Context No. 4055 of 4322 · Matthew

Matthew 14:1-8: in context

1At that time, Herod the tetrarch heard the report concerning Jesus, 2and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptizer. He is risen from the dead. That is why these powers work in him.” 3For Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. 4For John said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5When he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet. 6But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced among them and pleased Herod. 7Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she should ask. 8She, being prompted by her mother, said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptizer.”

John the Baptist had done a dangerous thing: he had told King Herod plainly that his marriage to Herodias, his brother's wife, was not lawful. It was not John's business to flatter those in power or to keep quiet about a king's sin; he spoke the truth to Herod's face, and it cost him his freedom and, eventually, his life. Herod had him arrested and bound.

There is courage here worth admiring. John did not shrink from the truth or withhold it because the sinner was a king with the power to imprison and kill him. He spoke God's truth to the one who most needed to hear it, regardless of the danger, because it was true and because someone needed to say it. It is one thing to speak the truth to those who cannot harm us; it is another to speak it faithfully to those in power, to those who could make us pay for it. John's example is a challenge to a courageous honesty that does not tailor the truth to the status or the power of the hearer. Sometimes love and faithfulness require us to say the hard, true word even to those who could make us suffer for it.

Do I have the courage of John, to speak the truth faithfully even to those with power over me, refusing to tailor or withhold it out of fear of what it might cost me, when love and faithfulness require it?

Sources

Matthew 14:4: "For John said to him, It is not lawful for you to have her."
Matthew 14:3: "For Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias."
Matthew 14:5: "When he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet."