<p>14:5&nbsp;<em>And though he wanted to put him to death-</em>&nbsp;The same Greek words used about Herod wanting to kill Jesus in Lk. 13:31.</p>
<p><em>He feared the people-</em>&nbsp;Another similarity with the plans of the Jewish leadership to kill Jesus, and being frustrated by &ldquo;the crowd&rdquo; because they counted him as a prophet (the very same words are used in Mt. 21:46); see on 14:3&nbsp;<em>laid hold on</em>. These similarities between the deaths of John and Jesus draw a parallel between the despised Gentile Herod (regarding John and the Jewish leadership (regarding Jesus). Yet again, highly religious, legalistic people who have rejected the spirit of Jesus are equated with the very worst of the Gentiles.</p>
<p><em>Because they held him to be a prophet</em>- As made explicit in chapters 12 and 13, the crowds did not accept the essential message of John- but they fiercely defended him as a prophet, speaking God&rsquo;s word. Acceptance of an inspired word is one thing, but to grasp the essence of the Lord Jesus is quite another.</p>
<p>A manipulative woman arranging the death of a prophet through a weak willed ruler recalls Jezebel in 1 Kings 21; and she was a protagonist of Elijah, upon whom John the Baptist was clearly modelled.</p>