Herod’s Weedy Heart
Matthew 14:1-12
November 6, 2011
As you know, we recently finished talking about
The mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.
And now we have entered a section where Matthew, more or less,
Vindicates those miracles.
Most specifically Matthew is proving right the parable of the sower.
You remember that parable.
The sower sows the seed and it lands on four types of soil
(each representing a different response to the gospel)
Some are hard, Some are rocky, Some are weedy, Some are fertile
Last week we saw an example of a “Rocky Soil Heart”
Or what we have called, “The Shallow Hearted”
Matthew 13:20-21 “The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.”
And that was certainly Nazareth.
They were initially amazed at Jesus.
Luke 4:22 “And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, ” Is this not Joseph’s son?”
They were enamored to say the least.
But it was evident that they simply wanted all the miracles of Jesus.
They wanted the show.
Luke 4:23 “And He said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we heard was done at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’”
But when Jesus exposed their carnal heart, obviously requiring repentance, they tried to throw Him off a cliff.
Their amazement was temporary.
Their hearts were shallow and rocky.
This morning we get yet another example.
This time we see a man named Herod.
But Herod is not rocky soil, Herod is weedy soil.
Matthew 13:22 “And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”
Luke said it like this:
Luke 8:14 “The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity.”
And so we are dealing with one who is too in love with sin
To ever turn from it and enter the kingdom.
That is why we see words like “worry” and “pleasures”
You see the issue of the weedy soiled heart
Can be summed up with one word: FEAR
They are afraid of losing what they crave.
Either pleasure or money or security or whatever.
And they don’t think the Kingdom can adequately restore
What it might cause them to lose.
They walk in fear and thus never come to faith in Christ.
FEAR IS THE OPPOSITE OF FAITH
That doesn’t mean if you are ever afraid, that you don’t have faith.
But fear surfaces when faith is weak.
AND THEY ARE OPPOSITES.
People of faith make their decisions based upon faith,
While people of fear make their decisions based upon fear.
And this morning Herod is an example of this fearful weedy heart.
Now you notice how it begins.
(1-2) “At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the news about Jesus, and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
This is what is presently happening,
But to help us understand the man better, Matthew gives us a flashback.
He takes us back to a previous date to understand Herod’s emotion better.
Let’s start in verse 3 so as to look at Herod’s life in chronological order.
So let’s look at the fear in Herod’s life
And see what a weedy heart looks like.
#1 HE FEARED THE LOSS OF PLEASURE
Matthew 14:3-4
Here we can clearly see how Herod’s love of worldly pleasure,
And his fear of losing it, controlled his life.
WHO WAS HEROD?
He is referred to as a king in verse 9.
That was more or less a title he took upon himself.
Herod was kind of like a governor over the province.
His father was Herod the Great – (Tried to kill baby Jesus)
This Herod was also known as Herod Antipas.
He is the one who questioned Jesus before His crucifixion.
He became friends with Pilate over that whole affair.
We also know he was an immoral man.
He was having an affair with his sister-in-law who was named Herodias,
Luke 3:18-20 “So with many other exhortations he preached the gospel to the people. But when Herod the tetrarch was reprimanded by him because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the wicked things which Herod had done, Herod also added this to them all: he locked John up in prison.”
And that is precisely what our text reveals here.
“For when Herod had John arrested, he bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. For John had been saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”
And thank God for John the Baptist and men like him.
Men who aren’t afraid to stand for truth.
Men who aren’t afraid to confront sin.
Men who aren’t influenced by worldly power.
John was obviously not a man of fear, but of faith.
But “Herod had John arrested”
Now we know it all has to do with being confronted with immorality,
But let me show you his motivation a little more clearly.
Mark 6:17-20 “For Herod himself had sent and had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her. For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death and could not do so; for Herod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed; but he used to enjoy listening to him.”
Now there is the first time the word arises.
“Herod was afraid of John.”
So Herod didn’t like the message John preached,
But he wasn’t about to mess with him either.
In fact at times Herod even enjoyed listening to him.
Now that alone seems like a good start for Herod.
Sure he is a sinner, sure he needs repentance,
But at least he is listening to God’s messenger with a degree of interest.
The problem was Herodias.
She hated John, and wanted him to die.
But Herod was too afraid to kill John.
Yet he was too afraid of Herodias to do nothing.
And so Herod makes a decision based upon fear.
He “had John arrested”
WHAT KIND OF FEAR WAS THIS?
It was a fear of losing pleasure.
If he makes Herodias too mad, then he no longer
Gets to continue in his adulterous relationship with her.
To follow John will cost him his sin, and he doesn’t want to lose it.
This fear is also seen later in verses 6-7.
“But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod, so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked.”
At Herod’s birthday, his stepdaughter was sent to dance for him.
“danced before them” Doesn’t mean, “TAP DANCED”
It was a gross act of incest, and it was obvious that Herod liked it,
Which is why he was willing to give the girl whatever she asked for.
He loved pleasure, and feared losing it,
So much that he was willing to pay a high price in order to keep it.
Herod was not a man driven by faith, he was a man driven by fear.
We see people in the world today driven by the same fears.
They won’t come to Christ,
Because they’re afraid it will mean the end of the sinful lifestyle they love.
This was the Rich Young Ruler wasn’t it?
They don’t want to give up immorality, or some other type of sin.
They have come to believe that sin is where the fun is,
And they aren’t willing to sacrifice it even for eternity.
Their fear of losing pleasure is greater than their faith in God.
Paul spoke of people like that.
1 Timothy 6:10 “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
Some fail to come to Christ,
Because they fear they will lose the things of this world,
And the pleasures that they bring.
1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”
Herod didn’t live by faith; he lived by fear.
He feared the loss of pleasure.
#2 HE FEARED THE LOSS OF HIS JOB
Matthew 14:5
Now of course, this doesn’t refer to Herod rejecting God,
But it does again reveal the motivation that ruled his life.
You can very easily contrast him with John the Baptist,
John feared no one, Herod fears everyone.
“Although Herod wanted to put him to death”
I thought Herod was intrigued by John?
He was, he wanted to put him to death because that is what Herodias wanted, and Herod feared the loss of pleasure.
However, we see here he has another fear.
“Although Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded John as prophet.”
Even though he was gravely mistaken in his desire to kill John,
It was because of fear that he couldn’t follow his convictions.
He wanted to kill John the Baptist, but he didn’t,
Because he was afraid the people would hate him,
And he might lose his position of power.
We have seen this very same type of reaction before.
Luke 20:1-8 “On one of the days while He was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders confronted Him, and they spoke, saying to Him, “Tell us by what authority You are doing these things, or who is the one who gave You this authority?” Jesus answered and said to them, “I will also ask you a question, and you tell Me: “Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?” They reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ “But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.” So they answered that they did not know where it came from. And Jesus said to them, “Nor will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
What a bunch of cowards!
They didn’t have the faith to stand for the truth,
They didn’t even have the guts to stand by their false convictions.
That is the same as Herod.
His life was motivated by fear,
Fear of losing pleasure, Fear of losing his job.
HOW COULD THIS CAUSE HIM TO LOSE HIS JOB?
Because a mob out of control is enough to convince Rome
That you can’t handle your position.
Remember Pilate?
Matthew 27:24 “When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this Man’s blood; see to that yourselves.”
HEROD HAD A FEAR OF LOSING HIS JOB OR POSITION OF POWER
We could call this a financial fear.
• For some to confess Christ they immediately have to look for a new line of work.
(If employed by a sinful industry)
• Some can’t find work if they confess him.
(like those in Hollywood)
• And some simply face fears in regard to God’s requirements to give and be generous to those in need.
We can’t put our finger exactly on Herod’s fear,
But we understand the fears associated with losing a job or a position.
Walking by faith while facing the potential of unemployment
Is a tough decision to face.
You have to determine if you will make that decision
Based upon fear or faith.
Herod chose fear.
He feared loss of pleasure. He feared loss of his job.
#3 HE FEARED PUBLIC OPINION
Matthew 14:6-10
So after this girl came and pleased Herod,
He told her she could have whatever she wanted,
And being prompted by her mother, she asked for John’s head.
And at this point, his fears collide.
• He fears the crowd who thinks John is a prophet.
• He fears John who seems to speak truth.
• He fears Herodias who wants John dead.
• Now he fears his guests who wonder if he will keep his word.
That is a lot of fear to have to deal with.
And so we see that added to the mix is the fact that
Herod is afraid that he will now lose his reputation.
How many today, are driven by this fear!
The fear of what people might think.
What will people think, if I walk that aisle and admit that I am a sinner?
What will people think, if I tell them I follow Jesus?
What if they call me a Jesus Freak?
How will it look when I quit hanging out with my buddies at the bar?
There are many motivated by fear in the world today.
They are motivated by the exact same things that motivated Herod.
We see it in Scripture:
John 12:42-43 “Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.”
So it is clear that Fear ruled Herod’s life.
All he knew and wanted were the things of this world,
And it was the fear of losing them that guided his steps.
AND WE SEE THIS SAME FEAR RULE PEOPLE TODAY.
“Greed” is a fear of poverty
“Lust” is a fear losing pleasure
“False Religion” is a fear of offending God
“Lying” is a fear of people knowing the truth about you
That is why Scripture says things like “Do not worry” or “Be anxious for nothing” or “Trust in the Lord with all your heart”
We must not let fear motivate us.
Are you afraid to trust God with your finances,
with your love life,
with your daily routine,
Or do you by faith trust God with all those things?
You see Herod’s were motivated by fear,
So there was one more thing he had to fear.
#4 HE FEARED FOR HIS FUTURE
Matthew 14:1-2
Boy, talk about a man with a guilty conscience.
You can hear the worry in his voice.
He now is afraid for his future,
Because he doesn’t know what kind of trouble
The events of his past have gotten him into.
This almost has the reading like that of a ghost story.
Boy that describes a life of fear.
Fear makes their decisions and they spend the rest of their lives
Wondering if that decision will catch up with them.
DECISIONS MADE IN FEAR ONLY PRODUCE MORE FEAR.
Look at Herod.
Everything he did was done in fear,
And now all he can do is fear what is coming.
DO YOU WANT TO KNOW HOW HEROD ENDED?
He did not accept Jesus.
Luke 13:31 “Just at that time some Pharisees approached, saying to Him, “Go away, leave here, for Herod wants to kill You.”
Luke 23:8-12 “Now Herod was very glad when he saw Jesus; for he had wanted to see Him for a long time, because he had been hearing about Him and was hoping to see some sign performed by Him. And he questioned Him at some length; but He answered him nothing. And the chief priests and the scribes were standing there, accusing Him vehemently. And Herod with his soldiers, after treating Him with contempt and mocking Him, dressed Him in a gorgeous robe and sent Him back to Pilate. Now Herod and Pilate became friends with one another that very day; for before they had been enemies with each other.”
Eventually Herod opposed the church.
Acts 12:1-3 “Now about that time Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church in order to mistreat them. And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword. When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also.”
And finally Herod died a death of pride and judgment.
Acts 12:21-23 “On an appointed day Herod, having put on his royal apparel, took his seat on the rostrum and began delivering an address to them. The people kept crying out, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died.”
He made decisions in fear that eventually led him to eternal destruction.
And now we know what Jesus meant when He said:
Mark 4:18-19 “And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”
The worries of this life will keep you from entering the kingdom.
They will choke out the seed and keep a soul unsaved.
If you ever watched the movie “Facing the Giants” you remember that the football coach is living a life in fear of everything. A mentor of his says to him. “In God’s Word He says 365 times, ‘Do not fear’ now if He says it that many times you know He’s serious about it don’t you.”
I don’t know if your life is motivated by fear or by faith,
But just in the case that it is,
I want to share with you how to break that cycle.
Let me tell you a very worthwhile, and interesting fact.
“Faith overcomes Fear”
FEAR PRODUCES FEAR,
BUT FAITH PRODUCES FAITH AND FREEDOM.
If you are living in fear,
And you wish you weren’t but you don’t know how to stop,
The answer is easy, exercise faith.
TURN TO: Psalm 54:1-7
1) FEAR Vs. 1-3
Different kind of fear than Herod, but it is still fear.
He’s afraid for his life.
He is scared, and doesn’t know what to do.
I’m sure we’ve all been there at one point or another in our lives.
A time when we were afraid that something might happen.
There’s our chance to change what we allow to motivate us.
If this man’s life were motivated by fear, what might he have done?
Given them what they wanted.
Fled the scene for safety.
BUT HE DETERMINED NO TO ALLOW FEAR TO RULE HIM.
2) FAITH Vs. 4-5
He decided to turn to God, and trust God with the outcome.
He made his decision based on faith, not fear.
Imagine if Herod had done the same.
Repented instead of arresting John.
Saved John instead of killing him.
My what a difference that would have made, but he chose fear over faith.
Here our psalmist chose faith, and we will see the outcome.
3) FREEDOM Vs. 6-7
Did you see the change in tense there?
Verse 5 the psalmist said, “He will recompense…”
Verse 7 “He has delivered” & “my eye has looked”
FOLKS THE DANGER MAY STILL BE THERE.
THE DIFFERENCE IS, he was once bound with fear,
Now faith has given him freedom.
Faith overcomes fear.
When you trust in God, the fear is taken away.
When you begin to trust God for finances,
The fear of not making it will mysteriously be gone.
When you begin to trust God for your future,
The fear of failure.
When you begin to trust God for your salvation,
The fear of not having it will be gone.
When you begin to trust God for your reputation.
The fear of what others think is gone.
Faith overcomes fear, and leads to freedom.
1 John 4:17-19 “By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us.”
I don’t know what is the chief motivator in your life,
BUT DON’T LET IT BE FEAR.
Take your fears, and cast them on God.
Trust Christ, and allow Him to bear your burden.
Faith will lead you from fear to freedom.
Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”
