This evening I’ve bundled several things together from this scripture, all of which are good lessons for us. But several of those lessons are not tasty, good-looking fruit – in fact some look pretty disgusting. Disgusting doesn’t necessarily mean that something isn’t good for you. For example, I heard somewhere that brussels sprouts are actually healthy. If you choose not to eat tonight, that is your choice, but the Lord is putting them on your plate nevertheless. To get things going, let’s start with something rather good looking and good tasting.
Did you notice the Lord’s OMNISCIENCE and the INSPIRATION of the Word of God?
These are definitely important – some people like these veggies but others don’t really care too much. The conversation between Herod and his servants is recorded in all three of the Synoptic Gospels. Both Mark and Luke have a little bit more of the conversation for us. “Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by (Christ): and he was perplexed, because that it was said of some, that John was risen from the dead…” Like Matthew and Mark, Luke goes on to say that some of Herod’s counselors had other opinions about Christ. “And king Herod heard of (Christ); (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him. Others said, That it is Elias, and Others said, that is a prophet, or as one of the prophets. But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John whom I beheaded; he is risen from the dead.” When and where do you suppose that this conversation took place? This kind of language is not very flattering, and I seriously doubt that Herod didn’t make it public. I think that this was a private conversation.
So how and why is it found in three places in the Word of God? The answer is quite simple for those who believe God’s Word. The Lord is aware of every conversation, every whisper, every thought which creeps across every mind. “There is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.” “Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.” The Bible may not be the same thing as “upon the housetops,” but it is an even better pulpit. You may not be able to keep every wicked thought out of your head, but the Lord knows whether or not you have chosen to dwell upon it. You certainly don’t have to repeat someone’s lie, or another person’s gossip – but if you do y will be held accountable. “God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or … evil.” This conversation between Herod and his servants may not have been evil in itself, but that it was exposed to our view proves that God overhears every conversation. I probably shouldn’t say “beware” – but I will say “be aware” that the Lord knows your every whisper.
Secondly, since this conversation is recorded in three places in God’s Word, I believe that there is a tiny bit of further evidence about the inspiration of God’s Word. You may trust everything that the Bible tells you. And when it speaks of someone else, like Herod the Tetrarch, you are permitted to apply it to yourself.
Consider next, the word “FAME” there in verse 1.
“At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus.” Mark 6:14 says, “And king Herod heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad).” Luke 9:7 simply says, “Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by (Christ), and he was perplexed.” Matthew uses the word “fame.”
We all know a little bit about fame – or at least we think that we do. You may never heard of the Robertson family of West Monroe, Louisiana, but they are becoming one of the most famous families in America. They are best known by the name of their un-real reality show – “Duck Dynasty.” We are supposed to believe that these reddest of the red necks have made millions of dollars designing and selling duck calls. If you don’t know who I am talking about, I will just say that all the men have long unkept beards; they wear almost nothing but camouflage clothing but with expensive sunglasses or American flag bandanas. Let me give you another example – for several years, ending a year ago, there was a famous football player named Tim Tebow. I guarantee that there isn’t 1 in a 100 who knows where Tim Tebow is today. Such is the fickle fate of fame. Some of you know who I am talking about, while others don’t – and THAT is the nature of fame.
The Greek word translated “fame” reveals at least one general lesson about the subject. “Akoe” ( ak-o-ay’ ) is used two dozen times in our Greek New. Testament. Only three times is it translated “fame” – most of the time it is “hearing” and twice it is rendered “rumor.” When Mark and Luke say that “Herod heard” about Christ, it is a related word to “akoe” ( ak-o-ay’ ). My point is this – what is one person’s fame is another person’s rumor and a third person’s bit of conversational trivia. Fame is rarely a great thing – generally speaking it is not something worth seeking. The Lord Jesus was not seeking “fame” as He went about His ministry. He was far more interested in a few people believing Him, following Him, loving Him and serving Him than He was in a million people staring at Him because they had heard about Him.
It is my hope that during your lifetime you will have a people who love and admire you – even emulate you. But notice that as far as Herod was concerned Jesus’ “fame” didn’t do either of them any good. Jesus’ fame didn’t turn into faith and repentance from Herod. He didn’t follow the Lord’s miracles to their source in the omnipotence of His deity. Jesus was famous, but the Lord Jesus Christ was basically ignored.
Notice John’s ACCUSATION in verse 4.
“It is not lawful for thee to have her.” I couldn’t have made this a part of my first point for this evening. This too was a part of a private conversation, but which was heard, and exposed, by the omniscient God. John didn’t say, “It is unlawful for a man to take his brother’s wife.” It was personal . John said, “It is not lawful for THEE to have her.”
How did John and Herod come together? Was it that when John heard about the sinful nuptials between Herod and Herodias he went to the king? Did John travel up to Galilee to confront Herod? Or was that Herod arranged for a private meeting with John the Baptist, because he liked meeting famous people? Could it have been at some point when Herod was forcing himself on the hospitality of Philip and Herodias? Could John’s rebuke have been made before Herod had stolen his brothers wife? Even though most of John’s ministry was in the tetrarchy of Philip, Antipas somehow got to meet John.
Remember that the family of Herod was Idumean and not Jewish. Remember that none of them had a great love or respect for the Word of God. Other scriptures seem to indicate that Herod was a professed Sadducee, meaning that he took a very liberal perspective when it came to the scriptures. John’s condemnation of Herod’s proposed marriage of Herodias was based on God’s Word. There was nothing unlawful about a man marrying the widow of his brother, but Philip wasn’t dead. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that only the power of Rome, kept Herod from killing his brother in order to take Herodias. There was nothing wrong in a man marrying his brother’s widow, but God condemned the marrying of a brother’s wife. We see it first in Leviticus 18:16. Then there is Leviticus 20:21 – “If a man shall take his brother’s wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother’s nakedness.” For the Israelite, the command was obvious, but what about the man who only pretended to be an Israelite. What exactly was it that so infuriated Herod – the command of God, or the denunciation of John? I am of the opinion that Herod couldn’t care less for what the Bible had to say about his marriage.
A major part of HEROD’S PROBLEM is still a major problem today.
As I read through all three accounts of these events, one person and one pronoun seemed to jump out at me. The whole thing was all about Herod – not Herodias, not John, not Philip, and certainly not about Christ. Herod was perplexed when he heard about Christ. Herod wanted his brother’s wife, and he was king enough to make his brother comply. Furthermore, he had the power to command the death another man, who simply repeated the Word of God. “It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead.”
If it was possible to peal back some of the layers of this onion we call Herod, would things have been different? If Herod was an ordinary citizen and not the honoured son of Herod the Great, could he have gotten away with any of this? Herod was king – tetrarch of Galilee, but what if he wasn’t? He was as corrupted by his power as his father had been. He was filled with himself – as we are far too often ourselves. What if he hadn’t been so proud – what if someone had peeled back that man’s pride. For some reason he thought of himself as worthy of his brother’s wife. It was untrue for him just as it is usually untrue of us and our high thoughts. What if his pride had been striped away before John came along with the word of the Lord? Why couldn’t that man have cast himself before Jehovah’s prophet – the preacher of God’s Word?
I’ll tell you why. Herod was no atheist – He may not have been a Pharisee or a follower of Moses, but he wasn’t an atheist. But the god of Herod was himself – a problem which is true of nearly all humanity. “Take that Bible away from me because I have determined that it has no authority over me.” “Take that prophet of Jehovah and cut off his head – don’t stone him to death, because I have decided in my grace and sovereignty to execute him as quickly and painlessly as possible.” “I am god around here, even though I take my orders from my wife and her daughter.” “Let’s just say that I am more the god of my life than Christ or Jehovah.”
One of the greatest problems in our society is the proliferation of gods – there is one for just about every person on earth.
Think about the word “SORRY” as we find it in verse 9.
The words “I am sorry” can be extremely powerful. They can heal broken bones and torn relationships more quickly than any other set of words. “I love you,” are important and helpful, but sometimes a situation calls for the more powerful phrase – “I am so, so sorry.” On the other hand those words can be as weak as the way some people use “I love you.”
Herod was sorry, nevertheless, for the oath’s sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded that the head of John be removed and given to the blood-thirsty adulteress. I suppose that as important as the kind of sorrow is – the thing about which we are sorry is more important. I have heard profound, tearful apologies and sorrow – expressed over being caught in some sin. It’s not the sin, for which those people are sorry, but for being caught. Is that kind of sorrow real? It very well may be, but it doesn’t matter because it is a sorrow for the wrong thing. I have heard people express sorrow that some other person was hurt in some way. But if the man expressing the sorrow isn’t feeling the pain, then it means nothing.
About what was Herod sorry? The way in which verse 9 is expressed, I would say that it had very little to do with the murder of John. It seems that Herod was sorry that he boxed himself into a corner where he didn’t want to be. He made a foolish public promise and even though he hesitated about killing John, it was the promise which bothered him. Perhaps he was sorry about the embarrassment that his mistake had caused. How many months passed between the death of John and verse 1 of this chapter? How often during those months did John give a second thought to the murder of John? In other words did his sorrow last very long?
There is a huge difference between sorrow and godly repentance. Perhaps Herod was sorry over the effect of his oath and decision, but he was not sorry enough for his murder of John. And if it was true sorrow, then as Christ Jesus became more and more well-known…. and if Herod really believed that Jesus was some sort of supernatural individual, why wasn’t Herod out looking for Christ in humility and honest inquiry? Herod was sorry, but not sorry unto repentance.
Another lesson here involves a deadly mis-identification.
In Mark’s account we read – “And king Herod heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him. Others said, That it is Elias. And others said, That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets. But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead.”
What would you think, if you heard about someone across town who was working the same sort of miracles of which we have read thus far in Matthew? Would you think that it was Elijah, Moses or perhaps of the Old Testament prophets arisen from the dead? I would be really skeptical. I might try to verify if the healed people had really been sick. I’d want to see the death certificate for the people that this man had raised out of their coffins. If he was actually in Post Falls, and open to a visit, I might ask him by what authority he did these things.
Probably because Herod and I come from different backgrounds, I certainly wouldn’t have listened or reacted the way that he did. Other than his guilty conscience, why should Jesus’ miracles point to John the Baptist? Remember that John never worked a single miracle. Why did his counselors tell him that it was Elijah arisen from the grave?
If I had been in Herod’s sandals that day, I would have gone to Christ, or invited Him to come to me. The superstitious statements which were being made would have been quickly cast aside. When it comes to the Lord, mis-identification is a really terrible and dangerous mistake. Christ is not “that prophet” nor Elijah or Elisha – Christ is not John Baptist. He is infinitely higher and more important. Christ is not a mere prophet – He is not a moral philosopher – He is not a miracle-worker. Jesus of Nazareth is actually the Lord Jesus Christ – the anointed of God. This is the eternal Son of God, who became incarnate for a very specific reason. This is the Lamb of God, who came into the world to give His life a ransom for many. John may have been the greatest man ever born, but he cannot hold the coat of Christ Jesus.
Hypotheticals aren’t very valuable, but they can lead to interesting chains of thought. For example, what if someone in the chambers of the king, had told Herod exactly who Jesus was? What if a Daniel, or John, or Peter had been able to explain that Christ could do all these wonderful things because He is the infinite son of God? I tend to think that if Herod had heard the truth, and if he had been given grace to believe the truth, then he would have confessed his sin and his sins becoming one of the disciples of Christ. Knowledge is a powerful thing; superstition is a dangerous thing; ignorance is a deadly thing. Herod’s mis-identification of Christ is one reason that the man is in Hell at this moment. There is no reason for you to join him.
One final lesson is to be seen in verse 12.
“And his disciples came, and took up the body, and buried, it, and went and told Jesus.” They came and told Jesus. Now, those disciples were wrong in not following Christ in the first place, and now they are learning the lesson. But they were hurting – they had suffered a great loss – their heart were breaking.
What should we do in situations like that? To whom could they turn? Their earthly comforter was gone – as go all earthly comforters eventually. So they sought out the Lord Jesus and laid bear their broken hearts. I can’t tell you exactly what the Lord did for these poor men, but whatever it was, I am sure that it was helpful.
No matter what your pain might be; no matter what your loss might include…. You cannot go wrong in bringing it to the Lord. Perhaps, as in this case, you shouldn’t have put so much love and energy on John, you can be sure that Christ explained that in a kind and loving way. Perhaps the Lord invited those men to follow Him. I don’t know, but I’m sure that it was a blessing and exactly what they needed. The lesson is that we should cast all our care upon Christ, for He careth for us.