"Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was going on. And he was perplexed, because some were saying that John had been raised from the dead, others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life. But Herod said, 'I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?' And he tried to see him."
"Who is Jesus?" That has always been the most important question. At the time of Jesus, there were many speculations. Some said He was Elijah because of two reasons: First, Elijah never experienced death back in the Old Testament time, and second, book of Malachi, the last book in the Old Testament, mentioned that Elijah would return to the world. Actually, when John the Baptist came to the world, God had already spoken, written in Luke 1:17, that he had the mind and power of Elijah and he will turn the heart of the father toward his children. The words in Malachi have already been fulfilled in John the Baptist.
Also, some said that Jesus was a prophet, the one that Deuteronomy 18:18 prophesied about. That particular passage indeed prophesied about the Messiah Jesus Christ, who is the king, prophet and priest. In fact, all the Old Testament roles of divine importance are representations of the complete Savior Jesus, for He is the king represented by David, priest represented by Aaron, and prophet represented by Moses. All these roles were fulfilled in Jesus during His time. The Israelites at the time were expecting Messiah to be a Savoir in the political realm, so they were waiting for the prophet to the born. Jesus, however, did not come to the world so that the Israelites would experience a political revival, but He wanted to bring forth real hope in our souls.
Third, some said that He was resurrected John the Baptist. When Herod heard about it, he was shocked and anxious because he was the one who killed John, and he knew that he had killed a righteous man. This guilty feeling resided in him and he could not have real peace. When a person commits a sin, his heart is miserable because guiltiness will chase after him and he will never have peace inside. Perhaps you also have guilty feeling inside and have no peace in your heart, and that's why we need the Savior. Isaiah 53:5 said that "he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities." As long as we dwell in the grace of the Lord, the salvation of God and peace from forgiveness will come upon us.
May the Lord help us, to recognize again who Jesus really is: Not only is He the Son of God, but He is also our Savior, and the only one who can save us from the bondage of the authority of sin and accusation of our own guilty feeling, for He is our true Savior!
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