strange conclusion from what he heard, in Matthew 14:2. He said to the servants who told him about Jesus’ fame, “This is John the Baptist. He has risen from the dead,” and that is why these mighty works are happening through him. Either Herod was not really a Sadducee, since the Sadducees say there is no resurrection (Acts 23:8), or his guilty conscience overpowered his beliefs, as often happens with people who live without God. Now he decided, whether there is a general resurrection or not, that John the Baptist had surely risen. While John was alive, he did no miracle (John 10:41), but Herod imagined that, having risen from the dead, he must now have greater power than before.

Notice several things about Herod. He had hoped that by beheading John, he would get rid of a troublesome man and then keep on sinning without being challenged. But as soon as that was done, he heard of Jesus and his disciples preaching the same pure teaching John had preached. Even more, the disciples were confirming it by miracles in their Master’s name. Ministers may be silenced, imprisoned, driven out, and killed, but the word of God cannot be put down. The prophets do not live forever, but the word still takes hold (Zechariah 1:5, 1:6). See also (2 Timothy 2:9). Sometimes God raises up many faithful ministers from the ashes of one. Even if trees are cut down, there is still hope for them (Job 14:7-9).

Herod was also filled with needless fear, and it came from the guilt of his own conscience. Blood cries out not only from the ground where it was shed, but also from the heart of the one who shed it. That heart becomes a terror to itself. A guilty conscience makes everything seem frightening, and like a whirlpool it pulls in everything nearby. So the wicked flee when no one is chasing them (Proverbs 28:1), and are in great fear where there is no fear (Psalm 14:5). With a little investigation, Herod could have found that Jesus had been alive long before John the Baptist died, and so he could not have been John come back to life. He could have corrected himself, but God justly left him in this confusion.

Yet Herod also grew harder in his sin. Even though he was convinced that John was a prophet and one approved by God, he still felt no sorrow for having killed him. Demons believe and tremble, but they never truly repent. There can be strong fear under conviction, without any real saving change of heart.

Then Matthew gives the story itself of John’s imprisonment and martyrdom. These sufferings of the first preacher of the gospel make it clear that bonds and troubles will remain with those who profess it. Just as the first saint in the Old Testament died as a martyr, so did the first minister in the New Testament. If Christ’s forerunner was treated this way, his followers should not expect the world to shower them with kindness.

John showed faithfulness by reproving Herod in Matthew 14:3, 14:4. Herod had heard John preach before (Mark 6:20), so John could speak to him with boldness. Ministers, whose office includes reproving sin, are especially bound to correct those under their care and not let sin go unchallenged. They have the best chance to deal with such people, and should expect them to hear with the least resistance.

The sin John confronted was Herod’s marriage to his brother Philip’s wife, not his widow, which would not have been so serious, but his wife while Philip was still alive. Herod had seduced her away from Philip and kept her for himself. This was a tangled evil, adultery and incest, along with the injury done to Philip, who had even had a child by this woman. The wrong was made worse because Philip was Herod’s brother, his half-brother by the father, though not by the mother. See (Psalm 50:20).

John reproved him plainly, not with hints or roundabout comments, but with direct words: “It is not lawful for you to have her.” He did not merely say it was unwise or dishonorable. He said it was unlawful. The worst part of sin is that it breaks God’s law. This was Herod’s own special sin, the one he loved, so John addressed it directly.

What God’s law forbids for ordinary people is also forbidden for princes and rulers. Those who govern others must remember that they too are only human and are accountable to God. It is no more lawful for a king than for the lowest subject to take another man’s wife. No royal power, not even the power of the greatest and most absolute king, can cancel God’s law.

If princes and great men break God’s law, it is fitting that proper people should tell them so, in the right way. They are not above the commands of Scripture, and they are not above the warnings of God’s ministers. It is not fitting to speak to a king with insult, or to tear down lawful authority. But those whose duty it is should tell rulers what is unlawful, and tell them plainly, “You are the man,” because faithful ministers speak for God, and God shows no favoritism toward princes or the rich over the poor.

John’s imprisonment followed his faithfulness in speaking the truth, in Matthew 14:3.

Herod seized John while John was preaching and baptizing. He stopped John’s work, bound him, and put him in prison. He did this partly to satisfy his own anger and partly to please Herodias, who seemed even more bitter against John than Herod was. It was for her sake that he acted.

Faithful rebukes often provoke people when they do not lead to good. If people will not bend under correction, they usually turn against the one who corrected them and hate him, as Ahab hated Micaiah (1 Kings 22:8). See also (Proverbs 9:8) and (Proverbs 15:10, 12). Truth often brings hatred. It is nothing new for God’s ministers to suffer for doing what is right (Acts 20:20). Some of John’s friends may have thought he had been unwise to rebuke Herod, and may have said he should have stayed quiet rather than offend a ruler he knew well. But that kind of caution is wrong if it keeps people from doing their duty as rulers, ministers, or Christian friends. John’s own conscience did not condemn him. This witness from his conscience would have made his chains lighter, because he suffered for doing good, not as a meddler in other people’s affairs (1 Peter 4:15).

Herod was also restrained from carrying out his rage against John more fully, as Matthew 14:5 shows. He wanted to put John to death. That may not have been his first thought when he imprisoned him, but revenge slowly grew until it reached that point. The path of sin, especially persecution, goes downhill. Once a person breaks through respect for Christ’s ministers in one case, he may later do what he once would have thought impossible, as in (2 Kings 8:13).

What held Herod back was his fear of the crowd, because they regarded John as a prophet. It was not fear of God, because if he had feared God, he would not have put John in prison. It was not fear of John, either, since his sinful desires had already overcome that respect. He feared the people, his own safety, and the safety of his rule, which he knew had already made him hated. He could see that killing a prophet might stir up the people against him.

Tyrants have fears of their own. Those who try to make others afraid are often the most afraid themselves. Wicked people are often kept from the worst sins only by concern for their own comfort, reputation, money, and safety. That same self-interest keeps them from many duties too. It is one way sinners are kept from being as wicked as they might otherwise be (Ecclesiastes 7:17). What seems dangerous to their senses or imagination matters more to them than what faith warns about. Herod feared a riot from killing John, and that never happened. But he did not fear the trouble it would bring to his own conscience, and that did happen (Matthew 14:2). People often fear being punished for sins they do not fear being condemned for.

John remained in prison a long time. In that prison he had no trial and no chance of bail, against the liberty that is secured by law in this nation, blessed be God. He is thought to have been kept there about a year and a half, about as long as he had spent in public ministry from the time he first began. His release came only through death, which is the end of all the troubles of a good man. Then the prisoners rest together, and they hear no more the voice of the oppressor (Job 3:18).

Herodias planned the murder. Her bitter revenge could be satisfied with nothing less than John’s blood. When sinful desires are crossed, they often turn into cruel passions. It was a woman, a prostitute, and the mother of harlots who was drunk with the blood of the saints (Revelation 17:5-6). Herodias worked out a plan that would bring about John’s death while protecting Herod’s reputation and calming the people. A poor excuse is better than none. Yet it is likely that Herod himself was part of the plot. All his surprise and sorrow were probably false. His claim about his oath and his respect for his guests was only show and empty ceremony.

But even if he had been tricked into it without knowing, he was still guilty, because it was the kind of thing he could have stopped and would not. If Jezebel brought Naboth to his death, but Ahab took the land, then Ahab was guilty of murder too. In the same way, even if Herodias arranged John’s beheading, Herod consented to it and took pleasure in it, so he was not merely an accomplice but a chief murderer.

Now that the plot has been set behind the curtain, we can see how it was carried out. First, Herod was pleased by the dancing of the girl at his birthday celebration. It seems his birthday was marked with some ceremony, and, as was usual in such a court, there was a feast and dancing. To honor the occasion, the daughter of Herodias danced before them. Since she was the queen’s daughter, this was more than she would normally have done.

Times of worldly pleasure are often convenient times for bad plans against God’s people. When a king is made drunk with wine, he joins in with mockers (Hosea 7:5), because doing harm is part of a fool’s sport (Proverbs 10:23). The Philistines, when they were in a merry mood, called for Samson so they could mock him. The massacre in Paris happened at a wedding. Her dancing pleased Herod. We are not told who danced with her, but no one pleased him as much as she did. A vain and ungodly heart is easily drawn to the desires of the flesh and the eyes. Once that happens, it is moving deeper into temptation, because Satan gains and holds control by that means. See (Proverbs 23:31-33). Herod was in a cheerful mood, and nothing suited him more than what fed his pride.

Second, Herod made a rash and foolish promise to the girl, saying he would give her whatever she asked. He backed this promise with an oath (Matthew 14:7). It was a reckless vow, and it did not fit a wise man who is careful not to trap himself with his own words (Proverbs 6:2). It suited a good man even less, one who should fear making a false oath (Ecclesiastes 9:2).

To place that empty honor in her hands, and let her use it whenever she wished, was far too great a reward for such a small bit of showy merit. I think Herod would never have done such a foolish thing unless both Herodias and the girl had coached him. Promised oaths can become traps. When they are made too quickly, they come from inner corruption and lead to many temptations. So do not swear rashly at all, so that you do not have to say later, “It was a mistake” (Ecclesiastes 5:6).

The young woman then made the bloody request for John the Baptist’s head (Matthew 14:8). She had already been instructed by her mother, Herodias, Herod’s sinful wife. This is a sad case for children whose parents advise them to do evil, like Ahaziah, King Jehoram’s son, who was taught and encouraged in sin (2 Chronicles 22:3). Bad teaching quickly stirs up our corrupt nature, while good teaching often struggles to restrain it. Children should not obey their parents when their parents command them to sin. If parents tell them to do wrong, they must refuse.

Herod had given the girl her chance, and Herodias had given her instructions, so she asked for John the Baptist’s head on a platter. Herodias may have feared that Herod would grow tired of her, since sinful desire often soon becomes dull and worn out. Then he might have used John’s rebuke as an excuse to send her away. To stop that, she pushed Herod into murder by making him join in John’s death. John had to be beheaded, and that was the death by which he would glorify God. Since he was the first to die after the beginning of the gospel era, his death is put for the deaths of all the martyrs (Revelation 20:4).

Yet even that was not enough. The deed had to satisfy a cruel whim as well as revenge. The head had to be given to her on a platter, served up in blood like a dish at a feast, almost as if it were a final course of the banquet. He was to have no trial, no public hearing, and no formal act of justice to give his death any dignity. He was tried, condemned, and executed all at once. It was well for him that he was already so dead to the world that even a sudden death could not surprise him.

Herod then granted the request (Matthew 14:9). The king was sorry, or at least claimed to be sorry, but for the sake of his oath he ordered it to be done. Here was a fake concern for John. Many people sin with regret, yet never feel true sorrow for their sin. They feel bad about what they do, but they do not have godly sorrow. They keep sinning, even while resisting it inwardly. Dr. Hammond suggests that part of Herod’s sorrow was that this was his birthday feast, and bloodshed on such a day would be a bad sign. On days of joy, people often used to show mercy. “We are keeping the birthday, so let there be no quarrels.”

There was also a false concern for his oath, with a polished show of honor and honesty. He thought he had to do something because of the oath. But a wicked oath never makes a wicked act right. It was already understood, even if not said out loud, that he would do only what was lawful and honest for her. When she asked for something sinful, he should have said plainly, and could have done so honorably, that the oath was void and no longer binding. No one can put himself under a duty to sin, because God has already bound every person so strongly against sin.

There was also plain weakness in giving in to wicked companions. Herod gave in, not mainly because of the oath, but because the matter was public and because he wanted to please those eating with him. He granted the request so he would not seem, in front of them, to have broken his word. Many people care more about saving face than about obeying conscience. Those at the table with him likely enjoyed the girl’s dancing as much as he did, and perhaps they were just as willing to see John the Baptist beheaded. Still, none of them had the honesty to step in and stop it, as Jehoiakim’s princes did (Jeremiah 36:25). If some ordinary people had been there, they might have rescued this Jonathan, as Jonathan was rescued in Saul’s day (1 Samuel 14:45).

At the bottom of it all was real hatred for John. If Herod had wanted to, he could have found ways to avoid carrying out his promise. A wicked mind always finds an excuse, yet the truth is that every man is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desire and trapped by it (James 1:14). Perhaps Herod quickly thought about how foolish his promise had been, since she might ask for a huge sum of money, which he valued far less than John the Baptist’s life. If so, he was glad to be free of the matter so cheaply. So he at once sent out an order for John’s beheading, apparently by word of mouth, not in writing. That precious life was treated as having very little worth. He commanded it to be given to her.

John was then executed according to that order (Matthew 14:10). Herod sent and beheaded John in the prison. The prison was probably very near, at the palace gate, and an officer was sent there to cut off the head of this great man. He was beheaded quickly, to satisfy Herodias, who was eager until it was done. It likely happened at night, since it was supper time, or after supper. It was done in the prison, not at the normal place of execution, because Herod feared a riot.

Much innocent blood, the blood of martyrs, has been covered up in corners like this. But when God comes to ask for blood, the earth will expose it and hide it no longer (Isaiah 26:21; Psalm 9:12). So that voice was silenced, that burning and shining light was put out. That prophet, that Elijah of the New Testament, became a sacrifice to the anger of a proud, immoral woman. He, who was great in the sight of the Lord, died like a fool dies. His hands were bound and his feet were put in chains, and he fell as a man falls before wicked men. Yet he was a true martyr in every sense. He died, not for confessing his faith, but for doing his duty.

Still, his work was soon finished, and his witness was complete. Until that point, none of God’s witnesses are truly slain. God also brought good from it, because John’s disciples, who had stayed close to him while he lived, even in prison, now after his death joined themselves heartily to Jesus Christ.

5. The handling of the poor remains of this blessed saint and martyr. After the head and body were separated,

The girl brought the head to her mother in triumph, as proof of her hatred and revenge (Matthew 14:11). Jerome, writing against Rufinus, says that when Herodias received John the Baptist’s head, she cruelly made sport of it by pricking the tongue with a needle, as Fulvia did to Cicero. Bloody-minded people are pleased by bloody sights, while tender-hearted people shrink from them.

At times the savage rage of persecutors has even fallen on the dead bodies of the saints and mocked them (Psalm 79:2). When the two witnesses are killed, those who live on the earth rejoice over them and celebrate (Revelation 11:10; Psalm 14:4-5). Sinful hatred does not always stop with death, and cruelty often keeps going after life is over.

The disciples buried the body and then brought the sad news to our Lord Jesus. John’s disciples had fasted often while their master was in prison. Their bridegroom had been taken from them, and they had prayed earnestly for his release, as the church prayed for Peter’s deliverance (Acts 12:5). They had open access to John in prison, which was a comfort, but they hoped to see him free so he could keep preaching. Now, suddenly, all their hopes were broken. Disciples weep when the world is glad.

They buried the body. We should show respect to Christ’s servants, not only while they live, but also in their bodies and memories after death. The first two New Testament martyrs were both given proper burial, John the Baptist by his disciples, and Stephen by devout men (Acts 8:2). Yet there was no later practice of worshiping their bones or relics, a superstition that grew up much later. To go too far in honoring the bodies of the saints is really to do harm. We must not treat them badly, but we must not treat them as divine.

Then they went and told Jesus. They did not do this only so he could protect himself, for he had surely already heard the news. They went to him for comfort and to remain among his followers. When anything troubles us, it is both our duty and our privilege to bring it to Christ. It eases a burdened heart to open up to a friend who can be trusted. Whatever has died, changed, or become painful, go and tell Jesus, who already knows and still welcomes the trouble of our souls.

We must also be careful that our religion does not die with our ministers. When John was dead, his disciples did not each return to his own way. They stayed faithful. When shepherds are struck down, the sheep do not need to scatter, because they still have the great Shepherd of the sheep, who never changes (Hebrews 13:8, 20). When ministers are taken away, we should move closer to Christ and depend on him more directly.

Sometimes even valued comforts are taken from us because they stand too much between us and Christ. They can draw away the love and honor that belong to him alone. John had already pointed his disciples to Christ and sent them after him, but they still clung to their old teacher while he lived. So he was removed, and they were driven to Jesus, whom they had once envied for John’s sake. It is better to come to Christ through loss than not to come to him at all. If our earthly masters are taken from us, our comfort is this, we still have a Master in heaven, who is also our Head.

Josephus also tells this story of John the Baptist’s death (Antiquities 18.116-119). He adds that a disastrous defeat of Herod’s army in his war with Aretas, king of Petrea, was widely seen by the Jews as a righteous judgment for killing John. Herod had also offended the emperor at Herodias’s urging, and was then removed from power and banished with her to Lyons in France. Josephus says this was their deserved punishment for listening to her pressure.

It is also told of Herodias’s daughter that while crossing ice in winter, the ice broke, and she fell in up to her neck. The sharp ice cut through her neck. Dr. Whitby says that God required her head for that of the Baptist, and if this account is true, it was a striking act of providence.