There’s an intriguing name in the New Testament, in Acts 13: Manaen. As far as I know, this man is not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible. Scripture says he was brought up with Herod Antipas. What a surprise! Manaen, a believer in Christ, was a childhood friend of Herod Antipas, the one who ordered John the Baptist beheaded? What had caused one to come to believe in Jesus, the Son of God while the other followed a far different path? In Luke 13:32, Herod is called, “that fox”; yet in Acts 13, Herod’s long ago friend Manaen is listed among the prophets and teachers of Jesus.
What caused such a chasm to separate these two men, Herod and Manaen? Was Herod merely a victim of being born into a malicious ruling family? Was he forced to make the deadly decisions he would be known for? Or did he have a choice? Maybe the parents of these two accounted for their difference. Was Herod never taught right from wrong and did his political ambitions become his god?
I would like to know more about Manaen and why he chose to follow a road that went away from Herod and toward Christ. Many times what children are taught becomes the inner light that guides them in later life. So, let’s suppose that Manaen knew the truth. Even knowing that, he still had choices. Did he have to decide between a position in the king’s court and the uncertain life of a Christ-follower? One choice might have given him power and wealth with a final destination of eternal death. The other, the one Manaen chose, led to being numbered with those who were often persecuted but whose final destination was eternal life.
That brief mention of a man of firm convictions leads me to wonder about him, his early life, when he decided to follow Christ, and what happened to him as a believer. Perhaps his legacy to us is an example of standing firm against evil; of daring to say No. He fades into obscurity but his name is inscribed in Scripture. Manaen, man of mystery.
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