Hear And Obey Series

GOSPEL OF MARK: GOD’S SERVANT IN ACTION

HEAR AND OBEY

A. Mark 6 opens with Jesus returning to his hometown of Nazareth only to find the RESIDENTS there who

knew Him and His family—His Mom and siblings, “taking an OFFENSE at Jesus”- v. 3.

1. This prompted Jesus to say to them, “Only in His hometown, among His relatives and His own house

is a prophet without honor”- v. 4.

COMMENT:

As a result of their lack of FAITH, Jesus didn’t perform many MIRACLES there. So, He left

Nazareth and went on from village to village teaching the Good News.

2. Seeing so many HURTING people who desperately needed to HEAR the teaching that began with John the Baptist—“repent and believe the good news”, Jesus then “sends out His apostles two-by-two to

PREACH and PERFORM miracles throughout the region of Galilee”- Mark 6:7-13.

B. This brings us to our text where the news of Jesus has come to King Herod’s attention- Mark 6:14-16

(READ and COMMENT)

1. Herod’s guilty CONSCIENCE in having John the Baptist BEHEADED, is getting the best of him.

a. Things could have been DIFFERENT for Herod if he had only OBEYED the Word of God that John

had been PREACHING to him.

COMMENT:

A few weeks ago, we saw from the Parable of the Soils (Mark 4:1-20) that God wants all people

to have the opportunity to HEAR His Word and to OBEY it. The problem is, however, that not ALL

who HEAR the Word will OBEY the Word.

b. Herod was a man who liked to HEAR the Word of God, but never actually OBEYED it—he never

actually DID what the WORD said because the COST was far too HIGH for him.

COMMENT:

And, sadly, as the Parable of the Soils reveal, most people are just like Herod. Even in our churches, there are those who like coming to Sunday Services to HEAR preaching and SING songs

from God’s Word, but then they go home and forget what they HEAR.

Both Jesus and his brother James pointed out that “we are not to be HEARERS of the Word only, but DOERS of the Word—to be OBEDIENT”- Matthew 7:24ff and James 1:22.

2. John the Baptizer, on the other hand, was the complete OPPOSITE of Herod.

a. Again, Herod wasn’t OBEDIENT to God’s Word because the COST was too HIGH.

b. John was a man who SUBMITTED himself to the Word of God, even when it COST him his

FREEDOM and his LIFE.

C. HEARING vs. OBEYING.

1. It is so easy to mistake HEARING the Word of God as actually OBEYING the Word of God.

COMMENT:

We shout “AMEN” when the preacher says, “We as a church need to be sharing Jesus with

others.” But then we go work and don’t even mention the name of JESUS.

We SING songs about being a SERVANT, and yet we don’t even get involved in a MINISTRY

in the CHURCH.

2. Let’s see what we can learn about HEARING and OBEYING from both Herod and John?

MESSAGE:

I. HEROD’S STORY- Mark 6:17-20 (READ)

A. “Herod” is not a person’s name, but actually a title meaning “song of the hero.”

1. The title was first given to a man named Antipater by Julius Caesar who appointed him King over

Judea because he fought bravely with the Romans in the battle against Pompey.

a. He became known as “Herod the Great” who reigned from 37 BC to 4 AD—the same Herod that ordered the death of baby boys two-years and younger in Bethlehem, in an attempt to kill

Jesus—the New Born King.

b. When Herod the Great died, Augustus Caesar appointed, not one leader of Judea but four, known as TETRARCHS—basically governors representing the Jews under Roman rule.

2. The Herod in our story is Antipas, one of the sons of Herod of the Great appointed over Galilee

and Perea. He wanted to be called “King” although technically he was only a “Tetrarch”.

a. The Herods were not actually Jews but Edomites who became Jewish proselytes (converts).

b. Antipas, although not always a nice guy, was not nearly as ruthless as his father or even his brother Archelaus who was tetrarch over Judea and Samaria.

B. Herod and John the Baptist had an interesting relationship.

1. John had been preaching a MESSAGE of “repentance and baptism” to the people of Israel and

then turned his preaching toward Herod and called him out.

a. John boldly told this want-to-be king, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”

b. Leviticus 20:21- “If a man marries his brother’s wife, it is an act of impurity; he has

dishonored his brother…”

COMMENT:

Let me try to explain this ungodly relationship between Herod and Herodias. HANG ON!

Herodias was the daughter of Aristobulus (be sure to remember all these names because we are going to have a POP QUIZ later) who was Herod’s half-brother, making Herodias his NIECE. Herod met Herodias while visiting another half-brother named Philip in Rome to whom