Thursday 23 July 2015

Matthew 14 : 1-13 The Murder of John the Baptist.

What is John’s Death all about?
Mat 14:1  About that time Herod the Tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus,
Mat 14:2  and he said to his courtiers, "This is John the Baptist: he has come back to life--and that is why these miraculous Powers are working in him."
Mat 14:3  For Herod had arrested John, and had put him in chains, and imprisoned him, for the sake of Herodias his brother Philip's wife,
Mat 14:4  because John had persistently said to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her."
Mat 14:5  And he would have liked to put him to death, but was afraid of the people, because they regarded John as a Prophet.
Mat 14:6  But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before all the company, and so pleased Herod
Mat 14:7  that with an oath he promised to give her whatever she asked.
Mat 14:8  So she, instigated by her mother, said, "Give me here on a dish the head of John the Baptist."
Mat 14:9  The king was deeply vexed, yet because of his repeated oath and of the guests at his table he ordered it to be given her,
Mat 14:10  and he sent and beheaded John in the prison.
Mat 14:11  The head was brought on a dish and given to the young girl, and she took it to her mother.
Mat 14:12  Then John's disciples went and removed the body and buried it, and came and informed Jesus.
Mat 14:13  Upon receiving these tidings, Jesus went away by boat to an uninhabited and secluded district; but the people heard of it and followed Him in crowds from the towns by land. Weymouth’s New Testament. WNT

Introduction

Matthew now recounts the increase of Opposition to Jesus by telling us of the Death of John the Baptist.
He had given us a precis of John’s Ministry in Chapter 3 and John is mentioned in 4:12 and 9:14 In chapter 11:2-19 we read of Johns Imprisonment and his sending of some disciples with questions for Jesus. Here the the account of His death at the hands of Herod.

COMMENTS
Mat 14:1  About that time Herod the Tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus,
Notes
Herod the Tetrarch

Herod the tetrarch (Hērōidēs tetraarchēs). Herod Antipas ruler of Galilee and Perea, one-fourth of the dominion of Herod the Great.
The report [the fame] concerning Jesus (tēn akouēn Iēsou). See note on Mat_4:24. Cognate accusative, heard the hearing (rumour), objective genitive. It is rather surprising that he had not heard of Jesus before.
Herod Antipater (Greek: Ἡρῴδης Ἀντίπατρος, Hērǭdēs Antipatros; born before 20 BC – died after 39 AD), known by the nicknameAntipas, was a 1st-century ruler of Galilee and Perea, who bore the title of tetrarch ("ruler of a quarter"). He is best known today for accounts in the New Testament of his role in events that led to the executions of John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth.
After being named to the throne by Caesar Augustus upon the death of his father, Herod the Great, in 4 BC, and subsequent Ethnarch rule by his brother, Herod Archelaus, Antipas ruled Galilee and Perea as a client state of the Roman Empire. He was responsible for building projects at Sepphoris and Betharamphtha, and more important for the construction of his capital Tiberias on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. Named in honor of his patron, the emperor Tiberius, the city later became a center ofrabbinic learning.
Antipas divorced his first wife Phasaelis, the daughter of King Aretas IV of Nabatea, in favour of Herodias, who had formerly been married to his brother Herod Philip I. (Antipas was Herod the Great's son by Malthace, while Herod II was his son by Mariamne II.)[1][2] According to the New Testament Gospels, it was John the Baptist's condemnation of this arrangement that led Antipas to have him arrested; Wikipedia.com
Mat 14:2  and he said to his courtiers, "This is John the Baptist: he has come back to life--and that is why these miraculous Powers are working in him."
Notes
His servants (tois paisin autou). Literally “boys,” but here the courtiers, not the menials of the palace.
Working in him (energousin). Cf. our “energize.” “The powers of the invisible world, vast and vague in the king’s imagination” (Bruce). John wrought no miracles, but one redivivus might be under the control of the unseen powers. So Herod argued. A guilty conscience quickened his fears. Possibly he could see again the head of John on a charger. “The King has the Baptist on the brain” (Bruce).RWP
Mat 14:3  For Herod had arrested John, and had put him in chains, and imprisoned him, for the sake of Herodias his brother Philip's wife,
Mat 14:4  because John had persistently said to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her."
Notes
For the sake of Herodias (dia Hērōidiada). The death of John had taken place some time before. The Greek aorists here (edēsen,  apetheto) are not used for past perfects. The Greek aorist simply narrates the event without drawing distinctions in past time. This Herodias was the unlawful wife of Herod Antipas. She was herself a descendant of Herod the Great and had married Herod Philip of Rome, not Philip the Tetrarch. She had divorced him in order to marry Herod Antipas after he had divorced his wife, the daughter of Aretas King of Arabia. It was a nasty mess equal to any of our modern divorces. Her first husband was still alive and marriage with a sister-in-law was forbidden to Jews (Lev_18:16). Because of her Herod Antipas had put John in the prison at Machaerus. The bare fact has been mentioned in Mat_4:12 without the name of the place. See note on Mat_11:2 also for the discouragement of John en tōi desmōtēriōi (place of bondage), here en tēi phulakēi (the guard-house). Josephus (Ant. xviii. 5.2) tells us that Machaerus is the name of the prison. On a high hill an impregnable fortress had been built. Tristram (Land of Moab) says that there are now remains of “two dungeons, one of them deep and its sides scarcely broken in” with “small holes still visible in the masonry where staples of wood and iron had once been fixed. One of these must surely have been the prison-house of John the Baptist.” “On this high ridge Herod the Great built an extensive and beautiful palace” (Broadus). “The windows commanded a wide and grand prospect, including the Dead Sea, the course of the Jordan, and Jerusalem” (Edersheim, Life and Times of Jesus). RWP
Mat 14:5  And he would have liked to put him to death, but was afraid of the people, because they regarded John as a Prophet.
Mat 14:6  But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before all the company, and so pleased Herod
Mat 14:7  that with an oath he promised to give her whatever she asked.
Mat 14:8  So she, instigated by her mother, said, "Give me here on a dish the head of John the Baptist."
Notes

For Herod had laid hold on John ...Barnes Notes - See Mar_6:17-20; Luk_3:19-20. This Herodias was a granddaughter of Herod the Great. She was first married to Herod Philip, by whom she had a daughter, Salome, probably the one that danced and pleased Herod. Josephus says that this marriage of Herod Antipas with Herodias took place while he was on a journey to Rome. He stopped at his brother’s; fell in love with his wife; agreed to put away his own wife, the daughter of Aretas, King of Petraea; and Herodias agreed to leave her own husband and live with him. They were living, therefore, in adultery; and John, in faithfulness, though at the risk of his life, had reproved them for their crimes. Herod was guilty of two crimes in this act:
  1. Of “adultery,” since she was the wife of another man.
  2. Of “incest,” since she was a near relation, and such marriages were expressly forbidden, Lev_18:16.
Mat 14:9  The king was deeply vexed, yet because of his repeated oath and of the guests at his table he ordered it to be given her, WNT
Mat 14:10  and he sent and beheaded John in the prison.

Mat 14:9  The king was sorry for what he had said. But he did not want to break the promise he had made in front of his guests. So he ordered a guard
Mat 14:10  to go to the prison and cut off John's head. CEV

The Beheading of John the Baptist.

SEE MARK’S ACCOUNT Mar 6:20  because Herod was afraid of John and protected him. He knew that John was a good and holy man. Even though Herod was confused by what John said, he was glad to listen to him. And he often did.
Mar 6:21  Finally, Herodias got her chance when Herod gave a great birthday celebration for himself and invited his officials, his army officers, and the leaders of Galilee.
Mar 6:22  The daughter of Herodias came in and danced for Herod and his guests. She pleased them so much that Herod said, "Ask for anything, and it's yours!
Mar 6:23  I swear that I will give you as much as half of my kingdom, if you want it."
Mar 6:24  The girl left and asked her mother, "What do you think I should ask for?" Her mother answered, "The head of John the Baptist!"
Mar 6:25  The girl hurried back and told Herod, "Right now on a platter I want the head of John the Baptist!"
Mar 6:26  The king was very sorry for what he had said. But he did not want to break the promise he had made in front of his guests.
Mar 6:27  At once he ordered a guard to cut off John's head there in prison.
Mar 6:28  The guard put the head on a platter and took it to the girl. Then she gave it to her mother.


Mat 14:11  The head was brought on a dish and given to the young girl, and she took it to her mother.
Notes
His head was given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother - There is no person so revengeful as a lascivious woman when reproved and blamed. A preacher of the Gospel has most to fear from this quarter: - the first of this profession lost his life for the sake of truth and chastity; and others, especially those who have any thing to do with men in power who are profligates, may learn what they are to expect in return for a faithful discharge of their duty.
Mat 14:12  Then John's disciples went and removed the body and buried it, and came and informed Jesus.
Mat 14:13  Upon receiving these tidings, Jesus went away by boat to an uninhabited and secluded district; but the people heard of it and followed Him in crowds from the towns by land.


When Jesus heard of it, he departed thence - Had the blessed Jesus continued in that place, it is probable the hand of this impure female murderer would have been stretched out against him also: he withdrew, therefore, not through fear, but to teach his messengers rather to yield to the storm than expose themselves to destruction, where, from circumstances, the case is evidently hopeless.
The people - followed him on foot - πεζη, or, by land, which is a common acceptation of the word in the best Greek writers. See many examples in Kypke.
Notes

Herodian Dynasty (47 BC–AD 100)[edit] Wikipedia.com


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