What Opportunities Do You Seize? (PM Lesson Outline)
GIST: John boldly served God while Herod and Herodias selfishly served….themselves.
SCRIPTURE: Mark 6:14-29
14 King Herod heard of it, for Jesus name had become known. Some said, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” 15 But others said, “He is Elijah.” And others said, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” 16 But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.” 17 For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because he had married her. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife.” 19 And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, 20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.
21 But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 For when Herodias's daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.”23 And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.” 24 And she went out and said to her mother, “For what should I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” 25 And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” 26 And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. 27 And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head. He went and beheaded him in the prison 28 and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
The passage tonight doesn’t fit smoothly into our typical Sunday evening mold. The question tonight isn’t so much “what does this mean?”, but more of a “what can we learn from this?”. Still, it’s worth our consideration.
Yet again, we have Mark putting a story within a story. This morning, we looked at the disciples being sent out. Next Sunday morning, we’ll see what happened when they got back. Smacked between is this flashback about John the Baptist. Interestingly, from what I’ve studied, it’s the only story of this length in the entire gospel that does not focus on Jesus as the central figure. Instead, we have a messenger of Jesus. Right after sending out the 12, it seems to come, at least in part, as a reminder of what the cost of that sending can be.
There is a lot going on here, and there are several ways we could digest this passage. Tonight, I just want to look at how each of these main characters used the opportunities they were given. Then, we’ll hit a few takeaways for us. Gist? John boldly served God while Herod and Herodias selfishly served….themselves.
I. JOHN THE BOLD SERVANT
John as Elijah. First, it’s interesting to point out the parallels between John the Baptist and Elijah. See, the Jews were looking for Elijah to return as a forerunner of the Messiah because of Malachi 4:5-6 “5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”
When John came, he fulfilled this prophecy. This is not reincarnation, but rather his ministry was very much like the ministry of Elijah. And, as we pointed out before, they even had similar taste in clothing ☺(see Mark 1). He came preaching repentance, and though people flocked to him, the religious elite rejected him and the politicians couldn’t stand him--just like Elijah. In fact, when you study Elijah’s life, you see he’s especially disliked by Ahab...but even more by Ahab’s wife, Jezebel. Here, we see John the Baptist also being persecuted by an evil ruler and his wicked wife.
Moreover, John came to prepare the way for Jesus, and dies because of that testimony--prefiguring Jesus’ greater sacrifice.
Facing authority with truth. Now, in this story, what do we see about John that led to his death? He was bold, even when he knew it would put his life in danger. The issue that led to his arrest and eventual death was him calling Herod to repentance. Herod wasn't really a king, though he called himself that. He’s one of the many children of Herod the Great (the “Christmas Herod”), who had, I believe, 10 wives. This Herod (Herod Antipas) is really more of a puppet leader for the Roman empire. Nonetheless, he still lives like he’s royalty. In this account, we learn that he has married his brother’s wife, Herodias. It’s not like his brother had died, Herod just convinced her to leave her husband. Likely, this was a political move because his brother, Philip, had no real position, but just lived as a wealthy man in Rome. To add insult to injury, Herodias was also the daughter of one of Herod’s other brothers. So, this is his niece...and his sister-in-law. The whole affair is sinful.
Nonetheless, John does not shrink from calling sin, sin. He’s bold. His motivation is not self-promotion, but rather a love for the truth and desire that all come to know it. The result? He get’s his head cut off.
II. HERODIAS THE VENGEFUL WIFE
Hurt pride. Vengeful spirit. So, we have John who took the opportunities he was given to boldly stand for Jesus. Herodias is also bold with her opportunities, but in almost an opposite direction. She’s furious. John has marred her reputation. So, in rage she waits for an opportunity to have him killed. We know she’s wanted him dead for a while, but Herod did not want to kill John for several reasons (which we’ll address briefly in a moment).
Nonetheless, when opportunity comes, she doesn’t hesitate to take it. Look at verse 21: “But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee.” Herod’s having a drunken bash, so she sends her teenaged daughter in to seduce them. This is wretched, but she’s so desperate to have her revenge that the means do not matter. The result? We’ll immediately anyhow, she get’s exactly what she wants: John is beheaded.
III. HEROD THE COWARDLY LEADER
-Intrigued by the truth. The last person we’ll look at is Herod. He basically squanders all of his opportunities. What is always striking about this passage to me is the interest he has in John the Baptist. Look at verse 20: “for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.” He doesn’t like him, but recognizes he’s a man of God and even enjoys hearing him speak. This is crazy to me...but it’s also sadly familiar. Haven’t you met people who are really intrigued by Jesus and “Christian stuff”, but really can’t stand the demands He places on their lives? You might even be one of those people. At some level, Herod was intrigued by John. Whether it was his presentation or his message, we don’t know. What we do know is that it wasn’t enough. See, Herod comes face-to-face with Jesus (Check out Luke 23:6-12). The Bible tells us he was excited about this meeting, as well, but Jesus doesn’t give him what he was looking for, so he mocks him and turns him over to be crucified.
Controlled by his need for saving face. See, Herod’s interest was no different than Herodias’. As much as he was intrigued by spiritual matters, he worshipped himself. So, in his drunken stupor, he makes a rash promise...that he couldn’t even have fulfilled (he had no land to give!) The result? He’s fooled, and John dies (notice how that’s the result of all of these actions).
He had every opportunity to turn to Christ--even coming face-to-face with Him--but squandered them. How does his story end? We’ll it looks like they’re winning here. However, history tells us he and Herodias both die in exile. Even had that not happened on earth, without repentance, it was what awaited them in eternity.
TAKEAWAYS
1. The cost can be high, but it’s of eternal worth!
-On earth, John suffered, but in eternity he is rejoicing.
John is clear, uncompromising and authentic. This is what we too are called to be as God’s people… No-one thanked John for telling the truth. ...The terrifying truth from this passage is that John, the hero, the man of God, dies a hideous, undignified death as the result of a sordid marital power struggle. ... Are we willing to stand for the truth if our only support, our only vindication, comes from the Lord?
- A Ransom for Many
-On earth, the Herods rejoiced in their vain conquests, but in eternity they will suffer.
-The cost was high for Jesus, as well.
2. We have God-given opportunities. Don’t let selfishness make you miss them.
No comments:
Post a Comment