Truth never goes away.  Just after the disciples had been sent out on their first mission trip without Jesus, Luke recorded that King Herod was getting agitated.  Perhaps the trainee-apostles appeared to be like John the Baptist's disciples, announcing the Kingdom of God.  They obviously made an impression, because Herod thought they might be something to do with John, whom he had beheaded for telling the truth about his private life (Matthew 14:1-12).  Had John come back to life again?  Whatever Herod heard about their gospel message troubled the dark depths of his own soul with its memory of John's murder.  Herod's guilty conscience was working overtime.

Herod's thinking was both wrong and right.  Wrong, that John the Baptist had come back to life, but right about the message being the same as Jesus' - because John's job was to prepare the way for Him (Luke 3:3-6).  Herod was right about needing to resolve his guilt, but wrong if he thought that a chat with the dead John the Baptist would sort it all out. What he needed was to confess his sin to Jesus and ask for mercy (Matthew 3:4-8).  But when Herod eventually did meet Jesus, he mocked Him (Luke 23:8-12).  Herod knew the truth but refused to do what was right.

Guilt is a moral pain which tells us something is wrong.  However, its purpose is frustrated if we refuse to confess our sin and ask for God's mercy.  Alas, many of our friends in the community and at work live uneasily in the 'guilt-trap'.  Because the truth about their sin will not go away (Luke 8:17-18), they try to dull the ache in their heart by the addictions to pleasure, wealth, activity, ambition and respect from others, or alcohol, nicotine and other drugs.  But the guilt keeps surfacing, triggered by innocent little reminders, precipitating a fresh wave of anxiety.  The only answer is to turn to Jesus in repentance and faith ourselves, and encourage others to do the same (1 John 1:9).

That is why we have been placed in a sinful world - to announce the Saviour and lead people to Him (Luke 10:3). Announcing the Saviour is not a task reserved for ministers and missionaries.  If you know Jesus, you can tell your friends and work colleagues whether you are an engineer, teacher, construction worker, transport official, local leader, trader, student, farm hand or health worker.  Your responsibility is to give the message, theirs is to respond.