John's Fate

Mark 6:17-29 This painting depicts the final moment of John the Baptist inside the prison cell. John had openly criticized Herod Antipas for divorcing his first wife to marry Herodias, the wife of his brother, Philip. And so, Herodias held a grudge against John and used her daughter’s performance at Herod’s birthday party to trick him into ordering the execution. Although Herod feared John and knew him to be a holy man, he reluctantly ordered his beheading to keep a rash vow made in front of his guests.