everybody what is going on you know what time it is you're listening to join the journey podcast

with your host emma daughter thanks for joining did you know herod mixed up john the baptist in

jesus and matthew 14 he wasn't sure who was who and for us when we read our bibles we often encounter

the names of individuals who ruled in governments throughout history, and it can be really easy to mix people up.

I mean, why did they give multiple people the same name?

As Matthew 14 begins, we meet Herod the Tetrarch.

And to eliminate any confusion, back in episode two, we talked about Herod the Great, the guy who ordered

all the babies to be killed when Jesus was born. The Herod we read about in Matthew 14 is a different

guy. He's Herod the Tetchark, the Herod who had John the Baptist beheaded. Tetchar

means ruler of one quarter. So Herod, the Tetrarch in 14 ruled over one fourth of his father's kingdom, and his father was Herod the Great. And generally speaking, it's a pretty safe bet to assume every mention of Herod throughout the rest of Matthew refers to Herod the Tetrarch. And here's what you should know about this Herod. Like I said,

his dad was Herod the Great, the guy who had all the babies killed. So he probably didn't have a

great role model as he was growing up. Herod the Tetrarch divorced his first wife to marry Herodius,

the wife of his half-brother, Philip. Long story short, it's basically

an incestuous relationship according to Jewish law. And you should know, John the Baptist

began his ministry under Herod the Tetrarch's rule, and this Herod didn't like John's ministry.

Now, when we read Matthew 3, we didn't talk much about who John

the Baptist was. So let's do that for just a moment. John the Baptist's arrival on the scene was

pretty significant, as the Israelites hadn't received a prophet from God in 400 years. They'd gone

400 years without a messenger of the Lord. But his arrival, it should have been

expected, as it was in accordance with that which had been prophesied 700 years prior. Just a long time

had passed. John the Baptist stepped on the scene in accordance with Isaiah 40 versus 3 through 5,

which says this.

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