Matthew 14:1-14
New International
Version 1984 (NIV1984)
1 At that time Herod the
tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus, 2 and he said to his attendants, “This is John the
Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work
in him.”
3 Now Herod had arrested
John and bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother
Philip’s wife, 4 for
John had been saying to him: “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5Herod wanted to kill John, but
he was afraid of the people, because they considered him a prophet.
6 On Herod’s birthday the
daughter of Herodias danced for them and pleased Herod so much 7 that he promised with an
oath to give her whatever she asked. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a
platter the head of John the Baptist.” 9 The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and
his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted 10 and had John beheaded in
the prison. 11 His
head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her
mother. 12 John’s
disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.
13 When Jesus heard what
had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of
this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When Jesus landed and
saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
Just last night my
husband and I along with his brother and his wife sat down and watched David
Platt presenting through a simulcast a message on suffering. For six hours we participated in a study of
the Bible and worshipped with believers from all over the United States and
several other countries. They said that
there were 50,000 participants in the event.
We listened and took notes on what it means to suffer for Christ. How many of us, especially in the United
States, have ever truly suffered for our beliefs in Christ?
John the Baptist,
persecuted and executed because he stood up for what he believed. He is the one that leaped in his mother’s
womb when he heard the voice of Mary, the one whom God chose to conceive His
son. Coincidence? Absolutely not! He is the one that prepared the way of the Lord,
the one who preached repentance, the one who baptized many including
Jesus! He was thrown into jail because
he spoke against sin, specifically the sin of Herod who slept with his brother’s
wife. As you read, Herodias convinced
her daughter to ask for his head. Don’t
you think her daughter would have rather had something a little more elegant
than a man’s head? At any rate, Herod
ordered the execution.
Let’s take a closer look
at Herd. Have you ever noticed that he was a coward? Someone spoke against him, he knew he was
wrong, and instead of correcting his error he had that person thrown in jail
only to execute him later. He didn’t kill him at first because he was afraid of
the crowd. He wasn’t afraid of God, he
was afraid of the crowd! Wow, the only
thing this man had a heart for was himself!
If you look down in verse 9
you will see that when the daughter ordered the head, Herod was
distressed. Not because he was going to
have to kill him but he was afraid of how the crowd would react. We see Herod once again in Luke 23: 1 -23 1 Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. 2 And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this
man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to
be Christ, a king.”
3 So Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
“Yes, it
is as you say,” Jesus replied.
4 Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd,
“I find no basis for a charge against this man.”
5 But they insisted, “He stirs up the people all over Judea by his
teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here.”
6 On hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean. 7 When he learned that Jesus was under Herod’s jurisdiction,
he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.
8 When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a
long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he
hoped to see him perform some miracle. 9 He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no
answer. 10 The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing
there, vehemently accusing him. 11 Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him.
Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. 12 That day Herod and Pilate became friends—before this they
had been enemies.(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2023:%201%20-%2012&version=NIV1984)
Note that Herod is still
all about himself. He wanted to see
Jesus because he wanted to see miracles.
He didn’t really want to know Jesus, just wanted to see what He could
do. Herod and his men mocked Jesus. Herod wasn’t afraid of Jesus, he was afraid
of the people.
Have you ever been in a
situation that you felt it was better to not to do or say anything than to
admit you are a follower of Christ? Were you afraid of the crowd? If you were, you should not be. There is nothing we can do to stop the good
and perfect will of our Father in Heaven.
I think it is interesting that he thought that Jesus was John the
Baptist resurrected yet he chose to observe this day by mocking Jesus and
sending Him back to Pilot. I also find
it interesting to note that Pilot and Herod became friends that day. They had something very much in common, they
both executed men of God.
What is more important
than the reaction of Herod was the action of Jesus after the execution of John the
Baptist. I have included these verses in
our study today. I believe it is
important to see how Jesus reacted.
Jesus withdrew, He needed His space, He needed to mourn the loss of the
one who prepared the way for Him. These
verses show me that even though He was God incarnate, He had feelings just like
we do. He was hurt at the news of the
loss of His cousin. I find that fascinating
because it shows me that Jesus, taking on the very form of man, is able to know
exactly how we feel in times of sorrow.
He withdrew from the crowd and
mourned. Now, the crowd saw Him and
followed Him. I have to think of those
popular people that can’t seem to get away from the crowds. But Jesus, unlike many of the celebrities,
did not run and hide but had compassion on them and came to their side and
ministered to them.
This is how we too
should live our lives. We should mourn
when mourning is warranted, withdraw from the crowd and draw close to God, but,
when the crowd needs us to show God to them, we need to quickly wipe the tears
and begin to minister. This is the
example that Jesus gives to us. Seek
Him, know Him, love Him, and show that love to others.
Seeking Him with all my
heart,
Sheila
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