Matthew 14:1

 Matthew 14:1 says, At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus,  Verse two adds, And said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.  When Herod heard about Jesus, he thought that Jesus was John the Baptist returned from the dead.  Herod had a reason to be concerned about that.  Verse three states, For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias’ sake, his brother Philip’s wife.  Herod had arrested John and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brothers wife, who was now his.  Verse four says, For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her.  John had been imprisoned for telling Herod that it wasn't lawful for him to have Herodias, which was the truth.  John was not afraid to proclaim the truth, even to the ruler of the land, and neither should we be as Christians.  Verse five adds, And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet.  Herod would have put John to death, but he was afraid of the multitudes, who considered John to be a prophet, which he was.  Verse six states, But when Herod’s birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod.  On Herod's birthday, Herodias' daughter danced for him which he enjoyed.  Verse seven adds, Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask.  Because Herod enjoyed the girl's dancing, he took an oath to give her whatever she asked. He was ruled by sensual emotions, and people today often get themselves in trouble because of sensual emotions or desires.  Verse eight says, And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist’s head in a charger.  Herodias instructed her daughter to ask for the head of John the Baptist on a charger, or plate.  I guess she didn't like what John had said any more than Herod did.  Verse nine declares, And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath’s sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her.  We are told that Herod was saddened by this, but because of his oath he had to carry through.  We may sometimes get ourselves into a situation that we are not happy to be in, but because of circumstances find ourselves unable to get out of the situation. That is why we should be careful what we promise.  Verse ten states, And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.  Herod fulfilled his oath and had John beheaded.  Verse eleven adds, And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother.  John the Baptists' head was brought to the daughter, who gave it to Herodias.  It seems a rather grotesque gift, but it was what she wanted.  Verse twelve states, And his disciples came, and took up the body, and buried it, and went and told Jesus.  The disciples of John the Baptist took his body and buried it, and then told Jesus what had happened.  When things go wrong for us today as Christians, the best thing we can do is bring our cares and concerns to Jesus.  Verse thirteen declares, When Jesus heard of it, he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart: and when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities.  When Jesus heard the news, he departed into the desert, not because he was afraid, but to be alone with His heavenly Father for awhile I believe.  When they heard that Jesus had gone into the desert, the people followed him on foot out of the cities.  It would be wonderful if people today had the same desire to come to Jesus, but most of the people then and many today come for the wrong reasons.