14Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name had become well known. And he said, "John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him."
15Others said, "It is Elijah."
And others said, "It is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets."
16But when Herod heard, he said, "This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!" 17For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife; for he had married her. 18Because John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."
19Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not; 20for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him. And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.
21Then an opportune day came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee. 22And when Herodias' daughter herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, "Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you." 23He also swore to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom."
24So she went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask?"
And she said, "The head of John the Baptist!"
25Immediately she came in with haste to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter."
26And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her. 27Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought. And he went and beheaded him in prison, 28brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. 29When his disciples heard of it, they came and took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb.
After reading all the good news up to this point, my preference would have been to skip this text. Up until now, we have been reading how faith will be rewarded, how it is important to continue doing what we know to be right, how to handle situations where people don't agree with us or accept us, and how God will provide for us and protect us. Yet here John, who even Herod knew to be a just and holy man, was beheaded. Yes, bad things can happen to good people.
What did John do to deserve this? He told Herod that he should not have married his brother's wife. This angered his wife so much that she took the first opportunity she had where Herod would be under so much peer pressure that he would have to follow through with her wishes.
How could God let this happen? Wasn't John a good and faithful servant? Wasn't John only spreading God's word? Why didn't God protect him? When bad things happen to good people seems to be the toughest time of all to hold to your faith. But faith is the only thing that can help you get through it. Through faith we need to understand that God knows what is best for us, even more than we do. Just as we need to have faith as we allow God to guide us through life, we need to have faith as God takes us through death.
John's mission was to prepare the way for Jesus. He did this. John kept his faith. His faith will be rewarded in heaven. Unfortunately, we do not know the mission of our friends and those we love who seem to be taken from this earth before they have completed much of their life. But God knows what their mission was. If they have been good and faithful servants, He will reward them.
And what of Herod who ordered John be beheaded, even though he knew him to be a just and holy man? He only carried through with his daughter's wishes because he felt he must keep his word, especially in front of his nobles, high officers, and chief men of Galilee. His first reaction to questions of who Jesus was, was a fear that it was John risen from the dead! His part in John's death is going to be bothering him for awhile. When he ordered John beheaded, he was doing what he thought he must even though he knew it was wrong.
We must keep this in mind when we find ourselves in situations where we find what we are supposed to do in direct conflict with what we feel is right. Even the best intentioned people can find themselves in this type of situation, whether it is a matter of keeping a promise that we didn't realize the full implications of, or bowing to peer pressure, or even following the commands of someone we hold in authority. Otherwise, like Herod, it will bother us for some time too. God wants us to always do what is right, even if it means our beheading.
And when we fail, what can we do? There is still good news. We are not to fear Jesus, but love him, learn from him, and ask for his forgiveness. If we truly repent, God will forgive us.