Tag Archives: Mark 6:14-29

Language, Mark, Teaching

Mark 6:14-29 – Serving a head on a platter

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King Herod heard of Jesus and his disciples, for Jesus’ name had become known. Some were saying, “John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these powers are at work in him.” But others said, “It is Elijah.” And others said, “It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.”

For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because Herod had married her. For John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him. But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee. When his daughter Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it.” And he solemnly swore to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom.” She went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?” She replied, “The head of John the baptizer.” Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her. Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.

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This is the Gospel selection from Episcopal Lectionary for the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost, Year B 2018. In the numbering system that lists each Sunday in an ordinal fashion, this Sunday is referred to as Proper 10. It will next be read aloud in a church by a priest on Sunday July 15, 2018. This is important because it gives the details of John the Baptist’s execution, which has applications that should be realized by all readers.

In this reading selection, one has to notice how Mark (the writer for Peter) gave a base statement of how Herod Antipas (a.k.a: Herod Antipater), the ruler of Galilee and Perea, was informed of a man named Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.

At that time, according to Mark’s Gospel, Jesus was teaching in Galilee and drawing rising attention. By stating, “Some were saying, “John the baptizer has been raised from the dead,”’ this is following the death of John, ordered by Antipas. It was the news of John the Baptist’s death (Jesus’ cousin) that led Jesus to seek solitude across the sea, which led to the feeding of five thousand.

Matthew (Matthew 14:1-13) and Luke (Luke 9:7-10) also tell of the Herod’s role in the death of John the Baptist, with Matthew also giving the details found here in Mark. Matthew also speaks of the details of John’s beheading in hindsight, after telling how Herod had “heard reports about Jesus.” This hindsighted view is seen as “John’s Fate Recalled” (an artificial title placed before this story in the New American Standard Bible translation version).  Such a title gives the impression that this story is rumor, rather than a truth personally witnessed.

The disciples of Jesus were attending to his needs, in particular on the Sabbaths, when Jesus would teach in synagogues around Galilee or from a hillside around the Sea of Galilee (that had natural acoustics that allowed a normal voice to be heard at a distance). Further, both Matthew and Mark connect Jesus’ being rejected in Nazareth to news of his travels in Galilee reaching Herod Antipas, and  both prior to the feeding of five thousand. Luke, Matthew and Mark all say that Jesus sent out the twelve prior to the news of John’s beheading, which then led to the event of five thousand being fed.

This three-dimensional view says that the disciples did not venture close to Herod’s palace when they were sent out as extensions of Jesus. Even if one can assume that the prison and palace were in the capital city Antipas built – Tiberius, on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee (a.k.a: Lake Tiberius) – that presence in Galilee would not allow Jesus’ disciples into the palace.  They certainly would not have been invited to a birthday party thrown for the king.

As poor Galilean fishermen of Jewish heritage, they would have had absolutely zero contact with any Roman approved ruler of Herod the Great’s kingdom.  After his death over twenty years prior, Judea was split into quarters. Herod the Tetrarch (Antipas) was a ruler of “One Quarter” of that realm, which was divided four ways. Herod Archelaus ruled Judea, until he was disposed by Rome and replaced by a governor (several before Pilate).  Herod Antipater received Galilee & Perea, while the half-brother Herod Philip II was assigned Batanea.  Decapolis being an autonomous league of ten cities, which made up the fourth division.

It is even doubtful that Jewish scuttlebutt was allowed to be proclaimed about the beheading, which would clearly paint Antipas as an evil ruler. This means the news of John’s death by beheading, news of his body being claimed by relatives for burial, and any information given to those relatives as to why the decision to execute was made, can be second-hand by the time that news would have reached Jesus and his disciples. One could seriously doubt that John’s relatives were told this story of a daughter’s dance and the whispers of the wife-mother hatred.

The nuances of Mark’s Gospel make it stand out beyond Matthew’s statement that “Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered John a prophet.” (Matthew 14:5) Mark adds depth to the aspect of the Baptist having told Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” More than Antipas wanting to kill John, but was afraid of what the people thought, Mark tells us, “Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him.”

Wanting to keep John alive is what set the ruler above the disdain his wife, Herodias, had for the prophet. When Mark writes that Herod “heard him” and “liked to listen to John,” this links the Judaic roots the Herodians had, as their blood was Jewish. While they were all largely disbelievers of the teachings of the Torah and much more inclined to see the value of Roman and Greek empirical ways of law and government, the Herodians knew the demands (weak as they were) of the Jews had to be respected.  The disposition of Herod Archelaus proved that Rome did not want a civil war to deal with.  Thus all the client kings of the Herodian kingdom knew how important it was to simply keep unrest at a minimum.

For Herod Antipater to enjoy listening to John the Baptist, this implies Herod would call upon John to answer questions about Scripture that he thought were the weak links in the Judaic faith. How King Herod would do this is unstated; but it could have happened any number of ways.  John, undoubtedly, would speak words of truth that impressed Herod and made him rethink some of his inherent bias.  Those words of wisdom probably kept him alive longer, but gave Herod no desire to free John.

Mark then identifies the “daughter of Herodias” as Herod’s, but Matthew clarifies this somewhat by simply stating, “On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced.” Since Herodias had been the wife of Philip, it is more likely that Herod Antipater’s half-brother was the father of Salome. [Josephus confirms she divorced herself from Philip after the birth of Salome and then married Antipas in his Antiquities of the Jews, Book 18, chapter 5, paragraph 4 .]

When we read, “the king said to the girl,” the Greek word “korasiō” is a statement that Salome was “a little girl, a young girl; a girl, maiden.” While it is possible to see her dance as sexually arousing, it should be understood that Salome was most likely a pre-teen, albeit close to, but still under that age of puberty that would make her a young woman. That youthful energy, combined with an innocence of naïveté, is then why we read: “She went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?”’

Mother Arguing With Teenage Daughter

After Herodias told Salome to ask for the head of John the Baptist, one can assume that her suggestion was for John to be executed, such that “off with this head” is somewhat of a euphemism that is a harsh way of saying, “I would ask that John be executed.” Salome, however, took her mother’s suggestion most literally and went back to Herod and announced, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” That request by a little girl is then less capable of being heard as a general suggestion of a death sentence be given to a prisoner.  It was made specific by her imagination of a platter.

When we read, “The king was deeply grieved,” Matthew used the Greek word “lypētheis,” which means “deep grief, or painful sorrow.” Mark wrote “perilypos,” which says “greatly grieved or very sorrowful.” Still, this should not necessarily be seen as severe distress over having John the Baptizer killed. Both Matthew and Mark tell that Herod ordered this act be done because he had publicly given his oath before guests. He was probably more grieved because he had given up control over what he was going to do to John.

After all, John had done little more than speak out against Herod Antipas as an adulterer and sinner, for having taking his brother’s wife as his wife, when his brother was still living. There probably was no official divorce involved, one following Mosaic Laws. Still, the grief felt by Herod was probably due to him having to account for the execution of a prophet that the people thought might have been their Messiah, when John had done nothing to warrant that sentence.  If civil riots were to ensue, that would be the source of Herod’s inner anguish – punishment by Rome.

It is at the point that Herod “Immediately … sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John’s head.” The guard then “went and beheaded [John] in the prison, [and] brought his head on a platter.” Antipas then commanded that the guard give the head on a platter to the girl. When Salome then gave that gruesome gift to her mother, one could expect it was a sight she had never seen before and was one that would forever leave a mark in her memory. While Herodias was probably happy to see that her vengeance had been fulfilled, Salome had danced for no personal reward, other than her mother’s pleasure.

What one can overlook in the quick decision by Herod Antipater is how beheading was a form of execution that was largely reserved for important people, those who held some level of respect by Rome. While death was the ultimate price paid by beheading, it was swift, immediate, and (one can assume) relatively painless. When this reading begins by the rumors that Jesus was the reincarnation of John the Baptist (“raised from the dead”), this is like premonition of Jesus’ death and resurrection. However, Jesus would suffer from the disgraceful form of execution that was crucifixion, not the form of execution that would be suitable for a king.  John the Baptist, by chance opportunity, was executed, but he was not tortured to death.

When we read, “But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised,” this becomes the foundation for understanding why Herod Antipater would send Jesus back to Pilate, when Pilate sent him to be judged by Antipas because Jesus was a Galilean. In Luke we read, “When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by him. So he questioned him at some length, but he made no answer.”

This says that Herod Antipater wanted to believe that his ordering the head of John the Baptist being taken was not a burden placed upon his soul, because John had been raised in Jesus. King Herod was “very glad,” having “long desired to see” Jesus, so Jesus could give “some sign” that he was indeed John raised again. John had “perplexed” Herod with his words and Antipas “liked to listen to him,” but Jesus said nothing to Herod Antipas. Because Jesus gave no signs he was John (which would have saved his life), Herod gave him over to his soldiers to mock and send back to Pilate.

When we read, “But others said, “It is Elijah,”’ referring to the increased popularity for (and increased protests against) Jesus, this is confirmation that prophecy was fulfilled by John the Baptist. To have some think John had been resurrected in Jesus, and to have other think John’s death brought about the return of Elijah in Jesus, that was people claiming the fulfillment of what had been prophesied to occur before the appearance of the Messiah.

In Matthew 11, after John the Baptist had been arrested and imprisoned, he sent messengers to Jesus asking, “Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?” Jesus sent the messengers back to John and then said to the crowd, “This is the one about whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You, Who will prepare Your way before You.’” (Matthew 11:10) That implied that John was the reincarnation of Elijah; but when Jesus told his disciples, as they (Jesus, Peter, James and John of Zebedee) came down from the high mountain, “I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist,” (Matthew 17:12-13) that confirmed what had been felt by many Jews after John’s beheading.

From the depth that comes from this story told by Mark, which is echoed in those told by Matthew and Luke, the truth comes not from innuendo and rumor but from divine insight. Rather than a story being told of the execution of a prophet of the LORD, a story being recalled or remembered in the third person, by a man writing of it decades after the fact and in his own old age (60-ish), Mark [Peter], Matthew, and Luke (Mother Mary] saw what they wrote of divinely. All Scripture should be recognized as of divine origin, such that each writer of a book in the Holy Bible is divinely inspired (through the Holy Spirit).

In this way, God was present when Salome danced for King Herod Antipater and God knows of the private conversation held between Salome and Herodias. The truth is told, which may or may not confirm any scuttlebutt or hearsay that circulated then, because neither Mark nor Peter (both believed to have died in 68 A.D.) wrote from the memories of human brains. They told and wrote as commanded by the LORD, as Saints filled with God’s Holy Spirit, as each had been reborn as Jesus Christ.  They each were shown the truth of that event.

As a selected Gospel reading for the eighth Sunday after Pentecost, when one’s personal ministry should be underway – as was Peter’s and Marks’s – the message here is the divine insight of truth. A minister will be led to know the truth, without the necessity of being present at events where the truth will be masked or covered-up.

The main perspective that comes from all Scripture comes when one can see the flaws of the characters portrayed as being the characteristics present in all human beings. This means all human are like Herod Antipas, all are like Herodias, and all are like the little daughter who danced to please her mother’s husband, and who asked for a gift that would please her mother. A minister learns not to see oneself as John the Baptist or as Jesus, even when becoming an Apostle means being reborn as Jesus Christ. To reach that lofty goal, one has to first see oneself as too flawed to become Jesus Christ without divine assistance.

In this way, each person is a king (or queen, perhaps for women?), as the supreme ruler of the kingdom that is oneself, one’s physical body. In the situation comedy Seinfeld, the joke was that each person is the “master of one’s domain.” Being a king or master is then how each human being develops an almost godlike view of self. This is how our minds look upon each part of our bodies as if they are vitally needed and must be served by the will of one’s mind. This is how the sum of the parts becomes greater than the whole, rather than the whole being determined by the sum of the parts.

This is the Big Brain that rules over us. In the typical decrees of self, we sin, just as Herod sinned by taking his brother’s wife as his wife. It is from our royal, all-powerful opinion of self that we approve adultery, divorce, adoption, and all other decisions we make.  It is afterwards that we feel inner guilt over wrong decisions. We advise ourselves that there is no truth in religion that warrants we make the sacrifices, as the sacrificial ones are the less fortunate.  We choose not to sacrifice because, after all, we recline when we dine (something only the rich do) and we throw parties for “courtiers, officers, and for the leaders,” those who have scratched our backs as we have scratched theirs.

In the rejection of religious sacrifice and any attempts to become righteous, initiated by the self-will (overseen by the Big Brain), one’s failures (sins) are internalized in private moments of shame and guilt. This is how we know John the Baptist (one’s conscience) is kept hidden in the personal jail cell of one’s personal palace. There is where one can ponder the legal clauses that one leans on, as crutches, which are the loopholes to do as one pleases. Once one seriously asks how is a natural or normal act deemed a sin, the wisdom of God brings those questioners glimpses of enlightenment.  One sees in ways one had never seen before.

Just like Herod and John, one can be greatly perplexed when one hears that inner voice saying the truth about the condemnations of personal sins. Still, because no one else heard that truth be told, no one outside of the prison walls of one’s mind, one can delight in the sensation of hearing wisdom. One likes to hear what one’s inner voice says.  It allows one time to manufacture a defense of sin, later in retort.

To cut off the head of one’s conscience is to completely forsake all attempts to justify one’s actions or to give any further thought to the dogma of religion. It is one’s oath before one’s personal collection of irreligious associates, where one feels one has finally sold one’s soul for good, willing to take the risk that there is no afterlife. If there is, then one accepts condemnation to hell, because one has become too attached to the rewards of the material world. The head one serves on a platter is none other than one’s own sense of righteousness. The “half of my kingdom” that has been sacrificed for the ‘dance’ of personal gain is that of an unseen  spiritual realm and the promise of eternal bliss. With one’s head on a platter, one has made a deal with the devil and served up one’s soul.

“Stop or I’ll shoot,” where you take yourself hostage, only works in Hollywood.

This makes Herodias the epitome of Satan, a named evil entity, one which lurks behind the curtains of the stage where the dance of life is performed. She represents the element of wickedness that enters one’s life, to which one’s John the Baptist conscience screams, “Shame! Sinner be damned!” She whispers in the ear of a naïve act of pleasure, one seemingly innocent and pure, then suddenly that little vice has become a big trap.

Salome is unnamed because she represents the myriad of ways one can be tempted to give up one’s soul. She calls upon one’s standing in front of others as the oath one must live up to. This trick, like that whispered by Satan to Jesus, while he was tested in the wilderness, calls for one to look for honor among thieves, when there is no such thing. Herod catered to the will of a “little girl” because he made an oath before dignitaries that had no honor. Had Herod Antipas not cut his own head off, he would have told Salome, “Go to Hell,” just as Jesus told Satan, “Get out of my face.”

This is the lesson that a minister must heed. One has to make the life decisions that will take one away from the pretense of lavishness. The Jewish recognition of the Passover has them reclining for dinner, where they recognize only the wealthy can do that regularly. Jews only do it once a year (two evenings).  The symbolism of the Passover is God giving protection to His chosen, those whose dedication and devotion will be rewarded with riches that are greater than any found on earth. That symbolism of a Seder meal has to then become the reality of one’s real life. One has to see the folly of pretending the material world offers anything of lasting value. Therefore, the call to sacrifice all addictions to the worldly means the head that is served on a platter is one’s self-ego … the illusion that is the Big Brain.

A minister of the LORD can then read the last line of this selection with understanding. “When his disciples heard about it, they came and took [John the Baptist’s] body, and laid it in a tomb.” That body was headless. Only the physical body was buried, so it could return to dust. Death is the end to all human bodies; but Heaven is the wake state that defeats human death.

The head of John the Baptist represents the Christ Mind, which is the gift of the Holy Spirit that makes one a prophet of wisdom. John sacrificed his Big Brain for a higher reward. That reward was told in this reading as him being the great prophet Elijah. King Herod thought John had been “raised again” in Jesus. He was half right. John was raised again as the soul of Elijah having returned to earth, for the purpose of announcing the Messiah was here.

This is then how a minister is sent by God to likewise preach to the people in general and to individuals privately, one-on-one. John the Baptist spoke the Word of the LORD because he was chosen at birth to serve God and he did so righteously. Still, John the Baptist had an ego that led him to question the authority of Jesus, because he was being held in prison and could not serve the LORD as he had been doing. Jesus responded to John’s messengers by saying:

“’Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.’” (Matthew 11:4-6)

This means a minister of the LORD does as the LORD deems best. The LORD sends ministers so the truth comes to those who are blinded to Scripture and cannot be moved by it to act. Sinners have their souls cleansed by the Holy Spirit and those who have turned a deaf ear to the truth hear their consciousness telling them, “Listen!” Jesus knew John would be dead in the not distant future, but Jesus knew John would be raised up, returning to a better place, his work on earth done.  Likewise, a minister of the LORD sends word that the Big Brain must die for the soul to be raised. Those who are poor of Spirit are transformed into Apostles who preach the Gospel, when they like to listen to wisdom speaking.

Language, Mark, Teaching

Mark 6:14-29 – Off with her head!

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King Herod heard of Jesus and his disciples, for Jesus’ name had become known. Some were saying, “John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these powers are at work in him.” But others said, “It is Elijah.” And others said, “It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.”

For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because Herod had married her. For John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him. But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee. When his daughter Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it.” And he solemnly swore to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom.” She went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?” She replied, “The head of John the baptizer.” Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her. Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.

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This is the Gospel selection to be read aloud on the seventh Sunday after Pentecost [Proper 10], Year B, according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church. It will be preceded by one of two optional pairings of Old Testament and Psalm readings, with one focused on David bringing the Ark of the Covenant into the City of David and one focused on Yahweh sending Amos to prophesy to the false prophet Amaziah and the new break-away king Jeroboam, head of the new Northern Kingdom. The song of praise support those themes. The Epistle reading that will precede this Gospel reading comes from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, where he wrote about the values of an apostle, writing: “In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will.”

I wrote about this reading in 2018 and posted it on this website. You can read it by searching this site. I encourage you to read it and offer your opinions and questions. The same reading now was the reading then, so everything I wrote then still applies today. However, now I want to take a different angle on this reading.

Because I have seen the story in Second Samuel, of David and the ark, as a marriage celebration symbolic of Yahweh being joined with the earth, at the place guarding the gate to Eden, this theme of marriage is all centered on the release of a soul at the time of death. Likewise, the track 2 option of Amos being chosen by Yahweh to take the message of pending doom, due to the divorce breaking in two what had married Israel and Judah under David, becomes focus placed on an end known to come. Therefore, the death of John the Baptist is echoing the promise begun by David’s early actions as king over the united lands of Israel, which is through spiritual marriage eternal life defeats physical death, when the soul is released from the body.

The first part of this reading explains that Jesus was making a name for himself, such that the name that used to be spreading was that of his cousin, John. Because the people are always mingled with ‘secret police,’ the rumors and scuttlebutt will always be made known to the powers that be. Back then, one power was Herod Antipas, one of the sons of Herod the Great, who reigned over Galilee and Perea.

The word passed on to Antipas by his informants is stated in the capitalized specific names “John” and “Elijah.” Those two names are then further expanded through the capitalized use of “Baptizer” and “Prophet.” Thus, the people was saying “Yah Is Gracious, Yah Has Been Gracious” [the meaning of “John”], “Yah is God” [the meaning of the name “Elijah”], “Submerger” [the meaning of “Baptizōn”], and “Interpreter Of Divine Truth” [the meaning of “Prophētēs”]. While all those individual elements were spoken, the conglomerate of them all is the truth that Jesus was the “Graciousness of Yahweh,” who was an extension of “God” on earth, whose presence was “Submerged” within his flesh, married with his soul, made empowered by Yahweh to be an “Interpreter” of the truth held in Scripture for all Jews to know.

After we read that Herod Antipas had heard the reports, but came to the conclusion “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised,” this speaks symbolically that the king believed in the immortality of Yahweh’s graciousness. That says he believed death was not an end on this plane of existence for a soul that had been married to Yahweh. By saying he knew John had been killed, but had been raised, he meant the Spirit of John never died. He believe the Spirit of Yahweh continued and was found in the man named Jesus. Therefore, the part of the reading that leads to this conclusion is a series of statements that the people – all the way up to the king – believed death was not an end, when a soul was married to Yahweh and given eternal life; and, that speaks of David celebrating the marriage of the Spirit and the soul by dancing and celebrating before the ark.

When the story then appears to be a leap back in time to retell the events of John and Antipas, we then find this focus takes one from the promise of belief [not true faith] and the external influences that keep one from living up to one’s beliefs. It becomes a reflection of the things people do that lead them to kill the opportunity to marry Yahweh, with all Christians today becoming reflected in Herod Antipas. Each soul in a body of flesh that professes to be a Christian, but then turns around and does the acts of Antipas, is showing how their souls have refused to marry Yahweh and make His Spirit [the birth of His Son anew with their souls] the King over the nation that is their flesh. They act in self-defeating ways.

First they imprison the graciousness of Yahweh [the meaning of “John”] and keep that from freely expressing the Word of God. John pissed off the wife of Antipas – Herodias – telling the truth about a sin having been committed. It was Antipas who sinned and Herodias was the instrument of sin; so, her opinions against the truth led Antipas to cover up his sins and lock them away in a prison. Placing the truth in a prison is how many Christians know they are sinners, but feel that as long as they hide their sins they can still rule over their lives and do as they please.

The name “Herod” means “Freeman, Wanderer, Fugitive, Trembler, or Coward,” depending on how the root Hebrew is read. The name “Herodias” means “Of The Realm Of Herod,” which says the sin of Antipas that caused him to imprison John was his cowardly response, wanting to remain a freeman who went against the laws of his Judaic claims of heritage and belief. While Herodias reflects one of the external influences of sin in the life of Herod Antipas, the acts he committed must be seen as his own responsibility. Thus, everything that subsequently happened because of a fight against the calls for repentance is the path of waywardness [Wandering] that condemns a soul after death. This then reflects the rejection of marriage to Yahweh and the call of Amos to prophesy before one, saying to repent.

When we read that Herod Antipas “gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee,” his doing that on his birthday made his own self-ego be placed on display for all to see. A marriage of one’s soul to Yahweh demands one’s self-ego be killed, sacrificed into submission to the higher Spirit’s domination. This is the symbolism of John having been killed so Jesus could rise. By throwing his own ‘birthday party’ Herod was presenting himself as a god for all to behold. A “self” equals a “soul,” and a “self” is all about “ego” that wants to be known.

The symbolism of the daughter of Herodias dancing for the guests says she reflects a daughter of his realm. She was the daughter of his sinful wife, so she was a daughter of sin that was within his realm, thereby becoming another influence of sin. The symbolism of a “daughter” is as an immature thought coming from within one’s mind. All souls inhabiting bodies of flesh must be seen in the feminine sense, as the flesh is receptive of the Spirit [a masculine essence] that penetrates the flesh and unites with the soul – like sperm piercing an egg. All souls must then be seen as “daughters” to be given away in marriage to Yahweh. To have a “daughter” dance enticingly before Herod [forget about the guests at this point], she represented his own filthy thoughts of sin that became his lusts and desires. In reality, a mature “daughter” would be shown to prospective bridegrooms, in order to give her away in a merger of families that would benefit the father. Since the dance was for Herod’s pleasure, on his special day of recognition, she becomes a reflection of one’s own private lusts and wild imaginations that should be controlled.

In the Greek text of Mark, where he told Peter’s story and Peter did not name children specifically [the daughter’s name was Salome, which means “Peace”], there is a mathematical symbol, called a left right arrow, which becomes a statement saying, “if true, then true.”

That symbol is placed between a bracketed “this indeed the king” and “said thereupon girl”. The brackets indicate the inner being that was Herod Antipas, which was his true inner self being projected onto the “girl.” That is then the truth being stated as what the inner “king” said that was then a transference “thereupon girl.” That symbol then says Herod would use the daughter of sinful lusts to make him commit to another sin. Thus, what he said was what he wanted the girl to tell him to do, by him telling a “daughter,” “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it.”

Keep in mind how Americans use a birthday celebration as a day when wishes come true. When we tell our children, “Make a wish and blow out the candle so it will come true,” we are teaching our children to make the light go away, so a desire can be received. In the same way, Herod wanted to be told to do something that would push the envelope to a higher level. He did not know what it was, but he was making a wish that something taken to the edge would bring a new degree of excitement into his soul. He made that wish because his soul knew death and eternal damnation was his future and sin gave his soul the illusion of stimulation.

The promise of a reward, “up to half my kingdom,” says all Herod had to offer was his flesh. That half of his “kingdom” would be left when he died. The other “half” was his soul, which could not be given away. He could have given everything away to Yahweh in marriage, but he protected his soul as his to possess forever.

Because the “daughter” was not a fully mature thought, just a tantalizing idea that something more sinful could grow into full maturity, that inkling needed to merge with an already known sin, which was Herodias – the adulterous wife. That prior suggestion that John be killed for bad-mouthing her, when Herod had been turned aside by Antipas, he had feared Yahweh’s punishment for an act of murder. When Herodias told Salome to tell Herod she wanted John killed, that evil influence became a line drawn in the sand that Herod would be forced to cross [as a suggestion, not a command].

The excuse for a mortal sin that would forever condemn the soul of Herod Antipas – the king of nothing after death – was said to be ego-protecting. Because he had made a public promise, he could not suffer the self-caused indignity of going back on his word. He wanted to kill John, but he was too afraid to do so without cause – and John had done nothing other than tell the truth of a law having been broken. This is why the left right arrow is placed where it is, because Herod would become the girl’s command as a wish publicly granted. Salome said what Herod wanted, so he would have an excuse to do greater sins.

The beheading of John is then a parallel to the dividing of Israel into two halves – Israel and Judah. What David had ordered was the truth John had uttered. Both said, “You cannot sin and gain eternal life for a soul. Marriage to Yahweh is the only way; and, that means sacrifice of self-ego.” Amaziah and Jeroboam were just like Herod Antipas. They wanted some daughters to dance before them and tell them what to do, because they wanted lives of sin, not submission to Yahweh. Thus, the head Herod ordered cut off was his own. Jesus being raised from that beheading says John lived on, while Herod’s soul became dead.

As a Gospel selection for the seventh Sunday after Pentecost, when one’s personal ministry for Yahweh should be well underway, the lesson of Herod has to be seen as one’s own soul decision having to be made. All of the side characters – the wife to a worldly existence, the daughter of sinful ideas, the dignitaries that all play roles in support of one’s sinful life – they are nothing more than excuses not to marry Yahweh. None of those sidekicks will die for you and save your soul from your sins. Each individual soul is responsible for saving itself [a “self” equals a “soul”]. The longer one goes in life denying that responsibility [which David began when he moved the ark into the Tabernacle in Jerusalem], the closer one comes to soul suicide. One is simply waiting for the idea to consult prior past failures and come up with the new idea that says, “Cut off the head of the beast!” The beast is self-ego; and, it can be cut off through self-sacrifice in marriage to Yahweh, or it can be your own head cut off from the cardinal sin of wanting self to be a king.