THE SUNDAY SCHOOL

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Mar 2, 1904

THE SUNDAY SCHOOL

LESSON II.—MARCH 13.—DEATH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST.

Lesson Scripture, Matt. 14:1-12, A. R. V.

(1) "At that season Herod the tetrarch heard the report concerning Jesus, (2) and said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore do these powers work in Him. (3) For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife. (4) For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her. (5) And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet. (6) But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced in the midst, and pleased Herod. (7) Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she should ask. (8) And she, being put forward by her mother, saith, Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist. (9) And the king was grieved; but for the sake of his oaths, and of them which sat at meat with him, he commanded it to be given; (10) and he sent and beheaded John in the prison. (11) And his head was brought on a platter, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother. (12) And his disciples came, and took up the corpse, and buried him; and they went and told Jesus."

Golden Text.—"Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." Rev. 2:10.

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.

(1) What prominent man heard of the wonderful works of Jesus? Verse 1. Note 1. (2) What was his opinion concerning Jesus and of His power? Verse 2. Note 2. (3) What had Herod done to John? Why? Verse 3. Note 3. (4) What had John said about the king's having his brother's wife? Verse 4. Lev. 18:16; 20:21. Note 4. (5) What more would Herod have done to John? What prevented him? Verse 5. Note 5. (6) What occasion favored Herodias' wicked design? What unseemly act did she induce her daughter to perform? Verse 6. Note 6. (7) What rash promise did the king make to the girl? Verse 7. (8) Who advised the girl what to ask? What did she ask? Verse 8. Note 7. (9) How did the king feel about the astonishing request? What impelled him to yield? Verse 9. (10) What cruel deed was then committed? Verse 10. (11) What further was done to fulfil the king's oath and to gratify the enmity of Herodias? Verse 11. (12) What then did John's disciples do? And to whom did they report what had been done? Verse 12. Note 8.

NOTES.

1. Herod Antipas was a son of Herod the Great. He was a "tetrarch," or governor of a subdivision, of what had been his father's kingdom. He ruled over Galilee and Perea.

2. The superstition that John had risen from the dead was caused by Herod's remorse of conscience, which no doubt kept him in constant dread of some bitter judgment because of his cruelty in having the prophet put to death. His fear was all the greater because he thought John had returned with greater power than he had before possessed.

3. Herod and Herodias were both guilty of heinous crimes. Herod had put away his own wife, the daughter of Aretas, an Arabian king. Herodias was the wife of Philip, an older brother of Herod, being the niece of both men. While visiting his brother in Rome, Herod had become infatuated with Herodias and eloped with her, taking her daughter with them to Palestine. It is said that Philip had been disinherited and was poor; therefore the ambitious woman sought a more luxurious life.

4. John was preaching the Gospel of repentance, which implied confession of sin, that there might be a great refreshing from the Lord. As a messenger of mercy, he did not ignore the king. It is a mistake to suppose that John's mission was merely to rebuke and cast reproach, an attempt to drive men to repentance for fear of judgment; but he was a plain man, with a very solemn message, at a most critical moment. It was necessary that every man, high or low, rich or poor, should understand his true condition, that the way of the Lord might be prepared in their hearts. Matt. 3:3.

5. Herod's purpose to put John to death was because of Herodias' determination to have it so. He did not want to do it, as is shown in verse 9.

6. Birthday festivals do not receive much encouragement in the Scriptures. But two are mentioned, and executions were connected with these. Both of these were the birthdays of kings—one that of the king of Egypt (Gen. 40:20), and the other that of Herod.

7. "Put forward by her mother."—The whole scheme was concocted by Herodias, even the feast itself. She knew the custom of such feasts—all the men got drunk. Her own recklessness of character, her willingness (like Jezebel) to do anything to carry out her purpose, was manifest in sending her daughter in to dance before the intoxicated men, a thing which no real lady could have been induced to do. Contrast the example of Queen Vashti (Esther 1). Herodias counted on her daughter's so pleasing the drunken men that she could ask almost anything and the intoxicated king would grant it; that under such conditions, on such an occasion, he would hardly dare to refuse. It would be easy for the mother to believe, and to persuade her daughter, that if John were allowed to live, he might yet so work upon the king's conscience as to induce him to cast them off.

8. John had been in prison, according to some commentators and chronologists, about a year. It was a severe test. He was so tried that at one time he sent to inquire of Jesus if He were indeed the Messiah. The enemy would fain persuade him that if Jesus were the Messiah He would surely release His faithful messenger. But Jesus did a number of works of healing in the presence of John's messengers, and then told them to report to John what they had seen, and how the Scriptures were being fulfilled. John understood the Word of God, and it was enough for him to know that it was being fulfilled. That satisfied his faith. John had been the honored forerunner of Christ, and now he was having the privilege of being a fellow-sufferer with Him, and with all the faithful martyrs that should come after Him. He faithfully sealed his testimony with his blood.