WHO IS JESUS?

While preparing these notes I was reminded that the death of John the Baptist is recorded in the context of Herod hearing of Jesus and concluding that he was a reincarnated John. Reading this passage alongside the account in Mark 6, we observe that Herod appears to hate, fear, and respect John simultaneously, reminiscent of the relationship of King Ahab to Elijah.2 One is left to wonder why Herod makes the link between Jesus and John, given the mention of miraculous powers, as we learn elsewhere that John the Baptist performed no miracles.3 Nevertheless, Herod’s fascination with John is superseded by ‘the malice of an abandoned harlot, the petulancy of a vain girl and the rashness of a drunken king.’4

The curiosity of this sorry tale extends to Herod’s integrity. Matthew records that an oath he’d taken leaves him powerless to deny the request following the prompting of the sister-in-law he’d married, further to the divorce of his own wife without just cause – both prohibited under Jewish law. We can be quick to scream ‘Hypocrite’, yet how subtle is the temptation to choose which rule we take pride in observing while simultaneously disregarding others. Halfway through his Gospel, Matthew implicitly lays down another marker regarding the role of John in calling, ‘prepare the way for the Lord’.5 Having called people to repentance, John is executed for the offense of the message. If this happened to the forerunner, how much more significant will be the message and destiny of the one who follows? Finally, note where John’s disciples flee in their grief. Having most likely risked their own lives to reclaim John’s body, they ‘went and told Jesus’. May we too know that the darkest hour often heralds the dawn.

‘Rock of Ages, cleft for me, / let me hide myself in thee.’6