A. How many of you remember the show “Truth or Consequences”?
1. Anyone who remembers the show is either old or is a radio and TV history buff.
2. “Truth or Consequences” was a long-running wild and wacky game show.
3. It was on the radio from 1940 to 1957 and was on TV from 1950 to 1988.
4. Contestants were selected from the studio audience and then were brought up on stage and were asked a question.
5. They could either tell the truth when the question was asked, or be forced to pay the consequences, which was to perform a stunt.
6. The question was always a trivia question (usually an off-the-wall question that no one would be able to answer correctly).
7. They had two seconds before “Beulah the Buzzer” was sounded.
8. Ralph Edwards the first host said, “Most of the American people are darned good sports.”
9. When Bob Barker hosted “Truth or Consequences,” he signed-off the show with the phrase: “Hoping all your consequences are happy ones.”
B. In today’s sermon from the Gospel of Mark, we are going to see that the consequences that John the Baptizer experienced for telling the truth were not always happy ones.
1. In our text for today, Mark 6:14-29, Mark gives us an interlude with two scenes.
2. The first scene is Herod’s concern about the identity of Jesus.
3. The second scene is a flashback to Herod’s execution of John the Baptizer.
C. As you know, John the Baptizer was the forerunner of the Messiah.
1. Jesus held John in high esteem and spoke these words in tribute to John: “Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one greater than John the Baptist has appeared…” (Mt. 11:11).
2. John’s preaching prepared the way for Jesus and John pointed to Jesus declaring Him to be “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. (Jn. 1:29).
3. If the Jewish religious leaders had accepted John’s testimony, then they would have received the One John spoke of, but unfortunately, they rejected both John and Jesus.
D. The story of the execution of John the Baptizer is as dramatic as any story in the Bible.
1. His story reads like a bizarre soap opera that includes intrigue, debauchery and brutality.
2. These two scenes about John in the Gospel of Mark are sandwiched between the apostles being sent out on a mission and their return from the mission to report to Jesus what had taken place.
3. Why did Mark sandwich the story of John the Baptizer here in his Gospel, probably because the sending out of the 12 and the results of their testimony was bringing more attention to Jesus, causing everyone, including Herod to wonder who Jesus really was.
4. Mark may also be using the story of what happened to John the Baptizer to clarify the cost of being a disciple of Jesus – Jesus is the truth and believing in the truth has consequences but there are also consequences for rejecting the truth.
5. Herod’s concern about Jesus’ identity sets the stage for the flashback to the arrest and execution of John the Baptizer.
E. Allow me to remind you about John the Baptizer’s family and birth.
1. John’s mother Elizabeth and Jesus’ mother Mary were cousins.
2. John was a miracle child born to the elderly priest Zechariah and his barren wife Elizabeth.
3. In obedience to the command of the angel, John was a Nazarite from birth, meaning that his hair was never cut, he never touched a dead body, and never drank fermented drink.
4. John grew in his knowledge of the OT Scriptures and took on the clothing of an ancient prophet, wearing a coat of camel’s hair with a leather belt, and ate locusts and wild honey.
F. Back in Mark chapter 1, Mark began his Gospel with the ministry of John the Baptizer.
1. Mark began with a prophesy from Isaiah about the messenger who would prepare the way for the Messiah.
2. John the Baptizer was that messenger and he came preaching a baptism of repentance and was baptizing people in the wilderness.
3. Mark reports that the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him and being baptized in the Jordon River.
4. John called all people to repent, including political and religious leaders whom John called a “brood of vipers.”
5. Mark told us that Jesus also was baptized by John in the Jordon.
6. Finally, Mark told us that: After John was arrested, Jesus went to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. (Mk. 1:14)
G. So, while John was in prison, Jesus continued His ministry and then sent out His apostles for the first time.
1. The mission of the apostles expanded the ministry of Jesus which resulted in greater publicity and got the attention of Herod.
2. Mark reports: King Herod heard about it, because Jesus’s name had become well known. (Mk. 6:14)
3. One of the things that must have bothered Herod was that Jesus and His apostles were proclaiming the Kingdom of God.
4. When they proclaimed the Kingdom of God, they were basically saying that God is king, not Herod and he didn’t like that, just as his father had not liked that baby Jesus was called a king.
H. Let’s talk for a minute about Herod – who wa he?
1. Well, we read about several Herods in the New Testament and it can be confusing – one preacher said that “Herod’s family tree is more twisted than a pretzel.”
2. The Herod in this story in Mark 6 is Herod Antipus who is the son of Herod the Great.
3. Herod the Great was the king when Jesus was born and he is the one who tried to kill Jesus and ended up killing all the baby boys in Bethlehem, and after Herod died Jesus’ family moved from Egypt to Nazareth.
4. Herod the Great had 10 wives and 15 children, and when Herod the Great died, his kingdom was divided between 4 of his sons.
5. That’s why Herod Anitpus, Herod the Great’s son, was classified as a “Tetrarch” meaning a ruler of a 4th part – technically Herod Antipus wasn’t a king, although Mark called him one.
6. Herod Antipus is the Herod who had encounters with Jesus during His ministry.
7. Later when Jesus was on trial before Pilate, Pilate decided to send Jesus to Herod Antipus because Pilate didn’t know what to do with Jesus, whom he believed was an innocent man.
I. Now let’s get into our text for today: 14 King Herod heard about it, because Jesus’s name had become well known. Some said, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that’s why miraculous powers are at work in him.” 15 But others said, “He’s Elijah.” Still others said, “He’s a prophet, like one of the prophets from long ago.” 16 When Herod heard of it, he said, “John, the one I beheaded, has been raised!” (Mk. 6:14-16)
1. The three claims about Jesus’ identity in these verses are presented as the popular opinions people held about who Jesus was.
2. They are the same 3 answers given by Jesus’ disciples in Mark 8, when Jesus asked His disciples who people were saying He was.
3. Some people thought that Jesus was John the Baptizer risen from the dead.
a. That is kind of a strange idea since Jesus and John the Baptizer were both alive at the same time before John’s execution and as far as we know, John never performed miracles.
4. Other people thought that Jesus was the prophet Elijah.
a. Many people expected that Elijah would return because of the prophesy of Malachi.
b. Jesus had said that John the Baptizer was the fulfillment of that prophesy.
5. Still other people thought that Jesus was a prophet, like another prophet of old.
6. But when Herod considered the options, he believed that Jesus was John, the one he had beheaded.
a. Apparently, Herod’s guilty conscience gave him no peace.
b. Regardless of what others thought about Jesus, Herod was haunted by the thought that He was actually John the Baptizer risen from the dead.
J. Let’s look at what was causing Herod’s guilty conscience.
1. Mark wrote: 17 For Herod himself had given orders to arrest John and to chain him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her. 18 John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 So Herodias held a grudge against him and wanted to kill him. But she could not, 20 because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing he was a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard him he would be very perplexed, and yet he liked to listen to him. (Mk. 6:17-20)
2. It had taken the boldness of a true prophet of God to condemn Herod for his adulterous relationship with Herodias.
3. Herod had seduced Herodias into leaving his own half-brother Philip to become his wife and she brought along her daughter from that marriage.
a. To make matters even more bizarre, Herodias was the daughter of one of Herod Antipas’ other brothers, which also made her his niece.
b. You can see why John the Baptizer preached so vehemently against this marriage because it involved adultery as well as incest.
4. I’m sure Herod didn’t like John’s condemnation, but Herodias liked it even less and wanted John silenced through execution, but Herod would not allow it.
a. To pacify his wife, Herod had John imprisoned so John could no longer publicly express his criticism.
b. Herodias’ grudge against John and her desire to kill him echoes the OT story of Jezebel’s hatred of Elijah the prophet (1 Kgs. 19).
5. To Herod’s credit, Herod respected John as a righteous and holy man and was drawn to John’s teaching and preaching.
a. Herod tried to protect John from Herodias and had enough belief in God and sense of morality to try to keep John safe.
6. But Herodias knew that she would never be respected in the kingdom as long as John lived, so she looked for some way to get rid of him and an opportunity just happened to present itself.
K. Mark wrote: 21 An opportune time came on his birthday, when Herod gave a banquet for his nobles, military commanders, and the leading men of Galilee. 22 When Herodias’s own daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask me whatever you want, and I’ll give it to you.” 23 He promised her with an oath: “Whatever you ask me I will give you, up to half my kingdom.” (Mk. 6:21-23)
1. The opportune day for Herodias arrived when Herod threw a birthday party for himself and invited the leaders of Galilee which included government officials, military leaders, and people of the upper class.
a. Anyone who was anyone in Galilee was there and everyone’s attention was on the birthday boy – “king” Herod.
b. Such birthday celebrations were considered pagan by pious Jews but were common among the nobility.
2. Herodias’ daughter isn’t named in Scripture, but Josephus reported her name as Salome.
a. Scripture doesn’t say whether her dance was requested by the king, or if it was her mother’s idea or her own idea.
b. Some suggest that it was likely a sensual dance, but all that Scripture says is that her dance pleased Herod and his guests.
3. Herod, feeling proud and generous made an extravagant offer: Herodias’ daughter could have anything that she wanted up to half of his kingdom.
a. The offer is similar to the one made to Queen Esther by her husband, the king, and was simply a way of saying, “Ask for anything you want and I will give it to you.”
b. Think of all the wonderful and good things she could have asked for and benefitted from for the rest of her life – up to half of the kingdom.
L. How sad and tragic that she went to her mother for advice about what to ask for.
1. Mark wrote: 24 She went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?” “John the Baptist’s head,” she said. 25 At once she hurried to the king and said, “I want you to give me John the Baptist’s head on a platter immediately.” 26 Although the king was deeply distressed, because of his oaths and the guests he did not want to refuse her. 27 The king immediately sent for an executioner and commanded him to bring John’s head. So he went and beheaded him in prison, 28 brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother. (Mk. 6:24-28)
2. Herodias jumped on the opportunity to get rid of John, which in no way benefited her daughter, but Herodias was wicked, wily, and selfish.
3. Salome obeyed her mother and rushed back to Herod and gave her answer in front of the crowd so Herod couldn’t back out of his oath.
a. She asked for John the Baptizer’s head and added that she wanted it on a platter & at once.
4. Herod was deeply distressed by this request.
a. Mark used the same word for distress that he used when telling about Jesus’ agony in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night before His death.
5. Herod had trapped himself by his oath and had to grant her request to maintain the respect of his guests.
a. How ironic that Herod had no problem breaking his marriage vow and divorced his wife in order to marry Herodias, but he didn’t want to break his oath and look bad to his guests.
M. Our story for today ends with these words: When John’s disciples heard about it, they came and removed his corpse and placed it in a tomb. (Mk. 6:29)
1. John’s disciples were loyal to the end and it’s hard to imagine the heart-break that John’s disciples experienced as they gave John a proper burial.
2. Just as Pilate later released the body of Jesus to Jesus’ followers, Herod gave John’s body to his disciples.
3. John the Baptizer had completed his earthly service was laid to rest to await his eternal reward.
4. In Matthew’s Gospel, Matthew tells us that after John’s disciples buried John’s body they went and told Jesus about it. (Mt. 14:12)
5. But being God, I’m sure Jesus knew what had happened to John, even before they told Him.
N. As we bring today’s sermon toward its conclusion, let’s consider the lessons we can learn.
1. The first lesson I want us to consider has to do with discipleship.
2. John the Baptizer showed himself to be a model follower of God.
3. The true path of discipleship is one of self-denial and self-sacrifice.
4. There is an inseparable relationship between mission and martyrdom, discipleship and death.
5. Later in Mark’s Gospel, we read that Jesus said: 34 “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me and the gospel will save it. (Mk. 8:34-35)
6. To follow Jesus is to serve Him at all costs and even if we don’t literally lose our lives in God’s service like John did, we must truly and daily give our lives over in service to God.
7. When we choose to follow Jesus, we recognize that we are not our own any longer but we have been bought with a price and we are His servants. (1 Cor. 6:20)
8. Discipleship is costly – are we willing and actively embracing the cost of discipleship?
M. A second lesson I want us to consider has to do with truth and consequences.
1. Let’s consider how the different people in today’s story dealt with the truth.
2. How did John the Baptizer deal with the truth? John loved the TRUTH.
a. John knew the truth, preached the truth, and wouldn’t compromise the truth, and so he will receive his eternal reward from God for his love of the truth and faithfulness to it.
a. But his stand for the truth is also what put him in conflict with Herod and Herodias and led to his imprisonment and execution.
b. Standing on the right side of truth doesn’t mean we will be appreciated or rewarded by the earthly powers that be.
c. Standing for the truth may bring ridicule, rejection, and persecution.
d. Nevertheless, let’s be like John and love the truth and stand for the truth.
3. How did Herodias deal with the truth? Herodias hated the TRUTH.
a. Herodias also sought to silence and eliminate the truth-bearer.
b. Because she didn’t like the message, she attacked the messenger.
c. What she sought to do to John is like someone smashing a mirror because they don’t like how they look in it.
d. There was no place in Herodias’ life for the truth of God and I doubt that she ever repented and it will not go well for her when she stands before God on Judgment Day.
e. There are many people in our world who are like Herodias – they want to be their own God and they want to do their own thing.
f. And anyone who questions them or questions what they are doing, will find themselves the target of hatred and persecution.
g. Paul told Timothy that a time would come when people would not put up with sound doctrine (the truth), but that they would find teachers who would tell them what their itching ears wanted to hear – they would turn away from the truth and turn aside to myths. (2 Tim. 4:3-4)
f. Let’s not be like Herodias who hated the truth.
4. How did Herod deal with the truth? Herod wasted the TRUTH.
a. Herod is an interesting character, because he didn’t’ love the truth like John, nor hate the truth like Herodias, rather he was perplexed by the truth and appreciated it from a distance.
b. Herod feared the truth to some degree, but not enough to repent and obey the truth.
c. In some respects, Herod feared the people (like his wife and the important people at his party) more than he feared God.
d. Think about how Herod wasted his opportunity to respond appropriately to the truth.
e. Think about how close Herod was to the truth – He personally knew John the Baptizer and listened to him often, and Herod had not only heard about Jesus but met him face to face.
f. Herod was in the presence of Jesus, who is the truth and who is the King of kings and who is God in the flesh, and yet Herod dismissed the truth and was unchanged by Jesus.
g. How many people in our circles – at work, at school, among our friends and family, even in our own worship services – are so close to the truth – they hear it, they like it, but they never respond to it – they know what they should do, but they don’t do it.
h. How tragic to be that close to the truth, but not obey it!
i. Let’s not be like Herod who wasted his opportunity to embrace the truth, rather let’s decide to follow Jesus, who is the way and the truth and the life.
j. Have you decided to follow Jesus?
Resources:
• Truth for Today Commentary: Mark 1-8 and 9-16, Martel Pace, Resources Communications.
• Who is Jesus? Sermon by David Owens
• The Murder of John the Baptist, Sermon by Nate Shinn
