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Shiloh: the Man of Sorrows

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Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Sep 13, 1910

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 37, No. 36.

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Shiloh: the Man of Sorrows

By Mrs. L. D. Avery-Stuttle

Chapter XXVIII.—Death of John the Baptizer

THE festival of the king was ended; the revelry, the feasting, the dancing,—these may be forgotten. But the ghastly tragedy which marked the close of that giddy carnival, can never be forgotten.
At the close of that awful day, in their own private chamber, sat Chuza, the steward of Herod, and his wife Joanna. The steward had just entered the apartment and seated himself upon a divan by the side of his wife.
“What troubleth thee, O Chuza?” questioned Joanna in alarm, “for behold thy cheek is pale and thine eye is filled with a strange light. I have never seen thee thus, my Chuza. Speak; what troubleth thee?”
“Ah, my spouse, truly this is a house of blood! and how shall we abide with murderers?” And the man shuddered.
“Speak, my husband!” commanded the woman anxiously. “Has Aretas, the fierce emir of Arabia, sent an emissary to avenge the insult which the king offered to his daughter? Is the tetrarch dead? What can—”
“Dead?—Nay, nay, not he. But it were far better even the king than the prophet.”
“What! what sayest thou? Who hath slain that righteous man? Surely thou art mistaken, O Chuza?”
“Would God I might be mistaken. Indeed it now seemeth unto me like a ghastly vision of the night. But no, no, Joanna; I have seen a horrible thing to-day, and verily I mistake not.
“It was about the ninth hour when I visited the banquet room, that I might replenish the supply of wine,—thinking of that day at Cana of Galilee when the godlike Nazarene performed the miracle because the wine failed at our marriage feast.
“When I entered the banquet chamber, I was astonished to see Salome, the daughter of Herodias, dancing for the entertainment of the king and his guests, and—”
“Assuredly now, mine husband, thou art mistaken,—for why should the young princess dance like a lewd woman, for the pleasure of these men! the beautiful young princess—”
“She was still dancing,” continued the steward, “when I left the room. When I returned directly thereafter, she paused a moment, as if for rest. Then I saw the king rise from the table and approach her; and as he did so, I heard him ask, as if drunken with her beauty, ‘What wilt thou, and I will give it thee?’
“‘If it please the king, let him give me—’ Then the dancer paused,” continued Chuza, “and I fancied I saw a look of horror creep like a dark shadow into her proud eyes.
“‘I will ask my mother,’ she said, as she hurriedly left the chamber. While I still lingered, she returned, and as if fearing lest her courage desert her unless she made great haste to deliver her murderous errand, she exclaimed, almost before she had reentered the banquet room:
“‘Behold, thou hast sworn unto me, O king. Now if thou regardest thine oath, make haste and give unto me the head of John the Baptizer in a charger; for of a truth he is the enemy of my mother and of thee.’
“The king sprang from the table, where he had again seated himself, like one crazed with horror. Indeed I observed that this feeling of horror which apparently possessed him, had acted as an antidote to the wine with which he was filled, and had sobered him in an instant. I have never before seen the king so astonished and startled, not even when he received the threatening message from Aretas of Arabia. It was as if he had listened to his own death-warrant. His florid cheek turned white as the marble pillar against which he staggered for support, his eyes were bloodshot and bulging, and his nostrils quivered like those of a frightened roe, as he turned helplessly toward his feasting guests.
“‘Behold, ye have heard mine oath!’ he exclaimed. ‘What will ye? shall I not be released therefrom?’
“Then the king turned appealingly to Jazer, the scribe of the temple—”
“I remember him well,” interrupted Joanna, “for he was at our wedding in Cana.”
“Verily; and to-day he sat close beside Jonathan son of Annas, as Herod turned his white face toward them and said:
“‘Thou hast heard the preaching of this prophet, O Jonathan, and thou also, Jazer, and ye know that he is a just man and an holy. Besides, here be others, even some of my lords and captains, who have heard the words of his mouth,—and of a truth I suppose ye will release me from this mine oath. Speak, Jonathan, thou son of Annas; for why should the prophet of the Almighty die?’
“Then, verily,” continued Chuza, while the woman regarded him with a look of deep anxiety, “verily I thought to see the king released of his rash oath. But the lips of Jonathan and of Jazer were as dumb as those of the image of Pontius Pilate, and no man spake to release the king.”
“Why didst not thou, O Chuza!—surely thou didst speak!”
“I? who am I, Joanna, that I should command the king? Hast thou forgotten that thine husband is but a servant?”
“Then did no man arise to defend the prophet? O my husband! my husband! hath the fury of Herodias triumphed?”
“As the Lord liveth, there was none who lifted hand or voice in his behalf; and I, when I would have spoken, my tongue cleaved unto the roof of my mouth, and I was dumb with horror. But in the silence which followed the appeal of the king, I saw him fix his bloodshot eyes despairingly upon me. Then I spake:
“‘Hast thou no power, O Antipas, to deliver that righteous man? Canst thou not break thine oath?’
“For a moment, a look of wavering indecision crossed the livid face of the tetrarch, and I hoped that even my weak influence had sufficed to turn the scale in favor of the prophet. But the next moment the king turned his eyes toward the guests, and saw, even as did I, a sneering smile upon the face of Jazer the scribe and of Jonathan the son of Annas. Tho these men spake no word, I knew by the change which flitted across the face of Herod, that the fate of the Baptizer was sealed. The blood returned to the cheek of the king, and an expression of reckless bravado crossed his face as he turned quickly, and beckoning to one of his guards, who stood in the hallway, he commanded as carelessly and lightly as tho he were ordering a hamper of wine:
“‘Ho, Gilpha, call me Rufas, the son of Varro, the centurion of my father Herod; for, behold, this fellow will do my bidding, even as his father did the bidding of mine.’
“‘Ho, Rufas!’ he exclaimed a moment thereafter to a burly soldier who had hurried to his side. ‘Go thou to the cell of John the Baptizer, and open it in the name of the king. Stay; knowest thou whether this prophet be alone?’
“‘He is alone, O king, save that one Matthias, his disciple, hath just entered, that he might tell the prophet somewhat concerning one Jesus of Nazareth, who, men say, doeth mighty miracles.’
“‘Wherefore pratest thou, fellow? What care I?’ exclaimed Herod carelessly. ‘Go thou to the cell of John the Baptizer, and bring thou me his head. Wait,’ continued the king as he turned and fiercely grasped a large charger from the banquet table. ‘Here, Rufas, bring thou the head upon this platter. Haste! have I not commanded thee?’ This last, added Chuza, “the king said because he saw that the soldier hesitated as if astonished. I saw that by this time, some of the guests appeared horrified, as if they were just awakening from their drunken stupidity, while some stared hard at the king, as if to understand the sudden and unaccountable change in his demeanor.”
“But,” interrupted Joanna, her eyes wide with horror, “but where meanwhile was the dancer, the princess Salome?”
“Meanwhile she continued dancing, with even more reckless abandon than before, and she paused not until the soldier, Rufas, returned, his garment bespattered and his fingers dripping with blood, as he undertook to deliver the charger to the king.
“‘Verily, O king,’ he said, ‘I have obeyed thy command. But by the gods of Rome, I waited not until this Baptizer had finished his prayers. As he knelt, even so he died. But truly, O Antipas, it would have affrighted Mars himself to have seen Matthias, the Jew, when the head of the prophet fell at his feet. Surely he did rush from the cell like unto a maniac, clawing wildly at a stain of fresh blood upon his mantle; and I doubt not he will hide himself somewhere among the mountains. Ha, ha! a brave disciple, this Matthias the Jew!’ and the soldier laughed brutally.
“Then Herod stretched out his hand as if to grasp the platter which Rufas handed him. But once again the face of the king turned livid as his gaze became riveted upon the ghastly thing upon the charger, and he hesitated. His eyes seemed starting from their sockets as he once more reached toward the platter, and laid his jeweled hand upon the gory head, as if impelled by a force which he could not resist. Then, Joanna, I saw him stoop like one in a dream, and raise a long strand of raven hair from which great crimson drops were slowly dripping upon the white marble floor, and place it carefully upon the charger beside the familiar head. Then, as if dazed and bewildered, he approached the dancer, who, I observed, was seized with a violent trembling, and handed her the platter, with its ghastly burden.
“‘Behold, my fathers were Sadducees!’ he muttered. ‘And the Sadducee believeth not in a resurrection from the dead. But verily I tremble lest peradventure the doctrine of the Pharisee be true. Then shall this just man rise from the dead to condemn me.
“‘Go! take this costly gift unto thy mother; for it hath cost the peace of Herod Antipas,—a peace which shall never again rest in his bosom. Quickly!’ he shouted, turning fiercely to the girl, who trembled and hesitated, ‘Quickly!’ Out of my sight with the accursed thing, and tell thy mother that her enemy hath fallen; for Antipas hath kept his oath!’”
(To be continued)