Matthew 14:2
Wednesday, 5 November 2025
and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him.” Matthew 14:2
“and he said to his servants, ‘This, he is John the Immerser! He, he is aroused from the dead, and through this the miracles work in him!’” (CG).
In the previous verse, it said that Herod the tetrarch heard the words about Jesus. Now, that continues, saying, “and he said to his servants, ‘This, he is John the Immerser!’”
Both Matthew 16 and Luke 9 show that there was speculation about who Jesus was. Among them, there were three predominant views –
“When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, ‘Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?’
14 So they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’” Matthew 16:13, 14
The reason Herod was certain that Jesus was actually John the Baptist will be the subject of the coming verses. Through verse 12, it will explain Herod’s interactions with John and members of his household that led him to a seemingly neurotic state concerning John. Of this deduction made by Herod, he emphatically continues, saying, “He, he is aroused from the dead.”
The word dead is plural. In English, “dead” is normally a cumulative word, especially when preceded by a definite article. Herod is stating that John was among those who had been dead, but he had somehow been raised from among them. The emphatic nature of his words shows that he was certain this was the case. As a result of this, he continues, saying, “and through this the miracles work in him!”
Herod ties the power of working miracles as the result of being raised from the dead. This confirms the words concerning John recorded in John’s gospel –
“Then many came to Him and said, ‘John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true.’” John 10:41
In his life, John didn’t perform any signs. However, Herod says, “through this,” meaning through the resurrection, he was now able to perform signs. If one thinks this through, it shows the ridiculous stupidity of his thought process.
If John were raised from the dead, after losing his head, that itself would be the greatest miracle, not any of the others instead. And more, it shows without any ambiguity at all that Herod thought that the dead could be raised.
Life application: Have you ever talked to someone about Jesus and been told that he didn’t believe it is possible for the dead to rise? It is not uncommon for people to hold this view.
And yet, the same type of people accept that the universe exploded itself into existence and then put itself together in such a way as to create the precision of life on planet Earth. Along with that, it planned the placement of the sun, moon, and earth, so that eclipses can take place with absolute predictability and precision, the seasons are perfectly marked to support life and return at the exact time necessary for the cycle to continue, etc.
Others claim that life is sacred and killing a person, even if he has committed the most horrendous of crimes, is wrong. And yet the same people claim that killing the unborn or euthanizing the physically or mentally defective and elderly is perfectly acceptable.
Still others believe that ghosts exist, demons can live within people, various gods have control over events in nature, or things coincide within the span of time in order to have certain objectives met according to predetermined plans (things understood by divination, for example).
People can accept the most ridiculous propositions, including people rising from the dead (like Herod’s belief about John the Baptist), but they turn around and deny that the dead can actually rise when presented with the evidence concerning Jesus.
It is as if we have a default setting in us that says, “If the true God is involved in the process, it cannot be true.” However, we will accept the exact same type of evidence without reservation once the true God is taken out of the picture.
God created and made everything perfect for man to inhabit the earth. “No, it cannot be!” God says that life is sacred and that when someone violates that principle, he must be executed. Jesus came to die for the sins of all people, including murderers. He died for them and rose again. “No, it cannot be!”
Jesus rose again, proving there is more than the material realm that is working in the world around us. “No, it cannot be!”
If you encounter such unclear thinking, as frustrating as it is, you can use their unclear reasoning (if they are willing to consider your thoughts) to show them that they already believe what they deny, and that what they need to do is to reconsider the source of their belief, going from a non-God centered reality to a God-centered reality.
It is not always easy, but if you have the time to work with people by learning what they accept or do not accept, you can then help them understand the hypocritical thoughts going on in their head, assisting them to realign their thinking to what is sound and reasonable.
Lord God, You have changed our hearts and minds to go from a state of unbelief to one of accepting the proposition concerning the good news of Jesus. Help us to now work with others to think clearly about what we believe, demonstrating to them why our thoughts are reasonable. We know the truth of Your word, so help us to present it to others so that they can see it as well. Amen.
