Jefferson Vann

WORSHIP CORRUPTED

WORSHIP CORRUPTED

2 Kings 21:1-16 NET

1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned for fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother was Hephzibah. 2 He did evil in the sight of the LORD and committed the same horrible sins practiced by the nations whom the LORD drove out from before the Israelites. 3 He rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he set up altars for Baal and made an Asherah pole just like King Ahab of Israel had done. He bowed down to all the stars in the sky and worshiped them. 4 He built altars in the LORD’s temple, about which the LORD had said, “Jerusalem will be my home.” 5 In the two courtyards of the LORD’s temple he built altars for all the stars in the sky. 6 He passed his son through the fire and practiced divination and omen reading. He set up a ritual pit to conjure up underworld spirits, and appointed magicians to supervise it. He did a great amount of evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger. 7 He put an idol of Asherah he had made in the temple, about which the LORD had said to David and to his son Solomon, “This temple in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will be my permanent home. 8 I will not make Israel again leave the land I gave to their ancestors, provided that they carefully obey all I commanded them, the whole law my servant Moses ordered them to obey.” 9 But they did not obey, and Manasseh misled them so that they sinned more than the nations whom the LORD had destroyed from before the Israelites. 10 So the LORD announced through his servants the prophets: 11 “King Manasseh of Judah has committed horrible sins. He has sinned more than the Amorites before him and has encouraged Judah to sin by worshiping his disgusting idols. 12 So this is what the LORD God of Israel says, ‘I am about to bring disaster on Jerusalem and Judah. The news will reverberate in the ears of those who hear about it. 13 I will destroy Jerusalem the same way I did Samaria and the dynasty of Ahab. I will wipe Jerusalem clean, just as one wipes a plate on both sides. 14 I will abandon this last remaining tribe among my people and hand them over to their enemies; they will be plundered and robbed by all their enemies, 15 because they have done evil in my sight and have angered me from the time their ancestors left Egypt right up to this very day!'” 16 Furthermore Manasseh killed so many innocent people, he stained Jerusalem with their blood from end to end, in addition to encouraging Judah to sin by doing evil in the sight of the LORD.

We have been studying what the Bible says about worship. We understand that worship is very important to Jesus. It is not something we can do without. We saw last week that worship is something we should do regularly, but we should reserve our worship for God alone.

Jesus affirmed this when he was being tempted by Satan. He said to the devil “You are to worship the LORD your God and serve only him” (Matthew 4:10). We can appreciate others and even respect them. But worship is exclusive to God.

One of the reasons for this is that God’s character and power are flawless. His glory is above all others. For that reason, Moses commanded Israel to worship God exclusively. But he knew that they would fail to do that.

God told Moses that “after I have brought them to the land I promised to their ancestors – one flowing with milk and honey – and they eat their fill and become fat, then they will turn to other gods and worship them; they will reject me and break my covenant” (Deuteronomy 31:20).

Worship would become corrupted.

This happened many times in the history of God’s people. Today’s text highlights how worship was corrupted during the reign of King Manasseh of Judah.

Manasseh corrupted the worship in Judah by copying the religions of the nations (1-5)

Notice that Manasseh’s father – King Hezekiah – had torn down the high places that the pagans had used for worship. So Manasseh cannot claim that he was just doing what his father did before him. He chose to undo Hezekiah’s reforms. His father had taken steps to purge Judah of its idolatry, but Manasseh reversed his policies.

Manasseh invited other gods and goddesses to take their place in Jerusalem, which God had specifically designated as his home. How would you feel if someone came into your home uninvited by you? Manasseh had no business inviting these other gods into the Lord’s home.

God had warned his people that if they tried to be like all the nations around them, they would suffer the same fate as those nations. Some of those nations had been destroyed when the Israelites came into the promised land. The Lord had warned Israel that if they became idol worshipers like those nations…

“I will destroy your high places and cut down your incense altars, and I will stack your dead bodies on top of the lifeless bodies of your idols. I will abhor you. I will lay your cities waste and make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will refuse to smell your soothing aromas. I myself will make the land desolate and your enemies who live in it will be appalled. I will scatter you among the nations and unsheathe the sword after you, so your land will become desolate and your cities will become a waste” (Leviticus 26:30-33 NET).

When it comes to worship, God does not want us to be like everyone else. He wants us to worship him exclusively and he wants us to worship him differently than all the other religions worship their gods.

In this modern age, there are two major ways we can follow in the footsteps of Manasseh and corrupt biblical worship. One is that we can borrow worship practices from other religions. We can sometimes be tempted to borrow practices from non-Christian religions and Christianize them. We need to be careful that we examine the origins of certain practices.

But there is another way we can corrupt our worship as Manasseh did. The most prominent religion of today is atheistic secular humanism. We can build our high places to the god of human progress. If it replaces our devotion and loyalty to the God of the Bible, it corrupts his worship.

But Manasseh went even further than this.

Manasseh corrupted the worship in Judah by encouraging demonic practices (6-11).

The king passed his son through the fire (in other words, he sacrificed one of his sons to the pagan god Molech) and he also practiced divination and omen reading. He set up a ritual pit to conjure up underworld spirits, and appointed magicians to supervise it.

He opened the door to every kind of demonic activity that the Lord had labeled detestable. If he had published newspapers, he would have put the daily horoscope in them. He hired palm readers, and people to hold seances. He had his own royal magicians. These were not illusionists and sleight-of-hand magicians. It was practitioners of the magic arts. When it came to corrupting worship, Manasseh boldly went where no man had gone before. He plunged his nation into the darkness.

Because Manasseh corrupted the worship of Judah, the LORD pledged to wipe Jerusalem clean (12-16).

God could not let this sacrilege continue. But notice that God was not only going to judge Manasseh. Since the king led the nation into corrupted worship, the whole nation would have to suffer.

Since Manasseh has invited false gods and Satanic magic into God’s house – God was going to have to do some house cleaning. He likened it to cleaning a plate on both sides. It doesn’t make sense to just clean a plate on one side, because if you stack the plate afterward, and it is still dirty on the bottom, it will dirty the next plate on the top.

God said he will destroy Jerusalem the same way he did Samaria and the dynasty of Ahab. He will wipe Jerusalem clean, just as one wipes a plate on both sides.

He used foreign empires to take away the kingdoms from those kings. He did that because he could not and cannot tolerate hypocrisy. He cannot allow those who worship other gods to pretend to worship him too.

James tells us to draw near to God and he will draw near to us. He tells us sinners to cleanse our hands. He tells us double-minded people to make our hearts pure (James 4:8). God hates all sin, but he particularly detests corrupted worship.

LORD, we come to you confessing that we have failed to worship you exclusively. Forgive us, LORD, and show us how to clean our hands of this sin-stain. Show us how to make our hearts pure, and our minds singular. We want to worship you the right way.

WORSHIP COMMANDED

WORSHIP COMMANDED

1 Chronicles 16:28-36 NET

28 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the nations, ascribe to the LORD splendor and strength! 29 Ascribe to the LORD the splendor he deserves! Bring an offering and enter his presence! Worship the LORD in holy attire! 30 Tremble before him, all the earth! The world is established, it cannot be moved. 31 Let the heavens rejoice, and the earth be happy! Let the nations say, ‘The LORD reigns!’ 32 Let the sea and everything in it shout! Let the fields and everything in them celebrate! 33 Then let the trees of the forest shout with joy before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth! 34 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good and his loyal love endures. 35 Say this prayer: “Deliver us, O God who delivers us! Gather us! Rescue us from the nations! Then we will give thanks to your holy name, and boast about your praiseworthy deeds.” 36 May the LORD God of Israel be praised, in the future and forevermore. Then all the people said, “We agree! Praise the LORD!”

I want to begin today’s message with a very controversial and politically charged statement. I’m asking you to bear with me because I am not bringing this up just to ruffle feathers. I am not saying this as clickbait. I’m making this statement for two reasons. One, it is true. Two, it can illustrate something that is taught in today’s text about the subject matter of this series of messages.

Now that I have warned you so that you can be prepared, here is the statement: “BLACK LIVES MATTER.”

I call this statement politically charged because people generally have a political agenda behind using it. It is designed to make white people rethink their attitudes. It draws attention to the fact that it is very easy to ignore people who are different than you are and to devalue their existence. This is especially true if those people are a minority.

I don’t have a “BLACK LIVES MATTER” bumper sticker on my car, but I do believe that black lives matter. When I say that, though, I am not making a political statement. I’m making a theological statement. I believe that every human being matters because God created us all, and he created us all equal in his sight. For that reason, I am trying my best to erase from my heart the racial prejudice, bigotry, and fear that I learned growing up. I think that is only fair because when our Lord Jesus returns, he is not going to set up separate countries for separate races. If we are part of his kingdom now, we will be part of his kingdom then, and the color of our skin is not going to be the basis of our value to him. It shouldn’t be a basis for our valuing people now.

Jesus grew up among a people who had mastered the art of devaluing the other ethnic groups around them. The Romans looked down on everyone but Romans. The Jews hated the Gentiles, but they especially hated the Samaritans. The Jews would not associate with Samaritans. But Jesus walked into a Samaritan town one day and preached the gospel to a Samaritan woman at the well.

While they were having a conversation, the woman brought up the subject of worship. She said that her ancestors worshipped on Mount Gerazim, and the Samaritans still do. But she pointed out that the Jews insist that true worship must take place in Jerusalem.

But Jesus told her that true worship is not about the place where you go. It’s about your attitude when you are worshipping. He talked about worshipping the Father in spirit and truth. I’ll talk more about that conversation later in the series.

True worship was very important to Jesus. He commissioned us to teach others to obey all his commands. One of those commands is that we should worship the Father in spirit and truth.

Today I want us to look at this passage from the Old Testament because it was given in the context of the welcoming of the ark into Jerusalem as David was setting up his kingdom, and preparing for the worship in the temple which would be built by his son Solomon. It tells us that in Israel, people mattered because they were made in God’s image. But God mattered most of all. So, worship was not to be something that only a few religious people did. It was not a fringe activity. Because God matters most of all, worship was essential.

This Scripture helps us to understand why we need to worship God.

We must worship God because he is glorious (28-29).

The command was to “Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the nations, ascribe to the LORD splendor and strength! Ascribe to the LORD the splendor he deserves! Bring an offering and enter his presence! Worship the LORD in holy attire!”

Notice that even though this prayer was being prayed in Israel at a certain event, it was intended to reach beyond the borders of Israel and beyond the limits of time. It is a command to all the families of the nations. Every human being is commanded to acknowledge the glory of God.

His glory is described using two words in Hebrew. First, there is Kavod (כָּבוֹד) — a word signifying honor, splendor, and magnificence. Then, there is Oz ( עוֹז) — meaning strength. Together these words indicate that our God is the supreme being in both character and power. That is what we mean when we say he is glorious.

Human glory is always limited. There is always someone more honorable, more beautiful, and stronger. So we should not worship any human being. We should respect everyone and acknowledge the inherent worth of all human beings, no matter who they are or how old they are. But God is in a different category altogether.

We must worship God because he is sovereign (30-31).

“Tremble before him, all the earth! The world is established, it cannot be moved. Let the heavens rejoice, and the earth be happy! Let the nations say, ‘The LORD reigns!’ “

Ezekiel had a vision in which he saw four amazing living beings with wings and wheels. The wings and wheels depicted their ability to move wherever they wanted. Ezekiel was impressed by these four beings until he looked up, and over their heads was a sky, and then he looked above that and saw God himself on the throne, and fire and brilliant light was coming out of him. The vision showed Ezekiel who he should be impressed with.

Knowing that God is sovereign should produce two opposite reactions in us. First, we should tremble. We should fear God above all others. Jesus taught us that we should fear God, not those human rulers because all they can do is kill us. But God can destroy us completely in Gehenna. He’s the one we should fear.

But the second emotion this passage in 1 Chronicles encourages seems like a contradiction. It tells the earth to be happy. True happiness does not come from ignoring God. True happiness comes from submitting to his sovereign plan for our lives.

We must worship God because he is good (32,34).

“Let the sea and everything in it shout! Let the fields and everything in them celebrate! Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good and his loyal love endures.”

The sea and the fields are always celebrating God’s goodness. The abundance they share with us is a testimony of a loving God who has built provision in his creation. He did that even before he created us. He did that because he is good. Every harvest — whether it is fish from the sea or grapes from the vine — testifies to our Lord’s goodness. Every tithe check in the offering plate is our way of saying “Thank you God for providing.” Our worship is the least we can do seeing that God has been so good to us.

We must worship God because he will deliver us (33,35-36).

“Then let the trees of the forest shout with joy before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth! Say this prayer: “Deliver us, O God who delivers us! Gather us! Rescue us from the nations! Then we will give thanks to your holy name, and boast about your praiseworthy deeds.” May the LORD God of Israel be praised, in the future and forevermore. Then all the people said, “We agree! Praise the LORD!”

Now the trees of the forest are getting into the act. Their worship sounds strange coming from trees. They are praying for God to rescue them from the nations. They are promising to praise God for his rescue. Why would they say something like that? Because the LORD is coming to judge the earth. It is not just people whom the LORD will deliver. Jesus says he is making all things new. He has a plan to restore the universe to God’s original intention.

Paul told the Romans “that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage of decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers together until now” (Romans 8:20-21). Even though the world around us is filled with amazing majestic beauty, it is also falling apart. Go to the forest, and you will see tall, stately trees, but you will also see fallen, decomposing trees. When you see that, remember that the trees are telling us that they also long for God’s new creation.

God is glorious. God is sovereign. God is good. God is going to rescue the universe. No wonder we are commanded to worship him.

A NEW ACCESS

A NEW ACCESS

Ephesians 2:11-22 NET

11 Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh — who are called “uncircumcision” by the so-called “circumcision” that is performed on the body by human hands — 12 that you were at that time without the Messiah, alienated from the citizenship of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who used to be far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he is our peace, the one who made both groups into one and who destroyed the middle wall of partition, the hostility, 15 when he nullified in his flesh the law of commandments in decrees. He did this to create in himself one new man out of two, thus making peace, 16 and to reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by which the hostility has been killed. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near, 18 so that through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer foreigners and noncitizens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household, 20 because you have been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

For several weeks now, we have been studying what it means to be reborn — to be born from above.

On August 8th, we discovered from the prophet Jeremiah that God intended to make a new covenant with Israel because the old covenant had been broken. We learned that the new covenant would begin with forgiveness. We learned that it would involve discipleship and that it would produce a change of heart.

The next week, August 15th, we learned more about the new heart God promised his people from the prophet Ezekiel. It would be an internal change, not just an external change. God would take the initiative and share his Holy Spirit by pouring it out on them. The Holy Spirit would enable God’s people to bless the nations by sharing the gospel of salvation with them.

The next week, August 22nd, we examined this promise more carefully by looking at Joel’s prophecy of a new outpouring, and its fulfillment in Acts 2 at Pentecost. We saw how this outpouring enabled the believers at Pentecost to reach the unsaved wherever they went — that it helped them to fulfill Christ’s prophecy in Acts 1:8. Reaching the Gentiles was God’s plan all along.

The next week, August 29th, we looked at Christ’s interview with Nicodemus. This passage is the basis for this entire series because it revealed Jesus’ command for us all to be born from above.

Last week, September 19th, Penny shared the ultimate result of being born again — that Christ plans on making a whole new universe, and living in that new universe is our ultimate destiny.

I want to conclude the series by talking about the new access that believers have today as a result of being born from above.

Christ gave us all access to God without rituals (11,18).

In verse 11, Paul reminds the Ephesian Christians that they were formerly “Gentiles in the flesh.” They were called “uncircumcision” by the so-called “circumcision” that is performed on the body by human hands.

The ritual of circumcision set the Jews apart as a seperate people. It identified them as a people of a certain race and religion. It served as a means of identifying who had access to God and who did not. But Paul’s point was that circumcision was only a ritual of the flesh. As a ritual of the flesh, circumcision could not identify the new birth. It could not be the symbol of the new covenant. It could not reveal who had a new heart. It could not symbolize forgiveness.

In fact, no ritual of the flesh could do that. In verse 18, Paul says that through Christ both Jews and Gentiles have access in one Spirit to the Father. Access to God is not determined by the religious rituals one performs. It is determined by the relationship one has with God. This relationship is made possible through Christ — by means of what he did.

Since the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out on both Jews and Gentiles, possessing the Holy Spirit replaced circumcision as the sign of access to God. Circumcision could not be the permanent sign for two reasons. First, it was a matter of the flesh and did not reveal the heart. Second, it only included half the population. It only applied to males.

The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives is a sign of access to God, and is revealed by the power his gives us to minister in his name, as we pray for others, and share the gospel with others so that they too can be born from above.

Christ gave us access to citizenship in his kingdom together with all its perks (12,19).

Paul told the Gentile Ephesians that they were once “without the Messiah, alienated from the citizenship of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” (12). It was a citizenship issue. Those who were citizens had access to all the benefits of citizenship.

Now, Paul tells them that they “are no longer foreigners and noncitizens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household” (19). God’s kingdom work is done by means of his kingdom citizens. His family business is done by his household. Through Christ’s death on the cross, we all have access to citizenship in that coming kingdom. The Holy Spirit within us makes us part of God’s family and empowers us to do the family business — reconciling others to God.

Christ gave us access to the presence of God through his death on the cross (13, 16a).

Paul told the Ephesian Christians that now in Christ Jesus they who used to be far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ (13). God reconciled both Jews and Gentiles “in one body to God through the cross” (16a). The issue in both of those verses is the distance that sin puts between people and our holy God. When we are first born, we are born separated from God because of sin. That separation continues until we are born from above. When we are blessed with forgiveness, God welcomes us into his presence for the first time. Christ’s death pays for our sins and reconciles us to God, so that we can enter his presence.

Christ gave us access to peace by removing the barrier of the law (14-17).

Paul told the Ephesian Christians that Christ “is our peace, the one who made both groups into one and who destroyed the middle wall of partition, the hostility” (14). When we were born, there was a wall of partition between us and our creator. Christ destroyed that wall.

Paul explained to the Ephesians that Christ did this by nullifying in his flesh the law of commandments in decrees. Christ did this to create in himself one new man out of two, thus making peace, and to reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by which the hostility has been killed. (15-16). The wall of hostility was the law itself. It was a barrier for all of us. Christ destroyed the barrier by fulfilling the law — both with his sinless life and his sacrificial death.

Paul told the Ephesians that Christ came and preached peace to them were far off and peace to the Jews who were near (17). The peace he had to offer was for everyone — both Jew and Gentile. This is the peace with God we can have if we accept the excellent message that Christ preached.

Christ gave us access to his eternal plan by making us part of his holy temple (20-22).

The temple in Jerusalem was a physical symbol of God’s presence among his people. But that temple was only a promise of the permanent temple that God plans for eternity.

Paul told the Ephesian Christians that they have been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone (20). That permanent temple incorporates both Old Testament and New Testament saints. It is not a place, but a people. But because God’s plan is to manifest his presence in the hearts of his people, we can be thought of as his temple.

Paul told the Ephesian Christians that in Christ the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom they also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit (21-22). The good news for us today is that God wants to be among us. But he does not want to merely reside in a building and be worshipped by people who can visit the site. He wants to reside in us, and that all of us can experience that building process that makes us holy enough for God to live in, and work his miracles through.

A NEW UNIVERSE

Here is the audio to Penny’s sermon on September 19th, 2021.

REMEMBERING A TRAGEDY

REMEMBERING A TRAGEDY

Matthew 14:6-14 (NET)

6 But on Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod, 7 so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. 8 Instructed by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” 9 Although it grieved the king, because of his oath and the dinner guests he commanded it to be given. 10 So he sent and had John beheaded in the prison. 11 His head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12 Then John’s disciples came and took the body and buried it and went and told Jesus. 13 Now when Jesus heard this he went away from there privately in a boat to an isolated place. But when the crowd heard about it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 As he got out he saw the large crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

Yesterday was the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in the United States. We call it Patriot Day. In honor of that holiday, I wanted to share some memorable quotes about that tragedy and its consequences.

Sandy Dahl, wife of flight 93 pilot Jason Dahl said “If we learn nothing else from this tragedy, we learn that life is short and there is no time for hate.”

President George W. Bush said “Our enemies made the mistake that America’s enemies always make. They saw liberty and thought they saw weakness.”

Deepak Chopra said “September 11 was a reminder that life is fleeting, impermanent and uncertain. Therefore we must make use of every moment and nurture it with affection, tenderness, beauty, creativity, and laughter.”

Senator John Kerry said, “It was the worst day we have ever seen, but it brought out the best in all of us.”

Colin Powell said, “You can be sure that the American spirit will prevail over this tragedy.”

Today’s Scripture text recalls a terrible tragedy in the life of Jesus: the death of his relative and forerunner John the Baptist. When we remember a tragedy, we inevitably think of choices that led to it.

Choices. We all make choices, and the choices we make result in consequences. On 9/11, some terrible men made some terrible choices, and it resulted in a tragedy for thousands of people and shocked our nation.

Choices. Someone can call himself pro-choice, but what he really means is that he wants the government to allow him to make a choice without suffering the consequences. The Bible teaches us that some of our choices will have terrible consequences — both in this life and on judgment day. You can call yourself pro-choice all you want, but if the choices you want to make endanger other people’s lives, there will be consequences.

Herod’s choices (6).

King Herod Antipas was the ruler of Galilee & Perea from 4 BC to 39 AD, so he had the authority to make lots of choices that affected lots of people.

Earlier in this chapter, we learn that Herod Antipas had married Herodias, who had been his brother’s wife. When John the Baptist pointed out that the marriage was unlawful, Herod had him put in prison. He was not the first political leader who thought that he was above the law, and he would not be the last.

Putting John in prison was a compromise for Herod. Also in this chapter, we read…

“Although Herod wanted to kill John, he feared the crowd because they accepted John as a prophet” (Matthew 14:5).

But the events described in today’s text sent Herod over the edge. Herod made the choice to let himself be entertained by his new wife’s daughter. She danced for him and her display pleased him. He was so entranced by her beauty that he disengaged his brain.

He made the choice to promise this young girl to give her whatever she asked for. I would say that the words “What were you thinking” apply here. But I have already said that his lust had disengaged his brain.

That happens a lot with lust. It is not a toy to be played with. The book of Proverbs tells us …

“the commandments are like a lamp, instruction is like a light, and rebukes of discipline are like the road leading to life, by keeping you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the loose woman. Do not lust in your heart for her beauty, and do not let her captivate you with her alluring eyes; for on account of a prostitute one is brought down to a loaf of bread, but the wife of another man preys on your precious life” (Proverbs 6:23-26).

But Herod was not the only one whose choices led to the tragedy that day.

Herodias’ choices (8,11).

Herodias was Herod Antipas’ wife. She had already made the choice to leave her first husband — Herod Philip — and move up the ladder to Herod Antipas. She also agreed to have that troublemaker John the Baptist imprisoned. But when she found out about her husband’s rash promise, she decided to take her sinful life to the next level. She advised her daughter to ask for John’s head on a platter.

Herodias was also pro-choice, and her choice was to eliminate a life that was inconvenient for her. God holds people accountable who make those kinds of choices. That is the case even when the government approves of them. Herodias’ husband was the government. He sanctioned this murder of an innocent. But his government sanction did not make it any less a murder.

Salome’s choices (6,8).

We don’t learn the young woman’s name in the New Testament, but history tells us it was Salome. She chose to entertain her stepfather. She chose to listen to the advice of her mother, conspiring to have an innocent man murdered. John’s “head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. Then John’s disciples came and took the body and buried it and went and told Jesus” (11-12).

Salome was not an innocent victim in this tragedy, but she was a victim. The people who should have given her good advice led her down the wrong path. The people she looked up to brought her down. Lots of people in this generation are puppets to a culture that has turned them against righteousness, against the truth, and against God.

But I also want us to notice the choices that Jesus made as a result of this tragedy.

Jesus’ choices (13-14).

The first choice that Jesus made was very natural.

“Now when Jesus heard this he went away from there privately in a boat to an isolated place” (13a).

When we face a tragedy, we need time to reflect and recover. That is what Jesus and his disciples intended to do. They wanted to get away. The normality of life had been disrupted by a senseless tragedy.

Just before the events of 9/11, I was an intended victim of another terrorist attack, while serving as a missionary in the Philippines. We went away for a ministry trip and came back with a coffin carrying one of our students. I can understand the need to get away, rest and reflect. I needed to do the same thing. My reflection on that tragedy helped me to come back to work with a new sense of purpose. I stopped asking “Lord, why me?” and I started asking “Lord, why did you spare me?”

But Jesus’ plans for a time of quiet recovery were interrupted.

“But when the crowd heard about it, they followed him on foot from the towns. As he got out he saw the large crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick” (13b-14).

The tragedies we experience cannot stop us from the ministry we have been called to. In spite of our pain, we are called to heal the pain of others. Regardless of our sorrow at the loss we experience, there are others who have needs, and Christ calls on us to help meet those needs.

These tragedies can turn hate into infectious disease, but they don’t have to. We can triumph over the tragedies in life by responding with acts of love. We can heal the hurts, and comfort those who have lost loved ones. We can follow the example of our Lord and turn tragedy into an opportunity for healing and compassion. That is making the right choice.