A Pyrrhic Victory is one in which you defeat your enemy. But the cost to you is so high it ends up resulting in your complete failure. You win the battle, but lose the war.
The term is based on the Battle of Asculum between the Greeks and the Romans in 279 BC. The Greeks defeated their enemies but were so weakened they eventually lost everything they had gained.
When John the Baptist was killed, he won.
The prophet’s role was to prepare the nation for the arrival of their long-awaited Messiah, his cousin Jesus. He never tried to upstage Jesus, he just preached how the people needed to repent of their sins, get right with God, and be open to the message of Jesus.
Among the sins John spoke out against was the marriage of King Herod to his former sister-in-law Herodias. Herod had the hots for his brother’s wife, and ordered his brother to get a divorce so he himself could marry Herodias.
People today complain about the abuse of power. This is nothing new.
The marriage was against the will and laws of God. While our Postmodern world would claim this is nobody else’s business, God knows otherwise. Herod’s actions are another classic example of how people think they are smarter than God. So arrogant.
John called out the king for his actions, speaking truth to power. Herodias was furious. Herod didn’t want to kill John, so he just had him arrested and tossed into a dungeon. The king remained intrigued with John and would visit him. I would have loved to have heard those conversations.
Herodias was probably glad John was off the streets, but was still not satisfied. She wanted her revenge. She wanted John dead.
Finally, she saw her chance to silence John for good.
Herod hosted a lavish party for his friends, important officials, and military commanders. There was wine, and food, and wine, and music, and wine, and merriment, and wine. Did I mention wine?
Picture if you will a room full of drunk men. Herodias made her move.
She sent in her daughter to dance for Herod and his guests. All the men were extremely impressed. And there was great rejoicing.
If a room full of drunk men are very happy when a young woman dances for them, I think we can safely assume the dance was not ballet, or tap, or clogging, or square dancing. This was the sort of dancing that would motivate drunk men to become very very excited. I think you get the picture.
Herod, full of wine, and gratitude, and wine, and a need to show his appreciation, and more wine, and a need to impress his guests, and even more wine, made her an offer.
He pledged to give her anything she wanted, up to half his kingdom. Life tip – never make extravagant promises when you are totally smashed. But if your brain is pickled, then you’re likely to say all sorts of stupid things.
The girl didn’t know what to say. What would she want? She ran to the one person she trusted the most. Mom.
Herodias knew she had Herod right where she wanted him. She told her daughter to ask for the head of John the Baptist.
The young woman didn’t need to sleep on it. She didn’t ask her friends what they thought. She didn’t question her mom’s answer. But she did show us that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
The text says she immediately returned to the banquet hall, came before the king and gave her request. As heartless as her mom’s order had been, her daughter added her own macabre twist. She demanded the head of John the Baptist, on a platter. And she wanted it right now.
Remember those old movies about medieval times where there’s a feast in a castle? Some servant carries in a large platter featuring a pig with an apple in its mouth? That’s how she wanted John’s head delivered, probably minus the apple.
Herod sobered up, extremely quickly. He knew he had been played. But since he made this grandiose promise in front of his friends, officials, and commanders he couldn’t renege. He had to go through with it.
John is beheaded. The head is delivered, and Herodias is thrilled. She thought she had won. But she just lost. Although she thought she had silenced John, the exact opposite happened.
Most people have never heard of Herodias. But because of what she did to John, billions learned of her sin, her vindictive grudge, and her recruitment of her own daughter to be an accomplice.
Billions more have continued to admire John for his devotion to God, his courage and faithfulness, and his willingness to accept death for a righteous cause.
In the end all attempts to fight the Lord of Heaven will fail. They are puny annoyances that appear to celebrate great achievements, yet are nothing more than temporary irritants that will be swept aside.
Despite some media reports, the Church is thriving. When you hear that numbers are down, it’s an example of selective statistics.
Overall conservative churches continue to grow. Overall liberal churches continue to decline.
If we look at the global situation, we see the Church doing extremely well throughout much of the developing world. Those new believers know a good thing when they see it.
Where Christians are persecuted, the Church blossoms. Tertullian said “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” True in the second century, true today. The Church in Iran is growing faster than anywhere else on earth.
Eventually “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. [Philippians 2:10-11 NIV].
Those who actively oppose the work of God are wasting their time. I wish someone could help them understand their lives would be better spent doing something productive instead of setting themselves up for a Pyrrhic Victory.
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Dave Soucie lives, serves and writes in Indianapolis.
Copyright © 2022 by Dave Soucie. All rights reserved [but permission is granted for non-commercial use only, with proper citation].
Dave Soucie 