Mark 6:26-29 “The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27 So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, 28 and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. 29 On hearing of this, John's disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.” NIV
When sin finally catches up to us most people are not ready to pay! King Herod was no different in this passage. Here he is…he is on display. He has dinner guests. He has provided entertainment in the form of exotic dancing and everyone is impressed so now the king makes a thoughtless promise in front of all of his dinner guests to the woman who has danced for him. It is this promise that becomes a snare to him.
Herod is obviously trying to impress his dinner guests. And now this pride becomes the open door for his previous sins to take advantage of him. Pride is often the snare that entraps us. Herod is not thinking about the possible requests that this woman may make of him. His attention is fully turned towards continuing the show by displaying his own generosity to his guests by the promise that he makes. This pride, however, becomes the opportunity that sin has been waiting for.
This same snare has captured many victims over the years. The words of our own mouths, spoken in pride become a trap that our own pride prevents us from escaping. Herod is now on the spot! He cannot refuse whatever this girl asks of him now that he has spoken so arrogantly and publicly. The cost of refusal would now be as great as the cost of fulfilling his promise. But that cost proves to be very great!
Herod has sought to preserve John because of this strange mixture that has developed in his life. Herod has enjoyed listening to John but not obeying what he has been teaching. He has enough fear of God not to have John killed but not to surrender his life to the truth that John is speaking. But at the same time John’s words have awakened the hatred of the woman with whom Herod is sinning. This woman happens to be the mother of the young dancer who has found favor with Herod. Once again, sin is using the back door to exact its costly toll! The wicked deed that the woman Herodias cannot manage to accomplish directly is now within her grasp through the favor that has fallen upon her daughter.
Herod is trapped. The daughter of Herodias asks for John’s head on a platter, a gift that Herod is loathe to give, but his oath in front of his dinner guests now means either public humiliation because he does not keep his word or else he must fulfill this request. Sin always leaves us with only bad options to choose from if we are unwilling to humble ourselves and repent! Eventually everyone must pay!
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