Mark 6:7–30
This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.
You know, sometimes when Christina is done playing, I just want to sit up here and say amen and then go home. But I do have a few things to say. It is the dog days of summer. The only sports on right now, if you like watching sports, are golf, baseball, and the WNBA. But for the next two weeks, we get a jolt of new sports to watch.
Perhaps you know, the Olympics are here. Snoop Dogg is here. We get to watch Flava Flav, watching water polo with Dr. Jill Biden. That seems like a sentence that you made up in Mad Libs, but it really happened. We get to watch equestrian... So until yesterday at like 2 p.m., I was going to pronounce this word dressage, but then my friend said, no, it's pronounced dressage. So we get to watch equestrian dressage, which is like horses prancing around.
Somehow they get points. I'm not sure. Yesterday, I watched the U.S. synchronized diving teams, Sarah Bacon and Cassidy Cook, best friends. They won the silver medal. I mean, they were so excited. They were FaceTiming with their family back home, and they were crying because of their glorious success. Yesterday, I watched Brody Malone. He's one of the best gymnasts in the world. He's probably the best gymnast on the American men's side.
He won the gold medal in the 2022 World Championships in the high bar. Yesterday, this fellow fell not once, but twice in his best event. Ruining any chances for him to compete for the all-around gold medal. What a gutting failure. He was crushed. And that's the Olympics for you. There's glorious success and there's gutting failure.
If you have a Bible open to Mark chapter 6, a few weeks ago we talked about how familiarity with Jesus does not equal faith in Jesus. We saw how Jesus' friends and his family rejected him in Nazareth. What does Jesus do when his friends and family reject him? Well, he kind of marvels at their unbelief, and then he moves on. What happens to people who refuse to believe in Jesus? Well, Jesus leaves them behind, and his departure is an act of judgment.
His departure means that they are cut off from Jesus' grace and his power and his restoring mercy. That's what we talked about a few weeks ago. This morning, we're going to find out what it looks like, what life can look like for those who do follow Jesus. So if two weeks ago was a picture of unbelief, this morning we're going to have a picture of belief. And that picture is a bit surprising, I think. So we're looking at Mark chapter 6, beginning in verse 6 all the way through 30.
Here's what I want to try to convince you of this morning. Which I think is what Mark wants us to convince you of. If he were here and he wanted you to go, why did I write this to you? I think this is the primary message he would want us to understand. It doesn't matter if it looks like success or failure. It doesn't matter if your life looks like success or failure. Because following Jesus is its own reward. following Jesus is its own reward. Two points to the sermon this morning.
The first one is success. The second point will be failure. We'll get to that in a minute. Point number one, success. Let's look at our Bibles. Mark chapter 6, beginning in the latter half of verse 6. Mark chapter 6, beginning in the latter half of verse 6. I'll read a couple verses. And he went about among the villages teaching. That's Jesus. And he called the 12, and he began to send them out two by two. He gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff.
No bread, no bag, no money in their belts, but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. Jesus said to them, whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that's on your feet as a testimony against them. So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. They cast out many demons. They anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them. Okay, we'll stop there for a second. This is pretty straightforward. What's going on? Jesus carries on his mission from the Father by calling and sending out the twelve in pairs to do exactly what Jesus has already been doing throughout his gospel. So, casting out demons. Check. Jesus has already done that. Leaving people behind in their heart and unbelief. Check. Jesus has already done that in Nazareth. Calling people to repent of their sin and to trust in the Lord. Check. Jesus has done
that. Healing people. Check. Jesus has done that. The goal of what we just read is for these 12 men to confirm Jesus's message and to extend its reach. Now, you might be tempted to be surprised by what these apostles can do. And after all, this room is full of followers of Jesus. And I don't know of anyone who is healing anyone or casting out demons. I don't think, I mean, Ryan saw we had lunch this week. You didn't tell me about the local outreach team that, you know, devotes much of its time to, you know, casting out the demons in Old Louisville or healing the sick in Old Louisville. I understand why you'd be tempted to be surprised by that. But I'm not really tempted by what, or surprised by what they're doing, I'm surprised that Jesus asked them to do anything at all. I mean, again, up until this point, the disciples have not been exactly models of faith.
You don't have to turn there, but here's a brief little summary, a resume of their unbelief. Mark chapter 4, they're in a storm. They get mad at Jesus. They go down to the bottom of the boat, and they say, Jesus, hey, don't you care that we're about to die? A few weeks back, we read the the passage in Mark chapter 5, when the woman with the issue of blood comes from behind Jesus, and she touches his cloak, and the disciples kind of make fun of him when Jesus asks who it was. They're like, yo, Jesus, you're in a crowd, and you're wondering who touched you. What a stupid question. These men have constantly, regularly doubted Jesus, and they will continue to doubt Jesus. They haven't been reassuring or helpful. Jesus has been doing everything on his own.
They've been kind of raising their eyebrows at him. So how does Jesus reward this behavior? Well, we just read it. He equips them with his authority, and he sends them out. Jesus loves to use unqualified people. Now, part of the reason for that is because it's all he has to choose from. but he also loves to use unqualified people because it requires those people to depend on Jesus and not their own perceived fitness for the task.
Just think about your life for a moment. What are you facing that, if you're honest, you feel totally unqualified for? Again, none of us has asked, as far as I know, by the Lord to confirm his message by performing miracles. And if you think you have, well, please find me after this. No, if you think you have, just do it right now, because the sermon can wait if you can do something like the disciples did. I don't assume anyone's going to, seeing none, I'm going to move on. But what in your life is staring at you in the face, and you're staring it in the face, and you're thinking to yourself, you take a big gulp, you think to yourself, I am entirely, entirely unqualified or unprepared to deal with this.
Maybe you have rebellious kids. Maybe you have a new baby. You don't know what to do with it. Maybe you have impossible to please parents. Maybe you have a loveless marriage. It's been that way for a long time. And you're like, I guess this just is how it is for us. Maybe you have a lack of marriage. It's been that way for a long time.
And you just think to yourself, well, I guess this is the lot I'm being dealt. Maybe you have a new job or an old job that you don't know how to do or want to do. And it is stressing you out. And it's just weighing on you. Maybe you have a particular battle against sin that slowly over time has grown into an all-out war with no end in sight. Whatever it is, you're staring at that thing in the face.
And you take a big gulp and you know deep down inside i can't do this i can't do this on my own to which i would say you're right it's good that you've come to that conclusion about yourself you can't do it on your own again our our particular callings in life will not look exactly like what we just read in terms of the particular the details what they're doing but it does require precisely what the disciples showed at least here for a moment which is total dependence on Jesus do you see how it works Jesus calls the unqualified and he equips them but he doesn't he doesn't equip them with what you think he would equip them with he and he seems to kind of make their job harder by telling them hey don't take anything
Take a staff, probably to like, you know, beat down wolves or camels or whatever. Take some sandals, because if you don't, you'll be back here in like a few hours. But other than the staff and the sandals, take nothing with you. No bread. No money. No bag. Basically, just show up at houses. See if they'll let you in. See if they'll feed you. Stay as long as they'll let you stay. And when they kick you out, leave.
And if these strangers, if they do kick you out, don't worry about it. Shake it off. Keep moving. But again, this request seems kind of crazy. It's like telling a football team, all right, go. Win a bunch of games. But you can't have pads. And you can't have a playbook. You can't drink water. What's going on? Why is Jesus doing this? Again, it's very simple. He wants these guys to put their trust in him.
He wants them to know that they can do whatever it is he asks them to do through him, through Christ who gives them strength. He wants these disciples to know that his power, Jesus' power, is made perfect, public, through their weakness, through their dependence. Imagine for a moment if Jesus had sent the 12 out, you know, like a mom sends their kid to their first sleepover, right? Like a bag full of extra clothes, 35 snacks, you know, a mini fridge full of food. Imagine if Jesus had told his disciples, listen, listen, I've booked you a luxury suite at this Galilean hotel. You can use my status. You get free Wi-Fi, free breakfast it's delicious imagine if he had said that then they'd head out on their journey these disciples split up in pairs well rested belly's full they'd knock on the doors of these
strangers and they would say hey we're here to tell you to believe in jesus he's everything you'll ever need believe in jesus he loves you he's all you need in life he's all you need in life then a few minutes later a few hours later let's imagine these folks said no thanks they kick him out these folks would stand in their doorway watch the disciples leave climb onto their camel or whatever with food and clothes and on their way to the next town and these people if that were the case might be thinking well of course of course these guys believe in Jesus. He's given them everything that they need, like, to live life. He's given them food. He's given them clothes. Of course they believe in Jesus. Maybe they don't love Jesus. Maybe they just love the stuff that Jesus gives them access to. Of course the
opposite happens. These road-weary disciples travel from house to house with nothing. Nothing but a sincere invitation to trust in Jesus. And a sincere example in their own lives as people who are, even in that present moment, relying on Jesus. Think about what an example it could have been to the people whose hearts weren't hard.
Wow. These people must believe what they're saying. Because they seem to have staked their lives on the trustworthiness, the dependability, the authority that he gave of this man. We need to be careful sometimes reading the Bible. This is not an exact paradigm for us. I'm not saying, Mark is not saying, listen, if you're a real Christian, you'll sell everything you have. You'll go door to door. You know, you and the Jehovah's Witnesses, you just, you figure it out. You spread it out. You switch. You know, that's what you do. That's what real Christians do.
No, of course not. And yet, I don't want to dismiss the example here. We should see something familiar. Our lives, though they look a little different, It should be marked by total dependence on Jesus. Just like Jairus a few weeks ago. Just like the woman with the issue of blood. Just like the twelve. Our lives should be marked by total dependence on Jesus. So the thing that makes you go, you just don't know what to say, makes you gulp.
The job, the kids, the wife, the marriage, the fear of discipling and evangelism, the problem against sin, whatever it is, what you need most, friend, in that battle, is jesus you need to believe that he is with you you need to believe that he is enough and here's i don't mean to say it's just you and jesus because what does jesus want you to have first besides him he wants you to have a church so if you're here this morning and you're following jesus you're like okay the message of this sermon is me and jesus following you know just me and him solo the rest of our lives no join a church because what the church does is it locks arms with you and helps you follow him the great commission many of you probably know it go therefore and make disciples of all nations that's the command he's saying this primarily to 12 guys i imagine what they're like okay uh wish us luck that's the command but i think sometimes we focus on the command and we
forget that the command is like, it's like shrouded in two beautiful promises that make the command like make sense or even possible. Well, the first command is Jesus says before that, all authority on heaven and on earth has been given to me. There's no more authority left than that. That kind of covers the basis, heaven and earth. All of that Jesus says, that's mine. Then after the command. He says, I'll be with you. Do you notice in the Great Commission the bigness and the nearness of God? I have all authority. I'll be with you forever.
So go. Make disciples. And guess what? Here we are 2,000 years later. as proof that that promise was not mere sentiment. Like, we're here, we're Christians. We are made disciples through the faithfulness of generations, centuries even, of Christians who followed and depended on Jesus. I mentioned in our prayer that we sent the Smiths off this week. We sent them to France.
Clearly those people need Jesus. I am eager to see how the Lord's successful mission will play itself out through the Smith's work in Marseille. I just can't wait to see. I mean, I don't know how to state it more clearly. Jesus' mission will succeed. Jesus' mission will succeed.
It will succeed through the church. The gates of hell will not prevail against the church. Its success has been secured on the cross. Again, my friends, when Jesus died on the cross, it was not a mere sentiment that love triumphs over hate or good triumphs over evil. Sure, that's part of what's going on. But what happens on the cross is that Jesus purchases a people for himself from every tribe and tongue and people and nation from all time. The success of Jesus' mission secured through the cross and the empty tomb is simply put, a success.
We can presume it's success without being presumptuous. So my brothers and sisters, go and make disciples. He's called you. He sent you out. And again, we didn't send the Smiths as solo operatives into France. We sent them in the care of a church with the hopes of starting another church. In Mark chapter 6, verse 7 to 12, which we've read, Jesus sent the apostles out with authority.
And they succeeded in precisely what they were to do. It didn't matter that they didn't have any money. It didn't matter that they didn't have any food. It didn't matter that they didn't have extra clothes or a place to stay. They had Jesus and his promises. And those were enough. Brothers and sisters, following Jesus is its own reward, wherever it takes you. Sometimes following Jesus looks like success.
Sometimes the success is so obvious that it attracts the attention of kings. Look with me at verse 14. King Herod heard of it, which I think is all that the apostles had done in the name of Jesus. for Jesus' name had become known. Some said, John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. That's why these miraculous powers are at work in him.
Others said he's Elijah. Others said he's a prophet, like one of the prophets of old. So just so we're on the same page, this guy, King Herod, he hears about the disciples' successful ministry in the name of Jesus, and people are like, that can't be true. That can't be true. Remember that guy, John the Baptist, who also did kind of crazy things? Maybe he, you can't have two of these people in a generation, so he must have risen from the dead. Now, John the Baptist, we didn't start, people keep calling this a series, it's church, three sermons.
We didn't start in Mark chapter 1, but in Mark chapter 1, John the Baptist does show up. Mark hasn't said anything about him since Mark chapter 1. What's he doing there? Well, he's preaching, he's eating bugs, he's preparing the way for Jesus. And then we read, Mark chapter 1, verse 14, that John the Baptist gets arrested. And then Mark kind of moves on. We're not told why. So again, Herod hears this explanation, this plausible explanation for how these miraculous things are happening. And somewhat shockingly, he kind of agrees with it.
It's shocking because, well, we'll find out in a second. Look at verse 16. But when Herod heard of it, again, the reasons for what's happening, he said, John, whom I beheaded, has been raised. So Mark records this comment about Herod, and then he decides, I should probably close the loop on this John the Baptist character. So what we're about to read is a flashback. It's a flashback as to how this happened.
Here's what I can tell you before we read the text. John the Baptist is dead because sometimes following Jesus looks a lot like failure. Which brings me to point number two. Verse 17, getting the flashback. For it was Herod who had sent and seized John, bound him in prison, answering the question of Mark 1.14. For the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife.
Because he'd married her. So just short tracking. Herod married his sister-in-law. For John had been saying to Herod, it's not lawful for you to have your brother's wife. And Herodias had a grudge against him. That's Herod's new wife. She wanted to put him to death, but she couldn't. For Herod feared John. He knew he was a righteous and holy man. I don't know how familiar I was scripture, but Herod is a lot like Pilate here. So he kept him safe.
When he heard him, that's when Herod heard John the Baptist, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly. But an opportunity came when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. For when Herodias' daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, Ask for me, this is his stepdaughter, ask for me whatever you wish, I'll give it to you.
He vowed to her, whatever you ask me, I'll give to you, up to half my kingdom. So she went out and said to her mother, Herodias, the one who hates John the Baptist, for what should I ask? And she said, the head of John the Baptist. And she, that is the daughter, came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter. And the king was exceedingly sorry. Because of his oaths and his guests, he didn't want to break his word to her.
And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head. He went and beheaded him in the prison and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl. And the girl gave it to her mother. When the disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb. What a terrible story. John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Messiah, gets murdered because the king's wicked wife wants him dead, and she is happy to use her daughter to wicked ends. Again, so much we could say. How tragic, thinking of Herod for a moment, to gladly hear sermons about Jesus and yet do nothing about them.
How tragic, again, about Herod, to be happy with merely being pleasantly perplexed by the creator of the universe. Maybe you're here this morning and you're here out of curiosity. Praise God, glad you're here. Don't stop at curiosity. Jesus wants faith. How tragic to marry such a spiteful woman. How tragic to use your daughter or your stepdaughter, my goodness, for the pleasure of gawking guests.
How tragic to fear the people in your life, your spouse, the guests that you want to please and impress, more than the creator of the universe. Do you see how Herod is motivated? Not really by this kind of internal bloodlust. He's motivated. He gives in because of his fear of man. Brothers and sisters, fear of man can lead you to do some awful things. How tragic that this bug-eating, baptizing, thundering preacher and prophet gets wiped off the pages of history.
and the pages of Scripture without a single word. I mean, this takes place probably in the span of 30 minutes. He doesn't even get to say anything. This man, John the Baptist, had wholly depended on Jesus. He was poor for the sake of Jesus before it was cool to be poor for the sake of Jesus. He followed him before there were crowds following him. This man who had prepared the way for Jesus and had constantly appointed away from himself and toward the Lord. He must increase. I must decrease. This man goes out like that?
How can it be? I mean, he's following the same Jesus, but unlike the disciples, his mission wasn't met with success, but suffering, not with miracles, but incarceration, not a defeat of evil spirits, but death, his own head, served up on a platter as people were surely, gleefully enjoying the whole charade. I love John the Baptist.
His opening act, he was a fiery herald of the coming Messiah. In his closing act, he died an innocent, righteous, godly man. You see, the world may look at his conclusion, and certainly they did moments after it happened, as a total, complete failure, perhaps even a joke. What I want you to see, and honestly, you will only believe this if you're a Christian.
Like, what I'm about to say is so stupid if you're not a Christian. Why not just stop believing in Jesus and get out of prison? But if you're a Christian, what we just read is not a failure. It's a fitting culmination to John the Baptist's preparatory, pave-the-way ministry. Brothers and sisters, John the Baptist remained faithful until the end. Think about our passage for a moment, from beginning to end. Jesus calls and sends out the 12 to do exactly what he has been doing throughout the beginning of his gospel.
throughout the beginning of his ministry. And then Jesus calls John the Baptist to do exactly what he will do at the end of his ministry, to be unjustly killed as a silent yet successful sufferer. The man who paved his way, paved the way for Jesus' ministry, now paves the way for his death. I don't know how much you know about scripture, but there is no more innocent sufferer than Jesus Christ.
His life ended in apparent, utter failure. Oh my goodness, he is mocked from beginning of his trial till he breathes his final breath. But again, if you have eyes to see, if you believe that God is real and eternity exists and he has chosen mercifully to reveal himself in his word, then when we hear that historically accurate report, what we hear and what we believe is that that was not a failure, but it was success. In fact, the height of success. Brothers and sisters, Jesus's death enables any of us to have life.
And his suffering sustains us throughout our own. Sometimes following Jesus looks like success. It really does. Sometimes following Jesus looks like total, abject, complete, whatever adjective you want to use, failure. But it's always worth it. Because following Christ, it's its own reward.
I can't tell the future. I have no idea what's going to happen to any of us, much less myself. But I believe the promises in this word. Maybe some of you right now feel like the disciples. If you're on fire for Jesus, you're confident and happy and spurred on to love and good works. And again, if that's you, praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Again, as I pray it, I pray that that moment would feel like a season and that it would extend.
Praise the Lord. Keep following Him. And as you follow Him, even amidst the happy circumstances, keep your eyes fixed on Him, not the circumstances, because the circumstances will inevitably change and get harder. I love when people's walks with the Lord are going well, in large part because it's just so attractive. So if you're following Jesus, again, And you're just in a happy season. If you're not like discipling someone regularly and just talking to them about their life and yours, you should start.
It's one of the most beautiful things about being a member of a church. Some of you, though, you feel like John the Baptist. You kind of feel like your head has left your shoulders. And you are at the ever-changing mercy of the people and the circumstances around you who seem to want the worst for you. You are looking up at a mountain of confusion and of suffering. To which I would basically give the same advice.
I'm so sorry that's happening. Keep your eyes locked on Jesus. Lord willing, one day your circumstances will change. We talked about the Smiths, how we're sending them out, awaiting their success. Here's the beautiful thing about missions. Let's imagine that Evan and Amy go in their new church, and they see no fruit. And their lives, just given, I mean, they are grinding away in ministry. They're sharing the gospel.
They're doing everything that they can. They are not being lazy. And yet they see no fruit. I mean, Tim Jackson, I see you right there. Same thing happens to you, bro. I hope it doesn't happen. Let's just say it does. You go to the UAE and just, no fruit. A life spent like that, to the world, looks like a total perplexing failure. Even if, God forbid, that the Jacksons or the Smiths go and they lose their lives for following Christ. Their going and ascending was worth it.
Because in Jesus' economy, failure, from the world's perspective, is always temporary and ultimate success is always certain. Following Jesus is its own reward. Whether you're going on the mission field or you're trying to be a faithful mom, following Jesus is always worth it. Right now, John the Baptist is awaiting his glorious resurrection.
Where his head will be restored. He's awaiting a feast that is far better than Herod's birthday party. And Herod and his wicked wife are in the grave. We have one more verse to look at. Verse 30.
The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all they had done and taught. It's kind of weird. This verse fits with 613, not 629. Seriously, you could cut the whole John the Baptist flashback, and it would flow, it would be totally sensible in its flow. I'll just read it. Verse 13, and they cast out many demons and anointed with oil, many who were sick, and healed them. All the way to verse 30, the apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. Verse 31, and he said to them, okay, we'll get there in seven years during Greg's next sabbatical.
So this raises the question, what is Mark doing? Like, did he just get scatterbrained and kind of insert this random story about John the Baptist because he mentioned it and he was like, oh yeah, I actually never told anybody what happened to him. You know, erasing is really hard in the ancient days, so he's like, I guess I'll just put it here. Well, no. The Holy Spirit is smarter than that, certainly. Mark is smarter than that. I think what's going on is similar to what we saw with Jairus and the woman with the issue of blood.
You know, how one story gets interrupted by another and then closed back. You see how it works? Now, this conclusion is only one verse, but it's intentional. I think Mark picks up where he left off because he wants readers, both us and the original readers, to see two portraits of the Christian walk, successful disciples, beheaded John the Baptist, And to ask ourselves, is Jesus worth it? Maybe you put your faith in Jesus a long time ago.
You have a short testimony of a long life knowing him. But if you're honest, your life has kind of slid into this comfortable, riskless relationship. You don't ask much of him. He doesn't expect much of you. Yeah, you go to church. But you've kind of resisted the ways in which he's calling you to greater faithfulness.
If that's you, I know what that's like. I'm not here to condemn you. Stop that. No, I know what that's like. I just simply want to say, focus your eyes on Christ. Whatever he has for you, it's worth it. Follow him. Like, fervently, with all your heart. Following Jesus is its own reward, wherever it takes you. Maybe some of you don't believe in Jesus at all.
Your life's not affected by him. Or maybe you're like Herod. You're kind of happily perplexed. I like hearing sermons. Interesting. If that's you, I do think that this passage offers you a bit of a warning. Certainly last week did. There will come a day when you will have heard your last sermon. You'll have listened to your last preacher. What happens next? I don't know. One thing that certainly happens next, unless Jesus comes back, is that you'll die.
And when you do, those of you who don't know Jesus, don't believe in him, you might be tempted to say, hold on, why didn't you make this whole, like, Jesus thing more obvious? Why wasn't it clearer to me that, like, it was worth it following Jesus? I saw all these Christians and their lives were a wreck. I hesitate to speak for the Lord in a hypothetical conversation, but he might say something like, are you kidding me? I sent you a church at least one time. I sent you some Christian friends. I sent you siblings. I sent you parents. I sent you that annoying co-worker next to you in the cubicle. I sent you your friend from high school who always wanted to talk to you about Jesus. I sent you that preacher on the radio. I sent you that book in the mail that got accidentally mailed to your address. I sent my beloved son to die on the cross for sinners like you. And I did not whisk his body away in secret. I rose him on the third day
public for all to see as proof that I am exactly who I say that I am. do you think that's not enough if that's you this morning right now you are failing to follow Christ should you persist in that until you die that failure will stick but it doesn't have to brothers sisters sometimes following jesus looks pretty successful sometimes it looks like total absolute failure but that's okay because following christ and whatever you're going through it's always its own
reward let's pray Father in heaven we rejoice in the promises of scripture and we ask that we would believe them with all of our hearts we pray all this in Jesus name Amen