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1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the report about Jesus 2 and said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him." ~ Matthew 14:1-2
Today, we transition into Matthew 14 where the scene has shifted. With the previous chapter ending with the fact that the Lord Jesus did not do many miracles in Nazareth due to the people's lack of faith, it makes sense that Matthew would transition by placing the spotlight squarely on Herod the Tetrarch. Like the other Herod's, Herod Antipas had a skewed understanding of the Lord Jesus. Herod Antipas the Tetrarch was from Tiberas, a place the Lord Jesus never visited. No miracles were performed there by the Lord Jesus. No wonder Herod had no clue to His identity. All of this merely underscores the idea that God always responds to faith. He is omnipotent yet we by unbelief can limit the experience of God's power in our lives.
Herod Antipas was the ruler of Galilee and Perea, the area partly in Jordan. When his dad, Herod the Great died, the country was divided in four parts between his three sons. Herod the Great himself was an Edomite and his fourth wife was a Samaritan. This is why Herod Antipas was hated by the Jews. In addition, all of the Herod's were murderers. Herod Antipas on one occasion killed most all of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling body because they disagreed with him. They challenged him on one of his rulings so he just killed them all.
In v.1 of today's passage we read, "At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the report about Jesus."
Herod Antipas was a "tetrarch" which means "a ruler of a fourth." Herod Antipas wanted to be recognized as king, but Caesar Augustus, the Roman ruler, refused him the title. Herod’s father, Herod the Great, was the king who was ruling when the Lord Jesus was born in Bethlehem. When Herod the Great died, the Roman emperor divided his kingdom into four parts. One part was given to Herod Antipas.
In v.2 of today's passage we read, "And (Herod) said to his servants, 'This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him.'"
Herod Antipas actually thought the Lord Jesus was John the Baptist raised from the dead. But the Scriptures tell us that John the Baptist did no miracles! Since Herod was a Sadducee, he did not believe in miracles. Herod had really bad theology because he was not defined by the God of the Bible. We know that we are being defined by God when we are in His Word regularly and we obey what we read. This means that we are not only in the habit of reading God's Word, it also means that we are being read by it. And, when we are read by the Word, we will be defined by the God who gave us His Word. And, as we give way to His will to be done in and through our lives, we will be defined by Him. This is not what saves us, but, it may be used of God to save others.
Herod ruled from 4 A.D. to 39 A.D. and he demanded he be called "king." He desired to be the King of the Jews. He was run off to what is now known as France by the Roman emperor for demanding to be made a king in 39 A.D. This is why Mark referred to Herod as king in Mark 6, but, Herod fell woefully short of being a king. Herod, an insecure ruler, was always on the alert for any threats to his rule. This underscores mankind's deepest problem: insecurity. Granted, sin is our deepest problem, but sin's lack will always lead us to be insecure and to make insecure and immature decisions.
It is the holiness of the Lord Jesus that addresses this problem that we all shares. The Greek word for "holy" means "complete" or "whole." Holiness means wholeness, lacking nothing. God desires for us that we live a life of wholeness. The Lord Jesus came to this sin-filled world in order to make broken people whole. His calling on us is the application of His life to ours. So, the whole life is His life applied to ours.
Again, Herod Antipas had a faulty understanding of the Lord Jesus. A correct meaning of things comes from our knowledge of the Lord's definitions of things. This is why it is so important for us to be in the Word of God, the written and the living Word of God. It is not about obedience so much as it is about being defined by the God of the Bible. When we have His culture growing in us, we will see things most accurately. Most lack a proper understanding of the nature of things, and, are therefore, deceived due to the fact that they are not being defined by God.
We were created by God who knew each one of us even before we were in our mother’s womb. Our true identity corresponds with how He created and defined us to be. When sin entered into the picture, we were thwarted from living out of a God-given identity. To live the abundant life the Lord Jesus died to give us, we must be defined by God who longs to re-write our narrative. This only happens as we allow Him to do so.
We do well to read God's Word asking Him to define us by His way of thinking. True strength is discovered in submission which permits us to dedicate ourselves, through devotion, to God Himself. This will not mean we will become sinless. It does mean God will begin healing the holes in our souls that cause us to seek validation from the wrong sources. God is really good at using the truth to patch the holes that lies had once created in our souls. When we allow Him to define us, we will grow in the confidence that is not circumstantial and not of us. We will grow in the wholeness that ushers us to Him who unfailingly gives meaning and purpose to the willing soul. He faithfully does this even when life isn't going the way we want. I am learning that when I lose those on this earth that I value the most, I begin to value my heavenly Father’s embrace more. And, with His embrace always comes His definition for my life.
