When John the Baptist heard. John had been in prison about a year now. Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee had put him there because he had objected to Herod's adulterous marriage with his brother Philip's wife (Matthew 14:1-11). Josephus says that Machaerus, a strong fort built by Herod the Great (Antipas' father) was the prison. It was about ten miles east of the Dead Sea. He sent some of his disciples to him. The Jews expected a political kingdom. John may wonder why Jesus does not declare himself King, overthrow Herod and the Romans, and release him from prison. [Even the apostles still thought in these terms at the time Jesus ascended back to the Father (Acts 1:6).]

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Old Testament