For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife: for he had married her.
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Cornelius a Lapide
AD 1637
For Herod himself had sent and apprehended John , and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, the wife of Philip his brother, because he had married her. This Herod was not the Great, who was called Herod of Ascalon, who slew the infants of Bethlehem, but his Song of Solomon , surnamed Antipas, who arrayed Christ in a white robe and mocked Him. He it was who beheaded John the Baptist.
You will say, Herod Antipas was only a tetrarch, for so Matthew calls him ( Matthew 14:1). Why, then, does Mark here call him a king? I reply, he calls him king because he was the chief potentate in his tetrarchy, equal to a king in his kingdom. Wherefore he assumed the name of king, and it was given him by others, even by S. Matthew himself ( Matthew 14:9).
In prison. Josephus adds that John was incarcerated in the fortress of Macher, on the confines of Galilee and Arabia, where he was beheaded. This prison was made famous by S. John , for the place, says Philo (lib. de Joseph.), was not so much ...
Not long after this, John the Baptist was beheaded by the younger Herod, as stated in the Gospels. Josephus also records the same fact, mentioning Herodias by name, and stating that, although she was the wife of his brother, Herod made her his own wife after divorcing his former lawful wife, the daughter of Aretas, king of Petra, and separating Herodias from her husband while he was still alive. It was on her account also that he killed John, and waged war with Aretas, because of the disgrace inflicted on the daughter of the latter. Josephus wrote that in this war, when they came to battle, Herod’s entire army was destroyed, and that he suffered this calamity on account of his crime against John.
Set aside for a moment the term “prison.” Just call it a temporary retirement. Even though the body is imprisoned, even though the flesh is confined, everything still remains open to the spirit. Walk back and forth, my spirit, not thinking of shady walks or long cloisters, but of the road that leads directly to God. As often as you shall walk in this way in the spirit, so often shall you find yourself not in prison.
