¶ Welcome to Starting Right
Good morning and welcome to Starting Right with Danny Mac . I'm going to be here every Monday to Friday to help you get a great five-minute start to your day . So grab your cup of coffee , sit back , relax and let me help you start your day right . Today , I want to take another look at one of the villains of the Bible .
I don't want to glorify them that's not my purpose but I think there are things that we can learn from them that help us to know how to deal with people and situations and hopefully live our own lives in a better , more productive way . So today I want to take a look at one of the most let's call it scheming and villainous creatures in the New Testament .
This happened to be Herodias , and she was the wife of Herod , who had John the Baptist killed . Just a little bit of background about her before we get into the story . Her name , herodias , is just simply the female form of Herod , which was the royal name for the political rulers during the time of Christ and the apostles .
It was under the rule of this Herod , herod , Antipas , that Jesus and the disciples and many of the followers of Christ suffered tremendous persecution . Herodias was the daughter of a man by the name of Aristobulus . He was the son of Herod the Great . It's interesting to note that her first husband was her uncle Philip I . That marriage produced a daughter .
Her name was Salome . On one of his visits to Rome , herod Antipas and his Arabian princess wife were staying with his brother Philip and Herodias . Herod decided he really liked Herodias , so he abducted her , made her his own wife , divorced the Arabian princess and arrived back in Jerusalem with this brand new illicit marriage and a new stepdaughter , salome .
Along comes John the Baptist . Now John . He was fearless . He didn't let anybody intimidate him . He didn't care what they said , what authority they felt they had . He simply proclaimed the word of God and he wasn't afraid to do it . So anytime he was challenged , his response was always with the truth of God and he never backed away from that .
King Herod heard about John and started talking to him and actually he kind of liked John . He found John's words comforting and uplifting . But when Herod brought his new wife into town , john had some other words for him .
John told Herod that it was against God's law for him to marry his brother's wife , and apparently Herod listened and was beginning to think this over a little bit . Herodias got so upset she wanted John killed , but Herod wouldn't do it . He simply had John locked away . Herodias kept scheming and she finally figured out a way to remove John the Baptist .
Matthew 14 , starting in verse 6 , tells us about it . At a birthday party for Herod , herodias' daughter performed a dance that greatly pleased him , so he promised with a vow that he would give her anything she wanted . At her mother's urging , the girl said I want the head of John the Baptist on a tray .
Then the king regretted what he had said , but because of the vow he had made in front of his guests , he issued the necessary orders . So John was beheaded in the prison and his head was brought on a tray and given to the girl , who took it to her mother . John was dead , but the victory for Herod , antipas and Herodias was very short-lived .
Within a few years they were stripped of their power and banished from their lands and , probably most galling of all , to Herodias , all of their wealth had to be given to her former husband . But if we look at John the Baptist , his legacy is something completely different .
He's left for us a legacy of truth and life and power that comes in understanding who Jesus Christ is . He leaves for us a legacy of faithfulness . In difficult times , when people of power were coming against him , he stood strong , he did not compromise , he never deviated from what was right .
He always spoke the truth of God and then , whatever happened after that , he left in God's hands . His job was to declare the truth of God and really that's the lesson for us To choose to live every day as God has directed us .
That means that we are people of love , we are people of grace , we are people of humility but of great strength in who Jesus Christ is within us . We do not compromise , but instead we respond with grace and love and compassion .
We are not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ , but we will share it with people when the opportunities will come To be able to live as light in the middle of the darkness as John the Baptist did . It impacts our children , it impacts our families , it impacts our communities , it impacts the places that we live .
We are light for Jesus Christ when we stand upon those principles and we live them . Our authority is Jesus Christ and his word , and we will choose to live by it and change our world because of it . And Herodias ? Well , she was a schemer and a conniver . She thought she'd won but , like most villains , it never pays off in the long run . Have a great day .
My never pays off in the long run . Have a great day , my friends . We will talk again tomorrow . Thank you for listening today and I invite you to join me Monday to Friday , right here on Starting Right with Danny Mac .