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 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. And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison”, and in chapter fourteen and verse eleven of his book, Matthew wrote how John's, “head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel” where we read:
And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother.
The verse reads, “And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel:” Matthew began with the words, “and his head” which means “the head of John the Baptist” “was brought” or “was borne and carried” “in a charger” which means “on a plate, platter or dish”, “and given” or “and granted, bestowed, furnished and supplied” “to the damsel” which refers to “Herodias' daughter”. Matthew shared how the head of John the Baptist was put on a platter and given to Herodias' daughter.
The verse continues, “and she brought it to her mother.” Matthew added the words, “and she brought it” which means “and Herodias' daughter bore and carried John the Baptist's head” “to her mother” or “to Herodias”. Matthew shared how Herodias' daughter carried out her mother's wishes as she brought the head of John the Baptist to her.
When we consider Matthew's words in this verse, we discover the horror within the mind of Herodias and the fulfillment of her desire to have John the Baptist beheaded. Revenge is a driving motive, and when John the Baptist spoke out against Herod and Herodias' unlawful marriage, Herodias desired John the Baptist to be dead. Thus, she got her wish. However, that was not the end of the story because God says, “vengeance is mine. I will repay says the Lord”, and there was another day of reckoning for Herod, Herodias and Herodias' daughter. We might wonder how that “revenge” idea seemed at that judgment moment? God desires a loving personal relationship with every person, and when His children are persecuted and killed by people in this world, He will have the last say. Let us remember, they killed Jesus, and if they did so with John the Baptist and Jesus, what could that mean for the believer in Jesus Christ today?
Next time we see Matthew share how John the Baptist's, “disciples came, and took up the body, and buried it”, 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment