Mark 6:14-29
Read Mark 6:14-29
John the Baptist
In Luke chapter 1 we see the birth of John the Baptist recorded. Zechariah and Elizabeth were a godly couple, Zechariah serving as a priest. Elizabeth was unable to have kids, and they were both quite old. An angel appears to Zechariah and tells him that Elizabeth is going to bear him a son, and he is to name him John. If this sounds familiar this story parallels that of Abraham and Sarah’s story. The angel tells Zechariah that his son is to be a Nazarite, which meant that his life was dedicated to the Lord in a unique way. More specifically, he was not allowed to drink any product of grapes, so no alcohol. He was not allowed to cut his hair, nor was he allowed to come close to any dead bodies.
We also see that he was filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb, which is incredible considering the Holy Spirit was not yet descended upon the believers. The angel concludes by telling Zechariah that John would “turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
John was Jesus’ cousin, and his responsibility was to make ready for the Lord a people prepared. He was to prepare the way for Jesus. When John burst onto the scene, he broke the 400 years of silence in which God didn’t speak to His people. We also see in Luke 1 that he spent his whole life living in the wilderness until his public ministry began. To say that he was a wild prophet would be an understatement. He ate bugs and wore the skins of animals. His hair had not been cut for roughly 30 years. BUT, even with this appearance and way of life, he is considered one of the most important figures in the gospels apart from Jesus himself.
Herod Antipas
He is called King Herod sarcastically by Mark, but he was in fact no king at all. He was one of the sons of Herod the Great, Herod the Great died in 4 BC, and his kingdom was split between his 3 sons and another man. Herod Antipas, the Herod from our story, ruled Galilee from 4 BC to Ad 39.
Herod Antipas was visiting Rome, and saw his brother Philip’s wife, Herodias. Long story short, she ran away with Antipas and became his wife. Little known fact about this, Herodias was actually Philip’s niece, which also means she was Antipas’ niece.
This is the same Herod who Jesus refers to as “that fox” in Luke 13, which one biblical historian tells us “is an insignificant or base person, unlike the lion. He lacks genuine power and dignity, using cunning and deceit to achieve his aims.”
These are our 2 main characters. We’ll see a few others enter the scene as well, in fact 1 will play a key role in the death of John. This morning as we move into our passage, the only passage in Mark that doesn’t include Jesus in some way, we are going to see 2 different responses that people had to John the Baptist. 2 different responses that stem from the same confrontation.
Big Idea: We are called to live on gospel mission, no matter how people respond.
1.. Herod Feared John (14-20)
Herod hears of the miracles being performed in the name of Jesus, and the conspiracies start to fly. People are talking, as you would expect. But, as skeptics go, there is always a desire to argue away spiritual truth by making things sound outrageous.
Maybe it’s John the Baptist. He obviously had some supernatural way about him. Maybe he’s been resurrected and now miracles have been added to his repertoire. Maybe he’s Elijah! Malachi 4:5 says “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” Makes sense, maybe it’s him. Maybe, others said, maybe this Jesus character is just another prophet like the ones from the past. Maybe God sent another one to tell us what we’re doing wrong, and how the world is going to end.
And Herod is like ohhh no, I know exactly who it is. It’s John. He came back to haunt me. I’m the one who had him killed, and now he’s come back from the dead to torment me. Herod is shaking in his boots.
And this flashback seems so out of place. It’s like Mark is writing this, and he gets to this part where Jesus is performing miracles, and he sends the disciples out to perform miracles, and he lets the reader know that things had gotten so big that even Herod, the ruler of Galilee, heard what was going on. And then it’s like, ohh, better give a little more context here. See, the REASON why Herod was so fearful, well, let me just tell you what happened. And then he recounts the story, giving context to his statement about Herod believing Jesus to be John reincarnated.
Now, we get to another kind of fear right before John’s death. Look again at verse 20, “Herod feared John, knowing he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet heard him gladly.” This kind of fear means having a deep respect for something. Herod respects the kind of man that John is. He knew the moral character of John. He knew that he was innocent of wrongdoing. And so he protects him out of fear.
We’ve got to stop here and think about the implications of this. John called out Herod for his sin. He called him out for his infidelity. And he didn’t just do it once, Mark says John “had been saying to Herod…” He tells him multiple times. “It is not lawful to have your brother’s wife.” Herod, son of Herod the great, ruler of Galilee, you are living in sin.
John calls him out, and Herod still respects him. He still visits him. He keeps him safe from Herodias. He talks with him and is perplexed, struck with wonder, and he hears him gladly. He was glad to sit with John and talk even after John called him out for his sin. There is so much here, but to whet the appetite for our application at the end, there is a right way to call out sin while maintaining a good standing relationship with the one that you are calling out. BUT, sometimes the response is not so gracious.
2.. Herodias Hated John (19-24)
Herodias doesn’t take so kindly to being called out for her unlawful marriage. In fact, she had deep seeded anger that turned into a grudge that turned into plotting to kill John. She was restrained by her husband, so she had to come up with a plan. While she was working that out, an opportunity presented itself on Herod’s birthday.
Birthday parties of this scale were a scandalous tradition in which all the powerful men of the area would be invited in, and hired dancers and prostitutes would not be in short supply. The wine would be flowing, and the men would be full on the lust of their flesh.
Herod’s step-daughter, Salome enters the room, which would have been unthinkable. A young girl coming in and dancing in a provocative manner, one that pleased the men who were watching, was a disgrace. Herodias didn’t know that Herod would respond the way that he did, but he was so smitten, that he promised Salome anything she wanted up to half of his kingdom. This wasn’t a literal promise, but instead would have been an idiom promising a very generous gift.
Of course, she doesn’t know what to ask for, so she goes and asks her Mom. And Herodias sees her opportunity. And this is where the story takes a tragic turn. Salome returns, and notice the wording here, “immediately and with haste.” Perhaps because the wine would be wearing off eventually, so she wanted to ask him before he sobered up, but whatever the case, she quickly returns and asks for the head of John the Baptist on a platter. Seems pretty gross, but customary to the time, the head on a platter would serve as proof of successful execution.
Herod’s hands are tied. He’s made a promise in front of all the military and civic leaders, and he can’t break it. He has to be a man of his word.
But even in the midst of all of this, Herod is still exceedingly sorry. The guilt kicks in. He realizes the error of his proposition, he knows the character of the man, BUT, Mark says, BUT, Herod has to appear strong. He can’t bend to a prophet. He can’t appear overly religious. So the conflicted man does what we might expect, and sends his executioner to the dungeon, immediately, and brings John’s head to Salome, who gives it to her mother Herodias, thus ending the life of the great prophet, the cousin of Jesus.
John’s disciples hear the news, so they come and take his body and bury him in a tomb. And so the story ends.
Application
Two different responses to a righteous man who called out their sin. One respected him, and one hated him. And the common denominator is the faithfulness of John to truth. And while we may not be calling out specific sins in people’s lives, we can still look at this story and learn what living out our faith might produce in others.
1.. Our Life and Character Must Justify Our Words
I tell our girls this all the time. You can tell me all you want, but your actions speak loudly. It’s no wonder that “actions speak louder than words” has become such an important lesson. Words are easy. Actions are much harder. John lived a life that was considered righteous and holy. His convictions, his character, his morals, all driven by the Holy Spirit living in Him. And this was obvious to those who interacted with him. So, when he opened his mouth to speak, he had gained credibility by the way that he lived.
If we hope to have any impact for the gospel, we better make sure that our lives, our character, the way that we act, serve, treat others, aligns with what we say we believe. We need to make sure that it is Jesus living through us. We need to make sure that our lives are being fashioned into His image. And when we live this way, then when we have opportunity to speak the gospel, we’ve built the same kind of credibility as John, causing people to be more likely to listen. Show me don’t tell me!
2.. Our Life and Character Might Produce Respect
Coming out of the pandemic, a lot of churches were trying to figure out how to start over. Coming out of the pandemic, a lot of churches were shifting their doctrine and theology to fit the cultural narrative. And I remember reading an article I believe in which a member of the LGBTQ community was talking about visiting churches. In the context of reaching out to a church and asking their stance on the issue, they got a very roundabout answer with no clarity. This caused them to say something along the lines of, “just tell me what you believe. If we disagree, I’ll respect it and move on, but just don’t lie to me to get me to come to your church, only for me to find out that we really don’t agree.”
And I think there’s a really important point in there somewhere. Now, it’s 2023, and it seems like polarization is at an all time high. It seems like the term “Christian” immediately turns us into bigots who hate people who are different than us. So while this is an important application point, I recognize that the 3rd point is probably the more likely outcome of us sharing our faith. However, I do think if we approach conversations the right way, there can be a civilized conversation in which respect can be given. And I think it all starts with how well we listen…(Expound)
3.. Our Life and Character Might Produce Hate
This one might be a little more on point with what we are seeing in our world today. Christians are attacked all the time for disagreeing with culture shifts and hot issues. Even if we show tact and do listen well, sometimes there might still be anger and hatred that comes from across the table. You can get online and watch video after video of someone calmly expressing disagreements, to which the opposing side screams and yells while drooling and popping blood vessels in their eyes.
And we like the idea of respect, but we don’t like the idea of hatred. But here’s our Big Idea again: We are called to live on gospel mission, no matter how people respond. We live a life that reflects the life of Jesus. We love people unconditionally. We serve others well. We build credibility and look for the opportunity then to speak truth. And when we do, we maintain our character and composure, no matter how the other person responds. So let’s keep pushing forward, speaking truth in love, and pray that God uses us to change things with the gospel.
