Matthew 14:9, commentary and pictures

Herod was genuinely distressed, horrified and remorseful at the demand for John's head, yet he commanded the execution because he felt bound by his rash oath and feared to seem fickle and dishonorable before his dinner guests. The demand came at his birthday feast of gluttony and revelry, when his powers were enervated by luxurious food and stimulating drink and he was entrapped by the daughter's dance into promising whatever would be asked. Intemperance had beclouded his senses, perverted justice and mercy, and deadened holy impulse, giving Satan opportunity to test whether he would exalt his oath and royal honor above God's law not to kill rather than humble himself and ask release from the vow. He let concern for reputation outweigh conscience, wrongly believing the oath bound him and choosing the real guilt of murder over a false charge of perjury, which brought lasting dishonor instead of honor. His guilty torment afterward hardened into deeper darkness as he continued in sin, showing the danger of yielding to Satan's snare at the point of conviction and warning those in responsibility against intemperance, rash promises, and social pressure to do known wrong for approval.

Feast Setting and Decision

John had been imprisoned by Herod Antipas because he had plainly rebuked Herod for his unlawful marriage to Herodias, and Herodias hated him for that reproof, sought revenge, and through her influence pressed for his death. Herod himself honored and feared John as a true prophet of God, for John had laid open the secrets of his heart and life and his reproofs had struck terror to his guilty conscience. In many things Herod had reformed his dissolute life under that conviction and had come very near to becoming John's disciple, even designing to release him from prison. He delayed only through fear of displeasing Herodias and refusal to turn from sin, so that while his intelligence controlled him Herodias could not obtain John's death despite repeated efforts to gain his consent.

Herodias therefore waited for Herod's birthday feast as her opportunity, an occasion of gluttony, intoxication, revelry, feasting and dancing. Herod's habitual love of luxurious food and stimulating drink constantly enervated and deadened his moral and physical powers and warred against the earnest appeals of the Spirit that had convicted his heart. When indulged they aroused passion and the lower passions, lowered the tone of mental and moral character, beclouded the senses, removed the fear of God, and lowered sensibility to moral improvement. At the feast he was entrapped by the captivating, alluring dance of Herodias's daughter into a rash oath to grant whatever was asked, offering her anything with his senses debased by wine.

When the demand came for John's head, Herod's sorrow was real distress, regret, horror, and keen remorse for putting to death one he knew to be a true prophet to gratify the revenge of a cruel woman. If told at the start of the feast what he would do before its close he would have denied he could do such a deed, and while sober he would have recoiled with horror from beheading him. Yet for the oath's sake and for them that sat at meat with him he commanded it to be given, feeling bound by his promise and fearing to appear fickle, dishonorable, and oath-breaking before his guests. His drunkenness and desire to impress the company had weakened his judgment, perverted his ideas of justice and mercy, and made reason servant to baser passions, putting the mind in animal excitement.

Herod gave his guests opportunity to release him by protest, for they could have urged him to spare John and their remonstrance might have allowed him to spare the prophet. But their silence and intoxication left him without that protest, leaving John's life in his hands, and if they had kept vigor of intellect calm reason would have borne sway and they would have recoiled with horror. He was tested before his guests whether to exalt his oath and his honor and dignity as king above God's law not to kill, or to humble himself and ask to be released from his rash vow. Satan seized the opportunity through Herodias to secure the death of one of the greatest prophets God sent, and with deadened sensibilities unable to see facts clearly or make right decisions, Herod and his company pronounced sentence of death with the life of an innocent and exalted prophet in the balance. Concern for reputation, honor, and appearances thus overruled conscience, regard for John, and moral principle, so that wrongly believing his oath bound him he chose the real guilt of murder over a false charge of perjury, an act that brought lasting dishonor rather than preserving his honor.

Guilt and Moral Warning

The order was carried out at the banquet itself, turning a night of frivolity and dissipation into the occasion for beheading one of the greatest prophets God ever sent. His faithful call for reform was thereby silenced. Danger had been gathering around John, and death was soon to follow.

Afterward Herod's guilty conscience tormented him with fear that God would punish him for the sin he had committed. Haunted by John's preaching, he could not shut from his mind the sight of the bleeding head brought in before his guests. That horror was real, and he carried that guilt with his unlawful wife Herodias for a year afterward, even while going through the formal ceremonies as a Jew observing the annual Passover.

His keen remorse did not last, for continued licentious life hardened his heart and dulled his moral perceptions until his sins seemed trivial to him. He became capable of worse crimes, even boasting of having punished John when Jesus stood before him as a prisoner. Yet when he heard of Jesus and His mighty works he was terror-stricken with the thought that John whom he had beheaded was risen from the dead, while still desiring to see Jesus and force a miracle from Him.

His course shows the danger of resisting truth after conviction. At the point of decision, when he had very nearly become John's disciple and his conscience was still sensitive, he yielded to Satan's snare instead of the Spirit's conviction. He turned from light he knew was true and killed a prophet he knew was true, and turning from conviction by the Spirit of truth led him into deeper darkness.

John's faithful, pointed message exposing deception cost him his life. Such a message may cost the messenger his life, yet it is to be spoken plainly so that people will not be deceived. His death led many who had accepted Christ to doubt John's mission and whether Jesus was the Messiah.

The verse warns against intemperance, which made reason servant to baser passions, weakened intellect, perverted ideas of justice and mercy, and led to rash choices with grave consequences. It especially warns those entrusted with responsibility, for impaired judgment and dormant conscience allowed the birthday feast to end in the martyrdom of God's prophet, calling for Christian temperance. It warns against keeping a rash oath made under excitement and against letting concern for guests and social approval govern a man to do what he knows is wrong to preserve honor. It warns against worldly amusements and the alluring impression made by dancing, by cheap common talk, flattery, and foolish witticism spoken to create a laugh. Like the dance that swayed Herod, such deceptive working leads toward the broad road and wide gate that opens to ruin, is trading in the merchandise of Satan, is recorded in the books of heaven, and will appear in its true light before the guilty at the judgment.