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    The death of John the Baptist, the last and greatest of the Old Testament prophets, seems tragic and senseless to us. John’s death is wrapped up in the tale of the sins of Israel’s elite, and that tale is sordid to our ears.
    Yet, we can have no doubt that God’s will was done on that day that John was executed. No one, believer or otherwise, goes to his death without God’s will, and this fact was just as true in the case of John. As we know from Romans 8:28, even the things that we think are bad work together for the good of those who love God, and John surely did.
    For the reality that God is always in charge of what happens to us, and the fact that God works those things for the benefit of the kingdom and for us, we should greatly rejoice. Such truth is a comfort for us, whether we live in times of peace or war, freedom or persecution. Because we know this truth, we can approach the Gospel boldly and share it without fear, because we know the result will always be for the better.
DLH
