The cost of following Jesus, Matthew 14:1-12

"You could lose your head!"

Intro...Throughout the history of the world, people have been seduced by charm, things they "just gotta have."

·       Women, what would you say are the greatest temptations that could cause you to make unwise choices?

·       Men, what would you say are the greatest temptations that could cause you to make unwise choices?

·       Now reverse it..

We are all vulnerable to being seduced by charm.  The charm of accomplishments, money, power, work, sex, possessions, where we live, what clubs we belong to, what we drive etc.

Big Picture: Stand for what is right, even if you stand alone.

Text:  Matthew 14:1-12

What a fascinating story!  Has been made into a movie, plays. Interesting characters, a hero, a villain, the lust for power and women, a deceptive wife, a weak king, the power of God, a life lost.

Let's take a look at the main characters:

Herod Antipas (the tetrarch)

·       He ruled from 4 B.C. to A.D. 39.

·       He was one of three sons of Herod the Great.

·       Herod the Great ordered the killing of babies in Bethlehem at the time of Jesus' birth.

·       Herod Antipas was one of four rulers of a divided region. (His dad and two other brothers.)

·       The other two rulers were Herod's other sons, Archelaus, and Philip II.

·       He was only 17 when his father, Herod the Great, died.

·       He ruled over the region of Galilee where Jesus ministered.

·       Herod was made tetrarch (a title given to a ruler of one-fourth of a kingdom) of Galilee and Perea.  (Map)

Jesus

·       I think we all know who that is.

·       Even Herod Antipas had "heard about the fame of Jesus." (v. 1)

John the Baptist

·       The forerunner to Jesus, the voice crying out in the wilderness.

·       One rough dude,  He wore wild-looking clothing made of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist. He lived in the desert wilderness, ate locust and wild honey and preached a strange message.

·       Unlike so many people, John the Baptist knew his mission in life. He clearly understood that he had been set apart by God for a purpose.

·       He announced the arrival of Jesus.

·       He preached repentance.

·       He spoke with irresistible authority.

·       He put the fear of God into people, including Herod Antipas, (v. 5)

Herodias, (Philip's wife, Herod Antipas' sister-in-law.)

·       Philip is actually Herod Antipas' half-brother.

·       Herodias was the daughter of Aristobulus, another son of Herod the Great, so when she married Philip, she was marrying her own father's brother or uncle.

·       Herod Antipas had fallen in love with Herodias, even though both were married at the time.

·       So, technically, Herod Antipas was Herodias' uncle...and they still got married!

·       He talked Herodias into leaving her husband (his brother) in order to marry him.

·       The whole relationship turned incestuous even more and violated Lev. 18:16. "You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother's wife."

 Salome, the daughter of Herodias and Philip.

·       Tradition has it that she married another son of Herod the Great (her own father's brother and mother's uncle) spinning yet another web of incest in that family.

·       She was most likely only 12 or 14 at the time of this story.

Now, let's look at the bigger picture, bigger themes.

A fear of Jesus and a fear of John the Baptist.

·       Why? Because they spoke the truth and when the truth is spoken, you either have to deny it or change your actions.

·        Herod Antipas, Roman ruler, King, a great builder, administrator of the provinces of Galilee and Perea...

·       Yet, he became weak when it came to killing John the Baptist.

·       Why?  Because deep inside he knew John the Baptist was the voice of God, the voice of reason.

·       When you are engrossed in sin, the last thing you want to hear is the truth. It's offensive to your chosen actions.

·       We see from vs. 9 that he "was sorry", but had already gotten himself in too deep.

·       He had made an oath and didn't want to be embarrassed publically in front of his guests.

·       A classic example of peer pressure.  We tend to think that's only a teenage problem...

·       Here's an idea, Don't even get into a situation where it will be embarrassing to do what's right.

·       We need to determine to do what is right, no matter how embarrassing or painful it may be.

I don't think Herod even knew what to make of John the Baptist.

·       v. 2  "He has been raised from the dead."

·       Herod Antipas was so freaked out about the power of Jesus' ministry and who John the Baptist was, that he ended up with a strange and curious blend of theology and superstition that was based partly on semi-pagan ideas of returning spirits.

·       John had too much godly power and Herod Antipas couldn't make heads or tails of it.

·       All he knew was that it was a threat to his power.

·        God has a way of taking over whether we want him to or not.  Eventually, His plans will prevail.

v. 5, "He feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet." (and he was!)

·       I've said this for years, people fear God or Jesus or Christianity because it's the real deal.

·       People get so offended by God and the Bible, because it's the truth.

·       Same thing with Herod Antipas.

·       God himself (through John the Baptist) was holding him accountable for his incestuous, lustful behavior.

·       John the Baptist paid the ultimate price for not only following Jesus, but boldly prophesying about him before he even came to earth.

·       I titled the message, "You could lose your head," which most likely won't happen here in South Orange County.

·       What are some things we could lose because we choose to listen to God?

At the heart of this narrative, is a story about incest, sexual sin and lust.

·       SD Mayor, Bob Filner...

·       Or how about all the "regular" people who let sexual sin ruin their lives?

·       In today's story, Herod Antipas' trouble actually started with his father, Herod the Great.

·       He was a lousy example to his sons.

·       He has been described as "a madman who murdered his own family and a great many rabbis", "the evil genius of the Judean nation", "prepared to commit any crime in order to gratify his unbounded ambition."

·       He killed his father-in-law, several of his ten wives, and two of his sons. He ignored the laws of God to suit himself and chose the favor of Rome over his own people. Herod's heavy taxes to pay for lavish projects forced an unfair burden on the Jewish citizens.

·       He is the villain in the Christmas story, a wicked king who saw the baby Jesus as a threat and wanted to murder him.

·       So it's no wonder Herod Antipas was a knucklehead too.

·       Men, what kind of legacy are we leaving to our children, our boys especially?

·       We need strong men

·       I posted this on FB on Thursday and here's what a friend of mine said, "It is soooo hard to raise them! (boys) We are trying though - you pray for us, and we will pray for you!"

I think it's safe to assume that at his birthday party (v.6) there was some drinking going on.

·       Herod has some serious lack of judgment and clear thinking.

·       Here is a grown, married man, lusting after his young step-daughter.

·       He is so far into this mess, that he's willing to take all kinds of wrong actions.

·       v. 9  Sure he had taken a public oath which was considered sacred and inviolable, especially made by a ruling monarch.

·       However, Herod was so two-faced that by now, honesty was the least of his concerns.

·       He was more concerned with how things looked, his reputation.

·       He just didn't want to be embarrassed in front of his dinner guests.

·       And who was behind all this?  His wife, angry because she too was called into accountability by a man of God, John the Baptist!

·       Herodias intervenes, uses her own young daughter to seduce her husband and trick him into beheading John the Baptist.

·       She wanted to eliminate the accusing voice of John the Baptist.

·       She knew he was a threat to her husband's reign.

Corruption in politics, nothing new.  People doing whatever they have to in order to hold on to power.

·       So here is this great Roman ruler letting his better judgment get clouded with a lust for power, and a weakness for women. Sounds like Samson and so many other men throughout history.

Ask yourself, when am I at my weakest and vulnerable to making unwise decisions?

·       Be brutally honest, identify those situations and get your running shoes on!

·       Or if you can't run, who can you call? Who is your lifeline?

·       Who wants to be a millionaire.  Lifelines? 50/50, Ask the audience, Phone a friend.

John the Baptist is a great example of godly behavior.

·       The story doesn't really say much about him.

·       His reputation precedes him.  What a way to go down in history.

·       He is known for being outspoken and godly.

·       So of course he would be outraged that a ruler in Israel would sin so openly and so he rebuked Herod, v. 4.

·       What a simple but profound statement.  (It eventually cost him his life.)

·       This gets him tossed in jail in Herod's fortress-palace called Machearus.

·       This was built atop a steep hill.  It had been fortified by the Hasmonean Jewish Kings, (2nd century B.C.) destroyed by the Romans, (56 B.C.) and finally rebuilt as a palace by Herod the Great.

v. 10-12  Often people die for the cause of Jesus Christ in a most undignified way.

·       John was a victim of circumstances.

·       He was a prophet and did what prophets do best.

·       Show up and tell people things they don't want to hear.

·       Just like Nathan in 2 Samuel 12,  PIC  "David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die!  He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.” Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says:

·        When God speaks, we need to listen!

·       John the Baptist stood for the truth and told a King things he didn't want to hear about his personal life.

·       We may not get our heads served on a platter, but we could lose something else very valuable to us.

Closing thoughts:

Uncontrolled ambition can turn a person into a monster and help them do stupid things.

·       Loose cannon.

·       God helps us keep things in the proper perspective when we focus on him above all else.

·       Adrian Peterson

Lust and jealousy clouds our judgment.

·       When we are jealous and lustful for anything other than God, we are in trouble.

·       We not too appreciate what God has given us instead of wanting what others have, especially someone else's wife or husband!

Great accomplishments are meaningless if done in a way that dishonors God.

·       "Herod the great"

·       Christ calls us to loving faithful relationships with each other, not lustful selfish relationships.

The kingdom of God can be a threat to people in power.

·       When we desire popularity over truth or power over righteousness, that's when we are in too deep.

Herod resorted to force, violence and death because he wouldn't listen to the voice of reason, John the Baptist.

·       Don't think you/I are above doing something just as dumb.