Performing power in the public court of reputation: Capital punishment, John the Baptist, and Julius Jones

Abstract

The story of John the Baptist’s execution in Mark 6:14–29 has intrigued artists and biblical interpreters alike. The daughter’s dance, Herodias’s grudge, and Herod’s impulsive oath have proven to be fertile ground to speculate on internal motivations and private conversations absent from the Markan account. The daughter has been blamed for John’s death because her erotic dancing tricked Herod into making his promise. Herodias gets blamed for orchestrating the events of the banquet that lead to John’s death. Herod gets blamed for losing control of himself and making an oath without considering the implications. This article reconsiders this scene with attention to the function of the dinner guests who legitimate Herod’s authority, thereby implicating them as much as anyone else in John’s death. Furthermore, John’s execution is compared with the commutation of Julius Jones’s death sentence in Oklahoma in 2021 to highlight the role of the public in determining the exertion of power.