30 14.01

INTRODUCTION

SLIDE 1 I enjoy movies where someone overcomes a great obstacle and succeeds. I enjoy it even more if I know it was based on true events. It’s encouraging to see how others have overcome difficulties in their lives. I enjoyed reading biographies when I was growing up for the same reason.

In the Bible we find lots of biographies and the descriptions of even more lives. Some people are remembered for good, others for the bad they did. The books of Kings and Chronicles and filled with such stories, many of them kings. Some of the kings died and the people mourned, like they did for David. But there were other kings, like Jehoram. Here’s what the Bible says about him: SLIDE 2

Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. He passed away, to no one’s regret, and was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings. (2 Chronicles 21:20)

It reminds me of the third vision given to Scrooge. He died and the only one’s who noticed and cared were the ones who stole and sold his belongings. It’s pretty sad. I don’t think any of us would like to be remember like that. Few people are remembered for very long after they die by anyone outside of the family. Some of those who are remembered are remembered for the good things they did, but there are also those who are remembered because of the the bad the did. SLIDE 3

For instance, when I say, “Adolph Hitler,” do you just get flooded with warm fuzzies? How about “Charles Manson?” Or what about “Barney the Purple dinosaur.” Your mind just isn’t flooded with warm thoughts.

How would you like to be remembered?

SERMON

SLIDE 1 This evening we are in Matthew 14. Before we watch the video for our passage I want to give some background information. There are several people mentioned in the passage and it’s important to know their relationship. In oder to do that we’ll start with someone who isn’t mentioned but plays an important role even though he’s dead by the time we get to Matthew 14, that is King Herod the Great. SLIDE 2

Herod is called great in part because of his many building project that included remodeling the temple and extending the temple mount. This in particular won him some favor among the Jews. He and his family had converted to Judaism, but they never particularly lived like it. Herod was a king, but not in the normal sense. He ruled over the same general area that David controlled, but he was not independent. He was under the Roman government and had to answer to the Roman Senate. Herod was ruling when Jesus was born and was responsible for the killing of the children in Bethlehem.

SLIDE 3 When Herod died the territory over which he ruled was divided among three sons:

Herod Archelaus

Herod Antipas

Philip

SLIDE 4 Let me show you a map so you can get a an idea of where they ruled.

Herod Archelaus: Samaria, Judea, and Idumea (below Jerusalem)

Herod Antipas: Galilee and Peraea

Philip: territories north and east of the Jordan

Herod had several wives and other children, some of whom he had murdered. He was so vicious towards his enemies and even his own family members that it was said of him that it was better to be his sow than his son (and yes, there is that play on words in the Greek).

SLIDE 5 Herod Antipas married Phasaelis. Her father ruled the territory below Idumea. Philip married Herodias and they had one child, a daughter, named Salome. I mention these names only because they become important in our story. Salome is mentioned, but not by name. We know her name because of the Jewish historian Josephus who wrote extensively about Herod the Great and his family.

SLIDE 6 Herod Antipas divorced his first wife in order to marry Herodias. Herod Antipas fell in love with her will on a trip visiting his half-brother Philip. At the time Herodias was married to Philip, but she left him to marry Herod Antipas. So Herod Antipas marries his brother’s wife. If you think their names sound similar – Herod Antipas and Herodias – there’s a reason for that. Herodias was the granddaughter of Herod the Great by his first son Aristobulus. That meant she was the niece of Philip and Herod Antipas. So not only did Herod Antipas marry his brother’s ex-wife, he married his niece.

You probably remember that old song “I am my own grandpa.” This story is almost as bad. Salmome’s mother would also have been her first cousin. They claimed to be Jews, but all of this went against Old Testament law and John the Baptist is going to call them out on it. That’s enough soap opera for one day, let’s watch the video.

Video

SLIDE 1 In our passage this evening we see three people: Herodias, Herod Antipas (I’m going to just call him Herod from here on out), and John the Baptist. As we think about how we’d like to be remembered, what can we learn from these three people?

First, there’s Herodias.

Herodias could be described as a schemer. I’m reminded of Jezebel and King Ahab. Jezebel was the mastermind behind the throne. She’s the one who had their neighbor killed when when he would sell his vineyard to Ahab. This is the picture I get of Herodias.

First, she marries her uncle. Then she leaves her uncle to marry another uncle. This was clearly against God’s law, but they didn’t seem to care. Because John the Baptist had the guts to call them out, Herodias wanted him out of the way. Mark, in his gospel, says: SLIDE 2

19So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, 20because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. (Mark 6:19-20a)

That’s an interesting term – nursing a grudge. How do you nurse a grudge. We have nurses at the hospital who take care of patients. They bandage wounds, administer medicines, and check to make sure the patient is OK. What do you need to do to nurse a grudge? You can’t take its temperature or blood pressure. To nurse a grudge you have to feed it. And what does it feed on? It feeds on anger, bitterness, and unforgiveness. To nurse a grudge you have to keep reminding yourself of why you’re mad or hurt.

SLIDE 3 Have you known someone who has nursed a grudge? Have you ever nursed a grudge? If so, how did it make you feel? Did it make you feel good or peaceful? No, it does neither of those things. At the root of a grudge is unforgiveness. Unforgiveness and bitterness are poison to the soul, and scripture says that it’s sin. You may have a legitimate hurt – in other words, you may be upset about something legitimate. But you are not allowed to nurse a grudge. Jesus commands you and me to forgive those who have hurt us even when they don’t deserve our forgiveness. Jesus forgave us when we didn’t deserve it either.

Herodias didn’t care about that. She nursed the grudge, and ultimately it led to the death of John the Baptist. How is she remembered in the Bible? She remembered for her anger towards John which led her to scheme for his death.

And this leads to someone else we should discuss a bit, and that is Herodias’ daughter, Salome. There are two things in particular I want to mention regarding Salome.

First, there’s her dance. We’re not told anything about her dance, but dancers in that day were linked with prostitutes and that’s probably all we need to know.

Secondly, there’s her age. This may be the hardest part of this story. We’re not given her age, but adding up the dates given to us by Josephus is his history books, Salome was between twelve and fourteen years old when her mother put her up to this. Can you imagine her mother sending her out to perform that dance. For that reason alone I’m ready to cut her some slack.

Second, there’s Herod.

I said Herodias reminded me of Jezebel who had her neighbor killed when when he would sell his vineyard to Ahab. And what was Ahab doing at the time? He was on his crying because the neighbor wouldn’t sell. That’s the picture I get of Herod – a weakling who just went along.

It’s Herod’s birthday and so he throws himself a party inviting all the important people. At that time, much like we read about in the book of Esther, the men partied in one part of the house while the women partied in another part. But somehow Salome makes her way to the men’s party and begins to dance. Herod is so taken by the dance of his niece/step-daughter that he offers her half his kingdom.

If you were offered half a kingdom what would you ask for? A new sports car? A new house? Half the kingdom? But that’s not what Salome asks for. Urged on by her mother, she asks for the head of John the Baptist. And what does Herod say? He says OK. Why? He gives her what she wants because he’s afraid. There are three things he’s afraid of in particular.

First, Herod was afraid of John the Baptist. Mark tells us that Herod was afraid of John because John was a righteous and holy man. However, he doesn’t kill John because he’s afraid of him.

Second, Herod was afraid of what others would think. He was afraid of the people of Judea because they considered John to be a prophet. That’s why he hadn’t already had John killed. And now he was afraid of what his guests might think if he didn’t keep his promise.

And then third, Herod was afraid of his wife. Herodias was obviously someone who didn’t allow herself to be messed with. She wore the crown in that family. (I’d say that she wore the pants in the family, but nobody wore pants back then.)

Unfortunately, fear is part of our lives. We occasionally find ourselves in situations where we are scared. And that’s okay. If you were to say you’ve never scared, I’d be willing to say that you’d lie about other things too. Fear is part of the human condition in a fallen world. It’s a fact of life.

However, fear doesn’t have to rule our lives, though, like it did Herod’s. While fear is part of our lives, courage should also be a part of our lives. Courage isn’t the absence of fear, it’s moving on in the face of it. I like this John Wayne quote: SLIDE 4

Courage is being afraid but saddling up anyway.

And we need to remember what Paul tells us in 2 Timothy: SLIDE 5

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7)

The presence of fear doesn’t mean you’re a fearful person. You can be courageous in spite of fear, unlike Herod. So how will you be remembered? The Bible shows him as weak and fearful.

SLIDE 6 Let’s look now at the third main character in Matthew 14, and that is . . .

John the Baptist

One commentator described him as “the bullhorn of the kingdom.” Why a bullhorn? That’s because the picture we usually get of John the Baptist is of him literally shouting. John the Baptist obviously didn’t use a bullhorn, but there was no mistaking that he got his message across loud and clear. Even Herod sitting up high in his palace heard it.

Here are some things to keep in mind about John.

First, John lived and died for the kingdom. What was his message when he was in public? Repent. John’s message prepared the way for the Messiah, who brought the kingdom. What was John’s message to Herod? “Repent.” This time his message got him killed. I wonder if John ever got scared while talking to Herod? Probably. But he never wavered from the message.

Second, John was uncompromising. John didn’t change the message according to the audience. He spoke the same way to the common people as he did to the religious leaders as he did to the Roman soldiers as he did to Herod and Herodias. He told the people how they need to repent. He called the religious leaders a brood of vipers that weren’t showing the fruit of repentance. He told the soldiers to stop cheating people. And he told Herod how it was a sin to be married to Herodias. He wasn’t afraid to call sin what it was and to call for repentance.

Third, John always pointed to Jesus instead of himself. His sole purpose was to lead people to Jesus. So many people are out for themselves, but not John. That’s hard to do when so many people are coming to you telling you how great you are. John had huge crowds traveling great distances to listen to him. And they weren’t just listening, they were responding. They were coming forward to repent and be baptized by him But he never allowed it to go to his head. When his followers thought they were warning him about Jesus attracting larger crowds what did John say? “I must become less important so that he can become more important.” That sets him apart from a lot of people. John knew his job was to point to Jesus and he was quite content with that.

Does that sound like a guy who was stuck on himself?

What we learn from John is that serving God doesn’t guarantee an easy or even a safe life. We know that but I’m not sure it always sinks in. Believing in God and desiring to serve Jesus are guarantees that we won’t face difficulties or hardships. They certainly didn’t help John.

A couple of months ago our Sunday school class did a series on Christians in the Middle East who are suffering because of their faith. There’s a book that goes along with the study giving the stories of more than a dozen Christians and the struggles they face only because they proclaim to believe in Jesus. If they would denounce their faith in Jesus their lives would get easier. And I’m sure it would have for John as well. If he would have stopped calling out the sins of those in the crowd he could have lived an easy life. But that’s not what God had called him to do.

I don’t think any of us will face a beheading like John the Baptist or will have to leave our homes fleeing for our lives like we saw in our study, but if you stand up for your faith not everyone is going to like you. Jesus told us it would be this way. Jesus told the apostles: SLIDE 7

18If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. SLIDE 8 19If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. SLIDE 9 20. . . If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. . . 21They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. (John 15:18-21)

Today, if you take a biblical stance on social issues you’ll be labeled a bigot, intolerant, and judgmental. Being called names isn’t as bad a losing your head, but it can make you begin to question if you’re doing the right thing. Standing up for the truth is always the right thing.

If we don’t learn anything from the life of John the Baptist it should be this – standing for the truth is more important than life itself. Doing what God desires is the single greatest thing we can do with our lives.

I had a conversation with a young man this week about the changes that have taken place in our society. It’s hard for him to see them because of his youth, but if we will take the time and think about it we can see it. We’ve seen how the morals have changed. We’ve seen how those changes have been pushed and reflected in the movies and TV shows we watch. And the sad part is we see it so often – we hear it so often – that we just become numb to it. We don’t even pay attention to the cuss words and adultery. We ignore the violence. It’s no big deal. But it is.

Are you ready to stand firm for the truth of God? Are you ready to stand for the truth of scripture even if it costs you?

Listen to the admonition Paul gives to the Thessalonians.

13But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. 14He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. 16May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, 17encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. (2 Thessalonians 2:13-17)

So how will you be remembered? Will it be like John, who lived like it was all about Christ and His kingdom?

Think about the three people we’ve looked at today – a schemer who let bitterness and unforgiveness run her life, a weakling who cared more about the opinions of others than what was right, and a bullhorn for the kingdom of God who lived and died for the kingdom. If you could only pick from those three, which one would you pick to be most like? And if you were to be brutally honest with yourself and had to pick which of these three you are most like right now?

After the third spirit came and visited him Scrooge decided to change his life and Charles Dickens writers that he became known for the joyous way he celebrated Christmas.

What will you be known for? God has called us to live for him. He has shown us his great love, amazing grace and has given us his eternal promises. Won’t we stand up for him?