The unlawful marriage of Herod was the reason for the death of John the Baptist. The king had taken the wife of his brother, and the forerunner of Jesus could not remain silent. His message was clear and simple, “Herod, it is not lawful for you to have her.”
The death of John the Baptist occurred less than two years before the crucifixion of Jesus. A careful study of this event will help us have greater insight into what the Bible teaches. There are two concepts which are widely believed and which are shown to be wrong by the teachings of John.
Moses did not allow divorce for every cause. This idea was a popular view in the time of Jesus. When Jesus said, “It has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce’” (Matt. 5:32), He was contrasting what He said with what the Jewish leaders were saying. It was not a contrast with what Moses taught. A study of Deuteronomy chapter 24 will show that Moses did not allow a man to put away his wife for every cause.
If such were the case, then John was wrong. If God allowed divorce for every cause, then John was wrong in calling Herod’s marriage a violation of the will of God. John should have said, “It IS lawful for you to have her.”
Baptism cannot change an unlawful marriage into one that is lawful. Some teach that when one is baptized whatever person they are married to at that time immediately becomes their mate. There was no need for John to tell the king that his marriage was wrong. He should have taught him to be baptized for the remission of his sins (Mark 1:4), and the moment he came up out of the water the situation was changed. Before the king’s baptism, Herodias was the wife of Philip, but at his baptism she no longer was the wife of Philip but the wife of Herod.
John could also have taught Herod that while she is not your wife (even though you had married her—Mark 6:17), just wait a little over a year until Pentecost and your baptism then will change your adultery into a holy marriage.
A few years ago, I was in a meeting in Mississippi where the elders were about to withdraw from a sister who had an unscriptural marriage. When she understood that the elders’ teaching was that one’s baptism would make adultery become a marriage, she came forward and told the church she did not understand her baptism years ago. She wanted to become a Christian now by being baptized. It presented a crisis for those elders and for all those who think baptism makes it lawful for Herod (or anyone) to keep another man’s wife. It is not that hard to understand.