Note: Devotion based on last Sunday's sermon on Matthew 14:1-12.
“And [Herod]
sent, and beheaded John in the prison” (Matthew 14:10).
What
do we learn from the account of the martyrdom of John the Baptist (Matthew
14:1-12)? Here are at last four lessons:
First:
We must be willing to stand and bear witness for Christ—even at the cost of our
lives. John provides us an example of this.
We
must be willing to speak the truth, even if we stand alone, even if the truth
is not popular with men. Yes, even if it costs us our lives. We must not slavishly
try to tell men what their itching ears desire to hear (cf. 2 Tim 4:2-4). We must be witnesses for
Christ.
Second:
We must avoid the negative example of Herod and his house. We should not make
rash vows. We should not use manipulation to control others. We should be
guided by godly principles, and not expediency.
Third:
We can learn from the disciples of John who went to Christ in their distress.
See v. 12: “And his disciples… went and told Jesus.” Spurgeon: “When we are in
great trouble, we shall be wise to do our best, and at the same time tell the
Lord Jesus all about it, that he may direct us further as to what we are to
do.”
Fourth:
John was a great man, but Christ is greater. Both came as prophets, and neither
were not honored but were instead put to death. John was beheaded; Christ will
go to the cross. But John’s body remained in the state of death. His disciples
placed his body in a tomb. But when the disciples of Jesus came to the tomb,
they found the stone rolled away and the tomb empty.
I saw
someone post a twitter poll last week which began, “If Jesus were alive
today….” The problem with that line: He is alive today! And he is still bearing
witness through his people to the reality of his death, burial, resurrection,
ascension, and glorious second coming. All praise be to him.
Grace
and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle
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