1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus, 2 and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” 3 For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, 4 because John had been saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 And though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet. 6 But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod, 7 so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” 9 And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given. 10 He sent and had John beheaded in the prison, 11 and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12 And his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus.
13 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15 Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” 17 They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” 18 And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
King Herod heard about Jesus’ rising fame and thought it was John the Baptist who had come back from the dead. Herod had thrown John the Baptist into prison because he had spoken against Herod’s incestuous marriage to his brother’s wife, Herodias. While Herod had wanted to kill John the Baptist, he hadn’t because he feared the people who believed John was a prophet. At Herod’s birthday bash, Herodias’ daughter did a sensuous dance that so pleased Herod that he offered her whatever she wanted. Being led by her mother, she asked for John the Baptist’s head on a platter. Herod was more concerned about saving face in front of his guests than his fear of the people or dealing with his own conscience. So he bowed to the pressure and ordered that John be beheaded in prison and his head given to the girl who gave it to her mother. John’s disciples came and took his headless body and buried it and then told Jesus.
Herod allowed his pride and peer pressure to force him into making decisions on the spot that he knew were not right. His whole life was full of compromised decisions which built on top of each other. Eventually it came to the point that, despite knowing that what he was doing was wrong, he could no longer help himself. He had surrounded himself with a wife and friends who were all helping him to continue in sin all leading to him murdering John the Baptist as a prize for a dance.
When Jesus heard of John’s death, He withdrew by boat to a desolate place. But Jesus was growing in popularity and the crowds followed him on foot. When Jesus got to land He saw a great crowd had gathered and He had compassion on them and healed their sick. When it got late, the disciples wanted to send them away so they could get food, but Jesus told them to give the crowds something to eat. How were they supposed to feed this huge crowd when all they could find was five small loaves of bread and two fish? Jesus took what they had, told the crowds to sit and then after praying broke them and gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people. Everyone ate and was satisfied and the disciples still collected twelve basketfuls of leftovers. The crowd totalled five thousand men as well as women and children (perhaps 20,000 to 25,000 people).
Jesus asked the disciples to do something far beyond anything they could possibly handle in their own strength. Jesus took what they had and multiplied it. Jesus can take what little we have to offer and multiply it so that people’s needs are met. We are the mediators between those who have need and the One who can more than supply that need.
Together these two stories provide a contrast. On the one hand is Herod who’s selfishness and pride lead him down the path to murder. On the other hand is Jesus who’s selflessness and humility lead Him, despite His personal grief, to have compassion on and help thousands. Pride narrows our focus to only ourselves. Humility opens our focus to see others.
I must ask God to deepen my faith and confidence in Him like the disciples had to trust in Jesus and like the people had to trust in Him too
I think Herod changed his mind way to often because of what people thought I think we should try not to be as easily swayed