In a staff meeting, the
boss of the company complained that he was not getting enough respect from his
employees. Later that morning he went to
a local sign shop and bought a small sign that read: "I'm the Boss!" He then taped it to his office door. Later that day when he returned from lunch,
he found that someone had taped a note to the sign that said: "Your wife called, she wants her sign
back!"1
Today we are reading a
passage talking about a king who thought he was the “boss”. Who is the boss? Who is in control of the situation?
We are talking about Herod
the King. A king
that was caught in a conflict of interest. In New Testament, we run into different
persons called Herod. Herod was also the
name of the dynasty under the
Herod Antipas had a
serious problem. He was caught in a
conflict. He married his brother’s (Philip’s) wife, Herodias. John the Baptist spoke against this act. John’s confrontation reminds me of another
strong story from the Old Testament.
Nathan went to David and told him a story about the rich and the poor
men. “The rich had a very large number
of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamp he
had bought.” (2 Samuel 12:2-3) The rich
man had a guest and instead of using one of his sheep, he went and took the
only sheep of his poor neighbor. David
got angry with the story. Then he
realized the
story was referring to him as he had taken Uriah’s wife Bathsheba.
Herod liked John the
Baptist. He knew that this man was from
God. He kept him in jail under his
protection. However, Herodias was
waiting for revenge. And she got the
chance. Just a dance from the daughter
of Herodias! Most likely the King was
drunk. He promised something when he was
not aware. The price was a conflict of interest.
What kind of conflicts do
we face today?
1. Internal conflicts.
These are conflicts in our minds, when others aren’t even aware of
them. They are internal battles in our
hearts and minds. We face them
daily. Should I do this or that?
Herod had a choice to
make. Should I keep my stupid word and
be embarrassed in front of my guests, or should I keep the man of God who is in
my protection?
What a shame it is to
make decisions when we are under the control of something else!
Who is in control? When I was watching the football game of
Sometimes we fall into a
trap we have made ourselves.
Several years after
inventing the radar, Sir Robert Watson Watt was arrested in
“I am victim of my
invention.”2
We all have internal
conflicts. How do we solve them?
Continued
in the English sermon.
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1 Jim Hammond, Christ Rules, Herod Drools!
2 eSermons Illustrations