Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.”
NL Daily Devotion for Sunday, February 9, 2020
by Dr. Kimberly Leetch, Clergy Stuff
Main Idea: John prophesied about God’s laws. Jesus spoke and acted as expressions of God’s love.
John and Jesus were two prophets (at this time, John and Jesus were both considered prophets—Jesus’ divinity had not yet been revealed) upsetting the status quo by preaching truth and change. Jesus was “amazed” to discover that those in his own town lacked belief in him. It seems even Jesus could never outgrow being the little kid from next door whenever he went home.
John was also upsetting people. King Herod had imprisoned him because his words were dangerous and offensive, but King Herod had a soft spot for John. Even though John condemned his relationship with Herodias, his brother’s wife, Herod found him perplexing and interesting, and liked listening to him.
But Herod also had a soft spot for his daughter, who had apparently been trained to entertain the men. During one drunken party, she aroused them all so much, Herod promised her anything she wanted. (This is why we don’t drink to excess, kiddies.) What she wanted (what her mother, Herodias wanted) was John’s head on a platter. Herod couldn’t go back on his word in front of his guests, so he made it happen.
It’s no wonder Herod was terrified when he heard that Jesus was prophesying, teaching, healing, and performing miracles. He thought John had returned from the dead to exact his revenge on Herod for his murder.
Although we have the luxury of knowing that Jesus was much more than a prophet, the people of Jesus’ day did not yet see it. To them, Jesus and John were two prophets cut from the same cloth. They were cousins, after all. Both were preaching and prophesying against the sins of Israel and the corruption of Rome. Both were trying to bring people back to the core of God’s word—to love one another and to follow God’s laws.
For John, God’s laws came before God’s love. John openly and brazenly called out religious leaders for turning religion into a business, and for behaving corruptly.
Is the world filled with corruption today, too?
An
Exceptional
People
Blog Posts
SIGN UP NOW