Those Who Bring Good News Must Also Rebuke in Love “But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of his marriage to Herodias , his brother’s wife, and all the other evil things he had done, Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.” ( Luke 3:18–20 ) As I meditate on these verses, I wish to receive the lesson contained in them. (1) John the Baptist, who proclaimed “good news” to the people (Luke 3:18), rebuked “ Herod the tetrarch ” (v.19)—the same Herod Antipas mentioned in verse 1 (Hokmah)—because of “ his marriage to Herodias , his brother’s wife, and all the other evil things he had done” (v.19). (a) The phrase “ his brother’s wife Herodias ” (v.19) refers to the fact that Herod took his brother Philip’s wife, Herodias (Matt. 14:4; Mark 6:17). Around A.D. 26, Herod divorced his first wife—the daughter of King Aretas of Arabia —and...
Gethsemane Prayer (3) [Luke 22:39-46] As we think about the things before and after Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane, I hope and pray that we will be convinced that Jesus loved His people to the end. Look at John 13:1 – “ Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” This word means that Jesus knew that the time had come for Him to return to heaven after coming from heaven, and He loved His people in this world and loved them to the end. These are the events that took place before Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane (there was Holy Communion before Passover and what happened at this banq...