John was imprisoned by Herod for saying that Herod's marriage to a divorced woman was not lawful. His martyrdom was directly the result of the hatred aroused in Herodias by his fearless condemnation of her adulterous union with Herod.

Was John wrong after all? Perhaps most have not thought the problem through to this point. However, it is true that, by attitude and action, those who condone divorce and remarriage are saying that John should have tolerated Herod's sin, instead of condemning it.

In our generation, the Herods are accepted into the fellowship of the church, and it is John, and others like him, who are accused of doing wrong when they speak out against "marriages" which Jesus called adulterous.

They are regarded as troublemakers. They are accused of being judgemental, intolerant, unforgiving, unloving and lacking in compassion. If that does not silence them, then they are either overpowered by democratic vote, or else avoided.

However, those who understand, know that compassion cannot remain silent about a sin which is a part of the broad way leading to eternal separation from God. When the church strengthens the hand of adulterers instead of naming the sin for what it really is, there is again a desperate need for a voice crying in the wilderness to turn the hearts of the people back to their God.