This B-Side returns to the death of John the Baptist, taught in Sunday service on July 6th (linked here: subspla.sh/xxq2qhc )...

We're sent out into the world to be known, so God's mighty works can be known. Not so everyone can see how great we are, but to point them to the goodness of God!

Herod arrested John because his wife hated him, but also for power and political benefit.

Herod and Herodias are similar to the Old Testament couple, Ahab and Jezebel. The wife is cunning and controls her pitiful husband, who can only try to appease her, causing her to grow in monstrosity. Herod lets his wife lead to bring peace, but it brings anything but peace!

Herod was worried that though he'd killed John the Baptist, there were now 13 new ones in his place (Jesus and the twelve)! This is the story of the Church: the more we're persecuted, the more we multiply. When we turn the other cheek, it's a powerful witness that captivates people, and God honors it by multiplying the church.

John the Baptist's story ends with his disciples burying him... not the outcome they expected when they started. A foreshadowing of Jesus' crucifixion by a corrupt government. Yet the Church multiplied through it all!

This passage contains a warning about lust, as it was the cause of Herod's actions. He knew John the Baptist was special and preaching truth, yet he threw it all away for a moment of lust. Is a moment of pleasure worth losing your family, your life's work? It mars our witness and burns our lives to the ground. We must be on guard against it!