Spurgeon on the Martyrdom of John the Baptist (Matthew 14:1-12)

 

Image: Spurgeon marker, now in the Metropolitan Tabernacle, London.

I preached yesterday on the martyrdom of John the Baptist in Matthew 14:1-12. Lots of gems in Spurgeon’s Matthew commentary on this passage. Here are a few I shared on twitter @Riddle1689:

Spurgeon on Herod hearing of Jesus’s fame: “The peasant heard of Jesus before the prince” (Matt, 118).

Spurgeon on Herod thinking Jesus was John redivivus: “Great superstition often underlies a surface of avowed unbelief” (Matt, 188-189).

Spurgeon on John’s confrontation with Herod: “John did not mince matters, or leave the question alone. What was a king to him, if that king trampled on the law of God?” (Matt, 189).

Spurgeon on Herodias: “She was a very Jezebel in her pride and cruelty; and Herod was a puppet in her hands” (Matt, 189).

Spurgeon on Herodias’s daughter: “In these days mothers too often encourage their daughters in dress which is scarcely decent, and introduce them to dances which are not commendable for purity. No good can come of this; it may please the Herods, but it displeases God” (Matt, 190).

Spurgeon on Herod’s rash vow: “Rash promises, and even oaths, are no excuse for doing wrong. The promise was itself null and void, because no man has a right to promise to do wrong” (Matt, 191).

Spurgeon on John’s death: “…the man of God left his prison for Paradise by one sudden stroke of the sword… he received his crown in heaven though he lost his head on earth” (192).

Spurgeon on Herod ordering John’s death: “Men may sin by proxy, but they will be guilty in person” (192).

Spurgeon on Herodias and her daughter: “What a mother and daughter! Two bad women can do a world of mischief” (Matt, 192).

Spurgeon on John’s disciples going to tell Jesus: “When we are in great trouble, we shall be wise to do our best, and at the same time tell the Lord Jesus all about it, that he may direct us further as to what we are to do” (Matt, 192).

JTR