Mark 6:13-29
I recently saw part of an interview on CNN with former US president Bill Clinton and once again I was so impressed with his intelligence, his communication skills and his analysis of situations. I disagree with him about some of his presuppositions and I did not vote for him, but I admire his abilities and learn from him when he speaks. He could have been one of the greatest of American Presidents. It was his destiny to be one of the great leaders of the US except that he was not able to control his passions. Even when he knew the media was looking for him to repeat his previous affairs and that such an act could potentially destroy him, he was unable to resist a sexual encounter with a White House intern.
Bill Clinton is not alone. There have been others in history who could have stood out in history as being great leaders but failed because of their inability to control their passions. In our Bible there are many examples of this and we just read the account of one of these.
Who was Herod that we read about in this account?
King Herod was the son of one of one of the ten wives of Herod the Great who ruled Jesus’ part of the world when Jesus was born. Herod the Great is the one who ordered the slaughter of all baby boys aged two years and younger in an attempt to kill Jesus. Herod the Great is the Herod we read about in the Christmas stories of Jesus. It gets a bit confusing because Herod the Great passed on his name to his sons. The Herod we read about with John the Baptist was Herod Antipas. The offense about which John the Baptist was upset was that Herod Antipas married the wife of his half-brother, Herod Phillip.
Being a son of Herod the Great was no picnic. Herod Antipas was the son of Herod’s fourth wife and one of 14 known children of Herod. Of his eight half-brothers, three were executed by his father. His father also executed two of his ten wives. I get the sense that when Herod said, “Clean up your room or else,” it was wise to take the “or else” seriously.
Herod Antipas did not have the family background that produces emotionally healthy children so in one sense we have to carry a bit of sympathy for him. He came from a family of decadence, intrigue, betrayal and murder. But there is a part of him that was good that struggled to get out.
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.
Beneath the power and decadence Herod Antipas reveled in, there was a man trying to be set free. What made Herod come to the cell of John the Baptist over and over and over again? Given what we know of John the Baptist, it is hard to believe he did not repeat his call for Herod to repent and break off his marriage to his wife. When Herod Antipas went to see John, he went to receive a lesson in spirituality and the necessity of turning from a life of sin to a life lived in obedience to God. Here was a man of power who pursued his pleasures and yet knew deep down that more than this was needed. He was not so decadent that he had lost touch with the part of him that wanted to know the peace and love of God. He was still sensitive enough to know he had a spiritual itch that wanted to be scratched.
In many ways he reminds me of Ahab who was king of Israel and married to Jezebel. Ahab wanted a piece of land but was not so far gone that he was willing to be ruthless in getting that land. Ahab, like Herod Antipas, still had a shred of decency that pulled him toward righteousness.
But both Herod Antipas and Ahab were married to women who were shrewd manipulators and were not afraid to be ruthless. Jezebel murdered Naboth so Ahab could have this vineyard he lusted for and Herodias murdered John the Baptist so she could be free from his accusation.
What was the accusation?
Herodias was the wife of Herod Phillip and Herod Antipas’ niece, the daughter of his half-brother, one of his brothers who were executed by his father, Herod the Great. On a trip to Rome in 29AD, he visited his half-brother Phillip and became enamored with his wife, Herodias. She agreed to marry him when he returned from Rome if he divorced his present wife. In Herod Antipas, she saw the opportunity for greater power and seized it.
This marriage was in direct violation of Mosaic Law.
Leviticus 18:16
Do not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife; that would dishonor your brother.
An exception to this was made
Deuteronomy 25:5
If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband’s brother shall take her and marry her and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her. 6 The first son she bears shall carry on the name of the dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel.
But this did not apply since Phillip was still living.
So John the Baptist began to speak out against Herod and his marriage to Herodias. In John the Baptist style, he did not whisper his accusation, he shouted it out and it threatened the stability of Herod Antipas’ reign. Finally Herod Antipas acted, or perhaps more accurately, Herod gave in to his wife’s demands and had John arrested.
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.”
Here is where the tragedy comes; where two men lost their heads.
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.
You can imagine the arguments and intrigue. Herod having to protect John from being killed by his own wife or one of those under her influence. Herod kept his most trusted guards at the cell of John. And can you imagine how infuriating it must have been for Herodias to have her husband go over and over again to listen to the man who accused her of adultery?
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.
Herodias was 40 years old at this time and had a daughter Salome who was in her late teens, perhaps 17 or 18 years old. I imagine that Herod had noticed her sexual charms. Perhaps she was a bit flirtatious with him. Given Herod’s character, or lack thereof, it is not hard to imagine that he had sexual fantasies about her.
Herodias noticed this and saw her opportunity. We need to understand that dancing in this Roman era was not a respectable activity. Cicero said that “to dance a man must be intoxicated or insane.” There were professional dancers but these were women of low repute. When Salome, not a professional dancer but a princess, came out, most likely scantily and sensuously dressed, Herod and his guests sat up. This was unexpected and her sensual dance inflamed them, especially Herod. Perhaps for him this was part of his fantasy being fulfilled.
And so Herod lost his head. He was so inflamed with lust that he blurted out exactly what Herodias wanted him to say.
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.”
Herod obligated himself with this oath to be generous. His oath was a formula that did not literally mean she could have half the kingdom but it did mean he had to keep his word to be generous to her request.
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.”
Herodias did not waste time. She had plotted to get Herod where she wanted him and knew beforehand what she would ask. Salome was not an innocent. In addition to her dance, she playfully added to the request for the head of John the Baptist and asked that it be served 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.
Do you realize what Herod lost because he was unable to control his passion?
Herod had the opportunity to satisfy his spiritual curiosity. Something drove him to go back and talk with John the Baptist when he was in prison over and over again. Herod had a spiritual craving but missed his opportunity to satisfy that craving.
There was a later moment when he had again the opportunity to satisfy his spiritual curiosity. When Jesus was arrested, Pilate sent Jesus to him. But by then he was so caught up in his decadence, all he wanted from Jesus was to see him perform a few cheap magical tricks. In the song from Jesus Christ Superstar, Herod sings, “Prove to me you’re divine, change this water into wine. Prove to me you’re no fool, walk across my swimming pool.”
There was a time when Herod was searching and listening but he lost that opportunity. What would have happened if John had not been beheaded? Would Herod have become convinced of the truth of God? Would Herod have acted differently when Jesus appeared before him? Who knows? But it does seem that Herod, by the time Jesus came to him, was no longer spiritually curious.
Herod lost his head and thereby lost his life.
There is another encounter with a king in the Christian Testament that relates to this. In Acts 24, Paul was in captivity being questioned by Felix. Felix fell in love with Drusilla when she was married to another man and convinced her to leave him and marry her. Interestingly, Drusilla was the great-granddaughter of Herod the Great, descended from one of the wives Herod executed.
Her marriage again offended Mosaic Law and there was a lot of tension among Felix’s subjects. Listen to this account from Acts and see the parallels with Herod Antipas and John the Baptist.
Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus. 25 As Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, “That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.” 26 At the same time he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently and talked with him.
What interests me in this passage is the topics Paul chose to talk to Felix about.
Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come
Righteousness, yes. Judgement to come, yes. But why self-control? Why is that stuck there in the middle?
It is there precisely because Paul saw that as one of the obstacles between Felix and truth.
This word, self-control, that is sometimes translated as being sober, is used several times in the first letter of Peter.
I Peter 1:13
Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.
I Peter 4:7
The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.
I Peter 5:8
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Why is this a theme in Peter’s first letter? I think it goes back to Peter’s experience when Jesus was arrested. As recorded in Mark 14, Jesus warned his disciples with him in the Garden of Gethsemane
“Sit here while I pray.” 33 He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34 “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”
he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? 38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”
Two more times Jesus came back and Peter, James and John were sleeping.
41 Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
How often do you think that memory of Peter being unprepared came back to him? Peter not only slept while Jesus asked for his support, he then denied knowing Jesus three times because of his lack of self-control and being prepared.
So when Peter wrote his letter to Christians facing persecution, he told them to prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled.
The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled.
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Peter had a chance to stay with Jesus and lost it because he lacked self-control. On his second opportunity, he was ready.
According to church tradition, when Peter became aware that Nero was going to have him killed, he set out to flee Rome. But before going far, he was confronted by an appearance of Jesus. Peter fell to his knees and cried out, “Where are you going my Lord?” When Jesus said he was going to Rome to be crucified once again, Peter turned around and followed him to his martyrdom. This time Peter was prepared and did not miss out on his opportunity to be with Jesus.
Like Peter, there are opportunities for us to follow Jesus, be obedient to Jesus, have the privilege of working alongside Jesus and we miss them because we lack self-control.
Self-control is listed by Paul in Galatians as the ninth of the fruit of the Spirit. This means that if we work with the Holy Spirit, we will more and more evidence this quality in our lives. At the end of this sermon, let me suggest how we can do that.
Proverbs 25:28 is the verse I put at the top of the bulletin this week.
Like a city whose walls are broken down
is a man who lacks self-control.
What this reveals is that self-control, like a wall, is designed to protect us. The Greek word for self-control means literally “self-mastery.” When I practice self-mastery in my life, it is like having walls that surround my house. Self-control protects me.
In Galatians 5 where the fruit of the Spirit is listed, Paul begins his discussion of life in the Spirit by writing in verses 16&17
16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.
Paul writes about living by the Spirit and points out that there is a tension in which we live. On the one side we are pulled and influenced by our sinful nature and on the other we are pulled and influenced by the Spirit. The acts of our sinful nature are the invaders from which we need to be protected and self-control is the key to our resistance. Who are these invaders?
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.
In this tension in which we live, we have a choice. Either God will be our master or the acts of our sinful nature will be our master.
God will not force himself on you. God will not make you his slave. You have to decide to make God your master. You have to choose to submit to God. Submission to God is voluntary.
The acts of the sinful nature, on the other hand, don’t offer you a choice. They pull you in and trap you. What starts off innocently enough winds up controlling you and you wake up to discover that you are a slave to your master. The acts of our sinful nature are the invaders from whom we need protection and for which self-control is a strong wall.
Herod Antipas did not have self-control. He visited his half-brother Phillip and was attracted to Phillip’s wife. The fact that she was his half-brother’s wife did not bother him. The fact that she was his niece did not bother him. He had a passion and acted to satisfy that passion.
This is really the behavior of dogs. When a dog goes out at night, he sees a female dog and has sex. Then he comes inside, lies down on the floor and sleeps. The next night when he goes out, do you think he looks for the same dog as the night before? Of course not. He sees, has an urge and satisfies that urge. If he itches, he scratches. It does not matter where he is or who he is with. If he has an urge, he satisfies it on the spot.
So the question is, are we dogs or are we humans? Unlike dogs, we do not satisfy every urge that comes our way. We make choices. We decide if this is good for us or not. When we are followers of Christ, we decide if satisfying a certain desire will help us walk alongside Christ or take us away from him.
Without self-control I am a city whose walls are broken. Sexual immorality or some other temptation comes in and takes over. But all I have to do is say no to the temptation and I’ve put a brick in the wall. Each time I say no and choose not to succumb to the desire I have, another brick goes in the wall and soon I am being protected by a strong wall and sexual immorality or whatever is my temptation is no longer my master. Self-control has set me free and allowed me to live.
Take the long view. You are moving to the end of your life. Lord Shaftesbury pointed out that every swing of the pendulum of a clock means we are one second closer to the time when we will face our day of judgement.
Herod was worried about political stability in his kingdom and choose not to restrain his passions. Felix missed out because he was greedy for a bribe. We miss out on opportunities to grow closer to God and to participate with Jesus in his work in the world for the most temporal, insignificant things.
I don’t know what your struggle is. It may be a struggle with sexual temptation. It may be a desire for a promotion. It may be lust for food, drink or power. It may be that you are willing to do anything it takes to reach a certain goal and that anything that it takes includes doing things you know are wrong.
Develop self-control. Learn self-mastery. Say yes to Jesus and no to the temptation and you will put a brick in the wall that protects you and prepares you for the experience of Jesus he has in store for you.
Every day when you wake up there are opportunities in front of you that Jesus will bring that day. Will you be ready for them? Will you be so angry at the way someone cut you off on the road that you will miss the opportunity Jesus has brought you to serve him? Will you be so focused on your desire to get to Spain that you will miss the opportunity Jesus is giving you to serve him here or in your home country? Will you be lusting so much for some thing or person that you will not be able to see the opportunity Jesus has given you?
The goal of self-control is not to be a better person. The goal of self-control is to be prepared for what God is bringing to you.
Make good choices and be ready for what is coming. Make good decisions that will put bricks in the wall that protects you. Don’t miss the opportunity God is bringing to you.
