The Preacher Who Lost His Head
Aim: To show how John’s fearless condemnation of Herod and his wife resulted in his death, yet his message lived on.
Text: Mark 6:14-29
Introduction: John the Baptist was, of course, the forerunner to Christ, “the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” He pointed men to the Saviour. It was from John’s lips that we receive that great text first boomed out from Jordan’s banks “ Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” His message was simple: “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
John was a faithful prophet and preacher of the Word of God and yet he died an untimely and premature death, and why? Because his message upset the wife of Herod - and what was his message? “It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife.” (Mark 6:18). In other words he challenged the immoral behaviour of those who ruled the land, and the consequence was death.
He was an unpopular preacher - yet he was true to the Word of God. His faithfulness brought him into direct conflict with the governmemt of his day, and as a consequence he lost his life.
This evening we are going to examine three facts surrounding the life and death of John the Baptist.
1. Herod’s Mistreatment of John
2. Herod’s Murder of John
3. Herod’s Misgivings About John
I. Herod’s Mistreatment of John - vss 17-20
A. Verses 16-20 are a flashback.
1. The primary thrust of this passage is centred on the ministry of Christ, but in vss 14-16 we read that Herod considered Jesus to be John the Baptist reincarnated, which then causes Mark to focus upon John’s death.
2. It is an interesting account, for John fulfils a prophetic role insofar as he is the herald of the Christ, an office prophetically ascribed to Elijah.
3. Elijah you will recall ran into trouble with a king, Ahab, who was motivated by a wicked queen, Jezebel.
4. John the Baptist ran into trouble with a king, Herod Antipas, who was likewise motivated by a wicked wife, Herodias.
B. 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 hi first wife as she did her husband and they married each other.
1. 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).
2. John was an O.T. prophet he 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, Bible in hand and outright condemned the marriage of Herod and his wife as sinful.
3. That was not a popular theme.
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 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.”
b. It is interesting how some people will have it in for the man of God - and most often it is those whose lives have been touched by his preaching.
c. Instead of repenting of the wrong they resist the Spirit and seek to avenge themselves against God’s man.
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, ands 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 an mile in taking away John’s life.
II. Herod’s Murder 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. 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.
a. BTW let me make the point that most forms of dancing, and in particular those forms of dance seen at night-clubs and bars has much the same purpose.
b. It is about sexual allurement, and in that respect no right thinking Christian should give himself, or herself to it.
c. Illus: Three young men in Dublin - “Why don’t you go down to the old folks home and dance with them.
d. Dancing was associated with lust then and much of it is associated with lust now.
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 disciple’s took this great saint’s body and buried it with honour.
III. Herod’s Misgivings About John - vss 14-16
A. At the outset of our sermon I said the account of John’s death is recorded as something of a flashback - sparked by Herod’s response to the news of Jesus and his ministry.
1. John’s death haunted Herod Antipas.
2. 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.”
3. 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. You can kill the messenger, but you can do nothing to dull the impact of his 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.”
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.
