Give Me John the Baptist's Head - Matthew 14:8

Matthew the apostle wrote, “At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus. And said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him. For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife. For John said unto him, It is not lawful for you to have her. And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet. But when Herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod. Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask”, and in chapter fourteen and verse eight of his book, Matthew wrote how Herodias told her daughter to ask Herod to, “give me here John Baptist's head in a charger” where we read:

And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist's head in a charger.

The verse reads, “And she, being before instructed of her mother, ...” Matthew began with the words, “and she” which means “and Herodias' daughter” “being before instructed” or “being told what to ask of Herod in advance of telling him” “of her mother” which means “by Herodias”. Matthew shared how Herodias told her daughter what to ask of Herod before she actually made her request.

The verse goes on to say, “... said, Give me here John Baptist's head in a charger.” Matthew continued with the word, “said” which means “uttered, proclaimed and declared”, “give me here” or “grant, furnish and supply to Herodias' daughter herself in the very place of Herod's party” “John Baptist's head” which means “the head of John the Baptist” “in a charger” or “in a dish, plate or platter”. Matthew shared how Herodias' daughter asked to have John the Baptist's head brought to her on a platter.

When we consider Matthew's words in this verse, we see just how broadly open this “promise” of Herod extended. More than likely he had no idea that Herodias' daughter would make such a request, and now Herod made his vow not only before her, but also before the guests at his party as well. Herodias obviously had a standing grudge against John the Baptist because he spoke out against her unlawful marriage to Herod. Now her time of revenge was at hand, and she used her daughter to play it out. God desires to have relationship with every person who will yield their lives to His Son Jesus, and even though wicked people, promises and requests proceed every day, He continues to have His hand outstretched to “save”. Perhaps those reading these words should consider where Herodias, her daughter and Herod are today because of their choices, and perhaps that will motivate everyone to choose Jesus instead.

Next time we see Matthew shares how, “the king was sorry”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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