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We'll be considering the first 
12 verses, the beheading of John the Baptist. I do want to begin 
reading in chapter 13 at verse 53. It came to pass when Jesus 
had finished these parables that he departed from there. When 
he had come to his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, 
so that they were astonished and said, where did this man 
get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is this not the carpenter's 
son? Is not his mother called Mary? 
And his brothers James, Josie, Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, 
are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all 
these things? So they were offended at him. 
But Jesus said to them, a prophet is not without honor except in 
his own country and in his own house. Now he did not do many 
mighty works there because of their unbelief. At that time 
Herod the Tetrarch heard the report about Jesus and said to 
his servants, this is John the Baptist. He is risen from the 
dead and therefore these powers are at work in him. For Herod 
had laid hold of John and bound him and put him in prison for 
the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife. Because John had 
said to him, it is not lawful for you to have her. And although 
he wanted to put him to death, he feared the multitude because 
they counted him as a prophet. But when Herod's birthday was 
celebrated, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased 
Herod. Therefore, he promised with an oath to give her whatever 
she might ask. So she, having been prompted 
by her mother, said, give me John the Baptist's head here 
on a platter. And the king was sorry. Nevertheless, 
because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he 
commanded it to be given to her. So he sent and had John beheaded 
in prison. And his head was brought on a 
platter and given to the girl. And she brought it to her mother. 
Then his disciples came and took away the body and buried it, 
and went and told Jesus. When Jesus heard it, he departed 
from there by boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the 
multitudes heard it, they followed him on foot from the cities." 
Amen. Well, let us pray. Our Father 
in Heaven, we thank you for Holy Scripture. We pray now for the 
ministry of your Holy Spirit. We pray that you would illumine 
our minds and our hearts and help us to receive with thanksgiving 
the Word of God. May we learn the lessons that 
you would have for us this morning. And Father, we pray that you 
would have mercy upon those who are outside of Christ. We pray 
that you would cause the spirit to fall upon them. We pray that 
you would give the gifts of faith and repentance that today would 
in fact be the day of salvation. We pray it would be a day for 
rejoicing in heaven over sinners who repent. We also pray that 
you would forgive each and every one of us now, Lord God. We acknowledge 
sin and its darkening influence and its power over our minds 
and our hearts. We know at times, God, it is 
difficult to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. We know that even in the act 
of public worship, we struggle to keep our minds focused. We 
pray that you'd keep the devil out of here. We pray that you 
would just cause us to receive your truth. And we pray that 
in all of this, you would be glorified, and you would be exalted, 
and you would be praised. And we ask this through Jesus 
Christ, our Lord. Amen. Well, as we have been considering 
in Matthew's gospel, there's varying responses to Christ. 
We saw that in chapters 11 and 12. Chapter 13, the parables 
of the kingdom give us the reason why such is the case. Why there 
are those who receive the truth of the gospel, and there are 
those who reject it. Well, we see it continuing, even 
after the parables of the kingdom. at least in these two sections 
that I've read at the end of chapter 13 and at the beginning 
of chapter 14 we see continued opposition to the Kingdom of 
Heaven specifically the Lord Christ when he went to his hometown 
of Nazareth and here specifically with John the Baptist as he loses 
his head in Herod's fortress. So what we find here is similar 
in nature. And while we see the emphasis 
and the focus is upon the Baptist, it is ultimately about the Lord 
Jesus Christ. There are links that we ought 
to observe. Jesus refers to himself in verse 57 as a prophet. We see here in Matthew 14, 5, 
the people perceive that John was a prophet. In fact, it was 
specified and prophesied concerning John that he would be a prophet 
to the highest. And I think in essence what Matthew 
wants us to appreciate as we work our way through this portion 
of narrative is the similarities between Christ and John. And 
to see that this in fact foreshadows the impending doom, the crucifixion 
of our Lord Jesus Christ. So that sets this narrative in 
its context. France also has made this interesting 
observation. We have in verses 1 to 12 a feast, 
a meal, a celebration, which could have been thrown by Satan 
himself. And in the following narrative 
we see the Son of Man. multiply bread, and multiply 
fish. There's a contrast between these 
two dinners, or between these two suppers that are taking place 
here. The one, the Antichrist himself, 
and then the Lord Christ Most High, in His mercy and in His 
kindness. Now there are parallel passages 
in Mark's Gospel, Mark 6, 14 to 29. As Matthew's custom is, 
he abbreviates, he doesn't leave things out, but rather he abbreviates 
and specifically focuses upon his theological ends. Mark gives 
us a bit more detail, so we might look at that passage as well. 
As well, it's in Luke 9 and there's a reference in Luke 3 also. So what we see in chapter 14 
are two broad concerns. First, the assessment concerning 
Jesus. Remember that theme? Varying 
responses to the Son of Man. Who is He? What's He about? By 
what authority does He act? By what authority does He speak 
this wisdom and do these mighty works? So we find here Herod's 
assessment of John the Baptist. And then verses 3 to 12 are a 
bit of a flashback. or a bit of a backdrop or a context 
as to why Herod would make the statement he makes in verse 2. 
Of course, Herod identifies Jesus as being John the Baptist who 
had come back from the dead and was doing these miraculous works. 
Verses 3 to 12 take up the question, well, why would Herod say such 
a thing like this? So that's what's going on in 
Matthew 14 verses 1 to 12. So two things. The assessment 
concerning Jesus, verses 1 and 2. Secondly, the account concerning 
John's murder in verses 3 to 12. Note first the assessment. There is a report concerning 
Jesus' growing fame. There is a report concerning 
Jesus' growing fame. Herod, in the palace, is able 
to hear about what Christ is doing. In Mark's account, Mark 
6, verse 14, it says, Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name 
had become well known. We've seen that in the gospel 
records. Jesus was a man who went about doing good. There 
was curiosity developing. There was an interest developing. 
People wondered who this man from Nazareth was. And this is 
precisely the context. At that time, Herod the Tetrarch 
heard the report about Jesus. And what we find out concerning, 
or what we know about this particular man, Herod the Tetrarch. He's 
the son of Herod the Great, who's indicated in Matthew chapter 
2. He's the younger brother of Archelaus in Matthew 2.22. After the death of Herod the 
Great, instead of having one man sort of oversee all of the 
region, it was divided up into regions, hence they're Tetrarchs. govern over a particular portion. 
He's not technically and strictly a king, however that would have 
been the common reference point in Galilee. Now Herod, this is 
Herod Antipas, he is the one that is being spoken of here 
as Herod the Tetrarch. His particular region, or his 
particular authority extended to Galilee and Perea. Perea was 
on the east side of the River Jordan, that's where John the 
Baptist had his ministry. So he was a definitely aware 
of who the Baptist was prior to this given situation and as 
we find here he was the one that imprisoned him and so what this 
man Herod the Tetrarch did is that he divorced his first wife 
she was a woman that was the daughter of Aretas. He was the 
king of the Nabataeans, which bordered on Perea. And then he 
took his brother Philip's wife. That was the issue. Adultery, 
divorce, just about everything Jesus spoke against in the Sermon 
on the Mount, this Antipas was guilty of on lawful oaths. Again, 
lust, divorce, adultery, ultimately murder, every bad thing. that 
you could put into a human being is embodied here in this man 
Herod. And his wife is a nasty piece 
of work as well as we move our way through this particular narrative. Behind a nasty man there's a 
particularly nasty woman. You've heard the saying, behind 
every great man there's a great woman behind every disgusting 
wretch of a human being, there's a disgusting wretch of a woman 
who makes his lunch in the morning. And this is what we find in this 
passage. It extends right down to her 
daughter. This girl is about 12 to 14. 
If you hear me refer to her as Salome, that is how she's identified 
by Josephus in his antiquities. Josephus writes a considerable 
amount about this Herod, the tetrarch, Herod Antipas. He was 
an adulterer. We see that in the passage. Specifically, 
he engaged in incest. It is prohibited in the law of 
God that you take your brother's wife. Leviticus 18, Leviticus 
chapter 20. And this is what the Baptist 
reproves him for. He's a murderer. It's a conspiracy 
to commit murder. This man sins by proxy, but he 
is guilty of it nonetheless. He doesn't actually take the 
sword and cut John's head off, but he might just as well have. 
And kids, as we work our way through this passage, we need 
to understand that's what's happening. This 12 to 14 year old girl engages 
in a dance. It's probably not a folk dance. 
It's probably not just a silly dance. She's not doing the hokey 
pokey. She's doing something that's 
lustful, seductive, and wicked. And then she takes the severed 
head of a man of God, the prophet of the highest, and she presents 
it to her wretched mother. I personally wouldn't even want 
to see a bloody cut-off head, let alone hold it on a platter 
and present it to my wicked mom. That's what's happening in this 
passage. And in essence, what Matthew is indicating is that 
what happens to the prophet of the highest happens ultimately 
to the highest. And it explains for us the passion 
narratives when we get to the end and we hear, away with him, 
away with him, crucify him. In other words, what they do 
to the prophet, they're going to do to the Savior himself. 
He was also a coward. This man was a coward. We work 
our way through the narrative as we make some observations. 
They're the New Testament counterpart to Ahab and Jezebel. And it's 
interesting because Ahab and Jezebel went after Elijah the 
prophet. Isn't it the Baptist himself 
who came in the spirit and the power of Elijah the prophet? And what was Ahab's claim to 
fame? He was a wicked wretch. But in 
many respects he was instigated by his wicked wretch of a wife. This man feared and cowered over 
his wife. In Mark's account, it tells us 
that Herodias wanted to kill John. Here it specifies that 
it's Herod. Again, he's not leaving out details 
that are significant, he's not contradictory, but probably what 
we're to glean and gather from Matthew is the bottom line. Herod 
wants to kill him because his nagging, wicked, wretched wife 
is saying, I want you to shut that man up. I don't like him 
pointing his finger in our faces. I don't like to hear that we're 
transgressors of God's holy law. Herod, I want you to dispatch 
him and deal with him once and for all. He's a coward. He fears people. Verse 5. He 
wants to dispatch, he wants to destroy John the Baptist, but 
he's a coward because he knows that there's public opinion that's 
against him. Everything that he does is for 
his own benefit, it's for his own prosperity in the world. And he certainly feared John. 
Mark 6 tells us that Herod liked to hear what John had to say. 
There was a healthy fear, a healthy esteem. Something in the heart 
of Herod Antipas resonated with the reality that John was preaching. More than likely, he was something 
of a religious man. If we compare Matthew and Mark, 
he was most likely a Sadducee. So he had some religion. His 
father was an Edomite, so they had some sense or some understanding 
of Jewish religion. Notice his assessment of Christ. Verse two, and he said to his 
servants, not Jesus' disciples, he's talking to his own servants. The message of the Baptist has 
come to the ears of Herod Antipas and this is his statement. I'm sorry, the message of Jesus 
has come and this is his statement. He said to his servants, this 
is John the Baptist, he is risen from the dead and therefore these 
powers are at work in him. Now, the gospel records that 
John the Baptist didn't do any miracles, specifically in John 
chapter 10. We read that he never did any signs, he never did any 
wonders. What is probably going on here 
is not theology. They said he's a religious man, 
but probably not that religious. If, as a Sadducee, he's operating 
theologically, he doesn't believe in the resurrection from the 
dead. We can't be functioning religiously here. Probably superstitious. Probably the idea is that he's 
got a guilty conscience. He knows what he's done. You 
see, if you are an unbeliever here this morning, when you hear 
the law preached, on the one hand you probably say, well, 
I don't want him to tell me what I can and can't do. Not just 
the guy in the pulpit, but I certainly don't want God to tell me what 
I can and can't do. Did you ever notice that you 
have an on-board preacher? God's designed it that way. You 
have a conscience. Now, I realize there are certain 
wretches out there that get beyond that point. Paul speaks of them 
in Ephesians chapter 4. But for the most part, we have 
operative consciences, and they testify. So that when you hear 
the Word of God come to you, and you're committing adultery, 
and the Scripture says, do not commit adultery, you know deep 
down in your heart that that's right. You know deep down in 
your heart that you ought not to engage in lawlessness. You ought not to practice sin 
and wickedness. Probably Herod had something 
of this on-board preacher. He had this GPS that resonated 
in his head. He's right, you know. You understand 
that you're violating God's holy commandment. And his guilty conscience 
affects him in such a way that when he hears the report concerning 
the fame of Jesus, what does he do? He associates it with 
the man that he murdered. Again, it's probably superstition. It has nothing to do with theology. Frientz says the idea of a ghostly 
or even physical return of someone who has had a special influence, 
especially if that influence has been prematurely cut off 
by violent death, is found in various cultures. He says, think 
of Elijah. Nero, King Arthur, Elvis. Elvis sightings everywhere. This 
is popular superstition rather than a worked out theology of 
resurrection such as that of the Pharisees. Matthew does not 
say explicitly that Antipas felt personally threatened or haunted 
by the returning John, but that's probably the implication. He's 
got a guilty conscience haunting him. He hears of Christ and what 
does he do? He fears. This is the Baptist. 
This is the man whose head I cut off. He's come back to get me. 
He's come back to deal with me. He has come back to do me in. 
Again, why would Herod think such a thing like this? Verses 
3 to 12. Here is the account concerning 
the death of the Baptist. It breaks down into three sections. 
Imprisonment, celebration, and murder. Note first the imprisonment. We've already seen this in Matthew 
4. In verse 12, Jesus hears that John the Baptist has been imprisoned. 
In Matthew chapter 11, when the Lord Jesus is ministering, two 
disciples, or disciples of John the Baptist, are sent by John 
from prison to ask Jesus, are you the coming one or do we wait 
for another? So he is sitting in a prison 
cell according to verse 3. Herod had laid hold of John and 
bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his 
brother Philip's wife. Again, It's a place called Macareth, 
probably his particular royal palace when he's in this region. 
And it's probably the same place where the celebration took place, 
so they could have easy access to go and deal with this menace, 
John the Baptist. Now note the reason why he was 
in prison. Note why John went to prison. John preached a sermon that not 
only landed him in the pokey, but also eventually cost him 
his head. What was it? What was his crime? What was the horrific thing that 
the Baptist engaged in? It's something that we're seeing 
encroaching upon us in our secular age. He preached the law of God. You can preach anything today. 
Feel good, Kumbaya, Allah, Hinduism, Buddhism. You can preach any 
deity whatsoever or any approach whatsoever to the religious or 
philosophical life. But preach John 14, 6. Or preach 
the abiding law of God Most High and you're branded a bigot. You're 
branded prejudiced. You're branded as one who's very 
narrow and a menace to society. And how dare you bring that Bible 
to bear upon nice folk like us. This is what the Baptist did. 
Notice in verse 4. Verse 3 tells us that Herod threw 
him into prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's 
wife, because John had said to him, it is not lawful for you 
to have her. It's a violation of God's law. 
It's not lawful. Do you see that? Do you see a parallel 
to our generation? It's not lawful for a man to 
marry a man. Off with your head. It's not 
lawful for a woman to marry a woman. Off with your head. It's not 
lawful for you to violate the sanctity of life. Off with you. John ministered, lived and moved 
and had his being in a generation and a day and age which is very 
similar to what we face. That being the case, let's look 
at John the Baptist preaching. The first thing we notice is 
that he had courage. Something unfortunately lacking 
among men today. One of the primary requisites 
of faithful gospel ministry that Paul does not mention in 1 Timothy 
3 or Titus 1, because Paul assumes it, is that whoever stands behind 
a pulpit is going to have a backbone. He's not going to wear a skirt. 
He's not going to walk around the dandelions. He's not going 
to go around singing Born Free and Kumbaya. He is going to put 
his finger in the face of the heads of his day and say, it's 
not lawful. It doesn't matter what the herods 
of the day think. It doesn't matter what the herods 
of the day do. It doesn't matter what the herods 
of the day respond. The faithful man of God has a 
backbone and he preaches the law. This is certainly what Jesus 
fleshes out or speaks of in 11.7. As they departed, chapter 11, 
verse 7, you can turn there, we'll see it again. As they departed, 
Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John, what did you 
go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? Do you want a guy who on the 
one day affirms that adultery is wrong and on the next day 
says it's okay? Do you want a guy who on the 
one day affirms sola fide or justification by faithful love, 
and on the next day says it's by faithfulness? You want a reed 
shaken by the wind? No, that backbone means that 
he's established. He knows his doctrine. He's rooted. 
He's grounded. He's solid. He's not going to 
fly off the handle. He's not going to do the odd 
and the wacky. He's not going to take rabbit trails that lead 
people into bad places. You didn't go out to see a reed 
shaken by the wind. What did you go out to see? A 
man clothed in soft garments? A court preacher? A prissy man? A man who was bought and paid 
for? A man who would tell Herod? Who would tell the chief priests? 
Who would tell the high priests what they wanted to hear? Remember 
with Ahab and Micaiah? When Jehoshaphat wants to go 
into battle with Ahab? And they seek the prophets? They 
talk to everybody but Micaiah? What does Ahab say? Well, there's 
one more prophet. I don't want to ask him because 
I know what he's going to say. Why could he say that about Micaiah? Because Micaiah was a man of 
God. He had a backbone. He wasn't 
a reed shaken by the wind. He wasn't a prissy court preacher 
that only sought the favor of the higher-ups. Micaiah, tongue-in-cheek, 
says, the Lord said, you will win and be victorious. Ahab said, 
I know you're kidding with me. And Micaiah says, this is what 
the Lord has said. What happens to Micaiah as a 
result? Gets a nice smack on the face 
and he gets a prison sentence with bread for the rest of his 
life. That's what faithful gospel ministry is in the Bible. Notice, what did you go out to 
see? A man clothed in soft garments? 
Indeed those who wear soft clothing are in king's houses. But what 
did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, 
and more than a prophet, for this is he of whom it is written, 
Behold, I sent my messenger before your face, who will prepare your 
way before you. Assuredly, I say to you, among 
those born of women, there has not risen one greater than John 
the Baptist, but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater 
than he." He speaks so glowingly and so wonderfully of this man. And I believe one of the aspects 
is this. He had courage. God puts His 
Word out there. Our task is to accurately proclaim 
it. We don't play games with it. 
We don't take away from it. We don't add to it. The task 
of Gospel preaching is to make known the will and the mind of 
God Most High. We see His courage. Notice His 
standard. It is not lawful because John 
says so, no because Moses said so, under the inspiration of 
the Holy Spirit of God Most High. God's Word condemns the sort 
of activity that Herod and Herodias had engaged in. Leviticus 18.16, 
you shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother's wife. It is 
your brother's nakedness. Leviticus 20.21, if a man takes 
his brother's wife, it is an unclean thing. Spurgeon says, 
John did not mince matters or leave the question alone. What 
was a king to him if that king dared to trample on the law of 
God? Herod laid hold on John because 
John's word had laid hold on Herod. And it's interesting because 
he doesn't just prosecute the seventh word. According to Luke's 
parallel, we see that John the Baptist spoke or reproved Herod 
all the evils which he had done. It wasn't a pick and choose. 
It wasn't a hobby horse. It's wrong for you to take Philip's 
wife. It's also wrong for you to extort. 
It's also wrong for you to murder. It's wrong for you to lie. It's 
wrong for you to cheat. It's wrong for you to engage 
in idolatry. And the tense of the verb suggests that it was 
constant. He doesn't just do this once, well, you know where 
I stand, dear Herod. Now you just be at peace. No, 
it's a present. He continually does this. He 
makes Herod know his sinfulness. He knew something that our age 
desperately has missed. If men would learn the grace 
of God, they must hear the law of God. Man, we come out and 
we preach principles to a happy life. John said, you have broken 
God's law. You have sinned against the majesty 
on high. The Lord says, one woman for 
life. Not take your brother's wife. 
Not divorce the wife of your youth. Not engage in incest. Not engage in such corruption. 
The Baptist here reproved this man for his sins. And then notice 
the assumption of the preacher. What does he assume? That the 
law of God is comprehensive in its scope. It is for the covenant 
community, but it extends outside the covenant community as well. 
God made man in his own image and hardwired the law on his 
heart. I love the way Lightfoot says 
it. He says, Adam in the garden heard as much as Israel at Sinai, 
only in fewer words and without the thunder. It's that natural 
law. It's the moral law. It's the 
Decalogue. It's the ten words. And John 
knew that it wasn't just peculiar to the covenant people, but it 
also extended to Kings. It extended to Tetrarchs. It 
extended to Herodias. It extended to Salome. It extends 
comprehensively. And while the people of God must 
hear the law of God, so must the non-people of God. The Lord 
has spoken and our task is to proclaim. So the reason is given, 
then notice the desire he has in verse 5. Verse 5. Terrible. Here's a coward. And 
although he wanted to put him to death, he feared the multitude 
because they counted him as a prophet. And I'm not speaking of the cowardice 
that he has toward the multitude. I mean, that's bad enough. Isn't 
it terrible when a politician won't do what's right because 
he fears what men will do? In this case, that wouldn't be 
right for him to kill the Baptist, but you understand. He's fearing 
his wife. It's Herodias that says, I don't 
want to hear that. It's Herodias that's nagging. 
It's Herodias that says, kill him. It's Herodias that says, 
get rid of him. It's Herodias that's putting 
her hands on her ears saying, I don't want to hear this violation 
of the seventh word. I don't want to hear what this 
man has to say. I don't want to hear what he's got in terms 
of my sinfulness. Get rid of him. He's afraid of 
her. or he's afraid of her, he wants to put him to death, but 
then he fears the crowd because they count him as a prophet. 
That brings us to consider the celebration. Calvin, interestingly 
enough, says, it's not wrong to throw a party. The problem 
here is not birthday celebration. God's not a Jehovah's Witness. 
That's not what's condemned in the passage. Obviously there's 
a difference between you having a few friends over, getting an 
ice cream cake from Dairy Queen, sticking 50 candles on it, blowing 
it out, and enjoying that corn syrup or high fructose corn syrup 
until you bleed. There's something different about 
that than this particular celebration. Don't come to Matthew 14 for 
your doctrine of never attending a birthday party. If you don't 
want to attend a birthday party, that's fine, but don't do it 
in the name of God in Matthew 14. It's a celebration. The alcohol is flowing. The dance 
is going. Again, this young woman did not 
dance folksy. This young woman wasn't doing 
some cutesy thing. This young woman pleased her 
uncle. This young woman, in her seduction 
and suggestiveness, got Herod's eye. When Herod's 
birthday was celebrated, verse 6, the daughter of Herodias danced 
before them and pleased Herod. Now notice what Herod does, as 
if he's not a two-bit governor over a piece of property in first 
century Palestine. He sounds like the king of Persia. You can read this sort of thing 
in the book of Esther. What does the king of Persia 
say? He makes promises like these. You do something and I will give 
you up to half of my kingdom. Well, first of all, Herod, this 
isn't your kingdom. Second of all, Herod, you're 
a two-bit governor. And third of all, Herod, it's 
probably the booze that has gotten you loosened up in such a way 
that you're making these sorts of pompous statements. While 
he says, or makes the promise here in verse 7, therefore he 
promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask, the 
Markin account tells us, up to half of my kingdom. You see the 
scene now. Just like with Gail in Judges 
chapter 10. What happens? When he wants to 
usurp Abimelech. The wine is flowing. Gael is 
enabled, he's empowered, he starts to challenge. Who is this Abimelech? Abimelech, gather your forces 
and meet me for battle. Isn't that what's going on? The 
same thing here with Herod. He's worked up with some alcohol, 
he's worked up with this dance, and he's making promises now. 
Little does he know that Herodias is behind the scenes working 
on Salome, doing the very thing she's intended to do all along. 
She wants to get rid of the Baptist. She seizes this opportunity. 
Probably there were separate chambers for men and women to 
eat in. She comes over and dances for 
the men. After Herod makes this promise, 
she then goes over, according to Mark in account, and says, 
what should I ask for, mommy? This is what we find. So she, 
having been prompted by her mother, said, give me John the Baptist's 
head here on a platter." It's disgusting, isn't it? Don't run 
through this. Think about it for a moment. 
We saw this on Wednesday night, Judges 10. Why do you think the people took 
70 shekels to pay Abimelech when they wanted to put him on the 
throne? because there were 70 brothers that needed to die and 
a shackle of silver for each was the bounty. Abimelech goes 
and hires hitmen and it says on one stone he kills these brothers. Thankfully Jotham escapes. One 
stone. That means it wasn't sort of 
a surprise massacre. They didn't onslaught them with 
swords and knives. It was systematic. It was serial 
in nature. One after the other met their 
death at the hands of Abimelech. The same thing is true here. 
This was a sermon that cost a preacher his head, cut right off, severed. Again, I don't even want to see 
a head detached from the body. There's something unnatural about 
that, isn't there? We're used to seeing heads attached 
to their bodies in the manner that is consistent with life. 
When we see a head away from the body, we realize there's 
death. But when we see that head, freshly dripping blood, held 
on a plate by a 12 to 14-year-old girl, there is something wrong 
in Antipas' rule. Notice. So she, having been prompted 
by her mother, said, give me John the Baptist's head here 
on a platter. And the king was sorry. Nevertheless, because 
of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he commanded 
it to be given to her." So I was reading on this particular passage, 
I was reading Spurgeon's commentary on Matthew, and he refers to 
crocodile tears. You've probably heard that term, 
haven't you? Crocodile tears. When somebody fake cries, you 
say, well, those are crocodile tears. So I thought, where did 
that come from? Do crocodiles really cry? Why 
would we say crocodile tears? Well, sure enough, when a crocodile 
closes its big mouth on its prey, the tear ducts elicit some water. Now, do you think that crocodile 
is sorry when he's chomping his food? Do you think that crocodile 
is dismayed because he's taken a life? No, it's just something 
that happens. We ought not to interpret the 
king's sorrow here as being legit. I think there are other ways 
that we ought to understand this. The sorrow first was most likely 
due to the fact that this occurred due to Herodias. Perhaps Herod 
really didn't want him to die in this particular manner. It 
was Herodias. It was his wife. It was this 
nagging wretch of a woman. Again, do not forget Ahab and 
Jezebel. Remember that scene in 1 Kings 
chapter 21. Ahab gets a hankering for Naboth's 
vineyard. This will make a nice summer 
garden for my plants and shrubs and my vegetables. He goes to 
Naboth and he says, give me your vineyard. I'll pay you top dollar. 
Naboth says, no, this is my inheritance. This is from my father. So Ahab 
goes home and he has a sandwich and he looks pretty sad. And 
Jezebel says, you get back over there and you take that vineyard. 
You hire some worthless men, you hire some sons of Belial, 
and you concoct something so that Naboth dies and you take 
his field. So what happens? Ahab complies. Ahab does her bidding. Ahab does 
what she says. And it's interesting, in 1 Kings 
chapter 21, we read in verse 25, But there was no one like 
Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the Lord, because 
Jezebel his wife stirred him up. Now, lest we think this gets 
Ahab off the hook, or lest we think this gets Herod off the 
hook, let's listen to Ralph Davis concerning the Jezebel-Ahab thing. He says that Jezebel incited 
Ahab to evil does not lessen but aggravates Ahab's guilt. When you men do something foolish 
at the bidding of your wife, you cannot blame her. You cannot 
with Adam say, the woman whom thou hast given me, she gave 
me to eat, and I did eat. The buck stops with you. Isn't it intriguing that after 
the fall, where does God go? Adam, who told you you were naked? He doesn't say Eve. Though sin 
had brought a breach between heaven and earth, the structure 
is the same. Man is the head and the woman 
is the helper. Davis says that Jezebel incited 
Ahab to evil does not lessen but aggravates Ahab's guilt, 
for it shows he was not only wicked but weak, not simply sinful 
but spineless. Spurgeon said it this way, this 
fierce woman would brook no rebuke of her licentiousness. She was 
a very Jezebel in her pride and cruelty in Herod was as a puppet 
in her hands. Maybe he's sorrowful because 
deep down in his heart he knows what a pathetic wretch he really 
is. I have given the orders, or I 
am going to give the orders, where a godly man is going to 
lose his head, and it's because I'm too much of a wimp to stand 
up to my wife. The sorrow was certainly not 
repentance, is it? He's sorrowful, but he doesn't 
stop. He's sorrowful, but he doesn't stay the hand. He's sorrowful, 
but he doesn't call it off. The sorrow did not prevent him 
from carrying out a summary execution without a trial. You see, this 
just wasn't done even in Roman society. You don't just give 
the order for a hit while a man's in prison. Everything about this 
is terrible. Sounds like what happens in the 
life of our Lord, doesn't it? You don't just order a summary 
execution. You don't just cry out, away 
with him, away with him, crucify him. You don't just dispatch 
somebody that is displeasing to you. There is priority, there 
is appropriate methodology, there's process. He is throwing all this 
to the wind. Again, Spurgeon says, men may 
sin by proxy, but they will be guilty in person. He says, the 
promise was in itself null and void. Notice, the king was sorry. Nevertheless, because of the 
oaths and because of those who sat with him, he commanded it 
to be given to her. So he says, the promise was in 
itself null and void, because no man has a right to promise 
to do wrong. Lawful oath, chapter 23, London 
Baptist Confession. You ought to read that. You ought 
to realize that an oath is an expression of worship unto God. 
And when you take a false oath, when you lie before God, or you 
take on monasticism, or you take on some other popish rule of 
life that the Confession specifically deals with, you have sinned against 
God. You cannot take or make a promise 
to do wrong, and that's what he's doing in this instance. 
He says, Spurgeon says, wicked oaths ought to be repented of, 
not acted out. But this cruel tyrant commanded 
the murder and so went through with this horrible promise. So 
we see imprisonment, celebration, and now the murder. Verses 12 
or 10 to 12. The execution of John in prison. 
He's sitting there minding his own business. He's a prophet 
of the highest. Before you start looking for 
your reward on this side of heaven, consider the Baptist. I read 
something interesting recently. A lady made this comment. You 
know, when Jesus amassed multitudes, he didn't set up a table and 
sign their books. When John the Baptist successfully 
executed the role that was given to him as the prophet of the 
highest, he didn't receive accolades, he didn't receive rewards, he 
didn't go on a tour, he didn't have coffee cups with his picture 
on them, he didn't have t-shirts that said John the Baptist is 
my homeboy, he didn't have that. He's sitting in a prison cell 
minding his own business and a man with a sword comes in and 
severs his head. That's what you get when you 
faithfully execute what God calls you to. Isn't this an example? Isn't this an illustration of 
what Jesus says in Matthew 11? What did you go out to see? A 
reed shaken in the wind? Did you go out to see a soft, 
prissy preacher that wanted to court the favor of those above 
him? No! You wanted to hear the Word of 
God, 16 ounces, pound for pound to the truth. You didn't want 
this kind of activity. It's also an illustration of 
what Jesus says to his disciples in Matthew 10. Do not fear those 
who can kill the body. Do not fear those who can kill 
the body and then they're done, but rather fear Him who can kill 
both body and soul in hell. The Baptist embodies everything 
that Christ speaks in terms of faithful gospel ministry. This 
coincides with what we're seeing in 1 Timothy chapter 4. Faithful 
gospel ministry is the accurate proclamation of the truth That's 
the bottom line. That's the necessity. And that's 
what cost this preacher his head. The girl then brings on a platter 
the severed head of the Baptist and brings it to her mother. 
Again, this is the mother of the year by all reports. She 
instigates her little girl, 12 to 14, to go and ask for the 
head of a godly man, the prophet of the highest. And when you 
get that head on your charger, you bring it to mommy and you 
show me, because I want to see the silencing of the seventh 
word. I suspect, I don't know this, the Bible doesn't say it, 
but she carried in her memory the reality of the breaking of 
the sixth word for the rest of her life. That severed head of 
the Baptist preached even when he was dead, you shall not murder. Isn't it interesting that sin 
begets sin? Sin compounds sin. How do sinners 
deal with sin? They sin some more. It's intriguing 
to me that Herod and Herodias, to cover their guilt, believe 
that a death must occur. David did the same thing. David 
had guilt. He broke the seventh commandment. 
What was his conclusion? A death will necessarily cover 
my guilt. So he orders the hit on Uriah. More on that in just a moment. 
But then notice what happens. Verse 12. Then his disciples 
came and took away the body, I love this, and buried it. They didn't bury him. They buried 
it. Because as C.H. says, while he's 
losing his head in the prison in Machaerus, he is receiving 
the crown of life that will never pass away. They buried the body. As Luther would write later, 
the body they may kill, God's word abideth still. So they kill 
him, they bury him, and then the disciples go and they tell 
Jesus. And I think Matthew puts this 
in there for two reasons. One, to show us the continuity 
between the Baptist and our Lord Jesus. Remember in chapter 11, 
to and following, the disciples of the Baptist are told, John 
wants to know, are you the coming one or do we wait for another? 
This shows us the Baptist or the disciples go back to the 
Lord Jesus Christ. And as well, it shows the solidarity, 
the unity, the consistency between Jesus and John with reference 
to their common opposition. In this instance, Herod. So Jesus 
withdrew, not because he was afraid. Later in Luke's Gospel, 
they come, they tell him, Herod wants to kill you. Jesus says, 
go tell that fox, this is what the Son of Man must do. It wasn't 
his time yet. not withdrawing because he's 
cowering in fear. There's no fear in the Son of 
God in terms of His relentless pursuit of all that the Father 
had given Him. Luke 9 tells us He set His face 
like a flint to go to Jerusalem. He set His face steadfast to 
go to Jerusalem. He told His disciples, I must, 
I must, I must, because this is what the Father had given 
Him to do, to live a life of obedience to the law, to die 
as a sacrifice and a substitute, and to rise on the third day 
so that sinners might have. everlasting life. The death of 
John the Baptist. A couple of thoughts and then 
we close. First, we've touched on this. It does bear repetition. The faithful ministry of John 
the Baptist. The faithful ministry of John 
the Baptist. Whether he's at the wilderness 
or out in the wilderness reproving scribes and Pharisees and calling 
them broods of vipers, Or he's calling Herod to repent from 
his sin of breaking the seventh commandment. The man is faithful. The audience doesn't dictate 
his message. The people don't make him fear 
and cower. Rather, he takes seriously the 
mandate given him by God to be a prophet to the highest, to 
proclaim the whole counsel of the Lord. You know, I've said 
this recently, and I hope that you'll all agree. When people 
mention Free Grace Baptist Church, wouldn't it be wonderful if what 
they associate with that is that they preach the whole counsel 
of God? They may never be able to say, 
that's the biggest church in Chilliwack. Not may never be 
able to say. They will not be able to say. 
They will not be able to say, it's the biggest church on Wellington 
Avenue in Chilliwack. Brethren, what is the mandate 
given to us by God the Lord as a church? You heard Pastor Cam 
speak of it this morning in Ephesians 3. We are here to testify, to 
serve, to illustrate, to demonstrate the manifold wisdom and grace 
of God. How do we do that chiefly and 
foremostly? But by preaching the whole counsel 
of God. Law and gospel. Gospel and law. Proclaim the 
entirety of the truth of God's Word. That's what the Baptist 
did. This is what defined John. This is what made him what he 
was. Secondly, we've touched on this, 
the wickedness of Herod and Herodias. We couldn't spend enough time 
on how bad these two are. I mean, just terrible specimens 
of human beings. Absolute wretches of humanity 
in the first century. You know what happens to us in the 
21st century? It's so bad. It's so bad. It's so bad. And 
it is bad. I'm not suggesting otherwise, 
but we aren't the first people to ever deal with wicked people 
in charge. Who's Herod like in this passage? 
Ahab. You know how long Ahab, or no, 
it was Manasseh, rather. Manasseh was a benchmark for 
wickedness in Israel. Do you know how long his reign 
was? 55? It was 55? Yeah? Give me a nod. I think it's 55 years of a Manasseh. 55 years. Some of us are counting 
down the minutes until the next election, south of the border. 
Provided everything stays the way it's supposed to, we'll see 
that election take place. Can you imagine 50 more years of a Manasseh, of an Ahab, an 
Ahab and a Jezebel? She wasn't just telling schoolchildren 
they shouldn't eat cheeseburgers and drink Big Pops. She was saying, 
get over there and kill Naboth and take his vineyard for your 
flower garden. You see, we're not the first 
people in the history of the world to face difficulty. The 
Baptist did, and it cost him his head. The response from the 
Church of Christ ought to be consistent. Good leaders, bad 
leaders, bad leaders, bad leaders, good leaders, good leaders, whatever 
the case, our task is the same, to faithfully proclaim the whole 
counsel of God. To tell people in the wilderness, 
to tell the magistrate, to tell the heralds, to tell the governors, 
to tell whoever. When they say, thou shalt not 
preach against sexual sin, the faithful church preaches against 
sexual sin. When they say, thou shalt not 
preach against government corruption, the faithful church preaches 
the word. Thirdly, I've referred to this, 
Ryle's going to help us punctuate it. The believer's reward. We ought not to look for our 
health, wealth, and prosperity on this side of heaven. You take 
the Baptist and you say, what a faithful man. What's his retirement 
package look like? What's he going to do when he 
stops preaching? He'll be golfing. He'll be traveling. He'll be doing whatever. No. 
They bury his dead corpse in the ground. Ryle says, if ever 
there was a case of godliness unrewarded in this life, It was 
that of John the Baptist. Think for a moment what a man 
he was during his short career and then think to what an end 
he came. Behold him that was the prophet of the highest and 
greater than any born of woman, imprisoned like a malefactor. 
That's bad. I'm sure the prison there in 
Macarest wasn't the kinds of prisons that we have today where 
there's three hots and a cot. Probably was pretty brutal. He 
says, behold, him cut off by a violent death before the age 
of 34, the burning light quenched, the faithful preacher murdered 
for doing his duty, and this to gratify the hatred of an adulterous 
woman, and at the command of a capricious tyrant. Truly there 
was an event here, if there ever was one in the world, which might 
make an ignorant man say, what profit is it to serve God? This 
is what your best gets? This is what faithfulness brings? 
This is what you do with John the Baptist? You see his head 
cut off and his body buried in the ground? You can hear the 
wretched man, the unbelieving man, the health, wealth, prosperity, 
conditioned, professing Christian think this way. But anybody that 
has just that much understanding of biblical revelation, one who's 
actually fallen into Hebrews 11 and read the case and the 
situation of our brethren beforehand, will know that that's just not 
the case. He says, but these are the sort of things which 
show us that there will one day be a judgment. The God of the 
spirits of all flesh shall at last set up in a size and reward 
everyone according to his works. The blood of John the Baptist, 
and James the Apostle, and Stephen, the blood of Polycarp, and Huss, 
and Ridley, and Latimer shall yet be required. It is all written 
in God's book. Herod met his maker. Herod has 
since been in hell. On that general resurrection, 
when body and soul is reunited, he'll be back in hell forever. And where's the Baptist? He's 
singing, my sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought. My 
sin not in part but the whole is nailed to the cross and I 
bear it no more. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord. 
You may not get rewarded in this life, but God has abundance for 
us in the life to come. We need to think about that. 
We need to consider what God has in store for His Christian 
people. We need to understand that the 
trials and the tribulations and the difficulties that we suffer 
in this world are called by Paul a momentary light affliction. Momentary light affliction. Paul's 
not diminishing your suffering. He's not telling you to suck 
it up. He's not calling you names. He is making a contrast between 
the momentary light affliction and the exceeding weight of glory 
that awaits for us. And then, as I mentioned at the 
outset, the parallel with Christ. The attentive reader is going 
to take Matthew 14, 1-12 and say, If they did this to the 
Baptist, they're going to do this to the Savior. If they did 
this to the prophet, they're going to do it to the highest. 
If he was rejected at Nazareth, and his chief servant on this 
earth was rejected by Herod, what can we expect at the hands 
of godless men? What can we expect as we move 
our way through the narrative? We see rising opposition. Where 
is it going to culminate? It's going to culminate in the 
cry of that crowd, away with him, away with him, crucify him. 
Consider the similarities and the parallels between these two 
men. They both come and at the very beginning of their ministry 
they announce the same thing, repent, for the kingdom of heaven 
is at hand. Herod the Tetrarch was responsible 
for John's death. Pilate was responsible for Jesus' 
death. Herod expresses a degree of sorrow 
in our text. Pilate expresses a degree of 
reluctance as well. He doesn't want to crucify him. 
He ultimately kowtows to the mob. He says, what do you want 
me to do with this one? I find no guilt in him. Three 
times Pilate says that. Both men are seized. Both men 
are taken away. Both men are cut off. Both men 
are subject to cowardice rulers who fear men rather than fearing 
God. John was buried by his disciples. Jesus was buried by his disciples. One commentator has accurately 
said, the fate of the forerunner is that of the coming one. This 
is one of the only instances in Matthew's gospel, save the 
other narrative about the Baptist in Matthew 3, that isn't about 
Jesus. But it is about Jesus. Matthew 
is focused. Matthew's a theological evangelist. Matthew wants to guide us along 
the way to consider the cutting off of Messiah. Jesus will say 
in Matthew chapter 17, verse 12, I say to you that Elijah 
has come already, and they did not know him, but did to him 
whatever they wished. Likewise, the Son of Man is also 
about to suffer at their hands. So as we read Matthew 14, 1 to 
12, be sad, be grieved, of course, over what happened to this godly 
man. but realize it's a picture, it's a type, it's a living emblem, 
it's an illustration that's pointing us to something far more significant, 
even the death of the Son of God. And as I mentioned earlier, 
it's interesting that David concluded that in order to cover his sexual 
sin, there had to be a death, Uriah. Herod and Herodias conclude 
that in order for them to hear no more about their breach of 
the law of God, their sexual sin, there had to be a death. 
No wicked, disgusting, vile and heinous way, they did prove something 
that is biblical. There is no covering of sin without 
a death. It's not the death of Uriah that 
we need. It's not the death of John the 
Baptist that we need. It's the death of Christ. Proverbs 
28.13, Solomon says it this way. He says, He who covers his sins 
will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will 
have mercy. See, we all seek covering, don't 
we? Isn't that what David was doing? Isn't that what Herod 
and Herodias are doing? They want to cover their sin. They 
don't want it to haunt them. They don't want it to point their 
finger at them. They don't want to be consciously realizing all 
the time that they are guilty, guilty, guilty before a holy 
God. So they take matters into their own hands and they seek 
to cover their sin. They seek to cover the violation 
of the 7th commandment by committing a violation of the 6th commandment. Again, I don't want to commend 
these two at all, but it does illustrate that in order for 
sin to be covered, one did have to die. Bridges says on Proverbs 
28, God and man each cover sin. God in free unbounded grace, 
man in shame and hypocrisy. Study the history of man. He's 
covering his sin. What does Adam and Eve do when 
they sin? They make garments and they hide 
among the trees. What does Achan do when he sins? He hides the stuff underneath 
the dirt in his tent. What does David do when he sins? He executes Uriah the Hittite. What do you do when you sin? You try and cover it. You try 
and eradicate the thought of it. You try and pretend it isn't 
there. You try to outdo your bad with 
your good. You try any means whatsoever 
to silence the haunting in your own conscience that thou art 
the man. May I say to you this morning, 
there is one covering provided. There is one atonement that is 
efficacious. There is one who bled so that 
sinners like you may be washed, may be cleansed, may be purified, 
and may be fit to stand accepted in the beloved by God Most High. If you are a Herod this morning, 
or you're a Herodias, if you're guilty of sexual sin, if you're 
a liar, if you're a thief, if you're a cheat, if you are deceptive, 
if you have murder and rage in your heart, the only way that 
sin will be covered is through Jesus Christ. Believe on Him. Turn from your sin. come to know 
Him in whom is all blessing, the one in whom is forgiveness, 
and the gift of righteousness that we need to stand before 
God. So may the Baptist and the account 
of his murder haunt our consciences, and may we cry out to that one 
alone who is able to bring healing, the Lord Christ Almighty. Well, 
let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank 
you for your word and we thank you for this account and for 
what it instructs us concerning your holiness, your law. what 
it instructs us concerning wicked people and what believers ought 
to expect in a life in this world. Thank you as well that it foreshadows 
that death of the Lord Jesus Christ and what the rest of Matthew's 
gospel will make so crystal clear that you made Him who knew no 
sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness 
of God in Him. I pray these things would be 
clear, Father. If nothing else is this morning, I pray that 
sinners today would look unto Jesus, they would believe the 
gospel, and would be saved. We ask this through Christ our 
Lord. Amen.