Last week, we read about Jesus sending out his disciples in order to advance the kingdom of God. The main idea from last week’s text was that:
Even in the face of rejection or death, disciples of Jesus are to advance God’s kingdom through word and deed.
One of the things we talked about last week was facing rejection for the sake of Christ. Today, we will see that being a faithful disciple of Christ leads to persecution and sometimes even to death.
In our text today, we learn the circumstances that led to the death of John the Baptist.
Who was John the Baptist?
If you remember from Mark 1, John the Baptist was the forerunner to Jesus. He prepared the way for Jesus and told people to repent, for the king was coming. John was the forerunner of Jesus’ message and ministry and he is also the forerunner of his death.[1]Daniel Akin, Christ-Centered Exposition: Mark, 129.
Jesus started his ministry after John was arrested (Mark 1:14). For some period of time during Jesus’ early ministry, John was in prison.
This morning, we see why John was in prison and what happened to him because of his faithfulness to Christ. If we want to hear the wonderful words of Jesus, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” then we need to learn from this text this morning.
Sermon text: Mark 6:14-29
As disciples of Christ, we must live righteously while calling sinners to repentance (14-20)
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.” 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.
In vv. 14-16, we see that Jesus’ popularity continued to spread.
Jesus and his disciples have caused quite a stir in the region because of his radical message and his signs and wonders.
The fame of Jesus had spread to the house of the local ruler. Mark calls him “King Herod” (14), but Herod was really a tetrarch, which is a governor of a territory. He was one of the sons of Herod the Great. Herod the Great, under Roman rule, ruled part of Palestine. Herod Antipas, the Herod mentioned here in Mark 6, ruled over the region of Galilee.
It’s probable that Jesus’ message troubled “King Herod” (6:14). What was Jesus message? Look at Mark 1:15. As Jesus and his disciples were proclaiming the kingdom of God, they were saying that God is king, which implied neither Herod nor Caesar was king.
The word on the street was that Jesus was some sort of prophet.
- Some thought he was John the Baptist and had been raised from the dead (14)
- Others thought that Jesus was Elijah (15)
- Still others said he was like one of the prophets of old (15)
- But notice what Herod said in response to the stories about Jesus: “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised” (16).
Herod was sure that John the Baptist had come back from the dead to condemn him. Herod’s conscience haunted him, for he had John the Baptist beheaded.
In vv. 17-18, Mark recounts the relationship between Herod and John the Baptist.
17-18
Herod had put John in prison because John was outspoken about Herod and Herodias’ adulterous and incestuous affair.
Notice that Herod had married Herodias, but Mark calls her “his brother Philip’s wife.” If you think you have a dysfunctional family, wait till you hear about the Herod Family.
Herodias was Herod’s niece, who was already married to his half-brother. So, Herodias was married to one of her uncles (Philip) and then left him for her uncle Herod. According to Josephus, who was an early church historian, Herod fell in love with Herodias and proposed to her. Herodias saw the marriage as an opportunity to climb the social ladder and agreed to marry Herod as long as he divorced his current wife. So, Herod divorced his wife, which eventually set off a border war a few years later. Herod had married his niece who used to be married to his half-brother.
So, Herod sinned by divorcing his wife, committing adultery, and being in an incestuous relationship with his niece (Exod 20:14; Lev 18:6, 20:21). Herod is nowhere close to a moral man. He’s a man that loves power, sex, riches, and fame and he will do whatever it takes to have those things.
And thus, v. 18 tells us that John the Baptist repeatedly told Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” The verb is in the imperfect tense, which means that this was not a one time event.
19-20
As John confronted the couple about their sin, Herodias wanted to get rid of him. People don’t like to be reminded of their sin. There are people that will leave a church that preaches the Bible because they don’t want to be told about their sin. They would rather have their ears tickled (2 Tim 4:3). These people love darkness more than light. Herodias wanted to remain in a position of power just as much as Herod. She valued status and power more than obeying God’s law. And thus, she held a grudge against John for his witness against her sin.
But notice that Herod had John put in prison. This was in a sense a compromise – it silenced John’s proclamation to the people, but protected John from Herodias. Herod was a weak man. He respected John enough to keep him alive, but he refused to turn from his sin.
Verse 20 is interesting to me. Herod respected John and he listened to John.
I think v. 20 reveals what we should learn from vv. 14-20:
As disciples of Christ, we must live righteously while calling sinners to repentance (14-20)
Even though John the Baptist was speaking against Herod and his sin, Herod “heard him gladly” and “feared” him, knowing that he was “holy” and “righteous.” The text also says that Herod “kept him safe.”
The message of the gospel is offensive to many. People don’t want to be told that they are sinners and that they are in danger of God’s wrath if they do not repent and trust in Christ. That is not a popular message.
Our message is hard for people to hear but it helps us if we live righteous and holy lives as we share the message.
One of the biggest barriers to the gospel for many people is their perception that many Christians are hypocrites. They claim to be Christians, but they live in unrepentant sin.
We must tell people the truth. We can never capitulate on the truth. We must warn sinners about the wrath to come. We must call them to repentance. John never wavered on the truth. John repeatedly called Herod and Herodias to repentance (v. 18). John was willing to speak up against sin – in this case, sexual sin more specifically.
Like John, even when we are the minority, we must speak against sexual sin. We must speak against homosexuality. We must speak against transgenderism. We must speak against body mutilation and puberty blockers. We must speak against pornography. We must speak against adultery. We must speak against fornication. We must speak against abortion. We must speak against sexual abuse.
But we must never do so in a condescending way or from a position of pride. We must remember that we were all at one time dead in our sins. We are simply beggars telling other beggars where to find bread. We cannot give people eternal life, but in grace and truth, point people to Jesus, the Bread of Life, who can give eternal life!
John 1:14
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Jesus was full of grace and truth and we as his followers should graciously speak the truth.
As disciples of Christ, we will be hated by the world for speaking against sin (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.
In vv. 21-29, Mark recounts the circumstances surrounding the death of John the Baptist.
21-23
As we’ve seen, Herod had imprisoned John to shut him up and to keep him safe from Herodias. Mark tells us that “an opportunity came” on Herod’s birthday.
Herod was having a big birthday celebration with “his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee” (v. 21). These parties were often vulgar and obscene. You might think of a bad bachelor’s party or Mardi Gras. Notice what happens. Verse 22 says that Herodias’ daughter came in and danced and pleased Herod and his guests.
In Graeco-Roman culture, dancing at banquets was reserved for hired female entertainers to provide artistic and erotic dances for the male dinner guests. The dancing was certainly not seen as an appropriate activity for honorable women, especially the host’s own daughter. Here, we see Herodias prostituting her own daughter in order to get what she wants. She is hardened in her sin.
Remember, Herodias’ daughter is Herod’s great niece. This man is a pervert and a sexual predator. In his drunkenness, he offers to give her whatever she wants, up to half the kingdom. This was a figure of speech, as “his kingdom” belonged to Rome. The point is, he wanted to give her a gift for the dance that she just gave.
24-29
Notice in v. 24 that Herodias’ daughter “went out.” At the banquet, men and women would have dined separately. Thus, the daughter went out from among the men and went to her mother and asked what she should ask of Herod. Her mother says, “The head of John the Baptist.” The girl goes to Herod and asks for John’s head on a platter. Verse 26 tells us that Herod was “exceedingly sorry,” but he did not want to break his word, especially in front of his guests.
So, Herod gives in to peer pressure and orders that John be beheaded. Though Herod respected John’s integrity, in the end Herod had John killed because of pressure from his peers and family.
What we do under pressure reveals our faith.
What we do under pressure reveals our faith.
We see this in Mark 4:16-17 in the parable of the soils.
Mark 4:16-17
16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. 17 And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.
We see this sort of thing all the time in our world. Politicians that sell their souls to stay in office. Pastors compromise or even abandon their theological views for money and fame.
How many people have heard the gospel and begin to think about eternal things, only to give up on their budding faith because of what their friends or family think of them? We see people that claim to be Christians, yet now support homosexuality and transgenderism because their family or friends are practicing homosexuals or transgenders.
Pastor Tom Ascol says it like this: “If your commitment to the authority of Scripture is limited by cultural sensitivities then it’s not really Scripture’s authority to which you are committed.”
For instance, there are people who believed homosexuality was a sin for decades but then the law changed and so did their stance. Or their child or grandchild came out as gay and they changed their minds. That person is not committed to Scripture as their foundation but their feelings and cultural sensitivities.
We cannot bow to the culture. We must stand firm on the Word of God.
We cannot bow to the culture. We must stand firm on the Word of God.
You see, John the Baptist may have lost his head, but Herod and Herodias lost their souls.
This passage shows us that those who are faithful to Christ are not promised earthly comforts, no matter what Joel Osteen, Kenneth Copeland, or Joyce Meyer says.
What is the bigger eternal risk? Is losing your relationship with your child or grandchild or them losing their soul because everyone ignored their sin and pretended it was okay? God calls us to lovingly confront people in their sin for the good of their eternal souls.
Conclusion
In closing, I want us to see how easy it is to reject Christ.
It all starts with sin. Herod divorced his first wife and married Herodias. By doing so, he committed adultery and incest. Despite John’s repeated warnings, Herod never repented and sought forgiveness from God.
Second, we see Herod’s pride. He is a proud, arrogant man. His oath in v. 23 reveals his pride. He is willing to give a great gift to his stepdaughter (and great niece) for a sensual dance.
Third, we see Herod lives for the approval of others. Once he realizes he is wrong (v. 26), he is unwilling to admit he was wrong. Rather, because he wanted to please his guests, he doubled down on his sin.
Fourth, we see the influence of his family and friends. Rather than leading his home, he was influenced by his wife and her daughter to put John to death. We must not allow family and friends to influence us to sin against God.
Finally, we see that Herod’s indecisiveness led to a hardened heart. Herod liked John (v. 20), but he never repented. He put off seeking forgiveness and eventually he suffered for his sins, and he will for eternity. Do not put off seeking God’s forgiveness, lest you find your heart hardened.
In summary, don’t live in sin. Do not sin to please others. Do not go to hell because of your sin. Repent and trust in Jesus.
With those warnings in mind, I want to pose a few questions and I will be done.
Are you willing to leave the love of the world behind and obey Christ even if it leads to death?
Will you love Jesus more than your own life?
Are you willing to speak against sin and call people to repentance like John the Baptist, and will you do this in a spirit of love and humility as you live a righteous and holy life?
Whose approval do you value more? Do you live for the approval of men or the approval of God? We cannot compromise God’s Word to accommodate sin. By doing so, we are condemning sinners to hell by not warning them of their sin against a righteous and holy God!
If you are living in sexual sin, will you forsake your sin this morning and for the sake of Christ and his Word?
Or, will you like Herod and Herodias, turn your back on those who are telling you the truth?
The Apostle John wrote, “The world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:17). John the Baptist knew that was true and he was willing to die for the cause of Christ rather than compromise.
Matthew 10:28
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
John 16:33
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
By living for Christ even in the face of death, like John the Baptist we will hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
References
| ↑1 | Daniel Akin, Christ-Centered Exposition: Mark, 129. |
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