Title: Herod’s Choice
Text: James 1:22; Mark 6 18-29
Subject: Obedience
Introduction: There is an epidemic loose in our world today. It’s not a physical disease, but an epidemic far worse. It is the terrible reality that many people in our country know what God expects, yet stubbornly refuse to listen and obey. People in this country know that adultery is wrong, that murder is wrong, and stealing is wrong, yet they chuck God’s word to the side and pursue their own desires. God’s moral and righteous laws have become comic fodder for late night comedians. God’s standards are constantly being eroded away by people unwilling to live by his ways. One reason for all this mess is Christians. More accurately, Christians that enjoy listening to God’s Word, but allow it to go no farther than their ears. Many Christians have shown the world by their lifestyle that “Christianity” is just something to listen too, and not really something to live. To those types of people, God has some strong words. They have deceived themselves. If you have your Bible, open it with to James chapter 1 and verse 22.
22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
God’s Word is the most incredible thing in this entire world. In it’s pages, God has chosen to speak to the human race. He has shown us the height’s from which we have fallen, the helplessness of our attempts to save ourselves, and the answer that he has provided in his Son Jesus. If the world only had one book, it would have to be the Bible. Yet for all its greatness, the Bible is powerless unless people believe and put into practice what they hear and read. I believe that there are many Christians in this world that know what the Bible teaches. On Sundays they may even be in church proclaiming they live by it. However, their life through the rest of the week denies it. What good is it to raise our hands on Sunday if we raise hell the rest of the week.
The end result of anyone that listens to the Word but doesn’t obey it will be the same as a person that flat out refuses to hear it. To illustrate this tonight, I want us to look at the life of a man that enjoyed hearing God’s Word, but never once thought about obeying it. I want us to look at Herod. If you still have your Bibles open, turn over to the gospel of Mark chapter 6. I want us to start by reading verses 16-20. Now as our passage begins, word has been spreading about Jesus and all the incredible miracles he has been doing. Many people believed Jesus was a prophet of old .
16 But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, the man I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!”
17 For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, 20 because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him. (NIV)
I. He listened to the message
The Herod story is one of the great soap opera stories of the Bible. With so many Herods in the Bible, let’s get his story clear. The Herod alive at the time Christ was born was known has Herod the Great. After his death his kingdom was divided among three of his sons: Philip, Antipas, and Archelaus. All of these sons went by the name Herod. For less confusion, we’ll call them Herod Philip, Herod Antipas, and Herod Archelaus. Now Herod the Great also had another son named Aristobulus. This is where the story begins to play like a daytime drama. Aristobulus had a daughter named Herodias. This daughter went and married her Uncle Herod Philip. During this time, Herod Antipas married the daughter of powerful king within the region. On a trip to Rome, Herod Antipas met Herodias. Supposedly they fell in love and both promptly divorced their spouses in favor of pursuing this new interest. So in this story, we have a niece marrying her uncle, only to divorce him in favor of another uncle.
It was because of this adulterous relationship that John had strong words to say against Herod Antipas and Herodias. John fearlessly preached against their relationship. First, they were closely related and that was forbidden. Second, they were both married to someone else. Without any moral grounds for divorce, they were both living in adultery. With these strong words, John preached the message that we see him preaching in the opening chapters of the gospel. His message was one of repentance and turning away from sin. John was calling on people to lives of righteousness in expectation of the coming Messiah. And John expected Herod Antipas and his lover Herodias to do the same.
Now Herodias’ response was one of anger. The Word tells us clearly that she wanted to kill John. Herod was a little different though. Herod actually enjoyed listening to John. It’s really a strange little statement in the middle of the story. John is basically preaching hellfire and brimstone, and Herod enjoys every minute of it. It is this way with many people and many Christians in this world. The word of God is exciting. They enjoy hearing about it. Again and again articles about the Bible and different aspects of it appear on the covers of major newsmagazines. The Left Behind series which even though it is fiction, is basically teaching about the end times and consistently makes it on the best sellers list when each new novel comes out. Conferences with big name Bible teachers are almost always sold out. People enjoy hearing about the word of God. Some will even take it a step farther. Instead of just listening, they will actually begin to think about what they are hearing.
II. He thought about the message
That’s the next thing wee see about Herod. He enjoyed listening to John preach even though it puzzled him at times. To be puzzled means to think about something without ever fully grasping what it means. As Herod went about his business, John’s words kept ringing in his ears. He pondered it, turned it over in his mind, yet he could never quite figure out what John was saying. Stranger still, John’s words surely convicted him of the sin that he was living in. Herod lived in guilt. The Bible tells us the Herod viewed John as being a holy and righteous man. Everyday John’s holiness and message were conviction upon Herod’s life. I like the way another version translates verse 20.
…Herod was in awe of John. Convinced that he was a holy man, he gave him special treatment. Whenever he listened to him he was miserable with guilt—and yet he couldn’t stay away. Something in John kept pulling him back. (The Message)
Even though John’s message brought conviction and puzzled him greatly, Herod seemed to be constantly drawn back to the message. He kept listening.
Many people have this in common with Herod. They love hearing Biblical things. Some people even enjoy what some would call old-fashioned hard line preaching. I came across an Internet site once were a man had a museum of old record (LP’s) cover art. Along with the cover, he would usually include a brief paragraph about the record. As I browsed through a few of the covers, I was surprised by the various religious ones I saw. There were actually whole categories for old religious records. By his comments I could tell the creator of the site wasn’t a Christian, yet he made mention of the fact that he had listened to many of the religious records many times. This man liked to listen and even thought about what he heard enough to write a little paragraph about it, but that’s as far as it went. Herod had all these opportunities to respond to God’s word, and I believe John’s message was God’s word for Herod, yet he never responded.
Transition: When one doesn’t respond to the Word, accept its truth, and obey it, they leave themselves open to the influences of the sinful world and their own sinful desires. For Herod, this exactly what happened.
III. His pride was more important
Let’s begin reading again from verse 21.
21 Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests.
The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” 23 And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”
24 She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?”
“The head of John the Baptist,” she answered.
25 At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
26 The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27 So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, 28 and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. 29 On hearing of this, John’s disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
If he would have responded to the Word, things could have been different, but he didn’t and wicked plans were set in motion. While Herod enjoyed listening to John, Herodias bristled under his rebuke. When Herod’s birthday came, she set in motion the events to kill John. Knowing her husband’s lust (proven by the fact that he had pursued her), she sent in her daughter by her first husband to dance provocatively for Herod and his guests. Dancing of this sort was degrading. Yet we see how far Herodias was willing to go to kill John, and how wicked Herod was that he allowed a royal daughter to display herself in such a way.
As the dance ended, Herod’s pride and lust got the best of him. He wanted to impress those that were celebrating with him. He made the bold offer that the daughter can have anything she wants, even up to half his kingdom. It was a foolish offer. Herod wasn’t a true king and really didn’t have a kingdom that he could offer. Yet he wanted to feel big and important in the eyes of his guests. To his surprise, this daughter quickly returns at her mother’s urging and asks for John’s head on a platter.
Herod was in a bind. This wasn’t a request he could put aside. By asking for it on a platter, this daughter was declaring that she wanted John’s head now, it was to be part of the celebration. Herod had one more chance. He had one more chance to listen and obey the word. He should have humbled himself in front of his guests and refused to honor his rash promise. Instead, he had an innocent man murdered just so he could save face.
IV. His pride killed
This was the defining moment of Herod, when he ignored the word. I’m constantly drawn back to the fact that he enjoyed listening to the truth that John preached, yet he was never willing to accept it and obey it. Because of that, I see two dead people as that party ends. John, the forerunner of our Lord Jesus, has been executed, and Herod has committed spiritual suicide.
The last time we see Herod in the Scriptures comes in Luke 23:6-12. As I close, I want to read it. This takes place as Jesus is being tried.
6 On hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean. 7 When he learned that Jesus was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.
8 When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform some miracle. 9 He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10 The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him. 11 Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. 12 That day Herod and Pilate became friends—before this they had been enemies.
Conclusion: The word had been preached to Herod. He had even felt the conviction it brought and thought deeply about it. In the end though, he refused to obey it. May we not be like Herod. May we not just listen to the word without ever acting upon it. But in every way possible may we take God’s Word and apply it to our lives and obey it. Let’s pray.
