And Herodias held a grudge against John and wanted to kill him, but she could not.
When a person’s sin is rebuked and he does not repent, it often reaches hostility toward the truth. The Herodians could not tolerate John, because his word exposed her shame and sin. Resentment had accumulated within her, and that resentment had reached the desire to kill. This shows that rejected truth rarely remains neutral in the human heart. Either he humbles himself before it, or he becomes even more hardened and begins to hate the light that condemns his deeds. The fact that she “could not” kill John testifies to God’s providential hand. Although evil wanted to destroy the righteous, his time had not yet come. Evil is never completely independent, but moves within the boundaries that God permits for His deeper purpose.