Listen to these statements made to a pastor during one week:
A woman said, "I'm under tremendous pressure from my son these days. I can't seem to satisfy him, however hard I work. He really puts me under pressure."
A young man said, "My parents have fantastic goals for me to take over the family business. It's not what I want to do, but their pressure is unbearable."
A college woman said, "I'm being pressured by my boyfriend to live with him before we are married. You know . . . sort of try it out . . . to see if we are right for each other."
A husband said, "My wife is never satisfied. Whatever I do, however much I make, it's never enough. Life with her is like living in a pressure cooker with the lid fastened down and the heat on high."
A secretary said, pointing to her phone, "That little black thing is driving me silly. At the other end of the line are people who make impossible demands and think they are the only people alive."
A middle-aged wife said, "My husband thinks my faith is silly. When I feel his resistance to Christ, I wonder if I'm wrong and confused. As a result, I've developed two lives; one with him and one when I'm with my Christian friends."
An elderly woman said, "My sister thinks she has all the answers about the faith and tries to convince me of her point of view. I feel pressured to become her brand of Christian, but I keep thinking if it means being like her, I don't want it at all. When she calls, I just put the phone on my shoulder and let her rant on while I do other things. A half-hour later, she's still on the line blasting away, but I still feel pressure."
A young pastor at a clergy conference said, "I hardly know who I am any more. There are so many points of view in my congregation, I can't please them all. Everyone wants to capture me for his camp and get me to shape the church around his convictions. The pressure makes me want to leave the ministry."
Do you ever feel like any of these people? Do you ever feel like you are in a pressure cooker, or that you are being pulled and pushed in every direction? We all have to live with pressure, but people-pressure can be the most difficult to deal with. It is far more difficult than pressure from our circumstances or schedules, or even responsibilities. I suppose we feel compelled to respond to people-pressure. After all, people are expecting us to do something. How do you respond? Do you allow yourself to be manipulated by the pressures of other people's expectations and demands? Are you able, in the midst of that pressure, to think clearly and make the right decisions? Do you act based on what you believe is the leading of God, or do you simply react to those around you?
Lloyd J. Ogilve, the pastor who heard these complaints about pressure we have just mentioned, in his book, Life Without Limits, tells of visiting the office of a man in charge of efficiency and productivity for a large corporation. The man, when he was hired, received a great deal of authority from the board of directors to reorganize the company and increase production. Part of his job was to clear out the dead wood of the staff and boost sales. He was very effective in getting things done, but his methods were highly questionable. On the wall of his office was a black line drawing of him depicting a grim character with a hardset jaw and determined eyes peering out beneath furrowed "John L. Lewis type" eyebrows. Under the picture was the caption, "I don't live under pressure, I create it."
There is a great deal of truth there. Some of us do live under pressure, but some of us create it for others. By the force of our will, we seek to create an environment in which people feel compelled to adopt our viewpoint or to behave in ways we choose. Our methods may vary, but the product is the same - Pressure.
Herod Antipas felt the pressure. The story we have before us is a sad commentary of how we can become so entangled in the web of human relationships and people-pressure that we ultimately decide to do even what we don't want to do. Verse 26 says it well, "And although the king was very sorry, yet because of his oaths and because of his dinner guests, he was unwilling to refuse her." People-pressure forced Herod to do what he knew was not right; yet he did it anyway. People-pressure can do that to us as well. Is it possible we can see something here in this account of Herod's folly that can help us from making the same mistake? I think we can. As a matter of fact, we may see more than we bargained for when we came to church this morning. We may not only glean important lessons of how we may respond to pressure, but we may also come to see ourselves as those who, too often, create that pressure for others.
Mark stops at this point in his chronology to bring us up to speed on what happened to John the Baptist. John the Baptist had been beheaded by Herod; and now that Jesus had come on the scene, some, including Herod, thought that John had been raised from the dead. In the case of Herod, it was the cry of a guilty conscience; for he knew that John the Baptist was a man sent from God. But if he knew that, why did he kill him? That is why this historical sketch is written -- to give us insight into the kinds of pressures which caused Herod to act against even his own conscience. As we seek to understand this story, we must keep before us a central truth: what happened to Herod can also happen to us.
The New Testament speaks of several Herods. It doesn't take very much historical research to discover just how sordid this family was. Herod the Great was King when Jesus was born. He was responsible for the massacre of the children in Bethlehem as he sought to kill the Child who was a threat to him. Herod the Great married a number of women and had a number of sons by them. Some were actually murdered by their father. Among those who were not was Herod Antipas, the Herod of this passage, and Herod Philip. They were half-brothers. Another half-brother was Aristobulus. Aristobulus had a daughter named Herodias. She married Herod Philip. They, in turn, had a daughter whose name was Salome.
Now comes a storyline that reads like a near-eastern version of Peyton Place. On a visit to Rome, Herod Antipas met his brother Philip's wife, Herodias. She was a deceitful and ambitious woman who saw in Antipas a way to fulfill her own selfish desires. So he took her away from his brother and they came back to Palestine together. Of course, this sordid affair had already begun. You see, what you have to remember is that Herodias was Aristobulus' daughter, who was Philip's half-brother. That made Herodias Philip's niece. Philip had married his own niece. And now his other half-brother had stolen her away from him.
What a sinful, sordid, incestuous and immoral relationship this was! Why, this is enough to rival the plot of any soap opera today. What shall we call it, "The Young and the Restless?" Or "The Days Of Our Lives?" Perhaps it could be called "All My Children," though at times it is difficult to trace whose children they were. It certainly couldn't be called "The Guiding Light" -- no light here. And "General Hospital" would only apply if we were certain there was a psychiatric ward available. "One Life To Live" probably should be renamed "One Life to Throw Away," because that's precisely what Herod did. "As The World Turns," Herod's heart burns for things that he never should desire. I'm sure he could star on any of these soap operas. The plots are much the same. But I suppose of all the titles, the one that could fit this situation best is "Another World," because that was precisely where Herod lived. Like the situations depicted in the soap operas today, Herod's soap opera put him in a world wholly apart from the world of the Christian life. He was a man "Searching For Tomorrow" but never finding what life was about today. As a result, "Generations" are lost because of the same selfish motives. I want you to understand there is nothing "Bold and Beautiful" here. What we see here is the spinelessness of a lack of conviction and the ugliness of sin.
With that background, let's look at some of the characters in this drama. As we do, we will see how each of them brought a different kind of pressure and participated in Herod's downfall.
The first person we see is Herodias, the wife of Herod's brother, Philip, whom he had taken unlawfully and married. We see, in her, a pressure-pusher who is someone who seeks to have her own way by whatever means are necessary. Here is a manipulator. Here is someone who acts out of her own personal ambition and pride.
Whenever Herod had brought Herodias back to Jerusalem, he had been encountered by John the Baptist. John confronted him and thundered, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." Herodias was there and she didn't like it one bit, because John had embarrassed her and perhaps because she also knew that he was preaching the truth. The Scripture says, in verse 19, "And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to kill him; and could not do so..." The reason she could not put John to death was because Herod understood a deeper truth than did his wife. In verse 20 we are told, "For Herod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and kept him safe. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed; but he used to enjoy listening to him." So Herodias had to keep her anger inside and wait for just the right time to make her move. This she did.
The day came soon enough, and she made her move. We read, in verses 21 through 28,
"And a strategic day came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his lords and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee; and when the daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests; and the king said to the girl, 'Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you.' And he swore to her, 'Whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you; up to half of my kingdom.' And she went out and said to her mother, 'What shall I ask for?' And she said, 'The head of John the Baptist.' And immediately she came in haste before the king and asked, saying, 'I want you to give me right away the head of John the Baptist on a platter.' And although the king was very sorry, yet because of his oaths and because of his dinner guests, he was unwilling to refuse her. And immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded him to bring back his head. And he went and beheaded him in the prison, and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother."
Herodias set him up. She decided to give him a birthday banquet. She made the guest list out and invited just the right people. She used her daughter to dance before Herod and his guests. This was a dance usually done by professional dancers; actually, it was a kind of strip tease. I won't take time to describe it to you, but you can let your imagination fill in the details. In any event, Herod was consumed by his own lust and, as a result, made a very foolish promise. He promised to give her whatever she wanted, up to half of the kingdom. But he would give away far more than that; he would give away his very soul.
Salome then went to her mother to ask what should be her request. Her mother, without hesitation, said, "The head of John the Baptist." When Herod heard this, the foolishness of his oath came home to him. He regretted what he had said, but because of all those guests who had heard him and who were silently looking on, he felt compelled to do what his conscience told him not to do. He gave her the head of John the Baptist.
Just as Herodias was a pressure-pusher, to a certain degree, we can become pressure-pushers as well. How do you go about trying to influence people? What methods do you use to try to get your will accomplished? Do you ever withhold affection until someone has done what you want? Do you ever use power or the fear of retaliation or rejection to keep people in line? Do you ever continue to press, push and harangue by an incessant repetition of your desire, even after you know they have heard you? Do you seek to manipulate and set people up to get your point off or straighten them out?
We all can live in situations with people like that, either as those under pressure or as those pushing pressure, or sometimes both. We can live like that in our marriages as we relate to our mate. We can live like that in our families as we relate to our children or our parents. We can even live like that in the church, seeking to manipulate and influence and control. We must beware of being a pressure-pusher.
In Salome, we see someone who is a pressure-pawn. It doesn't seem that Salome had any problem with John the Baptist. She was simply a willing pawn in her mother's chess game. She was someone her mother could use. She became a ploy, skillfully executed as her mother worked out her devious schemes.
Often times, we can be used by someone else in their attempt to put pressure on another. We in the church need to be always on our guard against this. We must be careful never to do someone else's bidding as a conduit for their influence to be felt.
I have seen this happen most often as people seek to send messages through other people. They know the person to whom they speak will tell the person to whom they are trying to get the message across. They want their influence to be felt, but indirectly through another. Sometimes they will use a mate to carry a message. Or other times, they will use a friend. The subtle thing about this kind of pressure is that the one used, often times, does not even realize that he is being used this way. Brother so-and-so will share a "concern" or a "complaint" with someone whom he knows will carry it to the person he was trying to get the message to. The person with whom he shared it, thinking he is passing on needed information, will then carry that message. He then becomes a pawn, a pressure-pawn, in someone else's chess game. Salome was such a pawn. We must guard against this. We must guard against both using people, and being used ourselves.
Don't miss Herod's friends. Though they said nothing, they spoke volumes. Here are what you might call pressure-perpetuators.
While all this was going on, they just sat there. When Herod made his foolish promise to Salome, no one spoke out to make him question what the implications of his foolishness would produce. When the head of John the Baptist was asked for, again no one spoke out or questioned the terrible act that was about to occur. They were silent. But in their silence, they perpetuated the pressure Herod felt; and in fact, they participated in the evil and cruel act that followed.
Perhaps they felt pressure as well, not to offend Herod. But in doing so, they did him no favor. He was keenly aware of their presence, and because of it, he felt compelled to do what he did not want to do. He was afraid of what they would think. The Scripture says, "Because of his oaths and because of his dinner guests..." he did this evil deed.
Do we keep silent when we see others manipulated and pressured? Do we just sit and watch, to see how they will handle it, or what they will do? Do we, in doing so, add to the pressure they feel? Or do we speak up and give them the freedom to be the unique people God has created them to be? Do we let people know that they don't have to please us, that our friendship or love or commitment is not based on their agreeing with us? Do we let people know that they don't have to live their lives asking themselves the question, "What will they think?
The person we need to please is God. The question we need to have before us at all times is not "What will they think?" but "What will God think?" After Jesus had shared with His disciples that He would have to die on a cross, Peter stepped forward and sought to influence his Lord. He said, "May it never be, Lord." But Jesus saw that Peter had become a mouthpiece for Satan himself. Jesus said to him, "Get behind me Satan; you are a stumbling block to me. You are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's." We must always be careful that we do not seek to impose man's interests, however good and noble, however right and worthy, instead of God's interests.
There is pressure everywhere. There is pressure from situations and circumstances, pressure from people, and even pressure we put on ourselves. How do we respond to it? Well, we can respond like Herod. We can be manipulated by it to the point where we are forced to make decisions contrary to what we know is right. Or we can refuse to yield to it and seek the will of God instead.
Here is the key to withstanding the pressures which come upon us. We see it best evidenced in the life of Jesus Christ Himself. Jesus knew what it was to endure the pressures of people. There were many who wanted Jesus to jump through their little hoops, to perform for them, to say the right things in the right way. There were the Sadducees who wanted Him to stay out of politics. There were the Pharisees who wanted Him to respect all the traditions of their denomination. There were the Zealots who wanted Him to overthrow Rome and set up a kingdom here on earth, a Christian state, if you will. But Jesus responded to none of these pressures. Rather, He simply sought the will of His father in heaven and did it. Instead of reacting, He acted. He never did anything because of the pressure of the people. He never worried about what people thought. He knew His mission was to do the Father's will. That was His first priority. In fact, there were no others.
If we would find victory over the pressures of life, we must come to the same understanding of our life's purpose that Jesus had. We must understand that we are here to glorify God and to serve Him. He is a pressure-buster. In Him, we can find relief, even in the middle of the pressure cooker. People may not like it, but then, they never have. The prophets were stoned and killed. Jesus was hung on a cross. If you are faithful to God, sometimes people will oppose you. They won't like what you are doing or the stand you are taking, or what you are saying. But after all, it has always been difficult to domesticate a true prophet. What the world needs are not more lukewarm Christians. What the world needs, and what we need to be, are people who do not react to pressure, but who respond to God.
* This sermon is a recasting of much of the general content of chapter 15 in Lloyd J. Ogilvie's book Life Without Limits, published by Word Books, Waco, Texas.
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