NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Part I

Verse 1: About that time, Herod, the ruler of Galilee, heard what the people were saying about Jesus.

Jewish writers tell us that this Herod Antipas was the youngest son of Herod the Great by his Samaritan wife, Malthace. The exact date of his birth can not be exactly ascertained, but according to one Jewish historian he was born in 21 BC and died in 39 AD. He was governor of Galilee and reigned form 4 BC to 39 AD when he was banished to Gaul (now France).¹ where he died in exile that same year. Antipas, like most of the other members of his royal family, was educated at Rome, and kept in close touch with the imperial court there.

Little is known of his mode of life or of his activity before his accession to power, though his later acts do not lead to the supposition that he had been superior in virtue to his half-brothers, or, indeed, to most of the aristocratic youths brought up near the palace. From two inscriptions—one from the Greek island of Kos, and the other from the Greek island of Delos, about an half hour boat trip from Mykonos, near the center of the Cyclades archipelago, makes it apparent that he traveled extensively, though it can not be determined at what period of his life.

We are also told that he married the daughter of Aretas, king of Arabia, whom he then divorced in order to marry Herodias, the wife of his half-brother Philip, the son of Herod the Great and Mariamne, who was still living. Philip wanted to take revenge on his brother Herod because of the affront which Herod offered his daughter, so he declared war against him, but was vanquished after a short military engagement. This defeat, Josephus assures us, the Jews considered as a punishment for the death of John the Baptist.

Having gone to Rome to solicit the title of king, he was accused by king Agrippa of carrying on a correspondence with Artabanus king of Parthia, against the Romans, and was banished by the emperor Caius to Lyons, and then to Spain, where he and Herodias died in exile. This Herod had a dismissive attitude toward Jesus, thinking that He was merely the reincarnation of John the Baptizer with whom he was more familiar. But this is not the end of the story. Matthew gives us some background as to why he and his brother Philip were at odds with each other.

Theodore of Heraclea, who believed in the literal translation of the biblical texts, points out that both Herod and those around him considered the possibility that John the Baptizer had risen from the dead. Yet a few years later the very person thought to be John the Baptizer had Himself been raised from the dead and it was dismissed as a rumor started by Jesus’ disciples. What really caused Herod to fear was that now John the Baptizer may be immune to dying and could, therefore, be even more outspoken against what Herod had done.²

Verse 2: So he said to his servants, “This man is really John the Baptizer. He must have risen from death, and that is why He can do these miracles.”

There is no reason to believe that Herod believed in reincarnation or that he really thought that Jesus was John the Baptizer returned from the dead. Today we use the same type of language when we refer to someone who does things similar to those done by a highly recognized person of history. For instance, I’ve heard it said a number of times after one of today’s magicians performs an amazing trick, “He must be Houdini!” So Herod’s statement was more said in jest than in out of respect.

Verse 3: Before this time, Herod had arrested John the Baptizer. He had him chained and put in prison. He arrested John the Baptizer because of Herodias, the wife of Philip, Herod’s brother.

Herodias was the daughter of Aristobulus and Bernice, and granddaughter of Herod the Great. Needless to say, they were less than the elegant royal family that most people would hope for. John the Baptizer was not timid about telling Herod that his marriage to his sister-in-law was not scriptural. This may have meant a quick trip to jail, except for the fact the John the Baptizer was very popular with the people, and Herod didn’t want to upset them. According to Jewish Historian Flavius Josephus, John the Baptist was imprisoned and beheaded by Herod in the strong castle of Machaerus, which he describes as situated high on a hill approximately 7 miles east of the Jordan River, not far from where the river discharges itself into the Dead Sea.³ When we see this fortress, it does not remind us of a typical prison with cells and barred windows. But there was a section in this fortress that did serve as a place of incarceration so that anyone imprisoned there could be easily tried and dispensed with at Herod’s convenience.

Drawing of what Machaerus looked like in those days.

Verse 4: John the Baptizer had told him, “It is not right for you to be married to Herodias.”

John the Baptizer’s criticism of Herod was based on solid biblical grounds: “You must not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife. That would be like having sexual relations with your brother.”⁴ What was true in John the Baptizer’s day is true today. People in high places just do not want to hear the truth, especially when it conflicts with their lifestyle and adopted moral standards. One German commentator writes this about Herod’s debauched character: “Durch Sinnlichkeit und Unsittlichkeit war der Grund zum Sturze gelegt worden, Habsucht und Herrischgier hatten den morschen Bau im Nu zusammenstürzen gemacht.”⁵ [Translated it reads: “By sensuality and immorality the ground for falling was laid, greed and avid arrogance caused the rotten construction to collapse in on itself in a hurry.”]⁶

That is exactly what brought down the Roman Empire and it will be the cause of many governments collapsing, even in our day. In other words, Herod had disdain for anything that went against his corrupt secular worldview. So when John the Baptizer confronted him with the truth, he ended up silencing the messenger so he wouldn’t have to listen to the message. However, at first, Herod was willing to compromise when his own political future was at stake.

Archbishop Chrysologus in the early church gives his impression of what happened here between John the Baptizer and King Herod. He writes: “John upset Herod by his moral admonitions, not by any formal accusation. He wanted to correct, not to suppress. Herod, however, preferred to suppress rather than be reconciled. To those who are held captive, the freedom of the one innocent of wrongdoing becomes hateful. Virtue is undesirable to those who are immoral; holiness is abhorrent to those who are godless; chastity is an enemy to those who are impure; integrity is a hardship for those who are corrupt; discretion runs counter to those who are self-indulgent; mercy is intolerable to those who are cruel, as is loving-kindness to those who are pitiless and justice to those who are unjust.”⁷

To put it another way, the reaction of people who are upset with those who reveal their flaws by telling them the truth about their actions, and those who by way of holy living put them to shame because of their immoral lives, are like those who have allergies to medicines that are meant to heal and cure. Instead of it combating the symptoms, it brings new symptoms with it. And unrepentant sin is always the cause for such negative reactions to honesty and integrity. So instead of seeking a remedy, they lash out at those who try to bring healing.

Verse 5: Herod wanted to kill him, but he was afraid of the people. They believed that John the Baptizer was a prophet.

We find out from Jewish historian Josephus that the people were right. He tells us: “Now some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod’s army came from God and that very justly, as a punishment of what he did against John, that was called the Baptist.”⁸ Josephus also provides a summary of what John the Baptizer was preaching: “He commanded the Jews to exercise virtue, both as to righteousness towards one another, and piety towards God, and so to come to baptism; for that the washing with water would be acceptable to him, if they made use of it, not in order for the remission of some sins only, but for the purification of the body; supposing still that the soul was thoroughly purified beforehand by righteousness.”⁹ Sounds like Josephus may himself have become a believer of John the Baptizer’s message.

Early church scholar Chrysologus says this about Herod’s fear of the people: “That person readily turns away from justice who, in matters at issue, fears not God but people. Such fear can restrain the power to sin but is unable to remove the will to sin. Hence, those whom it has restrained from crime, it makes them all the more eager to return to crime. It is only the fear of God that can set minds straight, repel criminal actions, preserve innocence and give steadfast power. But let us focus on the passionate intensity of the blessed John the Baptizer.”¹⁰ How true, that in times of persecution and tribulation the believer’s eyes should not be focused on the cause for such abuse and mistreatment, but on the courage and faithfulness of those who endure to the end.

Verse 6a: On Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced for him and his group.

The gyrations on the part of Salome on this occasion are portrayed through the translation of the Greek word orcheomai, which means, “to put into rapid motion,” into English with the common word “danced.” But there is more to it than that. Elsewhere in the Bible it speaks of dancing in regards to religion, and expression of joyful worship; a leaping, jumping exercise of happiness. But here it suggests a seductive form of dancing because we see Herod’s response. Having seen motion pictures, documentaries and speaking with people from that region of the world, the conclusion I have drawn is that this oriental dance is what we call today the belly dance performed in Middle Eastern countries.

When dancers execute such artistic art they not only receive applause but are often given a prize. But there’s more. In this case it was the daughter of Herodias, a princess in Herod’s court, who lowered herself to do this dance of an erotic entertainer. Celebrating birthdays was not a Jewish priority. No doubt that is why the birth of Jesus was not celebrated by the disciples and His followers because it was considered a pagan custom. A Greek historian tells us about the Persians: “Of all the days they choose to honor most it is the one on which they were born, each one: on this they think it right to set out a feast more liberal than on other days.”¹¹

Not only that, but the same historian tells us of a similar occasion where another king was enamored with his brother’s wife, and ended up making a promise to her, that he later regretted. It seems that Xerxes fell in love with the wife of his brother Masistes. So he came up with the idea of having his own son marry his brother’s daughter, hoping that would bring down Masistes’ resistance to his being around them. But instead, he then began to lust for his new daughter-in-law whose name was Artaÿnte. That’s when the intrigue really begins.

As the historian tells it: “Amestris, the wife of Xerxes, wove a large cape with a beautiful design and a sight worthy to be seen, and she gave it to Xerxes. He was greatly pleased and put it on and went to see his daughter -in-law Artaÿnte; and she was pleased with it too. So she asked him what she should get in return for all the favors which she had granted him, he said, whatever she asked: and she, since it was destined that she might perish miserably with her whole family because of their affair, said to Xerxes: ‘Will you really give me whatever I ask for?’ and he, supposing that she would ask for anything other than what she did, promised and swore to it. Then after his oath, she boldly asked for the cape; and Xerxes tried every means of persuasion, not being willing to give it to her, and that for no other reason but only because he feared his wife Amestris, lest by her, who even before this had some inkling of the truth, he would be discovered in the act; and he offered her cities and gold in any quantity, and an army which no one else should command except herself. Since, however, he did not persuade her, he gave her the cape; and she being overjoyed by the gift wore it and prided herself wearing it.”¹² So you can imagine what Xerxes’ wife, Amestris, thought when she saw her daughter-in-law wearing the beautiful cape she had given to her husband.

This story sounds eerily familiar to the one about Herod who married his brother’s wife and had lust for her daughter, Salome.¹³ So with Herod celebrating his birthday, you can imagine what the Jews thought of his actions. According to Jewish verbal tradition, three days before any Gentile festival it was forbidden for any Jew to do business with them – to borrow money from them, or lend money to them, or to pay them or be repaid by them. And among the many festivals listed was birthdays.¹⁴ Such was Herod’s birthday party, that even one Roman poet spoke of it in irony: “When the days of Herod the Jew are here, and the lamps, wreathed with violets, set in the greasy window, vomit oily vapor, and the tuna fishtail swims, encircling the red bowl, when the white jug brims with wine, and you move your lips silently, grown pale at the Sabbath of the circumcised?”¹⁵

Scholars tell us that this satire spoke of the time that Herod reigned over the Jews in Syria during the time of Caesar Augustus; therefore the Herodians kept Herod’s birthday, as also the Sabbath, on which day they set up candles in the windows lighted, and encircled with violets because many of them thought him to be the Messiah. Matthew goes on to tell us:

Verse 6b-7: Herod was very pleased with her. So he swore that he would give her anything she wanted.

The Jews, as well as other cultures, took such oaths seriously. So much so, that according to their verbal traditions a person making such a pledge: “cannot change his mind after the ruling.”¹⁶ This was especially true if the oath was made, for instance, on the Temple, or on one’s head. We see this in Jewish writings where is says: “They swore by the Torah that they would not do so,” and “I swear on your life.”¹⁷ Often times, such oaths were either said in haste¹⁸ or while drunk, so that later they were granted with remorse.

Early church historian and theologian, Jerome, makes note of the fact that this birthday celebration took place when Herod was torn between trying to quiet John the Baptizer by embarrassing him for telling the truth, and fearful that if he did so his subjects might rise up against him because of mistreating a prophet of God.¹⁹ So he sought consolation in what Jews considered a pagan activity, that being celebrating one’s birthday where there was no doubt plenty of wine to be imbibed. Instead of Herod getting his mind on God and seeking forgiveness, he got his mind of godlessness and sought solace in the pleasures of the flesh. Needless to say, we see where it led to his making a decision that would prompt him into doing the exact wrong he was reluctant to do, by harming John the Baptizer.

What a lesson for anyone who fails to confront their sin and ask God for forgiveness, thinking that it will somehow take care of itself, only to find out that like an untreated sore it can lead to gangrene and then amputation. What would you think of someone who decided to treat their cancer with fine dining rather than chemotherapy because their urge to eat overwhelmed their desire to live? Unfortunately, such gross sinning can become a plague and infect many who otherwise would not live such a lifestyle. Only the blood of Jesus has the power to cure such spiritual unhealthiness because even John the Baptizer’s blood did not have that effect.