Mark 6:26 The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her.
Oh, what a tangled web. Because John dared to condemn Herod’s adultery with his former sister-in-law and now wife, Herodias, he was both hated and feared. Add Herod’s lust for his step-daughter, Salome, to the backdrop of a probably drunken birthday celebration, and we find the perfect set-up for political intrigue.
“Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it,” Herod foolishly promises Salome after she dances for him and his guests. She leaves the dance floor and asks her mother what to request. When Salome announces that she wants John’s head on a platter, Herod is “deeply grieved.” And yet, he grants her wish.
While John’s fate illustrates the danger of speaking truth to power, Herod’s capitulation to Salome shows us what happens when saving face trumps doing what is right. What makes Herod’s action doubly sad is that he respects John as a “righteous and holy man.” And although John “perplexed” him, Herod “liked to listen to him.” What might have been different if Herod had followed his heart and not his clamoring ego?
MOVING FORWARD: Have you made foolish decisions to guard your reputation? How can you make amends for those decisions?
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