The Power Struggle Between Herod Antipas and John The Baptist

Then and Now

The Bible, The History, The Struggle

The conflict between Herod Antipas and John The Baptist stems from Antipas' marriage to Herodias, the wife of his half-brother Herod Philip. John publicly criticized Antipas for this, declaring it is unlawful according to Jewish law, to marry your brother's wife, unless he was dead. I guess you could say that Philip was lucky that Antipas didn’t pick up on the solution to his “John” problem, although my guess is that it was Salome’s dance that put an end to the need for that final solution.
But, we’ll get to her soon enough.

Let’s meet the cast:

John -

We know that John was Jesus’ cousin, born to Zechariah and Elizabeth. He paved the way for the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Many Biblical scholars have asserted that both John and Jesus were Rabbis of, and would have studied for three years with, the Essenes.

If you are unfamiliar with the Essenes, they are the third Sect of Jewish Leadership, aside from the Pharisees and Sadducees. Think of them as the three political parties of that time. The “Dead Sea Scrolls” were found in a cave in the mountains of the area where the Essene Sect was known to inhabit during that time, and are often assumed to be their writings.

The Essenes were believed to be the sect in power up until a few hundred years before Christ, until the other two sects banded together in a pact to oust them. The agreement was the Pharisees would lead, and the Saducees would take on a lesser role that afforded them respect. It is also believed that it was the Pharisees’ and Sadducees’ replacement of the Essenes in leadership, which explains why there were no recorded “Prophets” during those few hundred years, when in fact there probably were. The Essenes were known to advocate Messianic messaging and Scripture, while the P/S did not. But, I don’t want to delve too much more into the Essenes here.

Just think of the Pharisees and Sadducees as the “Uniparty”, concerned more with obtaining and retaining power. And, to them, the Essenes were persona non grata. You could say that John was pushing for the “Judea-First Movement” (or the Messianic-Movement), and Antipas said… No, hold my grapes, I’m the ‘REAL’ “Galilee-First” leader, while actually capitulating to Rome.

And, we all know that John was well-known for holding his tongue, and pulling his punches… NOT.

Antipas, the Weak (and Pedophile) -

From the Gospels of Matthew (14:1-12), Mark (6:14-29), and Luke (3:19-20; 9:7-9), we learn that Herod Antipas was the son of Herod the Great and sort of ruled (tetrarch) over Judea (Galilee and Perea) during the time of Jesus and John the Baptist, under Roman oversight. He was essentially the Prince during the ‘Massacre of the Innocents’, when Herod The Great sought to rid Judea of their Coming Messiah in Bethlehem.

Despite John's outspoken condemnation, Antipas was initially conflicted about what to do with him. According to the Gospels, he feared John, recognizing him to be a righteous and holy man.

It is unlikely that John was aware of Antipas’ ogling of Salome, but who knows? Let’s give the benefit of the doubt, and agree that John was already in his dungeon cell when Salome danced for Herod. How much worse would John’s condemnation of Herod had become, if he wasn’t beheaded, and he had learned of this pedophilic behavior?

Herodias, the Floozy -

Antipas was influenced by Herodias and her daughter (his step-daughter) Salome. Herod ultimately succumbed to social and political pressure from members of his Court, as well as personal pressure from Herodias and Salome.

Herodias was particularly offended by John’s words. After all, he was publicly calling her a slut, a gold-digger, and a Slimer-Climber.

She was also dismayed at Antipas’ attention to Salome, but used that to her advantage.

Salome, The Temptress -

Antipas’ “John Problem” all came to a head during a banquet where Herodias (knowing of Antipas’ lust for Salome) pimped her out, to “dance” for him. Antipas promised to grant her any request, up to half of his kingdom. At Herodias’ urging, Salome asked for the head of John The Baptist on a platter. Initially, Antipas was reluctant, but ultimately chose to fulfill his oath to Salome in front of his guests, out of embarrassment of reneging on his promise. He reluctantly ordered John’s execution.

This tragic episode illustrates the complex dynamics of power, morality, and personal relationships in the Biblical narrative. Antipas' decision to silence John The Baptist reflected a compromise between personal desires, political considerations, and the pressure exerted by those close to him. And, if you are weak in mind and spirit, John's fate serves as a cautionary tale about the consequences of challenging powerful rulers, even when advocating for moral and ethical principles. If you have real strength, none of that even dawns on you.

Not much more is historically known, but it is likely that Salome was both a product of her environment (unbridled power, entitlement and elitism), and suffering from a form of sociopathic disorder. She reveled in wrapping Antipas around her finger. Undoubtedly, a trait she picked up from her mother. Even in Antipas’ Court, with the level of “Elite Decadence”, I believe that his advisors would have been taken aback by Salome’s glee in the suffering of others. Full-on Schadenfreude. Something that both mother and daughter suffered from, alike.

The Voice of One Crying Out in the Wilderness

While not necessarily a historical or Biblically accurate account, in the movie ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ (1977), Herod Antipas is speaking to John in his cell, and asking “What is it you want from me?”… “Is it just the matter of my violating the marriage vows? Is that it? Because I have a mind to repent that, John. Hmm, will that satisfy you?”…

Then came the carrot… “There is work for you in this wretched kingdom. If it’s power you want, you can have power. Power to build, not to break”…

Herod then said to John “That crowd of yours needs someone to control it. John, if I set you free, what would you do with your freedom?”

In other words…
Stop attacking my bad behavior, and I will reward you. I will make you the head of a committee if you make your followers stop attacking the bad behavior. I will make things easy for you… just take a small bite of this apple, and… well, that’s another story, for another time. But, it’s actually the same actors, playing in a similar play, on a similar stage… thousands of years apart. “There is nothing new under the sun”.

Each of us faces this sort of temptation everyday, when we go up against demonic influence. It’s so subtle, we don’t even recognize that it’s demonic influence. We may even convince ourselves that breaking the rules is the righteous thing to do, because if I had that power, I would use it the “right” way. Can you imagine John trying to convince his followers, “I need to lay low, and pretend to play nice in Herod’s sandbox, so that I’ll be in a position to persuade him to behave correctly later”? Jesus himself would have assumed that John had been taken over by nano-bots.

The Tough Question…

Do we take the easy, rewarding road, or do we take the road less traveled, stick to Christ’s example, and take up our own cross?

John’s answer to Herod was simply “I would follow Him, like so many others. But you would not set me free”.

The carrot and the stick

Herod (and the Romans) told the Pharisees, “reign in this crowd, shut them down and shut them up… or we’ll take away your authority, your Elite Vestments, your wealth, your importance, your position, your power, your influence”. The Pharisees (and their minions) told John and his followers, “Play nice, speak nice, stop insisting that Herod follows the rules. Who do you think you are?”

The Pharisees likely justified their behavior by saying something like “To keep the peace, to appease Rome and Herod, to keep our influence so we can teach Jewish Law, we must break that Law. If we’re not in power, we won’t be able to sell the God-First Platform. Therefore, we must adhere to our enemy’s demands, so they’ll throw us a few scraps. And, then… while we’re in power, we can be in a position to quietly and secretly push God’s Plan.”

The old question comes to mind… “Who are you trying to convince… me… or yourselves?”

The Crowds

There was a mix of factions in the crowds in Jerusalem (not unlike at Jesus’ trial, but that’s a future installment in this series).

The Factions

There were followers of John, followers of Barabbas, those who followed both, and there were paid actors planted by the Sanhedrin (like Antifa). The least righteous were the plants. They demanded that John tone back his rhetoric. “Just say it nicely, and Herod will reform”. They were motivated by their power, and appeasing Herod and Rome would protect that power.

Many of John’s own supporters (or those pretending to be) called for a ‘gentler, kinder’ John… an end to mean Tweets. They were caught between John and the Sanhedrin. And they didn’t want to be on the receiving end of the wrath of either… so they just went home. It was just too hard or scary to take the road less traveled.

And, when John’s followers would not be swayed, they threatened them, shouted over them in the crowds, harassed and intimidated them where they stood, whipped out their cellular palm fronds, and took pictures of them to further intimidate them later (well, they would have if they could have). If they had microphones in those times, they would have confiscated them, and not let them speak. The strong remained. The weak did not.

Unity

The Pharisees were demanding “unity” from the others. “United we stand, divided we fall. So, just back our weakness, it’ll make us strong. After all, Rome is fully united behind Caesar, and look how strong they are. The Romans never disagree with each other”

Coming Soon to an Article Near You

After Easter, we will delve into the tiers of RINO power… Michael Antipas and Herodias, Pontious Power and Centurion Stafford the Jones, and Ronna MittCaesar. After Easter.