Off with His Head

(Back to Study Home Page)   Sermon March 28, 2004
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March 28 - Matthew 14.1-11.

Open It

  1. What, in your opinion, would be the preferred way to die?

  2. What do you remember from your junior high and high school dances?

  3. What makes peer pressure difficult to resist?

  4. How does peer pressure become more sophisticated as we get older?

Explore It

  1. What powerful political figure heard about all the things Christ was doing? (Matthew 14:1)

  2. What explanation did Herod have for the miracles Christ was doing? (Matthew 14:2)

  3. What had Herod done to John the Baptist? (Matthew 14:3)

  4. Why did Herod put John in prison? (Matthew 14:3)

  5. For what reason had John been rebuking Herod? (Matthew 14:4)

  6. How did Herod react to John's reprimand? (Matthew 14:5)

  7. Why didn't Herod act on his wishes? (Matthew 14:5)

  8. What happened on Herod's birthday? (Matthew 14:6-7)

  9. What promise did Herod make to the daughter of Herodias? (Matthew 14:7)

  10. Who was behind the plot to murder John? (Matthew 14:8)

  11. How did Herod feel when he realized he'd been tricked? (Matthew 14:9)

  12. Why did Herod carry out the execution of John? (Matthew 14:9)

  13. What happened in the aftermath of John's execution? (Matthew 14:12)

Get It

  1. What situations make you most susceptible to peer pressure?

  2. In what ways do you promise more than you can (or should) deliver?

  3. Why do people hate to be corrected?

  4. What grandiose promises have you made and later regretted?

  5. What should you do if you make a promise that pressures you to compromise or to do the wrong thing?

  6. What does a person's reaction to correction tell you about him or her?

  7. In what ways have you sensed danger or risk just by living for Christ?

  8. What impulsive words have later come back to haunt you?

  9. How would you react if your pastor or a spiritual mentor was brutally murdered?

  10. What correction have you recently received from an older and more mature Christian?

Apply It

  1. What can you do to strengthen yourself against peer pressure this week?

  2. What reminder can help you refrain from making foolish promises in coming weeks?

  3. What can you do this week to respond to some correction you recently received?

NOTES

Matthew 14:1: Herod was a tetrarch (1)-one of four rulers over the four districts of Palestine. His territory included the regions of Galilee and Perea. He was the son of Herod the Great, who ordered the killing of the babies in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16). Also known as Herod Antipas, he heard Jesus' case before Jesus' crucifixion (Luke 23:6-12).

Matthew 14:3: Philip, Herod's half brother, was another of Palestine's four rulers. His territories were Iturea and Traconitis, northeast of the Sea of Galilee (Luke 3:1). Philip's wife, Herodias, left Philip to live with Herod Antipas. John the Baptist condemned the two for living immorally (see Mark 6:17-18).

Matthew 14:9: Herod did not want to kill John the Baptist, but he gave the order so that he wouldn't be embarrassed in front of his guests. How easy it is to give in to the crowd and to let ourselves be pressured into doing wrong. Don't get in a situation where it will be too embarrassing to do what is right. Determine to do what is right, no matter how embarrassing or painful it may be.

1. A governor of one of four divisions of a country or province, especially in the ancient Roman Empire.

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