Oh What A Tangled Web We Weave! Mark 6:14-29
In our undergraduate years at the University of Maryland I was taking classes like business law and statistics, while my wife Kay was a philosophy major. It got to the point that we spoke two different languages. Kay just sounded a lot smarter than me. For instance, I might say something like, ‘why’d you make such a big stink about that?’ Whereas she would say, ‘me think thou dost protesteth too much.’
Her favorite quote was from Shakespeare, and every time she thought I wasn’t being truthful she’d whip this one out. “Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.’ She drove me crazy in college. But the first thought that came to mind when I read Mark 6:14-29 was, ‘oh what a tangled web we weave, when we seek pleasure in sinful things.’
It’s really a sad sight when you see someone completely trapped in their own web of sin. Now I don’t mean to bash former president Clinton, I think he did some good things, but I can’t think of anyone more publicly ensnared in their own web of sin. You remember, he started the web of sin by having an illicit relationship with his intern. Then when he was accused, he continued to weave the web by publicly lying about it, ‘I did not have sex with that woman.’ Then when he was clearly caught and everyone knew it, the reporters where all over him. We were living right outside of DC at the time, and I have to admit I watched the news daily with a certain morbid curiosity to see just how this fully ensnared president would try to escape his own web. And do you remember what he said when he was fully ensnared in his own web of sin and lies? He was asked something like, ‘is there a sexual relationship between you and Monica Lewinski?’ And his answer was, ‘it depends on what the meaning of the word is, is. You have to hand it to the guy, He was fully wrapped in the web he created but he was still trying to spin more web! Oh what a tangled web we weave, when we seek pleasure in sinful things.
In our passage today we’re going to learn how Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great, wove a web of sin that eventually ensnared him. He’ll serve as a reminder to us that we must not weave webs of sin in our lives by seeking pleasure in sinful things. Please turn in your Bibles to Mark 6:14-29. This passage comes on the heels of Jesus and His followers performing many miracles that had become well known.
14-16 All kinds of wrong ideas were floating around about who Jesus was, and by what power His miracles were taking place. But Herod believed that Jesus was John the Baptist arisen from the dead, and that notion scared him to death, because Herod was the one that had John killed. Vv. 17-29 explains how Herod got trapped by his own web of sin, eventually leading to the murder of John the Baptist.
Oh What a Tangled Web We Weave, Seeking pleasure in all the wrong places (17-18):
Herod Antipas sought delight in a sinful relationship. Herodias was Herod’s second wife. His first wife was the daughter of an Arabian king. But Herod divorced her to marry Herodias who was actually the wife of his half brother, Philip. And she was also the daughter of another half-brother, Aristobulus. So picture the extent of Herod’s sinful desire. He was willing to divorce his wife because He was lusting after a woman who was both his sister-in law and his niece! What a dog!
Herod was a spineless man seeking pleasure in sin, but John the Baptist was a man who lived out his burning convictions. John walked up to one of the most powerful men in Israel and said, you’re sinning, stop it!
I read a great book on vacation written by John Piper, entitled ‘Desiring God.’ The fundamental principle of the book was this, it’s not that our desire for pleasure is too strong, but too weak. We’re too easily pleased by temporal, even sinful things. True lasting pleasure comes when we delight in the Lord. The message that needs to be shouted from the houses of high finance is this: Secular man, you are not nearly hedonistic enough! In other words, why be satisfied with the measly fleeting pleasures of temporal or sinful things when you could feast on the pleasures of the Lord?
Now lets make sure we paint the full picture. Sin often feels good for a time. It wasn’t as though Herod missed out on all pleasure. I’m sure Herodias was a beautiful woman. Herod was a man of power and wealth, he would have no trouble getting a wife, but he wanted Herodias. She must have been a beautiful woman. I’m sure Herod found temporal sensual pleasure in that relationship. But when we look at the long-term effects of his entanglement with her we’ll find it was gruesome and personally tragic for Herod.
To those who say, “wait a minute, I like the pleasure I get from sinful things, it’s fun,” the answer is, perhaps, for a short time, but make no mistake, that sinful web will eventually ensnare you (Prov. 9:17-18, “Stolen water is sweet; and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. But he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of hell.”
Seeking pleasure is good, just don’t be so easily pleased. Don’t satisfy yourself on temporal sinful things that will only ensnare you in the end. Be satisfied in the Lord, and His truths. He’s the true fountain of joy.
Oh What a Tangled Web We Weave, Negotiating with sin (19-20a): Herod’s web of sin was already entangling him. And rather than doing what was right, he tired to negotiate his way through sin.
On the one hand he had a bitter wife who was being publicly humiliated by John. If Herod didn’t have John killed she was going to make his life miserable. On the other hand, Herod couldn’t kill John because he’d have a revolt on his hands (Mat 14:5). Furthermore, in his heart Herod knew John was right. He knew John was a holy and righteous man.
Herod had two choices before him. He could please his wife, and put an end to John’s humiliating assault on their relationship by killing him. Or he could do what was right, and put an end to his sinful relationship with Herodias. Either choice was unpalatable to Herod. If he killed John he risked a revolt. If he divorced Herodias he’d have to give up his temporal sensual pleasure, and he wasn’t willing to do that.
So Herod decided to try to negotiate his way through sin. ‘Maybe I can find some way of not doing the worst thing without doing the right thing. Maybe I can find some kind of semi-sinful middle ground.’ So he decided to not kill John the Baptist but imprison him. In so doing he just kept weaving the web of sin.
Sin is not something you can negotiate. Scripture tells us we can commit sin, we can repent of sin, we can be caught in sin, we can rebuke sin, we can be entangled in sin, but one thing the Scripture never tells us we can do is negotiate sin. Either we follow God’s standards or we sin, there is no negotiated middle-ground.
But isn’t it so tempting to think we can negotiate the sin in our lives? Think about the sin that you’re allowing to take up residency in your life. Maybe it’s a sinful relationship, maybe it’s a sinful thought life. Maybe it’s a sinful indulgence, hobby or habit. Maybe it’s the sin of gossip, or greed or slothfulness or gluttony.
Whatever it is, we allow it to take up residency in our life because we like the temporal pleasure it provides. When we’re confronted with biblical truths that challenge us to forfeit that sinful pleasure, the temptation is to come up with some middle-ground where we feel like we’ve made some effort to follow Christ without really having to give up our sin. We try to negotiate the sin in our lives rather than eradicate it, so we continue to weave webs of sin.
Andy Fastow was a brilliant kid in my high school graduating class in New Providence New Jersey. He was one of the really good kids. In fact he was the student body president of my senior class. He went on to get a great education and a fantastic job. He climbed his way up the ladder until he became the Chief Financial Officer of his corporation. In fact he became one of the most powerful businessmen in America. But in order to climb that ladder he had to cheat. I’m sure he didn’t start out his career thinking he’d cheat his way to the top, but somewhere along the way he decided to negotiate his sin rather than eradicate it. Eventually he spun one of the greatest webs of sin corporate America has ever seen. You may have heard of my classmate Andy Fastow, because the corporation he was CFO of was Enron. He was indicted on 78 counts of fraud, money laundering, and obstruction of justice. When you try to negotiate sin, you just continue to weave the web that will eventually ensnare you.
Oh What a Tangled Web We Weave, Flirting with truth (20): Apparently Herod visited the prison on occasion because he enjoyed listening to John, even though John was taking him to the woodshed with the truth.
The truth was enticing to Herod, he was entertaining it, but in the end Herod loved his sinful pleasures more than God’s truth, so he continued to weave his web of sin. He refused to repent. It’s a terrible thing to know God’s truths but choose to ignore them.
Oh What a Tangled Web We Weave, Boasting in the flesh (21-23): You know when people are busy weaving a web of sin they say and do ridiculous things don’t they? Can you just see the picture here? Herod is blasted out of his mind, when his daughter comes in and dances before the crowd. And he’s so caught up in sinful pride he yells out in front of everyone, ‘tell me what you want, up to half my kingdom, and I’ll give it to you!’ What an incredibly stupid thing to say.
What’s really ironic is that Herod really didn’t have a kingdom to give. He liked to be called king, but he really wasn’t a king, he was a tetrarch. In fact, it was his desire to be king that later got him killed by Caligula. So Herod was offering something he didn’t even have. He was so caught up in the web of sin he was just boasting in the flesh, and saying ridiculous things, until he spun the web so tight he trapped himself.
Oh What a Tangled Web We Weave, Trapped in sin! (24-29): Herod’s continued pattern of seeking pleasure in sinful things, negotiating the sin in his life, flirting with but ignoring God’s truths, and boasting in the flesh, ultimately wove a web of sin that ensnared him. To save face, and keep his ridiculous oath, he would have to murder John the Baptist.
Now he still could have turned from his sin, but at this point he was so ensnared in his web, all he could think of was saving his reputation. He ordered the execution of the man about whom Jesus said “Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater then John the Baptist.”
That decision would haunt him the rest of his days. He lived out the rest of his life with a filthy conscience and a hardened heart. Then he died in disgrace.
Oh What a Tangled Web We Weave, Resulting in a filthy conscience and a hard heart: John’s voice was silenced, but his message lived on and haunted Herod (16). Herod lived out the rest of his days in fear that John the Baptist would come back to punish him. He lived with a filthy, guilty conscience before God.
And his heart grew so hardened to God that later when he was in the presence of Jesus, Herod mocked Him and treated Him with contempt (Lk 23:6-12).
“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?”
There is no temporal pleasure worth having that causes you to get trapped in the web of sin it produces. It’s not worth living with a filthy, guilty conscience before God, and forfeiting your soul.
Herod died a hopelessly lost soul who went down in infamy as a wicked, spineless adulterer. Oh what a tangled web we weave, when we seek pleasure in sinful things.
How To Escape The Web, Delight in the Lord and His Truths, not in Sin:
There is true joy in the Lord. Part of the fruit of the Spirit that God is working in us is joy. The truth is He is the only fountain of joy. And He wants to give us His glorious eternal joy. Jesus said “these things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.”
Walking closely with God doesn’t mean giving up joy, in fact it’s the only way to truly obtain joy.
The problem is not that we seek pleasure. Seeking pleasure is good, in fact we’re commanded to delight in the Lord. The problem is we’re too easily pleased. Herod’s problem was not that he was a hedonist, he wasn’t hedonistic enough. He passed up on the true lasting pleasure the Lord provides, in exchange for the sinful pleasures of the world.
There is no lasting joy in sin. Sure you may feel the brief fleeting sensations of the flesh, but there is no lasting joy that comes from sin. It’s just a web that ensnares you and leaves you with a guilty conscience and a hardened heart toward God. No temporal pleasure is worth that.
If you’re weaving a web of sin in your life I want to speak very bluntly to you. Stop. You’re setting your own trap, and it will eventually ensnare you. Don’t be so easily pleased with sinful things. But seek lasting joy that comes from the Lord.
