The beginning of Matthew 14 describes a scene of sin and debauchery. It all started when Herod took his brother's wife. John the Baptist warned Herod that this was wrong. So, Herod put him in prison. It seems that he would have killed John, but he feared the people. They respected him as a prophet sent from God. So, John languished in Prison for a year and a half. Then it was Herod's birthday. During the celebration his daughter danced for them and Herod was so pleased by it that he promised to give her whatever she wanted. She want and asked her mother what she should ask for. Her mother told her to ask for the head of John the Baptist. Herod honored her wish because he had made an oath to her and because of all the people sitting nearby.
What a weak king. He gave in to his daughter's / wife's evil wish because of peer pressure. First of all, he should never have made such a rash promise, but even more so, he should never have honored such a sinister request. But, before we are to o hard on Herod, let's look at our own lives. How often have we given in to sinful pleasures because we were with our friends. How often have we been silent when we should have reproved those we were with because of their actions. How often have we failed to witness to someone who needed it because we were afraid of what other people would think. Let's boldly stand for Christ no matter what other people think so that we never get to the point that we would commit a murder for peer pressure.
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