"THE TRUTH IS..." The Beheading of John the Baptist "Why didn't Jesus retaliate against Herod when John the Baptist was beheaded?" I have heard this question over and over again for the past twenty plus years. The answer is, of course, Jesus did retaliate, but not in the way a rebel or a terrorist would retaliate. It is, however, a powerful example to those of us who seek to follow His example so I will explain it as simply as I can so you will understand that warriors who fight the good fight of faith do so right in front of the watchful and critical eyes of an unbelieving world and still the world does not see, nor can they understand... In Matthew, Chapter 11, John the Baptist sent word to Jesus, "Are you the one we were told was coming or do we look for another?" Jesus took the disciples of John with him to observe him in action, after which he sent them back to John with this reply, "The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them." (Matt:11:5 KJV) Needless to say, John's disciples returned to John with confirmation that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. What they did not realize was that Jesus had stepped up the ministry he and John had pressed into together. Note that the above scripture includes, "the dead are raised up," so we know that there were more than Lazarus, Jairus' daughter and the widow's son which are documented elsewhere. All the while John was in prison, Jesus continued to preach, to teach and to heal the sick and the crowds he drew were increasing continually. In Mark, Chapter 6 we read that John has been beheaded. Jesus had already chosen the twelve disciples for his inner circle and they had just returned from their mission to the neighboring towns and villages to preach and to heal the afflicted. On that mission, you will recall, they were admonished to take no extra coat or sandals, no money and no supplies, rather they were to trust God to supply all their daily needs. Just as they returned and were excitedly telling Jesus about the things that were done, word came to Jesus that John had been beheaded. (Mark: 6:29-30) Returning to Matthew, Chapter 14 for more details, we see that when Jesus heard the news of John's death, (Matt: 14:13) He departed by ship to a desert (deserted) place to be alone with the disciples who needed some rest and relaxation following their mission, and perhaps to pray and to grieve for John. Please understand, grieving is a natural process and not even the Son of God was exempt from this need. While God takes delight in the death and homecoming of his saints, he does not take pleasure in the killing of his saints by murderers nor in the stealing of life prematurely by the enemy of all men's souls. The crowds had seen him leave by ship and they followed. When Jesus and the disciples arrived at Bethsaida, the crowds had grown and were waiting. He looked upon them and saw them as sheep without a shepherd, wanderers without hope in a world of oppressive darkness. Putting aside his personal grief, now replaced by a righteous anger that loosed a new grief for the lost and the afflicted, he engaged in the battle for the vindication of John. He preached, he taught, and with sovereign authority he healed them all, about 5,000 men and that did not include the women and the children. Then he topped this off with a feast. The disciples had learned to trust God for their daily needs while they were on their mission. Now they would learn to trust God for bigger things by learning the lesson of multiplication through the loaves and the fishes. When all had dined and been filled, twelve baskets of leftovers testified of God's delight in providing abundantly, above and beyond all we can ask or think. How did this vindicate John? We must remember to view this situation as Jesus did. First of all, Herod was not Jesus' enemy, nor had he been John's. Herod was a puppet of satan who was the real enemy. Satan had done this to John, using Herod. Jesus did not have to concern himself with Herod, satan would soon destroy Herod. But Jesus would come against satan with all his power and authority and set him back hundreds of years, destroying the afflictions and sicknesses and hunger that satan had put upon all these people. The demons of diseases of every kind had to flee. Crippled bodies were made whole. The deaf would hear, the blind would see, the dying would be raised up whole. The hungry would be fed. (This of course got even with what satan did to Eve in the Garden of Eden.) It was a spiritual battle, a spiritual vindication, a spiritual retaliation and satan is still reeling from the setback even after all these years. It took many years for satan to attach sicknesses and afflictions upon these people, some of whom were victims of generational curses, and Jesus wiped it all out in one day. He came against satan's stronghold with a vengeance and struck him with a blow that has not been matched to this day. If you can imagine the millions of demons that had set up housekeeping within the thousands, inflicting sickness, pain and oppression, suddenly being rebuked and thrown out with no where else to go but back to satan to shout their disdain at what was done to them, you can get a picture of the blow satan endured. Satan had destroyed John but now Jesus had destroyed satan's hold on the masses that stood before Him. No longer would satan be able to control and steal their lives. Never again would they be in bondage to the thief, the liar, the murderer. They were free at last and they would follow Jesus, the truth giver, the life giver, the One who showed them love and who had proved that he truly cared about them. Satan had convinced Herod to behead one Godly saint, but on this day, in spiritual retaliation, Hell had lost thousands of victims. These would go out and tell thousands more about Jesus and all He had done for them. Then these too would seek him out and purpose to be free. The war we engage in is not carnal, it is spiritual. There will always be men who follow satan and who are willing to do his bidding. But Jesus has given us His authority and His Holy Spirit to fight the good fight of faith and destroy the works of the enemy. All we need is the faith to do so. We do not need faith in our frail abilities, we need the faith of God and His power to uphold His Word and His promises. While it is true we have the power (anointing) to call down fire from heaven, it is still God's fire and he will not loose it without unflinching faith. So stir up those gifts within you that were given you by the Holy Spirit, and practice and purpose today to enter the battle with full armor and a real understanding and knowledge of who your enemy really is. He is not Putin or Hussein or even the ACLU. Like Herod, these are mere puppets... Sometimes we have to get angry enough at the enemy to come against him with the righteous indignation that launched David's victory when he shouted to Goliath, "You come against me with sword and spear, but I come against you in the name of the Most High God of Israel. " Then throw the stone (Word) from your own slingshot (the anointing of the Holy Spirit), then cut off the head of that spiritual demon so he cannot rise again. Cast him out into the abyss or outer darkness, they hate that and plead not to be sent there but do it anyway. It is cutting off their head. Remember, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay" saith the Lord. We do not take revenge on the souls of men who do us harm, for these souls must answer to God for themselves as we will do. We are reminded in Romans 2:1: "Therefore, thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou are that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things." (KJV) Walk in faith. God, who is no respecter of persons, will honor your faith as He did Moses, Joshua, David and Jesus. We are instructed to follow His example as in Ephesians 5:1: "Be ye therefore followers (imitators) of God, as dear children." Put on the full armor of God, (Ephesians 6: 10-18). Then live and walk in the unfailing truth that is the Holy Spirit, who is the spirit of prophecy and the spirit of Christ. He is also the author of the Word of God. There is no more absolute truth than His truth... Shalom and God Bless,
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