Greatness: Matthew 14-20Sample

When we think of kings, we picture power, control, and nobility. But King Herod was not that kind of king. He was more like a tragic figure from a Shakespearean play.

Although Herod held the title of king, he lacked confidence and was easily swayed. First, he listened to the bitter voice of his wife Herodias, who held a grudge against John the Baptist. And then Herod listened to John and, in fact, “heard him gladly.” But then, when Herodias realised Herod had been speaking with John, she schemed to make her voice the loudest. She used her daughter to ensure that John would be killed.

As a result of this, Herod ended up murdering someone he didn’t want to kill. “And the king was sorry” (Matthew 14:9, ESV). Like a tragic king, his pride trapped him. He felt he could not go back on a rash promise. Herod lost control and was pushed around by others in a tug of war that cost John his life.

Like Herod, we also have people speaking into our lives. Sometimes it is actual people. Other times it is the movies we watch, the reels we scroll through, the books we read, or the places we spend time in. Are these voices pulling us in opposite directions? Are we letting voices that oppose God’s ways shape us? Herod did, and it led him to do something he never wanted to do. It is a bit like Eve, who listened to the serpent and ate the forbidden fruit.

Today, ponder this: What voices need to be silenced in your life? How might you make space today to listen to Jesus’ voice, the true King of kings?