Mark: The Life and Ministry of Jesus
Part 17: Rated “R” Gospel
Mark 6:14-29
A few months back, I told you about the public run in that I had with a
Jewish professor over the movie, “Passion of the Christ.”
And my memory is a bit foggy here, I can’t remember if it was him or if
it was somebody else who said they had a problem with the
grotesquesness of the movie.
It was too gory and it was rated “R.” Do you really have to go that far?...
was the question. I can understand that to some degree; I actually
encouraged some folks, especially with little ones, to discern whether or
not they could handle it.
But I remember sharing this with one of my BFC brethren and you know
what his response to me was, “But it’s a rated “R” gospel.” And I
thought to myself, “He’s got a point.”
John Piper says, “The center of Christianity is the dishonorable, foolish,
gruesome, and utterly glorious reality of the tortured God-Man, Jesus
Christ. No gore, no grace, no glory.” I thought that was well put.
Now listen, I’m not one for rated “R” movies, not at all, but I did watch
the passion of the Christ and I found it immensely heart pounding for my
soul, not theologically accurate all the time…
…but everything that Jesus did for me became all the more real and tears
flowed down my face as I watched the God-man being torn apart and
crucified for me. And here’s the point.
This is real stuff. This is flesh and blood, grit and guts kind of stuff that
really happened. I don’t want our faith to be in the realm of theory for
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us. I have a passion to burn the realness of the cross and the Word of
God into the hearts of people.
Now I mention all of that because the account that we are going to read
about this morning is also Rated “R” stuff. That’s what I love about the
Bible.
It’s real. Today we are going to read about the grotesquesness that
surrounded the death of John the Baptist.
And I think one commentator was on to something when he said, “The
Gospel of Mark contains two passion narratives, the first of which
reports the imprisonment and death of John the Baptist.”
Now listen, nothing comes close or trumps THE passion of Jesus Christ,
but I think what he was getting at was this. John was the forerunner of
Jesus, a prophet who always pointed to Jesus, and he was a man devoted
to God who was slain at the hands of wicked people.
And in this particular account, we see sin all over the place, from
adultery to ungodly dancing, to murder. All juicy stuff for a rated “R”
film in a good and godly sense that only the Bible can do, not
necessarily Hollywood.
Now I want to break this narrative down by describing it this way. All
throughout my meditation on this, what I saw was depraved, sin
intoxicated people dancing with the devil.
And here are the four main things that I saw that lead me to that
conclusion. Depravity and the devil lead to:
Confusion, Law-breaking, Sin, and Death. All characteristics of the
vileness of the sinful human race and it’s the mission statement of the
devil himself.
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So let’s take a look at Confusion first. In the midst of Jesus leaving his
hometown and sending out his disciples on mission, more and more
people are beginning to hear about Him. Including Kings.
Mark 6:14-16; I’ll give you a chance to turn there. We are going to start
there first. Page 996 in the pew Bible.
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King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well
known. Some were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the
dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
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Others said, “He is Elijah.”
And still others claimed, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of
long ago.”
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But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, the man I beheaded, has
been raised from the dead!”
Now this has all the makings of a good intro for a movie, don’t you
think? It’s John the Baptist Part II, at least for King Herod, “He’s back
from the dead,” thought the king. And man there is confusion all over
the place about who Jesus Christ is.
But first, a word about “King Herod.” Herod was actually no king at all,
never was. Mark may well be mocking him here by giving him a title
that he lusted after. Or this is a title that Herod demanded his subjects
give to him.
This particular Herod was only a tetrarch, meaning a ruler over one
piece of land out of a larger area that was divided among four leaders.
And Josephus, the Jewish historian tells us that at the prompting of
Herod’s wicked wife who we will read about in just a bit…
…requested from Rome the title of king and he actually got booted out
of office all together by Augustus. Little background of the family we
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are dealing with here. Depraved people. People beautifully described by
the works of the flesh in Galatians 5.
Selfish ambition, lust and as we will see shortly…murder.
Now I mentioned that there was confusion all over the place about who
Jesus Christ really was. Confusion comes as a result of 2 things. First,
the sinfulness of man makes a man so dead that he cannot understand the
things of God, nor does he seek God (Romans 3)…
…and unless he is born by the Spirit of God, he will not recognize Jesus
for who he really is.
And secondly, as Paul says, The god of this age (who is the devil) has
blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the
gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
So this is the first instance where we see depravity dancing in cahoots
with the devil and it’s beginning to wreak havoc. It almost reminds me
of the national inquirer where people just shoot off stupid things.
And yet in this particular account, we have some people who have some
religious familiarity which makes them think they know what they are
talking about. That’s what we see here.
Three different explanations of who Christ is. They have heard just
enough of what Christ was doing in their region and so they come to
some conclusions. Group number 1 says,
“He’s John the Baptist, raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous
powers are at work in him.” I guess they believe in the
resurrection...right. We know that some Jews believed in the resurrection
and that power comes along with being resurrected.
That was common Jewish understanding.
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But this also tells me that this group wasn’t all that familiar with Jesus
prior to what they are now hearing. They didn’t know about his
interactions with John or what John’s role really was which was to
announce the Lord’s arrival.
In their minds, they think Jesus all of a sudden appeared after the death
of John, and since they believed in resurrection power, they thought
John Part II was back but a more powerful John than before because we
are told in John’s gospel that John the Baptist didn’t perform any signs.
That’s choice number 1, choice number 2, “He’s Elijah.” You see, some
knew enough of the OT, Malachi to be specific, to know that Elijah must
come first in the end to prepare the way for the Lord.
But if you are familiar with the bible, you will remember that Jesus
himself said John came in the spirit and power of Elijah. John the
Baptist was the Elijah to come, not Jesus. So we strike out again, choice
number 1 and choice number 2 are out.
But then we have a third choice. Others said, “He is a prophet, like one
of the prophets of long ago.” Anybody who speaks and performs the
things that Jesus was doing must be another prophet sent by God.
And so goes the thoughts and opinions of fallen, sin clouded human
minds. But they knew there was something special about him or they
wouldn’t have said what they did.
So to me it sounds a lot like what we hear today about who Jesus is.
Most unbelievers think he was special in some kind of way, a prophet
maybe…like all other prophets including Muhammad,
…or a good teacher, you know all about the different thoughts out there
about who Jesus was but they all fall horribly short of who he really is.
And it’s always a good indicator that those folks are under the
intoxicating influence of depravity and the devil. They are not truly
believers.
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And neither is the next guy. The text now jumps back to Herod at this
moment, and I think that Herod’s conscience is absolutely eating him
alive.
I don’t think Herod was all that familiar with Jesus prior to this account,
and in popular Jewish thinking resurrection means the beginning of
Judgment.
So I can picture Herod shaking on his “kingly” throne, biting his nails
and saying in verse 16, “John, the man I beheaded, has been raised from
the dead!” What did I do? The Bible doesn’t say the last part. I said that.
So like a good book or film, Mark gives us a flashback scene of what
actually happened between Herod and John. And here we see sin and
law-breaking everywhere. Depravity and the devil always leads to
ungodly and reckless living.
Read with me verses 17 through 20.
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For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had
him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his
brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married. 18 For John had been saying
to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 So
Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she
was not able to, 20 because Herod feared John and protected him,
knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John,
he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him.
Sounds like one of those crazy modern day TV shows about divorced
and adulterous relationships and man, could you imagine if a John the
Baptist type figure showed up in one of those shows and pronounced
judgment.
Good grief, the ACLU would try to do the same thing that Herod did. Or
at least, make him to look like a religious bigoted, intolerant,
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unintelligent, backwoods, redneck lunatic. And all the while, John is
speaking for God.
And Herod didn’t like what John had to say so he arrested him and
threw him into prison. Now Mark says that he did this because John was
calling him a lawbreaker. He broke God’s law by marrying his brother’s
wife. Can you get any more sick than that?
And here’s a little more background that might make you even sicker.
Herod the Great was ruling at the time of Jesus birth and he had ten
wives. Sons were born to him and they all had the name Herod like the
last name Hoy, it was the family name. The Herod that we read about is
one of those sons, but listen to this…
…Herodias, the woman who he marries, who was married to his brother
Phillip, was the daughter of one of his other brothers. So she was both a
niece and a sister in law to this Herod. How disgusting is that? It’s
messed up!
But when this Herod approached Herodias to marry him, she said yes if
he divorces his current wife, who is the daughter of a neighboring king
who gets ticked off and begins a war with Herod.
So Josephus the historian writes about how the imprisonment of John is
politically motivated. Herod saw John’s judgment as something that
could stir up the people against him along with that of the neighboring
king.
Now Mark on the other hand is focusing on the greater problem, which
is breaking the law of God. That’s what the Baptist was really after.
Leviticus 18:16 says, “Do not have relations with your brother’s wife;
that would dishonor your brother.”
And 18:21 says, “If a man marries a brother’s wife, it is an act of
impurity; he has dishonored his brother.”
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So the locust eating, camel skin wearing, and God loving wilderness
prophet lets the king have it. I don’t care who you are, you need to
repent and get right with the king of kings you “wanna be king.”
And apparently the Greek behind John’s phrase in verse 18 means that
he was continually telling the king this. Now there’s a man who loved
God and other people even more than his own life…by telling him the
truth no matter the consequence.
And oh boy, consequences were being conjured up in the heart of this
wicked Jezebel like woman, Herodias. She nursed a grudge it says in
verse 19. She wanted John dead.
But interestingly, Herod would not allow it. Look at verse 20. Herod
feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy
man.
So he compromises between John and His wife by throwing him into
prison to shut him up. So he can’t trumpet these charges loudly and
publically. I also think that Herod had this belief that if he did something
to this good and godly man, he would be judged for it.
Kind of like Pilate. Remember when his wife approached him and said
“Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man (meaning Jesus), for
I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.”
So Pilate had some fear of Christ and tried like the dickens to free him
but feared an uprising from the people who wanted Christ dead and so
he washes his hands of the matter and gives Jesus over to them.
We will see shortly how Herod gives John over to his death even when
the king doesn’t really want it.
Now Herod not only feared John, he also liked to listen to him. End of
verse 20, but like most unbelievers, and unfortunately, some believers,
he only liked to listen when he was not being convicted of something. It
says that he was puzzled, a better word is perplexed…
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…which means he was full of difficulty and you all know why he was so
full of difficulty.
Now, I don’t know about you, but when I have had conversations with
unbelievers, at times it would turn out like Paul’s discussions with Felix
the governor who would send “for Paul and listen to him as he spoke
about faith in Christ Jesus.” But…
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As Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control and the judgment to
come, Felix was afraid and said, “That’s enough for now! You may
leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.”
In others words, I like to listen to you when it’s comforting, but don’t
tell me I can’t live the way I want to.
I was just speaking to another BFC brother on Wednesday who said that
when he was pastoring in a certain part of the country anytime he would
speak on Sanctity of human life or homosexuality as the Bible brought it
up, people would get up and leave before the sermon.
Just give me the easy stuff, not the part about leaving my wicked
lifestyle behind for a flesh torn bloody savior and His righteousness. In
this case, adultery and impurity for Herod and Herodias. Well, John was
willing to die for Christ and His righteousness.
Let’s take a look at what happens to John when depravity again
continues to dance with the devil whose ultimate goal is death and
destruction. Verses 21 through 29.
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Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a
banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading
men of Galilee. 22 When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced,
she pleased Herod and his dinner guests.
The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it
to you.” 23 And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will
give you, up to half my kingdom.”
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She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?”
“The head of John the Baptist,” she answered.
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At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to
give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
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The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his
dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27 So he immediately sent an
executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded
John in the prison, 28 and brought back his head on a platter. He
presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. 29 On hearing of
this, John’s disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
So we are told that finally the time came, which says to me that Herodias
was plotting this all along. I would be willing to bet that she sent her
own daughter in there. She played on the lust of a foolish king.
And Herod is having a happy jolly time on his birthday. Some birthday
bash this is.
It’s funny to me that he has all of his “high and mighty” people in there
because the terms behind that make them kind of a second rate class but
yet he has always longed for the rank of king like we said before.
And I can only imagine he is trying to make himself look good and
impress these guys and by this time, Lord knows what’s going on at this
bash. They are probably not drinking Cola Cola’s, if you know what I
mean.
And so you fill a room with sin intoxicated and drink intoxicated men
and guess who shows up, Salome, her name is not given in Mark’s
gospel, Herodias daughter and she comes in to dance, and she pleased
Herod and his dinner guests. I bet she did.
This wasn’t ballet folks, or Irish dancing or the polka dance.
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And like a bumbling drunken idiot, he said to the girl, end of verse 22,
“Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” And he
promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half
my kingdom.”
Now, from all of my study about Herod’s comment, everyone agrees
that back then a phrase like that was understood to mean generosity, not
literally, half the kingdom. It was an exaggeration. Because in my mind,
why in the world would you turn that down.
So he seals his offer with an oath. Not wise. Can’t get that one back
friend. Sudden moments of the flesh can get the best of you, can’t it?
Like Esau selling his birthright for a bowl of soup for Pete’s sake. No
self-control.
And so she goes out to the one who planned this whole thing all along
and says, “What shall I ask for?” Apparently, mom didn’t disclose
anything to her, and man, she didn’t have to think about it did she?
Grinning from ear to ear she says, “The head of John the Baptist.”
She’s been waiting for this. And the daughter is just as wicked. She
agrees to it right away, and yet she adds to it by saying, I want his head
on a platter. Good grief, what kind of family is this?
And I can just imagine Mr. King sobering up really quick at that request.
Birthday party all of sudden changes face big time. Verse 26 says he was
greatly distressed, but he had to save face in front of his buddies and so
he grants her the request.
I wonder about the anguish that was going on in his heart right about
now. How long it took him to grant the request because the Greek term
for distress is the same word that was used for the agony of Jesus in the
Garden of Gethsemane. But unlike Jesus, he does the wrong thing.
And so it really happens. Probably with a look of sad bewilderment,
verse 27 says, that he immediately sent an executioner with orders to
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bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, and
brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she
gave it to her mother.
We live in a rated “R” world don’t we? Well, it’s a rated “R” gospel to?
It can be a rated “R” book sometimes. Because it’s so real.
Now, we are not sure how far away John’s disciples were at this time,
but when they heard about it, they came and they got him and buried
him. But listen, when Jesus came afterwards, remember the beginning of
our passage, Herod never forgot this.
Do you remember how he ticked off his first wife’s father, the
neighboring king? Well, we are told that he got Herod back and
Josephus tells us that the people interpreted that as God’s judgment for
killing John.
But I want you to think about something especially relevant today.
When I read over this passage, I thought to myself, what a way for a
good and godly man to die. That’s crazy. Many of us would perhaps
question why.
I’m sure there were believers who died at the hand of the terrorists on
9/11.
Do you realize that when John the Baptist had doubts about Jesus, it was
during this time when he was in prison? Do you think he was asking,
where is the kingdom of God in all of this? He questioned Jesus. Are
you the one or should we expect another. And…
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Jesus replied to John’s disciples with this statement, “Go back and
report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame
walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are
raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. 6 Blessed is the man
who does not fall away on account of me.”
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You see, only when we see these things in the light of who Jesus really
is: Savior, resurrection and the life, redeemer of this rated “R” stuff, the
judge and the keeper of eternity, only then will we see rightly.
And we must also look through the shadow of the cross where Jesus
suffered undeservedly for us, who by the way, deserve to suffer the
wrath of a Holy God, we are not any less guilty Jesus said in the book of
Luke and unless you repent, you too will perish.
But listen, for those who do repent Jesus took the suffering for them and
you know what, to those of the world the suffering savior and the
bloodstained cross looks foolish and weak, but for us who are being
saved, it is the power of God.
And listen, if our savior had to suffer at the hands of an “R” rated world,
the Bible says all over the place, so will his followers. And we read how
they suffered joyfully for Jesus. They were honored to suffer for his
name.
Because listen, in the end, Jesus Christ and John the Baptist will have
the last say, not Herod or Herodias.
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