Mt. 14:1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the report about Jesus.
Mk. 6:14a Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name had become well known.
Lk. 9:7a Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by him;
The Herod being spoken of here is Herod Antipas, one of the sons of Herod the Great. Mark’s Gospel incorrectly calls him a king, while Matthew and Luke correctly call him a tetrarch. A tetrarch was the equivalent of a prince or governor.
Mk. 6:14b And he said, “John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in Him.”
Lk. 9:7b And he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead.
Mk. 6:15 Others said, “It is Elijah. And others said, “It is The Prophet, or like one of the
prophets.”
Lk. 9:8 And by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again.
Source: Deut. 18:15-18
Mk. 6:16 But when Herod heard, he said,”This is John, whom I beheaded, he had been raised from the dead.”
Yochanan haMatbil had an active ministry that extended somewhere between twelve and fourteen months. The total ministry of Yochanan, including his time in prison until his death, was about three years.
While people were saying that Yeshua is either Elijah or some prophet, notice that the people recognized his supernatural character . They just don’t conclude that He is the Messiah. We do see a mention of the term The Prophet. This is an illusion to Deut. 18:15, 18 where God said that He would one day raise up a prophet after the order of Moses. This was considered to be the Messiah.
Source: Deut. 18:15, 18
We don’t see too many references to reincarnation in the Bible, but certainly Herod Antipas was convinced this was happening. He wasn’t about to take anyone’s word otherwise.
Mt. 14:3 For Herod had laid hold of John and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife.
Mk. 6:17 For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife; for he had married her.”
Yochanan haMatbil was bound and later executed in a prison named Machaerus, which is actually across the river into Jordan.
Mt. 14:4 For John had said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”
Mk. 6:18 For John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
It is a well-known fact that Herod the Great claimed to be “Jewish” in order to try to win the favor of the Jewish people. Caesar said of him one day that it was safer to be one of Herod’s pigs than to be one of his sons, since Herod would not eat pork because he was Jewish. But, he killed a couple of his sons and two of his wives. Herod the Great had several sons, including Philip, Antipas, Archelaus and Aristobulus. Aristobulus was one of the four sons Herod the Great killed. Probably Herod’s sons had some Jewish religious training at least for the same reason their father did, and observed most of the Jewish Laws that were convenient for them. That is the reason that Yochanan haMatbil said it wasn’t “lawful” for Herod Antipas to marry his brother’s wife in violation of Mosaic Law.
Before he was killed Aristobulus fathered a daughter whose name was Herodias, the woman mentioned in these verses. She was first married to Philip, her uncle. She then left Philip and became a mistress to a step-uncle. Later, she left him and married Antipas, another uncle. By marrying her uncle she violated Lev. 18:12-14; 20:19,20 Later, by marrying Antipas while the first brother Philip was still living was a violation of Lev. 18:16; 20:21. All together she was guilty of triple adultery, and also incest by being married to two uncles. It is this marriage that Yochanan haMatbil preached against and was put into prison for. He was in prison for just under two years.
Sources: Lev. 18:12-14; 20:19, 20; 18:16; 20:21
Mk. 6:19 Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not.”
Mt. 14:5 And although he wanted to put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him a prophet.
Mk. 6:20 For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man and he protected him. And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.
It may not look like it, but evil will always fear good. It says several times that not only Herod, but other Roman authorities, and even the High Priest, feared to do some things because the people recognized that Yochanan and Yeshua were just and holy men. In a culture that has been enslaved by another people the idea of revolt is always there, no matter how hard the constraints are.
Mt. 14:6a But when Herod’s birthday was celebrated,
Mk. 6:21 Then an opportune day came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee.
Mt. 14:6b The daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod.
Mk. 6:22 And when Herodias’ daughter herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, “Ask whatever you want, and I will give it to you.”
According to Josephus, Herodias’ daughter’s name was Salome. “Nor was it with Philip the tetrarch, but this Herod Philip, whose wife Herod (Antipas) the tetrarch had married while her first husband lived and when her first husband had issue by her. For which adulterous and incestuous marriage John the Baptist justly reproved Herod the tetrarch, and for which reproof Salome (the daughter of Herodias by her first husband Herod Philip, who was still alive) occasioned him to be unjustly beheaded.”
Source: Jos. Ant. 18.5.2, Note #1b
Mt. 14:7 Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask.
Mk. 6:23 And also he swore to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”
Mk. 6:24 So she went out and asked her mother, “What shall I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.”
Mt. 14:8 So she, having been prompted by her mother, said, “Give me John the Baptist’s head on a platter.”
Mk. 6:25 Immediately she came in with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
Mt. 14:9 And the king was sorry; nevertheless, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him at the table, he commanded it to be given to her.
Mk. 6:26 And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her.
This is one birthday party that Herod Antipas will never forget. Herod must have been drunk when he made the promise to Herodias’ daughter, Salome. As a vassal of Rome, he had no authority to give any of “his” kingdom away. It all belonged to Rome. He just ran it for them. At any rate he made a promise in front of a bunch of people and couldn’t get out of it. It cost Yochanan haMatbil his life.
Mt. 14:10 So he sent and had John beheaded in prison.
Mk. 6:27 And immediately, the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought, and he went and beheaded him in prison.
Mt. 14:11 And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother.
Mk. 6:28 Brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother.
Tradition says that when they brought Yochanan’s head to her, Herodias pulled his tongue out and drove a hairpin through it into the wooden platter.
Mt. 14:12 Then his disciples came and took away the body and buried it, and went and told Jesus.
Mk. 6:29 And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb.
According to ancient tradition, the burial place of Yochanan haMatbil was at Sebaste in Samaria, and mention is made of his relics being honored there around the middle of the fourth century. The historians Rufinus and Theodoretus record that the shrine was desecrated under Julian the Apostate around 362 C.E., the bones being partly burned. A portion of the rescued relics were carried to Jerusalem, then to Alexandria, where on 27 May, 395 C.E., they were laid in the basilica that was newly dedicated to the Forerunner on the former site of the Temple of Serapis. The tomb at Sebaste continued, nevertheless, to be visited by pious pilgrims, and St. Jerome bears witness to miracles being worked there.
On the Mount of Olives you will find the Church of St. John the Baptist. It was founded under Empress Eudokia in about 450-460 C.E. Behind the Church of the Ascension is a small chapel. If you go inside you would see a room with a small cage marking the location where the head of John the Baptist was hid in a deep cavity beneath the church floor. Tradition has it that believers hid part of his head in an earthen jar in that cavity. A supposed piece of his skull is on display in the Church of St. John the Baptist.
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