The Death of John
Text: Mark 6:14-29
Introduction: We opened Mark 6 with the Lord Jesus returning to Nazareth where His mission was met with rejection. We are told that turning from that town He, “went round about the villages, teaching.” You have heard it said that one man’s rubbish is another man’s treasure; this was certainly true of Jesus’ ministry. The teaching that Nazareth rejected was welcomed and accepted in other parts, and so the Lord commissioned His disciples to travel in twos throughout the area preaching repentance casting out devils and healing the sick. You can read about that in verses 7-13.
Jesus fame continued to spread. So much so that He was grabbing the attention of those in high office, in particular Herod Antipas.
Herod was suffering from a guilty conscience. You see he had done something truly awful, even by his low standards; he had put to death John the Baptist, a man he both admired and feared. Now hearing about Jesus Herod believes that perhaps John had come back from the dead to haunt him. At this point Mark tells the story of John’s death.
I. Herod’s Mistreatment of John - vss 17-20
A. Notice as we open this account that Herod had cast John into prison.
1. The prophet has been arrested, bound and imprisoned, and why? Because he dared challenge the wicked lifestyle of those in high society who ruled over the province of Galilee and Perea, and in particular the shameful behaviour of Herod and his wife Herodias.
2. Herodias was Herod’s second wife, originally he had married the daughter of Aretas the king of Arabia, but when he met Herodias who was his half niece, and wife of his half brother Philip, he seduced her, and divorced his first wife, as she did her husband and they married each other.
3. Now the O.T law is very specific in its condemnation of such behaviour -
a. “Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother’s wife: it is thy brother’s nakedness.” (Leviticus 18:16).
b. “And if a man shall take his brother’s wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall be childless.” (Leviticus 20:21).
4. John preached the law - not as a means of grace, but as a measure of God’s holiness, and so whilst the rest of Herod’s domain gossiped about the goings on at the palace John went one step further, he stood on the palace steps, Scriptures in hand and outright condemned the marriage of Herod and his wife as sinful.
C. Now John’s preaching of the law created a deep resentment in the heart of Herodias.
1. She didn’t care for this very embarrassing public rebuke, she had no love for John and despised the way in which he dragged her name into the public arena under God’s condemnation.
2. Verse 19 says she, “had a quarrel against him.”
a. Lit: “She had it in for him.”
(i) It has often been said that the faithful preaching of the Word of God will make a person mad or make them get right.
(ii) Herodias responded to John’s preaching with anger.
3. Such was this woman’s hatred of John that, she “would have killed him; but she could not.” (Mark 6:19).
D. She could not because her husband would not consent to it.
1. You see Herod, for all his faults, had a certain respect for John.
2. In part this was politically motivated for John was popular with the people, but it was also partly because Herod had a superstitious fear of John - vs 20
3. As a compromise to his wife’s demands Herod had John imprisoned, but Herod himself had a love/hate relationship with the prophet.
a. He would send for John from time to time, and John would preach to him, and Herod heard him, and the A.V. says, “He did many things and heard him gladly.”
b. How strange that Herod would make minor corrections in his life, yet would not consent to John’s release in order to please his wife.
c. There is nothing more pitiful than a man who relinquishes the rule of his life and home to the woman in his life.
(i) This was the sin of Adam, Samson, Solomon, & Ahab and the sin of Herod also.
(ii) Though Herod had given an inch to Herodias in taking away John’s liberty, the woman would ultimately take a mile in taking away his life.
II. Herod’s Martyrdom of John - vss 21- 29
A. We may break this passage into four bite size portions to grasp all that is going on.
B. Consider Herod’s Party.
1. See Mark 6:21
2. This is one of the reasons the J.W’s do not celebrate birthdays - they make the point that the only two men who are mentioned in scripture celebrating a birthday are Pharaoh and Herod, both of whom were pagans, and both of whom commanded executions in celebration.
a. But they err, as they so often do, for we read of Job and his godly family that “…his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.”(Job 1:4-5).
3. So not every birthday was celebrated by the ungodly nor accompanied by an execution, and no doubt both Pharaoh and Herod executed people at other times besides.
4. Nevertheless Herod’s birthday was no doubt an excessive affair with too much to eat and too much to drink, as he and his henchmen enjoyed the benefits of power in Israel.
5. Then when all had drunk to the point of intoxication the entertainment began;
C. Consider Herod’s Pleasure
1. See Mark 6:22-25
2. History records this young woman’s name as Salome - the A.V calls her a damsel, indicating she was a young woman of marriageable age, probably in her teens.
3. It was customary at such banquets to have some young woman dance naked, usually this role was played by professional prostitutes, who were willing to exchange their souls for hard cash.
4. That Herodias would encourage her own daughter to play the harlot shows the intensity of her hatred for John.
5. You see in her mind it was worth sacrificing her daughter’s honour if she could acquire the head of that interfering, meddlesome preacher!
6. Herod, with a skin full of drink in him was easy prey for such allure - and foolishly he offers her half the kingdom as a reward for her lurid display.
7. Immediately the young woman conferred with her mother. Their price? The head of John the Baptist.
D. Consider Herod’s Pride
1. Mark 6:26
2. One time a S.S teacher was relaying this story to a group of small children, and pointed out Herod’s dilemma.
3. She made the point that he had offered Salome up to half the kingdom in return for her favours - and the teacher asked the children, “What would you have done if you were in Herod’s place?”
a. One little boy lifted his hand and said, “Miss, I would have said that the head of John the Baptist belonged to the other half of the kingdom that I had not promised!”
b. Now that is a smart answer - and it might have gotten Herod out a pickle had he had such a boy in his court, but sadly he was surrounded by men who would perceive any refusal of John’s head as a weakness, and so rather than swallow his pride and shame himself in front of his guests, Herod agreed.
4. You know friends, pride can get us into so much trouble.
a. The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor.” (Psalm 10:2a)
b. A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit. (Proverbs 29:23).
c. There was no honour for Herod in any of this, his actions in this moment would assign his name to eternal infamy, and consign his soul to eternal hell.
d. Hell is full of proud men.
E. Consider Herod’s Prisoner
1. Mark 6:27-29
2. What a ghastly gift to offer any young woman, yet what immense pleasure the sight of John’s head upon a plate must have brought Herodias.
3. With all the dignity they could muster, John’s disciples took this great saint’s body and buried it with honour.
III. Herod’s Misgivings About John - vss 14-16
A. John’s death haunted Herod Antipas.
1. Ivor Powell said of that moment when John’s head was brought before Salome and Herod, “If John’s eyes were still open, they were gazing sightlessly into the depths of Herod’s soul.”
2. Herod had committed a great wrong - and he knew it.
a. So when word came of a preacher who did miraculous things, casting out demons, and healing the sick, of a man whose teaching was authoritative, who called upon men to repent - when “king Herod heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.” (Mark 6:14).
b. You see John was dead, but in the depth of Herod’s soul he was still speaking.
c. And this is the thing about God’s Word: You can kill the messenger, but you can do nothing to dull the impact of the message.
Conclusion: And guess what, the things that were unlawful in the sight of God in John’s day are still unlawful in ours. The world may have changed, but God’s Word remains the same, which makes John’s key message all the more important. John came preaching repentance. He cried out “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” He told men that they must be sorry for their sins. Sorry for breaking God’s law. Sorry for grieving His holiness. And this sorrow was not to be superficial but life changing - he instructed the people “Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance”, and taught them not to trust in their religion and traditions, but to flee the wrath to come.
Ultimately he pointed them to Jesus: “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”
Friends, John’s message may have been unpopular in Herod’s palace, but John’s message was true and faithful. He was the greatest friend Herod and Herodias ever had - yet they murdered him. They had no idea in doing so, that for generations to come their evil deeds would be recalled again and again, and their vile act ever brought up to their shame. And now their souls are tortured and John is at rest.
You see, mortal acts have eternal significance, and what we do in this life will be dealt with in the life to come. The preacher may at times seem an annoyance, a nuisance, even an irrelevance. He may not win any of this world’s awards, he may not walk the red carpets of Hollywood, or dine with the rich and famous, but I will tell you this, if what He says is true, it is true whether we like it or not, and truth never goes away - even if we put its messenger to death. John’s cry holds good, repentance leading to faith in Christ is still the message of the hour.
The question for you is will you believe it/proclaim it.
