I think it’s safe to say that the name “Mary” was a top ten baby name during Jesus’s childhood. After all, the name Mary occurs 54 times in the Christian Scriptures, it’s found in 49 verses, and it’s likely that these instances denote 7-12 unique people. Because of this, scholars often need to figure out which particular Mary the author is talking about…
Today’s passage doesn’t appear in many commentaries. It’s not a well-known passage like the beheading of John the Baptist from last week or the feeding of the 5000 which actually happens in the middle of this passage. Rather, this is a transition passage to describe a transition in the ministry of the disciples and Jesus’ ministry…
I could not help but wince when I found out I’d be preaching on this passage this week. It’s hard to read, much less preach on. First, it doesn’t sit right with me that John the Baptist was imprisoned simply for pointing out a hard truth. It doesn’t sit right with me that Herod would rather kill an innocent person than be embarrassed in front of his guests. It doesn’t sit right with me that somehow his child gets caught in the middle of the grudge that he and his wife have with John the Baptist. It DOES NOT sit right with me that Herod- father, leader, host- ABUSES his power in so many ways…
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