He called his twelve followers together and got ready to send them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits. This is what Jesus commanded them: “Take nothing for your trip except a walking stick. Take no bread, no bag, and no money in your pockets. Wear sandals, but take only the clothes you are wearing. When you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. If the people in a certain place refuse to welcome you or listen to you, leave that place. Shake its dust off your feet as a warning to them.”
So the followers went out and preached that people should change their hearts and lives. They forced many demons out and put olive oil on many sick people and healed them.
King Herod heard about Jesus, because he was now well known. Some people said, “He is John the Baptist, who has risen from the dead. That is why he can work these miracles.”
Others said, “He is Elijah.”
Other people said, “Jesus is a prophet, like the prophets who lived long ago.”
When Herod heard this, he said, “I killed John by cutting off his head. Now he has risen from the dead!”
Herod himself had ordered his soldiers to arrest John and put him in prison in order to please his wife, Herodias. She had been the wife of Philip, Herod’s brother, but then Herod had married her. John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to be married to your brother’s wife.” So Herodias hated John and wanted to kill him. But she couldn’t, because Herod was afraid of John and protected him. He knew John was a good and holy man. Also, though John’s preaching always bothered him, he enjoyed listening to John.
Then the perfect time came for Herodias to cause John’s death. On Herod’s birthday, he gave a dinner party for the most important government leaders, the commanders of his army, and the most important people in Galilee. When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and the people eating with him.
So King Herod said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I will give it to you.” He promised her, “Anything you ask for I will give to you—up to half of my kingdom.”
The girl went to her mother and asked, “What should I ask for?”
Her mother answered, “Ask for the head of John the Baptist.”
At once the girl went back to the king and said to him, “I want the head of John the Baptist right now on a platter.”
Although the king was very sad, he had made a promise, and his dinner guests had heard it. So he did not want to refuse what she asked. Immediately the king sent a soldier to bring John’s head. The soldier went and cut off John’s head in the prison and brought it back on a platter. He gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. When John’s followers heard this, they came and got John’s body and put it in a tomb.
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