"When Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee, heard about Jesus, he said to his advisers, This must be John the Baptist..." (Matthew 14:1-2, NLT) .
When bad people feel threatened by someone, their resolve is often to kill the person. They believe that once this person is out of the picture then they can be free of him. That's why Herod killed John. That's why the Jews killed Jesus. That's why Emperor Nero persecuted and killed many christians. Their thinking was let's kill them and get rid of their voice, message, threats, etc.
Today's scripture paints us a sordid picture of how Herod still feared John even after he had him killed. When he heard of Jesus' exploits, he concluded that it must be John the Baptist. This is to say he still feared John even while John was dead.
When people die, they literally cease to exist. When people get sick or weak, there are things they are unable to do; and there is level of performance they are unable to reach. But even in those weakest moments of our life, God magnifies our aura and efforts such that our enemies are still in great fear of us. God said, " my strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor 12:9)
Child of God, even when you are feeling down, weak, insufficient...don't give in, do as much as you can with your little strength, and God will magnify your effort and give you the same results you would have had if you were full of strength and energy