Hindrances to Truth

Mark 6:14-29
Christian Herter was governor of Massachusetts from 1953 to 1956. During the campaign for his second term in office he was really scrambling. One day, after a busy schedule that prevented him eating lunch he arrived at a church barbecue. It was late in the afternoon and he was starving.
As he moved through the serving line, he held out his plate to the woman serving chicken. She put a piece on his plate and turned to the next person in line.
“Excuse me,” Governor Herter said, “do you mind if I have another piece of chicken?”
“Sorry,” the woman told him. “I’m supposed to give one piece of chicken to each person.”
“But I’m starved,” the governor said.
“Sorry,” the woman said again. “Only one to a customer.”
The governor was usually a modest and unassuming man, but he decided that this time he would throw a little weight around.
“Do you know who I am?” he said. “I am the governor of this state.”
“Do you know who I am?” the woman said. “I’m the lady in charge of the chicken. Move along, mister.”
Often, people who attain status think that the rules don’t apply to them. All of us are prone to justifying why we should have our way. Herod Antipas was like that. This is not the Butcher King Herod who ordered the deaths of the baby boys of Bethlehem, but this is his son. John the Baptist was probably one of the few who ever spoke the truth to Herod. Herod needed to hear it, but he was hindered from responding to the message of truth. We want to notice 3 hindrances he faced that kept him from the truth.

I. RELATIVES-
There were people in Herod’s life that kept him from hearing the Word of God
19 Most notably, his wife Herodias had a quarrel against John the Baptist
Herod’s family was an incestuous, dysfunctional lot
Herodias was his niece and his sister in law, but Herod seduced her and lured her away
He divorced his first wife to marry his niece/sister in law
Herodias did not want Herod influenced by the preacher and the truth
She knew that if Herod responds to God, too much would have to change
The responsibility of a man of God is to proclaim the Word of God
If you are living in sin, don’t get mad at the preacher who proclaims the truth
If you are living in sin, don’t get mad with God for having standards
It is your choice to live out of God’s plan for your life
Here was a woman who would use her own daughter to dance lewdly for a drunken banquet
That is a sick and twisted family and yet Herod is letting them keep him from the truth
I can’t understand why family would stand in the way of their loved ones getting right
I’ve had wives run interference while I tried to share salvation and mothers refuse baptism
Husbands who would try to undermine a wife’s faith and dedication
Matthew 23:13 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
I don’t understand the rationale in letting family keep you from being right with God
A child has no choice, but an adult should do what is eternally right

II. REPUTATION-
Herod’s birthday came around. He had to really make a production of it
He wanted everyone to know how important that he was
Herodias sees her chance and sends her daughter in to dance for these leering men
She has really put