[Manny Varela]

MATTHEW 14 – BEHEADED

So he sent and had John beheaded in prison. And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. Then his disciples came and took away the body and buried it, and went and told Jesus. (Matthew 14:10-12)

John the Baptist was an instrumental ambassador for the Lord Jesus. Without fear, John spoke boldly concerning the coming kingdom. John would condemn the hypocritical Pharisees and preach to the masses about what true righteousness was; that salvation was not experienced through the law or a Hebrew bloodline but from the repentance from sin and the exercise of faith in the person of Jesus Christ.

John’s testimony threatened many of the Jewish leaders who had a stronghold on the Hebrew people. While the Pharisees preached the law, John preached the judgment of God and the repentance of sin. Many people who heard Johns’s message were saved and were publicly baptized. Sadly, many of the Hebrew converts faced a lifetime of exile by their family and communities.

CHALLENGE

John took his calling to preach the kingdom of God very seriously.

John preached with great zeal and holy conviction. Sadly, John’s witness for Jesus would eventually cost him his life by decapitation.

Today, God has the same message for you. Have you answered His calling? In doing so, it may cost you your life like it did Johns. Nevertheless, be of good cheer for Jesus’s promises to the saints that are “faithful unto death,” He “will give you a crown of life” (Revelation 2:10).

[Jacob Mannon]

Christianity is challenging at times. There are moments where we may give in to the flesh or fall short of the standard that Jesus set before us. It is in these moments we need to strengthen ourselves because we are called to share the Gospel. Isaiah 6:8 says, “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me”. (NKJV) We need to be like Isaiah and be willing vessels for God to use.

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