Not Lawful to Have Her - Matthew 14:4

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”, and in chapter fourteen and verse four of his book, Matthew wrote how John the Baptist told Herod, “it is not lawful for you to have her” where we read:

For John said unto him, It is not lawful for you to have her.

The verse reads, “For John said unto him, ...” Matthew began with the word, “for” which means “because, since and on account that” “John” or “John the Baptist” “said” which means “uttered, declared and proclaimed” “unto him” or “to Herod”. Matthew shared how John the Baptist declared the following words to Herod Antipas.

The verse goes on to say, “... It is not lawful for you to have her.” Matthew added the words, “It is not lawful” which means “it is against the law and not right” “for you” or “for Herod” “to have her” which means “to have Herodias who was Herod's brother Phillip's wife”. Matthew shared how John the Baptist told Herod it was against the law because he was committing adultery by having his brother Phillip's wife Herodias as his own wife now.

When we think through Matthew's words in this verse, we discover the boldness of John the Baptist to speak out against a ruler for violating God's law concerning adultery. John the Baptist knew Herodias was formerly married to Herod's brother Phillip, and when Herod took her to be his own wife, he committed adultery with her. God's law is not to be violated by anyone, and whether they rule or not, God's law is to be kept. Disobeying God's law is “sin” against God, and any violation to God's law makes that person a “sinner”. John the Baptist was bold, and he declared the truth to Herod. Since eternal damnation is the fate of all who disobey God's law, everyone is in need of a “Savior”. Let all who read these words consider how they would react if John the Baptist were to “call out” their sin, and let it remind us, we “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

Next time we see Matthew shares how Herod, “would have put him to death, he feared the multitude ”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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