Anchor My Faith

Why Was John the Baptist in Prison

Scripture: Matthew 14:5; Mark 6:17-20

With this lesson, we come to a sad time in our journey with Jesus, when we hear that John the Baptist was executed. Before we get to the execution, we need to look at what led up to the execution. ^{Mk 6:17} “For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her. ¹⁸ For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” ^{Mt 14:5} And though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet.”

When you take a stand for righteousness you can expect some form of negative reaction. This was true for John the Baptist who had publicly charged Herod Antipas with breaking the law by marrying Herodias, the former wife of his still living half brother Herod Philip. The law that Mark is referring to is found in Leviticus as follows: “You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife; it is your brother’s nakedness” (Leviticus 18:16 ESV) and “If a man takes his brother’s wife, it is impurity. He has uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall be childless” (Leviticus 21:21 ESV).

John showed no partiality when he publicly charged Herod with breaking the law. Herod was not a Jew, but that didn’t prevent John from telling him that he had violated the moral law of God. The ministry of John the Baptist of repentance was to the Jew, but in reaching out to Herod, he was indicating that the gospel message would go to the Gentile as well. A study of the Scriptures reveals that God holds all people in the world accountable to his moral laws and that all have sinned by breaking them.

Herod wanted to put John to death, but he was restrained by fear of how people would react because they held him to be a prophet. ^{Mk 6:19} “Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, ²⁰ for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.”

Both Herod and Herodias wanted John to be put to death, but there were three fears that currently restrained Herod. First, as mentioned above, Herod feared an uprising because of John’s popularity. Second, he had a superstitious fear that he might receive some kind of divine punishment. Third, he feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man. But, as we will see in our next lesson, an opportunity will come when pleasure results in a deadly vow.

Prayer

Father, I pray for your blessing on those who faithfully read these lessons. I pray that the word that is contained in these studies will not return void, but will accomplish, in the hearts of my readers, that which is intended. I pray that the life and ministry of Jesus that these lessons portray, will show his uniqueness and our blessing of a growing relationship with him. Jesus is the only way of salvation; he is the source of truth and he is the only source of eternal life. Christianity is unique among religions because it is not works based as all other are. Salvation, eternal life, is a gift. Our good works makes absolutely no difference. The only hindrance is our pride.