Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1904-03-11
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
INTERNATIONAL LESSON COMMENTS
FOR MARCH Is.
Subject: Death OF John the Baptist, Matt.
XIV, 1-I2-Golden Text, Rev. H., 10
Memory Verses, 9-11-COmmentary Oh
the Days Lesson.

Memory Verses, 9-11-COmmentary Oh
the Days Lesson.
I. Herods terrified conscience Tvs. !,
p. /. AT that time" During the mis-;
sonary journey OF the twelve. ~Herod.
This was Herod Antpas, son of Herod the
Great. He was the ruler of Gahlee, and
Perea. THIRTY years before he murdered
the innocents at Bethlehem. Of all the
contemplate wretches of Scripture - not
excluding Judas. who ls in some ways
great problem-Herod Antipas IS the great
est-a little, petty, disgracetul Nero,
King John of England, bundle OF petty
vices. "The tetrarch." Literally. the ruler
OF a fourth part or district into which
province was divided; afterward the name
was extended to denote generally 9. petty
king, the ruler OF a provincial district;
Heard OF the fame" Antipas had one OF
his CAPITALS at Liberals, on the Sea OF Gal.
lice. He had. no doubt, heard OF Jesus be.
fore, but the preaching of the twelve apos..
ties had stirred the whole country, and
His fame" was increasing, so that 1t at
tracted anew the attention of the king. z.
us risen from the dead" Herod had I'M
prisoned John the last of March, A. d. 20:
Herod's conscience accused him. "And
therefore" In consequence of having risen
from the dead He is thought to be pos
sessed of miracle working powers.
ii. Johns faithfulness Tvs. 3-5). 3. In
prison." The place of Johns lmprison'
ment and death was Macherus. in Perea,
on tie eastern side of the Dead Sea. neal
the southern frontier of the Hierarchy
Here Antipas had palace and prison
under one roof, as was common In the
East. "For Herodias' Sake" This woman
was granddaughter of Herod the Great.
She first married Herod Philip, her uncle,
who was the father of Salome. Herod had
put away his legal wife, the daughter OF
Aretas, king of Arabia Petrea, and had
taken Herodias, though Philip, Herodias'
hue band, was still living.
4. John said unto him." 1t seems that
John faced the king himself with this re-
buke. How bold and courageous 1t 10
well when ministers dare rebuke the sins
of politicians and those in authority. Not
lawful" Because, /. He had put away his
legal wife 2. He had induced Herodias
to fcrsake her husband. 8. Herodias was
the niece and sister-in-law of Herod and
the Mosaic law CLev; Is: l2,l4) had been
violated. st. Luke adds (3-l9) that Herod
was also reproved ''for all the evil which
he had done" "To have her." To marry
her. The force of the original bears out
this Interpretation.
5. "When he would" Although he was
willing. From Mark we learn that Herod
las was eager to kill John, while Herod,
partly from an interest in his preaching
and partly from fear of his prisoner, re
fused to take away his life. Feared the
multitude" The preaching OF John had
had powerful effect on the masses, and
Herod was restrained from acts OF violence
because of public sentiment Mark aisa
tets us that Herod knew that John was, a
lust and holy man. This makes the kings
sin all the more glaring and heinous, and
from this we see that Holiness and justice
command the respect even OF sinners,
When Herod heard John preach "he did
many things and heard him gladly" MARK
): 20).
III. Herods birthday festivities Tvs
j-S). 6. Birthday was kept This was
done, probably at the Macherus palace
with great display. Herod made great
chief persons of Galilee. The nobility OF
Galiee were obliged to come some distance
to attend the festivities. Daughter
danced" Female dancers in the East are
4 customary part Of great entertainments.
On this occasion the dancer was of high
birth. being no other than the Princess
Salome daughter of Herodias and Philip.
they who glide into the dissolute dance
glide over an inclined pane, and the dance
s swifter and swifter, wilder and wilder,
until, with the speed of lightning. they
fiery future PLEASED Herod." They were
probably half intoxicated, reclining at the
tables, as their custom was. The infamous
saloon system of to-day is only remnant
If the ancient reveis that were 50 vile and
:orrupting in their effects. And yet the
saloon is licensed, and thus permitted and
protected by law!
7 with an oath" 1t is always wrong
20 foreswear ourselves by promisingto DO or
to keep secret what has not, as yet. been
disclosed to us. Whatsoever she would
ask" Mark adds Is: 23), 'Unto the half
If my kingdom" Herod was ready to sur
render half his kingdom for the pleasure
of witnessing the performance OF lust
treating pantomime!
s. INSTRUCTED" The vile Herodias saw
that the hour had come for her to accom-
plish the fiendish deed she had so long
meditated upon. Mother" What
mother! Leading her own daughter into
the vilest of crimes. GIVE me here. She
hastens MARX 6: 25) to have the deed per.
petrated while the revel is on, probably in
the night. I'm charger On large
platter.
Sorry" His conscience was not entirely
dead. and he was worried and troubled
For the oath's sake" He cared more for
his oath than his conscience, OF John, or
his God. He could murder. but he must
not break wicked oath that he never
should have taken. There are many to-day
who. for the sake of an oath which has no
legal or moral binding upon them, will vio-
late their consciences and imperil their
SOULS interests. (Which sat with him."
He was afraid of offending the great men
IF HIS kingdom. A slave to pubic opinion;
TO be given" Note the steps that had
,, Continuing to indulge in his sins. g.
A drunken feast; liquor is responsible for
untold crime and misery. 4. An immoral
dance; dancing can but result in sin: B.
A wicked oath, which never should have
been taken, but, once taken, should have
been broken Immediately. 6. His fear OF
the people; D.. -. ;. .
ready. John is not the only one who will
be heheaded if the truth is upheld. Les
any man to-day take his position against
the evils in society, and, socially, his head
will roll into the basket: If he takes his
position against evils in the church, not in
frequently will his head come off ecc,esias.
tically; if he opposes the corruption in pol
itics, be will be beheaded politically. IL.
"She brought it," What present.
II. ellis disciples" Johns disciples.
"Took up the body" 1t lad been thrown
out, and they buried it as the last kindness
they could show to one they loved. Sorrow
then brought them to Jesus. Antipas and
Herodias were afterward banished by the
Roman Emperor to Lyons, in France,
where they passed the remainder of their
lives in disgrace.
Remarkable Set Of Teeth.
Solomon Shattuck of Hollis claims