Mark 6: 14-20 (NLT)
Herod Antipas, the king, soon heard about Jesus, because everyone was talking about him. Some were saying, “This must be John the Baptist raised from the dead. That is why he can do such miracles.” Others said, “He’s the prophet Elijah.” Still others said, “He’s a prophet like the other great prophets of the past.” When Herod heard about Jesus, he said, “John, the man I beheaded, has come back from the dead.” For Herod had sent soldiers to arrest and imprison John as a favor to Herodias. She had been his brother Philip’s wife, but Herod had married her. John had been telling Herod, “It is against God’s law for you to marry your brother’s wife.” So Herodias bore a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But without Herod’s approval she was powerless, for Herod respected John; and knowing that he was a good and holy man, he protected him. Herod was greatly disturbed whenever he talked with John, but even so, he liked to listen to him.
Last month, one of our devotionals dealt with the great tragedy of the believer who snuffs out the light Jesus ignites in the heart. Perhaps equally tragic is the story of Herod. Herod was a living human, but he has also become a tragic symbol of what almost was. Or could have been. Despite living in sin, this leader was mesmerized by John (the Baptist, not the Pastor) and his teaching on repentance and death-to-self. He perceived something special, something holy in the Jesus freak. The Message says, “[Herod was] Convinced that he [John] was a holy man, he gave him special treatment. Whenever he listened to him he was miserable with guilt - and yet he couldn’t stay away. Something in John kept pulling him back.” (verse 20)
The world usually refers to it as guilt. We who believe refer to it as the conviction of the Holy Spirit. It’s the Holy Spirit. It pulls and tugs us toward God. It helps us realize when we’re wrong. It guides us into a greater understanding of the mystery of the Gospel. It compels us to share the Good News with others. It empowers us to our callings. And it does all of this without stomping all over our free will. Like Herod, we have the choice. We can continue to push away the Holy Spirit and go at life alone, “miserable with guilt” and living a serrated existence. Or we can submit to its pull and find true freedom. Find an unexplainable serenity, a “peace that surpasses all understanding.”
You may find yourself at this crossroads now. If not yourself, you know someone experiencing it now. After the sermon, as John and Jason open the altar for the invitation. As you surf the lustful pleasures of the internet. As you rip someone apart with gossip. As you wallow in envy, desiring all you don’t possess. As you cling to your drug of choice, prescription or otherwise. As you drown in the worries of the world.
The Holy Spirit - God’s Spirit - is whispering, “There is a better way. Walk with me. Find faith, hope, and love. Find me. I will woo you with my love.”
