288. Exposition of Matthew 14: 1-12, "Herod's Dilemma"

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Herod’s Dilemma

Introduction

How do airplane crashes happen?

Malcolm Gladwell describes the 1997 crash of Korean Air Flight 801. The pilot was experienced and in good health. The aircraft was in perfect working order. As the flight approached Guam, the Ground Proximity Warning System alerted the pilot that the plane was within five hundred feet of the ground. Unable to see the runway in the rain, the first officer suggested aborting the landing and circling around for another attempt. The captain, however, was slow to respond. Before the plane could recover altitude, it hit the side of nearby Nimitz Hill, killing 228 of the 254 passengers.

It’s not just plane crashes.  How do…

·         People end up homeless on the street

·         End up in terrible disfunctional relationships

·         End up deeply in debt and in a terrible financial situation

·         End up slaves to alcohol, drugs or porn

·         End up in jail or prison

This chapter offers insight in how we can end up in a situation we never dreamed could happen to us…

1.      The Death of John the Baptist, 14:1-12

14 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus, ² and he said to his attendants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”

³ Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, ⁴ for John had been saying to him: “It is not lawful for you to have her.” ⁵ Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered John a prophet.

⁶ On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for the guests and pleased Herod so much ⁷ that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. ⁸ Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” ⁹ The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted ¹⁰ and had John beheaded in the prison. ¹¹ His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother. ¹² John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.

·         This is a sidebar in the narrative about Jesus.  Its importance is in closing the loop on what happened to John and also to foreshadow what would happen to Jesus.  Matthew 17:12, ¹² But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.”

·         1-3  John’s death is recounted in a “flashback” formula.  Herod hears about Jesus and immediately connects Jesus to John whom he had murdered.  Herod had hosted a feast, which contrasts with the feast Jesus provides in the following section.  Herod is freaking out and imagining Jesus has reappeared.  This happens today with people who have passed away, like sightings of Elvis.

·         Anatomy of a bad decision.

o   Herod and Herodias are like Ahab and Jezebel part two.  Their marriage is a sham.  John the Baptist had continually told Herod that it wasn’t right to marry this woman, but he did it anyway.  This kind of stubbornness led to one of the worst decisions on record, murdering John the Baptist.  John is the guy Jesus praised as the greatest prophet of all time.  I don’t want to think about what happened to Herod when he faced Jesus.  But I think this points out something that commonly happens today on a smaller scale.  Now I want to talk specifically to guys today. 

o   Guys are on the run.  James Dobson highlighted this about twenty years ago in his book “Bringing Up Boys” when he titled a chapter, “Men “R” Dumb.”  Society is going after guys.  They are easy targets.  Look at recent movies like Frozen, Twisters and others.  Who is the hero?  Is it the man?  No!  The man is often the bad guy or lovable loser.   Go through the bookstore and pick out a bestseller.  Chances are the hero is going to be a woman.  This is a big shift.

o   Herod comes across as a fool in this story, why?  Let’s take it apart:

§  He commits adultery.  He marries his brothers wife while his brother is still alive.

§  He messes with the wrong woman.  Herodias.  She is the boss, she’s the one in charge, the one organizing the “hit.” Herod is simply a puppet in her hands.

§  He’s passive, he lets things happen.

§  Sexuality is involved 

§  Alcohol is involved

§  Peer pressure is at play

§  He doesn’t control his words

§  Pride.  He doesn’t back out when he’s made a mistake, he allows pride to guide him down the road of destruction.  He should have said, this is stupid, I’m being manipulated.  Instead, he does something so wrong, it’s impossible to take back.

§  The momentum and inertia from too many mistakes takes over.  Malcolm Gladwell talks about this in one of his books.  Most air disasters don’t happen after just one mistake.  There is one mistake, then another and they slowly compile until something massive goes wrong and the plane goes down.

·         “In a typical crash, for example, the weather is poor—not terrible, necessarily, but bad enough that the pilot feels a little bit more stressed than usual. In an overwhelming number of crashes, the plane is behind schedule, so the pilots are hurrying. In 52 percent of crashes, the pilot at the time of the accident has been awake for twelve hours or more, meaning that he is tired and not thinking sharply. And 44 percent of the time, the two pilots have never flown together before, so they’re not comfortable with each other. Then the errors start—and it’s not just one error. The typical accident involves seven consecutive human errors. One of the pilots does something wrong that by itself is not a problem. Then one of them makes another error on top of that, which combined with the first error still does not amount to catastrophe. But then they make a third error on top of that, and then another and another and another and another, and it is the combination of all those errors that leads to disaster.”

o   For men today, we can end up following the same path:

§  We mess with the wrong woman.  Instead of a godly woman, we start dating those who don’t follow Jesus passionately.  Women are like Kryptonite to men.  All the greats have been taken down by women:  David, Soloman, Samson. 

§  We are passive.  We let the woman lead us instead of leading as God desires and designed.  Go to many churches and who do you find?  Women.  Where are the guys?  At home worshipping at St. Mattresses or St. Maddens.  We don’t stand up and do what’s right.  Slowly we are led to a place that we can’t get out of.

§  Sexuality.  Porn, impurity, temptation weakens us.

§  Alcohol.  Paul says “Do not get drunk on wine which leads to debauchery.”  Alcohol leads to bad decisions. 

§  Peer pressure.  Once we allow our friends or family to guide our decision making, it’s nearly impossible to make changes. 

§  Rash words.  We say things and make promises that are foolish.  Then we get held to those stupid words. 

§  Pride is the final nail in the coffin.  Pride keeps us from making a change when we know we are way off course.  Instead of backing out, we plunge into destruction. 

·         Examples:  I was counting the cost with a young man and asked him, “What do you see as the biggest challenge facing you?  If Satan wanted to take you out spiritually, what would he do?”  The man answered, “Send a woman into my life.”  A few months later, this man started dating a woman and he abandoned his relationship with Christ.”  He knew it in advance and still fell.

·         Challenge:

o   What situation are you caught in?  Do you feel trapped, closed in, boxed in with limited options.  That’s a sign you may be stuck in Herod’s dilemma.

o   Some of us are falling right into Herod’s dilemma.  We are involved with the wrong woman or man.  We are drifting away from God, passively allowing it to happen.  Sexuality and alcohol may be contributing toward it.  We’ve said things that were stupid and now we’re afraid of making a change and looking foolish.  So we are stuck in a situation of our own making.

o   If you want to be strong, you have to stand up, step back and look at your situation with fresh eyes.  Renounce the words you’ve spoken.  Break up with the wrong woman and turn back toward God.

o   Get some help. Gladwell goes on to say,

§  “These seven errors, furthermore, are rarely problems of knowledge or flying skill. It’s not that the pilot has to negotiate some critical technical maneuver and fails. The kinds of errors that cause plane crashes are invariably errors of teamwork and communication. One pilot knows something important and somehow doesn’t tell the other pilot. One pilot does something wrong, and the other pilot doesn’t catch the error.”  The copilot told the pilot they were too low, but the pilot refused to listen.

§  Herod had no one in his life.  He didn’t have a copilot.  If you are a disciple and you need help you can reach out for help.  Unfortunately, when we get into bad situations, we often try to hide it and keep it from others.  We get prideful  That’s where discipling can make all the difference.  One spiritual talk with another disciple can often make all the difference.  Don’t be like Herod.  Don’t get caught in Herod’s dilemma.  Stubborn, isolated, compounding mistakes until he finally crashes and burns and commits the worst sin imaginable.