This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him

 

 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the report about Jesus and said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him."  For Herod had laid hold of John and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife.  Because John had said to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her."  And although he wanted to put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet.  But when Herod's birthday was celebrated, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod.  Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask.  So she, having been prompted by her mother, said, "Give me John the Baptist's head here on a platter."  And the king was sorry; nevertheless, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he commanded it to be given to her.  So he sent and had John beheaded in prison.  And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother.  Then his disciples came and took away the body and buried it, and went and told Jesus.  

 

- Matthew 14:1-12 

 

Yesterday we read that, it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there.  When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, "Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works?  Is this not the carpenter's son?  Is not His mother called Mary?  And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?  And His sisters, are they not all with us?  Where then did this Man get all these things?"  So they were offended at Him.  But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house."  Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

 

  At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the report about Jesus and said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him."  Herod the tetrarch is the son of Herod the Great, the builder and refurbisher of the splendid Second Temple, and also the heartless murderer of infants (Matthew 2:16-18).  Herod the tetrarch is also known to us as Herod Antipas.  He is the ruler of Galilee.  Popularly called a king, he rules for Rome.  The account of the beheading of John the Baptist that follows is meant to be understood in the past tense.  It's given to us so that we understand why Herod fears that John has returned from the dead, after hearing about Jesus' ministry and the marvels that accompanied it ("therefore these powers are at work in him").

 

 For Herod had laid hold of John and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife.  Because John had said to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her."  And although he wanted to put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet.  Although the Herodian dynasty ruled for Rome, they nominally practiced Judaism as they ruled Jewish people.  Thus, under Jewish law, Herod had practiced what was unlawful by marrying his brother's wife, while his brother Philip was still living.  This is what John the Baptist protests as a prophet.  

 

 But when Herod's birthday was celebrated, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod.  Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask.  So she, having been prompted by her mother, said, "Give me John the Baptist's head here on a platter."  And the king was sorry; nevertheless, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he commanded it to be given to her.  So he sent and had John beheaded in prison.  And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother.  Then his disciples came and took away the body and buried it, and went and told Jesus.  My study Bible comments that the beheading of St. John the Baptist is remembered in the Church on August 29 with a day of fasting. As part of God's plan of salvation, it notes, John's martyrdom allowed the coming of the Messiah to be announced to the souls in Hades, for John was the forerunner of Christ there as well as on earth.  At Matins on that day it is sung, "Your tongue which constantly speaks of God has preceded Christ into death, and is sent to preach Him to those in Hades."

 

 My study Bible is right to emphasize this type of "handing off" of ministry from St. John the Baptist to Christ.  We see it in the baptism of Jesus by St. John, in which the Trinity is manifest, and Christ's identity is made plain.  We see it in St. John's prophesy regarding the Baptism to come of Christ, in his testimony that Jesus is the Lamb of God, and in his introduction of his disciples to Jesus (Sts. Andrew, Peter, and John the author of the Gospel, who is unnamed).  See John 1:19-42. In John's death, as my study Bible says, we see something similar, and St. John the Baptist plays the role of Forerunner to Christ even in death.  It mirrors the overall handing off and continuation of the salvation plan of God from Old Testament to New.  As St. John the Baptist is the last and greatest of the Old Testament-style prophets, so he points and directs all to Jesus Christ, as Lamb of God.  We also see an image of the old in this depiction of the court of Herod.  This echoes the scandal of the Gentiles of old, a pre-Christian picture of the Gentile world of power and its values.  It is a scandal in that the passions on display in this story of Herod's court are meant to be cautionary tales of disordered desires and their outcomes.  Here a daughter is not only allowed to put herself on display before the powerful men of Herod's court and region, but she's schooled by her mother to request the bloody head of a great prophet, widely considered by the public to be a holy man, served on a platter at a birthday party.  Herod is no better, as he rashly swears a grandiose oath to the girl, and is too weak in front of the "great men" at his birthday party to refuse such a hideous act against a just holy man.  John the Baptist is a figure for all of us of righteousness and courage, and dedication to God above all things.  He is the opposite of Herod, who seems to understand nothing but power and a servility to things that corrupt and destroy honor.  This Gentile court is a scandal to the Jews of that time, and so we get a picture of Galilee as a region of both Gentiles and Jews; the power of holiness contrasted with the worldly power on display.  Elsewhere, my study Bible comments on the inner terror of Herod, who fears St. John the Baptist even in death.  In yesterday's reading, we read of Jesus' rejection in His hometown of Nazareth in Galilee.  But even in this rejection, the Baptist is related to Jesus through his martyrdom.  We live in a world today in which the slogan "speak truth to power" is often heard as a declaration of righteousness.  But one must say that one could find no better nor truer courageous manifestation of this saying than in the life and death of St. John the Baptist, and again, of course, Jesus.  Let us play our own part in the lineage of our faith, the best of our abilities, and in sincere imitation of those who have shown us the way before us.