Luke 23:8-12 - Entertainment is Always Entertaining - March 29, 2023

Taken in moderation and with a healthy dose of Christian discernment and discretion, entertainment – things like concerts, sports, movies, TV shows, books, etc. – are a blessing from God. They provide a break – a chance to rest your body and mind. But when entertainment is taken too seriously, it can be anything but relaxing. Case in point is a soccer match that was held this past October in Indonesia. I’ll read right from one of the news reports: “Disappointed after their team’s loss, thousands of supporters of Arema, known as “Aremania,” reacted by throwing bottles and other objects at players and soccer officials. Fans flooded the Kanjuruhan Stadium pitch in protest and demanded that Arema management explain why, after 23 years of undefeated home games, this match ended in a loss, witnesses said.” According to this report, 129 people – including children – died in a stampede that resulted from people taking this particular form of entertainment far too seriously. [1] What’s the point? The point is that while the devil has convinced millions of people worldwide that entertainment is the ultimate goal of life, entertainment is, clearly, not always entertaining.

Herod apparently never got the message. Before we go on, we should get our Herod’s straight. This is not the King Herod (aka, Herod the Great) of Christmas, the one who was hunting for the newborn King of the Jews and had the baby boys of Bethlehem slaughtered (Matthew 2:16-18). That Herod died roughly 30 years earlier. This Herod (also known as Herod Antipas), a son of Herod the Great, is the one who stole his brother’s wife, Herodias (Mark 6:18). He’s the one who (presumably) got drunk at his own party and made a foolish oath which resulted in John the Baptist’s beheading (Mark 6:21-28). Despite the fact that his “party animal” antics had gotten a man killed, and despite the fact that this made him very sad (Mark 6:26), Herod apparently still viewed entertainment as one of his primary goals in life. Luke tells us that when Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad. For a long time, he had wanted to see him, because he had heard many things about him. He hoped to see some miracle performed by him.

Here’s the thing: at that moment, Jesus couldn’t possibly have appeared like a less likely candidate to appear on American Idol. Consider what he’d endured during the past several hours. His hands were still probably still stinking from washing his disciples’ filthy feet (John 13:1-20; Matthew 26:21-35); his hair was probably still matted down with the bloody sweat that had dripped his pores as he agonized in prayer to his Father (Luke 22:39-46). He had been beaten without cause when he was on trial before Annas (Luke 22:63-65; John 18:22). And that was only the physical hardship he had endured. Consider the emotional and psychological trauma he had suffered: he had been betrayed by one of his own disciples (Mark 14:45), abandoned by his closest friends (Mark 14:50), denied by Peter (Luke 22:54-62), and charged with all sorts of false accusations (Luke 22:66-71). He was taken before Pilate, where the Jewish leaders had created a thirst for blood among the people (Luke 23:1-7). Only then was he sent to Herod – because Pilate wanted nothing to do with him (Luke 23:7). Jesus certainly wouldn’t have looked like an entertainer at that moment. Nevertheless, Herod wanted to be entertained – that was all that was on his mind.

But Jesus would not and did not comply: [he] gave him no answer. Why not? We might not see the devil’s influence here at first. It had to be tempting for Jesus to comply with Herod’s wishes, didn’t it? If Herod took a liking to Jesus, he very well could have influenced or pressured Pilate to have him released from custody – no whipping, no crown of thorns, no nails, no cross, no hell, no death. Why didn’t Jesus just give Herod a little show? Because Jesus knew that his divine power was only to be used to accomplish his mission of salvation – not for his own benefit and certainly not for mere entertainment purposes. When the people of Jesus’ hometown, Nazareth, demanded a miraculous sign, Jesus refused (Luke 4:23-30). When the crowd whose bellies he had filled with bread and fish wanted to make him their “welfare” King, Jesus ran to the mountains to pray (John 6:15). Having refused to perform like a circus monkey so many times before, Jesus was not about to perform at the whim of an evil, drunken puppet king. Herod was not amused by Jesus’ silence, so he used Jesus to entertain him in a different way: Herod, along with his soldiers, treated him with contempt and ridiculed him. Dressing him in bright clothing, he sent him back to Pilate. Using and abusing the Son of God for your entertainment proves that entertainment is not always entertaining.

This lie is alive and well today, isn’t it? The devil has had great success in convincing people to believe the lie that entertainment is the ultimate purpose of our existence. Imagine that an alien landed in America. He would probably judge our nation’s gods by observing our nation’s buildings. Judging that way, what are our gods? #4 – Soccer. #3 – Basketball. #2 – Baseball. #1 – Football. And, while I’m not saying that this is wrong, but maybe a reason for introspection – while many of our own churches struggle to meet their budgets, fortunes are spent on new gyms and auditoriums. We will spend weeks and months planning for a sporting event or concert or vacation. How much time do we spend planning and preparing to come here into God’s presence to receive the body and blood of your Lord Jesus Christ? Herod is not alone in wanting entertainment at the cost of what is truly, eternally important.

There is a point when entertainment stops being entertaining. Entertainment stops being entertaining when the sports enthusiast knows every player on his favorite team – but cannot recite the 10 Commandments or the books of the Bible. Entertainment stops being entertaining when people know more about what’s going on in the lives of their favorite celebrities than they do about the excruciating final hours of Jesus’ life – hours he willingly spent to save them from their sins. Entertainment has stopped being entertaining when a confirmation student can recite every word of their favorite songs – but find that memorizing the parts of the catechism and some Bible passages is just too much (even worse is when their parents make excuses for their laziness!). Entertainment is not entertaining when pastors think they are entertainers and people think they should be entertained at church because there is nothing entertaining about anything or anyone that detracts or distracts from seeing and believing in Jesus as the sacrificial Lamb of God who gave his life to save you from your sins (John 1:29).

Jesus wouldn’t entertain Herod because he was preoccupies with being the Savior of the world. Knowing that in a few hours nails would be pounded through his hands and feet and hung on a cross until he was dead, Jesus was not in an entertaining mood (Mark 8:31). Knowing that the salvation of every man, woman and child who had ever or would ever live was on his shoulders, Jesus wasn’t about to trot around on stage to give Herod a laugh. Knowing that the work he would do in the next few hours would be far more important than any NCAA player’s efforts, more important than any award given to an actor, more significant than any movie created by any director – Jesus was completely focused. No diversion suggested by Herod or the devil, the father of lies (John 8:44), could keep Jesus from his work of saving our souls (John 4:34). Jesus didn’t fall for the devil’s lie – and his obedience covers over all the times we have.

Now, you might think that I’m preaching to the proverbial “choir” here – in that you have obviously made coming here on a dark night in late March your priority – instead of the countless entertainment choices you have at your disposal. And, to an extent, you’re right. And for that, I’m thankful to God. Because you set aside TV, sports, movies, books, social media, etc., to be here to receive your Savior’s grace and give him your praises, I rejoice. Because the Holy Spirit has made clear to you that spending a few hours with your favorite show or activity takes second place to this time spent with Jesus, I am thankful (Matthew 6:21). You are to be commended for keeping your priorities straight. You know that the “diversion” from the troubles of life – that is, the peace and joy and comfort Jesus provides by the blood he shed on the cross for the salvation of your soul – cannot be replaced by any other form of entertainment, because through it, and it alone, we are saved (1 John 1:7).

And yet, lest this “choir” who is gathered here become smug and begin to believe that it is our prioritization, our dedication, our commitment, our time, our attention or our money that earn or contribute to our salvation – as if we’re doing Jesus a favor by being here – remember this: Jesus walked that dark road from the Upper Room, through Gethsemane, from Annas’ house to the court of Caiaphas’ Sanhedrin, to Pilate, to Herod, back to Pilate and eventually to Calvary all by himself, with no real loyal audience. This was in fulfillment of what Isaiah wrote: that Jesus was someone whom people cannot bear to look at, he was despised, and we thought nothing of him (Isaiah 53:3). Jesus’ path to the cross – which we call the Passion History – is not recited each year for our entertainment; it’s recited so that we remember and believe what is truly important: what Jesus did for us – not for our entertainment – but for our salvation.

This final edition of the “Lies of Lent” isn’t intended to make you feel guilty for watching TV or sports or movies or listening to music or reading books other than the Bible. It is intended to show you the lie hidden behind the temporary escape or relaxation offered by those things – that the devil can easily use them to distract you from the real, substantive, bloody, saving message of Christ crucified found only in the Word and Sacraments. Thank God that Jesus never fell for that lie and pray that the Holy Spirit would keep us from ever falling for that lie. It’s ok to be entertained. It’s vital to be saved. May God keep us from making Herod’s mistake in confusing the two. Amen.

[1] https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/10/01/officials-say-125-soccer-fans-and-2-police-were-trampled-to-death-in-indonesia-at-a-soccer-match/