Conscience, Conviction, and Courage
Mark 6:14-30
Introduction: On
Christmas day we mentioned the transition reflected in the song, “I Heard the
Bells on Christmas Day.” The Angel’s announcement of “Peace on Earth” is echoed
in much of our Christmas music, but it can seem so far from what we see in the
world. Longfellow was overcome by the dissonance between what he heard
being sung, and what he had experienced, both personally, and nationally,
with the country mired in the Civil War. In the third verse of the hymn we read
his words, “And in despair I bowed my head, ‘There is no peace on earth,’ I
said. ‘For hate is strong and mocks the song of Peace on Earth, good will
toward men.’” The evidence of the Fall is all around us, exposing the darkness
in human hearts, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately
wicked, who can know it?” We are reminded every day that we live in a
fallen world, and that all around us are people who desperately need Jesus. This
story in Mark is another illustration of the depth of that need… Mark
answers one of the questions he is emphasizing with a perspective we might not
like: What does it mean to follow Jesus? This is a prelude to Jesus’ words in
Mark 8, “Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me.” Count
the cost!
The BIG Idea: We are called to follow Jesus, and
the path of true discipleship is one of self-denial and sacrifice. We’ll look
at that from 4 perspective…
1. Be Convinced (14-16): Who is
this Jesus? We must know Him in order to follow Him.
2. Be Ready (17-20): Some will be
intrigued by the Gospel, even while they resist!
3. Be Aware (21-29): Others will
be actively hostile to the truth.
4. Be Encouraged (30): Jesus is
building His church! So first…
I. Be Convinced:
Who is this Jesus (14-16)? We must know Him in order to follow Him.
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, who’s
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? Verse 13: The apostles are 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 Jesus was John the Baptist raised to
life. He believed John was a prophet of God, and now he had been raised from
the dead! Not quite Herod.
The question of Jesus’ identity has been at the forefront of this
Gospel. Who is this Jesus? A bit later Jesus will voice this same
question to His disciples (Mk 8:27-31)…
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…
In order to believe in Jesus, and follow Him as your Savior and Lord,
you need to convinced about who He is. Even Muslims will say He was a prophet
from God. Many people 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. 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! If we love people, we want the best for them, right?
But there is offense in the message of the Cross, because we are saying that apart
from Christ, we are sinners, bound for judgment, condemned, unclean, unable to
come to God in our own strength. It means admitting our need, and casting
ourselves on God’s mercy. To the Greeks,
foolishness, to the Jews a stumbling block, but to those who are being saved,
the power and wisdom of God! The
points to the Big Idea…
*We are called to follow Jesus, and the path of true discipleship is one
of self-denial and sacrifice. That means we need to 1) Be convince of the truth
about who Jesus is and what He did. We need to know Him personally as our
Savior and Lord. 2) We need 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).
Like the prophet He was, John
the Baptist loudly and clearly denounced the relationship between Herod (Antipas)
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 (I Pet 3:14-17) …
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…
That was John the Baptist’s attitude,
and it should be ours as well. When you experience “push back” don’t take it
personally! The Big Idea: We are called to follow Jesus, and the path of true
discipleship is one of self-denial and self-sacrifice. So, 1) Be convinced, 2) Be
ready…
III. Be Aware: Others will be actively hostile to the Truth (21-29). Read 21-23…
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."
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 this was not a normal
family! 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. Read 24-25…
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.
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, four
University of Idaho students murdered, every day another killing... such evil! 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 convinced, 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). Longfellow heard the bells on Christmas Day, and was
reminded “God is not dead, nor doth He sleep…”
May we…
Be convinced… Be ready… Be aware… and 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 sacrifice.
What would God have me to do in response to this passage?
1) Be convinced: Who is
this Jesus? 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? It is not just a matter of the
head, but also of the heart. Have you
believed, entrusting yourself to Him as your Savior and Lord? Has He opened
your understanding, and by His kindness led you to repentance? Someone may be reading this, but like Herod, having been intrigued by the gospel, you like talking about
spiritual things, but then it gets uncomfortable and you back away? Know this:
no one is guaranteed tomorrow… Today is the day of salvation, trust in Him! Call
on His name!
2) Be ready for resistance and be aware of opposition. If you
know Him, stay faithful, yes, be aware and be ready, there will
be a mix of reactions. Apathy or interest, discomfort, or even anger. Be
discerning, with gentleness and respect ready to give a reason for your hope. Stay
engaged in the mission that the Lord has entrusted to us!
3) Be encouraged. The Way may be difficult, but He is with us. Paul
said, “Therefore, brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always
abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in
the Lord.” Jesus is building His church! AMEN.
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