Mark 6:25

0:00 Every once in a while, something happens of such great cosmic significance that the whole world stops and takes notice. Or at least it should. Or at least in some of them, we wish that it would. This happened to me recently. I was standing in line at the grocery store. It was a long line. There was only one lane open. There was only one cashier. And there should have been multiple. And I waited and I waited and I waited.

0:31 And I finally got to that one point in the line. Do you know where it is? Where you're stuck between the corrals of Twix and Starburst and sodas and gum. And you're stuck at that point. You can't leave the line. And it was right then that another cashier showed up and opened the line right next door. And they always say, can I help who's next? But they don't really mean that, right? So the three people behind me moved over. And all of a sudden I'm watching, as I continue to wait, someone who was behind me start getting served.

1:04 And then I noticed that the person in front of me had coupons. And I wanted the skies to split. I wanted trumpets to sound. I wanted a declaration from above, whether it was something cosmically above me or maybe just the store manager, to right the wrong. It was unfair. That's what we are jumping into tonight, the middle of a story. We're jumping right to the height of what looks like a deep and eternal unfairness in this story of John the Baptist.

1:39 You can turn in your Bibles, if you have them, to page 841, and we'll see the story. We read it this morning. We're going to read at least some snippets of it. From this story of John the Baptist, we'll talk about something deeply unfair. Mark 6.25, 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.

2:11 We're going to look at this story in two points tonight, a good example and a mighty Savior. So first, a good example. John was sitting there in Herod's prison. Why? Because he'd boldly spoken the truth. He'd done what was right. He'd done what honored the Lord. And now he sits in Herod's prison. This Herod is the son of the Herod that most of us think of first when we hear that name. The Herod from the beginning of Luke's gospel and Matthew's gospel.

2:46 The Herod who received the wise men. This is his son 30 years later. And he's too much like his father. He's a power-hungry and vain and lecherous king. And he's weak, and he's thin-skinned, so much so that when he's publicly opposed, he does what tyrants have done throughout history. He attempts to silence his critic. So now John's in prison. You see, Herod had taken his brother's wife, Herodias, and John called him out on it.

3:22 It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife, John told him. So Herod went and seized him and bound him in prison. And now John sits and he sits and he sits in a dank, old, probably subterranean prison cell and he doesn't know when he'll get out. It's a place where people go to die. That's the context for our verse tonight. John's in prison because he'd confronted Herod with his sin. Herod didn't like it. Herodias didn't like it.

3:53 We read just a few verses earlier. She didn't like it so much that she wanted John's life, but Herod protected him, at least for a while. And then Herodias' daughter, Salome, gets inadvertently drawn into the story when Herod, pleased with her dancing at a banquet that he's thrown for nobles and military commanders and leading men of the city, when Herod, pleased with her dancing, vows to her, whatever you ask, I will give you, even up to half my kingdom, he says. And she went out and said to her mother, for what should I ask?

4:28 And she said, the head of John the Baptist. And I'm sure there's a translation error there because I think she said, the head of John the Baptist, duh. And Salome 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. And I wonder, as John sat in that prison, As he sat that night, he would have had no idea what was going on above him, but as he sat in that prison for weeks and months and more than a year, I wonder if he was thinking about Joseph.

5:05 Remember, Joseph also sat in a prison cell of a foreign king. Joseph was also innocent, and he didn't deserve to be there. And remember what happened to Joseph? The cupbearer, he'd been let out of prison and he said he'd remember Joseph, but he did not remember Joseph. But two years later, he did. He finally remembered Joseph. And someone came down to that cell door and let Joseph out and brought him up and let him bathe and shave and put on fine clothes. And he was brought before the king, where he was eventually honored and given great wealth and power. I wonder if John the Baptist was thinking about Joseph while he sat in that prison cell. Maybe John knew that a banquet was happening that night, but he couldn't have known the other events of what was happening above him. He certainly couldn't have known about King Herod's foolish oath, his foolish vow, something that had nothing to even do with John, and yet it would cost

6:07 him his life that night? Was John thinking about Joseph when that guard came to his cell door? Did he think this is my moment? What was he thinking? What was he thinking when a guard chuckled, you're to be brought before the king? What did he know? When did he know that his story would not end like Joseph's? Was he thinking about his father's song, his father's prophecy that we read this morning, the Lord has raised up a horn of salvation for us. Was he wondering when that horn of salvation would come for him? Was he wondering about that text that his father had said, those words his father had said, that we should be saved from the hand of all who hate us?

6:51 Was he thinking about that promise that the sunrise will visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness? John was sitting in darkness. When did he know that his story would not end like Joseph's. It all feels so deeply unfair. John had led this ascetic life, this difficult life without obvious earthly rewards, and now he's facing a humiliating death.

7:24 Was it all worth it? I don't think John thought like that. I'm sure he had his moments, right? I'm sure there were times that John like Abraham with Hagar doubted God's promises doubted God's goodness and sinned in that doubt I'm sure there were times when anger and frustration gave way to sin like with Moses at the rock with the stubborn Israelites but I don't think his imprisoned life was marked by that kind of thinking John is a good example for us he was faithful in a life marked by want and scarcity He was faithful in a life that was probably marked by loneliness and was certainly marked by physical hardship.

8:07 We see in the Bible that he was bold in his confession and witness. Like Greg said this morning, he said, behold, when he saw Jesus, behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He was bold in the midst of persecution like he was in front of King Herod, knowing the risks. He was humble before the Lord. he said, I am not the Christ, he must increase, but I must decrease. He was honest and clear-eyed even in doubt as he sat in prison. We read in Matthew and Luke that he doubted while he was in prison, but he was honest and clear-eyed even in his doubt, and he was obedient to the Lord even unto death. He's a good example to us of perseverance and faithfulness, of obedience in suffering and brothers and sisters we would do well to follow his example this is good and biblical this isn't just pull yourself up by your bootstraps moralism right Paul said follow me as I follow

9:10 Christ we see in Hebrews 13 a similar encouragement to consider the way of life of your your leaders and imitate them Paul wrote to Timothy in 1st Timothy 4 to set the believers an example and then he said that that has eternal significance. He said, so that all may see your progress. There's eternity at stake in our obedience. John is a good example for us, and we would do well to imitate him. In this passage also, we have bad examples. They abound in this passage.

9:43 We have examples of how not to conduct ourselves, how not to respond. So Christian, don't be like Herod. That's easy and obvious, right? Don't be like Herod in his pride and in his greed, throwing this banquet so that he can impress the rich and the powerful. Don't be like Herod in his lust and his lechery, parading the daughter of his wife for the pleasure of his guests. Don't be like Herod in his folly, making this careless oath. Don't be like his wife Herodias, holding a grudge, exemplifying what Jesus warned about in the Sermon on the Mount when he equated anger with murder.

10:23 Don't be like her daughter, Salome, going for advice to a bitter, sinful woman and then gleefully pursuing sin when the opportunity is handed to her. And not only that, but adding wickedness and cruelty to her mother's request. She said, the head of John the Baptist. And Salome asked for the head of John the Baptist on a platter so that it could be presented publicly at this party. All three of these characters in this story were enticed by their desires and their desires gave way to sin and sin, Christian, gives way to death.

11:00 One more thing to look at in this point, a good example. I want to look at one more aspect of Herod's sin. The verse that follows ours tonight, when Salome asks for the head of John the Baptist on a platter, It says that Herod was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests, he didn't turn back from his sin. He cares more about the approval of the world than doing what's right. He doesn't fear the Lord. And he's so close. We see that in at least four points in this passage.

11:33 Earlier in the passage, we see that he's a man who believes in the resurrection of the dead. We see that he fears John. We see that he's perplexed by John. We see in verse 26 that he's sorry to kill John and we see at the beginning of the passage that he's haunted by John. The passage starts with him wondering if John has come back from the dead and then we hear the story. He's haunted by John. He's so close. All he had to do was listen to John, but he didn't. He had worldly sorrow and worldly sorrow leads to death.

12:08 He didn't have godly sorrow that leads to life. And I want to encourage you, Christians, that you are never so far into sin that you can't turn back. Don't be like Herod, who, even though he was exceedingly sorry, could not do what was right, even when he knew what was right. Don't pursue sin because you think you'll let your friends down. Don't pursue sin because you made a dumb promise to someone. Don't pursue sin for the approval of others. Don't do it. It leads to death.

12:41 So we have an interesting story. We have good examples to emulate. We have bad examples to avoid. But we have a big problem. Because everyone sitting here tonight, you are either sitting here tonight and you are dead in your trespasses, or you are sitting here tonight and you are someone who once was dead in your trespasses. We can't obey on our own. We have a big problem. It's our sin, and we need, point two, a mighty Savior.

13:17 John's story didn't end like Joseph's, did it? Joseph was brought out of his prison cell and given clothes and given honor and given might and given wealth, and John had his head removed from his body. His story didn't end like Joseph's, did it? Christian his story did end like Joseph's you see for both men they had a few fleeting decades of life Joseph had 11 and John had three compared to eternity that's an that's an infinitesimal speck they each had a few short years of life filled with the provision and the kindness of God and when they took their last breath they woke up to the splendor of seeing their Savior face to face Their stories did end the same.

14:07 When Joseph died, he saw the Lord, the one who'd rescued his life from the pit. And when John died, he saw the Lord, the one who'd rescued his soul from death. Had John been waiting for that sun to rise? Well, he awoke to a heavenly morning where there was no need for sun because the glory of God gives it light. And this is all because John was right when he said, Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. You see, John wasn't the only one who obeyed God unto death.

14:39 Jesus obeyed the Father unto death. And this is the good news of the gospel. Christ, who knew no sin, became sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. And it's this who and what of the gospel that gives us the how of the Christian life, that gives us the ability to obey. we can imitate john in his bold faith we can imitate him in his perseverance and in his humility and we can flee sin precisely because of the gospel it's in christ by the help of the holy spirit that he makes our obedience possible and he's our reward he's the one who makes it all worth it what happened to john does feel unfair but the great injustice is that jesus christ the the Lord of all the universe, would hang on a cross and allow himself to be killed by sinful men so that we could have life.

15:38 John, the one who lost his life for the entertainment of the king's guests, he's the one that had true life. And King Herod, in all of his luxury and splendor, did not. So because of our great salvation, if you are in Christ tonight, we don't have to think about the world in terms of fairness. Praise God that we actually have what we don't deserve. And one day, we do have suffering. One day our suffering will feel light and momentary compared to that vastness of eternity when we wake up and see the Lord in his splendor face to face.

16:14 So Christian, bear up under suffering. Grab hold of that which is truly life, knowing that it comes from the hand of your merciful covenant-keeping king. Let's pray. heavenly father you are good to us in christ would you help us to bear up under suffering would you help us to obey knowing that you are a god who always keeps your promises knowing that you are a good and faithful king we ask in jesus name amen