The Death of John the Baptist

Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not: For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly. And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee; And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist. And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother. Mark 6:19-28

Steps: 4, 5

In this story John has been imprisoned because he was willing to be a faithful sponsor, even knowing that if spoke the truth he might die. None the less John was willing to confront and it eventually cost him his life. The person most angry at him was Herodias, Herod’s illegal wife. She was angry at the prophet for upsetting her experience. She waited and plotted to get revenge knowing that she could not attack John directly for Herod would protect him. But she knew of Herod’s tendency to drink and make big promises while drunk. She waited for a party night and when her daughter danced for Herod he promised her anything up to half of his kingdom. Feeling the big shot he was not aware that he had been set up by Herodias. When he made his big promise Herodias took advantage of the opportunity and through her daughter she accomplished the death of John. Another great man suffered death due to a drunkard’s promise.

Prayer for Today: God, You know how many promises we have made in our lives and how foolish most of them have been. Today we would like to apologize to You again for our foolishness and we would like to take advantage of Your promises to us. Help us to remember how crazy we can get, and help us to remember how stable You are. Thank You that You have not given up on us.