Who is to blame for the death of John the Baptist?

"...for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man..." (Mark 6:20, NRSV)

This past weekend's Revised Common Lectionary text included the story of the beheading of John the Baptist from the Gospel of Mark (chapter 6, verses 14-29). My Master Builder's Bible for Men asks (among other things) the following question regarding this text: "Of the people involved in the death of John the Baptist, who do you hold most responsible?"

If you don't know the full story, please read the passage from Mark before continuing here.

Before answering the question, a caution is necessary. The form of this question sets us up to make a value judgment - who is worst - when Paul and Jesus specifically caution against such things. In Romans 3:22-23, Paul tells us "There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God...." In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us that anger is subject to the same judgment as murder. The point is, in God's eyes, no one sin is worse than another; we all fall short of God's desire for our lives. So please do not allow such questions to bait you into believing that you will be alright as long as you are better than most.

I believe, however, that the question is worth considering for another reason. It aims us at a key principle for living the Christian life. Who is our ultimate authority? If we review each character and consider who is their ultimate authority, we can see a relationship between one's authority and their responsibility. To whom does each person answer?

In order to consider who is most responsible, we must first clarify who could be assumed to be responsible. The primary players are: John, Herod, Herodias, Herodias' daughter, and the soldier of the guard.

John: In the sense of being a sinner (like us all), John could bear some responsibility for his own death. The wages of sin are death, so on one hand, except for the saving grace of Jesus Christ, John would one day die as a result of his sins. On the other hand, at this particular moment, John is merely sharing the truth revealed to him by God. It is this truth that aggravates Herodias and causes her to hold a grudge. John is completely unconcerned with what Herodias or Herod (or anyone else) cares to think; his ultimate authority is God alone and he is sharing God's truth.

Herodias' daughter: While the Bible text does not provide much detail - not even a name - for this daughter, some other ancient texts offer some potential detail. Flavius Josephus's Jewish Antiquities gives her name as Salome. As her age is not given it is difficult to decide between various depictions of her that range for cold and calculating to lighthearted and foolish. These details turn out to be insignificant to the question at hand. When given the opportunity to ask Herod for anything she desired, up to and including half his kingdom, she turned to her ultimate authority - her mother, Herodias.

Herodias: Herodias bore a grudge against John simply because John spoke God's truth about her relationship with Herod after she apparently left Herod's brother Philip. This anger and resentment led her to suggest that her daughter ask for John's head. (What kind of mother puts her daughter in such a position? Even if Salome is the cold, calculating femme fatale, John's head is of no real value to her. If Herodias had even her daughter's interest in mind, she may have chosen another option.) Herodias' ultimate authority appears to be herself. She, more than any other person in this story, desired John's death. And as such it would be simple to hold her most responsible. But let's consider the remaining players.

Soldier of the guard: Having committed the actual beheading, this soldier certainly bears some responsibility. However, as with all soldiers, they follow a chain of command. In this case, the soldier's ultimate authority was Herod. Perhaps the soldier could have refused, but in so doing would most likely have lost his own life and not saved John's. Herod would simply have found a more loyal soldier.

Herod: That brings us to Herod. Of all the people involved, many of whom bear some responsibility, Herod fell victim to his ultimate authority. Even though he knew John to be "a righteous and holy man" and was grieved at the request, he order John's killing out of "regard for his oaths and for the guests." He was more concerned with what others thought than with what he knew was right.

So, who do I hold most responsible? I would have to say Herod, though he certainly was not alone in this responsibility. Except for John, every person in this story chose an ultimate authority other than God. Consequently, every one of them sinned and fell short of God's glory.

So, who is your ultimate authority? Will you, like John, share God's truth regardless of the consequences? Or will you be more concerned with another authority?

Lord, I pray that each one of us recognizes you as our ultimate authority. Strengthen us that we might share your truth regardless of personal consequences and give us courage to stand up against those who would desire to be our authority. In Jesus name. Amen.