Mexico Missouri message., 1912-08-29

The story of Hamlet and Banopo,,
ghost Is no more vivid or dramarc
than the story Of the tragedy Of John
the Baptist.
And King Herod heard OF hin, 80
VA. or course 'Herod would hear NJ
the rising young cousin of John who
was creating such stir througbou,
| Galilee. His coarse, sinful, llceu'lous
heart cringed at the rebuke Of such
life OF purity, one that performed so
many good deeds, one who was con.
stantly ministering to others as con.
trasted with the life OF Herod. WIN
only ministered to his own selfish
| lusts Small wonder he should OK.
claim, ut is John whom l behea1ed"
and one can hear in fancy the rising
tide of terror that surged through his
heart as he must have screamed, He
/ is risen from the dead" The first
three verses Of the lesson are q vivid
picture OF how the fame OF this Young
Galilean affected the conscience.
stricken and guilty-heartcd uur1er
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 s'u liy.
| ing. From verse eighteen of the les.
son we learn further that the bold and
courageous John had rebubed him o.
this evil and as a result Hc~od had
cast him into prison, and though he
may have desired, yet he did mot as
yet dare to take his life. Added to
this is the anger OF a sinful woman.
John Just Man.
This precipitated a war which re-
suited in the overthrow and utter
loss of the army belonglnE to the
father OF Herod's lawful wife Why
did Herod hesitate to comply with al
that Herodias desired? Verse 90 tells
us. because John twas a Just man and
an holy" Righteousness IS often q
mans surest safeguard. Lo..d was
not altogether devoid Of conscience as
we have already seen, and this e
further evidence of that fec. Verse
20 adds that when Herod heard him
he was "perplexed and heard liza
gladly" We believe that Harni was
seeking some sort Of recan"ag urc-
the part Of John, that he wa. Ga.
(anxious) to hear from his li1s some
sort of statement that would justify
his liberation and was perplpyed over
the persistence OF John, who though
in prison, never for one momo0- l-r.
cred his standard of divine righteous.
ness. nor trimmed his sails so as 10
catch the wind of Herods popular
favor. That this was Johns attitude
and that It was known TO HerodIas Is
evident from the beginning %! ne
verse 81, land when convenIe"i Gar
was come" Herodias was all too
ready and willing to seize her cnro--
tunity.
To evidence her depths Of da1ray'v
and also her anxiety, note that Hero
dias was willing to sacrifice the NED
esty OF her own daughter 10 gain hoy
end. The use OF the word "horseD
v. 90 r. ", is evidence that q was
an unusual thing for this daughter oil
queen thus to exhibit herself
Now note the oath of the liquor ami
lust-drunken king. What an appalling
request What terrible cons a0Hense
What lengths men will go 20 '6e'P
their word" given thoughtles5'y or 1'
tered in the heat of passion. THIS
one of the blacklist pictures of l.s'
tory. A lust-driven, licentiou5 po.eF
tate, a rebuked but vindictIve queen
slave of these same passions.
Not Real Sorrow.
The child OF the home thrust lott"
before the gaze of the court 20 helps s"
cure the ends of murderous mother
A godly, fearless saint who had gIe%'
message from a great God, and WIZ
out hating, hesltancy or compronlllS,g,
continued to deliver that message u"
stricken down in the midst Of an ors'
of passion. Herod's sorrow was h0.
unto repentance" ". 26) but Fa'"''
that of a guilty conscience.
We need now to return again 10 lHe
first verse OF the lesson and we ''n
we'll believe It must have been a so-
wall, "He is risen" ". 16). Hls'o'5
tells us Herod lost his kingdom anu
that he and Herodias died In exile.
Let US turn from this awfu! rc,u''
and look at John. How different I"-,
dies he who was the greatest porn
woman. Thus died one who d|,5.
to rebuke evil in high places Wv
who would not compromise 10 saw
his life. and one who was faithful INV
death (see the Golden Text. can w
hesitate to believe that John 't'eN''
his crown?
A suggested outline for this 'eS'VD
Is as follows:
I. A Terrorstricken Conscience
v. 1916. II
1. Jesus name spread abroad. w.
2. Men sought to explain Jesus
Is. IL
8. Herod's guilty conscience. V, Il
II. A Wicked Woman's Ha"eo'
17.25.
/. The effect OF righteous ''
2. Herod's downward steps ...
III. The End Of Faithful
sr. v. 2c-29.
/. Herod's wicked oath &c,
2. Johns penalty q TizL 'N