DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- WHO IS THIS MAN?

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – GHOSTS FROM THE PAST – WHO IS THIS MAN?

"Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him (Jesus); and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again. Herod said, 'John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?' So he sought to see Him." (Luke 9:7-9)

Herod was troubled by Jesus. Matthew records that Herod truly believed that Jesus was actually John the Baptist who had come back to life (Matthew 14:1-2). He knew that he had killed John the Baptist. He had seen John's head on a platter after his beheading. So it was no mere idle curiosity that caused Herod to want to see this Jesus. Who was the Jesus? He was at a loss as what to think about this. He was thoroughly nonplussed – baffled – flummoxed. He was troubled in his mind by the thought that maybe John the Baptist really had come back to haunt him.

I don't want to go into flights of fancy, but I wonder if there wasn't another ghost from the past that clouded Herod's thinking. He knew the promises of a King who would come to deliver Israel. The prophets had spoken it. And he was no doubt familiar with the story of another Herod – his father – who had a meeting with some sages from the East 30 years earlier who had come looking for this King of the Jews. But no, this couldn't be that promised Messiah. His father had slaughtered the children of an entire city to make sure that this King could not live to challenge him. So, then, who was this man? It must be the ghost of John the Baptist.

Later in the narrative, when Jesus was on trial on His way to the cross, Pilate sent Jesus to Herod. "Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him. Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him nothing...Then Herod, with his men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate" (Luke 23:8-10). Herod plied Him with questions – probably among them, "Who are You? Where do you come from?" But Jesus remained silent. They put a splendid robe on Jesus – one fit for a king, and mocked Him. Herod could not figure this whole thing out.

No matter how people try to hide their past, it comes back to haunt them. They cannot get rid of the evil they have done, and it causes them to think weirdly. It can cause all kinds of psychological problems. Herod could get no rest from his sin against John the Baptist.

Even today, there are many people who are baffled by the question: "Who is this Jesus?" Agur, the sage who wrote Proverbs Chapter 30, might have been as perplexed as Herod and the unbeliever of today when he wrote: "Surely I more stupid than any man, and do not have the understanding of a man. I neither learned wisdom nor have knowledge of the Holy One. Who has ascended into heaven, or descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fist? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son's name, if you know?" (Proverbs 3-:1-3).

Today, it is no mystery. I can say with certainty that His name is Jesus. To the believer, He is not just a myth or a fantasy or a ghost. He is God. He is Savior. He is Lord.

Love, Dad