Matthew 14:9-13 "And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath's sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her. And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison. And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother. And his disciples came, and took up the body, and buried it, and went and told Jesus. When Jesus heard of it, he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart: and when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities."
Herod (the king under consideration) learned a difficult lesson. It is one that we would do well to heed. Herod was having a good time being celebrated, and it had gone to his head. Without any consideration for the consequences, he made a very public promise to his stepdaughter that she could have anything she wanted as a reward for entertaining him and his guests.
It did not matter that he was sorry for his rash decision. He had backed himself into a political corner. At her mother’s request, she asked for the head of John the Baptist on a plate. Her mother, Herodias, was angry at John for calling out her sin of divorcing her husband and marrying Herod (her husband’s brother). It appears that she did this to improve her social standing, since Herod was a king and his brother (according to history) had no special social recognition.
Earlier, we read that John (after he was imprisoned) sent some of his disciples to Jesus to seek assurance that Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus sent John’s disciples back with instruction to call to John’s remembrance the miracles that He had done, the things that John himself had seen, and that the poor heard the gospel. Now, upon John’s death, His disciples buried John and then went and told Jesus. Remember that Jesus had declared that of men born of women, there was none greater than John the Baptist.
John was the prophesied forerunner of Jesus. He was a cousin to Jesus and had leapt in his mother’s womb at Mary’s declaration that she was carrying the Christ. Jeus went to John to be baptized of him. The Spirit gave John the revelation to declare of Jesus, “Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).”
When word was brought to Jesus of John’s death, and the manner of it, Jesus took ship and went into a desert place. In other words, He sought out a place where He could be alone. We know from the testimony of Jesus at the tomb of Lazarus that the death of His friends touched Him with grief. It is not difficult for me to imagine that it was for this reason that He sought to be alone when news of John’s death was brought to Him.
Dear ones, let us take heed to how we live and the things that we desire. Let us not make careless vows that will bring us sorrow. May we find comfort in knowing that Jesus is still today touched by our sorrows. And may we, like the people did at that time, seek to be where He is.