Matthew 14:12 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus.

NIV: John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.

NASB: John’s disciples came and took away the body and buried it; and they went and reported to Jesus.

CSB: Then his disciples came, removed the corpse, buried it, and went and reported to Jesus.

NLT: Later, John’s disciples came for his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus what had happened.

KJV: And his disciples came, and took up the body, and buried it, and went and told Jesus.

NKJV: Then his disciples came and took away the body and buried it, and went and told Jesus.

John the Baptist has been executed, behead, by Herod Antipas, the Jewish tetrarch in Israel over Galilee and Perea. He did so following an impulsive promise made during his own birthday party (Matthew 14:6–8), but John's death still amounted to a state execution. In violation of Jewish law, it was performed by decapitation and happened without a trial.

John was the last of Israel's prophets before the arrival of the Messiah, and his death at the hands of Israel's ruler puts him firmly in the company of those prophets. Many of the messengers sent by God were persecuted or killed by wicked kings (Matthew 23:31; Acts 7:51–52). This incident, while tragic and heartbreaking, also probably confirmed to many people that John was sent from God.

Despite being imprisoned, John still had disciples who were loyal to him and lived by his teaching. At least one of Jesus' disciples had formerly been a disciple of John the Baptist (John 1:35–42), and others continued under John's training even after Jesus began His ministry and John was imprisoned.

Now those disciples come and take John the Baptist's headless body away from the fortress of Herod to give it a proper burial. This may have been a risky act for them to carry out since it associated them with an executed criminal and enemy of Herod. They still did so, and then they reported John's death to Jesus.

That brings Matthew's story back to where he began. When hearing about Jesus' power and fame, Herod declared his superstition that Jesus was John the Baptist raised from the dead (Matthew 14:2). This clearly does not make sense, given that Jesus had been alive and involved in public ministry while John was alive and in Herod's prison. It does suggest Herod carried great guilt and perhaps fear over what he did to John. He believed that John lived on somehow in great power despite being executed.

Matthew 14:1–12 describes how Herod the tetrarch, ruler over Galilee, has heard of Jesus' fame and power. He believes Jesus is a resurrected John the Baptist. Matthew then explains that Herod had arrested John the Baptist. His "crime" was publicly condemning Herod's marriage to his own brother's wife. Later, Herod was manipulated into a promise by his wife's daughter, after she danced for him and his guests. On behalf of her mother, she asked for John the Baptist's head on a platter (Mark 6:14–29). Herod agreed and had John executed immediately. John's disciples came and buried him, then went and told Jesus the news of his death.

Matthew 14 begins with a backstory about the arrest and execution of John the Baptist by Herod the tetrarch, the Jewish ruler of the region. Jesus and the disciples take a boat to a desolate place only to find crowds waiting. Jesus heals many and then feeds as many as twenty thousand people with five loaves and two fish. Later, the disciples row against a strong wind until Jesus walks on the water to meet them and calm the wind. Peter walks on water briefly and then doubts and begins to sink. The disciples worship Jesus. On the other side of the lake, Jesus continues to heal the sick.

Matthew 13 included more of Jesus' parables and an unfortunate incident where His own hometown rejected His ministry. Chapter 14 begins with news that Herod the tetrarch—the man who killed John the Baptist—is aware of Jesus' fame and power. Jesus and the disciples intend to withdraw to somewhere desolate, but a crowd is waiting for them. Jesus heals people, miraculously feeds thousands, and walks on water. When they reach the other side, Jesus heals more people. Chapter 15 sees Jesus once again debating with His critics and performing more healings.

The Gospel of Matthew clearly shows the influence of its writer's background, and his effort to reach a specific audience. Matthew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, a Jewish man, and a former tax collector. This profession would have required literacy, and Matthew may have transcribed some of Jesus' words as they were spoken. This book is filled with references to the Old Testament, demonstrating to Israel that Jesus is the Promised One. Matthew also includes many references to coins, likely due to his former profession. Matthew records extensive accounts of Jesus' teaching, more than the other three Gospels.