Herod Antipas Supposes Jesus to Be John.

  6 But when Herod's birthday came,

  ^b 21 And when a convenient day was come

[A day suited to the purposes of Herodias. The phrase refers to verse 19], that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, and the high the chief men of Galilee;

  22 and when the daughter of Herodias herself

[the language seems to indicate that others had first come in and danced] came in and danced, ^a in the midst, ^b she pleased Herod and them that sat at meat with him [This dancer was Salome, daughter of Herod Philip and niece of Herod Antipas. The dancing of the East was then, as now, voluptuous and indecent, and nothing but utter shamelessness or inveterate malice could have induced a princess to thus make a public show of herself at such a carousal];

  ^b 21 And when a convenient day was come

  22 and when the daughter of Herodias herself

  ^a 7 Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she should ask. ^b and the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee.

  23 And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom.

[The rashness of the king's promise is characteristic of the folly of sin. Riches, honors, kingdoms, souls are given for a bauble in the devil's market.]

  23 And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom.

  24 And she went out, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? [She may have known beforehand what to ask. If so, she retired and asked her mother that the brunt of the king's displeasure might fall upon her mother.] And she said, The head of John the Baptist.

  ^a 8 And she, being put forward by her mother, ^b came in straightway with haste unto the king

[she wished to make her request known before the king had time to put limitations upon her asking], and asked, saying, {^a saith} ^b I will that thou forthwith give me ^a here on a platter the head of John the Baptist. [She asked for the prophet's head that she and her mother might have the witness of their own eyes to the fact that he was dead, and that they might not be deceived about it.]

  ^a 8 And she, being put forward by her mother, ^b came in straightway with haste unto the king

  9 And the king was grieved; ^b was exceeding sorry [because the deed went against his conscience and his sense of policy as above stated]; but for the sake of his oaths, and of them that {^a which} sat at meat, ^b he would not reject her. ^a he commanded it to be given [The oath alone would not have he would rightly have construed the request as not coming within the scope of the oath. The terms of his oath looked to and anticipated a pecuniary present, and not the commission of a crime. But Herod's companions, being evil men, joined with the evil women against the man of God, and shamed Herod into an act which committed him forever to a course of guilt. Thus, a bad man's impulses are constantly broken down by his evil companions];

  ^b 27 And straightway the king forth a soldier of his guard, ^a and beheaded John in the prison. ^b and commanded to bring his head: and he went and beheaded him in the prison,

  28 and brought his head {^a his head was brought} ^b on a platter, and gave it {^a and given} ^b to the damsel: and the damsel ^a brought it ^b gave it to her mother.

[To the anxious, unrestful soul of Herodias this seemed a great gift, since it assured her that the voice of her most dangerous enemy was now silent. But as Herod was soon filled with superstitious fears that John had risen in the person of Christ, her sense of security was very short-lived. The crime stamped Herod and Herodias with greater infamy than that for which John had rebuked them.]

  28 and brought his head {^a his head was brought} ^b on a platter, and gave it {^a and given} ^b to the damsel: and the damsel ^a brought it ^b gave it to her mother.

  29 And when his disciples heard thereof, they came and took up his {^a the} corpse, ^b and laid it in a tomb. ^a and buried him; and went and told Jesus. [Herod had feared that the death of John would bring about a popular uprising, and his fears were not mistaken. As soon as they had decently buried the body of the great preacher, John's disciples go to Jesus, expecting to find in him a leader to redress the Baptist's wrongs. They knew the friendship of John for Jesus, and, knowing that the latter intended to set up a kingdom, they believed that this would involve the overthrow of Herod's power. They were ready now to revolt and make Jesus a king. See Matthew 12:13 ; John 6:1 John 6:2 John 6:15 . But Jesus would not aid them to seek the bitter fruits of revenge, nor did he intend to set up such a kingdom as they imagined.]