A SHARP CONTRAST
‘Herod the tetrarch … John in prison.’
There could hardly be a sharper contrast than that presented in the careers of Herod Antipas and John the Baptist.
I. Herod a lofty and John a lowly position.—Yet John was loved, and Herod was hated. In the heart of Herod, bitterness; in the heart of John, peace. Not outward position, but good conscience which makes life worth living.
II. The life-history of the two provides a contrast. Keynote to the character of Herod, cowardly cunning; to that of John, courageous frankness. Herod’s cowardice was (a) physical, ‘he feared the multitude’; (b) moral, ‘for his oath’s sake.’ John’s courage shown in that he had no soft words for multitude and attacked Herod on his unholy marriage. Herod was false to his conscience; John obeyed his to the letter.
III. In great crises of life men are what their previous history has made them.
If Herod a warning to all not on the Lord’s side, what encouragement true Christian may gather from career of John.
Rev. Canon Sutton.