The Holy Spirit Drawing done July 2005

cally

July 30, 2005

The Head of John the Baptist Mt 14:1-12

Herod the tetrarch heard of the reputation of Jesus and said to his servants, "This man is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why mighty powers are at work in him."

Now Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, for John had said to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her." Although he wanted to kill him, he feared the people, for they regarded him as a prophet. But at a birthday celebration for Herod, the daughter of Herodias performed a dance before the guests
and delighted Herod so much that he swore to give her whatever she might ask for. Prompted by her mother, she said, "Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist." The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests who were present, he ordered that it be given, and he had John beheaded in the prison. His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who took it to her mother. His disciples came and took away the corpse and buried him; and they went and told Jesus.

King Herod wanted to have the wife of his brother and decided to jail John the Baptist rather than heed his warning that it was not lawful for the king to have her. When the king promised anything to the daughter of this women through her mother, she asked for the head of John the Baptist on a platter. What an evil and gruesome request for a person to make.

The daughter of the woman is the niece of the King making the observance of a dance, presumably seductive or sexual in nature before the guests and King also another act of a form of incest as the act of being with the wife of the King's brother is incest.

The King was upset. This was against his judgement to kill John the Baptist but he had made promises and was concerned about the people in his presence that were guests who had heard his oaths. Out of self pride, to save face in front of the guests, he agreed to an act of incredible brutality and evil. By not listening to the first warning of the prophet, John the Baptist, the King has gone from one crime to a greater crime.

In the series of events that perpetrators of crimes experience, there is often an escalation of acts from psychological violence to verbal violence to eventually physical violence. The King knows that the act is wrong, is disturbed by it, and yet kills the prophet, John the Baptist anyway. He knowingly acts in evil ways. When Jesus appears, the King is frightened that this man is the reincarnation of John the Baptist. He believes that John the Baptist has been raised from the dead because of the great powers that Jesus has.