Springs of Grace Lutheran Church

Matthew 14:1-12 At that time Herod the ruler heard reports about Jesus; ² and he said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist; he has been raised from the dead, and for this reason these powers are at work in him." ³ For Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, ⁴ because John had been telling him, "It is not lawful for you to have her." ⁵ Though Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded him as a prophet. ⁶ But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company, and she pleased Herod ⁷ so much that he promised on oath to grant her whatever she might ask. ⁸ Prompted by her mother, she said, "Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter." ⁹ The king was grieved, yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he commanded it to be given; ¹⁰ he sent and had John beheaded in the prison. ¹¹ The head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, who brought it to her mother. ¹² His disciples came and took the body and buried it; then they went and told Jesus.

The text above precedes the Gospel lesson that we have for yesterday, in which we heard how Jesus went off to grieve the loss of him friend and cousin, John the Baptist. As Matthew tells the story, John was beheaded because people hated him. “The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus also relates in his Antiquities of the Jews that Herod killed John, stating that he did so, "lest the great influence John had over the people might put it into his [John's] power and inclination to raise a rebellion, (for they seemed ready to do any thing he should advise), [so Herod] thought it best [to put] him to death." He further states that many of the Jews believed that the military disaster which fell upon Herod at the hands of Aretas his father-in-law (Phasaelis' father), was God's punishment for his unrighteous behavior.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beheading_of_St._John_the_Baptist)

Both accounts work into the story of John, and into his greater role as the precursor to Jesus. He envisioned someone coming after him that was directly sent by God, and as the Synoptic Gospel’s show us, that person was Jesus Christ. If you want to know more, feel free to look at this Wikipedia page:

John_the_Baptist

Also, here are some images and icons of John. You will notice that often he appears with his head on a plate.

John the Baptist Prokopiy Chirin

CaravaggioSalomeLondon

E_obretenie_glavy_Ioanna_Predtechi._Konec_XIX_v._Rossiya

Execution_of_John_the_Baptist

In our prayers this week: Ann, Daniel, and Anna

God’s Peace,

Pastor Judson

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