Herod had locked John the Baptist into prison intending to eventually kill him. But as he waited for the anger of the crowds to subside and for people to forget John, he became fascinated with John’s preaching. As much as Herod’s wife nagged him to kill John, Herod kept him as a kind of self indulging hobby.
But Herod’s birthday was about to change all that. He threw a huge party. Among the entertainment that day was the performance of a extremely seductive dance by his step-daughter. Herod’s passions were aroused to the point of swearing off half his kingdom to the young seductress. Herodias saw her chance. She instructed her daughter, “Ask for John the Baptist’s head on a silver platter.” Her daughter agreed.
It was time for Herod to pay the piper for his lust for power. The ruler grieved that he had made such a rash promise, but he knew to go back on his promise was to destroy his reputation among his guests. So within minutes, John the Baptist’s head was delivered on the silver tray (Mathew 14:1-11).
Pride is a high ticket item and will cost you the most when you expect it the least.
