- Feb 5, 2002
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Among those born of women there have arisen many mediocrities like Herod Antipas, who feared his family and friends more than he feared God
It is impossible to imagine the terror that surely struck the heart of John the Baptist as the executioner approached his prison cell. The executioner would have been hurrying, since the king, Herod Antipas, was waiting for the bloody deed to be done. The man would have been flanked by soldiers, who were there to drag the chained man out of his cell.
John was probably someone people gawked at because he wore animal skins, lived alone in the desert, and dined on honey and locusts. Because of his bare-bones existence, he eventually became the patron saint of hermits. He was the first person to reveal Jesus’ true identity to people: “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.”
John was in prison because he’d dared to tell the king the truth about marrying his brother’s ex-wife, Herodias. According to Jewish law, the marriage wasn’t lawful, so the king and Herodias were in an adulterous relationship. John had to know that speaking the truth would lead to imprisonment and possibly death, but he was willing to become a martyr for the truth.
Herodias hated John for openly condemning their illicit marriage, and she wanted him dead. When Herod threw himself a birthday party and invited the leaders of the community, she got her chance.
Continued below.
www.ncregister.com
It is impossible to imagine the terror that surely struck the heart of John the Baptist as the executioner approached his prison cell. The executioner would have been hurrying, since the king, Herod Antipas, was waiting for the bloody deed to be done. The man would have been flanked by soldiers, who were there to drag the chained man out of his cell.
John was probably someone people gawked at because he wore animal skins, lived alone in the desert, and dined on honey and locusts. Because of his bare-bones existence, he eventually became the patron saint of hermits. He was the first person to reveal Jesus’ true identity to people: “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.”
John was in prison because he’d dared to tell the king the truth about marrying his brother’s ex-wife, Herodias. According to Jewish law, the marriage wasn’t lawful, so the king and Herodias were in an adulterous relationship. John had to know that speaking the truth would lead to imprisonment and possibly death, but he was willing to become a martyr for the truth.
Herodias hated John for openly condemning their illicit marriage, and she wanted him dead. When Herod threw himself a birthday party and invited the leaders of the community, she got her chance.
Continued below.
St. John the Baptist Was Martyred for Telling the Truth
Among those born of women there have arisen many mediocrities like Herod Antipas, who feared his family and friends more than he feared God
