Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 14:10

"and he sent and beheaded John in the prison." — Matthew 14:10 (ASV)

He sent and beheaded John in the prison.—Measured by the standard of earthly greatness, it seems almost a paradox to say of one who was a preacher of righteousness in the wilderness of Judea for only a few short months what has been said of the world's kings and conquerors: “So passed from the earth one of its greatest sons.”

Yet, if we accept our Lord’s words, this and nothing less must be our assessment of the Baptist’s character. He possessed an intensity of purpose, dauntless courage, profound humility, and self-denial carried to its highest point. He had a burning love that went beyond the limits of race and nation, and a tender sympathy for the world's laborers, for the fallen, and for the outcast. What elements of moral greatness can go beyond these?

The collective consciousness of Christendom has recognized this greatness. Art and poetry have symbolized it in outward forms. Moreover, the work of the Forerunner—the conviction that the preaching of repentance must precede the preaching of forgiveness—has been reproduced in every great revival of religious life that has brought the kingdom of heaven nearer to people’s hearts and hopes.