it’s one verse. just one verse, but what happens in that verse is very odd and screams of desperation.

one group is staunchly religious and traditional. the other is morally loose and looking for a big cultural shift.

one group is very literal in their interpretation of God’s word. the other doesn’t give a flying flip how you interpret things.

one group is protective, very protective, of what it means to be Jewish. the other group is jumping into the melting pot & changing identity.

the pharisees and herodians are indeed strange bedfellows, but they both had an issue with Jesus.

in mark 3:6 we’re told that they joined forces to conspire against Jesus, in order to kill Him. what are they aiming for that both parties could be interested in? Jesus was distracting people from the pharisees, and because of this their grip on the people was loosening. this relaxing of the code was making their influence less, and the people were doubting them and their judgment. getting rid of Jesus would mean a restoration of the old ways.

the herodians wanted to hellenize everything in their society, and to become more cosmopolitan…and less socially ‘backward.’ accepting what the rest of the roman world was doing was in their favor, both socially and politically. there’s more to it than that, but Jesus was turning people back to God and teaching effective morals, which also worked against their plans. [think of john the baptist and herod’s interactions]

both groups would benefit if Jesus was simply out of the picture. so they decided to link up, for a very short time, in order to accomplish a common goal. but what happens when lovers of the Law drop their standards to join forces with lovers of wealth & power? when you give up ground it is very hard to win back, isn’t it? Jesus coming as King would mean a big loss to them both, and though they could not question His morals, they did not want the new power structure that would bring.

what do we compromise on for the sake of our personal goals? what things did we think were absolutely important, but gave them up in order to get what we wanted? usually, this is going to be some sort of strictly moral dilemma. occasionally it may be giving up something physical, but not too often. maybe it’s a slight compromising of yourself at work in order to impress the right people. maybe it means keeping your mouth shut about something that you know is wrong in order to maintain a friendship. there are any number of reasons we may give ourselves and try to justify, but when you look at it in any light, you are still compromising what you know is right, and that will never truly benefit you.

it’s a simple issue, and a simple decision to make. so what do you say? are you willing to compromise yourself, and your beliefs?

i pray to God that i do not.

Father, keep us strong for Your sake, and for Your glory. help us to move closer to You daily, and not to give up ground to the enemy.

Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

Spirit, have mercy.

amen.