And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head.
...............
This chapter continues the narrative of Jesus' healing ministry as he travels from town to town and even sends his apostles to work miracles as well. Then, interjected into the narrative is an excursion describing the death of John the Baptist at the hands of King Herod. In this way, the chapter offers us a striking contrast between the leadership qualities of Jesus and Herod.
Verses 1-6 describe how Jesus was rejected in his own hometown. He preaches the message of the kingdom, but his own neighbors, those he has known his whole life, were offended by him. They questioned his authority because they knew his humble origins. And while Jesus knew they would be offended and would reject him, he did not back down from giving them the truth and then marveling at their unbelief. In Jesus' leadership, we see incredible courage to resist caving into the pressures of culture or the fear of man.
No so with Herod.
Herod's leadership wreaks of people-pleasing - the kind of political hand-kissing that continues to nauseate us on the news media today. And Herod's fear of man went so far as to order the execution of a man he respected. We see in verse 20 that Herod had gladly listened to John's teaching. We see in verse 26 that Herod was exceedingly sorry that he had made an oath that had endangered John's life. But, whatever his conflicting emotions might have been, the fact of the matter was that Herod had arrested, imprisoned, and then ordered the execution of God's prophet. His people-pleasing knew no limits, even in spite of his own grief-stricken consicence.
When I read this chapter, it was verse 20 that followed me around all day long. How often have I experienced heart-felt regret and remorse, only to continue the very behaviors that lead to such feelings. Like a dog to its own vomit, I feel a magnetic attraction to thoughts and actions which run counter to the glory of God and the dignity of man. I grieve, but do I repent? (The contrasting stories of Judas and Peter come to mind as well).
I pray that I may avoid the "exceeding" sorrow which does not lead to repentance, or the unbelief which leads Jesus to "marvel." I want to be a leader like Christ, who considered the potentially offensive nature of his message and preached it anyway, rather than the powerful king who showed how weak he really was by saving his own reputation at the expense of a godly man's life.
Lord, have mercy.
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