Luke 13:31-33

Luke 13:31-33 At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.” 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.’ In any case, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day — for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!

Luke 23:11-12 Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. That day Herod and Pilate became friends — before this they had been enemies.

Acts 12:1-4 It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.

Herod in the above scriptures was the grandson of Herod the Great who had attempted to kill the infant Jesus. The Herod family was an enemy of God, yet chosen to do God's will. How difficult it is for us to appreciate that Herods, as with Pharaoh of old, are chosen to do the will of God. Moses freed the Jewish people from bondage, out of a stubborn, recalcitrant Pharaoh's hands, and Jesus freed all of mankind from bondage to the devil by going to the cross at the hands of Herod and the Romans. Herod played an important role in implementing God's eternal plan of salvation.

Jesus called Herod fox for He knew Herod would do anything to kill him and his followers. Herod had already beheaded John the Baptist, and Jesus knew that later on he would be instrumental in persecuting the emergent church. Nevertheless, God gave Herod the authority to be what he was: a wealthy, ruthless, and vindictive ruler of the Jewish people. When he did not give credit to God for who he was, God took his life. They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. (Acts 12:22-23) We wonder how such an evil man, an enemy of God, could be God's instrument. But God has his purposes, his plans, his ways; they go far beyond our understanding sometimes. In Herod, He found a man who was so hardhearted that he would even dare to touch God's only begotten Son and put him to death. But in doing so, he implemented God's plan of salvation for all people.

God gives each of us authority to live this physical existence. He breathes HIS LIFE into each of us, giving us strength and breath to live. Now, how are we going to live in the physical? If we are wise, we will live knowing and acknowledging God's gift of life. We will thank God for our lives, and we will do as much as we can to make life good and fulfilling, centered on God. Of course, this life is the gift God has given to all people. God gives us life for the now, so we can live each day for him. We need to recognize this God of life in our everyday interactions by doing his will. But, if people turn inward or selfish, unthankful to God and his life, they will live their lives for themselves, exploiting others for their own good. Surely, this is where sin thrives, where quarrels, wars, and all kinds of troubles spawn from people's self-willed natures. Jesus comes along and says, "You must be born again. You must become a new creature to be acceptable to God, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. All of you have gone your own way." This definitely is why we need Jesus, God's perfect new creature, the new and living way, the means to rebirth. As John once said, THROUGH HIM all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made, even sons and daughters of the MOST HIGH.

Yes, Herod was the old fox, but he was in God's plan. We too are in God's plan. On Earth we should be his willing servants, obeying our Father and serving in his kingdom. And IN CHRIST we are the eternal new creatures, created to fulfill God's purposes, for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10 KJV) In everything we are God's. The world needs to know that God has given every person the authority, power, and strength to live in this temporal world, BUT GOD HAS ALSO GIVEN US A PLAN OF SALVATION, THE AUTHORITY TO LIVE AS CELESTIAL BEINGS IN AND THROUGH CHRIST. But just as we should be thankful for our physical lives, we need to be thankful and to accept that we can have eternal life through Christ Jesus. If we fail to see this, our lives will not be what God has planned for them. So praise the Lord today that you are not a Herod in God's plan but a beloved son or daughter of the Lord of Life.