Trading Blessings for Sin: Lessons from Mark 6:14-29

You know, it’s beyond frightening to think about how easily we can trade incredible blessings in life in order to accomplish sin’s bidding.

First, just think about how much peace God offers us in the gospel through His word, yet we so often choose chaos, instead. Sinners that we are, if onlyw we could for half a second realize how much potential blessing we lose out on and how much we miss out on concerning the kingdom of God, because we are so distracted by our sinful lusts and pursuits. .

Honestly, I think this is the main thread that’s woven through Mark 6:14-29, the account of the beheading of John the Baptist. What was the issue? What caused the beheading of John? It happens all because of petty sinful vindictiveness and scheming.

You could say it was simply because John was being an effective preacher. He was calling out the Herodian family and their sinful shenanigans.  Herod Antipas, the Roman appointed king of the Jews, had a thing for his brother, Phillip’s wife, named Herodias. Apparently, Herod had convinced Herodias to divorce Philip and marry Herod instead. And you can imagine the drama and the chaos that would have erupted from this. Not only did God’s word speak against such things, right? But imagine the drama and the chaos that would have erupted in a family because of this kind of shenanigans, and, these were also leaders of the people of God! Their immoral behavior set a public example.

But here’s the most important thing: Mark tells us that nonetheless, Herod was flirting with repentance. Yes, he had acted foolishly, childishly and immorally in his marriage to Herodias, but nonetheless he showed wisdom in that he was actually listening to God’s Word.  We are told that though he had had John imprisoned, nonetheless, “Herod feared John. Knowing that John was a righteous and holy man, and so Herod kept him safe. And whenever he heard John preach, he was much perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly” (vs. 20).  

Then there is Herodias. She’s a schemer and manipulator. She is wise in worldly ways, but in the end, what a fool she proves to be.  For after the gross and reprehensible act of having her daughter dance erotically before her new stepdad/uncle, Herod, Herodias then proceeds to take personal advantage of the favor that Herod showers upon the girl. 

We are told that Herod promised the girl up to half his kingdom. Imagine that!  Half a kingdom! Yet, Herodias trades this offer—something of so much worth, wealth and status—for the opportunity to carry-out petty revenge against her worst critic.  She proves to be a fool because she trades half a kingdom in order to murder an already jailed man. How stupid!  

But, like I said earlier, it’s beyond frightening to think how easily our sin can convince us to trade incredible blessings in life in order to accomplish sins bidding. We neglect the things that are actually valuable and, in turn, place incredible value on things that are actually quite trivial, wrong and even evil. 

So what doest that look like in our lives?

How many of us know of a friend or a close acquaintance who in a moment of lust and passion threw away years of marriage, security and happiness for their children, all because in that moment they valued the excitement of an affair and the short-lived pleasure of sex as something greater and of more value?  Just remember what happened to King David with his affair with Bathsheba. David risked everything to satisfy a sinful, stupid, trivial desire. 

But this is a devotional series on forgiveness. How does forgiveness into all of this?

Well, we’ve already established that Herodias’s problem is that she was vindictive and too quick to carry out her revenge on John. But, I’d say, let’s not judge Herodias too harshly, for are we not also sometimes quick to hold grudges and be vindictive toward others over the slightest offense?  And even when God’s word shows us our sin, we often recoil from it. Repentance can be hard for this reason.  King Herod found it hard but still seemed to realize it’s value–He listed to John “gladly.” But Herodias found it impossible.

However, we are Chrisitans! It shouldnt’ be hard for us. Our Savior offers us the perfect freedom of forgiveness. He dies to take away our guilt. And He gives us the key to shaking off those heavy chains of anger, hatred, and judgement. He offers us the peace of the Gospel. 

But after fifteen years of serving as a pastor–fifteen years of ministering to sinners and being a sinner, myself—I have learned much about sinful behavior and the difficulty for sinners to give and recieve forgiveness. I’ve seen how hatred and grudges affect everything in a person’s life and in their relationships.  And one thing I’ve learned is that holding grudges and staying angry with someone is a lot of work. You can’t even go to the grocery store without wondering if you’ll see the person your upset with.  You wonder what they might be saying about you behind your back.  You pick apart every little thing they do or say.  You read into their every facial expression.  Indeed, hating another person and holding a grudge can become a full-time job.

And we see what this hate produces: Mark’s Gospel shows us how John’s preaching preoccupied Herodias with so much hate that she couldn’t think of anything better to ask for than John’s head on a plate. How sad. How stupid. But that’s the kind of reasoning that hatred and grudge holding produces.

• What foolish things have anger and grudge-holding produced in your life?

• Does it make you weary?

• Herodias traded half a kingdom to get her petty revenge on John. In what ways do we trade the blessings of God’s Kingdom in Christ because of our unwillingness to make peace with others?