Why did Jesus allow John the Baptist to die in prison? I can't answer that question.
Jesus and John were cousins; they would have played together as children; John was the last prophet, preparing the way for the Messiah, Jesus; John baptised Jesus, acknowledging Jesus as the Messiah, yet Jesus made no attempt to save John from being imprisoned, let alone save him from being executed. Why? I find that hard to fathom, especially when Jesus healed so many people, fed thousands, even raised people from the dead. Why not save John the Baptist?
John was a rather rough character - the new Elijah as foretold by the prophets much earlier - and his role was to prepare the people for the long awaited Messiah, Jesus. Despite his forthright nature - he called the Pharisees and Sadducees 'you brood of vipers' and condemned Herod for his illicit marriage, landing him in prison, - he was very humble, publicly stating that he, John was not worthy to untie Jesus' sandals, let alone baptise him.
While John was in prison, he started to question what was really going on with Jesus and while some commentators suggest John was starting to doubt if Jesus really was the Messiah, I wonder if John was questioning why Jesus did nothing to save him let alone visit him in prison ( we don't have a record of that happening). John managed to send a message to Jesus' disciples asking if Jesus really was the Messiah, and Jesus' reply was to reassure John that Jesus was fulfilling all the prophecies of the promised Messiah - not even a direct 'yes'.
The next thing we know is that Herod's wife conspired to have John's head on a platter, and as Herod had made a promise he could not cancel, John was duly executed. Why did Jesus save so many people yet not save John the Baptist?
That really puzzles me. I realise most of Jesus' disciples became martyrs for their faith, but John was not martyred. All I can deduce from this is that despite so many promises of God's care and protection, unjustified bad things will still happen, and we must concentrate on our ultimate goal of heaven - being with Jesus.
Strange things do happen!
Jesus and John were cousins; they would have played together as children; John was the last prophet, preparing the way for the Messiah, Jesus; John baptised Jesus, acknowledging Jesus as the Messiah, yet Jesus made no attempt to save John from being imprisoned, let alone save him from being executed. Why? I find that hard to fathom, especially when Jesus healed so many people, fed thousands, even raised people from the dead. Why not save John the Baptist?
John was a rather rough character - the new Elijah as foretold by the prophets much earlier - and his role was to prepare the people for the long awaited Messiah, Jesus. Despite his forthright nature - he called the Pharisees and Sadducees 'you brood of vipers' and condemned Herod for his illicit marriage, landing him in prison, - he was very humble, publicly stating that he, John was not worthy to untie Jesus' sandals, let alone baptise him.
While John was in prison, he started to question what was really going on with Jesus and while some commentators suggest John was starting to doubt if Jesus really was the Messiah, I wonder if John was questioning why Jesus did nothing to save him let alone visit him in prison ( we don't have a record of that happening). John managed to send a message to Jesus' disciples asking if Jesus really was the Messiah, and Jesus' reply was to reassure John that Jesus was fulfilling all the prophecies of the promised Messiah - not even a direct 'yes'.
The next thing we know is that Herod's wife conspired to have John's head on a platter, and as Herod had made a promise he could not cancel, John was duly executed. Why did Jesus save so many people yet not save John the Baptist?
That really puzzles me. I realise most of Jesus' disciples became martyrs for their faith, but John was not martyred. All I can deduce from this is that despite so many promises of God's care and protection, unjustified bad things will still happen, and we must concentrate on our ultimate goal of heaven - being with Jesus.
Strange things do happen!
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