Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him. – Mark 6:20

Today's Scripture Reading (December 31, 2023): Mark 6

The victory of former President Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton was a surprise to a lot of political observers. But there were a few of us, and I will include myself in this number as one of the many amateur observers who wondered if Donald Trump hadn't become a guilty pleasure for many people. These people would never tell a pollster that they intended to vote for Trump in an election, but in the voting booth's privacy, they would do precisely that and spend their vote on him. And I believe that was what happened. Those who held Donald Trump as a guilty pleasure swung the election in favor of the real estate mogul. We all have guilty pleasures, things that we would never admit we like, yet deep down, these beliefs are woven into the fabric of who we are.

God had been silent for four hundred years. It had been four hundred years since the last Prophet had roamed Israel's territory. And then came John. As he became known to the people, John the Baptizer was a bit of a caution. You never really knew what John was going to say. And because of that, he was great entertainment.

Herod was kind of proud that finally, after four hundred years, God had sent a prophet to Israel. The King felt honored that this Prophet had come during his reign. But this was not the King Herod who had ruled in a paranoid rage at the time of Jesus's birth, but rather one of his sons. 

We have evidence that the son, just like the father, liked to disguise himself as a commoner and walk among the people. It isn't hard to imagine this King walking out in disguise to hear John preach. Mark says that Herod feared and protected John, but it also says that the King listened to him. He heard his words. They puzzled him, and he spent time thinking and trying to evaluate the Prophet's words.

His Dad had killed all of the infant boys in Bethlehem because he heard a prophecy that a king might be born there. The son was much more willing to listen to and believe the words of the Prophet. Herod heard John's message of repentance, and he listened to his message of the coming Messiah. He had heard the comments, and Herod believed. Herod believed in John the Baptist, and the King believed in the God of John the Baptist. As a result, he protected John and his right to preach.

Herod never intended to execute John; Herod thought of himself as the Prophet's self-appointed protector. But his beliefs surrounding John were really his guilty pleasure. It is not something that he wanted to admit publicly. So, when the tipping point came, Herod reluctantly issued the command to execute his guilty pleasure. And that would be a decision that would haunt Herod for the rest of his days.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Matthew 14