Herod Hears about Jesus - Matthew 14:1

Matthew the apostle wrote how the people from Jesus' hometown of Nazareth wondered, “From where then has this man all these things? And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country, and in his own house. And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief”, and in chapter fourteen and verse one of his book, Matthew shared, “Herod the tetrarch” heard about Jesus where we read:

At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus,

The verse reads, “At that time Herod the tetrarch ...” Matthew began with the words, “at that time” which means “at the opportune or seasonable period of time” “Herod” whose name means “heroic” and was “Herod Antipas, one of the three sons of Herod the Great, and own brother of Archelaus who ruled as ethnarch over Galilee and Perea” “the tetrarch” which means “a governor of the fourth part of a region ”. Matthew referred to the time when “Herod Anitpas” was ruling in Galilee.

The verse goes on to say, “... heard of the fame of Jesus,” Matthew added the word, “heard” which means “was endowed with the faculty of hearing, attended to, considered and perceived” “of the fame” or “the report, rumor and audience” “of Jesus” which means “pertaining to Jesus whose name means Jehovah is Salvation and is the Son of God, the Savior of mankind and God incarnate”. Matthew shared how Herod heard of the popularity and notoriety of Jesus.

When we think through Matthew's words in this verse, we see a transition in the story about Jesus. Matthew's attention is now upon the forerunner of Jesus - John the Baptist. God has a plan to save every person who will put their faith and trust in His Son Jesus as their personal “Savior and Lord”, and those who yield to Him will see the purpose and role of John the Baptist in Jesus the Messiah's coming. Let all who read these words know God has a plan and He is going to work it out regardless of the “Herod's” that enter their lives.

Next time we see Matthew shares how Herod says, “this is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead”, 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 marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.