July 11 – Mark

MARK 6:14-29

Today’s passage is perhaps one of the saddest in the entire Bible.  It records the events surrounding the beheading of John the Baptist.  Many movies and even an opera has been done telling this story.  After all, it contains all the things that intrigue many people, immoral activity, sexy dancing, blood, gore, and other sexual innuendo.  Unfortunately, the movies don’t teach the lessons that this story really conveys.  For there are several lessons that we all can learn from this incident.

Let’s start by taking a look at the characters in the event.  First, we have John the Baptist.  A man of conviction and deeply committed to God.  John had been called by God to prepare the way for the Messiah, and  had been teaching repentance and baptizing those who repented of their sins.

Then we have King Herod Antipas who was the son of Herod the Great, the king who ordered the death of all the boy children in Bethlehem after he had heard of Jesus birth.  As you will see, his son was a man who was superstitious, immoral, and easily manipulated.

Then we have Herodias who was Herod Antipas’ half-niece.  She was married to Herod’s half-brother, Phillip, but when she spent some time with Herod Antipas in Rome, they decided that they would both divorce their spouses and marry each other.  Why not for Herod had more power and was richer than his half-brother, Phillip?  However, their marriage was considered unlawful.  In fact, Romans 7:2-3 tells us that a married woman was bound to her husband as long as he lived.  If she had sexual relations with another man while her husband was still alive, then she was called and adulteress, and Leviticus 20:21 tells us, “If a man marries his brother’s wife, it is an act of impurity; he has dishonored his brother.  They will be childless.” Not only was Herodias Herod’s half niece, but the wife of his half-brother.  Need I say anymore.

Finally, we have Herodias young daughter that she brought with her from her previous marriage when she married Herod.  She is believed to be about 12 to 14 years of age at the time this story takes place.  As a young girl, she was easily manipulated and influenced by her mother. What type of mother would encourage her young daughter to perform a sexy dance for her step-father and then ask him to behead someone?

Now John the Baptist was not a shy man, and he criticized her decision to marry her brother-in-law.    Therefore, Herodias hated John and wanted him killed.

You might wonder how John lived so long if Herod’s wife wanted to kill him. Mark tells us that Herod feared John and knew that he was a righteous and holy man. Mark goes on to tell us that Herod heard John speak often and enjoyed it, even though John’s words perplexed him.  It appears that Herod in some ways actually liked John the Baptist and wanted to protect him. Why then did Herod kill him?

Herod knew John was a righteous and holy man, but he was stuck between a rock and a hard place.  He was tangled in a complex web.  He did not want to kill John, but he was trying to please many different groups of people, while not losing face in front of all the people at his birthday party.  After all, he had promised the young girl that she could ask for anything up to a third of his kingdom.  How could he deny her in front of all those people?

Herod had the opportunity to welcome grace into the situation but chose to satisfy the group of people around him and not follow his own conscience.  He could have chosen to spare John the Baptist’s life regardless of the situation at hand.  Herod’s actions send us a strong message that we too have the choice to let grace in or reject it when situations arise.

Herod’s position was one that many of us can relate to.  Many of us have to make decisions every day that affect other people, and there are those times that we feel uncomfortable with our decisions while other people are happy with them.  Somewhere down deep, our conscience nags at us and just don’t feel right about it.  Perhaps, we too like Herod have given in to peer pressure rather than following our own moral compass.  There are times when all of us cave into social norms and don’t follow what we know is the right thing to do.

Take gossiping, for instance.  I bet there is not one person here who is not guilty of gossiping when we all know it is wrong.  I for one have to fess up that at times I get sucked into gossiping, and then I am sorry I did it.  We are all human, and it is just human to want to gossip about others.

Herodias is also a prime example of what a revengeful nature can do to us.   Wanting to get revenge when we think we have been wronged can bring us nothing but feelings of hatred, bitterness, and unforgiveness, and in the end they do us more harm than good.   Alexander Pope made this famous statement, “To err is human, to forgive divine.”  And Matthew 6:14 states, “For is you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”

As we leave here this morning, let us remember the lessons that come from this gory tale.  Let us be quick to forgive others and to show grace in all situations.  Let us let our conscience guide our decisions, and always remember that we are beloved children of God, and that he loved us so much he sent his only son to die on the cross for our sins.  If God can forgive us our many sins, we can surely forgive others.    Amen