Mark 6:21-25 - April 19, 2010

Mark 6:21-25 “Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests. The king said to the girl, "Ask me for anything you want, and I'll give it to you." 23 And he promised her with an oath, "Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom." 24 She went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask for?""The head of John the Baptist," she answered. 25 At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: "I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter." NIV

Be certain that the consequences of sin will catch up to you eventually! This passage is dynamic proof that sin is patiently seeking an opportunity against you. When we hold sinful behaviorsclose in our hearts we may think that we are in control. We may feel like we are not in danger. But this passage shows the opportunistic nature of sin. In Gen 4:7 the Lord is teaching Cain about the power and cunning of sin. He says to Him “…if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." Consider such straightforward advice. “Sin desires to have you!”

Sin is persistent in its deceptive ways. The Lord tells Cain that sin desires to have him. It is working to tear down the life of every person who will give it opportunity. Herod thinks that he is in control of his adulterous relationship. What he doesn’t know is that behind the scenes this evil woman is conspiring to have her way. Herod has been living in a very double-minded manner as he continues in sin and yet protects John the Baptist and even enjoys listening to him. However, Herodias the wife of his own brother that he has taken for himself hates John. When her daughter finds favor with the king for dancing before his guests she uses that favor that he has given publicly to ensnare him.

Herod has his guard down and exposes an open door of opportunity that allows this woman to manipulate the circumstances to get what she wants. This is the nature of sin. It hovers around the edges of our lives, probing for any door that we have left open. Seldom does it attack us directly. It waits until our guard is down and then seeks opportunity through those areas of our lives that we have not stewarded properly. Herod is now caught in a trap of his own making. He has tried to have his life both ways, partitioning his life into the openly sinful and the reverent part that still values the voice of the prophet, but it is only a matter of time before the sin that he makes room for finally destroys the voice of godliness that has been speaking to him.

Each one of us must beware the danger of holding the door open to sin. We may say that we love the Lord. We may make time to listen to his voice even. But if on the other side of our life’s values we are reserving a place for continued sin then it is just a matter of time before sin presses out the love for God through the pain of compromise. Jesus said that “no man can serve two masters,” and this is a powerful truth. Eventually we will love one and hate the other and if we have chosen to make room for sin willingly in our lives the voice of God will soon be overpowered by that mixture that we leave in our hearts.