Conscience, Conviction, and Courage
Mark 6:14-30
Introduction: This last week a madman barricaded himself in a
hotel room with a small arsenal and thousands of rounds of ammunition, and for
reasons we still don’t know executed the worse mass shooting in American
history, 59 dead, over 500 wounded. The horrific attack in Las Vegas reminds us
of the evil that lurks in the hearts of unregenerate humans… Jeremiah asked
rhetorically, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked,
who can know it?” We are reminded daily that we live in a fallen world, and
that all around us are people who desperately need the Lord. This story in Mark
is another illustration of how much the world needs Jesus… Mark answers one of the
questions with a perspective we might not like: What does it mean to follow
Him? Count the cost!
The Maine* Idea: We are called to follow Jesus, and the path of true
discipleship is one of self-denial and self-sacrifice. We’ll look at that from
4 perspective…
1.
Be Informed: Who
is this Jesus? We must know Him in order to follow Him.
2.
Be Ready: Some
will be intrigued by the Gospel, even while they resist!
3.
Be Aware: Others
will be actively hostile to the truth.
4.
Be Encouraged:
Jesus is building His church! So first…
I. Be Informed: Who is this
Jesus (14-16)? We must know Him in
order to follow.
14 King Herod heard of it, for
Jesus' name had become known. Some said, "John the Baptist has been raised
from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in
him." 15 But others
said, "He is Elijah." And others said, "He is a prophet, like
one of the prophets of old." 16
But when Herod heard of it, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been
raised."
The
question being overtly discussed at the outset of this passage is one that has
been at the forefront of Mark’s gospel from the beginning: “Who is Jesus?” People had a lot of
theories about the identity of this preacher and miracle worker. Some were saying that John the Baptist had
been raised from the dead. Others thought he was the prophet Elijah, whose
coming was foretold in relation to the advent of the messianic kingdom. Others
thought he was a prophet like the Old Testament prophets of the past.
Remember
the context. The passage begins by saying, “King Herod heard of it…” Heard of
what? The apostles, sent out by Jesus,
preaching, casting out demons, and healing the sick. The multiple teams of two
had been sent out, and their activity throughout the villages and the
countryside was causing a stir, and word had gotten back to Herod. The ministry
of the apostles was further spreading the news about Jesus, and people were
wrestling with the question about His identity.
Herod Antipas was convinced that He was John the Baptist raised to life.
So Herod concluded that John, who he had beheaded, had been raised from the
dead!
The
question of Jesus’ identity has been at the forefront of this Gospel. Who is
this Jesus? A later Jesus will voice this same question to His disciples…
27 And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages
of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, "Who do
people say that I am?" 28
And they told him, "John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others,
one of the prophets." 29
And he asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered
him, "You are the Christ." 30
And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him. 31 And he began to teach them that
the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the
chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again… (8:27-31).
In order
to believe in Jesus, and follow Him as your Savior and Lord, you need to
understand correctly who He is. Even Muslims will say He was a prophet from
God. Some Jews and others will acknowledge Him as a great teacher. That idea seems popular as people pick and
choose some of the sayings of Jesus, wrenching them out of their contexts, for
their own purposes [For example, some would say that teaching a biblical view of marriage
and sexuality is intolerant and
inconsistent with the “spirit” of the teaching of Jesus]. Neither Jesus nor John, nor the leaders of
the apostolic church, found it necessary to be politically correct, always
being careful to never say anything that might offend! Don’t get me wrong, we
don’t want to be unnecessarily offensive!
But there is offense in the message of the Cross, because it means that
we are sinners, condemned and unclean, unable to come to God in our own
strength. To the Greeks, foolishness, to
the Jews a stumbling block, but to those who are being saved, the power and
wisdom of God!
We are
called to follow Jesus. To do that we need to know Him as He really is. Then we
follow Him, and the path of true discipleship is one of self-denial and
self-sacrifice. That means we need to know the truth about who Jesus is and
what He did, and we need to know Him personally as our Savior and Lord. And we
need to Be Ready to give a reason for the hope we have in Him. That brings us
to…
II. Be Ready:
Some are intrigued by the Gospel, but
resist Him (17-20).
Sinclair
Ferguson said, “…Unless we silence sin,
sin will silence conscience…” That is seemingly what happened with Herod.
It seems he was intrigued by John, He recognized something in him that was not
of this world, but he was unwilling to repent of his sin and turn in faith to
the coming King that John was announcing.
Like Jezebel and Ahab in the days of Elijah, Herod Antipas’ wife,
Herodias, was able to manipulate her husband to carry out her evil wishes.
17 For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and
bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife,
because he had married her. 18
For John had been saying to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your
brother's wife." 19 And
Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could
not, 20 for Herod feared
John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When
he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.
If
you have ever tried to figure out the family line of the “Herods” in the New
Testament and went away scratching your head, you are not alone! What a
convoluted mess! Herod the Great was the
one who tried to kill Jesus in Luke 2 when he sent his men to Bethlehem and had
all the boys under 2 slaughtered. Herod
Antipas, who appears in this context, is one of the sons of Herod the Great (He
also appears later in the passion narrative). Another brother, Aristobulus, had
a daughter named Herodias. Philip was another son of Herod the great. So, Uncle
Philip married his niece Herodias! And
then Herod Antipas, took her from his brother (though from what we know about
her, it may be that Herodias was the one trying to “move up” and gain more
power).
Enter
John the Baptist. Like the prophet He was, John the Baptist loudly and clearly
denounced the relationship between Herod and Herodias as sinful and called the
tetrarch to repent! He spoke the truth,
apparently without any fear of the consequences. Herodias was infuriated and wanted to put
John to death. As T.W. Manson said: “…the
only place her marriage certificate could safely be written was on the back of
the death warrant of John…” She
wanted to kill him… but she couldn’t do it. Why? Because Herod “feared” John,
and knew that he was a holy and righteous man. He seemed to know that John was
close to God, and so He protected Him, He would listen for a while, perplexed,
maybe intrigued, but kept him a prisoner, just out of Herodias’ grasp… or so he
thought.
Have you
ever encountered people who seem uncomfortable around believers? They may be interested, even intrigued, about
spiritual things, but they don’t want to deal with the implications of God’s
truth in their lives? R.C. Sproul tells
the story of a top-level golfer who played a round with Billy Graham.
…Afterward, the golfer stormed off the eighteenth
green, went over to the practice tee, and began hitting drives in a state of
fury. A friend observed his evident
agitation and asked why he was so upset. He replied, “I don’t need to have
Billy Graham forcing religion down my throat.” Then he went back to pounding
drives down the range. When he finished, his friend walked over to him and
said, “Billy really came on strong to you, did he?” At that, the golfer hung
his head and said: “No, actually Billy didn’t say a word about religion. I just
had a bad round.” Isn’t that fascinating? Dr. Graham said not one word about
religion to this man, but he did not have to. Dr. Graham’s mere presence and
what he represented to this golfer was enough to make him supremely
uncomfortable. This golfer was a little like Herod Antipas in front of John the
Baptist. He could not deny that John was a just man, a holy man. He was both
fearful and fascinated. He agreed to put John in jail to make his wife
happy, but he would not go any further. He did not want to put John to death.
Be ready! People will react to Jesus. And some
will be both fearful and fascinated. They will be intrigued, but still resist
Him. From our perspective, post-cross / resurrection
/ Pentecost, Mark’s mentor Peter spoke of the perspective we need…
14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake,
you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts regard
Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who
asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; 16 yet do it with gentleness and
respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who
revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for
doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil… (I Peter 3:14-17).
When you experience “push back” don’t take it
personally! For we are called to follow Jesus, and the path of true
discipleship is one of self-denial and self-sacrifice. Be informed, Be ready,
and…
III. Be Aware:
Others are actively hostile to the
Truth (21-29).
21 But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday
gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of
Galilee. 22 For when
Herodias's daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And
the king said to the girl, "Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give
it to you." 23 And he
vowed to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my
kingdom." 24 And she
went out and said to her mother, "For what should I ask?" And she said,
"The head of John the Baptist."
25 And she came in immediately with haste to the king and
asked, saying, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist
on a platter." 26 And
the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did
not want to break his word to her. 27
And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head.
He went and beheaded him in the prison 28
and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it
to her mother. 29 When his
disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
It
seems that Herod chose to throw himself a birthday party and invited nobles and
military commanders, along with all the leading men of Galilee. It would have
been a wild kind of a party, lots of food, the wine flowing freely, music, and
at least one dancer... With a group of half drunken, partying men it would have
been against social norms for a member of the royal family to come in and dance.
But look again at v.21, “But an
opportunity came…” An opportunity for who? It seems for Herodias to exploit
the weakness and pride of her husband to finally resolve her problem with John
the Baptist!
Herodias
doesn’t go herself, but she sends her daughter (named Salome according to Josephus) into the party to dance before Herod
and his guests. And Herod takes the bait. Herodias’ daughter “pleased Herod and his guests” and Herod
foolishly promises what He cannot give: anything she would ask, even up to half
of His kingdom. Herod did not even actually have the title “king” in any legal
sense. He was tetrarch over Galilee, and was one of four sons of Herod the
Great who had been given authority to rule, essentially as puppets of Rome. But
Herod, in full party mode, claims the title and essentially boasts of his power
to give her anything she would ask. The girl doesn’t want to waste the
opportunity, the trap has been sprung, so she goes out to her mother and asks
her what she should do. And with all that she could ask for, Herodias asks for
the head of John! Such was the hatred she held for the man, and for the coming
Kingdom that he was announcing. Herod regretted the situation that he had
placed himself in, but he could not bear to lose face before his guests, so he
sends the executioner and the deed is done, He grants her terrible request.
Be
aware, some are not only resistant to the Gospel, but they are hostile to the
message of God. This reminds us of the depths of human depravity, the point
to which our rebellion against God can lead us. As Jeremiah the prophet said, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and
desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jer 17:9). We see the depths of
sin in the news reports all the time, as we did last week in the horrendous
carnage in Las Vegas. But it is not only the worst of the worse that are in
rebellion against the truth. We need to be aware that when we start sharing the
Gospel with our unregenerate neighbors, sometimes anger will be seething under
the surface, and sometimes it will be directed at the messenger! John the Baptist told the truth, and the hard
heart of Herodias, and of Herod, led to his imprisonment, and eventually to His
death. But he stayed firm until the end. We have some great testimonies from
the pages of church history that illustrate the connection between the Greek
word “witness,” martus, and the
English word “martyr.” Through the ages many faithful witnesses, like John,
paid with their lives. One great story of faithfulness is that of Polycarp, who
personally knew the apostle John. As an old man he was arrested by the Roman
authorities and told that He could save himself by denying Christ. Polycarp
famously replied,
“Eighty and six years have I served Him and
He never did me wrong; and how can I now blaspheme my King that has saved me?”
(Cited by Eusebius, Ecclesiastical
History).
The missionary David Livingstone expressed the same
perspective of faith when asked if he didn’t fear that going to Africa was too
difficult and too dangerous. He answered, “I am immortal until the will of God
for me is accomplished.” And guess what? So are you and I! So be discerning, speak with gentleness and
respect, we won’t argue anyone into the Kingdom of God. We are called to follow
Jesus, and the path of true discipleship is one of self-denial and
self-sacrifice. So… Be informed, Be ready, Be aware, but please…
IV. Be Encouraged:
Jesus is building His church (30)! “The
apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught.”
Remember, this story about John the Baptist
and his martyrdom is sandwiched between Jesus sending out the 12 “two-by-two”
and the report of their return in 6:30. He had sent them to preach, to have
authority over demons, and to heal the sick in His name. The context reminds us that resistance will
come, but we can be encouraged, Jesus is still building His church. Remember
His words to His disciples in the upper room, encouraging them to persevere in
the face of the trials to come: “In the
world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the
world!” (John 16:33).
Be
informed… Be ready… Be aware… but please, Be encouraged!
What is God
saying to me in this passage? We
are called to follow Jesus, and there will be a cost, because the path of true
discipleship is one of self-denial and self-sacrifice.
What would God have me to do in
response to this passage? Who is this Jesus? Why did He come? What does it mean to follow Him? He claimed to be
the Son of God, God, the Son, and He demonstrated His identity through His
works and words, and ultimately through the Cross and Resurrection. Do you
believe that? Has He opened your understanding, and by His kindness led you to
repentance and faith? Or could it be that you have been intrigued by the
gospel, you like talking about spiritual things at times, but then it gets
“uncomfortable” and you back away? Do you feel a prompting in your heart right now to put your trust in Him? This
is the day of salvation, admit your need, and trust in Him! And brothers and
sisters, if you know Him, stay faithful, be aware and be ready, and stay
engaged in the mission that the Lord has entrusted to us! AMEN.
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