1At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the report about Jesus 2and said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him." 3For Herod had laid hold of John and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife. 4Because John had said to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her." 5And although he wanted to put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet.
6But when Herod's birthday was celebrated, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod. 7Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask.
8So she, having been prompted by her mother, said, "Give me John the Baptist's head here on a platter."
9And the king was sorry; nevertheless, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he commanded it to be given to her. 10So he sent and had John beheaded in prison. 11And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12Then his disciples came and took away the body and buried it, and went and told Jesus.
John was the voice of one crying in the wilderness, was preparing the way of the Lord, was making His paths straight. What was his reward in life? He was put in prison, was beheaded. Why would such an awful thing happen to a person who was only doing what was right? This is the same question we often ask today when terrible things happening to good people. Things that happen to your in life cannot be attributed to whether you were a good or bad person. John was doing the will of God, and look what happened to him. But Jesus said to seek the treasures of heaven. If that is your focus it will not matter what good or bad happens to you in this life.
When John told Herod that it was not lawful for him to have Herodius, his brother's wife, it angered Herod, and Herod wanted to put him to death. But even in his anger, he wasn't going to have John killed. Preserving John's life was not out of any respect for the prophet, but out of fear of the multitude.
But when in front of a large gathering where he promised Harodius' daughter whatever she asked, he was sorry when she asked for John's head on a platter. Was he sorry he had made the promise? Or was he sorry that he was going to have to put John to death? He had originally wanted to put John to death, so this could be just the excuse he needed to follow through on his original wishes. Or maybe he no longer had the desire to put John to death. Now that John was in prison, maybe Herod would have been just as happy to leave John in prison and forget about him. Maybe he was sorry that John's name was even brought up again. Maybe he did not want to be reminded of this prophet that the multitude admired. But because of those gathered around him who had heard his oath, he kept his promise and had John put to death. And now that he followed through with it, he was paranoid about John's ghost returning, that Jesus was John the Baptist risen from the dead.
I sometimes wonder, when John told Herod that it was not lawful for him to have Herodias, did he say it as a charge against Herod, or was he trying to help Herod so Herod could repent of his sins too? From what I have read of John in the Bible, I didn't get the impression that he went around making threats. He called all to repent, whether he really wanted to or not. In Matthew 3:7, he called the Pharisees and Sadducces a brood of vipers, but he still baptized them with water unto repentance. I think he was just trying to help Herod to repentance too.
Didn't John do most of his work in the wilderness? If so, when would he have encountered Herod to make such a statement to him? Had Herod been curious enough about John that he went out to where John was baptizing? Note, it said John said these words to him, so John had talked to Herod directly. In that encounter did Herod see any of the truth in what John said? Is that why he is now paranoid?
Herod sounds like a man caught up in a trap of his own making. He was told to repent and he refused. Instead he kept digging himself in deeper and deeper, his own fears getting the worst of him. In Matthew 11:29-30, Jesus said "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." I wonder if Herod had repented if Jesus would have removed his burden as well.