Day 18: John the Baptist’s tragic end
When Jesus was a toddler, King Herod the Great tried to get Him killed (see Matthew 2:16). But Jesus escaped and King Herod himself died not long afterward. Two of his sons went on to be rulers of different regions, and in our passage today, we meet one of them—Herod Antipas—who was ruling over Galilee during Jesus’ lifetime. In the story, Herod Antipas ends up being like his father: a killer of the innocent.
In verse 14, who heard about the ministry of Jesus and His disciples?
According to verses 14–15, who were different groups of people saying Jesus was?
John the Baptist was a relative of Jesus, and as we saw in Mark 1:1–8, he was sent by God to be a prophet, preparing the way for Jesus’ ministry. John dressed and acted like Elijah, one of the great Old Testament prophets. Instead of dying, Elijah had been taken up into heaven (2 Kings 2:11), and many Jews believed that Elijah would come back before the final judgment day.
In verse 16, what did Herod Antipas say when he heard about Jesus?
In verses 17–28, we hear how Herod came to have John the Baptist beheaded. According to verses 17–18, what did Herod do first and why?
In verses 19–20, why couldn’t Herodias get John killed like she wanted?
In verse 21, Herod threw a massive birthday party for himself, and Herodias’s daughter danced for Herod and his guests. What did Herod offer her (v. 23)?
In verse 24, Herodias’s daughter asks her mother what she should request. What does her mother say she should ask for?
In verse 26, how did Herod feel when he heard her request for John the Baptist’s head on a plate?
In verse 27, what does Herod do?
In verse 28, what does Herodias’s daughter do when she gets John the Baptist’s head on a plate?
How does this story make sense of Herod’s response to Jesus in verse 16?
How would this story have been different if Herod had repented when John the Baptist called him out on his sin?
How would this story have been different if Herod had said no to Herodias’s daughter’s request, instead of being too embarrassed in front of his guests to do the right thing?
Ask God for courage to tell the truth like John the Baptist, even when you know it will get you into trouble, and not to give into peer pressure to do the wrong thing, like Herod. Thank God that Jesus came to be the real hero and to take all our sins away, including the times we fail to stand up for the truth in front of our friends.