Matthew 14:9

And the king was grieved; but for the sake of his oaths, and of them that sat at meat with him, he commanded it to be given; and he sent and beheaded John in the prison. And his head was brought on a platter, and given to the damsel; and she brought it to her mother. And his disciples came, and took up the corpse, and buried him; and they went and told Jesus.

The scene of this bloody accent on Herod's birthday party was the old prison of Machaerus, some five miles east of the Dead Sea. One can reflect only with sorrow upon the feelings of the godly John when informed of his fate. Herod heard only the music and dancing; John heard only the grating of the prison door as the headsman came to lead him to the block. Yet, through the power of faith, any man in his right mind would prefer the fate of John the Baptist to that of Herod. The disciples went away and told Jesus! That bodes nothing good for Herod, or for any other sinner who opposes or maltreats one of God's faithful children. All people must finally stand before Christ for judgment.

The foolish fear of what people might think is highlighted by this incident. Herod, while fully capable of murder, and intending it at one time, nevertheless seemed at the moment to have been in the mood to spare John; but he had opened his mouth with a foolish promise, and fear of what his guests might think forced him to go through with it. Countless times, Satan has maneuvered some cowardly soul into a situation where some terrible deed is committed for fear of turning back. Satan surely is a master at setting a stage like that booby trap into which Herod fell. John lost his head; Herod lost his throne as a result of that shameful deed. Aretas, father of Herod's first wife, invaded Herod's tetrarchy; Herod fled to Rome, where Caligula banished both him and Herodias to Lyons in Gaul on a charge of misgovernment. That birthday party was loaded with consequences. Things of the kind related in this passage probably account for the Jewish detestation[1] of birthday parties which were long held by the orthodox to be a part of idolatrous worship.