Matthew: Fearful Reaction and Rejection

As the kingdom of God continues to expand and spread we see both those who receive the message and
those who reject it. To reject the message of the kingdom is to reject Jesus. Last week, we saw a town of common people rejecting the message with their treatment of the Messiah. Today, we see the rejected of the kingdom by a governor with his treatment of John the Baptist, who was the forerunner to Jesus. The plot and events of this passage today are most interesting, but beyond all that we see a man driven by fear denying Jesus and His kingdom. We can either reject or receive Jesus. What will our response be?