For the same Herod had sent and seized John, and had bound him in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of Philip his brother, because he had married her.
Mark breaks off his account of sending out the twelve disciples to look back at a death that had already happened. John the Baptist lay chained in prison by order of Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee, because of Herodias — a woman Herod had taken from his own brother.
Verse 14 has just told us that Herod was sure Jesus was John risen from the dead. This verse begins the explanation of that haunted certainty.
The third thing to notice is the solemn history of conscience in King Herod. When he heard how famous Jesus had become, he credited the miracles to John the Baptist, risen from the dead. Other men held the usual mix of opinions and uncertainty, but Herod's bad conscience made him sure it was John, the man he had beheaded. What a torment conscience is, even in this life!... The Holy Spirit then turns aside to tell us the circumstances, and to explain why Herod was so uneasy and troubled.
The verse says Herod "had married her." Commentators weigh that marriage against God's law on family ties, and find more than one wrong in it.
John rebuked the king for the many notorious evils he had committed. But perhaps his blackest crime was marrying his brother Philip's wife. The fearless prophet did not hold back. He denounced the incestuous adulterer to his face, though the man sat on a throne, and condemned him by the laws of God and man (Lev. 18:16; Lev. 20:21)... The king's guilt was three times over. Herod's own wife was alive. Herodias' husband was alive. And Herod and Herodias were uncle and niece. But there was no repentance.
John did not deliver his verdict once and move on. The Greek tense in the next verse points to a settled habit.
The king often sent for the great preacher, but he had only one text: "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." The imperfect tense in the Greek of Mark 6:18 shows that this was John's constant theme with the wicked king... The guilt of sin is the first lesson from God that everyone has to learn. Until a person learns it, no other lesson is possible.
Herod did not answer the charge. He removed the man who made it. One writer traces that move back to the desire already at work in him.
The testimony of the faithful does not improve the world. It condemns it, and that is what the world cannot bear... The lust of the flesh was at work in this man's heart, and it leads him into wickedness and pollution. The sinner cannot give up sinning, even under restraint. He carries on in his sin by getting rid of the witness who condemns him. So Herod has John seized, bound, and put in prison. Corruption always leads on to violence.
Mark says Herod seized John "for the sake of Herodias." Herod himself was of two minds. He respected John, he listened to him, and he still kept him in chains.
His unlawful wife swayed him, and he put John in prison for the testimony John brought him. Of course John was right to rebuke Herod's adulterous marriage, for Herod was king of Israel, the nation that claimed to be God's. The hatred of Herodias demanded John's death, but Herod feared John, whom he knew to be a just and holy man. When John spoke to him, he did many things. No doubt he was trying to soothe his conscience with outward good deeds, while the truth never reached his heart, even though he was glad to listen to John. It is one thing to see that something is true. It is quite another to let it take hold of the heart.
John's task was to go ahead of the Messiah. Prison did not end that task.
John was the forerunner of the Messiah, the righteous Servant of Jehovah, right down to the last act of his public testimony. He bore witness to the Anointed Sufferer in the prison just as much as in the wilderness, for both he and his Master were cut off in the middle of their days.
What Herod did to the messenger pointed to what he would later do to the Master.
The rejection and murder of the Forerunner is a solemn indication that, in due time, Herod will take his part in the rejection and crucifixion of Christ.
- The sin. Herod married his brother's wife, who was also his niece, while both his own wife and her husband were still living — a marriage God's law condemned.
- The word. John said it more than once. It was his steady message to the king, since the guilt of sin is the first lesson anyone has to learn.
- The chain. Unable to give up the sin, Herod silenced the witness instead; corruption always moves on to violence.
- The heart. He heard John gladly and did many things, yet knowing something is true is not the same as letting it take hold of the heart.
- The pattern. John went ahead of his Master in prison and death, as he had in preaching. The king who bound him would soon share in rejecting Christ.
For John said to Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have the wife of thy brother.
One sentence, repeated in a king's ear, sent John to prison. What does a servant of God owe a ruler living in open sin — and what does that faithfulness cost?
John was not offering a private opinion. His charge rested on God's written commands about marriage inside the family. The guilt had three layers:
John rebuked the king for the many well-known evils he had done. Perhaps his worst crime was marrying his brother Philip's wife. The fearless prophet did not hold back. He named him to his face as a man guilty of incest and adultery, even though he sat on a throne, and he condemned him by the laws of God and of man (Lev. 18:16; Lev. 20:21). "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife" summed up his charge. The king's guilt was three times over. Herod's own wife was alive. The husband of Herodias was alive. And Herod and Herodias were uncle and niece.
Mark's wording describes a habit, not one outburst. One writer draws that from the Greek tense:
Someone may say: "I wish you would change your tune, sir. Why do you keep bringing up this question of sin?" Herod no doubt said something like that to John the Baptist. The king often sent for the great preacher, but he had one text: "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." The imperfect tense in the Greek of Mark 6:18 shows that this was John's regular theme with the wicked ruler. … The guilt of sin is the first lesson from God that everyone has to learn. Until a person learns it, no other lesson is possible.
John named the exact wrong each group was guilty of. The king got no softer treatment.
He does not talk to people vaguely about sin in general. He speaks straight to them about their own sins. To the tax collectors, whose special fault was demanding more than was due, he says, "Collect no more than you are authorized to do." To the soldiers he says, "Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages" … To Herod the king, who was no doubt used to very different language, he gives a short, stern rebuke: "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." These last few words cost him his life.
Herod ruled the nation God had chosen. That gave John the right to speak, and it made Herod's answer worse.
It was right for John to rebuke Herod for the serious sin of taking his brother's wife as his own. Herod was king of the nation God had chosen, and he was responsible to obey God's authority. So there is no doubt the prophet spoke for God. John rebuked him for other evils too. But instead of taking this to heart, Herod added the wickedness of putting the Lord's servant in prison.
Herod jailed the man he could not answer. Prison was not the end of that road:
The testimony of the faithful does not improve the world. It condemns the world, and that is what the world cannot bear. … The lust of the flesh was at work in this man's heart, and to satisfy it he is led into wickedness and pollution. The sinner cannot give up sinning even when something holds him back. He goes on in his sin by getting rid of the witness who condemns him. So Herod has John seized, bound, and put in prison. Violence always follows corruption. Held in check at first, it opens the door to murderous thoughts, and his conscience grows harder and harder.
Herod killed the preacher, but he did not end the preaching. One writer traces what Herod later sensed:
He had removed the head of the Baptist, but the voice that spoke of righteousness and purity was not silenced. The witness for the truth may be killed, and his bloody head shown off at the wild parties of the wicked, but the sword cannot put truth itself to death. And Herod was not wrong to think that the Voice then preaching in Capernaum and Chorazin was saying to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her."
- Law. John's charge came from God's written commands on marriage. Herod's guilt was threefold: his own wife alive, Herodias' husband alive, and the two of them uncle and niece.
- Voice. The Greek tense shows a repeated message, not one remark. John pressed one text on the king every time they met, because guilt is the first lesson anyone has to learn.
- Aim. Faithful preaching names the hearer's own sin, not sin in general. Tax collectors, soldiers and a king each heard their own wrong.
- Cost. Those few words cost John his life. Herod could not answer the charge, so he silenced the witness, and corruption slid into violence.
- Echo. The messenger died; the message did not. The same word about the same sin met Herod again in the ministry of Christ.
But Herodias kept it [in her mind] against him, and wished to kill him, and could not
Herod had married his brother's wife. John the Baptist told him it was against God's law. This verse records what that word cost. It shows a hatred that cannot get its way, held back for a while by a king's uneasy respect for the man he had imprisoned.
Herodias' anger has a cause: a faithful man said what God's law said. One writer explains how the world answers honesty like that.
The testimony of faithful people does not improve the world. It condemns the world, and that is what the world cannot bear… The sinner cannot give up sinning, even when he is held back. He carries on in his sin by getting rid of the witness who condemns him.
The same writer describes the woman behind the grudge.
Herod is led by Herodias, a passionate woman, governed by her hatred, who treats the prophet's rebuke as an unforgivable insult. She too wanted to put him to death, but she found Herod's respect for John in her way.
The Greek verb behind her wish is thelō. One reference work traces the word through the New Testament. It points to the will behind the act, not just the act.
For thelō, see John 6:67, "Will you also go away?" It is not simply the act, but the will to do it: "Is it your will or disposition?"… Mark 6:19: "would have killed him."
This writer quotes an older translation. The ESV renders the same words here as "wanted to put him to death."
So the verse reports a settled will, not a passing flash of temper.
Something stood in her way, and the next verse names it: Herod feared John. Commentators trace that barrier to Herod's own conscience, and show how little it could hold.
Herod's natural conscience led him to listen to John. He feared this holy man who had faithfully rebuked him, so he had some regard for him and shielded him from the hatred of Herodias. But what is natural is not enough to build a barrier against the flesh. The excitement of a banquet and royal pride are enough to cause the prophet's death.
Herod's own rage cooled; hers did not. One writer weighs why John stayed in prison at all.
Probably, once the heat of his anger died down, he no longer meant to kill John. Yet he kept him in prison, and no doubt he did this out of regard for his guilty partner, who kept up her anger against John.
John was the forerunner, the messenger sent ahead of Christ. One writer reads his death as a signpost.
The rejection and murder of the Forerunner is a solemn sign. In due time Herod will take his own part in the rejection and crucifixion of Christ.
Herod liked John and listened to him. None of that saved John's life. One writer draws the lesson for anyone who carries God's message into a world that does not want it.
He had no love for the truth. He might like the man who preached it well enough, and at first be glad to hear him… No respect, and no kind feeling for anyone or anything that is of God, will ever stand when Satan is let loose to work. He is then free to carry out his own deadly plan of ruining or blocking the testimony of God. Those who serve in the ministry of Christ must expect to see this tried, and will do well to resist it.
- Cause — John's word exposed Herodias' sin. Faithful testimony does not improve the world; it condemns it, and that is what the world cannot bear.
- Will — "Wanted to put him to death" describes a settled will, not an outburst. She had already decided; only the means were missing.
- Restraint — She could not, because Herod feared John. But admiring a holy man is not repenting, and admiration holds nothing back for long.
- Patience of malice — Herod's anger cooled; hers stayed warm. A grudge kept in the heart simply waits for its occasion.
- Preview — What Herod did to the forerunner marks out the part he will take in the death of Christ. He liked the preacher and killed him anyway; servants of Christ should expect the same.
for Herod feared John knowing that he was a just and holy man, and kept him safe; and having heard him, did many things, and heard him gladly.
A ruler holds a preacher in prison, protects him, listens to him with pleasure — and then has him killed. Mark's few words about Herod raise a hard question. How far can a person admire the truth and still refuse to obey it?
Herod's own verdict on his prisoner was accurate. Writers trace that righteousness through John's whole life, down to the words that put him in prison.
He came in the "way of righteousness" (Matthew 21:32), and he kept to it to the end. Set apart to God from his mother's womb, he held on to this precious character to the last. Herod knew him to be a righteous and holy man (Mark 6:20). His practical righteousness and holiness show themselves when he says to the king, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." But the testimony of the faithful does not improve the world. It condemns the world, and that is what the world cannot bear.
But the admission changed nothing, and the pattern is an old one.
Despite this admission, the unrighteous and unholy ruler did not release his righteous and holy prisoner. He held him in custody. Yet this was nothing new in the world's history. From the beginning, evil has hated the good it sees in another. Why did Cain kill Abel? Because his own works were evil; and like Herod he knew that his brother's were righteous (1 John 3:12).
The verse says the king feared the prisoner. Commentators dwell on that reversal of roles.
The king's attitude toward John shows that truth and righteousness cannot be beaten. It was Herod, not John, who feared. The purple-robed pleasure-seeker was a moral coward in front of the prophet. Such men always are before the righteous and the holy.
Where did that power come from? One writer traces it to its source.
"Herod feared John." What power there is in that word, for that fear came from John's communion with God! A man who has communion with God is, though in perfect grace, a fearful thing.
"Kept him safe" is a protective word — Herod was shielding John from someone. Older translations read "observed him" here, and where the ESV has "greatly perplexed," some manuscripts read "he did many things."
Herod feared John, if not as a prophet of God then as a righteous and holy man. He kept him safe from the spite of Herodias, who wanted to kill him… The faithful words and fearless bearing of the prophet had their effect on the immoral king. "When he heard him, he was perplexed," or as many read it, "he did many things." He tried to compromise with the truth by carrying out a few minor reforms. But he never repented of the foul sin he was guilty of, in full view of his kingdom and of his God. He did many things, but not the one thing.
Herod enjoyed listening to John. Writers weigh what that pleasure was worth.
He heard John gladly too; and it is also said elsewhere that the common people heard Jesus gladly (Mark 12:37). But such gladness is not the hearing by which faith comes.
One writer names what was missing.
But desire in divine things never comes to any good on its own. It needs the action of conscience with it: the sense of sin on the one hand, and of grace on God's part on the other. Many a man has heard God's testimony gladly, and given it all up… There was nothing of divine life in the working of his conscience. There was no working of grace, because there was no sense of his own sin and need before God, which might drive him to God.
Herod's respect for John did not survive one banquet. Commentators read the scene as pointing forward.
Herod had no principles, yet he could appreciate goodness in others. He did listen to John and did many things on his advice. But Herodias waited for her moment, and a court party gave her the chance she wanted. The king, pleased by a dance, makes a rash promise, and rather than break his promise has John killed. It has been well said, "The devil's promises are better broken than kept."… The rejection and murder of the forerunner is a solemn sign. In due time Herod will take his part in the rejection and crucifixion of Christ.
- Recognised. Herod judged John rightly: a righteous and holy man. He admired the light and never obeyed it.
- Feared. The prisoner's communion with God made a king tremble. Holiness carries a power that rank cannot match.
- Protected. He kept John safe from Herodias. His conscience was alive enough to trouble him, but not to free his prisoner.
- Reformed. He did many things at John's word — everything except part with the sin John named.
- Ruined. Gladness in hearing is not the hearing by which faith comes. The man who enjoyed the preacher beheaded him, and later shared in rejecting Christ.
And a holiday being come, when Herod, on his birthday, made a supper to his grandees, and to the chiliarchs, and the chief [men] of Galilee;
Herodias had long wanted John the Baptist dead, but no chance to act. Then the king's birthday gave her one. The whole leadership of Galilee sat at his table.
Mark moves from the crowds' guesses about Jesus straight into the king's court.
However, the fame of Christ reaches the court circle. We have already seen that the common people had no spiritual discernment at all. Now we are to learn the low moral state of the higher circles... Herodias waits her time, and a court party gave her the opportunity she sought. The king, pleased by a dance, makes a rash promise, and keeps it by having John killed. It has been well said, "The devil's promises are better broken than kept."
Birthday parties are so ordinary to us that the detail slips by. In the Bible it is rare, and the two men who hold one are not encouraging company.
Scripture mentions only two people who kept a birthday: Pharaoh, in Genesis 40:20, and Herod Antipas, when John the Baptist lost his life... We do not read that the Israelites had any such custom. And the Preacher says the day of death is better than the day of one's birth. Ecclesiastes 7:1.
The men listed beside the nobles were not minor officials. Older translations call them "high captains." The rank came from the Roman army.
Six chiefs led each legion, and each of them commanded 1,000 men. The title is usually translated 'chief captain'. In Mark 6:21 it is 'high captain'.
The banquet was not simply a meal. Every element of it pointed back to the host.
It was Herod's birthday. Such a day fixes a man's thoughts on himself and stirs up the desire to please himself... It was a royal entertainment, and he himself was the centre of it. What could the flesh desire more? It had its fill. And now the eyes were also gratified... Then Herod must be equal to the occasion. If all this is for his gratification he must not act meanly, he must act as a king.
The whole story of Herod runs through three appetites. The banquet is the middle link.
The lust of the flesh had led the ruler of the people into an infamous alliance with his brother Philip's wife... Then comes a day when the lust of the eye finds a passing pleasure in the charms of a dancing girl, and leads the frivolous king into a rash oath. Finally the pride of life leads him to commit murder to maintain his paltry ideas of honour.
The verse says the day was suitable — but suitable for whose plan?
"A convenient day" arrives; the hand of Satan is there urging on his instruments to the final act. Men are blind. They think they are doing their own will. They do not see that they are the devil's plaything, and that he is leading them into war against God. Satan needs only to touch one or two more secret springs in man's heart, and the crime will be done. The day is well chosen. It is Herod's birthday, when he displays his power and splendour in a way that satisfies the pride of life.
Herod had held out against Herodias for a while. His conscience, and his respect for John, gave him some resistance — but only some.
Herod's natural conscience had led him to listen to John. He feared this holy man who had faithfully rebuked him. That fear made him respect John, and it kept John safe from the hatred of Herodias. But what is natural is not enough to form a barrier to the flesh. The excitement of a banquet and royal pride are enough to cause the prophet's death. Here is a painful example of the way man deceives himself. He imagines himself strong enough to display his power. All he does is reveal his weakness and his slavery to his passions.
Set that feast beside the way the Son of God lived.
Though Lord of all He took the place of a subject, obedient, dependent man upon earth. Instead of making Himself the centre of earth's service, He came to serve. Man's need set the scope of that service, and His Father's will set its rule. Satan displayed all the glory of the world before Him, and He rejected it with indignation.
- The day — Scripture names only two birthday feasts, Pharaoh's and Herod's. Such a day turns a man's thoughts onto himself.
- The guests — nobles, commanders of a thousand men, and the leading men of Galilee. Herod's whole world sat there to watch him be king.
- The self — flesh, eyes and pride are each fed in turn, until Herod must "act as a king" and swears a rash oath.
- The hand — behind the guest list is Satan, using men who think they are following their own will.
- The contrast — Herod made himself the centre, and showed his slavery to his passions. Christ refused the world's glory and came to serve.
and the daughter of the same Herodias having come in, and danced, pleased Herod and those that were with [him] at table; and the king said to the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt and I will give it thee.
Mark moves from a dance at a royal birthday party to a promise big enough to swallow half a kingdom. One evening of pleasure traps a man into murder, and it raises a question: what is a king's word really worth?
Nothing about the setting is accidental. Every part of the evening served one man's pleasure.
It was Herod's birthday — a day that fastens a man's thoughts on himself and stirs up the desire to please himself. Herod "made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief men of Galilee." It was a royal party with himself at the centre. What more could the flesh want? It had its fill. And now his eyes were fed too — the beauty of Herodias' daughter, the grace of her movements, the elegance of her dancing. She pleased Herod and those who sat with him. What a circle of delight! Then Herod had to be equal to the occasion. If all this was for his pleasure, he must not act cheaply; he must act like a king... Here is the pride of life: claiming the power to give, like a sovereign, whatever is asked.
The size of the offer tells you what kind of man made it. Excitement carried him past all sense.
Herod, as seen in the Gospels, was a weak-minded, impressionable man... The presence of his lords and captains at his feast excited him. The dancing of the daughter of Herodias before him and his guests carried him away in a whirl of exuberant pleasure. Without any self-control, he uttered the most extravagant promises: "Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you," he said, adding no qualifications. And to show that this was not mere Eastern exaggeration, he confirmed his promise with oaths. The man who inherited a fourth of his father's kingdom swore to the girl, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom." Infatuated and drunken men sometimes speak in this wild, impulsive way. So Ahasuerus more than once promised to give Esther what she asked, up to half of his kingdom (Esther 5:3, 6; 7:2), and Herod may have foolishly thought he was imitating the great world-emperor with this boastful pledge.
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The dance was no happy accident. Writers trace two hands behind it: Herodias' and Satan's.
The right day comes, and Satan's hand is there, urging his instruments on to the final act. Men are blinded and think they are carrying out their own will. They do not see that they are the devil's plaything, and that he is leading them on in war against God... The day is well chosen: it is Herod's birthday, when his power and luxury are on show in a way that satisfies the pride of life... The lust of the eyes enters with the girl and takes possession of the king.
Herodias knew the man she was dealing with.
It would seem that Herodias had plotted for this outcome. She had set a trap for Herod and baited it with her own daughter. Knowing his disposition, she counted on some such promise from the monarch when he had been drinking.
The guests saw a delightful performance. Writers look at the heart behind it.
Note the character of the girl who pleased Herod enough to win such a promise, confirmed by an oath. It is fair to assume that her beauty and graceful movements produced this pleasure. Who could have thought that behind it all was a heart taking positive delight in corruption and violence! Oh world, here is the character of those who seduce you by their charms!
Herod treated his own word as sacred and a man's life as cheap. Yet he was never truly trapped.
The King was very sorry, but not sorry enough to admit that he had made a foolish oath which he could not keep and still do right. His own pride and his fear of men decided him to have John murdered. If she had asked for Herod's head, would he have agreed? Herod did have a way out, if he had had the least sense of responsibility to God. He might have told the girl that John's head was not his to give; but he was proud enough to think that he had title over men's bodies.
Set beside Herod, Christ answers the opposite way when men ask Him for places in His kingdom.
Though Lord of all He took the place of a subject, obedient, dependent man on earth. Instead of making Himself the centre of earth's ministry He came to minister... His poor disciples begged Him, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you... Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory." His reply was moving: "to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared." He claims no power to give in the kingdom which He will take in obedience to His Father's will.
- Feast — Herod built the birthday supper around himself. A day given to his own pleasure set the stage.
- Dance — pleasure came in through the eyes and took over a weak, excited man with no self-control.
- Oath — carried away, he swore away half a kingdom when he ruled only a quarter. He echoed a world-emperor's old boast to Esther.
- Trap — Herodias had waited for this night. She baited the trap with her own daughter, knowing what a drinking king would promise.
- Contrast — Herod claimed a power over life that was never his. Christ, asked for places in His kingdom, refused to give what was His Father's to give.