The Center of a Sex Scandal
I don’t know about you, but I’m not a big fan of airing my dirty laundry in public. Imagine being the center of a sex scandal featured not just on TMZ and the front page of the tabloids but every network newscast.
This is the sordid story of one powerful politician who chucked his first wife in order to hook up with a younger model. It’s one of the sleaziest scandals you’ll ever run across. Hmm, sound familiar?
It Has Everything
This one checks all the slimy boxes. Infidelity. Divorce. Backstabbing brothers. Wife stealing. Booze. Wild parties. Lap dancing daughters. Incest. Religious leaders who ignore it all. Top it all off with the bloody murder of the one person who exposes it all.
Before you jump to conclusions, I need to tip you off that this story is actually a couple of thousand years old. Put it this way, you’ve heard this story before because you’ve heard this story before.
A Prophetic Pit Bull
In an ancient document we call the Gospel of Mark, we read of the sexual escapades of Herod Antipas and his second wife Herodias (Mk 6:14-29). Here in the middle of this biography of Jesus, the author tells us how Christ’s cousin has the courage to call them out.
John the Baptizer exposes the couple for who they really are. When they flaunt their sin for everyone to see, John refuses to let them get away with it. He’s like a prophetic pit bull who’s locked his jaws on something and won’t let go.
Who Is Jesus?
Mark uses Antipas’ trashy family controversy to toss the question of Jesus’ identity on the table once again. Who is this radical Rabbi/Carpenter from Nazareth? The author forces each reader to come up with their own answer. It’s one of his mega-themes.
Putting the Funk in Dysfunction
Before we dive into the dumpster fire of this trashy passage, let’s meet the cast of characters involved. It’s quite a crew. You may know families that have their issues, but this bunch truly puts the funk in dysfunction.
It all starts with the family patriarch, a man we know as Herod the Great. Mark doesn’t mention him by name in the passage but his fingerprints are all over this story. Let’s just say the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. Daddy Herod leaves a gaping and infected father wound that affects an entire region.
Splitting the Family Business
We may call him King Herod but he’s really no king at all. The dude’s really just a puppet governor of Judea with Rome pulling the strings. You may remember Herod as the one in office when Jesus is born. You know, the one who meets with the magi. The one who slaughters babies in Bethlehem. Yeah, THAT Herod. Quite a guy.
At his death, Herod the Great splits up the family business four ways. He gives Judea, Idumea, and Samaria to his son Archelaus. He’s such a disaster that Caesar soon replaces him with a governor named Pontius Pilate. You may have heard of him.
A Sliver to His Sister
Herod divvies up a sliver of turf to his sister Salome. She gets a handful of small towns and a few thousand drachmas for her trouble.
It’s at this point that we finally get to the key players in our disgusting drama. Herod’s son Philip receives a large chunk of land called Gaulanitis. It’s in what we know today as the Golan Heights and extended into southern Syria.
Antipas Gets the Boondocks
Last and certainly not least among Herod’s kids is our buddy Antipas. Daddy leaves him Galilee and Perea. In the First Century, Galilee is really nothing more than a handful of small fishing villages and mountain crossroads. We know it as the home of Jesus. But even His closest followers thought it was the boondocks back in the day (Jn 1:46).
If you think that’s depressing, check out Perea. We’re talking about a total wasteland of mountains and desert on the eastern bank of the Jordan River. Precious few people live there. Absolutely nothing grows there.
Stirring the Slimy Pot
We now meet the one who really stirs the slimy pot in this story. Her name is Herodias. Stay with me. This gets more than a little complicated. She’s Herod the Great’s granddaughter. But Herodias actually marries her Uncle Herod Philip. Yup, Antipas’ brother.
But that won’t stop her from hooking up with her brother-in-law Herod Antipas, who is also one of her uncles. So see if you can follow me. Herodias divorces her first husband/uncle so that she can marry her second husband/uncle/brother-in-law.
A Very Tangled Knot
We’re not done. There’s also Herodias’ daughter. While the writers of the New Testament never give us her name, the ancient historian Josephus calls her Salome. She’s both Antipas’ step daughter and niece.
Josephus goes on to say that Salome grows up to marry her father's other brother Herod Philip who also happens to be her mother’s uncle. In other words, she ties the tangled knot with her own uncle/great uncle.
Jesus’ Bug Eating Cousin
Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Man, this is messed up! Well, we’re not the only ones. That’s where John the Baptizer comes into the story. We first met Jesus’ bizarre bug-eating-leather-wearing cousin earlier in Mark’s Gospel (Mk 1:4-8).
He earns his rep as the Baptizer for calling people to get soaking wet as an outward symbol of the inward change God has made in their lives. He even has the honor of baptizing Christ. It’s the slam dunk sign that Jesus is the Hero sent from God to save us from the sinful mess we’ve made.
Speaking Truth to Power
While John’s known as the Baptizer, he also becomes famous for his courage to speak truth to power. Other religious leaders may be willing to look the other way on Antipas’ affair and second marriage to his brother’s wife, but there’s no way John can ignore it.
Eventually the Baptizer’s unrelenting attack on Antipas and Herodias lands him in the slammer and costs him his head. So as we dive back into story we read in Mark 6:14-29, John’s already dead.
The Mysterious Miracle Man
Jesus has suddenly become all the rage in Galilee. When word gets back to Herod Antipas, everybody’s scratching their heads, trying to figure out the true identity of this mysterious Miracle Man.
A few folks believe John the Baptizer’s made the ultimate comeback, back from the dead (v14). Others disagree and throw out the idea that it’s Elijah (v15). That kinda makes sense since he never died. God took him home to heaven in what may be the sweetest Uber ever, a fiery chariot pulled by flaming horses (2Kin 2:11).
A few other people spitball that He could be one of the other legendary OT prophets (v15). Could it be Moses? How ‘bout Isaiah? Maybe even Jeremiah. One way or the other, the crowds are connecting Jesus as a personal Spokesman for God. Whoever He is, He’s clearly the real deal.
A Zombie Prophet?
Of those three theories, Antipas chooses who’s behind Door Number One: John the Baptizer (v16). What has Herod shaking in his sandals is that he had the beheaded the annoying pain in the tail in order to shut him up once and for all. Now he’s afraid of being haunted from beyond the grave by some sort zombie prophet.
My Opinion Doesn’t Matter
It’s curious how far out of the way some people will go to limit and pigeonhole Christ. You’ve heard them before. Maybe you’re like me and even used a few yourself. Prophet. Teacher. Healer. Political leader. Rabble-rouser.
There’s just one problem with all of these. What we think about Jesus doesn’t change His true identity. These labels can’t come close to containing who He really is…none other than the one and only Son of God.
A Shameless Sleazefest
According to Mark, it all began when Antipas tossed the Dunker in the joint in order to shut him up (v17). Josephus says Herod tossed John into the dungeon at Machaerus, a mountaintop palace on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea.
As we said before, this all happened when Antipas and Herodias got sick and tired of the Baptizer’s non-stop criticism of their shameless sleazefest of a marriage. They apparently see nothing wrong with stealing your brother’s wife, much less the whole husband/uncle/wife/niece/ hot mess.
John Won’t Let It Drop
The prophet never let up. “John had been telling Herod, ‘It is against God’s law for you to marry your brother’s wife’” (v18). Mark’s verb tense makes it clear the Baptizer wouldn’t let it drop. He. Just. Didn’t. Stop.
If you’re wondering what specific law they broke, check out Leviticus 18:16. It’s God’s specific command to keep your hands off your sister-in-law. If you’re wondering, the entire chapter warns against hopping into the sack with anybody who comes to your family reunion.
Moral Compromise
Two thousand years later, the followers of Jesus still face a culture dripping with moral compromise…ESPECIALLY when it comes to sexual morality. Can you imagine a political leader who openly sleeps around and doesn’t care? I know, sounds crazy.
Gotta question for you. Why do so-called evangelical Christians get hot and bothered when politicians of one party fall into sexual sin but give those allegedly friendly to their cause a pass? I don’t care whether we live in a red state or a blue state. Sin is sin.
Drop the Rock
Does God call His people to stand up against what is morally wrong? You betcha. But we only have the leverage to speak out when we’re living in obedience to Him. Otherwise, we’re just throwing stones at each other inside a house of glass. So, you might wanna drop that rock.
Dealing with the Baptizer Problem
Back in our story, we see that it wasn’t so much Antipas who had a problem with the Baptizer but his second wife. “Herodias bore a grudge against John and wanted to kill him” (v19).
Herodias decides to get rid of John instead of getting rid of her sin. Sound familiar? It should. It won’t be long before religious power brokers use the very same strategy to shut Jesus down.
A Moral Cage Match
But her husband not so much. Herod is torn. On one hand, he respects the Baptizer so he makes sure nothing happens to him. He hates when he points out his sin. But absolutely loves listening to him (v20).
Antipas is in a moral cage match between his own lust and his guilty conscience. This happens every time God’s rules for life expose our immorality like some sort of supernatural luminol.
Herod’s Birthday Bash
Herodias finds the moment she’s been waiting for when her hubby throws himself a big birthday party (v21). It’s the social event of the Galilean season. Anybody who’s anyone is there. We’re talking red carpet, paparazzi, the whole deal.
After the party gets cranking and the booze starts flowing, things eventually get sick and weird. I mean VERY sick and VERY weird!! At some point, Herodias’ daughter shows up and “performed a dance that greatly pleased Herod and his guests” (v22).
A Disgusting Lap Dance
Our friends at the NLT have seriously sanitized what went down. Salome bumps and grinds for her stepdad and his guests. And if this isn’t icky enough, the original language refers to her using a word (Gr. κορασιον/korasion) which describes a young teenage girl in the middle of or just past puberty.
As a dad, it breaks my heart to read about this pubescent girl acting like a hoochie mama. She gives a disgusting lap dance for her stepdad and a sleazy striptease for the whole crowd.
A Piece of Meat
I don’t think there’s any coincidence that the Greek text literally describes how she pleases the party guests as “everyone who was sitting at the meat” next to the prime rib (v22). With their libidos unleashed, they treat this young woman like nothing more than a piece of flesh.
Antipas is so intoxicated and titillated that he blurts out Salome can have just about anything she wants. “I will give you whatever you ask, up to half my kingdom!” (v23). Words he’ll soon regret. He has no clue he’s being played big time.
Royal Child Abuse
Surely Salome’s mom will protect her, right? Wrong. Herodias is actually the one behind it all. This is child abuse of the highest order. Mom has obviously encouraged her little girl to begin her career as an exotic dancer at an early age as part of her sleazy plan.
The teenager clearly isn’t in on the plot when she asks her mother what she should ask for. “Ask for the head of John the Baptist!” (v24). Gulp.
Herodias’ daughter hustles back across the room to Herod and adds a little extra something of her own. “I want the head of John the Baptist, right now, on a tray!” (v25). Clearly the apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree.
Folding Like a Cheap Suit
Antipas swallows hard when Salome announces her answer. “Then the king deeply regretted what he had said; but because of the vows he had made in front of his guests, he couldn’t refuse her” (v26).
Herod suddenly realizes he’s a sucker. He folds under pressure like a cheap suit. Antipas is unwilling to stand up to her because he didn’t want to look bad in front of others. Culture calls it peer pressure. God calls it the fear of man.
When You Get Squeezed
This drunk and aroused ruler gets played because he has no integrity. He cares WAY more about what they think than doing the right thing. The right thing went out the window a LONG time ago!
What we do under pressure reveals what we’re really like on the inside. Put it another way, when I get squeezed, what comes out? Jesus gives us the polar opposite example in the garden the night before He dies (Mk 14:32-41). It should come as no shock that Gethsemane actually means “olive press.”
Mom’s Appalling Prize
You can pretty much fill in the blanks from here. Antipas dispatches an executioner to make it happen immediately (v27). By the way, this hints that this shindig may well have happened at Herod’s mountaintop castle at Machaerus.
He decapitates John, puts his noggin on a silver serving tray, and hands it to Salome. She immediately turns around and gives the appalling prize to Mom (v28). FYI, when somebody’s beheaded head shows up at the party, it’s time to call it a night.
A Funeral for a Friend
Mark quickly cuts away from the bloody birthday bash and takes us to the Baptizer’s funeral. “When John’s disciples heard what had happened, they came to get his body and buried it in a tomb” (v29).
The person Jesus says is the greatest person ever (Mt 11:11) is headless and dead. All because of a manipulative mom and her spineless second husband/brother-in-law/uncle. Don’t forget. They’re all the same person.
©2018
Jay Jennings
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