Psalm 70, 71; Ezra 7:1-26; Rev. 14:1-13; Matt. 14:1-12
The passage begins with the lineage of Ezra, tracing him back to Aaron, he was bona fide. Ezra understood something truly important, what it meant to be a disciple. He was a disciple of the Lord, he “set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel.” A disciple is one who is learning what pleases the Lord, doing those things and teaching others to do them as well. We have no idea what the king may have known concerning the God of Ezra but we do know that he commanded that the ways of Ezra’s God be taught and obeyed. He gave Ezra great authority to set up Jerusalem according to the plan and will of God. It would seem that Ezra had the right stuff to be that leader, the right lineage and more than that the right heart concerning God’s Word.
Why did Herod believe that Jesus was the resurrection of John the Baptist? It seems quite an odd belief since Jesus was nearly the same age as John and his rationale was, “that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him." We have no record of John having miraculous powers, so it is odd that he would come to this conclusion. Herod’s conscience was greatly troubled by John in life and in death. He knew his own sin and surely believed that God was convicting him of the sin with Herodias and also of his sin in granting the wish of her daughter Salome, his niece. Herod was himself a Jew so John would have had unique opportunity to speak God’s law into his life but it was and is never completely safe to speak such truth into the life of one who holds the power of life or death over you. Jesus had something to say about that though, that safety isn’t the main concern, fidelity to God is our first obligation.
The first thing we have to deal with is whether these 144,000 are literally male virgins. It would not fit with the word “defiled” to imply they were virgins. Defilement would imply that something was wrong or immoral about sexual relations and this is never the case generally, only when such relations are forbidden, such as in the case of Herod in the Gospel lesson. The angel in verse 6 instructs all to fear God and give Him glory because judgment is come and to worship Him for creation. Fear is connected with judgment and it is the beginning of wisdom as it recognizes that He is judge, worship is connected with His mighty works, the recognition of Him as Lord and giver of life. We are called to persevere in the worship of God, never ascribing worship to anything under the sun, any created being. Blessed are those who persevere in faith as did John.
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