Herod Antipas: This Must Be John the Baptist
Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great (an Edomite) and Malthace (a Samaritan), was born c. 20 BC. He was the younger brother of Archelaus.
Antipas ruled over Galilee and Perea, the two areas in which John the Baptist and Jesus had most of their ministry.
Around 29 AD, he made a journey to Rome. On his way he paid a visit to his half brother, King Philip, becoming enamoured with his host’s wife, Herodias, whom he took as his own wife… leaving his earlier wife, the daughter of Aretas, king of the Nabateans.
This was not only a personal insult to Aretas but also a breach of a political alliance which later led to a retaliation by King Aretas.
John the Baptist’s denouncement was that Antipas had married his brother Philip’s wife. The Mosaic law forbade the marriage of a brother’s wife with the exception of raising children to a deceased childless brother by levirate marriage.
John the Baptist publicly criticized Antipas for marrying Herodias, and for many other wrongs he had done. So Herod put John in prison, adding this sin to his many others.
John had been telling Herod, “It is against God’s law for you to marry her.” Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of a riot, because all the people believed John was a prophet.
At a birthday party for Herod, Herodias’ daughter performed a dance that greatly pleased him, so he promised with a vow to give her anything she wanted. At her mother’s urging, the girl said, “I want the head of John the Baptist on a tray!” Then the king regretted what he had said; but because of the vow he had made in front of his guests, he issued the necessary orders. So John was beheaded in the prison.
It was now the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius, the Roman emperor. Pontius Pilate was governor over Judea; Herod Antipas was ruler over Galilee; his brother Philip was ruler over Iturea and Traconitis; Lysanias was ruler over Abilene. Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests.
When Herod Antipas heard about Jesus, he said to his advisers, “This must be John the Baptist raised from the dead! That is why he can do such miracles.”
Others said, “He’s the prophet Elijah.” Still others said, “He’s a prophet like the other great prophets of the past.” Antipas said, “John, the man I beheaded, has come back from the dead.”
When Antipas heard about everything Jesus was doing, he was puzzled. Some were saying that John the Baptist had been raised from the dead. Others thought Jesus was Elijah or one of the other prophets risen from the dead. “I beheaded John,” Herod said, “so who is this man about whom I hear such stories?” And he kept trying to see him.
Herod was delighted at the opportunity to see Jesus, because he had heard about him and had been hoping for a long time to see him perform a miracle. He asked Jesus question after question, but Jesus refused to answer. Meanwhile, the leading priests and the teachers of religious law stood there shouting their accusations. Then Herod and his soldiers began mocking and ridiculing Jesus. Finally, they put a royal robe on him and sent him back to Pilate. (Herod and Pilate, who had been enemies before, became friends that day.)
So Pilate sentenced Jesus to die as they demanded.
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About the Author: Lawrence Jean-Louis is the founder of eBrand Me, a digital marketing agency offering marketing & consultative services to CPAs and tax professionals. She aspires to start a money management firm by 2030.
