The Gospel of Mark: Herod's Folly

All of us have experienced the pressures of life. Periodic pressure is normal, but people-pressure can be the most difficult to deal with. It is far more difficult than pressure from our circumstances or schedules, or even responsibilities. To some degree, all of us feel compelled to respond to people-pressure. Whether you’re a sixteen year old teenage girl dealing with a boyfriend pressuring you for sex or you’re a middle-aged, mid-level manager dealing with a boss pressuring you for greater productivity, people are constantly expecting us to acquiesce to their demands. How do you respond? Do you allow yourself to be manipulated by the pressures of other people's expectations and demands? Are you able, in the midst of that pressure, to think clearly and make the right decisions? Do you act according to a biblical worldview, or do you simply react to those around you?

Tonight’s message is about a man who succumbed to people-pressure and in doing so, lost his last shred of integrity. The story we have before us is a sad commentary of how we can become so entangled in the web of human relationships and people-pressure that we ultimately decide to do not only what we don’t want to do, but we do what we know is evil. Verse 26 is the tells us the sad tale:

Mark 6:26 "The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her." NRSV

You may remember from our last Sunday night together, that Jesus has sent out his inner circle of twelve apostles to continue His mission in the villages and settlements throughout the northern part of the Galilee region. The have set off to proclaim the coming of the Kingdom of God and to heal the hurt and the broken. We will hear of their report in vs. 30 of Mark, chapter six. In between, Mark puts the story of the execution of John the Baptist. Within this passage, we are able to catch an astonishing glimpse of family life with the Herods.

It begins with Herod Antipas catching wind of what Jesus has been doing in the region up to the north of where his palace is. “They went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them. 14 King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known. ... .”” (Mark 6:12–14, NIV84)

Word has reached him of the things that are being said and done by Jesus, who has become well-known in the area as a teacher and miracle-worker. Many are not quite sure what to make of Him. Some of the people think that Jesus is actually Elijah, who has returned to herald “the day of the Lord.” Other people are not quite so sure, and think he might be one of the other prophets of their tradition. There is also a section of the population who seem to think that Jesus is actually John the Baptiser who has come back from the dead to continue his work. Herod Antipas is terrified that John the Baptiser has come back to haunt him, and to wreak vengeance on him for Herod’s part in the murder.

People-pressure forced Herod to do what he knew was not right; yet he did it anyway. People-pressure can do that to us as well. Let’s look at these verses together.

I. THERE ARE THOSE WHO PRECIPITATE THE PRESSURES IN OUR LIVES

1. the key player in this soap opera is Herodias

2. now, you’ll have to indulge me for a few minutes while I tell you a little bit about the Herods

a. their family history plays a role in why John is beheaded and Herod Antipas believes that Jesus may be the prophet come back from the dead

3. the Herods are one of the most dysfunctional families in the annals of history

a. this family is a script-writers dream

4. Herod the Great — King of Israel when Jesus is born — has three sons who reach adulthood

a. Aristobulus IV

b. Herod Philip

c. Herod Antipas

1) all three are half-brothers, Herod the Great is their father, but each has a different mother

5. Aristobulus is Herod’s son by Mariamne I (Herod’s 2nd wife — there were 10 altogether)

a. he marries Bernice, who is his cousin, and they have a daughter named Herodias

6. Herod Philip is Herod’s son by Cleopatra (not Caesar’s Cleopatra, Herod’s 5th wife)

a. he becomes a wealthy, private citizen living in Rome

b. Herod Philip marries Aristobulus’s and Mariamne’s daughter, Herodias

1) so his niece becomes his wife

c. together, Herod Philip and Herodias have a daughter, whom they name Salome

7. Herod Antipas, is Herod’s son by Malthrace (Herod’s 4th wife)

a. Antipas becomes the Tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea, is married to the daughter of King Aretas of Nabatea who is also named Malthrace,

b. on a visit to Rome, Herod Antipas meets Herodias who is his niece and sister-in-law

c. well, they get the ‘hots’ for each other and Herod Antipas divorces his wife Malthrace (which sparks a war with the King of Nabatea), Herodias divorces Herod Philip

1) the two love-birds then head back to Palestine

d. so here is the picture — Herod Antipas is willing to divorce his wife because he was lusting after a woman who was both his sister-in-law and his niece!

ILLUS. This whole affair scandalized even the Romans, and the Romans were hard to scandalize!

8. it’s hard to keep such intrigues and scandals a secret, and soon everyone in the Roman Empire is buzzing about the news

a. when Herod brings Herodias back to Jerusalem (her daughter Salmoe in tow), John the Baptiser blows the whistle and airs their dirty laundry

1) John confronted him and thundered, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."

b. Herodias doesn’t like it one bit

v. 19, "And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to kill him; and could not do so..."

1) John has now publically embarrassed her and the entire Herodian household now goes to war with Israel’s most popular prophet

c. the reason she could not put John to death was because Herod understood a deeper truth than did his wife

1) in verse 20 we are told, "For Herod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and kept him safe. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed; but he used to enjoy listening to him."

9. so Herodias had to keep her anger inside and wait for just the right time to make her move

a. the opportunity arrives in the celebration of a family observance – Herod’s birthday

vv. 21-28 "A strategic day came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his lords and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee; and when the daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests; and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you.” And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you; up to half of my kingdom.” And she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” Immediately she came in a hurry to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” And although the king was very sorry, yet because of his oaths and because of his dinner guests, he was unwilling to refuse her. Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded him to bring back his head. And he went and had him beheaded in the prison, and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother." NASB95

b. Herodias sets him up by giving him a birthday banquet

1) she made the guest list out and invited just the right people

2) she used her daughter to entice her stepfather with a lascivious and sensual dance

3) Herod is consumed by his drunken lust for his own step-daughter and, as a result, makes a very foolish promise

4) he promised to give her whatever she wanted, up to half of the kingdom

c. Salome then goes to her mother to ask what her request should be

1) her mother, without hesitation, says, "The head of John the Baptist."

d. when Herod hears Salome’s request, the foolishness of his oath dawns on him

1) he regrets saying what he has said, but because of all those guests who had heard him and who were silently looking on, he felt compelled to do what his conscience told him not to do

2) he yields to people-pressure and gives her the head of John the Baptist

II. THERE ARE THOSE WHO ARE USED AS PAWNS TO PRESSURE OUR LIVES

1. in Salome, we see someone who is a pressure-pawn

a. it doesn't seem that Salome had any problem with John the Baptist

1) she was, most scholars believe, just a young teenage girl at the time

b. she becomes a pawn in her mother's political chess game

2. she was someone her mother could use

a. she became a disposable chess piece, skillfully manipulated as her mother worked out her devious schemes

b. Herodias uses her own daughter to capitalize on Herod’s impulsiveness

3. what’s really ironic is that Herod really didn’t have a kingdom to give

a. he liked to be called king, but he really wasn’t one – he was a tetrarch – not really a king, but more than just a governor

b. Herod offers something that he didn’t really have to give

1) he was so caught up in the web of sin, that he was just boasting in the flesh, and saying ridiculous things, until he spun the web so tight he trapped himself

III. THERE ARE THOSE WHO ARE CO-PERPETRATORS OF THE PRESSURE IN OUR LIVES

1. I don't want you to miss the complicity of Herod’s friends in this matter

2. though they said nothing, they spoke volumes through their silence

a. by saying nothing, they allowed the situation to spiral out of control

b. when Herod made his foolish promise to Salome, no one spoke out to make him question what the implications of his foolishness would produce

c. when the head of John the Baptist was asked for, again no one spoke out or questioned the terrible act that was about to occur

3. in their silence, they perpetuated the pressure Herod felt; and in fact, they participated in the evil and cruel act that followed

ILLUS. Edmund Burke, a member of the British Parliament in the late 18th century wrote, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

a. perhaps they felt pressure not to offend Herod

1) but in doing so, they did him no favor

2) he was keenly aware of their presence, and doesn’t want to appear weak in front of his high officials, and military commanders, and leading men of Galilee

3) he was afraid of what they would think

v. 26 "Because of his oaths and because of his dinner guests . . . " he did this evil deed

IV. LESSONS FROM MARK 6:14-29

A. DO YOU PRECIPITATE PRESSURE IN THE LIVES OF OTHERS?

ILLUS. Most of you know the name James Mattis. He is a four-star Marine general who goes by the nickname “Mad dog Mattis.” Ya gotta love a Marine general who goes by the name ‘mad dog.’ In May of 2017 he was on the Sunday morning political show Face the Nation, and be was being interviewed by CBC correspondent John Dickerson. President Trump had just returned from his first overseas trip, and Dickerson was asking the General about ISIS, and their threat to the West. Dickerson asked Mattis, “What keeps you away at night?” Without hesitation, Mattis responded, “Nothing. I keep other people awake at night.” Mattis was essentially saying, “I don't live under pressure, I create it in the lives of others."

1. just as Herodias precipitated pressure in Herod’s life we can become the cause of pressure in the lives of others

a. the question is not do we sometimes put pressure on others to act and perform, but how do you go about trying to influence people?

b. what methods do you use to try to get your will accomplished?

1) do you ever withhold affection until someone has done what you want?

2) do you ever the fear of retaliation or rejection to keep people in line?

3) do you ever continue to press, push and harangue by an incessant repetition of your desire, even after you know they have heard you?

4) do you seek to manipulate and set people up to get your point off or straighten them out?

2. we can live like that in our families as we relate to our children or our parents

3. we can even live like that in the church, seeking to manipulate and influence and control

4. we must beware of being a precipitators of pressure

B. ARE YOU A PAWN IN EXERTING PRESSURE OTHERS?

1. often times, we can be used by someone else in their attempt to put pressure on another

ILLUS. Flat Creek Baptist Church ‘Christmas Tree indicent’.

a. we always on our guard against this — especially in the church

2. we must be careful never to do someone else's bidding as a conduit for their influence to be felt

a. we most often see this happen as people seek to send messages through other people

1) they know the person to whom they speak will tell the person to whom they are trying to get the message across

2) they want their influence to be felt, but indirectly through another

b. sometimes they will use a mate to carry a message

c. other times, they will use a friend

3. the subtle thing about this kind of pressure is that the one used, often times, does not even realize that he is being used this way

a. brother so-and-so will share a "concern" or a "complaint" with someone whom he knows will carry it to the person he was trying to get the message to

b. the person with whom he shared it, thinking he is passing on needed information, will then carry that message

1) in doing so, he or she then becomes a pawn, a pressure-pawn, in someone else's chess game

4. Salome was such a pawn

a. we must guard against this

b. we must guard against both using people, and being used ourselves

C. ARE YOU A CO-PERPETRATOR OF PRESSURE IN THE LIVES OF OTHERS?

1. do you keep silent when we see others manipulated and unfairly pressured?

a. do you just sit and watch, to see how they will handle it, or what they will do?

b. do you, in doing so, add to the pressure they feel?

2. or do we speak up and give them the freedom to be the unique people God has created them to be?

a. do we let people know that they don't have to please us, that our friendship or love or commitment is not based on their agreeing with us?

b. do we let people know that they don't have to live their lives asking themselves the question, "What will they think?

3. the only person we need to please is God

a. the question we need to have before us at all times is not "What will they think?" but "What will God think?"

ILLUS. After Jesus had shared with His disciples that He would have to die on a cross, Peter stepped forward and sought to influence his Lord. He said, "May it never be, Lord." But Jesus saw that Peter had become a mouthpiece for Satan himself. Jesus said to him, "Get behind me Satan; you are a stumbling block to me. You are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's."

b. we must always be careful that we do not seek to impose man's interests, however good and noble, however right and worthy, instead of God's interests

There is pressure everywhere. There is pressure from situations and circumstances, pressure from people, and even pressure we put on ourselves. How do we respond to it? Well, we can respond like Herod. We can be manipulated by it to the point where we are forced to make decisions contrary to what we know is right. Or we can refuse to yield to it and seek the will of God instead.

Here is the key to withstanding the pressures which come upon us. We see it best evidenced in the life of Jesus Christ Himself. Jesus knew what it was to endure the pressures of people. There were many who wanted Jesus to jump through their little hoops, to perform for them, to say the right things in the right way. There were the Sadducees who wanted Him to stay out of politics. There were the Pharisees who wanted Him to respect all the traditions of their denomination. There were the Zealots who wanted Him to overthrow Rome and set up a kingdom here on earth, a Christian state, if you will. But Jesus responded to none of these pressures. Rather, He simply sought the will of His Father in heaven and did it. Instead of reacting, He acted. He never did anything because of the pressure of the people. He never worried about what people thought. He knew His mission was to do the Father's will. That was His first priority. In fact, there were no others.

If we would find victory over the pressures of life, we must come to the same understanding of our life's purpose that Jesus had. We must understand that we are here to glorify God and to serve Him. He is a pressure-buster. In Him, we can find relief, even in the middle of the pressure cooker.

What the world needs, and what we need to be, are people who do not react to pressure, but who respond to God.

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