Mark 6:24-26

‘And she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask?” And she said, “the head of John the Baptiser”. And she came in immediately and hastily to the king, and asked saying, “I will that you forthwith give me on a plate the head of John the Baptiser.” And the king was deeply sorry, but for the sake of his oath and of those who sat at meat, he would not reject her.'

But what was she to ask for? The decision made was that it should be ‘The head of John the Baptiser.' The idea was not hers but her mother's, but it may well have been she who added the idea of the serving dish. They were two of a kind. ‘Came in immediately.' Was her haste because the idea pleased her so much? The king felt trapped. He had given his oath and all his courtiers were watching.

But it was so unusual an occurrence that the leading men of Galilee could have protested, and he could have stressed that this kind of thing had not been in his mind, and that the head of John the Baptiser was worth more than half his kingdom. It might indeed bring down his whole kingdom. But neither thought it important enough to make the effort. Their ideas of their own prestige, importance and well-being came first. And John was not considered important enough to be worth intervention.

‘On a plate.' A large dish. The crowning indignity. His gory head brought in on a plate. Who would suggest such a thing? Certainly not a well bred or sensitive princess. But it befitted the mind of a princess who could perform such a licentious dance. The two went together. Mark may well have seen here a contrast between John's head served up on a dish, and the bread shortly to be offered by Jesus to the five thousand (Mark 6:30). The first was typical of the world and what it offered, the second would be typical of what God offered, the bread of life.

‘The king was deeply sorry.' A very strong word indicating excessive regret (compare its use in Mark 14:34)

‘Reject her.' Possibly better, ‘break faith with her', ‘break his word to' (compare its use in Psalms 15:4 (Mark 14:4) LXX).