There but for the grace of God go I

Mark 6:14-29

King Herod had heard about Jesus, since by now his name was well-known. Some were saying, ‘John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.’ Others said, ‘He is Elijah’; others again, ‘He is a prophet, like the prophets we used to have.’ But when Herod heard this he said, ‘It is John whose head I cut off; he has risen from the dead.’

  Now it was this same Herod who had sent to have John arrested, and had him chained up in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife whom he had married. For John had told Herod, ‘It is against the law for you to have your brother’s wife.’ As for Herodias, she was furious with him and wanted to kill him; but she was not able to, because Herod was afraid of John, knowing him to be a good and holy man, and gave him his protection. When he had heard him speak he was greatly perplexed, and yet he liked to listen to him.

  An opportunity came on Herod’s birthday when he gave a banquet for the nobles of his court, for his army officers and for the leading figures in Galilee. When the daughter of this same Herodias came in and danced, she delighted Herod and his guests; so the king said to the girl, ‘Ask me anything you like and I will give it you.’ And he swore her an oath, ‘I will give you anything you ask, even half my kingdom.’ She went out and said to her mother, ‘What shall I ask for?’ She replied, ‘The head of John the Baptist’ The girl hurried straight back to the king and made her request, ‘I want you to give me John the Baptist’s head, here and now, on a dish.’ The king was deeply distressed but, thinking of the oaths he had sworn and of his guests, he was reluctant to break his word to her. So the king at once sent one of the bodyguard with orders to bring John’s head. The man went off and beheaded him in prison; then he brought the head on a dish and gave

  it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. When John’s disciples heard about this, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

Food for thought!

"An opportunity came!" This statement summarizes it all. As long as the opportunity had not come, things were like normal. But then the opportunity came. It came this way: It was Herod’s birthday, during a banquet of the nobles of his court, for his army officers and for the leading figures in Galilee. And there came the daughter of Herodias, danced, she delighted Herod and his guests; so the king said to the girl, ‘Ask me anything you like and I will give it you.’ And he swore her an oath, ‘I will give you anything you ask, even half my kingdom.’ She went out and said to her mother, ‘What shall I ask for?’ She replied, ‘The head of John the Baptist’"

Once the opportunity was there, the rest was just follow up one after another. The end result was the beheading of John the Baptist. What does this mean to you and me? It means that it is but by the grace of God that we have not committed similar atrocities; if and when the opportunity comes, when the circumstances are there, when all the conditions are fulfilled, sin is inevitable. It means that the opportunity has not come for you and me, and this is by the grace of God.

The gospel says that Herodias "was furious with him (John the Baptist) and wanted to kill him; but she was not able to," because the opportunity had not come. When it came, she seized it and did what she always wanted to do but could not, "because Herod was afraid of John, knowing him to be a good and holy man, and gave him his protection."

The trouble with Herodias was that she wished to eliminate the one man who had the courage to confront her with her sin. She wished to do as she liked with no one to remind her of the moral law. She murdered John that she might sin in peace. She forgot that while she need no longer meet John, she still had to meet God.

Whenever you see someone with a misfortune or even a criminal, say: "There but for the grace of God go I!" It means that I would likely have been or done the same bad thing as that person or criminal if God had not been watching over me. You can say this to refer to someone who has had bad luck; implies that the person is no less virtuous than you are but is now miserable purely because of bad opportunity, which might happen to you as well. If and when the opportunity comes, many of us would do just as Herodias and many criminals do. If the Lord had not been on our side...! (Psalm 124:2); Unless the LORD had given me help, I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death (Psalm 94:14).

BTW, this is why Jesus taught us to pray always: "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." Temptation means any testing situation. It includes far more than the mere seduction to sin; it covers every situation which is a challenge to and a test of a person's manhood and integrity and fidelity. Temptations are opportunities for sin.