14 King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying,[b] “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
15 Others said, “He is Elijah.”
And still others claimed, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago.”
16 But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!”
17 For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, 20 because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled[c]; yet he liked to listen to him.
21 Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 When the daughter of[d] Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests.
The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” 23 And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”
24 She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?”
“The head of John the Baptist,” she answered.
25 At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
26 The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27 So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, 28 and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. 29 On hearing of this, John’s disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
This is somewhat of a non sequitur and self contained little story in the narrative of Jesus' biography. Why is this important to the Jesus story to the gospel's community, and why place the story at this point?
At the very beginning of the Gospel, John the Baptist was introduced as a character who endorses and legitimizes the figure of Jesus where the writer has John testify to Jesus' superiority and casts John in the role of messenger or herald. We looked at how this endorsement suggested that John was a much more well known figure of the times and had a reputation for holiness and as a Prophet. This is borne out by the fact that only the Gospels and Epistles mention Jesus while there is no trace him in any of the official historical records of the time unlike John the Baptist who is recorded by the Jewish Historian Flavius in this time period.
This story again works to legitimize Jesus by comparisons with John the Baptist. The writer has King Herod testify that Jesus must be John the Baptist "raised from the dead". In fact this section of the story begins with testimonies from "others" about Jesus' standing as a religious figure, that "He is Elijah", and "a prophet". It is at this point the testimony of Herod is repeated with, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead". The rest of the section seems to be an explanation about the circumstances of the beheading that Herod references, and as I said almost seems to be an aside and divergence from the main story.
However, rather than strictly an aside, I believe this story had a purpose in its inclusion. It think this story meant to foreshadow and legitimize the later story of Jesus' conflict with the authorities and cast it as being indicative of a prophet. The references to Jesus being Elijah could serve the same purpose as this prophet was also known for his conflict with authority.
Another piece of foreshadowing and statement on Jesus' exceptional nature is the part of the story about Jesus being mistaken for John the Baptist, "raised from the dead". It serves to underline that John, although recognized by the people as a prophet, was never raised from the dead, alluding to Jesus superiority as a spiritual figure through his resurrection.
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