The text this morning is from the Gospel according to Mark, the 6th chapter:
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.” But others said, “He is Elijah.” And others said, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.” 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. For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, 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. But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 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.” And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.” And she went out and said to her mother, “For what should I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” 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.” And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.Thus far the text.
My dear friends in Christ,
It’s easy for us to focus on the story told in this text of John the Baptizer’s death at the hands of the evil Herodias. So often, we think that the narrative is what matters, rather than what the story reveals. And don’t get me wrong, the story is important. But, how many of us know the story behind the story?
Herod the Great was a man who had won great favor from Rome, but one who had also been driven mad with paranoia. He had 14 children that we know of, killed three, ten wives, killed one, and was the man responsible for the Slaughter of the Bethlehem Innocents to attempt to murder the infant Jesus, who he saw as a threat to his throne. The Herod in today’s text is one of Herod the Great’s sons, and ruled along with two of his brothers over certain areas in Israel. This Herod does seem quite so crazy as his father, yet, having come from such a “distinguished” family, it’s not a surprise that Herod has just as many problems as his father did.
In fact, he fell in love with his sister-in-law, Herodias, married to his brother Philip, and, not that it was right, but before Herodias even thought of divorce, she ran away with Herod and got married. For a Jew, this would have been nearly unthinkable, as not only would the divorce that she would seek would be illegal, against the Law of God, but that she married her husband’s brother, which is only commanded after the death of the brother. In many ways, she basically treated her new husband’s brother as dead, and so did Herod. This would have caused many issues between them, especially as these two brothers, and even one more, ruled over different areas of Israel.
Imagine then, how this situation would play out politically. Because Herod marries Herodias, they both are essentially wishing Philip dead. What kind of tension do you think might be between them? What about the people and areas they ruled over?
But, you see, that’s the narrative. There’s always more going on behind the scenes that we know or think. In fact, we’re still discovering pieces of history regarding Herod and his entire messed up family. But, Mark doesn’t think all of that is too important here. He tells you all we need to know to show forth the message he is giving us. First, he tells us that people are asking who this Jesus is, including Herod, the great ruler. Second, he tells us that John the Baptist is dead. Third, he tells us that there are great sins being committed here.
That’s really what’s going on. And if you remember that Mark was written by the man who accompanied Peter, the man who heard all of Peter’s preaching, and you realize that most of what is going on in Mark comes from Peter himself, you can begin to see why all of this would come out as important. It all will ultimately echo Peter’s messages in the Book of Acts and his epistles.
First, people want to know who this Jesus is. Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, the Spotless Lamb who takes away the sins of the world. But this won’t be fully revealed until after Christ’s resurrection. So, while these people are yet in the dark, they think, well, it must be the spirit-ghost of John the Baptizer giving Jesus the power to do these things. Some say Elijah, for it was prophesied Elijah would return before the Messiah. Some say, he’s just one of the prophets of old. Obviously, none of these things are true, but they had not yet been enlightened to the faith that is in Christ Jesus.
Second, John the Baptizer is dead. This is actually a good thing. John the Baptizer is the last of the Old Testament prophets, the last one to come before the Christ would appear. As it happens, it was only about three months, but John yet came. And it was John’s death that would signify the end of the Old Testament age, and the coming reign of Christ from His cross.
And third, Mark shows us great sins. He shows us the sin of taking a wife who is not yours. He shows us the sin of adultery. He shows us the sin of letting your child act brazenly towards other men. He shows us the sin of anger, of deep-seated hatred. And he shows us the sin of unrepentance.
Now, he does also show us what happens to the conscience of a man who knows better, and how, even convicted by the Law of God, we can still do the wrong thing. He shows us Herod, who, knowing John was a holy man, wanted to hear more of him, hear his speech, hear the Word of God. And he shows us how guilty Herod felt at murdering John, thinking that somehow John was back in the person of Jesus and thinking that this Jesus was going to come after him next. Yet, despite this guilt, Herod’s pride was too great to repent.
Herod knew he had done wrong, and yet because of his pride, the political ramifications, the lust he felt towards Herodias, and even Salome, Herodias’ daughter, he could not do the right thing which would be to repent and be forgiven. After all, that was always John’s message, wasn’t it? Repent, for the Kingdom of God was at hand. But we know the call to repentance is always followed with the promise of forgiveness. Yet, Herod wouldn’t repent. Though he knew he had done wrong, he would not confess his sin to John who would freely have given him the forgiveness of sins found in John’s baptism.
Aren’t we the same? Don’t we do the same thing as Herod? Don’t we, with sin in our hearts, refuse to repent of our pride? We love to hold onto that pride, and we are no better than Herod. We hold onto our sins, whatever they may be, and do not want to confess them. Maybe we don’t like the person who’s telling us to repent. Maybe we do, but we don’t want to change anything. Maybe we have no idea how to leave that sin behind, change our behavior, change our attitude, change our lives, and so it’s easier just to keep on sinning. Of course we do, and we are no better than Herod.
Except, you know who this Jesus is and what He has done for you. You know, too, that the old system of sacrifice, of not knowing God’s disposition towards you is done. And you know your sins. You know how deeply you have offended both God and man by your action, by your inaction, by your thoughts and your words.
You know that God Himself came down from heaven, and was incarnate in the flesh. You know He lived completely according to the Law of God, and was perfect, and that He still went to the cross and died in your place, for your sins. How can this God feel anything for you but love if He has sent His Son to do this for you? How can you doubt that God loves you? How can you hold onto your sin any longer?
If Christ has done all of this, you have no business holding onto your sin, or, quite honestly, anybody else’s sins, for all those sins have been crucified with Christ. If you are indeed a Christian, you cannot be unrepentant of your sin, any sin you commit, else you reject Christ. And you can’t hold other people’s sins against them either when they are repentant; you might as well kill them instead.
Why not? Look at what happens when we do continue to hold onto sins. We can easily go from something like adultery, to the prostitution of our kids, to the murder of a holy man. Don’t think that the evil in Herodias’ heart doesn’t reside in your heart as well.
There was once a Holocaust survivor who had lost her entire family, brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents, all to the gas chambers in Poland. She was about to be executed as well, but they couldn’t shut the door as they jammed her in, there wasn’t room. So, the guards pulled her out and forgot about her. Years later, after becoming embittered against Hitler and the Nazis, she vowed she would tell everyone she saw about these atrocities. Yet, when the liberators of the camp came, she suddenly realized that if she could not forgive these people, that she was no better than Hitler himself. In fact, she realized through this, there is a Hitler in every human being.
I don’t know if this woman ever became a Christian, but I do know that it is a profound statement of our belief in original sin, that we are infected with sin that loves to keep growing. And this original sin that is in us causes us to hate God, to despise Him, even to desire to kill Him, destroy His work, kill His prophets. It’s still in us today. If things went all wrong in just the right way, any one of us here, including me, could turn into a genocidal madman, just like Hitler.
That’s because our hearts, as Jesus says, even to those who believe in Him, are wicked. Jesus says that, “…from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” He makes no distinction between believer and unbeliever here. It’s all true for me; it’s all true for you. We have this sin, this original sin that has damned us, and the sins which we have committed ever since we were conceived within our mother’s womb.
And this sin, if we let it have free reign, if we refuse to be forgiven, if we refuse to have Christ daily put it to death, it will kill us. And not just in the same way that we all shall die, but in the way that we confess in the Athanasian Creed: that we shall go into everlasting fire. For this is evil, not being forgiven. Rejecting Christ’s forgiveness, delivered to us by the Holy Spirit, is the unforgiveable sin.
Yet, because we have been washed in the blood of the Lamb, we also, at the same time as we are daily sinners, are daily saints in Christ, freely forgiven of our sins and free to live according to His Law without fear. Because we have been bought with His blood, His forgiveness, life, and salvation are offered freely to you. You have been bought at a dear price for your sin. So was Herod, so was Herodias, so was Salome, so was John the Baptizer.
Yet, John was the only one in this story who had no fear. Everyone rejected John’s message, which was the message he was given to preach by God Himself. But, John, John was faithful. Like you, he knew who this Jesus is and what He had done for him. Like John, you know, too, that the old system of sacrifice, of not knowing God’s disposition towards you is done. And, like John, you know your sins. You know how deeply you have offended both God and man by your action, by your inaction, by your thoughts and your words.
And so, like John, you know that God Himself came down from heaven, and was incarnate in the flesh. You know He lived completely according to the Law of God, and was perfect, and that He still went to the cross and died in your place, for your sins. How can this God feel anything for you but love if He has sent His Son to do this for you? How can you doubt that God loves you? How can you hold onto your sin any longer?
You can’t. Your sins have been washed away by the Lamb, you have been fed, given shelter, given all that you need by His hand. You have been forgiven. You are forgiven. Do not let your sins drive you away from Christ. Repent, as you have been taught. Repent, as the call is always being given to you. And when you repent, hear the good word, hear the Good News, hear the Gospel, that Jesus the Christ has died for you, to forgive your sins, to raise you from your death in this life, and to bring you to where He is forever. He has done this. And He shall give to you all things in His forgiveness, His life, and His salvation forever. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
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