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
she was MARRIED, which meant that Herodias was also Herod’s SISTER-IN-LAW.
While there, he seduced Herodias and persuaded her to leave her husband Philip and MARRY
Him and be his WIFE, although Herod was already MARRIED to someone else.
So, we find Herodias was Herod’s NIECE, SISTER-IN-LAW, and now his WIFE. (Have
you ever heard the phrase, “I’m my own grandpa.”)
c. Really, all that we need to know, and of which John pointed out, the MARRIAGE between Herod and Herodias was a SINFUL relationship violating the Word of God.
2. Regardless of the position that Herod held, John was not AFRAID to PREACH the TRUTH to him.
a. No doubt, Herod wasn’t happy about what John told him, but his wife Herodias was furious.
b. Mark records that “she nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him”- v. 19.
COMMENT:
The Greek word for “grudge” describes “a deep, seething resentment, bitterness or quarrel against someone.” This was something that Herodias was unwilling to FORGET, and she kept feeding the HATRED and ANGER against John to the point where she wanted him DEAD.
3. However, Mark tells us that Herod would not allow it because he “feared John, knowing that he
was a righteous and holy man.”
a. But notice the later part of v. 20- “When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he
liked to listen to him.”
COMMENT:
Something was ATTRACTIVE about John’s PREACHING—it drew Herod in. John’s candid presentation of the TRUTH wasn’t always EASY for Herod to HEAR, and it often left him
PERPLEXED.
I believe Herod was PULLED and DIVIDED by the TRUTH of God’s Word and by his own
SINFUL lifestyle. He could see what he needed to DO, and, yet, wasn’t ready to OBEY.
b. Have you seen that in your own life?
ILLUSTRATION:
You HEAR a SERMON and God is obviously COMMANDING you to CHANGE—to REPENT—and you’re just not quite there. It’s not that you DISAGREE or don’t BELIEVE that you need to CHANGE, it’s just that you’re not quite READY to give up whatever SIN that has a HOLD on you. WE HAVE ALL BEEN THERE!
4. Although Herod had put John in PRISON at the prompting of Herodias, he RESPECTED John and
was not going to ALLOW his wife to HARM him.
COMMENT:
Now, if we STOPPED the STORY right here, we might think that there is HOPE for Herod—that his HEART is softening towards God. He spared John’s life. He likes HEARING the Word of God. It’s only a MATTER of TIME that he’s going to be a full-fledged follower of Jesus. But
that’s not what happened.
C. Mark fast-forwards to Herod’s BIRTHDAY where he was having a PARTY- vv. 21-23 (READ)
1. Herod has INVITED his officials, military commanders and the leading men of Galilee to come
CELEBRATE with him.
a. As these MEN are gathered together EATING and DRINKING, Herodias had her TEENAGE
DAUGHTER to come out and DANCE seductively before her stepfather and his dinner guests.
COMMENT:
DADS and GRANDDADS—I believe that you and I would put a STOP to that immediately if our TEENAGE daughters or granddaughters came out and DANCED seductively before our FRIENDS. But Herod doesn’t STOP IT. In fact, he ENCOURAGED it and PARTOOK in the
DEGRADING of his own STEPDAUGHTER.
b. This shouldn’t SURPRISE us.
COMMENT:
What had John CHALLENGED him on? His SEXUAL SIN. He had taken his brother’s
WIFE knowing how WRONG it was, but he didn’t CARE enough to OBEY.
2. Getting caught up in LUST for his teenage STEPDAUGHTER, Herod said, “Girl, whatever you
want, I’ll get it for you. If you want half of my kingdom, it’s yours.”
a. This is how Satan works, isn’t it?
b. James 1:14- “…each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and
enticed.”
COMMENT:
Satan is working on Herod’s EVIL DESIRE to use him to get RID of John the Baptist.
3. This TEENAGE girl is just a KID, and she has no IDEA for what to ASK. So, she goes to her
Mom for ADVICE. (“Don’t you just like it when a plan comes together?”)
COMMENT:
Herodias has held a GRUDGE against John ever since he challenger her MARRIAGE to Herod. She sees this as an OPPORTUNITY to finally have him KILLED. She tells her daughter to “REQUEST the HEAD of John the Baptist on a SILVER PLATTER”.
D. When Herod heard her request to have John beheaded, he was “deeply distressed”- vv. 26-29 (READ)
1. Not only did Herod make a foolish PROMISE to this GIRL, but all of his DINNER GUESTS
heard him make the PROMISE.
a. Herod had a CHOICE to either have John BEHEADED and save face with his INFLUENTIAL
friends, or swallow his PRIDE and OBEY GOD regardless of the consequences.
b. “Greatly distressed or not”, Herod WEIGHED the COST of OBEDIENCE with his SELFISH PRIDE, and decided that the COST to OBEY was too HIGH, and had John KILLED.
2. Yes, Herod loved HEARING the Word of God preached, but OBEYING it was a different matter altogether.
II. JOHN’S STORY
A. John not only PREACHED the Word of God, he OBEYED it even though it COST him his LIFE.
1. “John was sent by God on a MISSION to PREPARE WAY for His Son Jesus”- Mark 1:2-3.
a. Although I don’t think John knew that he was going to have his HEAD chopped off by some
sadistic FAMILY, he did know that his MINISTRY was to be SHORT LIVED.
b. Notice what John said to his disciples when they complained that more people were going to Jesus to be BAPTIZED than to him- John 3:27-30 (READ and COMMENT)
2. John was OBEDIENT to his CALLING, and he knew that something GREAT was in store for him
even if it COST him his LIFE- John 3:36 (READ and COMMENT)
B. Looking at this event through John’s OBEDIENCE to God and His Word, we don’t see TRAGEDY—
we see TRIUMPH.
1. The TRAGEDY is not what happened to JOHN, but what happened to HEROD because of his
DISOBEDIENCE.
a. The TRAGEDY is that Herod chose TEMPORARY joy over ETERNAL joy.
b. The TRAGEDY is that Herod chose the APPROVAL of men over the APPROVAL of God.
c. The TRAGEDY is that Herod HEARD the TRUTH and could have OBEYED and gone to
HEAVEN, but instead DISOBEYED and LOST his SOUL.
2. John was OBEDIENT and FAITHFUL to the END, and given ETERNAL LIFE. Herod was DISOBEDIENT and DEFIANT, and in the END, he experienced the WRATH of God.
CONCLUSION:
OBEY OR DISOBEY?
LIFE OR DEATH?
HEAVEN OR HELL?
