Why Herod killed John the Baptist; Jesus feeds 5000 men and their families then later walks on water: Luke 9:7–9; Mark 6:14–29; Matthew 14:1–21; Mark 6:30–44; Luke 9:10–17; John 6:1–15; Mark 6:45–52; Matthew 14:22–33; John 6:16–21; Mark 6:53–56; Matthew 14:34–36

Herod was said to have respected John the Baptist, and must have talked often enough with John for it to be noticed:

^{Mark 6:20} … for Herod respected John; and knowing that he was a good and holy man, he protected him. Herod was greatly disturbed whenever he talked with John, but even so, he liked to listen to him.

Respect wasn’t enough. John was still alive only because Herod was too afraid of public opinion to kill him.

When his daughter asked for John’s head as a reward:

^{Mark 6:27-28}[Herod] immediately sent an executioner to the prison to cut off John’s head and bring it to him. The soldier beheaded John in the prison, brought his head on a tray, and gave it to the girl, who took it to her mother.

Had Herod really listened to anything John had said?

When he later heard about everything Jesus was doing, he was ‘puzzled’:

^{Luke 9:7-9} Some were saying that John the Baptist had been raised from the dead. Others thought Jesus was Elijah or one of the other prophets risen from the dead.
‘I beheaded John’, Herod said, ‘So who is this man about whom I hear such stories?’ And he kept trying to see him.

This almost certainly meant he wanted Jesus seek an audience with him: Jesus’ ministry was very public, so Herod could simply have approached Jesus any day if he had wanted to.

So was respect enough? Not really. it was probably more like curiosity.