Isn’t it amazing what guilt can do? And isn’t it amazing how one sin leads to another, to another, to another, etc.? Herod the tetrarch (Herod the Great’s son) had an affair with his brother’s wife, Herodias. Herodias left her husband and married Herod (clear violation of Jewish law in many ways). When John the Baptist called him on it, instead of admitting his sin, he had John arrested and put into prison so his reputation would not be harmed. Then He made an thoughtless oath, resulting in the murder of an innocent man.
Yet the guilt still nagged at him. We see that in his response to hearing the news about Jesus. He thought that Jesus was John raised from the dead! Maybe our guilt isn’t that extreme, but often we carry guilt around with us like backpack filled with rocks. This guilt often leads us to then into other sins as we try to cover up our guilt or explain it away. The only way to deal with this guilt is to take it and drop it at the feet of Jesus. Admitting how wrong we were, asking for forgiveness that can only come from him. While God does forgive our sins when we confess them, he also desire us to reconcile with those we have hurt by our actions. Often our guilt is not caused by our sin against God, but our sin against someone else, to relieve that sin we need to confess it to THEM, asking them to forgive us as well.
What guilt are you carrying around? Bring it to Jesus. He will forgive you with no questions! And bring it to the one you hurt, asking their forgiveness and reconciliation as well!