14:1 那時候，加利利的希律王聽到了耶穌的事，14:2 就對臣下說：「這個人一定是施洗者約翰復活了，才會有能力行這些神蹟。」14:3 原來，希律為了他的兄弟腓力的妻子希羅底的緣故下令逮捕約翰，把他綁起來關在監獄裏。14:4 因為約翰屢次指責希律：「你不可佔有希羅底作妻子。」14:5 希律想殺他，但是怕人民，因為他們都認為約翰是先知。14:6 希律生日那一天，希羅底的女兒在賓客面前跳舞，很得希律的歡心。14:7 希律就對她發誓說：「無論你要求甚麼，我都願意給你。」14:8 女兒受母親的指使，要求說：「請立刻把施洗者約翰的頭放在盤子裏給我！」14:9 王感到非常為難，可是他已經在賓客面前發了誓，只好命令照她所求的給她。14:10 於是希律差人到監獄裏去，斬了約翰的頭，14:11 放在盤子裏，給了希羅底的女兒；女兒把它交給母親。14:12 約翰的門徒來，把屍體領去，埋葬了，然後把這件事告訴耶穌。
John the Baptist Beheaded
1At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus, 2and he said to his attendants, "This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him."
3Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, 4for John had been saying to him: "It is not lawful for you to have her." 5Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered him a prophet.
6On Herod's birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for them and pleased Herod so much 7that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. 8Prompted by her mother, she said, "Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist." 9The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted 10and had John beheaded in the prison.11His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother. 12John's disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.
一、中心內容：Message
內容：Content
1>希律王聽到耶穌擁有行神蹟的能力，就誤認為是施洗約翰復活了。King Herod heard about the miraculous ability that Jesus possessed, he mistaken for John the Baptist’s resurrection. （v1-2）
2>希律王因為娶了兄弟的妻子為妻，遭受施洗約翰責備，因為惱羞成怒，而將施洗約翰下在監裏。John the Baptist told Herod it is not lawful for him to have his brother’s wife, so Herod furiously arrested him and put him in prison.（v3-4）
3>希律王企圖殺害施洗約翰，但是害怕人民，因為人民認為施洗約翰是先知。Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid because people considered John as a prophet.（v5）
4>描述施洗約翰遭希律王殺害的經過。Description about how Herod killed John.（v6-12）
主題：Theme
1>施洗約翰的殉道。John the Baptist’s martyrdom
2>重於泰山之死。Extreme tragic, death
3>權柄腐化與濫用。Degradation and misuse of authority
二、上帝、耶穌基督、聖靈是誰？Who is God? Who is Jesus? Who is the Holy Spirit?
01>聲名遠播的耶穌基督。Jesus Christ whose name became widely known（v1）
02>能行各樣神蹟的耶穌基督。Jesus Christ who is capable of doing all kinds of miracles（v1-2）
三、給我的教訓（命令、應允、榜樣、責備、警告）是什麼？What is God teaching me (command, promise, model, rebuke, warning)?
這位「分封王希律」就是希律安提帕，當他的父親大希律，在主前四年去世之後，他就被羅馬皇帝任命為加利利與比利亞的分封王，直到主後三十九年遭放逐為止。
希律安提帕休了原配，另娶同父異母的兄弟---腓力的妻子希羅底為妻。這位希羅底又是他同父異母的兄弟亞里斯多布魯的女兒。
根據摩西律法的規定，娶兄弟的妻子是違法的。尤其當時腓力依然在世，這樣的行為更顯出其卑劣。施洗約翰就是因為指責這樁不法的婚姻，導致遭到囚禁，甚至因此喪命。
1>打殺不死的良心
人可能一時喪失天良，甚至較長時間良心麻痺，但是要使上帝所給予人的良心完全喪失作用，是絕對不可能的事。因此，當希律王殺害施洗約翰之後，內心深層裏的良知，其實是相當不安的，甚至不時遭受控訴，所以疑神疑鬼、忐忑不安。Everyone may feel the loss of conscience from time to time, sometimes even in a long-term period, but God will not let us lose our mind conscience completely. When Herod killed John the Baptist, deep down in Herod’s conscience, he felt quite disturbed. He also often felt the lack of security.
因此，當他一聽到主耶穌的名聲，尤其得知主耶穌擁有行神蹟的能力之後，立刻誤判就是他手中所殺害的施洗約翰復活了。So when Herod heard about Lord Jesus, that he had the ability to do miracles, he thought that John, whom he killed was resurrected. 由此可知，違背良心的事，絕對不能作，否則良心永遠會在心中控訴！
反省：我是否作出任何違背良心的事？內心還有任何控訴、不安嗎？Reflection: Have I done anything against what I know is right in my heart? Do I feel ill at ease when I do so?
2>上帝忠心的僕人
施洗約翰是上帝忠心的僕人，上帝揀選他為光（耶穌基督）作見證，他在母腹裏就被聖靈充滿，而且在曠野中成長，接受上帝的雕琢與磨練。他甚至到處傳揚悔改的信息，為了事先預備人心，以迎接耶穌基督的到來。John the Baptist was a faithful servant of God. God anointed him to be the light to testify, he was filled with spirit even before been born, he grew in the wilderness and accepted God’s tests. He spread about Jesus Christ all over the places and prepared people for Jesus Christ is to come.
他不僅忠於上帝，同時富有正義感。因此，當他看見不公不義、違法亂紀的事，並未因為對象是君王就畏懼退縮，他依然勇往直前、言所當言。甚至連犧牲性命都在所不惜。He was not only faithful to God, but he was full of justice as well. So when he encountered injustice, he still went ahead to make a statement even though he was facing a king. He was willing to make sacrifices for justice.
反省：比起施洗約翰的忠心與勇氣，在上帝面前，我的表現如何呢？Reflection: How loyal and courageous am I comparing to John the Baptist? How am I before God?
3>陰狠毒辣的女人
希羅底是一個陰狠毒辣的女人，她搶奪了別人的丈夫，干犯了違法、不倫之罪。當遭受施洗約翰責備之後，不僅不知羞恥，反而惱羞成怒，尤其懷恨在心，同時伺機報復。甚至利用自己年幼的女兒，達到遂行報復之目的。Herodias was a vicious woman, she stole other woman’s husband and broke the law. When John the Baptist accused her of offending the law, she was not only shameless but furious as well and was seeking opportunity for vengeance. She even used her own daughter to carry out the revenge.
反省：希羅底的作為，帶給我們什麼樣的警惕？Reflection: What can we learn to be vigilant through Herodias’act?
4>愚拙昏庸的君王
根據經文所記載，整個事件發生經過，我們發現希律是一個愚拙、懦弱、冷酷，尤其受到情慾綑綁的昏君。經文中至少點出下列幾點：According to the scripture, when the whole incident happened, Herod was foolish, coward, cruel and bundled by desires. The scripture pointed out the following points:
a.良心控訴：當他聽到主耶穌的名聲與事蹟之後，由於本身對真理的無知，以及殺害施洗約翰之後，良心上的不安，導致誤將主耶穌當作從死裏復活的施洗約翰。When he heard about the name and deed of Lord Jesus and the death of John the Baptist, his heart was not at rest, which mistakenly led him to believe that John resurrected by Lord Jesus’power.
b.情慾綑綁：由於受到情慾的綑綁，導致不顧法律與倫理，娶了同父異母兄弟腓力的妻子希羅底為妻。Due to the human flesh and the needs of desire, it led him to disregard laws and ethics. He married Herodias.
c.濫殺無辜：當本身違法亂紀的作為，遭受施洗約翰責備之後，不僅不肯聽勸告，甚至惱羞成怒，竟然將這位上帝的忠僕、勇敢的先知監禁起來，甚至鑄下殺害的大錯。After been blamed by John the Baptist, Herod refused to listen to advices, and he was even furious toward John, who was a servant of God. The courageous prophet was thrown into the prison and died.
d.處事莽撞：在眾人為他慶生的場合當中，再一次顯示出他非理性的一面。就是隨便答應希羅底女兒---一個搔頭弄姿女孩的要求，而殘害無辜、誤了大事。During the celebration of the birthday, it once again showed his non-rational side. He promised Herodias’daughter anything she wanted without really thinking about it, which was a huge mistake.
e.懦弱昏庸：希律王因為遭受責備而惱羞成怒，企圖殺害施洗約翰，但是又因畏懼怕百姓，導致不敢下手。Herod was furious after been blamed by John, he wanted to kill John, but was afraid of the crowd, so he did not do it.
f.是非不分：當希羅底唆使女兒，要求取施洗約翰的人頭時，希律頓時陷入兩難之中，但是海口已誇下，為了顧及面子，以致於是非不分，就這樣將施洗約翰給予殺害。When the daughter of Herodias asked for John the Baptist’s head, Herod was in a dilemma, but since he promised her and wanted to keep his words, he agreed to kill John the Baptist.
反省：有關希律安提帕的愚拙、懦弱、冷酷、昏庸，我得著什麼警惕？Reflection: Through the characters of Herod that were mentioned, what should I prevent?
5>為使命劃下句點
當施洗約翰遭受殺害之後，施洗約翰的門徒，冒著生命的危險，公然收取屍體，並給予合宜的安葬，表示他們對老師（施洗約翰）的忠誠。隨後，這群施洗約翰的門徒，前去告知並跟隨主耶穌。至此為止，為這位「開路先鋒」的使命，終於畫下了句點。When John the Baptist was killed, his disciples risked their lives and openly took the body and gave a decent burial, for they were loyal to their teacher. Subsequently, these disciples of John went to follow Lord Jesus.
反省：身為主耶穌門徒的我，是否做到忠於主耶穌的託付？Reflection: As a follower of Jesus, am I loyal to Him? Do I have faith in what He asked me to do?
6>無比價值的生命
或許有人會因為施洗約翰的死，而感到無限的惋惜。因為這樣一個正直、謙卑、忠心的人，竟然英年早逝，而且死得如此難堪、活得如此短暫。事實上，生命的價值，不能單以長短來衡量。Some people feel pity toward John the Baptist’s death, since he was a honest, humble, loyal but lived such a short life. In fact, the value of cannot be measured only by length. 根據四福音書的記載，以及主耶穌對施洗約翰的評價，我們可以肯定：他沒有浪費自己的生命，更沒有虧負上帝的託付。他乃是將自己的一生，完全交在上帝的手中，忠心完成上帝所託付的使命。According to the four books of Gospel and how Lord Jesus perceived John the Baptist, we are sure that John did not waste his life and he trusted God with all his heart. He put his life entirely into God’s hands and faithfully accomplished what God had planned for him.俗語說：死有重於泰山，也有輕於鴻毛。施洗約翰的死，絕對是重於泰山。他的生命不僅沒有浪費，反而活出無比的價值。As the Chinese saying goes: “Death is extremely heavy, but also lighter than a feather”. The death of John the Baptist was absolutely extremely tragic, but he did not waste it and lived it to its fullest.
反省：我的生命要如何運用呢？要擺在什麼樣的地方？是否白白浪費了？要是有那麼一天來臨，我的生命會是重於泰山？還是輕於鴻毛？Reflection: How am I going to live my life? Did I waste it? If one day, an incident similar to the story happened to me, how would I react?
7>權柄腐化與濫用
權柄在國家、教會、家庭十分重要，因為是上帝所託付的。但是權柄的運用，必須要十分小心，不僅不能腐化，同時不能濫用，否則會造成傷害，甚至帶來災難。根據這段經文所記載，我們發現有三種權柄，已遭腐化與濫用。Authority is important everywhere, in countries, in churches and in a family because God entrusted. However, the use of power must be carefully applied. It could be degraded or abused. It could cause harm and disasters. According to the Bible passages, we find three types of power which caused corruption and abuses.
a.治權：希律王擁有治理的權柄，這個權柄應該用來主持正義、為民申冤。但是，非常可惜，希律王的權柄，竟然徹底腐化，遭到濫用，甚至違法亂紀、欺壓善良。Herod had a governance authority. The authority should be used to uphold justice. However, Herod used his authority which led to a corruption because he was lawless and bullying those who didn’t have much power.
b.夫權：希律王身為丈夫，是妻子的頭，照理說，應該影響妻子，作正確的事。但，實際上，不僅沒有正面影響妻子，反而受邪惡妻子的影響，導致陷入罪中。Herod should be leading his wife into doing good things because he was the king and should be just. He did not only affect his wife into doing the right thing but he was himself affected by his wife into doing evil things.
c.母權：希羅底為人母，照理說，應當教導兒女正確的待人處事之道，引導兒女向善。但是非常可惜！她誤用了母權，因為私心自用，導致陷女兒入罪中。A daughter should be taught by the mother the correct way to deal with everything around, and the guidance through life. But Herodias was selfish and misused the authority by using her own daughter to do evil things.
反省：請比對一下，擁有權柄的我，是否因權柄而腐化？是善用呢？還是誤用？Reflection: How would I use my authority? Would I misuse it?
四、我的禱告 / 實際應用Prayer / Life application
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