I know a guy. Words you like to hear when you tell your friend you’re looking for an electrician. The right connections make life easier. True when job hunting, and true when getting stuff done around the house. Sometimes, however, we may know a guy who we wish we’d never met.

Several men are listed as leaders of the young and growing church in Antioch. One of the teachers referenced is Manaen, a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch. This is the only place in the Bible Manaen is mentioned, and the only info we gather about him is his long friendship with a corrupt and murderous leader.

Do you remember Herod? This unscrupulous king lopped the head off John the Baptist and mocked Jesus during his trial. He detested the early Christians. But Manaen grew up with Herod, likely as a foster brother. As a result, Manaen came to age in a privileged, wealthy and severely anti-Christian household.

Did Manaen witness John’s beheading? Did he watch the mocking and beating of Jesus on the streets of Jerusalem? Did he follow the crowd to Golgotha? Regardless, at some point he heard stories of the resurrection. Truth seeped into Manaen’s soul. He turned from the ways of his family to embrace the ways of Jesus.

No one is insulated from the grace of God. Manaen’s life demonstrates the power of the gospel to reach individuals from elite environments dead set against the ways of the Lord. God works the same way today.

Manaen rejected the dark side of power and turned to Jesus instead. Many today are trapped, allured by the same darkness. Pray for the light of the gospel to reach them, no matter how far from Jesus they appear, because everyone a new set of friends.

Acts 13:1

Photo by Bruno van der Kraan