This passage recounts the tragic story of John the Baptist’s death under King Herod’s rule. John had boldly spoken the truth, confronting sin without fear, even when it cost him his freedom and eventually his life. Herod’s guilty conscience and Herodias’s bitterness led to John’s execution, but his message of truth could not be silenced.

The theme “Don’t Kill the Messenger” reminds us that God’s messengers throughout history—prophets, apostles, and faithful believers—have often been rejected, persecuted, or even killed. Yet, the truth they carried endures because it is God’s truth, not man’s.

This message challenges us today:

To honor God’s messengers by receiving the Word with humility rather than resisting it.

To recognize that truth is eternal—we may silence a voice, but we cannot silence God.

To be courageous messengers ourselves, willing to speak the truth in love, no matter the cost.

Ultimately, the cross of Jesus shows us the greatest example of this: though men killed Him, the Truth Himself rose again, proving once and for all that you can kill the messenger, but you can’t kill the truth.