Mark 6:14-29

I am glad you are here reading along with me.  If you were not there reading, I am sure I would have slacked off already and missed a day.

South's SOAP for the Day
S-Read Mark 6:14-29.
O-John was killed because he did what was right.
A-Live rightly, unafraid of any consequences that come as a result.
P-Pray for wisdom and courage to always do what is right.

I didn't finish out the whole of yesterday's passage.  I want to start there to lay the groundwork for today's passage.

All along, Jesus has been proclaiming the good news--that the kingdom of God has come.  In the kingdom of God, God is the king.  Those who live within the kingdom of God live their lives with God as king.  At the end of yesterday's passage, we see Jesus sending his disciples out to proclaim the good news.  He gives them some directions.  He gives them authority.  He sends them out.  And, as Mark 6:12 says, "They went out and preached that people should repent.  They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them."

These disciples who couldn't understand the parable of the sower a few chapters earlier are now being bearers of the good news, proclaiming that the Kingdom has come near AND they are showing it has by doing miracles, just like Jesus.

The kingdom of God is growing.  It is a place where the sick are made healthy, the lame can walk, and the dead rise to life.  It is a place where sins are forgiven.  With all of these things come hope and peace.  Jesus is the son of the king, God Almighty.  And, if we live out the kingdom of God and follow the will of the father, Jesus says that we will be called his brothers, sisters, and mother (Mark 3:35).  We become part of the royal family of the Kingdom of God.  That is important for us in the next passage.

Now to Herod and John the Baptist.  Herod's family tree and marital life is a bit of a mess.  Pay attention now.  His father is Herod the Great, the Herod that tried to kill the baby Jesus when the wise men came looking for him.  Herod the Great had five wives and at least ten children.  One son was our Herod in our story.  Another son, from another wife was Aristobulus.  And yet another son, from another wife was Herod II.  Nothing out of the norm yet.

Aristobulus had a daughter, named Herodias.  She was the granddaughter of Herod the Great.  She married her uncle Herod II.  Yes, you read that right, she married her uncle.  Same grandfather, different grandmothers.  Creeped out yet?  It only gets better.

Now, at some point, our Herod became smitten with his brother's wife.  Josephus, a Jewish historian from Biblical times, says that our Herod stayed with his brother and Herodias for a time on his way from one place to Rome.  That's where the love interest was kindled.  I would assume that the feeling was mutual between the two love birds, otherwise what happens next wouldn't have happened.  When his brother, Herod II died, our Herod divorced his wife at Herodias' request, and married Herodias.  Herodias became our Herod's wife/niece/ex-sister in law.  Makes sense right?  Some scholars say that Herodias is trying to climb the family ladder and get more power.  I wouldn't be surprised if she offed Herod II to move on to our Herod.

Here's the thing.  When our Herod married Herodias, John the Baptist called him out.  See, Herod's family was practicing Judaism.  In Jewish law, the brother married the wife of the deceased brother IF there was no heir to his "kingdom".  Herodias and Herod II had children, including a first born son, who was the heir.  So, not only did our Herod break the Jewish law by divorcing his wife, he also broke the law by marrying his brother's wife/niece.  John the Baptist is pointing out Herod's sin.

From the way our passage reads, Herodias didn't like this.  She seems to have it out for John.  But, for some reason, our Herod has a soft spot for John.  He arrests him to protect him.  I believe that what John the Baptist was saying was making sense to Herod.  He wanted to keep him around to listen to him more.

And then there is this party.  If you think things were weird before, they are about to get even worse.

Our Herod throws a birthday party for himself.  At this party his step daughter, the daughter of Herodias, presumably the daughter of his brother Herod II comes in and dances for him.  This dance isn't just your run of the mill dance.  Scholars say that there was something more--like an erotic dance of sorts.  This would make sense as messed up as the family tree is at this point.  It was something special because Herod then tells his stepdaughter/niece that he will give her anything she wants, up to half his kingdom--which really isn't his, because it actually belongs to the emperor of Rome.  Oh the things drunkenness and wild parties will do to you.

His stepdaughter goes and consults with her mom, Herodias.  Herodias sees the opportunity.  She finally has her chance to get the revenge she wants on John the Baptist.  She has her daughter ask for the head of John the Baptist on a platter.  What a present!

I wonder if the party slowed down after that.

Now, in our passage, all of the above is a flashback that Mark is giving us so we know the back story.  The front story in our passage is that Herod is hearing of this Jesus, the one proclaiming the good news, the one doing all these miracles and raising people to life.  He is being compared to Elijah and some of the other prophets.  Herod, though believes he is John the Baptist, the man that Herod has already turned into a party center piece, raised from the dead.  I wonder what horror is going through Herod's mind at that point.  This prophet of God, who he had beheaded, and who proclaimed that the good news was coming in Jesus, has now been replaced by Jesus--one who has power, one who is the Son of God.

The moral of the story is don't marry your brother's wife who is also your niece.  Don't have wild birthday parties where your stepdaughter "dances" for you.  In the case of Herodias, don't try and climb the ladder of power.  And, most of all, don't seek revenge.  Rather, be one who lives like the disciples, calling for people to repent and become a part of the kingdom of God.  Herod's kingdom is long gone.  God's kingdom is still growing.

Lord, help us to live like Jesus, for your glory, proclaiming the good news and calling others join us in our living.