At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, "Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you."
Herod was king of Galilee. He killed John, now Jesus is warned about the king’s intention to take His life too.
Unless one has been in a life threatening situation, it is impossible to fully appreciate the courage of the Teacher in the face of this very real death threat. How will Jesus respond?
He replied, Go tell that fox, 'I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.'
He doesn’t flinch. Undeterred by fear for His personal safety, Jesus will keep on fulfilling His mission. Keep helping hurting people.
Until, that is, it is His time to die. He knows it is coming. He also knows when and predicts where it will occur.
In any case, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!
This is the Teacher we follow. The one with a supreme confidence in God that gives Him resolute courage in the face of opposition and even death!
O’ to be more like Him! How often we cower under less and are tempted to be silent when God would have us speak up for Him.
Unlike our Teacher, we don’t know when or where we will spend our final hours.
Yet, like Him we know what it will mean for us if we hold good courage to the end.
Every saved person is eternally grateful to Jesus. Because of His bravery, we too can reach our goal.
Why do i wonder if this is a real threat from Herod or the Pharisees trying to scare him away?
ReplyDeleteEither way, it doesn't work.
Boldness, like you pointed out, is something that tends to elude us. Paul prays for it - then asks the ephesians to pray for it for him (Eph 6:19-20)
Do we speak fearlessly and boldly for Christ?
When opportunities come today, will you be silent? Or Bold?