Herod vs John!

For Wednesday, January 17, 2024:

Mark 6:25 NLT: “The girl hurried back to the king and told him, ‘I want the head of John the Baptist, right now, on a tray!’”

Herod Antipas was a confused, evil man with no courage to stand up for what is right. Surprisingly, he had heard Jesus speak. He listened to John the Baptist preach, “Repent, the Kingdom of God is at hand,” and liked what he heard. But after hearing the warnings, he did not heed the warnings! He had all the information needed to become a believer, but took no action to make it so. Close, but no cigarc

Herod was lost in sin. He had married his brother’s wife Herodias, and she persisted in dragging him further into the depths of hell. As I said, Herod had no courage of his own to stand up for biblical truth, so he was easily manipulated. My theory is that Herodias desired power and money, and she would use anything including sex to get results. She was probably easy on the eyes and awesome in the bedroom, and freely used these traits to move up the royalty’s pecking order. Why would she want to be married to the king’s brother when she could be sleeping with the king himself?

And what’s with Herod’s daughter dancing before the king and his guests? Is that the right thing to do with your daughter, put her on display? My guess is that she wasn’t a student of classical ballet. She hadn’t won the ballroom competition on Dancing with the Stars. Rather, she had learned well from her mother how to manipulate men.

So after all that, Herod promised the dancer a favor, and she consulted with her evil mother. “Ask for the head of John the Baptist!”

Thus John the Baptist met his demise. The score will be settled in heaven, where John will be exalted, and Herod, Herodius and her daughter won’t be present!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

cJesus in the City Fellowship