14 King Herod heard about Jesus, because he was now well known. Some people said, “He is John the Baptist, who has risen from the dead. That is why he can work these miracles.”
15 Others said, “He is Elijah.”
Other people said, “Jesus is a prophet, like the prophets who lived long ago.”
16 When Herod heard this, he said, “I killed John by cutting off his head. Now he has risen from the dead!”
17 Herod himself had ordered his soldiers to arrest John and put him in prison in order to please his wife, Herodias. She had been the wife of Philip, Herod’s brother, but then Herod had married her. 18 John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to be married to your brother’s wife.” 19 So Herodias hated John and wanted to kill him. But she couldn’t, 20 because Herod was afraid of John and protected him. He knew John was a good and holy man. Also, though John’s preaching always bothered him, he enjoyed listening to John.
21 Then the perfect time came for Herodias to cause John’s death. On Herod’s birthday, he gave a dinner party for the most important government leaders, the commanders of his army, and the most important people in Galilee. 22 When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and the people eating with him.
So King Herod said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I will give it to you.” 23 He promised her, “Anything you ask for I will give to you—up to half of my kingdom.”
24 The girl went to her mother and asked, “What should I ask for?”
Her mother answered, “Ask for the head of John the Baptist.”
25 At once the girl went back to the king and said to him, “I want the head of John the Baptist right now on a platter.”
26 Although the king was very sad, he had made a promise, and his dinner guests had heard it. So he did not want to refuse what she asked. 27 Immediately the king sent a soldier to bring John’s head. The soldier went and cut off John’s head in the prison 28 and brought it back on a platter. He gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When John’s followers heard this, they came and got John’s body and put it in a tomb.
Read Mark 6:14-29 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
One thing that I occasionally look at when reading events in the gospels is how people are described. In this passage, and the event it covers, I notice that an interesting phrase is used to describe one of the characters.
In the side-note portion of the gospels where we learn how John the Baptist died, we have three main players who are named, and one that is not. There are Herod (the governor), Herodias (Herod’s wife), and John the Baptist (the preacher in jail who is beheaded). The character that is not named is simply referred to as “the daughter of Herodias”.
This is an interesting way to describe someone, and it makes me wonder who this girl’s father was. Did Herod distance himself from her or even disown his own daughter? Or was this girl conceived during Herodias’ earlier marriage to Herod’s brother Philip? Or was this girl conceived outside of a marriage to either of these two men?
We don’t really know for sure, but what we do know is that regardless of who the girl’s father was, she had aligned herself with her mother, and that she helped fulfill her mother’s wish to end John the Baptist’s life.
However, aside from all these questions about the girl’s background, another thought/question enters my mind: With Herodias’ daughter being a part of their family, whatever sort of dance she performed probably was incredibly questionable, and perhaps even a little disturbing if you draw the conclusion that this was Herod’s daughter, step-daughter, or niece.
But whatever the relationship that Herodias’ daughter had with Herod, is there something we can learn from Herodias’ daughter in this event?
Surprisingly yes.
When given a huge, open-ended gift, the first thing Herodias’ daughter does is ask an “advisor” for help deciding what to ask for. Perhaps this girl didn’t pick the best person to advise her, but she did pick someone she trusted.
In our own lives, when we are faced with huge tasks, responsibilities, or opportunities, we should also seek the advice of advisors we can trust, and then take their advice seriously when moving forward with the decisions that life brought our way.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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