City Life Starter

Written by Megan Meier

The Word

7 “Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead, 8 by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen. 9 Herod said, ‘John I beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?’ And he sought to see him.’” -Luke 9:7-9

Reflection

At this point, Herod had done some very bad things, one of them was marrying his former sister-in-law Herodias, to which John called him out on when he was alive (Mark 6:17-18). Herod knew John was righteous and a godly man, but he was under the influence of his bitter wife and made a foolish oath which resulted in John’s execution (Mark 6:21-28).

Elijah is one of the OG’s of the Old Testament, or Tanakh in Judaism. Malachi 4:5 mentions Elijah will return before the End of Times, perhaps some Jews thought the End of Times was coming. Matters were quite horrific, the Romans outright exploited the Jews and could even had forced them into slavery if their unfair taxes were not paid.

Which prophets of old were they talking about? Which one did they hope for? Moses? Jonah? Daniel? Jeremiah? Or someone else? Whoever the prophet was rumored to be resurrected, the Jews wanted to be rescued from the Romans as their ancestors were from their enemies.

Herod was confused and curious, but there is no mention of him being scared or repentant. He was a fan of John (Mark 6:20), but as Pastor Ji said, there is a huge difference between being a fan and being a follower, and Herod was not a follower. He might have been afraid of the resurrected John’s chastisement (Mark 6:16). It’s more likely he acted out of fear of godly punishment and not out of desire for godliness.

Herod finally meets Jesus, only once, as part of His kangaroo court, and only because he wanted Jesus to perform a “magic trick” as proof of His Divinity, but his heart was too hardened to let the Savior in (Luke 23:6-12). Once again, he was a fan but had no interest in being a follower.

Application

Why do you seek Jesus? For a miracle? Answers? A get-out-of-hell-free card? It’s okay, just be honest with yourself and with God. The good news is when you meet with Jesus, you can get to know Him more deeply. The more you get to know Him, the deeper your relationship with Him becomes. All it requires is a willing heart.

Prayer

Dear Lord, I earnestly seek You with all my heart, let me find You (Jeremiah 29:13). I am not content with being a fan, only standing by You when matters are good, I want to be a full-fledged follower of You through both the good and the bad times. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.