The Progressive West Virginian. [volume] (Williamson, W. Va.) 1911-1913, 1912-08-29
LESSON FOR SEPT. /.
DEArH 81 JOHN THE sApTIs1

LESSON rExT-Mark e:14-29.
GOLDEN TExT-"Be thou faithful unto
death, and will give thee, the crown o.
hfe- Rev. 2:1o,
The story OF Hamlet and Banquo'f
ghost Is no more vivid or dramatic
than the story of the tragedy Of John
the Baptist.
/ And King Herod heard Of him,
". 4. or course Herod would hear Of
the rising young cousin Of John who
was creating such stir throughout
Galilee His coarse, sinful, licentious
heart cringed at the rebuke of such 9
life OF purity, one that performed SC
many good deeds, one who was cors
stantly ministering to others as con
trasted with the life OF Herod, who
only ministered to his own selfish
lusts. Small wonder he should ex'
claim, 1T Is John whom beheaded,'
and one can hear In fancy the rising
tide of terror that surged, through hia
heart as he must have screamed, Nv
Is risen from the dead!" The first
three verses Of the lesson are vivid
picture of how the fame Of this young
Gaiilean affected the conscience
stricken and guilty-hearted usurper
upon the throne.
Who was this Herod? In the first
place, he was guilty of the sin Of In
cest, for he had married the wife OF
his brother Philip, who was still Nv
ing. From verse eighteen of the les
son we learn further that the bold and
courageous John had rebuked him OF
this evil and as result Herod had
cast him into prison, and though he
may have desired, yet he did not as
yet dare to take his life. Added to
this Is the anger of sinful woman.
The purest flower that blooms Is q
cody woman. The yilest and most
vindictive creature upon earth is
most frequently fallen woman. We
need to remember in this case that
Herodias was aware OF the heights
from which she had fallen for she
was Of Jewish descent. She had first
married Herod Philip !, then eloped
to marry this Herod Antipas. who was
also her step-uncle and who ut the
time had a wife living.
John a Just Man.
This precipitated q war which re-
suited In the overthrow and utter
loss Of the army belonging to the
father Of Herods lawful wife. Why
did Herod hesitate to comply with all
that Herodias desired? Verse 20 tells
US, because John was q just man and
an holy" Righteousness is often q
mans surest safeguard. Herod was
not altogether devoid Of conscience as
we have already seen, andN this is
further evidence of that fact. Verse
20 adds that when Herod heard him
he was "perplexed and heard him
gladly" We believe that Herod was
seeking some sort Of recanting upon
the part of John, that he was glad
(anxious) to hear from his lips some
sort OF statement that would Justify
HIS liberation and was perplexed over
the persistence Of John. who, though
in prison, never for one moment low
cred his standard OF divine righteous
HESS, HoT IIlMucu ulb Balls ~ oS ~
catch the wind of Herod's popular
favor. That this was Johns attitude
and that 1t was known to Herodias Is
evident from the beginning Of the
verse Fl, "and when a convenient day
was come" Herodias was all too
ready and willing to seize her oppor
tunity.
To evidence her depths of depravity
and also her anxiety, note that Hero
dias was willing to sacrifice the mod.
esty OF her own daughter to gain her
end. The use OF the word herself"
v. % r. ", is evidence that it was
an unusual thing for this daughter OF
queen thus to exhibit herself.
Now note the oath of the liquor and
lust-drunken king. What an appalling
request. What terrible consequence.
What lengths men will go to keep
their word" given thoughtlessly or ut
tered In the heat Of passion. This Is
one Of the blacklist pictures of his
tory. Al lust-driven, licentious poten-
tate, rebuked but vindictive queen.
glaye Of these same passions.
h 4 * 81
Not Real Sorrow.
The child Of the home thrust forth
before the gaze of the court to help Sc
cure the ends Of murderous mother.
A godly. fearless saint who had great
message from a great God, and with
out hating, hesitancy or compromise
continued to deliver that message till
stricken down in the midst Of an orgy
of passion Herod's sorrow was not
unto repentance" ". 26) but rather
that of guilty conscience.
We need now to return again to the
first verse Of the lesson and we can
well believe 1t must have been a sad
wall, He is risen' ". 16). History
tells US Herod lost his kingdom and
that he and Herodias died in exile.
Let us turn from this awful picture
and look at John How different. Thus
dies he who was the greatest born OF
woman Thus died one who dared
to rebuke evil in high places. One
who would not compromise to save
his life. and one who was faithful unto
death (see the Golden Text. Can we
hesitate to believe that John received
his crown?
A suggested outline for this lesson
ID as follows:
l. a TerrorstrIcken Conscience.
" 1915.
r..,,.s..-.. - .h.o.x -