Herod the Scare-ed

If you will recall the story of John the Baptist and how he angered Herodias because of his 'inconvenient truth' about her infidelity, you might also recall that he was hesitant to kill John on her account. (Matt 14:9) The daughter of Herodias, Salome, had danced in her undies before Herod and his round table of visiting generals and dignitaries. All had heard Herod promise Salome anything she desired. Salome had danced with a mission - to claim the head of John for her mother.

This is where it gets interesting. Herod believed John was a man of power. He knew the masses loved John - and the masses claimed he was Elijah, returned from heaven as scripture promised:

Mal 4:5 ASV
(5) Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Jehovah come.

Herod believed that maybe it 'was' Elijah, and that perhaps he had killed the mightiest and most powerful of all the prophets. As Herod saw it, if the guy had come back from the dead once... he just might come back from the dead again, only this time with a score to settle. Herod was nervous.

Enter Jesus. Recall again... some thought Jesus was also Elijah (Elias), and He performed miracles that made John seem like a librarian. Herod became much more nervous-er. Can we see the bent against Jesus that the local politicians had? Can we see how superstition works against Love?