How Do You Handle Guilt?
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
“For John had been saying to Herod, ‘It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.’ 19 And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, 20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.” Mark 6:18-20
Herod’s Problem
August 29, the day our calendar and this letter is being released, is the commemoration of The Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist (or in German, it translates to “The Decapitation of St. John the Baptist”). It’s a tragic story that examines how we deal with the guilt that comes from the Word of God and the guilt we feel in our conscience. In this story, Herod is stuck. Now, you have to remember that this isn’t Herod the Great of Christmas fame who killed all the boys in Bethlehem 2 years old and under. Herod the Great has written in his will that his territory be split into four parts and given to his four sons. However, through some soap opera drama, only 2 sons spend considerable time reigning over their territories—Herod Antipas (who features in this story) and Philip, his brother. Like I said earlier, Herod is stuck. He has committed sin against his brother in the 10th commandment, and the 6th commandment by whisking away Philip’s wife, Herodias. And John the Baptist calls him on it. Herodias, as you could imagine, gets upset and hates John for his preaching. She wants to kill him, but Herod won’t let her. He’s stuck because he seems to respect John and recognize him in some way as the spokesman of God. But he also doesn’t want to divorce his newfound wife. He seems to recognize the guilt of breaking God’s law. He feels that guilt on his conscience and so he won’t allow anything to happen to John. But he has no idea what to do with his guilt. So John goes into prison to protect him, and maybe to shut him up when the preaching hits a little too close to home.
A Guilty Consciene & Guilt
What do we do with the feeling of a guilty conscience? What do we do with the guilt of breaking God’s law? I remember hearing a song a few years ago, though I’ve never been able to find it again, about people dealing with guilt and guilty consciences by partaking in the sacraments offered by the local bar. The song literally spoke about the bar as though it were a church where people dealt with the pains of life and the guilt we all feel. Drowning those feelings in drink, in drunkenness. That’s basically how we want to deal with our guilt. We want to drown the feelings. Whether it be drink, good works, blame games, comparing ourselves to everyone around us, or outright ignoring the law of God entirely the result is all the same—drown the feelings of guilt. But that can only get us so far. The judgment that comes from the violation of God’s law and Ten Commandments is left untouched. That guilt remains, no matter how much the feelings get drowned out.
Stuck Again
Then comes Herod’s birthday. His stepdaughter, Salome, does a wonderful, provocative dance and Herod is so pleased that he makes an oath to give her anything she wants for her dance. It’s a foolish oath. And Salome asks her mother for advice. I’m sure you can figure out what she asks for. John’s head on a platter. And Herod’s stuck again. He has no respect for Herodias’ oath of marriage, but this oath he holds in high value. Once again he’s stuck between his conscience and God’s law. Once again he deals with his conscience by trying to silence God’s law, this time by cutting John’s head off. And now we can add the 5th commandment to the laundry list of commandments in this debacle. And God’s condemnation was signed, sealed, and, in a matter of time, delivered.
The Irony
But here’s the ironic thing. Herod didn’t need to be stuck. If he had kept listening to John he would have found that one thing that not only deals with the feeling of guilt but also the violation of God’s law. It was the whole point of John’s preaching. The one that he spent his whole time pointing his bony finger toward—the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). Jesus is the one sent by God to be our substitute under God’s law. He’s the one whom God sent to carry the guilt of the commandments we’ve broken. He’s the one God has sent to die on the cross for us to wash our conscience of the feeling of guilt with His own blood. He gave His life to answer for our guilt and give us His innocence in the eyes of God’s law. By the power of the Holy Spirit God now speaks His forgiveness into our conscience, declaring to us the peace that has been won for us in the cross of Christ. He sends His church to speak the absolution of our sins by the authority and in the stead of Jesus Himself. In Christ, we’re not stuck between our conscience and the judgment of God’s law. We are now free in Christ. Not only free of our guilt but also free to make a start of making it right. To repent and struggle against our sin. To live free in Christ for the sake of the world to fill it with the forgiveness, mercy, and love that it so desperately needs.
Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Tim Schneider