Matthew 14:1-12 – The senselessness of pride and lust

In Matthew 4:12, we recall that John the Baptist was arrested and taken into custody. Then in Matthew 11, we read that John was in prison and entertained doubt if Jesus was the Messiah. So he sent his disciples to Jesus to ask if he was the Messiah or should he look for another. Now we come to the reason he was arrested and finally executed. This Herod Tetrarch referred to here was one of the sons of Herod the great, the one who tried to kill Jesus earlier. This son of his is none other than Herod Antipas.

John the Baptist came to prepare the way for the Messiah. He warned and cleared the way for the Messiah. He e He had pointed to Jesus as the coming Messiah. In the process he had also shown why this Herod was not the king of the Jews, the Messiah.  The idea that Herod Antipas as the Messiah was unthinkable. His moral life left much to be desired. And John had blatantly confronted him and told him it was unlawful to take his brother’s wife. For stealing his brother’s wife, he was clearly an adulterer, and such an immoral behavior would of necessity preclude him as the Messiah of Israel. If not for the fear of the crowd who considered John the Baptist as God’s prophet, Herod would have gotten rid of him earlier. So now he had John sent to prison for daring to point out his wrong.

In this account, we get a glimpse of events that led to the death of John the Baptist. Here we read of the events that led to his execution. Herod was enticed by his step daughter, who was also his niece. He had already stolen his brother’s wife and now he was being aroused by Herodias’ daughter on his birthday. In his drunkenness and having been seduced by her sensual dance, he made a promise to give her anything she asked for. It was a promise that he regretted, but a promise he was too proud to retract. In consultation with her mother, his step daughter asked for the head of John the Baptist on a platter. This was more the desire of her mother, who was offended by John’s forthright declaration of her adultery with this Herod Tetrarch. Her long wait had finally found its perfect moment. At the height of Herod’s arousal, Herodias got her daughter to make that request of John’s head on a platter. This was duly granted. John was beheaded in prison, and his head on a platter was brought to Herod’s step daughter. She then brought it to her mother. Meanwhile, the disciples of John then came to take his body away to bury it and also to report everything to Jesus. 

Among many applications, this account warns of the danger of pride and lust. When overtaken by them, one becomes incapable of sound reasoning. Much as Herod knew about John’s innocence, yet he was incapacitated by his pride and lust. He finally gave in to what he knew was wrong. From his life, we see how needful it is to deal with pride as well as taking control of lust. The way to do it is to live a Spirit filled and directed life. For it is in living a Spirit filled life that we cultivate the fruit of faithfulness and self-control.