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14 King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.” 15 Others said, “He is Elijah.” And still others claimed, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago.” 16 But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!” 17 For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, 20 because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled ; yet he liked to listen to him. 21 Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” 23 And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.” 24 She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” “The head of John the Baptist,” she answered. 25 At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” 26 The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27 So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, 28 and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. 29 On hearing of this, John’s disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb. (Mark 6:14-29 NIV)
Happy Monday dear ConCafe Family! May awesome blessings of faith come your day today, dear Friend, is my prayer for you.
This is the sad story of the fate of Jhn the Baptist, the cousin of Jesus. The chapter begins after the death of John and gives us a look back at the events that led up to the beheading of John the Baptist. This led Herod to fear Jesus more, for he knew of the power of Jesus. But it could not stop the gossip to be about Who Jesus truly was; some guessed Jesus was John the Baptist raised from the dead and thus was Jesus had so many miraculous powers; other thought Jesus was Elijah, the great Old Testament prophet; and still others, that Jesus was one of the prophets of long ago. Word reaches Herod and he fears Jesus. And thus begins the tale of Herod and John the Baptist.
When Herod heard the news of John the Baptist's message againt him, he orders the prophet arrested. JB had not feared speaking the truth about the sin in whcih Herod was living; he had taken his brother's wife as his own. This message also upset Herodias, the now lover of Herod, who decides immediately that she wants John dead. Unfortunately for her, she did not have that power to order such a murder, and more so before Herod feared John and wanted to protect him because Herod knew him to be a holy and righteous man. Though he did not like the content of his messages, Herod still liked to hear John's presentations. The day came when it was Herod's brithday, and during the banquet that he had for the court officials, leading local officials, and his military leaders, Herodias' daughter came in and performed a dance for the king and this pleased him and all his guests. So pleased was the king that he asked her for whatever she wanted, and he would give it to her. And this he did in the form of an oath, "Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom." So the daughter meets with her mother and asks what she do ask for. The mother, without hesitating, says she wants the head of John the Baptist on a platter. This distressed the king much, yet because of his oath, he had no choice but to fulfill the order. He sends an executioner with orders to bring him John's head on a platter. Once done, the head arrives as ordered, and he presents it to the girl, who in turn gives it to her mother. The disciples of John learn of his death and request posession of John's body which they take to bury in a tomb.
Qutie a sad ending to the life of the voice of one crying in the wilderness of the coming Messiah. The impact on Jesus of this death would be far-reaching. He loved his cousin much, and knew this death would hurt his mother, and all of his family. This death affected Jesus and much of what follows in His minsitry was as a result of the grief that Jesus felt for his cousin.
The death of this righteous man shows just how the power of God, and the power of God's enemy, were in play with each other. John was a faithful soldier of God and he did as he was ordered, to proclaim, prepare, and baptize the people that wanted to know more about God and what God could share with them. The role and the power of the enemy was to confront the truth with a lie. What Herod was doing was morally wrong; something the king already knew it was, but he was living it anyway. The one who was uncomfortable with the lie and the sin was Herodias. She did not like the negative press she was being highlighted in by the rogue street preacher, so the believed the best way to confront and stop this was by having John killed. Not a happy ending, nor a good ending, but it was what evil saw as necessary. We may sometimes encounter situations where the endings just do not make any sense and wonder why things would happen as they do. Yet, we know that even in spite of difficulties and weird situations, God is with us and God will see us through. The thing we must understand is that the ministry and work of believers is to continually move forward with the good news of God's love. We might already know that not everyone will be in favor of hearing such things, and some might oppose it so violently that the outcomes are not what we believe are appropriate for Christian believers, but onward we go, obedient and faithful to the Lord. We should not let anyone stop or delay us; we press every forward, sharing nonetheless the good news of God's love even with those who present themselves as unloveable.
PRAYER: Loving Father, we pray for the peace and strength to move on with our lives even when we face difficult challenges. Bless this dear reader with whatever it is they are facing, and may we claim victories in our lives and Christian witness in every way that we can; this we pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Show your witness to all in ways that defy evil and glorify God!
Receive my blessings of joy and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
