"At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the news about Jesus, 2 and said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him."
3 For when Herod had John arrested, he bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. 4 For John had been saying to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her." 5 Although Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded John as a prophet.
6 But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod, 7 so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. 8 Having been prompted by her mother, she *said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” 9 Although he was grieved, the king commanded it to be given because of his oaths, and because of his dinner guests. 10 He sent and had John beheaded in the prison. 11 And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12 His disciples came and took away the body and buried it; and they went and reported to Jesus."
Good Morning my beloved,
These last several years has had our nation in state of turmoil. The introduction of Covid-19, an unprecedented time in the world, record numbers of people dying, mandatory government lockdowns, churches were closed, we were being ordered to "mask up" for the first time in my lifetime. We have seen wicked, corrupt people being elected to our highest offices in the land that have no value for life or morality. A Supreme Court Justice nominee who said she was unable to "define a woman." Our economy is systematically being destroyed, with record breaking food and gas prices, inflation is at it's highest level, homelessness is increasing by the day in every major city. Our children are being indoctrinated to a level that I can only refer to as insanity.
Quite frankly, our churches aren't doing much better. Leader after leader is being exposed for nearly every form of corruption and sexual offense. Church divisions all indicate we have failed to embrace God’s Word and following what it says. We have failed to turn away from our ungodliness and have diminished Christ role in our lives. We need to be intentional in our faith and prioritize the will of God in our lives.
We have sit back silently, afraid to speak up about the truth fearing we might offend someone or be ridiculed for standing up for Christ. The result is we've allowed corruption and immorality to enter the house of God. This is not a denominational issue, it's across the board. In spite of how bleak the future looks, God is control and working. It has been my experience that when God moves, it does look like what I expected. In Isaiah 55:8-9, the Lord said "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts."
Let us pray
Heavenly Father,
In Jesus' name we ask and pray
Amen
Today's Message:Vanishing Conscience
Many people today, think it's much easier to tell people what they think they want to hear rather than speaking the truth. While it may be easier, it's not appropriate. A willingness to speak the truth, even if that truth is not popular, I believe is a great virtue. John the Baptist was not afraid to tell the truth, he willing to pay the price with his life for speaking what he knew was the truth. I believe our text today has a very important message for all of us in this season. Worse than murdering a good man is killing your own conscience.
Open our Bibles to the fourteenth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. Verses 1-12. Matthew 14:1-12.
I invite you to follow along with me as I read them.
Let us open our hearts and see what the Spirit of God has to say to each of
us. I pray that the Lord would help us to hear and apply what He's saying to each of us today.
"At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the news about Jesus, and said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him."
For when Herod had John arrested, he bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. For John had been saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” Although Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded John as a prophet.
But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod, so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. Having been prompted by her mother, she *said, "Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist." Although he was grieved, the king commanded it to be given because of his oaths, and because of his dinner guests. He sent and had John beheaded in the prison. And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. His disciples came and took away the body and buried it; and they went and reported to Jesus."
In our previous message, we saw the growing rejection of Christ and His ministry. Fear and hatred had manifested itself in the execution of John the Baptist, the last Old Testament prophet. John was in your face, confrontational, he called people to confess their sin and repent. Christ was rejected because jealousy. John the Baptist was rejected because of fear. Both were rejected because of pride and unbelief. The kingdom will always be rejected by fools.He had been fearless in his denunciation of Herod Antipas who was living unlawfully with his brother Philip’s wife, Herodias. By the way, she was also Antipas' niece, so the relationship was incestuous. John boldly confronted him and said "It is not lawful for you to have her!" These three character's are the New Testament equivalent to the Old Testament King Ahab, his wife Jezebel, and the prophet Elijah.
John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Messiah, Jesus' cousin, was to announce the coming Messiah and to introduce the Christ. In Matthew 11, Jesus said of John "Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."
Let's look at verses 1 and 2, "At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the news about Jesus, and said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him."
"At that time," is the word "kairós," rather than a specific time, it refers to period of time or a season.
Depending on your chronology, it's been somewhere between one-and-a-half and two-and-a-half since our Lord’s baptism and Herod was still not particularly aware of the ministry of Jesus. Perhaps it's because He never went there. After he had John the Baptist beheaded, Herod heard about the great
works of Jesus and he feared that Jesus was John the Baptist who must
have risen from the dead!
Herod was an evil man, he was debauched and he was shameless. He like his father, Herod the Great, who tried to stop the coming Messiah when he order the male babies to be slaughtered, he was frightened.
Like every other weak, fearful tyrant, their first thought is to do away with those they feel threatened by.
Herod didn’t like that someone was telling him what to do, no matter who it is. There's little doubt that John the Baptist's words really disturbed him. Yet, he refused to obey. A tetrarch by the way, is a ruler who rules over one-fourth of a kingdom, Herod ruled over an area of Palestine.
Verse 3, "For when Herod had John arrested, he bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip." Because Herod knew that John was revered as a prophet, a man of God, he was restrained from killing him, fearful of the reaction of the Jews, he put in prison and kept him there approximately a year. Herodias, was not the least bit deterred however, she just bided her time. It's interesting to mention, that God didn't recognize their incestuous, unlawful marriage, so the Holy Spirit refuses to call her the wife of Herod. Herodias was not only his brother Phillip's wife, she was another brothers daughter. So she married not only her brother-in law but her uncle. As a footnote, she had another brother named Herod Agrippa, who was the one eaten by worms in Acts 12. This is a family deeply troubled, entrenched in sin!
Herod's brother Phillip was a private citizen, who lived in Rome. Some historians believe Phillip wasn't given rulership because of some treachery of his mother. While he visiting his half-brother Phillip in AD 26, he seduced and fell in love with Philip’s wife, who by the way responded positively to his advancements. Herod and Herodias went through with their divorces and got married to each other. This is one messed up family.
The first-century historian Josephus recorded the Jews were irate over this illegitimate marriage, they could see the evil of this whole thing. When Aretas heard the news of the divorce, in AD 36, he came and destroyed Herod’s entire army, the Jews felt it was punishment for the terrible thing that Herod had done. They would have killed Herod were he not saved by the Romans. Some believe that Herod may have called upon John looking for approval. Obviously, that did not happen.
When Herod's other brother Philip died, the one who ruled in the northern areas of Trachonitis and Iturea,
Herodias wanted to be queen of that area. Caligula, who was a Roman Emperor, gave it to Agrippa. She was so upset, she demanded Herod go to Rome to make him make you a king. Agrippa didn’t like him at all, so he sent a messenger to Caligula to him that Herod Antipas is planning a rebellion. So when Antipas shows up and asks Caligula to make a king, believing he has a revolution in mind, takes away his throne and puts him in exile till his death. The worst part is, he exiled Herodias with him. If I had to guess, I'd say Antipas never got another peaceful nights sleep.
With that background, let's look at verse 4, "For John had been saying to him, "It is not lawful f or you to have her." John says this is an ungodly, sinful union. The Greek text indicates, he didn't just say it once but kept on saying it. It is presumed he didn't just say it to Herod, but that he said it everywhere to everyone! That's what I call confronting the issue head on. In the spirit and power of Elijah he told Herod the truth, plain and simple. Needless to say, this made Herodias livid, this incestuous wretched woman was furious. I believe this is truly the mark of a great man of God, John was not intimidated in the least, it didn't matter what someone's position was, he stood firm on the truth and confronted sin. John didn’t alter the message to please even the king. When there is sin to be confronted, I don't care who they are, if you’re God’s man you fearlessly confront it. John the Baptist did, Christ did, Stephen, Peter and Paul did.
Verse 5, "Although Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded John as a prophet." Herod was paralyzed by fear, he was afraid of everything. He was afraid of John the Baptist, he was afraid of the people and he's afraid of Herodias. It's interesting however, that though he was afraid of John the Baptist, but because he’s incarcerated, he's harmless and his fear turns to fascination. They began to have rather regular conversations. Mark tells us in chapter 6, that "Herod was afraid of
John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him
safe. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed; but he used to enjoy listening to him." Herod was in awe of him. Being a vindictive woman of immorality, Herodias must have been seething. Apparently she became so incensed with anger, she was willing to use her own under age daughter in her twisted plot of revenge of have him killed. Josephus tells us her daughter's name was Salome. Herodias wanted John dead no matter what and she was willing to do anything to get it. Sin will cause you to sacrifice the things closest to you and it will lead you to do things unimaginable. Sin will cause you to enjoy even the most detestable acts of impurity.
Listen to verse 6, "But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod." Mark the he end of verse 6, and it "pleased Herod."Pagan birthday celebrations were shameful, debouched men only, excessive drinking, lewd seductive dances by woman intended to stimulate then and bring the men to climax. In other words, Herod's birthday celebration was a drunken orgy. By the way, the Jews never held birthday celebrations, only the pagans did. But Herod's birthday celebration was synonymous with drunken orgies. Salome's dance really accomplish her goal.
Look at verse 7, "So much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked."
Reading between the lines; in his drunken state of sexual seduction, he lost his senses, that's why he promised this young girl whatever she wanted. Mark chapter 6, says "up to half of his whole kingdom." Herodias hatched her devious, murderous plot to exact her revenge on John.
Verse 8, "Having been prompted by her mother, she *said, "Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist." Herodias didn’t want to wait until Herod sobered up, she was furious, she wanted revenge and she wanted it now. Like the old saying goes "Hell has no fury like a woman scorned."
Verse 9 says "Although he was grieved, the king commanded it to be given because of his oaths, and because of his dinner guests."Herod was a frightened weak man who didn't want to embarrass himself by
going back on his word. His pride wouldn’t let him renege for fear of
losing face in front of his guests. He was trapped since he'd already
promised her whatever she wanted. His honor and reputation was on the line, as if he even had one. First the lust of the flesh and now the pride of life. Under the pressure of fear and intimidation, he caves in and gives her what she wants. Sin always affects the clarity of our thinking. For many, it takes hitting bottom to come to their senses.
Pilate found himself in the same position, when the religious leader demanded Christ be crucified, he tried to hold out. That was until they said "If you don’t kill Jesus, you’re no friend of Caesar!" Fear and pride is a dangerous combination. Afraid of losing his reputation and throne, Pilate ordered the crucifixion of the Son of God. So does Herod order the death of the messenger of God.
Verses 10-11 tell us, "He sent and had John beheaded in the prison. And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother." Faithful is the one who has the boldness and courage to speak for God. John's life and ministry abruptly ended at the hands of wicked and debauched executioner sometime around the year AD 28. As odd as that sounds, it was not uncommon to bring the head of one who had been slain to the
person who ordered it as a sure proof that the command had been obeyed. John the Baptist, the uncompromising prophet of God in the dreary, in the dark shadows of the private dungeon of Machaerus was killed. Herodias had finally accomplished debauched plan, to silence the voice of the messenger of God. Salome, her daughter carried his head to her mother.
According to Jerome, the 4th Century Bible scholar, Herodias then spat on the head and stuck a pin through the tongue. To my knowledge, that's never been verified, but if that is true, perhaps she was mimicking the event of when the head of Cicero was brought to Fulvia, the wife of Antony, she
spat on it, she pulled its tongue out and drove her hairpin through it.
Machaerus by the way, was situated on the edge of the Jordan Valley and Dead Sea, and was built by Herod the Great, the father of Herod Antipas, in the gorge of Callirhoe. The name Machaerus means "black fortress," it was protected on three sides by deep ravines, which afforded seclusion and safety, especially in times of political unrest. According to Josephus, the fortress was beautiful and breathtaking.
That brings us to verse 12, "His disciples came and took away the body and buried it; and they went and reported to Jesus." Can you imagine John's disciples picking up John's headless body, this man whom they loved and under whose preaching they had confessed their sins, repented, and been baptized, awaiting on the arrival of the Messiah. John's disciples came and lovingly took his body and buried it. Early Christian tradition says his body was buried at Sebastiya in Samaria, modern-day Sebastia in the West Bank. According to Greek City Times, Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate desecrated his tomb around 362. It's been said that Herodias took and buried it in a dung heap, until Saint Joanna, who was married to Herod's steward, secretly took his head and buried it on the Mount of Olives.
At the end of the verse, it says "And they went and reported to Jesus." Jesus would learn His beloved cousin John had met a gruesome end. The one of whom Jesus said "Among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist!" Back in Matthew 13, Matthew records that Jesus felt intense sadness and grief over the death of John the Baptist and went off by Himself so he could grieve in private. Like many faithful godly men and women throughout church history, John the Baptist sealed his testimony with his own blood.
At the end of the verse, it says "And they went and reported to Jesus." Jesus would learn His beloved cousin John had met a gruesome end. The one of whom Jesus said "Among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist!" Back in Matthew 13, Matthew records that Jesus felt intense sadness and grief over the death of John the Baptist and went off by Himself so he could grieve in private. Like many faithful godly men and women throughout church history, John the Baptist sealed his testimony with his own blood.
In Closing..
In order to be a faithful follower of Christ, you will have to sacrifice, you will have to do things that are difficult. John the Baptist stood up for what was right against those who were wrong. In a world marked by confusion, standing up for Christ and for the truth is becoming less and less popular every day. Nevertheless, stand for Christ we must, even if you lose favor with others whose relationships we value. We must speak the Truth, showing the love and compassion of Christ, even if we lose our own lives.
Jesus said "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field." Meaning it’s worth giving up everything. Don't allow the sin of pride to cause you to hold onto your reputation for fear of what others may think. If we allow ourselves to become intimidated by evil, we forfeit Christ. The bottomline is we must be faithful to God no matter what happens. It’s far better to be faithful and end up like John the Baptist than to not be and end up in Hell.
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen