Nestled into the midst of this sordid tale is the curious line in verse 20 that Herod liked to listen to John. What do we make of that? Did he like to listen to John in the way a man might enjoy watching a trained monkey or the antics of a pet dog? Was John the Baptist a kind of court jester for Herod—someone whose wild-eyed, red-faced, veins-popping-out-of-his-neck preaching helped to pass the hours on lazy palace afternoons? Or did he like to listen to John because something about John's bracing honesty and impassioned words about the kingdom of God were getting through to Herod? It's hard to say, though the former may have some weight in that we know that John had confront…