ACC ~ Mark 6 v28a

THE WEAKNESS OF THE TYRANT AND THE POWER OF THE BEHEADED

CHRYSOSTOM: Note well the weakness of the tyrant compared to the power of the one in prison. Herod was not strong enough to silence his own tongue. Having opened it, he opened up countless other mouths in its place and with its help. As for John, he immediately inspired fear in Herod after his murder—for fear was disturbing Herod’s conscience to such an extent that he believed John had been raised from the dead and was performing miracles! [1] In our own day and through all future time, throughout all the world, John continues to refute Herod, both through himself and through others. For each person repeatedly reading this Gospel says: “It is not lawful for you to have the wife of Philip your brother.” [2] And even apart from reading the Gospel, in assemblies and meetings at home or in the market, in every place … even to the very ends of the earth, [3] you will hear this voice and see that righteous man even now still crying out, resounding loudly, reproving the evil of the tyrant. He will never be silenced nor the reproof at all weakened by the passing of time. ON THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD 22.8-9. [4]

[1] Cf. Mk 6:14-16.

[2] Mk 6:18.

[3] Cf. Ps 48:10; Is 52:10; Mic 5:4; Acts 13:47; Rom 10:18.

[4] TLG 2062.087, 22.7.5-9.5, 9.6-11; C. Hall, trans., 376-377, “John Chrysostom’s On Providence: A Translation and Theological Interpretation” (Ph.D. diss., Drew University, 1991). John’s voice proved stronger than Herod’s tyranny.

HIS TONGUE DID NOT REMAIN SILENT

AMBROSE: Look, most savage king, at the spectacle of your feast. Stretch out your right hand and see the streams of holy blood pouring down between your fingers. Nothing is lacking in your cruelty. The hunger for such unheard-of cruelty could not be satisfied by banquets, or the thirst by goblets. So as you drink the blood pouring from the still flowing veins of the cut-off head, behold those eyes. Even in death, those eyes are the witnesses of your crime, turning away from the sight of the delicacies. The eyes are closing, not so much owing to death, as to horror of excess. That bloodless golden mouth, whose sentence you could not endure, is silent, and yet it is still dreaded. Meanwhile the tongue, which even after death is apt to observe its duty as when living, continues to condemn the incest with trembling motion. CONCERNING VIRGINS 3.6.30. [1]

[1] Cetedoc 0145, 3.6.30.1; NPNF 2 10:386**. Even in his appalling death the head of the Baptist continued to attest the truth.