Adversity
Luke 9:7-9
Rabbi Rev. Dr. Michael H. Koplitz
Luke 9:7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening; and he was
greatly perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, 8
and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old
had risen. 9 Herod said, “I myself had John beheaded; but who is this man about
whom I hear such things?” And he kept trying to see Him.
In Luke’s gospel chapter 9, starting on verse seven and going through nine, we have an
interesting short narrative about a man named Herod the tetrarch. Some of you might
know him by his other name, which is Herod Antipas. Let me give you a short history
of whom this man was so it’s put in perspective to Luke’s gospel. Herod Antipas was
the son of Herod the Great. He became the king of Indumea, Judea, and Galilee. He
was paranoid about losing his power, and he built several fortresses where he could
hide from enemies and architects.
Herod the Great rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem to make it even more exquisite than it
was at the time. He built a palace at a place called Masada, which in 72 CE became the
last stronghold of the Jewish revolt against the Romans. In fact, soldiers being inducted
into the Israeli army today visit Masada and take their oath to the country there.
When Herod the Great died, his kingdom was divided into four parts. His son Herod
Antipas took control of the area of the Galilee. Since Herod Antipas was under Roman
control, that made him very nervous. He approached tasks differently from his father.
Earlier in the Gospel of Luke, we learned that John the Baptist went to visit Herod
Antipas. During that exchange, John the Baptist told Herod Antipas that he violated
God’s law by marrying his brother’s wife. That placed John the Baptist in a prophet
category. Unfortunately, history informs us that profits from God usually died when
they brought their message to the leadership of their day.
Kings like to believe that they can get away with anything on earth and that they would
just be forgiven by God. What we learned from the Bible is that’s not exactly true.
However, prophets being sent by God to these kings frequently did not make a lot of
difference and were killed for trying. And so was the case with John the Baptist.
Herod Antipas became aware of what Jesus was doing in the Galilee. He became
concerned because he saw Jesus as a threat to his authority. Herod understood as well
as the people did that when the Messiah came that he would become the king of Israel.
The Messiah would gather the lost tribes of Israel and reestablish the nation of Israel,
which existed before the kingdoms split up into two parts.
I hope you can see why Herod Antipas would have been very concerned about what
was going on with Jesus. Jesus was out there performing signs and miracles and giving
hope to the people that one day they would not be oppressed by Herod Antipas or by
Rome. This made Herod Antipas very nervous. So, he asks in this section of Luke’s
gospel about who Jesus was.
It is interesting that some people of Herod’s day believed that Jesus was John the Baptist
being reincarnated. When you think about the age of John the Baptist and Jesus, that’s
not possible. It’s not sure why Luke wrote in this section of chapter 9 that some people
thought that Jesus was John the Baptist reincarnated. The concept of reincarnation was
not generally accepted among the Jews of that day. However, this tells us that there
must’ve been some who thought it was a real thing.
Herod faced adversity in many ways. Jesus becoming known as the Messiah was a direct
adversity that he had a deal with. We will learn later in Luke’s gospel that he did not
handle this adversity well and was a part of the movement to have Jesus killed and
removed from the earth. When Jesus died on the cross, Herod Antipas did not have to
worry about him being the Messiah anymore. This also tells us that the idea of the
Messiah and what the Messiah was going to do did not correspond to what Jesus was
actually sent to do. Eventually, the followers of Jesus would come to understand that
he was not going to be the one to restore the physical kingdom, but rather he came to
reinstate the spiritual kingdom of God.
What we can learn from this passage is that we can examine ourselves and ask ourselves,
“how do I deal with adversity?” Unfortunately, adversity is going to hit you in the face
at different times in your life, especially when you don’t expect it to happen. Here is a
story about overcoming adversity.
A young man named Alex had always been a top performer in his field. He was
confident, driven, and always seemed to be one step ahead of the game. However, one
day, disaster struck. Alex's company went bankrupt, leaving him without a job or a
steady income. At first, Alex was devastated. He felt like his whole world had come
crashing down around him. He wondered how he would pay his bills, let alone support
himself and his family.
But as the days turned into weeks, Alex began to realize that he had a choice to make.
He could give in to his despair and let it consume him, or he could rise above it and
find a way to move forward. It wasn't easy, but Alex chose to rise above his adversity.
He started by taking small steps towards rebuilding his life. He applied for jobs, even
though he was unsure if he would get hired. Furthermore, he also started volunteering
at local non-profits, which helped him gain new skills and gave him a sense of purpose
and fulfillment.
As the months went by, Alex's hard work and determination began to pay off. He
landed a job as a marketing manager at a small startup company. He also continued to
volunteer at local non-profits, which helped him build his professional network and
gave him a sense of fulfillment and purpose. In the end, Alex's experience with adversity
had taught him valuable lessons about perseverance, resilience, and the importance of
staying true to oneself, even in the face of great uncertainty and adversity.
Alex used his God given skills and talents to overcome his adversity. When you think
about the statement anything is possible with God, you might want to look at it as God
is giving you all the gifts and talents you need to overcome anything in life. You just
have to be able to organize it and take advantage of it. Everything we have comes from
God, therefore using those skills and talents is having God with you. It also good to
pray about it and ask the Holy Spirit to give you guidance so that you could use those
God-given talents in a way that is the most beneficial to get you through the adversity.
Let me in closing say never give up. God will help you find a way through all the
adversities that will come into your life. Unfortunately, we cannot avoid adversity. It is
a part of the material world and the fact that we have to deal with people who are not
following God’s word. So, the next time you come face to came against an adversity,
think about how Alex dealt with it. Take your God-given talents and let the Holy Spirit
direct you to brighter and greener pastures. As the psalmist said in Psalm 23, God will
guide you to the green pastures.
