“At that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus” (Matthew 14:1 ESV).
This was Herod the “tetrarch” (“ruler of a quarter”), not Herod the Great. He was one of the sons of Herod the Great, and was better known as Herod “Antipas” (“anti + pater” meaning “against the father”). After the death of Herod the Great, his sons went before Tiberius Caesar to plead their case for their father’s throne, for their kingdom was ultimately under Roman rule. Tiberius subdivided Herod’s kingdom into a tetrarchy and gave Antipas rule over Galilee and Perea.
Herod Antipas later divorced his wife and took his brother’s (Herod Philip II) wife, Herodias, as his wife. She was not only his brother’s wife, but also his niece (“Herodias” was Herod the Great’s granddaughter). John the Baptist publicly rebuked Antipas for this sinful union. Antipas, perhaps fearing anarchy in his kingdom from John’s preaching, and at the urging of his wife and her daughter, imprisoned and later beheaded John.
It was this King Herod, Herod Antipas, that now feared that Jesus was in fact John the Baptist raised from the dead. The contrast between this worldly king and the true king is striking. Yet, the choice still remains today for us. Which king will you choose? The world’s king or the One True King, Jesus?
PRAYER: Dear Lord, we have declared You to be our Savior and our Lord, but we are easily distracted by the world’s kingdom. Help us to pull our affections off of our idols and put them on You. We want to worship You fully and first. Lord Jesus, we bow to You afresh this day as our only true Lord and King. In Your precious name we pray, Amen.