Matthew the apostle wrote, “At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus. And said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him. For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife. For John said unto him, It is not lawful for you to have her. And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet. But when Herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod. Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask. And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist's head in a charger”, and in chapter fourteen and verse nine of his book, Matthew wrote how Herod, “was sorry” but “commanded it to be given her” where we read:
And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath's sake,
and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her.
The verse reads, “And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath's sake, ...” Matthew began with the words, “and the king” which means “and King Herod” “was sorry” or “was affected with sorrow, grieved, offended and made uneasy”: “nevertheless” which means “moreover and” “for the oath's sake” or “because of Herod's pledge or promise”. Matthew shared how Herod was made sorrowful by Herodias' daughter's request, but because he promised her, he carried out the following.
The verse continues, “... and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her.” Matthew added the words, “and them” which means “”of the people, “which sat with him” or “who were seated with Herod” “at meat” which means “at the meal provided during his birthday party”, “he commanded it” or “Herod incited by word and ordered the head of John the Baptist” “to be given her” which means “to be granted, furnished and supplied to Herodias' daughter”. Matthew shared how the peer pressure of those who were seated with Herod at his birthday party caused him to “order” that John the Baptist's head be supplied to Herodias' daughter.
When we meditate upon Matthew's words in this verse, we see how horrific this request and act of Herod was. Because he made a foolish “oath”, he was now forced to make a choice of breaking his promise or carrying out what he declared. Herod chose to have John beheaded. This choice is similar to some people make today. There is an opportunity to follow after Jesus and make Him “Savior and Lord” of their lives, or in effect Jesus may be “executed” in their thoughts so that He has no influence or conviction toward them at all. Let all who read these words consider the promise of Herod, the request of Herodias' daughter, and the carrying out of the “oath” as stated by Herod, and then choose to receive Jesus as Lord.
Next time we see Matthew shares how, “John was beheaded”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book
“Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the
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Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms
Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County"
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