Mark 6:24-25
Feeling
used. Unaware of the plans. Betrayed. Puzzled. Out of the loop. Blindsided. Taken
by surprise. Have you ever felt any of these or similar emotions? Most of us
have at one time or another. Plans were made and you didn’t know them, and you
are allowed to feel like you were betrayed. This is probably how this young
woman felt in our text.
Her
mother set her up. He mother had studied her step-father in order to get even
with a political enemy. This enemy had dared to questions her marriage and
point out the wrongfulness of the relationship. But unlike other political assassinations,
she has a problem. Her husband is the one who is providing his personal
security detail. Her husband wants him protected and is providing the
protection.
But
this doesn’t stop this woman from getting what she wants. She sets up her
daughter as the pawn in this game of chess. She orchestrates the moves
perfectly. She doesn’t let the daughter know the real motives for dressing her
up and having her dance before all these invited guests.
So
the daughter dances her heart out. And when her step-dad takes her by surprise
by offering a present for the beautiful dance, she doesn’t know how to respond.
She goes to ask her mother. Checkmate!
I
can almost see the glee in her mother’s eyes as this daughter asks the
question. There is no hesitation in her reply: the head of John the Baptist.
Imagine putting your daughter in this position. You are asking your daughter to
have someone killed and then carry the man’s head. Vile. Disgusting. Calculated.
Sick.
I
am sure that moment was burned into this girl’s mind. She certainly learned a
powerful lesson about political power and manipulation that day. She learned
that her mother would stop at nothing to get what she wanted. The depths of her
scheming didn’t even consider the feelings of her own daughter. She didn’t
really matter to her mother. She was just a pawn in her scheming.