Herod the Villain

By Mary Vee
Matthew 14, Mark 6, Luke 2

From Matthew, Mark, and Luke's Journal 

Photo by Mary Vee
This is one of Herod's Palaces. This one is located in Samaria
and was considered the place to go for a great party.
This is probably the palace Herod was at for this story.

My name is Matthew, I am a disciple of Jesus. Mark and Luke are sitting here with me, ready to tell what we know about the evil Herod and his horrible deed.

John the Baptizer saw no problem with telling people what God put in His heart. He lived alone in the desert and ate locust and honey. His clothes were made from camel's hair.

He preached to crowds of people who walked all the way to the desert just to hear him. John the Baptizer talked about the law of Moses and how much we'd all walked away from obeying God's commands. 

Well, one day, John the Baptizer went to Herod to give him a message from God. Herod was intrigued by this man. He'd heard about the desert preacher, how John captivated those who came to hear him speak and that many asked to be baptized in the Jordan River to show their change of heart. 

Herod invited John into his courts. That's when the problem began. 

See, Herod didn't really know what John was going to tell him. John stood before Herod, who was sitting on his throne, and said, "You have broken the law by marrying Herodias. She was your brother's wife. You killed your brother, Philip, then married his wife."

John mentioned a long list of sins committed by Herod.

This didn't go over well at all.

Herodias heard what John the Baptizer said. She became very angry.

To calm her down, Herod had John bound and thrown in prison. Actually, Herod was so mad he wanted to order John's death.

The problem with that idea was John the Baptizer pleased the crowds. They'd considered John a prophet. If Herod put John to death, the people would rise up and complain. The Roman officials would accuse him of not keeping control of the Jews. He'd have a horrible mess on his hands. One that could put him in jail. No. This would not do.

Herod decided to lock John up in prison, the worst one he had...for now. 

Come back to read the next story.

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sources: 
*A Harmony of the Gospels for Historical Study, An Analytical Synopsis of the Four Gospels by William Arnold Stevens and Ernest DeWitt Burton, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York 1932
*New International Version, New King James Version. 
*My Bible College training.
*My notes and walk through classes I've taught in Children's church. Answers to student questions, etc.
*Pastoral sermons on this time
*Matthew Henry Commentary
*F. LaGard Smith Commentary
*My notes from my trip to Israel.