Thomas Aquinas Commentary Matthew 14:1-14

"At that season Herod the tetrarch heard the report concerning Jesus, and said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore do these powers work in him. For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip`s wife. For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her. And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet. But when Herod`s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced in the midst, and pleased Herod. Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she should ask. And she, being put forward by her mother, saith, Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist. And the king was grieved; but for the sake of his oaths, and of them that sat at meat with him, he commanded it to be given; and he sent and beheaded John in the prison. And his head was brought on a platter, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother. And his disciples came, and took up the corpse, and buried him; and they went and told Jesus. Now when Jesus heard [it], he withdrew from thence in a boat, to a desert place apart: and when the multitudes heard [thereof,] they followed him on foot from the cities. And he came forth, and saw a great multitude, and he had compassion on them, and healed their sick." — Matthew 14:1-14 (ASV)

Above, the Lord showed the power of the Gospel teaching by way of some parables; here, He shows its power by deeds. And He does three things:

1. He shows to what effects it extends itself through an allegory of deeds;
2. He shows the sufficiency of the Gospel teaching; and
3. He shows how it may be preserved in its purity.

The second point is found in chapter 15, and the third is in chapter 16. Regarding the first point:

1. A false opinion is related;
2. Its occasion is related; and
3. The opinion is disproved.

The second part is where it is said, Herod had apprehended John, etc.; the third part is where it is said, Which when Jesus had heard, he retired from there.

He says, therefore, At that time Herod the Tetrarch heard the fame of Jesus. And it should not be referred to that day, but to a time in general, because Mark and Luke do not recount this in the same order, for they recount this event after the sending of the disciples, as is found in Mark 6.

Hence, it is uncertain which Evangelist is keeping the historical order. Nevertheless, what is said, At that time, is said so that Herod’s negligence may be indicated, because Herod had heard of the fame of Jesus only after the miracles. For this desire is frequently found among the rich: they do not care about small matters.

Charge the rich of this world not to be high-minded nor to trust in the uncertainty of riches, etc. (1 Timothy 6:17). He says, Herod the Tetrarch, to differentiate him from King Herod, under whom Christ was born, as is stated above in chapter 2.

Hence, when that Herod died, Christ returned from Egypt. This Herod was his son and was a tetrarch. His father was made a king by the Romans and had six sons, two of whom he killed during his lifetime. At the time of his own death, he killed another firstborn son, although he had already appointed him to be made king while his father was still living. After the same Herod died, Archelaus took the kingdom to himself and, following his father’s malice, could not be tolerated by the Jews. They then approached the Romans, and the kingdom was divided into four parts: two parts were delivered to Archelaus, another was delivered to Herod, and another part was delivered to Philip. Hence, this Herod was a tetrarch and the ruler over a fourth part of the kingdom.

Heard the fame of Jesus. On account of this, he was reprehensible, because Christ had already been living for so long a time and had performed miracles, and, nevertheless, he then heard for the first time. Thus is fulfilled what is written: Destruction and death have said: With our ears we have heard his fame (Job 28:22).

And he said to his servants: This is John the Baptist, etc. Some have said that he held the error of the transmigration of souls, for Plato and Pythagoras affirmed that when the soul leaves one body, it enters into another body. Herod, holding this opinion, as they say, believed that John’s soul passed into Christ’s body. But this cannot be, because he had killed him shortly before; now Jesus was thirty years old. Therefore, he did not believe this.

Moreover, Christ had already performed miracles before John’s beheading and imprisonment, as is stated in John 3. Nevertheless, Herod should be praised because he believed in the resurrection, about which it is written: Shall man that is dead, thinkest thou, live again? (Job 14:14).

Likewise, he had another good quality, namely, that he believed that the resurrection may bring about a better state of existence. For that reason, he believed that John might then work miracles which he had not performed before his resurrection. Therefore, he says, And therefore mighty works shew forth themselves in him, because he had reached a higher state of existence. Hence, men will rise again in a better state of existence. Therefore, the Apostle says: It is sown in weakness: it shall rise in power (1 Corinthians 15:43).

But here there is a question, because Luke 9:7 says that Herod heard and doubted. Therefore, he said, John I have beheaded. Here, he speaks without hesitation when he says, This is John.

Augustine solves this question, saying that he was not saying what he believed, but what he heard from others. Therefore, when he first heard, he doubted, but when His fame spread, he consented. So, Luke relates his first view, but Matthew relates his second view. Or, it can be said differently, that Matthew is also mentioning Herod’s doubting, so that it may be read interrogatively: Is this John?

For Herod had apprehended John. This was done previously; therefore, he is not following the order of events but is giving the reason for John’s death from a past incident.

But there is a question: Why are the Evangelists giving the reason for John’s death? And it is Chrysostom who asks this. He answers this, however, saying they are principally concerned with Christ’s deeds, but also other deeds insofar as they relate to Christ.

Therefore, he here gives the reason for John’s death from what follows. First, he gives the reason for his imprisonment; second, he gives the reason for his death, where it is said, But on Herod’s birthday, etc. Regarding the first (the imprisonment), he does three things:

1. He relates the imprisonment;
2. He relates its cause;
3. He relates the beheading.

For Herod had apprehended John and bound him, and put him into prison. He mentions the order of events, namely, that Herod first apprehended him, bound him, and then imprisoned him; now the order of events concerning Christ was the same. He mentions the cause of the events when he says, because of Herodias, his brother’s wife. Herod and Philip were brothers. Philip married Herodias, the daughter of Aretas, king of the Arabs.

He had enmity with that king of the Arabs, and also with his brother Herod, so that the king of the Arabs, in hatred of Philip, took his daughter and gave her to Herod.

Concerning this John, you should realize that he was a man of great virtue; therefore, it is said of him: He shall come in the spirit of Elias (Luke 1:17). Likewise, you should observe that he is also called a martyr, because he died on account of defending the faith, since he died for the truth; and Christ is truth.

For John said to him: It is not lawful for thee to have her. It should be known that Antipater, the grandfather of King Herod, was a foreigner, but he was a proselyte; therefore, his children were Jews. But it was commanded in the Law that while a brother was still alive, another brother could not marry the brother’s wife. For this reason, John, as if Herod were a zealous follower of the Law, was saying, It is not lawful for thee to have her.

And having a mind to put him to death, he feared the people. It sometimes happens that when someone is unwilling to avoid a sin, he falls into a greater one. Killing, and theft, and adultery, have overflowed, and blood hath touched blood (Hosea 4:2). Therefore, because he did not wish to avoid adultery, he committed murder. And though he wanted to commit murder, he feared the people.

A disturbance of the people is to be greatly feared; Of three things my heart hath been afraid: the accusation of a city, and the gathering together of the people, and a false calumny . Likewise, fear of the Lord takes away an evil will, but fear of man does not, although it may make one delay. Therefore, because he could not kill him on account of his fear of the people, he delayed.

But on Herod’s birthday, etc. Here he does three things concerning the killing of John, because he was unable to kill him on account of his fear of the people:

1. The events preceding the killing are related;
2. The killing itself is related; and
3. The events subsequent to the killing are related.

About the first, three preceding events are related, namely, the dancing, the promise, and the request.

He says, therefore, But on Herod’s birthday, etc. It was a custom among the ancients that they would celebrate the day of one’s birth, contrary to what is written: The day of death than the day of one’s birth (Ecclesiastes 7:2). It is not recorded that anyone celebrated the day of his birth except this man and Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Therefore, on Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias (so she was called) danced before them, that is, in the dining room (and in this he is rendered blameworthy, because in his lasciviousness he forgot his royal court, in which the occurrence of these things was inappropriate), and pleased Herod, contrary to what is written: Use not much the company of her that is a dancer .

And he continues, Whereupon he promised with an oath, etc. Behold the thoughtless promise and the rash oath. Let not thy mouth be accustomed to swearing: for in it there are many falls . And she being instructed before by her mother, said: Give me here in a dish the head of John the Baptist. Here the woman’s request is related.

Women are sometimes pious and have a changeable disposition; therefore, when they are pious, they are very pious, but when they are cruel, they are very cruel: There is no head worse than the head of a serpent; and there is no anger above the anger of a woman . And it is said in the same place: All malice is short to the malice of a woman . For a man would hardly ever think what an evil-minded woman thinks. Her mother, therefore, sought to satisfy her anger. Likewise, she feared that Herod might at some time be converted on account of John’s words and put her away.

And the king was struck sad because of his oath. Here it is specified how he was killed. Chrysostom says, "An example is here given that honor is respected even by the wicked," as it is stated in Wisdom 5:1 and following.

Jerome says that he is now sad who, before, wanted to kill him, but he feared the people. Why, therefore, does he say that he was sad? He solves the question thus: It is the custom of men to relate what is seen by men. For instance, they were saying that Christ was the son of Joseph, because they supposed this to be true, as is stated in Luke 3. Therefore, he says, He was struck sad, because he seemed to be so to men.

The execution follows. And first, the command is set forth; and second, the execution is set forth. Because of his oath, and for them that sat with him at table. In this he was foolish, because an oath concerning something dishonorable should not be respected, because by the very fact that I swear to something dishonorable, I have broken the oath: Thou shalt swear in truth, and in judgment (meaning with discretion), and in justice (Jeremiah 4:2). Similarly, if he had sworn that he himself would do something, it should have been understood to be in relation to honorable things: Love not a false oath (Zechariah 8:17).

He says, And for them that sat with him at table, to make them all accomplices of the homicide, for they all were asking him to heed the girl’s request, he commanded it to be given, and he sent, and beheaded John. Here his execution is related. In this is fulfilled what John had said: He must increase: but I must decrease (John 3:30), because Christ was stretched upon the Cross, and he was beheaded. Likewise, the beheading of John was a sign that, by the authority of the Law, they would lose Christ and the Law.

Afterwards, the events subsequent to the killing are related. And first, the fulfillment of the thing promised is related; and second, the burial is related. He says, therefore, And his head was brought in a dish. And in this, Herod was reprehensible because he used cruelty amidst pleasures. Therefore, it is said that a certain official loved a certain mistress, and when she was sitting on his lap, she said that she had never seen a man killed. And when he was at dinner, he had some man brought forth who deserved death and had him killed in front of her. The Romans knew what he did, and so he was exiled from Rome. So also this Herod was sent into exile. And his disciples came and took the body, and buried it.

Here, John’s burial is discussed, and burial of the dead is numbered among the works of mercy. And, nevertheless, it seems that mercy does not pertain to the dead, because if it did pertain to them, it seems that what the Lord says would not be true: Fear him that can destroy both soul and body in hell (Matthew 10:28).

Why, therefore, is it numbered among the works of mercy? It should be answered that even if it is not of use to him according to the effect, which it now has, it is, nevertheless, of use to him according to the affection that a person now has towards the dead. Therefore, they took the body, and buried it; it is said that they buried it in Sebastia, since it was nearby.

Afterwards, Julian the Apostate, seeing many men coming to John’s relics, had him burned, except for his head. And they came and told Jesus. Therefore, John’s disciples, who at first were slandering Jesus, returned to Him when John died and were His companions. In this way, some men are converted to Christ in time of tribulation: In their affliction they will rise early to me (Hosea 6:1).

Which when Jesus had heard, he retired from there by a boat, into a desert place apart. Above, Herod’s opinion about Christ was related, and, occasioned by this, the story of John was introduced. Now, however, Herod’s opinion is shown to be false. He had said two things: namely, that Christ was John whom he had killed, and likewise, that John, now risen, was working miracles. He says, therefore: Which when Jesus had heard, he retired from there by a boat, etc.

Why did He retire? Jerome gives four reasons:

1. So that He might spare His enemies, lest they fall headlong from one murder to another murder: Blood hath touched blood (Hosea 4:2).
2. So that He might defer His Passion; therefore, He Himself says: My time is not yet come (John 7:6).
3. So that He might give an example to us, lest we bring torments upon ourselves, for it is not a virtue but presumption to bring torments upon ourselves. Therefore, it is said above: If they shall persecute you in one city, flee into another (Matthew 10:23).
4. So that He might show with what great devotion the multitude was hearing the word of God: The Lord your God tries you, that it may appear whether you love him (Deuteronomy 13:3).

Likewise, it should be observed that the Evangelist relates four things which should have deterred the multitude from following Christ:

1. He retired into a boat;
2. He retired into the desert;
3. There were no woods there because it was a desert; and
4. He did not retire along a road on which men readily travel, but, on the contrary, He retired apart.

Now He did this so that the multitude’s devotion would be commended more. Likewise, Chrysostom says that He retired so that He might commend a man; for that reason, He was unwilling to retire until John’s death had been announced.

He continues, And the multitudes having heard, etc. Here, His miracles are discussed. And first, the multitude’s devotion is mentioned; and second, the miracles are mentioned. He says, therefore: And the multitudes having heard of it, followed him on foot out of the cities. It is this passage in which the devotion of the multitudes and of the poor is discussed, who follow the Lord because of their devotion: In their affliction they will rise early to me (Hosea 6:1).

And he coming forth saw a great multitude, etc. Here he mentions the miracles which the Lord worked coming from the desert, and it was appropriate, because when He was in heaven, the multitudes were not seeking Him: I came forth from the Father and am come into the world (John 16:28).

Therefore, He is moved to compassion; therefore it follows, And He had compassion on them. Therefore, He immediately showed compassion on them: Thou, O Lord, art a God of compassion, and merciful, patient, and of much mercy, and true (Psalms 85:15).

The effect of this compassion follows, And He healed their sick, that is, gratuitously and not having been asked: He sent his word, and healed them (Psalms 106:20).