Matthew 14:1-11 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus,… Herod was a Sadducee; he appears to have been the avowed patron and protector of that sect which believed neither in the existence of spirit, whether angels, men, or devils. Yet see how the conscience of Herod crushes his creed to pieces; though he believed not in the resurrection of the dead, yet he feared that John had risen from the dead; though he despised the idea of hell as a fable, and as a bugbear, he felt within him all the horrors of Gehenna, the gnawings of a "worm that dieth not," the scorchings of a "fire that is not quenched." Men may try to believe that there is no existence beyond the grave; they may write upon the sepulchre, "Death is an eternal sleep"; these flimsy pretences burst through them like a river rushing through a mound of sand, or a roaring lion through a spider's web. (Dr. Thomas.) Parallel Verses KJV: At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus,WEB: At that time, Herod the tetrarch heard the report concerning Jesus, |
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