The death of the world’s greatest prophet

Mark 6:14-30

          How does God reward His great ones – those who serve Him with all their hearts?  We’re talking today about one of the “great ones,” John the Baptist. Remember what Jesus said about him in Matthew 11:  “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist.” (Matt. 11:11).  Among humans, no one is greater than John.  How does God treat those who are the greatest?  How does God reward His faithful servants?  In Mark 6 we will see the culmination of the ministry of the greatest prophet the world has ever known.  Let me divide the chronology of this event into three parts:

I.  John’s incredible ministry came to an end (14-20)

14 Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name had become well known. And he said, "John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him." 15 Others said, "It is Elijah." And others said, "It is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets." 16 But when Herod heard, he said, "This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!" 17 For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife; for he had married her. 18 For John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." 19 Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not; 20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him. And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.

          A.  John had a great “run” of service for God.  Five chapters ago we saw the amazing effect of his ministry.  He never entered cities like Jesus did with His disciples.  He stayed out in the wilderness by the Jordan river and baptized people as they repented of their sins.  People had to go out to him, go down to him in the river and confess their sins, and declare their intent to live for Messiah in order to be baptized.

          John appeared on the scene from nowhere.  He had not been to school; he was not listed among the Rabbis; he had been living in the desert.  He had nothing, he wore rough clothes, he ate locusts and wild honey and he preached a message that demanded repentance.  It was a message of warning.  He challenged the Jewish idea of national salvation, people thinking that since they descended from Abraham they were guaranteed the favor of God.  There were no sweet platitudes or positive thinking in John’s sermons.  He said (Schuppe’s translation), "you bunch of snakes!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  I want to see some fruit from your repentance; don’t give me this ‘Abraham is our father’ garbage.  God’s wrath is coming and that’s not going to help you a bit.”

          John was looking for a repentance that brought a change in life, which meant a change in plans and actions and life-style.  He talked about people sharing their possessions, treating others carefully, and being content with the wages they received.  That’s why he called the leaders a bunch of snakes when they came, because their repentance was superficial, it had made no difference in their lives.

          Who interrupted this incredible ministry that was influencing the whole of Israel?  A petty “king” named Herod, who wasn’t even really a “king;” he was a tetrarch. 

          B.  Herod had an tragic “run” of service for himself.  Who is this “Herod?”  He seems to have lived a long time, because he appears in Matthew 2 when he kills all the babies in Bethlehem, then he is still around 55 years later when Paul the apostle presents the gospel to a Herod Agrippa in Acts 25.  There are actually five Herods during these 55 years and it is easy to get confused.  Let me help you distinguish them.

          We start with Herod the Great who founded the dynasty and ruled from 37 BC to AD 4.  He was one phenomenal builder and built all kinds of things including the temple in Jerusalem.  But he was a monster.  He had 9 or 10 wives and thought nothing of killing his own sons or wives if they got in his way, or even if he suspected that they might get in his way.  He was the one who had the infants killed in Bethlehem – probably less than two months before his own death.

          Herod Archaelaus his eldest son took over and ruled from 4 BC to 6 AD.  He likewise was brutal.  On one occasion at Passover, he killed 3000 Jewish people and filled up the temple with dead bodies.  This was the Herod who was ruling when Joseph and Mary came back from Egypt and when they heard his name, and were warned in a dream, decided to go back to Nazareth.

          Archaelaus had a brother named Antipas who is the Herod of this chapter.  His title was “tetrarch,” which means “quarter ruler,” meaning that he had control over one quarter of Herod the Great’s original kingdom.  His kingdom encompassed Peraea and Galilee and he controlled it from 4BC to AD 39.

          There was also another brother named, Philip, who we will hear about later.  He wasn’t given part of the kingdom because Herod the Great didn’t trust his mother.

          The next Herod we meet is in Acts 12.  His name is Herod Agrippa.  He is a grandson of Herod the Great.  His dad’s name was Aristobulus, a son of Herod the Great, the son with the distinction of finally killing the old man.  Herod had actually killed a couple of his sons who he thought were plotting his death, but it looks like he missed Aristobulus.  Just to show you complex intermarriage had become among the Herods, Agrippa was the child of two first cousins, was married to another cousin, who was the daughter of his aunt, who again was married to an uncle! (Unger, 474-5).  This is the man who in Acts 12 killed James and tried to kill Peter, then a couple of days later, delivered a splendid oration in his royal robes to the shouts of the people saying, “the voice of a god!”  As a result God struck him with a disease where worms ate his body and he died.

          Then in Acts 25-26 we meet Herod Agrippa II, son of Agrippa I, who heard the gospel from the voice of the Apostle Paul and replied to him, “almost you have persuaded me to be a Christian” (Acts 26:28).

          Do you get the picture?  This whole family is a mess.  In spite of the fact that they probably knew many of the church leaders in the New Testament, and had opportunity after opportunity to interact with the gospel of Christ, there is no indication that any of them repented and turned to Him.

          C.  Herod experienced guilt over his actions.  This section replays an event that occurred a month or two before, when Herod had John killed.  It’s probably not long after John dies that Herod hears about Jesus’ ministry.  He immediately thinks of John.  He says, "This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!”  The phrase, “whom I beheaded” suggests Herod’s guilt.  The “I” is emphatic meaning that Herod is mulling over his personal responsibility in the deed.  He replays in his mind his decisions in the event.  He probably pictures himself sitting at the head table in the banquet hall looking with disgust at the gold platter being carried in containing John’s head dripping with blood.  He probably rehearses the choices he made that permitted his  manipulating wife to get him to sacrifice John for his teenage dancing daughter.

          And he comes to the conclusion that the miracle-working person he now hears about is that same John.  Others were suggesting that the miracle worker was Elijah or a prophet, but Herod knew.  What he had done came back to him through the ministry of Jesus.  He was sure that John had actually arisen from the dead.  And that was the reason for all the new powers.  He received them beyond the grave.  Do you see his conclusion in verse 14?  John has “risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him.”  A. B. Bruce said that he had “Baptist on the brain.” 

          You would think that if he was sure that John had come back to haunt him, he would want to repent and get his life right.  After all, if John is resurrected, Herod’s in trouble.  But that’s not part of the story.  Mark records that he knows that he had done as he replays the video in his mind of the awful deed.

          D.  Herod personally ended John’s ministry.  Herod brought the incredible “run” of John to an end.  In verse 17 you have the word, “himself.”  He personally sent his troops to stop John by grabbing him and putting him in prison.

          Why?  Was John a national threat to security?  No, nothing that big.  The truth was the Herod’s wife didn’t like him.  John had entered her life and told her that her actions were wrong.  He said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." 19 Therefore Herodias held it against him (almost literally, “she had it in for him”) and wanted to kill him, but she could not; 20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him.

          What ended John’s ministry?  The truth.  He told the truth, boldly, to their faces.  Herodias took that personally, and couldn’t stand the truth.  She not only wanted him stopped, she wanted him dead.  Probably at her insistence, Herod had John arrested and imprisoned in the fortress of Machaerus, located about four miles east of the Dead Sea.  It stood 3,500 feet above sea level on a rocky ridge on the barren heights of Moab, that was accessible from only one side.

          Have you ever thought about your “run?”  What are you giving your life for? What would it be like for you to give you all to God like John and go live in the desert?  That doesn’t sound very attractive, does it?  God hasn’t called us to desert life, but he has called us to serve Him here, in Bowie, in school, at work. 

          What does serving Him involve?  Speaking truth like John.  Have you ever told someone to their face that they are wrong, because God’s word said they were wrong?  We live in a day of “tolerance” where speaking truth like that is “wrong.”  Sometimes everything else is tolerated except truth.  And we talk about how to do it tactfully, or how to do it in a way where they don’t know that we are telling them that they are wrong.  May God help us to be bold in speaking His truth.

II.  John’s incredible life comes to an end (21-28).

21 Then an opportune day came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee. 22 And when Herodias' daughter herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, "Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you." 23 He also swore to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom."

          A.  It’s a birthday party!  Good things happen on birthdays don’t they?  Last Tuesday Kate and Ginger celebrated the birthdays of Sabrina and Kaeleigh downstairs with probably 10 little princesses coming in to meet “Betty the Ballerina.”  It was a great party.  Thursday night we were watching some of the video of the event where these girls were mesmerized by Betty, in her tutu, dancing for them.  Would you ever expect that an event like that could be turned into the “celebration” of death, with someone getting beheaded in a back room?  We wouldn’t expect it because we have never experienced Herod’s world.

          It was Herod’s birthday that became, as verse 21 says, the “opportune day,” the “strategic day” in his wife’s plan.  Royal birthdays were extravagant both in their display of wealth and their provision for pleasure.  I don’t know if you have ever heard the expression, “Herod’s birthday,” but apparently it is used as a proverbial statement of an excessively extravagant birthday.  The Jews would not have permitted a woman to dance before a group of men, and most Gentile mothers would have forbidden a daughter to do what the daughter of Herodias did, which says something about how low Herodias went to accomplish her demonic desire.  But she plotted to have her teenage daughter perform a dance at Herod’s birthday feast – probably a pretty wild one.  I would guess that Salome, the daughter, had learned new moves when she was in Rome.  And Rome was like a first century Hollywood, the capital of degeneration.  Herodias’ desire was that her husband would succumb to her daughter’s charms and make some rash promise to her.  She also calculated that the huge crowd would have some control over Herod.  Notice in verse 21 who was there: “Nobles” were the government officials; “high officers” means “commanders of a thousand” who were Roman military leaders.  “Chief men of Galilee” were the rich and famous from Galilee, the very area where Jesus had been ministering.  Herod’s party had assembled a large group of very impressive people, probably all dressed up in their first century finest.

          The location was the palace connected with the fort in which John the Baptist was imprisoned, Machaerus.  Herod usually lived in the capital of Galilee, Tiberias, on the sea of Galilee, but the party was closer to Jerusalem, and perhaps closer to his troops which may have been fighting a battle with the king of Arabia.

          And in comes Salome, not a professional dancer, just a teenage girl, with the latest in sensuality from Rome, carefully orchestrated by her conniving mother.  And she does the job.  Herod was so delighted with her performance that he promises with an oath to give her what she wants.  The wine and the company, his desire to make a grandiose display of the most magnificent royal style, had taken his reason away, and he promises her up to half his kingdom in verse 23.

          B.  The party becomes a funeral. 

24 So she went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask?" And she said, "The head of John the Baptist!" 25 Immediately she came in 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; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her. 27 Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought. And he went and beheaded him in prison, 28 brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother.

          Salome has to actually go and consult her mother.  But she quickly returns and demands “at once” the head of John the Baptist.  It’s a very specific request.  She wants an object (John’s head), at a place (here on a platter), at a time (at once).   She wanted only one thing, clear proof that John was dead.  She refused a promise from Herod or a guarantee of some future execution; she wanted evidence of his death right now. 

          As soon as Herod heard this macabre request, he was “exceedingly sorry,” “greatly distressed,” but couldn’t break his promise before all the influential people gathered around him.  Notice that the word oath in vs. 26 is plural – “because of the oaths’” – because he had apparently repeated his promise of a reward a couple of times.  He probably made the oaths to impress his guests, not realizing the possible side-effects of his guarantee.  So in spite of the incredible sickness of her request, in spite of his extreme sorrow over the trap into which he has just stepped, he could see no solution shy of obeying her request.  Verse 27 says, “immediately the king sent,” Do you see the irony in verse 27?  I wonder if Mark inserts the word “king” intentionally!  The “king” is obeying his daughter!  He has become nothing more than a tool of his conniving wife, who wants to eliminate the greatest prophet the world had ever known.

          And so we see these awful verbs in verses 27-28: “he went,” “beheaded him,” “brought his head on a platter,” “gave it to the girl,” “the girl gave it to her mother.”  What her mother did with it can only be imagined.

          Do you see the way life was “twisting” Herod here?  (1) He was “exceedingly sorry” and yet he was controlled by “those who sat with him.”  His guests twisted what he knew he should do and probably what he wanted to do.  Since his purpose in the birthday celebration was to impress these important guests, he couldn’t change his word even though he knew he had stuck his foot in his mouth and was choking on it.  Can you imagine living a life where you always have to impress those around you – at the expense of the greatest prophet in the world?  Proverbs 29:25 “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.”  Why could he not have impressed them with his kingly ability to handle his step-daughter and tell her that her request was inappropriate for the celebration of the moment, and that he won’t allow his birthday party to be turned into a horror play by the gruesome, ghastly desire of her stupid mother?

          (2) “Because of the oaths . . . he did not want to refuse her.”  Here the contrast is between the oaths he made in a drunken moment and the oaths of his office as king. This is the king commanding crime!  Why couldn’t he realize the stupidity of his oath and say to Salome that he promised her a gift not a crime?  “Half of his kingdom” does not include a criminal act.  Perhaps he could have made note that he had given the promise to her and not her mother?  Do you see the strange mix of desiring to be “faithful” to an oath on one hand by allowing himself to be twisted into “unfaithfulness” to his rule of law?  How could he fulfill an oath by breaking the many oaths of his office as king?  Herod is the “king” who has become the tool of his conniving wife.  He had not been courageous enough to obey John’s word and repent, which would have saved him, and now, because of that, he has to obey his own word, his own oath, and kill the messenger. 

          Poor Herod – and yet, not poor Herod.  The man was simply receiving the results of the character seeds he had sown over many years.  Do you know why Herodias was his wife?  He had stolen her!  She was the daughter of his brother, Aristobulus, who had first married his other brother, Philip.  Philip was Herodias’ uncle.  Philip had had trouble in his royal life because his mother had double-crossed his father, which wasn’t nice, and so he was not ruling in Israel, he was living “quietly” in Rome – with Herodias.  They had a daughter, Salome.  Herod made a trip to Rome and visited his brother, Philip, was taken in by Herodias’ beauty or cleverness, wealth, or something, and persuaded her to elope with him.  They took Salome with them and left Philip empty handed!  This means that Herodias has now been married to two of her uncles, or half-uncles.  Now Herod was already married when this happened – to the daughter of Aretas, King of Arabia.  She hears about the shenanigans in Rome and, not waiting to get divorced, leaves the area and goes back to her father.  Her father, of course, does not appreciate that his royal daughter has been treated this way, marshals his army and attacks Herod.  The reason why Herod is in the place connected with this fortress where John the Baptist is in prison is because the battle is getting ready to take place or has taken place.  As a result of the battle, Herod is defeated and loses most of his army.

          Poor Herod.  Does he repent?  Is he sorry for killing the greatest prophet in the world?  No.  It doesn’t seem to make any worthwhile dent in his thinking process.  We see a couple of months later, in Luke 13 that he intends to kill Jesus.  Some Pharisees, who might have been in on the plot, come to warn Jesus, saying, “Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You.” 32 And He said to them, “Go, tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.’ 33 “Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem.”

          You would think that with Baptist on the brain, Herod would be brought to his knees in repentance.  If John the Baptist is back, why not hear him again and obey him for once this time?  But no such luck.  Can you imagine thinking that Jesus is John resurrected, and wanting to kill John the second time?  When he believed that the first time didn’t work?  I wonder if he believed he would be any more successful if he killed John the second time?

          And then a couple of months later, one night Herod actually met Jesus face to face.  It was the night of Jesus’ betrayal and trial, Thursday night late, and Luke 23:8 says, “when Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see Him.”  And how did their interview go?  Luke 23:9 says, “so he questioned him at some length, but he made no answer.  The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him.  And Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him.”   What did Herod find when he interviewed the Son of God?  He found that God had nothing more to say to him.  He had killed John the voice of God for telling him the truth, and now, all he hears is silence.  

          Have you ever ignored the voice of God?  What happens when you don’t listen is not that you always get another chance, but that you always get more hardened.  Hebrews says, “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts . . .” (Heb. 3:7-8).

III.  John’s funeral contained only his disciples (29-30).

29 When his disciples heard of it, they came and took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb. 30 Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught.

          How many people came to John’s funeral?  Did John even have one?  Probably not.  It was only his disciples who were involved.  Do you realize how strange that was?  This man had impacted the entire nation of Israel.  Thousands of people had repented and turned to God.  Thousands of people traveled miles to hear him speak.  And yet, when he died, apparently only his disciples buried his body.  It’s remarkable that none of the Jewish leaders seemed to care.  A prophet of God!  Any dignity in his death?  Any recognition in his burial?  No.  None.  So what did he get for serving God, for being the greatest prophet the world has ever known?  Nothing – apparently.  His death was similar to the death of the One he introduced.  Jesus probably died just a little over a year after John’s death, and Isaiah 53 says of His death that “He was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people.”

          It doesn’t sound like God treats His servants very gently, does it?  Down through history the evidence seems to be that God doesn’t care.  For example, in about 250 AD a Christian named Saturnius, who was bishop of Toulouse was martyred by being dragged to death with his feet tied to the tail of a wild bull.  Believers at that time didn’t seem to have the courage to carry away his dead body and give him a decent burial.  At last two women came and moved it into a ditch.  This was a man who was known far and wide for his wisdom and writings.

          Have you ever worried about your death?  I used to experience fears about where God would lead me if I followed Him, dreaming about dying in the jungles of the Amazon, being eaten by piranhas.  The thought of hundreds of little fish eating on my flesh did not excite me.  Then I met Robb Warren who used to swim in lakes full of piranhas!  The point is that what we really need to worry about is what will happen to us if we don’t obey Jesus Christ.  Regardless of how it looks, God protects His own.

          What do you think happened to Herod?  He went on his merry way, right?  No.  His armies were shortly defeated by the Arabs, and five years after the death of Christ, he made an appeal to the Emperor Caligula to be given more territory, and was not only rejected, but was banished to Gaul (France) and then Spain, where he died.  Everything he had amounted to nothing.  Zero.  Zilch.  He had nothing really but the memory of the dubious honor of being the man who killed the greatest prophet ever sent to proclaim God’s Word.

          And what did John have?  Let me answer that question with this story which I am sure that many of you have heard.  It’s about a missionary who was coming back from the Orient on a ship that was also carrying President Roosevelt.  The missionary had spent 50 years faithfully serving God in hard conditions and couldn’t wait to put his feet again on American soil.  As the ship entered the harbor at Los Angeles or San Diego, there was a huge celebration.  Many smaller boats around it honking, hundreds of people on the shore, banners welcoming the president home.

          After a while, the missionary got a little discouraged, went to his room, got on his knees, and said to the Lord, “Lord, I have served you these many years, where is my welcome?”  And he said, it was like he heard a voice answering him, “missionary, you are not home yet!”  

          That is so true.  We are not home yet.  And what happened to John the Baptist on earth is not the indication of what happened to John the Baptist when he got “home!”  God’s response to a person’s faithfulness is not displayed down here. 

          What does this say to us?  That God works with every person individually, and that what He does for one He doesn’t necessarily do for another.  Enoch walked with Go d and disappeared, Noah built an ark and rescued his family.  But Isaiah lived for God, and was cut in half.  Jeremiah lived for God and spent time in prison.  Our natural response would be, “what went wrong?”  “If these people believed God, why did He not bless them?”  Doesn’t God bless faith?  Yes!  Always!  But not necessarily down here.

          Let’s keep trusting and obeying Him, even though our lives may be so different.  You say, “I never expected my life to turn this way.”  That’s alright.  The question now is, “will you keep trusting Him, obeying Him, and like John the Baptist, speaking the truth boldly?”  May God grant us His strength and power.

03/25/07, BBC am

20Mk6'14-30.MEF, 03/27/07