1. THE COST OF TRUTH

2. Matt. 14:1-12, “At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus, And said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.   For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife.

3. For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her
   For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her.   And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet.  

4. And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist's head in a charger.   And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath's sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her.   And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.   And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother.  And his disciples came, and took up the body, and buried it, and went and told Jesus.”

5. The estates of Herod the Great were not, at his death, divided into four tetrarchies, but only into three: one was given by the Emperor Augustus to Archelaus; the second to Herod Antipas, the person in the text; and the third to Philip: all three, sons of Herod the Great.

6. I. CONVICTION

7. Luke 9:7-9, “Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by him: and he was perplexed, because that it was said of some, that John was risen from the dead; And of some, that Elias had appeared; and of others, that one of the old prophets was risen again.  And Herod said, John have I beheaded: but who is this, of whom I hear such things? And he desired to see him.” 
Herod’s drew his conclusion from the rumors of others.

8. 1. Convicted By His Conscience
Matt. 14:1, 2, “At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus, And said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.” 

9. Matt. 14:3, 4, “For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife.   For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her.”
2. Convicted By Herodias

10. 3. Convicted By the Multitude
Matt. 14:5, “And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet.” 

11. II. CONDEMNATION

12. Matt. 14:4, “For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her.”
“Here is an instance of zeal, fidelity, and courage, highly worthy of imitation. Plainness, mildness, and modesty, are qualifications necessary to be observed when we reprove the great. The best service a subject can render his prince is to lay before him, in the plainest but most respectful manner, what the law of God requires of him, and what it forbids” (Adam Clarke’s Commentary).

13. God’s Laws are universal
God’s Laws are universal. No matter which way society may turn, or how lax they may be on marriage and other matters; God’s law remains supreme. We are all accountable!
NOT LAWFUL

14. Who Was This Woman?
Herodias was the daughter of Aristobulus, son to Herod the Great, and brother to Philip, and to this Herod; so that she was niece to them both; and first married the one, and then the other, whilst the former was living. Philip and this Herod were both sons of Herod the Great, but not by the same woman; Philip was born of Cleopatra of Jerusalem, and Herod Antipas of Malthace, a Samaritan; so that Philip was his brother by his father's side, but not by his mother’s.

15. TWO-FOLD SIN
Adultery: She was the wife of another man. Exodus 20:14, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”
Incest: Lev. 18:16, “Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother's wife: it is thy brother's nakedness.”

16. “But when Herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod.   Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask.   And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist's head in a charger.   And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath's sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her.   And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.   And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother.” 

17. In Mark 6:23, Herod offers Herodias up to half his kingdom.

18. 1. The Cost of Modesty
“One great principle of all eastern nations is to keep their females from public view. For this purpose they are confined in a particular part of the house, called the harem. If they appear in public, it is always with a veil, so closely drawn that their faces cannot be seen. No modest woman would have appeared in this manner before the court, and it is probable, therefore, that she partook of the dissolute principles of her mother” (Albert Barnes).”

19. 2. The Cost of Loyalty
Matt. 14:8, “And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist's head in a charger.” 
She could have ruled half the kingdom, but instead she chose to be loyal to her mother’s wishes.
The cost of this loyalty brought sadness to a king, gladness to a wicked woman, and the head of John the Baptist.

20. 3. The Cost of Pride
Matt. 14:9, 10, “And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath's sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her.  And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.” 
He would rather be guilty of murder than to lose face with his friends.

21. In this case, it would had been better to break an oath, than to keep it.

22. IV. COMMITMENT

23. John was committed to God!
Salome was committed to her mother.
Herodias was committed to her hatred.
Herod Antipas was committed to his oath.
John was committed to God!

24. John Was Committed to Truth
Some modern thinkers might say, “Why didn’t he just keep his mouth shut!”
By so doing, John would no longer be a servant of God.

25. 1 Pet. 4:11, “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”

26. 2 Tim. 4:1-5, “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.   For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.   But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.”