The Death of John the Baptist

James Watson

The Gospel of Mark • Sermon • Submitted a month ago • Presented 2 months ago

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Introduction:

Growing up, I was always upset that I couldn’t do things that older people could.

And sometimes I would ask why can’t I do that? Or why can’t I have that? Or why can’t I say those words?

And sometimes the answer would be, because I said so.

And me being the brat I was, would say, “Well why are you doing it?”

And the response often would be, “Do as I say, not as I do.”

Now to be fair, there are some things that adults can do that kids can’t. That’s fair.

But those were often explained by maybe when you’re older.

“Do as I say, not as I do.” Was typically a way for adults to justify sinful behaviors that they shouldn’t have been doing in the first place.

As Christians, whether we are leaders or lay people, should absolutely never say, “Do as I say, not as I do.”

We have to model, especially for our children what it means to be a Christian and that includes when we mess up, modeling repentance.

But remember when you model devotion to Christ, you make both disciples and enemies.

And that’s ok, you are in great company as we’ll learn today.

Transition to the Text: Turn with me in your Bibles to MarK 6:14-29. Throughout most of the Gospels, the narrative is mainly about Jesus and His disciples as they encounter people along Jesus’ journey to the cross.

Mark 6:14-29 is a sort of parenthesis that turns out attention back to a character that we met in chapter one: John the Baptist. John the Baptist played a pivotal role in the the story of Jesus and then disappears.

John was an exciting figure in the time right before Jesus showed up. He had everyone talking.

He called people to repentance from breaking the OT law. He preached a baptism in water to show that they were being cleansed of their sin in preparation for the Messiah.

John didn’t hide that that someone was coming after him who was greater than him.

We get a clearer picture of John’s knowledge of his own purpose in the Gospel of John.

John 1:15 ESV

15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ”)

John 1:26 ESV

26 John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know,

John 1:31 ESV

31 I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.”

And then once Jesus revealed to Israel, we get John’s powerful display of humility.

John 3:28–30 ESV

28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ 29 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.”

John more than anyone understood that his role was a temporary one.

He didn’t know that death was coming, but he knew that Jesus was coming. And He did all that was required of him to prepare the people for Jesus.

Introduce:

Big Idea: Model your LIFE after FAITHFUL examples of DEVOTION to JESUS.

Now before we read this passage, I’d like to make a proposition to you. Too many of us think of ourselves as Jesus. What do I mean by that?

We think of ourselves as the main character in the story. We save the day. We rescue people. And in a way we want praise for the things that we do.

But the reality is we are not Jesus. We are not the savior. We do not save the day. And we ought not seek praise for the things that we do. We are not the main character.

We need to shift our thinking to see that we are supposed to be like John the Baptist.

And I say this ahead of time because, as we read, this, imagine how your life might look if someone were able to say these things about you.

Read: Mark 6:14-29

Mark 6:14–29 ESV

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. 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.

Big Idea: Model your LIFE after FAITHFUL examples of DEVOTION to JESUS.

1. FAITHFUL devotion to Jesus makes you LOOK like Jesus. (Mark 6:14-16)

Explanation: Now this passage starts out with a question about the identity of Jesus. People continued to be perplexed by Jesus because truly no one actually knew where He came from.

The prophecies talked about the Messiah being born in Bethlehem of Judea. And Jesus was born there, but no one knew that. They knew Jesus as the son of a carpenter from Nazareth. Even the idea that Jesus was in the line of David was hardly emphasized since the line of David was hardly royal anymore. And Jesus’ birth was scandalous.

And as we have elsewhere stated, Jesus does not appear to have had any formal training under known Rabbis. Which is by design so that no one can say he derived HIs authority from anywhere other than God.

John on the other hand was from a well-known family in the priestly line of Aaron. His dad was zechariah and everyone knew that his mother miraculously gave birth to him in her old age.

So this starts out not comparing John to Jesus, but rather Jesus to John. They knew John the Baptist. They didn’t know Jesus.

But it’s clear even to the casual observer that there are great similarities in their missions. And the truth is their message was the same…”repent for the kingdom of God is near.” Also, in the same way that Jesus made disciples, John made disciples. And if you remember Jesus’ first disciples were John’s disciples. Andrew and John.

Which is why Herod is sure that John has been raised from the dead.

But the truth is Jesus is different. Their messages are for sure the same. But there is no mention of John being a miracle worker.

Illustration: Have you ever been mistaken for someone else?

I was at a youth pastors convention about 14 years ago and I was walking through the crowd and all of a sudden this guy came running up to me and started talking to me. He was like where have you been? I’ve been looking all over for you. We have to go meet so in so in 10 minutes.

And standing their in utter confusion, he stops midsentence and says…”wait, your not so in so.”

I said, nope. And then he said, “i’m just going to give you a hug and be on my way.”

So hugged by a complete stranger and all I can think about is, where is this guy he thought I was?

Application: The truth is, when people see us, they ought to see Jesus. Honestly even if they mistook us for John the Baptist, that would be a great thing as well.

It starts with our message. Our message needs to be the same: repent for the kingdom of God is near. We are nobody special. We point people to Jesus.

We are also called to make disciples. And what does making disciples entail?

Matthew 28:19–20 ESV

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Baptizing them. Baptism is always a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

Teaching them to obey Jesus’ commands.

Reminding them of the indwelling power of God in the believers life that manifests itself in power!

And there needs to be power evident in our lives as well. Jesus tells His disciple that they will do the works that He does and more through the power of the Holy Spirit.

John 14:12 ESV

12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.

To start this means that we proclaim that Jesus has already dealt with sin and the Holy Spirit has already come.

And again, we aren’t Jesus. We don’t save anyone. We simply point people to the cross.

And now in a sense we take up the mission of John the Baptist in that we know that Jesus is coming again, this time in judgment. And therefore we must prepare people for the return of Jesus.

In summary, devotion to Jesus will include both His message and His works.

His message was repent of your sins and embrace God’s way of dealing with sin, faith in Jesus as the Son of God and the Lamb of God who took our place on the cross.

His works are fully encapsulated in Matthew 25:35-40

Matthew 25:35–40 ESV

35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

Do both and…

2. WORLDLY people will be confused by a FAITHFUL devotion to JESUS. (Mark 6:17-20).

Explanation: Throughout history, the world has been confused by Christians. Even God’s people in general.

We are kinda weird. In a good way from our perspective but confusing for the rest.

On the one hand, Christians have been accused of all kinds of things.

The Jewish people accused them of being polytheistic.

The romans accused them of being cannibals.

Throughout history many Christians have been content to worship Jesus, and spread His message and do HIs works.

Others have used the name of Jesus and attached it to all sorts of causes that have nothing to do with Jesus.

John the Baptist was thrown into prison calling King Herod to repent of sinfully taking and marrying his brother Phillip’s wife. So yes we are to call even national leaders to repentance. But as we can see, even though Herod has John thrown into prison, he was confused about him and Herod actually feared him because he believed he was a holy man.

Herod was perplexed by John’s message but still heard him gladly. There was something different about John. It was not just the message, but the way that John lived. They way that John conveyed the message.

Now we aren’t told this in Scripture as it pertains to John, but we can extrapolate this from elsewhere. When we call people to repentance, it’s not just pointing out their sin. There is a loving pleading with people to repent because it’s what’s best for them. This call for repentance doesn’t come from a heart of judgement or even anger. I think John was pleading with Herod for his own good.

Make no mistake the message of repentance and the exclusivity of Jesus being the only way to heaven, is offensive. But it is confusing when we do so from a heart of love. Pleading and compelling people to repent and turn to Jesus.

And even in prison John’s persistence never wavered or softened. Because Herod’s soul was that important.

Illustration: Imagine you go and visit a friend who hasn’t been out in a while. And when you get there, they are sick and rundown. They have this persistent cough. You ask, how long have you had that cough?

They say, 6 months.

And you say, well I hope you get better, let me know if you want to talk about how this makes you feel.

And then you just leave and go about your daily business.

Nope, what you should do is to plead and urge that person to go to he hospital.

In the same way, we encounter people every day that are on the highway to hell, yet we do not beg and plead with them to go to cross.

Application: We are called to confront the world with their sin and call them to repentance. We are called to make disciples. And when you make a disciple, it will almost always look to the world like a cult. And that’s ok.

Today, people call us to be tolerant and accepting of what the Bible calls sin. Even Christians will say, “let’s just love people.”

The Bible defines love as the cross. You do not love people if you are unwilling to point out their sin.

And part of this means admitting your own sin and championing, not your perfection but your full dependance upon Jesus for His grace and mercy.

Let’s face it, the world will hate you for the message. There is nothing you can do about that. And sometimes when we call out sins that often play heavily into political elections, they will accuse you of being political. And to be fair, the message of Jesus is a political message. We are proclaiming a kingdom that is not of this world and we are granted a citizenship that transcends all of our earthly allegiances.

Remember we are preparing people for the coming of Jesus. Ours and their sins will either be taken care of at the cross or in hell.

Don’t neglect the message. And don’t mix the message with other things either.

And do good works that confuse people.

Matthew 5:16 ESV

16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

But remember…

3. FAITHFUL devotion to Jesus will bring OPPOSITION. (Mark 6:21-29)

Explanation: Now there are varying degrees of opposition. Most of the opposition that we face will be like Herod. They might not like our message or believe our God, but so long as we are living according to Jesus’ call on our lives, they will be confused by us.

And to be fair, it seems that the only reason John was locked up was to appease Herod’s wife.

When a person like Herod doesn’t like your message but is forced to respect the life you live because you are authentic, sincere, and loving, that’s the best case scenario.

Take the world around us. The entire western world is built on Judeo-Christian values. The inherent value of all human life from conception to natural death. The essentially equality of all people regardless of their race, gender, or socioeconomic status. Caring for the widows and orphans. Caring for the sick and disabled.

People may be trying to rewrite the history books, but there is no doubt that Christians have had a generally positive impact on the world every place they have gone.

And for the part that’s where we are in most of the world. Christianity’s works are tolerated.

But throughout church history, militant attacks against the Christian church have been the norm.

The herodiuses of the world want nothing more than the complete eradication of the messenger of Christ because she can not tolerate being confronted with sin she either ignores or justifies.

But notice that Herodius couldn’t just have John killed. She needed to figure out a way through deception.

And she uses her daughter.

This is a weird story of Herod’s step-daughter dancing for him and his guests. There is probably some sinful wicked behavior going on here.

But it pleases Herod and he says he’ll give her anything she asks for. Never in his wildest dreams did he think that she would ask for John’s head on a platter.

Silver, gold, jewelry. A new iphone 14 max.

What girl is going to ask for some guy’s head.

But her mom convinces her. Ask for the head of John the Baptist on a platter.

And you can tell that she just loves it because she brings straight to her mother.

That’s what wicked hatred will do.

Illustration: There are still places in the world where Christians are still killed on sight. But it is rare.

For the most part, our opposition comes in the forms of laws about hate speech or outright lies about what it means to be a Christian.

Emperor Nero was terrified of the growing influence of Christians in the Roman empire. So he started a fire and blamed it on Christians.

Opposition against Christians will not be for the things that we do or say, but the things that our opponents can make people believe. Hollywood has been decidedly antichristian for decades.

So many Christians are portrayed in ways that are caricatures of hypocritical people.

Go online and our opponents seems to suggest that every Church is just like Westboro Baptist or that every church has a greedy pastor that is fleecing his church to buy mansions and private jets. Or an abusive tyrant that wants to control your actions and thoughts.

They’ll have you believe that every Church is harboring and protecting pedophiles and covering up sexual abuse and assault. And even if we aren’t, we are guilty by association.

The truth is that very few Christians are like that. It’s such a small percentage that it’s not even statistically relevant.

Most Christians just want to love Jesus and tell people about Him.

We are castigated for the actions of a few.

Application: If you are going to hated, be hated for the right reasons.

Be hated for a your great love for people who need to come to Jesus in repentance and faith.

Be hated because you believe that what the Bible says is true and worth fighting for.

Be hated because you’re willing to defend the least of these even if they haven’t been born yet.

Be hated because if you believe

John 14:6 ESV

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

That means that you can’t respect and validate the religious beliefs of those who, by rejecting Jesus, are destined for destruction.

But then let your works speak for themselves.

Be the best worker you can possibly be. Be the most caring and compassionate person. Be there for people in need. Be an example of Christlike love and faithfulness.

Feed the hungry

Give drink to the thirsty

Cloth the naked

Visit the sick and imprisoned

Look after widows and orphans

Share the Gospel.

Matthew 10:28 ESV

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.

In all these things we are to model for others what following Jesus is all about.

Response: Is your faithful DEVOTION to Jesus a model for OTHERS?

Summation: Big Idea: Model your LIFE after FAITHFUL examples of DEVOTION to JESUS.

1. FAITHFUL devotion to Jesus makes you LOOK like Jesus. (Mark 6:14-16)‌

2. WORLDLY people will be confused by a FAITHFUL devotion to JESUS. (Mark 6:17-20).

3. FAITHFUL devotion to Jesus will bring OPPOSITION. (Mark 6:21-29)

Closing Illustration:

In the end, share the message of the Gospel.

Model good works.

Amen?

Let’s pray.