But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced during the feast, and it pleased Herod.
This verse describes a worldly and lavish setting in which the preparation for a later tragic event is taking place. Herod’s birthday was being celebrated with ceremony, likely in the form of a sumptuous banquet, and on that occasion the daughter of Herodias comes out to perform. The dance she performed pleased Herod. This wording, “pleased,” indicates not only aesthetic enjoyment but also bodily desire. This reveals the moral lowliness of the environment: where a king looks at the daughter of his brother’s wife with such a gaze, justice, holiness, and caution are forgotten. This verse shows how, in an atmosphere of sin, a small display (the dance) can become the beginning of tragedy. Scripture warns that worldly pleasures, when pursued without truth and humility, can destroy both the mind and the heart. In this verse the foundation is laid for the cruelty that follows. In the atmosphere of the banquet, spiritual dimming begins.