#DailyDevotion Are You Letting Your Sins Progress On You?
Mark 6:17-29 17Herod had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison, because Herod had married Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. 18 “It isn’t right for you to have your brother’s wife,” John had told Herod. 19Herodias had a grudge against John and wanted to kill him, but she couldn’t do it. 20Herod was afraid of John because he knew John was a just and holy man. So he protected him. When he listened to John, he was very much disturbed, and yet he liked to hear him. 21An opportunity came on Herod’s birthday, when he gave a dinner for his noblemen, the tribunes, and the leading men of Galilee. 22 His daughter, that is, the daughter of Herodias, came in and danced, and Herod and his guests were delighted with her. “Ask me for anything you want,” the king told the girl, “and I’ll give it to you.” 23 And he solemnly swore to her: “I’ll give you anything you ask, up to half of my kingdom.” 24She went out and asked her mother, “What should I ask for?” “The head of John the Baptizer,” her mother told her. 25She hurried right back to the king. “I want you to give me right now,” she demanded, “on a platter the head of John the Baptizer.” 26The king was very sorry. But because of the oaths and because of the guests, he didn’t want to refuse her. 27The king quickly sent a guard and ordered him to bring John’s head. He went and cut off John’s head in prison. 28Then he brought the head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. 29When John’s disciples heard about it, they came and took his body and laid it in a grave.
What shall I do with this text today? There simply a number of moral failings that lead to greater sins one after another. We have Herodias and Herod who have already committed adultery by Herodias leaving Herod’s brother, her husband, for him. I wonder if they ever all got together for family picnics or how that went when they did. Unless your spouse has been unfaithful, Jesus has told us you commit adultery if you marry another and cause them to commit adultery. John the Baptist had no trouble letting this power couple know they were living in sin and John was calling them to repent of their sin.
John’s calling these public figure out on their sin and telling them to repent got him arrested. Herodias’ anger towards John made her want to kill John. She was not going to repent. Herod however liked listening to John. That may sound strange but there are a lot of people on the outskirts of Christianity that like listening to what we have to say. They just cannot commit to Jesus because if they did they would have to change and, well, they like their lives.
Herod’s lust was stirred up by his step-daughters dancing cause him to make a foolish vow. Of course that was perpetrated by his wife Herodias who was using the occasion of the party to trap Herod into killing John. When her daughter asks for John’s head Herod is sad because he made the vow in front of all these people. His pride got in the way of doing the right thing. So he murdered John. So we have sexual immorality, hatred, ambivalence to the God’s word, lust and pride all making there.
What shall we do with this then? When someone makes known our sin, we should thank them, repent, commit ourselves to God’s word and trust Christ for the forgiveness of sins and a renewal of our lives. Don’t be like these to bad examples. Be dedicated to God’s word and not your sins.
Heavenly Father, when we sin, give us your word so we may repent, believe in Christ and live our lives according to your word. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.