Sermon #24 Series:
Mark
Title: SEVEN LESSONS
FROM A
SEDUCTIVE PARTY
Text: Mark 6:14-29
Readings: Office: Buddy Daugherty Auditorium: Ron Wood
Subject: The Beheading of John the
Baptist
Date: Sunday
Evening - June 22, 1997
Tape # T-84
Introduction:
We have before us tonight Mark’s
divinely inspired account of the cruel, barbaric murder of God’s faithful
servant, John the Baptist. I have never understood why so many men seem to be
ashamed to wear the name Baptist, when it was so honorably worn by John, the
first Baptist. I count it an honor to wear the name he wore and pray for grace
to walk in his steps until my work on this earth is done. Mark tells the
melancholy story of John’s slaughter by Herod in greater detail than either
Matthew or Luke. Let’s read it with the reverence it deserves and pray that God
the Holy Spirit will graciously seal to our hearts the lessons it contains.
Mark 6:14-29 "And 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 show forth themselves in him. (15) Others said, That it is Elias. And others said, That it is a
prophet, or as one of the prophets. (16) But
when Herod heard thereof, he said, It
is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead. (17) For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and
bound him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife: for he had
married her. (18) For John had said
unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife. (19) Therefore Herodias had a quarrel
against him, and would have killed him; but she could not: (20) For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an
holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard
him gladly. (21) And when a
convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords,
high captains, and chief estates of
Galilee; (22) And when the daughter
of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat
with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I
will give it thee. (23) And he sware unto her, Whatsoever
thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee,
unto the half of my kingdom. (24) And
she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The
head of John the Baptist. (25) And
she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will
that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist. (26) And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath's sake, and for their
sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. (27) And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded
his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, (28) And brought his head in a charger,
and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother. (29) And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse,
and laid it in a tomb."
Without the slightest attempt at being
cute or clever, but with a purpose that will be obvious in a few minutes, I
have titled my message tonight - Seven
Lessons From A Seductive Party. As I hope you will see in a few
minutes, there is a lesson in the title itself. I will be as brief, but as
pointed as I possibly can. Here are the seven lessons set before us in this
paragraph. I hope, by the grace and power of God the Holy Spirit, to shoot them
as barbed arrows into your heart. That is where I am aiming.
I.
GOD HAS NOT LEFT HIMSELF WITHOUT A WITNESS, EVEN IN THE
DEPRAVED HEARTS OF FALLEN MEN.
A man’s conscience is an amazing
thing. Like the rest of our nature, our consciences are depraved and sinful.
Yet, truth has an amazing power over the consciences of men. Herod the king was
afraid of John the preacher, while John was living. And even after he had been
dead for some time, the memory of the Baptist street preacher and the sound of
his voice.
The fact is, everyone has a
conscience. Herod feared John the Baptist. Felix trembled as he listened to
Paul preach the gospel. Agrippa was “almost persuaded,” as the imprisoned
preacher reasoned with him about the things of God. Fallen and depraved as man
is, there is within him a voice called conscience, a voice that either accuses
or excuses him, a voice that cannot be silenced, a voice that can make even
great and powerful kings tremble.
This voice, the conscience, is one of
many things that distinguish men from beasts. The conscience is, or is at least
the reflection and result of, the law of God written upon the hearts of all men
by their Creator.
The conscience may be temporarily
quietened by many things. But the only thing that can purge a guilty conscience
is the blood of Christ. It takes the same thing to speak peace to the troubled
conscience that it takes to satisfy the law of God.
Mark 6:18 "For John had
said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife."
Herod was a terribly vile and wicked
man. Luke tells us that John reproved him for all the wickedness he had done,
though Matthew and Mark mention only the two most notable, obvious, commonly
known things practiced by the king. Herod was guilty of incest and adultery.
Not only had he taken his brother Philip’s wife, divorcing his own, but he
publicly flaunted his depraved behavior.
According to Josephus, the Jewish
historian, the situation was this, “Herod being sent for to Rome, called at his
brother Philip's by the way, where he fell into an amorous intrigue with his
wife, and agreed, upon his return, to take her with him and marry her; as he
accordingly did, and divorced his own wife, who was daughter of Aretas, king of
Arabia Petraea; which occasioned a war between Herod and his wife's father, in
which the former was beaten.” (Quoted by Gill)
For these public disgraces, these
public displays of contempt for God’s holy law, John publicly reproved the
king. In doing so, this faithful man stands as an example and pattern for every
gospel preacher to follow.
While I’m here, let me follow John’s
example. I stand before you as God’s servant. Therefore, I must speak for God.
In this day and age, when everyone, from the white house to the wash house is
advocating and promoting homosexuality, lesbianism, fornication, and adultery,
those things are still brazen, contemptuous violations of God’s law, “for which things’ sake the wrath of God
cometh upon the children of disobedience.” Those who behave in such a
manner not only bring upon themselves the wrath of God, they…
·
Contribute to the
degeneracy of society.
·
Teach those under
their influence to disregard God.
·
And wreck families
for generations to come.
II.
GOD’S SERVANTS ARE COURAGEOUS, BOLD MEN.
John the Baptist, when called to
preach in the king’s court, spoke to Herod, Herodias, and the assembled crowd
with the courage and boldness of a lion pursuing a lamb. He did not smooth his
words, soften his language, or try to find a way to get out of telling Herod
exactly what God required him to say.
Many men, like Balaam, try to serve
both God and their own bellies. They do not exactly lie to men. They do not
exactly deny Christ and the gospel of his grace. However, they try to make the
gospel palatable to unregenerate men by stating things very carefully so that
they do not offend their hearers. Some men call such behavior wisdom. I call it
compromise and treason.
That man who serves Christ, that man
who is led by and filled with the Holy Spirit carefully words his message to
expose man’s sin and enmity against God, probe his conscience, and demand that
he acknowledge and bow to the truth of God.
Acts 4:5-12 "And it came
to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes, (6) And Annas the high priest, and
Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the
high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. (7) And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what
power, or by what name, have ye done this?
(8) Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of
the people, and elders of Israel, (9) If
we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what
means he is made whole; (10) Be it
known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus
Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here
before you whole. (11) This is the
stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the
corner. (12) Neither is there
salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among
men, whereby we must be saved."
III. GOD’S
SERVANTS ARE REQUIRED, FOR THE GOSPEL’S SAKE, TO BE BLAMELESS MEN.
Mark 6:20 "For Herod
feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and
when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly."
1 Timothy 3:2 "A bishop then
must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour,
given to hospitality, apt to teach;"
I do not mean that God’s servants are
perfect in their behavior. They are not, neither do they claim to be. Neither
do I suggest that men will acknowledge and speak willfully of faithful
preachers. They seldom do. However, it is required of God that those men who
preach the gospel behave in such a manner that they do not give men a reason to
hold them in contempt, or give God’s enemies occasion to blaspheme. Herod did
not repent of his sin, but he knew that John the Baptist was God’s man and that
as such he was blameless in his behavior, just and holy.
IV. GOD
ALWAYS MEETS SINNERS AT THEIR POINT OF REBELLION AND DEMANDS SURRENDER.
People may go far and do much in the
exercise of religion and yet miss Christ and his salvation because they refuse
to yield at their point of rebellion. Herod went further than many. We are told
that he “feared John.” He “observed” him and “knew that he was a just man and
holy.” He “heard him gladly” “and did many” things in response to his
preaching. However, there was one thing Herod would not do. He would not give
up Herodias. He would not give up his adultery. Therefore he is in hell today!
Take warning, my friend, you will
either bow at your point of rebellion, or you will perish in your sins under
the wrath of God. Christ demands surrender. Naaman had to dip in the Jordan
seven times, or die as a leper. Herod had to give up Herodias or perish. And
you and I will either surrender to Christ as Lord at that very spot where we
most ardently desire to have our own way, or we will perish in hell.
We must keep back nothing. It is
better far to cut off your right arm and pluck but your right eye, and enter
into the kingdom of God halt and blind than to go to hell with them. It is not
enough that you admire your favorite preacher and hear him gladly. Do not hold
out against Christ. Surrender now!
V. THOSE
WHO WILL NOT HEAR GOD’S MESSENGER OFTEN BECOME HIS RESOLVED ENEMY.
As Herodias sat beside Herod and heard
John, she was seething. No doubt, she hid her anger, smiled politely, and may
have even said, as John greeted her at the door, “You sure stepped on our toes
today.” But from that moment, she was John’s resolved enemy, determined to
destroy him if she could! Like a lion waiting to catch its prey, she waited her
opportunity.
We must never be surprised when
faithful men are vilified by those who hate God. Elijah was accused of being
the cause of Israel’s troubles. Ahab
hated Micaiah because he never prophesied good things to him, but evil. And
Herodias hated John the Baptist because he exposed her adultery.
It is no disgrace to a preacher to be
unpopular, disliked, and evil spoken of by men. It is not an honor or a
preacher to be applauded by the community. Our Lord said to his disciples, “Woe unto you when all men speak well of
you!” We must never forget it.
You can almost mark it down as a
matter of certainty, when a man or woman suddenly turns against a preacher,
though he may not know how, when, or where, that preacher has, by his faithful
preaching of the gospel, stuck his finger right in the sore spot of their
hearts and exposed their sin.
VI. MISCHIEF
AND MISERY OFTEN FOLLOW THE MERIMENT OF THIS WORLD.
Herod threw himself a big birthday
party. It was a big thing. Everybody who was anybody was there. The place was
crowded with people, eating, drinking, dancing, and having good time in harmless fun. But when the harmless was over, sitting in the
laughing queen’s lap on a silver platter was the head of John the Baptist!
Herodias and her daughter knew what a
weakness Herod had for women. So the queen sent her daughter in to do a
striptease act before Herod. When his passions were ho, in a moment of unguarded excitement,
the king made a ridiculous oath publicly. He promised the stripper anything she
requested, up to half his kingdom. Now, she had him exactly where she wanted
him. Herod backed himself into a corner from which he could not extricate
himself without embarrassment. And, rather than embarrass himself before all
those important people, he did something that haunted him until his last
breath, something that continues to haunt his tormented soul in hell today. He
brutally murdered John the Baptist, a just, holy, man who had been faithful to
his soul!
Perhaps you are thinking, “Don, what’s
the point?” The point is just this - People
often do things at or immediately after times of great reveling, when passions
are high, which they normally would not do, things which they regret for the
rest of their lives. We would be wise always to avoid giving space to the
devil. We would be wise never to willingly put ourselves in the place of
temptation.
You young people may wonder why your
parents refuse to allow you to go to the parties all your friends get to go to,
why they refuse to let you run around all hours of the night, why they do not
seem to trust you to always do what
is right. It is because they know what can happen when your passions are high.
None of us knows what we are capable of doing.
Illustration: Don’t ever put yourself in a position where you can’t say,
‘No.’”
VII. OUR
BEST THINGS ARE YET TO COME.
Children of God, we must never look
for good in or from this world. John the Baptist was beheaded. Stephen was
stoned to death. The apostles were imprisoned, tortured, and cruelly murdered.
This was the world’s “thank you” to
those faithful men, of whom the world was not worthy, for their labors. The
histories of these men are meant to remind us that our reward is not here. Our
rest, our crown, our wages, our reward is on the other side of the grave. “If in this life only we have hope in
Christ, we are of all men most miserable!”
There is a day of retribution. There is a time of reaping.
There is a glorious harvest yet to come. The value of Christianity is not to be
measured by the things of this world, by the things of time, or by the things
that are seen. Be of good cheer, my brother. Be of good cheer, my sister.
Heaven will make amends for all!
Romans 8:18 "For I reckon
that the sufferings of this present time are
not worthy to be compared with
the glory which shall be revealed in us."
1 Corinthians 2:9 "But as it is
written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart
of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him."
2 Corinthians 4:17 "For our light
affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;"
“Life’s day will soon be o’er, all storms forever past,
We’ll cross the great divide to glory, safe at last;
We’ll share the joys of heaven - a harp, a home, a crown,
The tempter will be banished, we’ll lay our burden down!
It will be worth it all when we see Jesus!
Life’s trials will seem so small, when we see Christ!
One glimpse of His dear face all sorrow will erase,
So bravely run the race till we see Christ.”
Amen.