Thursday 25 September 2008

Background

The life and teachings of Jesus inspired curiosity, then andnow. This Herod (not to be confused with the Herod in the birthstories about Jesus) is the tetrarch, a local ruler supported byRome. He has already had John the Baptist put to death to settle abrash promise to his adulterous lover's daughter, according to thecolourful account given in Mark's Gospel (Mark 6:17-29).Whatever John's fate, it remains that Herod was 'perplexed' byJesus and deeply curious about him.

In all of these kingdom stories Jesus does not attract people bygiving doctrine or a list of rules, but by drawing them intorelationship. This does not mean he is simply a showman. We haveseen that Jesus does not hesitate to shock or offend people to makea point about the kingdom of God (eg Matthew 9:9-13). Hedoes not try to please the crowd and this makes people like Herodall the more curious about him. The kingdom of God will be its ownadvertisement, and will draw notice, both positive andnegative.

The passage lists dead 'heroes' of the Hebrew imagination. John theBaptist may have been the most recent but Elijah and the prophetswere also potential candidates for confusion with Jesus in thepopular imagination, and in Herod's thinking at least. It isimportant that Jesus was not then, nor is now, just another deadhero to be emulated.

In saying "Jesus lives" we do not claim that a corpse is walkingaround, but that an intimate relationship with him is still onoffer. People are still curious, and being 'perplexed' is not a badplace to start.

To Ponder

Is the kingdom of God necessarily a threat to thepower of political rulers?

So much is contained in the brief sentence "Andhe tried to see him". How do you try to 'see Jesus' when you areperplexed? Where could you go and what could you do that mighthelp?

How does Church life help you, or hold youback?