HOFC Sermon Archive: Gospel of Mark Part 32: Weakness in the Seat of Power

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SERMON TIMELINE

1. Introduction

2. John the Baptist

3. The Baptism of Jesus

4. Temptation of Jesus

5. The Preaching Ministry of Jesus I

6. The Preaching Ministry of Jesus II

7. The First Disciples

8. A Teacher with Authority

9. At the Home of Simon and Andrew

10. Jesus Cleanses the Leper

11. Jesus Heals the Paralytic

12. Jesus and the Tax Collector

13. Jesus Questioned About Fasting

14. Of Wine and Wineskins

15. Jesus, Lord of the Sabbath & Resurrection Sunday 2025

16. Hard Hearts and Hard Thoughts

17. Three Responses to Jesus

18. Jesus Appoints the Apostles

19. The Family of Jesus

20. The Unforgivable Sin

21. The True Family of Jesus

22. Parable of the Four Soils

23. How Well Do You Listen

24. Parable of the Growing Seed

25. Parable of the Mustard Seed

26. Benefits of Private Teaching

27. Jesus Calms the Storm

28. Who is Afraid of Jesus?

29. The Touch of Jesus

30. When Familiarity Breeds Contempt

31. Principles of Evangelism

32. Weakness in the Seat of Power

Today is Sunday. August 31^st, 2025

INTRODUCTION

One thing that is made evident in the Gospel of Mark is the fact that Jesus and His ministry attracted a lot of attention. We read early on that some followed Him because they were committed to Him, those who followed out of curiosity, and those who were possessed and perhaps followed to “keep an eye” on what the Lord was doing.

Some of this attention was good. People were coming to be healed, gain understanding of salvation, and answer Jesus’ ministry call to repent and place their trust in the gospel.

Some attention was bad. The Sadducees and Pharisees, with their endless accusations and conflict, for example. Or townsfolk fearing Jesus to the point of commanding He and His disciples to leave their town. Even some who became so upset at the truth Jesus spoke, they tried throwing Him off a cliff to kill Him.

Eventually reaching the ears of Herod Antipas, son of King Herod (Herod the Great).

Herod Antipas’ rule is well documented in secular history as well as scripture. Historians like Flavius Josephus (a first-century Jewish Pharisee historian) record his reign in detail.

In his works Antiquities of the Jews and The Jewish War, Josephus describes Antipas as tetrarch of Galilee and Perea (he was a ruler placed by Roman authority, not a true King, though the title could be used) after the death of his father, Herod the Great.

Josephus confirms several things that line up with the Gospels:

Antipas built the city of Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee.
He married Herodias (his brother’s wife), which caused scandal and eventually led to conflict with Aretas IV, king of Nabatea.
Josephus also records that Antipas had John the Baptist executed, fearing that John’s influence over the crowds could spark a rebellion (Antiquities 18.116–119).

So, both Scripture and secular history point to Antipas as the ruler responsible for John’s death.

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE

Mark 6:14-29 Herod Upon Hearing About Jesus
“And King Herod heard it, for His name had become well known; and people were saying, “John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him.” ¹⁵But others were saying, “He is Elijah.” And others were saying, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” ¹⁶But when Herod heard it, he kept saying, “John, whom I beheaded, has risen!”

¹⁷For Herod himself had sent and had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her.

¹⁸For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” ¹⁹Now Herodias was holding a grudge against him and was wanting to put him to death and was not able; ²⁰for Herod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he was keeping him safe.

And when he heard him, he was very perplexed; but he used to enjoy listening to him. ²¹And a strategic day came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his great men and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee;

²²and 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.” ²³And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you; up to half of my kingdom.”

²⁴And she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” ²⁵And immediately she came in a hurry to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”

²⁶And although the king was very sorry, yet because of his oaths and because of his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. ²⁷And immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded him to bring back his head. And he went and beheaded him in the prison, ²⁸and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. ²⁹And when his disciples heard this, they came and took away his body and laid it in a tomb.”

Today, we will examine weakness in the seat of power.

I. HEROD AS A KING

a. Herod Antipas as Tetrarch

i. His father, Herod the Great, was from Edom and ruled when Jesus was born (Matthew 2:1,3,19)

ii. His mother was a Samaritan by the name of Malthace. She was the fourth of Herod the Great’s ten wives.

b. Not to be confused with

i. Herod the Great (his father)

ii. Herod Agrippa I (his nephew), who killed James, Acts 12:1-2

iii. Herod Agrippa II (grand-nephew), whom Paul appeared before in Acts 26:1

iv. When Herod the Great died in 4 B.C., his kingdom was divided into four parts (Luke 3:1)

1. Archelaus (Herod the Great's full brother) ruled as Tetrarch over Judea, Edom (Idumea), and Samaria, which was later ruled by Pontius Pilate.

2. Antipas ruled over Galilee and Perea.

3. Philip II (Herod the Great’s half-brother) ruled over Iturea and Trachonitus.

4. And Lysanias ruled Abilene (Syria)

Herod Antipas’ position as Tetrarch was ratified by Caesar Augustus of Rome

c. What Herod Antipas achieved as a Tetrarch

i. He governed Galilee and Perea for 42 years (4 B.C. – 39 A.D.)

ii. In Mark 6:14-29, we read that he imprisoned John the Baptist and had him executed.

iii. And he sought to kill Jesus, who described Herod Antipas as “that fox” in Luke 13:31-32

1. “Just at that time, some Pharisees approached, saying to Him, 'Leave and go from here, for Herod wants to kill You.” ³²And He said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish.’ “

iv. Herod Antipas later mocked Jesus before his death, which led to a friendship with Pilate.

1. Luke 23:7-12 “…And Herod with his soldiers, after treating Him with contempt and mocking Him, dressed Him in a bright robe and sent Him back to Pilate. ¹²Now Herod and Pilate became friends with one another that very day; for before they had been at enmity with each other.”

Herod Antipas had a position of power and authority. There was potential for him to be a great man.

However, like many men with power and authority, their flaws and sinful nature eventually lead to their demise.

II. HEROD AS A MAN

a. Herod Antipas was superstitious.

i. He initially thought Jesus was the reincarnated John the Baptist (Mark 6:14)

ii. He then believed Jesus was John the Baptist raised from the dead (Mark 6:14,16)

Why? Because the mortal man must try and make sense of the miracles of God. Signs and wonders beyond human explanation are usually attributed to some spirituality, system of belief, or the occult, if one does not understand and know who God is.

b. Herod Antipas was immoral.

i. First married to Phasaelis, daughter of King Aretas IV of Nabatea, but divorced her to marry Herodias - Mark 6:17

1. Herodias was his niece and married to his half-brother Philip

ii. This was an unlawful marriage on two counts (even though Antipas was not a Jew)

1. Incest (uncle–niece marriage).

2. Adultery (she was still his brother’s wife).

3. That’s why John the Baptist openly declared to him, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife” (Mark 6:18).

iii. Adultery is forbidden by God – Leviticus 18:16; Leviticus 20:10

iv. Also, because of the prohibition against marrying a brother's wife - Leviticus 20:21

v. For which both Herodias and Herod wanted to kill John - Mark 6:19; Matthew 14:5

Herod Antipas’s willingness to leave his wife to marry his brother’s wife (his niece) shows his lack of morals and total disregard for what is decent.

c. Herod Antipas was easily manipulated.

i. In Matthew 14:5, we see he was manipulated by fear of the multitude if he did do anything to John the Baptist.

ii. Scripture reveals that at one time he liked to listen to John the Baptist and feared John; however, Herod Antipas did not repent when the words of John revealed Herod’s sin. Mark 6:20

iii. In Mark 6:21-23, we read that Herod Antipas was enticed by his stepdaughter, Salome, the daughter of his brother and illegitimate sister-in-law-wife Herodias.

1. Scholars estimate through recorded events that Salome was between 12-14 years old.

iv. Antipas was manipulated by Herodias into executing John the Baptist

v. He was manipulated because he was afraid of losing face in front of his guests when Salome asked for John’s head on a platter.

vi. And Herodias’ schemes would later lead to Antipas’ exile.

1. She was jealous of her brother's success (Agrippa I)

2. She attempted to turn Caligula against him, but it backfired

3. Caligula exiled Antipas to Gaul, and Herodias chose to follow.

Herod Antipas was so concerned with his self-image (pride, arrogance, self-centered, selfish, narcissistic) as well as his self-indulgence (lack of morals, self-control), that he was easily manipulated.

He could have been a great man and used his power and authority to become a great leader. But he allowed his immoral, flesh-gratifying, sinful life to rule him, which in turn made him weak and pathetic, and a terrible leader.

CONCLUSION

What a sad picture of weakness in a position of power.

We, too, may be in a position of authority and power. Whether as a political leader, CEO of a business, a manager at our job, or even head of the house.

We should be mindful that personal failings make us like Antipas. Weak, easily manipulated, easily tempted, and poor at leading.

On the other hand, like John the Baptist, who was also given power and authority in the name of God, he stood on morality, made his stand, and even died for it because he had true conviction.

John may have been executed and lost his life, but he won his soul.

Herod Antipas lost his life he had through being exiled, and lost his soul.

Jesus said this about John the Baptist in Matthew 11:11: “Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist!”

Jesus also said in Matthew 16:24-27, “…Jesus said to His disciples, 'If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. ²⁵For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

²⁶For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? ²⁷For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay each one according to his deeds.”

NEXT WEEK: “Part 33: The Need for Rest”

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Thursday, September 4, 2025

Gospel of Mark Part 32: Weakness in the Seat of Power

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