Daily Devotional For Saturday, November 22, 2025
Good morning and happy weekend. Thank you for taking your time to read these daily devotionals and spend some time with the Lord. We are making our way through the Gospel of Matthew. Yesterday, we set up the context for Matthew 14 and today we come to breaking down Matthew 14:1-12 down. Here it this passage:
“When Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee, heard about Jesus, (2) he said to his advisers, ‘This must be John the Baptist raised from the dead! That is why he can do such miracles.’ (3) For Herod had arrested and imprisoned John as a favor to his wife Herodias (the former wife of Herod’s brother Philip). (4) John had been telling Herod, ‘It is against God’s law for you to marry her.’ (5) Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of a riot, because all the people believed John was a prophet. (6) But at a birthday party for Herod, Herodias’s daughter performed a dance that greatly pleased him, (7) so he promised with a vow to give her anything she wanted. (8) At her mother’s urging, the girl said, ‘I want the head of John the Baptist on a tray!’ (9) Then the king regretted what he had said; but because of the vow he had made in front of his guests, he issued the necessary orders. (10) So John was beheaded in the prison, (11) and his head was brought on a tray and given to the girl, who took it to her mother. (12) Later, John’s disciples came for his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus what had happened” (NLT).
The first lesson this teaches us is this: that we must choose our battles wisely. John the Baptizer had publicly shamed Herod Antipas and his new new wife, Herodias, who was also his half-niece. Not every sin should be the topic of public pulpit preaching. We should never “undress” anyone publicly. Jesus gave us a way to deal with this in Matthew 18:15-17. This also means that we should never hold back the truth. We should condemn sin, not the sinner, when we see it. During the 1800s, anti-slavery preachers did this from their pulpits. We saw this also in the 1960s when anti-segregation preachers preached against this.
John the Baptizer’s public denunciation of the incest and adultery between Herod Antipas and Herodias, was too much for them to tolerate. Their initial resentment turned to bitterness and then hatred. Mark’s Gospel tells us that Herodias held a grudge against John the Baptizer (see Mark 6:19). Former Watergate convict converted Christian, Chuck Colson, was quoted on saying this: “Never before has the need been more urgent for Christians to bring their faith to the front lines. It takes courage to think and act Christianly in times like these. We must demonstrate Christian love and compassion to even those who oppose us most vehemently” (Source: Quoted by Bruce B. Barton, The Life Application Bible Commentary, “Matthew,” p. 284).
When we get to verses 6-7, Herod decided for his birthday to have a party. For the record, this was a Greek/Roman celebration. Jews in Jesus’ day did not celebrate birthdays. Herodias’ daughter, Salome, would be the bait to get Herod Antipas prepped to have John killed. The Greek text implies that this young teen girl danced very sensually and provocatively before a bunch of drunk men, including Herod. She would have gained raucous approval for her performance. Herod had no idea his wife had a plot going to get him to make an oath in front of all that he would fulfill. In those days oaths were considered sacred and irreversible. She asked for the head of John the Baptizer on a platter.
The second lesson teaches us how small moral compromises can lead to bigger ones. Herod found himself on a slippery slope – one that he could not stop his slide down. Herodias wanted John the Baptizer killed and the proof would be his head on a platter. It was common in those days to bring the head of the one beheaded before the one who had ordered the beheading. Beheading was not a common Roman practice of execution, though it was done against the Apostle Paul. Crucifixion was the common form of execution. Herod broke Roman law in that he did not have a trial. Once the request was made in front of all these drunken sex crazed men, would Herod be weak and break his vow? Or, would he “man-up” and keep it. He caved into Herodias and Salome.
The pressure was on because Herod had given his oath in front of some of the top Romans officials. Look at Mark 6:21, “Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee” (NLT). If Herod backed out on his word, would show all these important guests that he could not be trusted and was not a good ally.
There is a third lesson this teaches here: because of who and what you give your word to in life. Promises should be kept but sometimes we promise without thinking through fully what we are promising to do. On rare occasions, we may have to backtrack on a promise, but only after talking to the person. This should be the exception, not the norm.
A fourth lesson this teaches us is how far anyone can go in being so insensitive. What mother convinces her daughter to go and do a strip tease dance before a bunch of drunken men? Our children today are desensitized to violence, sex, profanity, crude language, and debauchery on TV, in movies and in video games. Have these become so common and “normal” that we no longer see or hear them? Have they become so “normal” that we are no longer bothered by them. Studies have shown this: the more exposure we have to gruesome media, the less sensitive we become to real-life cruelty.
A fifth lesson this teaches us is the danger of nursing a grudge and putting revenge in our hands, rather than the Lord’s (see Deut. 17:35 and Rom. 12:17-19. Sixth, it teaches us of the power of the wrong kind of peer pressure (see 1 Cor. 15:33). Seventh, this teaches us the treachery of rationalization (see 1 John 2:15-17). Eighth, this story teaches the lesson about the seductiveness and addiction of sin (see 1 John 3:8). Years ago I heard this quote, but I do not know from where. Here it is: “Sin will take you farther than you want to go. Sin will keep you longer than you want to stay. Sin will cost you more than you want to pay.”
Assignment: Look over these 8 lessons here. Which pertains most to you? Which convicts you the most? Which affects your life the most? What changes do you need to start making now?
Scripture To Meditate On: Jeremiah 17:9, “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Lord, please show me where I have become desensitized to sin in my culture and in my life. I vow to You that beginning now I will make changes where Your Holy Spirit convicts me. Whatever I need to cut off and kill, whatever it is, let it be for Your glory and honor. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly