“And King Herod heard of it, for His name had become well known; and people were saying, “John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him.” But others were saying, “He is Elijah.” And others were saying, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” But when Herod heard of it, he kept saying, “John, whom I beheaded, has risen!” For Herod himself had sent and had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her. For John had been saying to Herod, “ It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death and could not do so; for Herod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed; but he used to enjoy listening to him. A strategic day came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his lords and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee; and when the daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests; and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you.” And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you; up to half of my kingdom.” And she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” Immediately she came in a hurry to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” And although the king was very sorry, yet because of his oaths and because of his dinner guests, he was unwilling to refuse her. Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded him to bring back his head. And he went and had him beheaded in the prison, and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about this, they came and took away his body and laid it in a tomb.” Mark 6:14-29

We move to a scene that illustrates the terrible destructive power of sin. The name Herod is synonymous with being an enemy of the gospel. This Herod is the son of Herod the Great who went on a killing rampage of male children in the early gospel accounts. Herod the Great’s grandson is the one who held such great pride and arrogance that he was struck dead by an angel of the Lord. This Herod in Mark is described to us as one who is captivated by sexual sin. Mark gives us background information on John the Baptist’s bold stance against Herod because he had married the wife of his brother. We learn of John’s boldness to proclaim repentance and Herod just simply could not handle that proclamation. He would rather have his sin. We learn that Herod had John imprisoned but yet still had some fear of John knowing that he was a prophet. However, Mark’s account tell us that Herod simply enjoyed being entertained by John and he simply would not heed the words of God to come to repentance. We later see this same Herod also seek to be entertained by Christ with such a hardened heart that Christ would not return a single word. God had nothing to say to Herod!

We also see here that when Herod heard about Jesus his conscience was bearing witness against him since Herod’s first response was that he believed John the Baptist had been resurrected. Oh to see the danger of hanging on to sin! Sinclair Ferguson sums this account up well in saying, “the lesson is crystal clear – unless we silence sin, sin will silence conscience. Unless we heed God’s Word, the day may come when we despise God’s Son – and then God will have nothing more to say to us.” Oh to see the danger of sin and how it can absolutely bring a person to utter ruin and destruction. As one great theologian puts it, “be killing sin or sin will be killing you.”

This is exactly what happens to Herod. Herodias and her daughter Salome knew good and well the sexual sin of Herod and used that sin to further trap him. Put before his wicked friends in the midst of a drunken orgy he caves in to his own sinful lusts and pride and murders the very prophet who has heralded the call to repentance. Sadly, the very One John heralded will also stand before Herod while he and his cohorts mock the King of kings. Yet, as Ferguson put it God will not have anything to say to Him. What a terrible and tragic position. Do not be like Herod. Embrace and run to the very One who can forgive your sins and relieve your conscience before God. Run to Christ the Lord! He is mighty to save!

Soli Deo Gloria!