Bible Study series: Matthew 12:1-12. He was martyred for his righteousness and fearless preaching.

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In the next link to the original chapter, I also comment more and offer the Greek text. At the bottom you will find a “Summary and Conclusion” section geared toward discipleship. Check it out!

Matthew 14

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Let’s begin.

Scripture: Matthew 14:1-12

¹ At that time, Herod the tetrarch heard a report about Jesus. ² And he said to his servants, “This man is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead, and for this reason the powers work in him.” ³ For Herod had seized John, chained him, and put him aside in prison, because of Herodias, wife of Philip, his brother. ⁴ For John was saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her!” ⁵ Although he wished to kill him, he was afraid of the crowd, because they held him as a prophet. ⁶ But at Herod’s birthday celebrations, the daughter of Herodias danced in their midst and pleased Herod. ⁷ Hence, with an oath he declared to give her whatever she might request. ⁸ Being prompted beforehand by her mother, “Give me,” she said, “here, on a platter, the head of John the Baptist!” ⁹ Though the king was grieved, but because of his oaths and the dinner guests, ¹⁰ he ordered it to be given, sending men to behead John in prison. ¹¹ Then his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. ¹² His disciples approached and took up the body and buried him and went and reported it to Jesus. (Matt. 14:1-12)

Comments:

Let’s take this passage as a whole.

1-12:

Let’s review the historical data first. Herod Antipas ruled over Galilee and Perea from 4 BC to AD 39). Matthew correctly identified him as a tetrarch. Matthew also called him king (v. 9), for that was his popular title locally and in Rome. He was not really a king, however. He was a son of Herod the Great (r. 37 BC to AD 4).

Herodias had married yet another son of Herod the Great, Herod Philip I, whose mother was Mariamne), but he did not rule. Herod Antipas talked Herodias into leaving Herod Philip I, and she did, while Herod Philip I was still living. Both Herod Antipas and Herod Philip I were her uncles. The girl who danced was named Salome and was Herodias’s and Herod Philip I’s daughter. So she was Herod Antipas’s stepdaughter and grandniece. Since this dance was at his birthday party and wine flowed, we can be sure that he was drunk, and her dance, no doubt sexual, pleased him, so he made a rash vow. “Prompted beforehand” means that her mother knew the dance would please her drunk husband.

Nearly all Jews would have found Herod’s lust disgusting: because the girl was the daughter of a woman with whom Antipas was sleeping, desire for her constituted desire for incest, whether or not he was married to her mother (cf. Lev. 18:17; Amos 2:7). According to some accounts, the girl, Salome, may also have been between six and eight years old; more likely, she was a virgin of marriable age (twelve to fourteen), but possibly betrothed or married to Philip the tetrarch… Besides, though dancing was a regular feature of such drunken parties …, only in a drunken stupor would one invite another member of the royal family to engage in such a sensuous hellenistic dance” (Keener, p. 400).

The law which Herod and Herodias were breaking is found in Lev. 18:18, which reads: “You shall not uncover the nakedness [i.e. have sexual relations] of your brother’s wife; it is your brother’s nakedness” (Lev. 18:16, ESV). It was permitted to marry a brother’s wife if he were dead, which is called a levirate marriage (from levir or brother-in-law or husband’s brother) (Deut. 25:5-10).

⁵ “If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. ⁶ And the first son whom she bears shall succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel. (Deut. 25:5-6)

If a brother died, then his brother, probably the next oldest, was to marry his widow, to carry on his brother’s name.

However, as noted, Herod Philip I was still alive, so this marriage was illegal, by the standards of the Torah. John called out Herod Philip I and Herodias. He paid with his life.

John’s unjust death explains why so many societies for the past three hundred years revolted against kings and their regimes. They accumulated too much power and money in the hands of the few. Executing a prophet like John after a dance and by the command of a “king” must never be done again. Nowadays, in communist countries a person can be imprisoned and even executed for criticizing the government. In Islamic countries, a person can be imprisoned or executed for criticizing Islam. Both situations are inhumane and unjust and must be fought against. People must have the freedom of speech.

Such a grisly scene was not uncommon in the ancient world. Alexander Janneus had eight hundred rebels crucified and their families slaughtered before them while he feasted with his concubines, and Fulvia (Marc Anthony’s wife) had the head of Cicero brought to her and pierced its tongue with a pin for opposing her husband. Greco-Roman banquets would have separate dining halls for men and women, so Salome had to take it to her mother (Osborne, comment on 14:11)

“the powers work in him”: I had translated it as “miracles worked by him.” But I like Grammarian Olmstead’s choice of words here. Herod didn’t know how to categorize Jesus, so the king would get things wrong, like believing that Jesus was John raised from the dead. Maybe Herod thought Jesus was a ghostly power or a god.

In v. 7, Herod Antipas swore a strong oath. Jesus teaches us not to do this at all:

³³ Again, you have heard that it has been said to the people of old, “You shall not swear falsely. You shall give back to the Lord the oaths you have sworn” [Lev. 19:12; Deut. 23:22-23]. ³⁴ But I tell you not to swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God; ³⁵ neither by the earth because it is the footstool for his feet; neither by Jerusalem because it is the city of the great King; ³⁶ neither should you swear by your head because you are not able to make one hair white or black. ³⁷ But let your word be “yes, yes, no, no.” Anything beyond them is from the evil one. (Matt. 5:33-37)

Keep your life simple and full of integrity. Just keep your word, straightforwardly, without complications.

“disciples”:

Word Study on Disciple

Now let’s honor John the Immerser by reviewing his short life.

John’s birth is announced (Luke 1:11-20), and the angel Gabriel announces he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit in his mother’s womb:

“Don’t be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth shall birth you a son, and you shall call his name ‘John.’ ¹⁴ He shall be a joy and rejoicing for you, and many people shall rejoice at his birth, ¹⁵ for he shall be great before the Lord. And he shall not drink wine or alcohol, and he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit while still in his mother’s womb. (Luke 1:13-15)

His mother Elizabeth conceives (Luke 1:23-25). Her shame of barrenness was removed.

²⁴ After those days, his wife Elizabeth conceived and secluded herself for five months. ²⁵ She said, “And thus the Lord acted for me in the years he looked with favor and removed my shame among the people.” (Luke 1:24-25)

His birth takes place (Luke 1:57-66). People knew he would be special, because of the human-oriented miracles that surrounded his birth:

“No one of your relatives is called by that name.” ⁶² They began to make signs to his father as to what he would want to call him. ⁶³ He asked for a little writing tablet and wrote, saying, “John is his name.” And everyone was surprised. ⁶⁴ Instantly his mouth was opened, and his tongue, and he began speaking and praising God. ⁶⁵ And fear came on all their neighbors; and in the entire hill country of Judea, these words were spoken throughout. ⁶⁶ Everyone who heard tucked it in their hearts, saying, “What will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him. (Luke 1:61-66)

“Human-oriented miracles” means they were not signs in the sky, but blessed and help people down here on earth.

He begins his ministry in the wilderness of Judea (southern Israel) He wore austere clothing and ate honey and locusts. He prepared the way of the Lord Messiah (Matt. 3:1-12; Mark 1:2-8).

¹ In those days, John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, ² saying, “Repent! For the kingdom of heaven has drawn near!” ³ For he is the one spoken of through Isaiah the prophet, saying:

A voice shouting in the wilderness:
“Prepare the road of the Lord
Make straight his paths!” [Is. 40:3]

⁴ John himself had his clothes of camel hair and leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵ Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region around Jordan went out to him, ⁶ and they were being baptized in the Jordan River by him, confessing their sins. (Matt. 3:1-5)

He preached the baptism of repentance, which meant that people had to bring forth or do good works in keeping with repentance (Matt. 3:7-12; Luke 3:7-14; Acts 13:24)

⁷ Then, seeing many Pharisees and Sadducees were coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ So then produce fruit in keeping with repentance, ⁹ and do not think to say among yourselves, ‘We have Father Abraham.’ For I tell you that God is able from these rocks to raise up children to Abraham! ¹⁰ Already the axe is being plied to the root of the tree! Therefore, every tree not producing good fruit will be cut down and tossed into fire! ¹¹ On the one hand, I baptize you with water for repentance; in contrast, the one coming after me is stronger than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry! He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire! ¹² The winnowing fork is in his hand and he will clear out his threshing floor and gather his wheat in the storehouse, and he will burn the chaff in unquenchable fire! (Matt. 3:7-12)

John’s baptism of repentance did not go far enough. People needed to be filled with the Spirit, and only Jesus the Messiah could do this, and John himself said so:

¹¹ On the one hand, I baptize you with water for repentance; in contrast, the one coming after me is stronger than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry! He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire! ¹² The winnowing fork is in his hand and he will clear out his threshing floor and gather his wheat in the storehouse, and he will burn the chaff in unquenchable fire! (Matt. 3:11-12)

Here is how his (ultimately) insufficient baptism of repentance and water had to be supplemented with the fulness of the Spirit. Paul is speaking to certain disciples who had received only John’s baptism:

² He said to them, “Have you received the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They replied to him, “We have not at all heard whether there is the Holy Spirit.” ³ And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.” ⁴ Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people that they should believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” ⁵ When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶ And when Paul put his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, they began to speak in Spirit-inspired languages and to prophesy. ⁷ They were about twelve men in total. (Acts 19:2-7, my tentative translation)

As noted, he testified concerning Jesus (Matt. 3:11-12; Mark 1:7-8; John 1:29-36). Here is a key passage from the Gospel of John:

²⁹ The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ³¹ I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” ³² And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. ³³ I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.” (John 1:29-34, ESV)

He proclaimed that Jesus was to become greater and he lesser (John 3:25-30). “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).

He baptized Jesus (Matt. 3:13-17; Luke 3:21-22), and the Father’s declaration over his Son teaches that the Son really must increase and John must decrease.

¹³ Then Jesus appeared from Galilee to John at the Jordan in order to be baptized by him. ¹⁴ But John was preventing him saying, “I have need to be baptized by you, and you come to me?” ¹⁵ But in reply, Jesus said to him, “Permit it now, for in this way it is appropriate for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John permitted him. ¹⁶ And being baptized, Jesus instantly got up out of the water, and look! the heaven opened up to him and he saw the Spirit of God coming down as a dove and coming upon him. ¹⁷ And listen! A voice from heaven saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I delight!” (Matt. 3:13-17)

As we just saw, he was arrested by Herod (Matt. 4:12; Mark 1:14). Matthew announces this before he described it in more detail in 14:1-12. Herod really did arrest John and kept him in prison soon after Jesus began his ministry. Poor John languished in prison from then on.

In prison, he expressed doubts about Jesus’s Messiahship (Matt. 11:2-6; Luke 7:18-23)

As we just read in this chapter, he was unjustly beheaded by Herod (Matt. 14:1-12; Mark 6:14-29), as we see in these twelve verses.

And as noted above, he fulfilled the prophecy about Elijah returning in Spirit (Mal. 4:5-6; Matt. 11:7-19; Mark 9:11-13).

John was a powerful prophet, called of God. Jesus, his cousin (or relative of some kind), was called to surpass him, yet John did not mind one bit. In fact, John announced that this would happen, so he was not insecure about it. He understood his place. It is a sad fact that he died young at the hands of an unjust royal family (of sorts).

Herod was dead while living, and on John’s death he was alive. “And do not fear those who kill the body, but who are unable to kill the soul. But fear, rather, the one able to destroy both the soul and the body in Gehenna” (Matt. 10:28).

John’s disciples went and reported John’s death to Jesus. This happened in 11:1-19. Therefore, this passage about John’s death in 14:1-12 is a retrospective or flashback. It’s the storyteller’s art and license to tell the story of John, as Matthew wished..

GrowApp for Matt. 14:1-12

1. Do you know someone who has come from a communist or Islamic country? Was his or her life threatened or oppressed? How do you react to injustice?

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2. Archaeology and the Synoptic Gospels

14. Similarities among John’s Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels

1. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Introduction to Series

SOURCES AND MORE

To see the bibliography, please click on this link and scroll down to the bottom. You will also find a “Summary and Conclusion” for discipleship.

Matthew 14