Sermon Tone Analysis

The Tale of 2 Feasts

The False King Throws a Selfish Feast for Himself Where Selfish and Sinful Decisions are Made

The Real King Throws a Feast for the Meek, Lowly, and Hungry Where Selfless and Righteous Decisions are Made

tetrarch.

The ruler of a fourth part of a region.

“Herod the tetrarch” (Herod Antipas) was one of several sons of Herod the Great.

When Herod the Great died, his kingdom was divided among three of his sons (see chart, p. 1638; see also map, p. 1768).

Herod Antipas ruled over Galilee and Perea (4 BC–AD 39).

Matthew correctly refers to him as tetrarch here, as Luke regularly does (Lk 3:19; 9:7; Ac 13:1).

But in v. 9 Matthew calls him “king”—as Mk 6:14 also does—because that was his popular title among the Galileans, as well as in Rome.

The explanatory conjunction for (in the Next Verse) shows that Herod’s belief that John had been resurrected and possessed supernatural powers was a product of paranoia fed by his guilty conscience.

Herodias.

A granddaughter of Herod the Great (see chart, p. 1639).

First she married her uncle, Herod Philip (Herod the Great also had another son named Philip), who lived in Rome.

While a guest in their home, Herod Antipas persuaded Herodias to leave her husband for him.

Marriage to one’s brother’s wife while the brother was still living was forbidden by the Mosaic law (Lev 18:16).

Philip’s.

The son of Herod the Great and Mariamne, the daughter of Simon the high priest, and thus a half brother of Herod Antipas, born to Malthace (see chart, p. 1638).

The Jewish law explicitly forbade Herod Antipas’ sexual relationship with his brother’s wife (see Lev 18:16; 20:21).

As a strict adherent to the law, John openly opposed Herod’s unlawful relationship with his brother’s former wife.

Consequently, Herod had him imprisoned.

Mark paints a more nuanced and detailed picture of Herod, who combines anger with admiration for John.

Matthew’s Herod is more unrelentingly antagonistic, and his narrative is characteristically more abbreviated.

But there is no contradiction between the two accounts.

The tension between Matthew and Mark is actually reflected within Matthew’s account itself, as Herod’s desire to kill John in v. 5a competes with his distress at the request for John’s head in v. 9.

But such emotional swings frequently characterize despotic rulers.

Mark 6:20 further explains this combination of moods.

Herod’s recognition of John’s holiness inspires a mixture of respect, fear, and disgust, typical among those not committed to God’s standards.

daughter of Herodias.

Salome, according to Josephus.

She later married her granduncle, the other Philip (son of Herod the Great), who ruled the northern territories (Lk 3:1).

In light of the typical debauchery of an event like this in the Herodian court, her dance may have been provocative, and the performance pleased both Herod and his guests.

Herodias’s daughter Salome danced erotically for her uncle Herod.

This seems to have enticed a drunken Herod to make an oath he would later regret.

Herodias preferred beheading as the means of execution so she could display John’s head as a trophy

Herod’s pride and fear of losing face before his guests prevented him from refusing to do what he had promised.

was distressed Refers to Herod’s fear of the crowd (v.

5); he didn’t want to incite a rebellion.

The lives and ministries of John and Jesus contain many parallels: Both preached about the necessity of repentance in light of the dawning kingdom of God; both accumulated massive followings and made disciples; both were rejected at various points in their ministries; both were executed as criminals by their opponents; and both were buried by their disciples.

Matthew 11:10 indicates that their callings and respective fates are intertwined.

Applications

Its easy to see the sinful attitude of pride in Herod’s life.

He didn’t want to kill John, but he’d already made a promise to do whatever Herodias’ daughter, Salome, asked.

Whenever he heard the request, he should have recanted his word and done the right thing.

We should never be too prideful to do the right thing.

It’s easy to care too much about our reputation and how people think of us.

But doing the right thing is far more important than our prideful reputation.

It’s better to have no friends but God than to have a host of friends except God.

The right thing to do is rarely the easy thing to do.

Be determined to do what is right regardless of the shame/embarrassment it might bring upon you.

When it comes to sexual ethics, we can’t just do whatever we want.

It wasn’t right for Herod to have his brother’s wife.

It is wrong for us to have sexual relationships with anyone outside of marriage between a man and woman.

Unmarried couples can’t have a sexual relationship and be right with God.

They will be judged for rebelling against God in that way.

So will those who commit adultery.

So will those who practice homosexuality.

Any relationship that involves lust toward someone who is not your spouse is sinful, and if left unrepentant, will lead to our destruction.

The devil puts a Herodias in front of us all.

He tempts us to make stupid decisions that we will certainly regret afterward.

Herod was living a life all about himself and his own pleasure: celebration for himself, wine, sexual gratification.

When we live selfish lives, we are in the midst of a breeding ground for sin.

It’s not easy to take rebuke/criticism from others.

But locking them away and refusing to acknowledge their rebuke/criticism will only lead to our own destruction.