406 lxxvii. The occasion and manner of the Baptist's death. SECT. returned to life; and, not knowing what to think of the reports he heard of Jesus, he earnestly desired to see him, that his doubts might VI. 16. be removed. Mark 17 17 For Herod had laid hold upon John, prison for Herodias's sake:— and bound him in 18 For John had for thee to have thy Thus was bis guilty mind perplexed and tormented, and not without reason; for, as we have before observed, Herod had formerly seized John, and bound him with chains in prison, on account of the reproof he gave him for his marry18 ing Herodias; Because, as Herod had seduced her from his brother Philip, who was still living said, --It is not lawful and had a daughter by her, John had said to him, brother's wife. with a freedom that he could not bear, It is not lawful for thee thus to have thy brother's wife. 19 And we had likewise added, that, for this reason, Herodias also was incensed against him, and rodias - would have would have put him to death; but for a long time could not. 20 she could not compass her design; For Herod had so great a reverence for John, that he would ed John.not yield to her solicitations: But we must now inform the reader, that before this time she had found a way of accomplishing her cruel purpose. 21 19 Therefore He killed him, but she 20 For Herod fear that Herod on his birth day made a supper to bis lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee: [MAT. XIV, -6] For as her heart was filled with malice, and 21 And when a conshe was ever watching for an opportunity to be veient day was come, revenged on John, at length a convenient day happened of preferring her petition with unexpected circumstances of advantage: a public festival was kept, when Herod on his birth-day made a splendid supper for the entertainment of his lords, and of all the chief officers of his army, and other persons of distinguished rank 22 in Galilee, over which he presided: And, to grace the solemnity, Salome, the daughter of the daughter of the said above-mentioned Herodias by Philip her former danced [before them,] husband, a young lady of celebrated beauty, coming in publicly among them, and dancing in the midst of the assembly; this instance of h As we have before observed.] I have ventured to repeat here a few clauses of Mark, because they seemed to me absolutely necessary to introduce the following account of Herod's beheading John the Baptist. These verses are before inserted at large in sect. xxviii. p. 157, 158. i When Herod on his birth-day.] Some great critics, and particularly Grotius, Heinsius, and Reland, choose to interpret this, of the day of Herod's accession, rather than his birth, which they think would have been more properly expressed by condescension, 22 And when the Herodias came in, and ywy than yevrov. and (See Elsner. Observ. But it is evident, yevious for a birth Chief Officers of his army.] Though the word a properly significs one who had the command of a thousand men, and held a rank in their army nearly answering to that of the colonels in ours, there can be no reason to imagine that the entertainment was confined just to that rank of officers: I have therefore rendered it in a more general way. Ierod's rash oath to the daughter of Herodias. them that sat with -6.] 407 lxxvii. and pleased Herod, and condescension, so unusual in those days and SECT. him, the king said countries, especially in persons of such high unto the damsel, Ask dignity, was so exceedingly agreeable and Mark of me whatsoever thou pleasing unto Herod and his guests, that the king VI. 22. wilt, and I will give said before them all to the maiden in a kind of it thee. [MAT. XIV. transport, Ask of me whatever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And when she seemed sur-23 prised at such a declaration, to encourage her to depend on what he said, he promised her with the solemnity of an oath, [and] profanely and foolishly sware unto her more than once", I will give thee whatsoever thou wilt ask of me, even though it should be to the [value of] half of my kingdom. 23 And he [promised her with an oath, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. [MAT. XIV. 7.] and] sware unto her, 24 And she went forth, and said unto her mother, Wat shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. her mother,] came in And, young as she was, she perceived this was 24 now grown a circumstance of high importance, and might be managed to considerable advantage; she therefore went out, and said to her mother, who was not in the assembly, What shall I ask? And she, struck with this unexpected opportunity of executing her revenge, eagerly replied, Ask the head of John the Baptist, who would have expelled and ruined us both; for nothing in the power of the king to grant could give me equal satisfaction. 25 And she [being And, though at first she hesitated at so shocking 25 before instructed of a proposal, yet being thus before urged to it by straightway with haste her mother, and at length confirmed in the unto the king, and resolution", she immediately, after a very short asked, saying, I will that thou give absence, came unto the king with speed in her [here] by and by, in motion and eagerness in her countenance, and a charger, the head made her demand, saying, I desire that, in acof John the Baptist. complishment of thy promise, thou wouldest give [MAT. XIV. 8.] me me, presently, the head of John the Baptist; and 1 This instance of condescension, so unusual in those days, &c.] Dr. Lardner very justly observes that it was very unusual for ladies of a high rank to appear before the men (Esth. i. 10-12). and much less to dance at such banquets as these. See his Credibility of the Gospel History, part i. Vol. I. p. 23. m Swure unto her more than, once.] This may be very well concluded, because both the evangelists use the plural opus, Mat. xiv. 9. and Mark vi. 26. And more reason to wonder that she was induced we kila onyềng immediately, and with n Being before urged to it by her mother, and at length confirmed in the resolution.] So the word bifact seems to intimate, as Beza, with his usual accuracy, • The head of John the Baptist in a bas observed; and there is indeed much charger.] It was well known that it was and 3 C 2 13 408 SECT. lxxvii. Herodias obtains the head of John the Baptist. 26 And the king was exceeding sony; And the king was exceedingly sorry, as well as greatly surprised, that she should prefer so nevertheless] for his Mark Strange a petition; nevertheless, as she persisted oath's sake, and for VI. 26. in it, for the sake of his repeated oaths, and out their sakes which sat of regard to his guests, in whose presence they with him [at meat,] were made, he would not deny her, [but] granted her, [but commanded what she asked, and ordered that it should be it to be given her.] [MAT. XIV. 9.] given her. 27 27 And immediately the king sent an executioner, and com gave it to the damsel: And immediately, the king sent one of his guards as an executioner, that very night, and commanded his head to be brought into the as- manded his head to be sembly: and, as soon as the soldier had received brought: and he went his orders, he presently went, and without any in the prison. [MAT. and beheaded [John] further warning, beheaded John in the prison. XIV.-10.] 28 And brought his head in a charger, and gave it 28 And brought his to the maiden; and the maiden, forgetting the head in a charger, and tenderness of her sex 9, and the dignity of her and the damsel rank, with a steady cruelty, agreeable to her [brought it, and] gave relation to so ill a woman, brought [and] deli- for vered it to her mother with her own hands. And thus, till the righteous judgment of God overtook them all, they gratified themselves in the indulgence of their lusts, and triumphed in the murder of this holy prophet. 29 her mother,→ [MAT. XIV. 11.] 29 And when his And the next day, his disciples hearing [of it,] came to the prison, and having permission to do disciples heard of it, it, took up his corpse, and laid it with great up his corpse, and laid they came, and took reverence, and due lamentation, in a sepulchre it in a tomb, and belonging to some of them, who were willing to went and told Jesus. pay this last act of duty to their master's memory: and then they went and told Jesus what had happened, and remembering the repeated testimony which John had borne to him, continued their attendance upon him. is customary with princes in those eastern P One of his guards.] So σishalwpe Forgetting the tenderness of her sex.] This may perhaps be intimated in the repetition of the word maiden. Jerom tells us that Herodias treated the Baptist's head in a very disdainful manner, pulling out the tongue which she imagined had injured her, and pierced it with a needle. IMPROVE [MAT. XIV. 12.] r Till the righteous judgment of God overtook them all.] Dr. Whitby, after many others, observes, that Providence interested itself very remarkably in the revenge of this murder on all concerned. Herod's army was defeated in a war occa sioned by his marrying Herodias, which many Jews thought a judgment sent upon him for the death of John: Joseph. Antiq. lib. xviii. cap. 5 (al. 7), § 1, 2.) Both he and Herodias, whose ambition occasioned his ruin, were afterwards driven from their kingdom with great regret, and died in banishment at Lyons in Gaul: (Joseph. ibid. cap. 7. (al. 9.) § 2.) And if any credit may be given to Nicephorus (Hist. lib. 1, cap. 20), Salome, the young lady who made this cruel request, fell into the ice, as she was walking over it, which closing suddenly, cut off her head. Reflections on the death of John the Baptist. 409 IMPROVEMENT. SECT. How dreadful a thing is it to have a guilty and accusing conscience and how remarkable was the force of it in the instance lxxvii. before us! Herod was a king, yet it addressed him in language of‘ Mark terror, and made itself heard and felt amidst all the hurries and VI. flatteries of a court. Vain was the power of a prince; vain the 14, 16. caresses of a favourite mistress, basely gratified with the blood of a prophet; and vain the yet more besotting tenets of a Sadducee. In one instance at least a resurrection shall be believed; and if a prophet arise in Israel, Herod shall be among the first to say, It is John the Baptist, risen from the dead; and shall be ready to forbode the sad effects of his recovered life, and to prognosticate evil to himself from the mighty works he performed. Let us make it our care to preserve a conscience void of offence, that instead of a continual torment, it may be to us a continual feast! And if we really desire to preserve it, let us take heed that 22, 23 we be not excessively transported with the entertainments of life, or rashly enter ourselves into engagements which perhaps may plunge us into some degree of guilt, whether they be performed or violated. We see, in this dreadful instance of Herodias, what an implaca- 24 ble degree of malice may arise in the hearts of sinners on being reproved for the most scandalous and mischievous vices. Instead of owning the obligation to one that would have plucked her as a brand out of the burning, she thirsts insatiably for his blood: and chooses rather to indulge her cruelty and revenge in taking away his life, than to gratify her avarice and ambition in demanding a gift that might have been equal to the half of a kingdom. But how mysterious was that providence, which left the life of 25, 27 so holy a man in such infamous hands, and permitted it to be sacrificed to the malice of an abandoned harlot, to the petulancy of a vain girl, and to the rashness of a foolish and perhaps an intoxicated prince, who made the prophet's head the reward of a dance! The ways of God are unsearchable! but we are sure he can never be at a loss to repay his servants in another world for the greatest sufferings they endure in this, and even for life itself, when given up in his cause. We may reasonably conclude, that death could never be an 27 unseasonable surprise to this excellent saint. When the executioner came into the prison by night, perhaps breaking in upon his slumbers, and executed his bloody commission almost as soon as he declared it, a soul like his might welcome the stroke, as the means of liberty and glory; assured that the transient agony of a moment would 410 SECT. Jesus retires with his disciples to a solitary place.` would transmit it to a kingdom where the least of its inhabitants Ixxvii. would be in holiness, honour and felicity, superior to John in his most prosperous and successful state on earth. 29 SECT. Ixxviii. 31 His enemies might a while insult over him, while his disciples were mingling their tears with his dust, and lamenting the residue of his days cut off in the midst. His death was precious in the sight of the Lord, and the triumphing of the wicked was short. So will he ere long plead the cause of all his injured people, and give a cup of trembling and astonishment to those that have made themselves drunk with their blood. Let cruelty and tyranny do their worst, verily there is a reward for the righteous, verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth. (Psal. Iviii. 11. SECT. LXXVIII. When the apostles were returned from executing their commission, our Lord passes over the sea of Tiberias; and finding vast multitudes had followed him to the place of his intended retirement, he instructs and heals them; and, having miraculously fed above five Mat. XIV. 13-23. thousand, retires afterwards to pray. Mark VI. 30-46. Luke IX. 10-17. John VI. 1—15. MARK VI. 30. MARK VI. 30. [when they were gathered together unto Jesus, and told 31 And [when Jesus heard of it] he said unto them, Come AND quickly after this awful event of the AND the apostles Baptist's death, which has been just related, returned,] Mark the twelve apostles, when they were returned from themselves VI. 30. their circuit, gathered together unto Jesus, and him all things, both told him all the occurrences of their late journey; what they had done, recounting to him, both what miracles they had and what they had 10.-] done by his divine assistance, and what doctrine taught. [LUKE IX. they had taught according to his direction. And when Jesus heard [of it,] and was informed (as we have just now seen) of the death of John, as well as of the event of the journey ye yourselves apart inwhich his apostles had been making, he said to to a desart place, and them, Come ye yourselves privately with me into rest awhile: for there a solitary place in the neighbouring desart, and going, and they had no repose yourselves a while after the fatigue of your leisure so much as to journey, that we may there indulge such medi- eat. tations as are suitable to this awful dispensation. And it was necessary to give them this advice, for there were many continually coming and going to and from the public place in which they then were, so that they had no opportunity even a After this awful event of the Baptist's death.] Matthew, Mark, and Luke, are all so express in the connection of this story to were many coming and 13-1 [MAT. XIV. |