Earlier, Herod had arrested John and tied him up and put him in prison. This was because John had been telling Herod, “It’s against the Law of Moses for you to have Herodias as your wife,” since she’d been the wife of Herod’s brother Philip.
Would you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes? Would you tell him, “Here’s a good seat for you”? But would you say to the poor man, “You can stand over there,” or, “Sit on the floor by my feet”?