Our paragraph topic is: (Herod fears that Christ is John the Baptist)
And the word spread. It spread from the mouth of one person to the ear of another. It spread from the market of one town to the market of another. It spread from the village of one town to the village of another. It spread from the town of one district to the towns of other districts. And Christ was known by many. His works were spoken of by many who had seen, many who had heard, many who had witnessed his miracles and those who were recipients of his works. He was the latest news. He was the latest talk. He was the latest whisperings of the people of the towns through the kingdom. And the word came to Herod. The word was spoken to Herod. The word was received by Herod from his news keepers in the streets.
The news keepers were the eyes and ears of Herod. He paid them well to keep him informed of what the people were talking about. He planned his life around the people. He planned his policy around the people, and he planned his lies and deceit around the people to keep them in line. For Herod was the King. He was the ruler of the people, appointed by the Roman Emperor. It was his responsibility to keep his people calm and to have them follow the rules of the Romans. Herod had to know. He had to hear. He had to see what was going on in his towns, in his villages, and in his kingdom. So he put people on the streets to listen to the latest news. And he heard of Jesus. At that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus.
Herod heard the news. Herod heard the whisperings. Herod listened to the stories that were told of Christ. And Herod could not believe. Herod could not understand. Herod could not make sense of what the people were talking about because Herod was full of John the Baptist. John had spoken to the heart of Herod. John had spoken to the people of the evil in Herod. John the Baptist had brought forth the truth in the relationship of Herod and Herodias, his wife. And Herod wanted him dead. Herod wanted to kill John the Baptist and that is what he did. Herod created an elaborate plot to murder John the Baptist and he was full of himself when he carried it out. He gloated over the sweetness of the plan that he carried out in the face of the public that allowed him to murder a prophet. And now comes Jesus, another prophet, another man of God. And he said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are working through him."
Herod was fearful. He was fearful of what he had done to John the Baptist. He loved his elaborate scheme to murder John the Baptist, but he was fearful that John would come back and exact revenge upon him. Herod was the ruler and no man was supposed to have more fame than he. No man was supposed to be talked about by the common people more than he. No common man was supposed to be more loved by the people than he. And jealousy came to him. Vanity came also. Then hatred, and fear and doubt came. And finally came larceny who helped him create a plan to murder John the Baptist. For John was loved by the people. John was revered by the people. John was spoken of by the people more than Herod. And John was number one with the people over Herod. Herod wanted to be number one so he sought a way to remove John.
Satan seeks a way to remove Christ from our lives today. He wants to murder Christ. He wants to get rid of Christ. He wants the people to talk about him and not Christ. He wants to be number one in our lives today. So he creates schemes to rid us of Christ. He makes plans to turn us away from Christ and to turn us to him. He builds worlds around us to blind us to the light of Christ that we may not see. He creates playgrounds for us to have fun so that we will forget about Christ. He fills our eyes and our ears with pleasures that compel us to enjoy and he fills our bodies with passions that make us want. He does all this to distract us from Christ, to turn us from God, to hide us from the truth. We were made for God and he is our father. He is our satisfaction and our pleasure. Nothing else can replace him in our lives.
But Satan wants us to believe that we can be happy and have joy and peace if we turn from Christ and from God our Father. Just as Herod feared that Christ was John the Baptist resurrected, Satan fears the resurrected man in Christ. For in Christ we have power. In Christ we are miracles. In Christ we are the light of the world that he cannot turn off. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Hear the message of the kingdom. Become new life in Christ. Seek the Holy Spirit and you will know true life in Christ. Seek the Holy Spirit and you will become the miracle. Seek the Holy Spirit and you will know the truth of the kingdom of heaven here on earth.
