Sermon Tone Analysis

Scripture Reading: Matthew 14:1-12

Passage: Mark 6:14-29

Intro: Have you ever had an identity crisis?

Where one day you just wake up and seemingly just do not know who you are any more?

Or have you ever had your identity stolen.

Where all of a sudden you have massive debt because some one “Wanted to be you.”

What about have you ever been mistaken for someone else?

I remember when I was a little kid, I was in the grocery store, and I wondered away from my mom.

So i was lost.

But I saw this lady and went up to her, and walked with her for a second.

Because she looked like my mom.

ANd then I realized my mistake.

This was not my mom.

Thankfully, the lady was really good friends with my mom, but still I remember being so embarrased.

But I remember mistaking this lady for my mom.

But mistaken identity happens all the time, and today we will see how it happened to Jesus, and how it still happens to Jesus to this day.

Passage Context: As we are continuing through the book of Mark, the author is describing Jesus, and how he is the Messiah.

And as we continue through the Book, we find ourselves in chapter 6.

In chapter 6, Mark is showing the reader the reactions to who people think Jesus is.

In verses 1-6 Mark shows the reaction of the people of Nazarath to Jesus’ return.

Then in verses 7-13 we will see next week that Jesus sends his disciples out to proclaim and we will see next week what they proclaimed.

But in between Jesus sending out his disciples and the disciples return to Jesus, we see what King Herod believed of Jesus.

And in the telling of who King Herod believed Jesus was, we see a story of John the Baptist.

But I want to argue something, this story is not give the reader a conclusion on John the Baptist, but rather to tell the reader of who Jesus is.

READ PASSAGE HERE

Passage explanation:

When we read this passage we see the author Mark tell a story inside of a story.

Its not really an illustration as much as it is a story inside of a story.

Let me explain.

Mark is revealing the identity of Jesus.

This is his main theme in the book of Mark.

And to reveal the true identity of Jesus, Mark gets insights on how other people viewed Jesus.

We have seen this with showing how the people of Nazareth, and Jesus’ family viewed him last week.

But we have also seen this in Mark 3:22-30 where the Scribes commit the unpardonable sin, by saying that Jesus is of Satan.

So the book of Mark reveals the different opinions of Jesus held by different key political players, religious players, and family members of Jesus.

So now we see that Mark is showing the identity of Jesus, by revealing Herod’s view of Jesus.

Now remember, Mark’s main point in telling this passage is not to tell the reader of what happened to John the Baptist, although it does, but the main point

Main Point: The main point of this passage is to show the identity of Jesus, by revealing the mistaken identity that Herod held of Jesus.

Call to Action: This passage gives us three scenes that show three ways to avoid having a mistaken identity of Jesus.

Scene 1: King Herod knows of Jesus.

Mark 6:14

Point 1: Avoiding a mistaken identity of Christ means Knowing who Jesus truly is.

Explanation: This passage starts by setting the scene of telling the reader that Herod had heard stories of Jesus.

look at verse 14, “Now King Herod heard of Him (Jesus)” Now before we go any further, to understand the point that Mark is making, we need to know who King Herod is.

The original readers of this book would not need this explanation, but us 2000 years away from the Roman/ Judah political structure, we need to look at the political landscape of this time.

Now remember that at this time the Roman empire was in charge.

But the Roman empire would allow the people that they conquered to set up a faux government.

So Herod here is the “King of the Jews.”

The Roman Emperor allows him to call himself king, as long as he keeps peace and makes the people pay taxes to the Roman Empire.

At this time there is also a governor.

His job is to work for Rome, and make sure that the people do not cause an uprising.

Now you might also be familiar with the term Herodians.

These are people are submitted to the Roman empire, because they granted them wealth and power.

And this wealth and power came through the fact that they are allowed to have their “king.”

Now realize something, when I say king, I do not mean, king as in having the power that we think a king would have.

But really, it is a figure head.

Very similar to the King of Great Britain.

Legally, they really do not have a lot of power, but they have wealth, and a title.

This is what Herod is.

A king by name, but very little actual power.

Now you might also be wondering, what Herod is this?

Remember the Herod that killed all the babies after Jesus’ birth?

Yeah, that is this Herod’s dad.

This Herod is Herod Antipas, who is one of the sons of Herod the Great.

So now that we know who King Herod is lets continue, “Heard of Him, for His name had become well known.”

The “Him” in this passage is Jesus.

So Herod heard of Jesus.

So realize what is happening, Jesus’ fame is is growing so much that the King of the area of Judea and Samaria, now has heard of Jesus.

His fame has landed on the king’s court.

But then we see a glimpse of what King Herod thought and believed Jesus to be.

“And he (Herod) said ‘John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him.’”

Now we will look at the first part of Herod’s statement in greater detail later, but notice That Herod, who knows that John the Baptist is dead, and we will figure out why and how he knows that John the Baptist is dead in a bit, heres of Jesus’ powers, and he hears of the fact that Jesus is raising people from the dead, and that Jesus is healing, and casting out demons.

And look at what Herod believed gave Jesus this power and authority.

Herod believed that because Jesus is truly a resurrected John the baptist and that is why Jesus had the power that he had.

Illustration:

Application: Now we will get to why Herod thought John the Baptist was ressurrected in a bit, but realize something, Jesus’ fame has grown so much that his name is before the king, the man that was in charge of keeping peace in Judah.

See Herod was in charge of making sure that Judah did not revolt against Rome.

That would be very bad for Herod.

He is given his authority and wealth by Rome.

So anyone stating that they were the true king, would raise alarms.

And Jesus’ fame had become so popular that Herod has now learned of Jesus.

I want you to be careful church, because you can make the same mistake that Herod made.

You can know of Jesus but not truly know Jesus.

Herod had what he thought to be an understanding of Jesus, but in truth he knew almost nothing of him.

This is true in many churches.

There are people sitting in pews who think they know Jesus, but the truth is they nothing of the true Jesus.

They think Jesus is genie who will bring their wishes, or they think of him as a teacher, or they think of him as some get out of Hell free Card.

But Jesus is so much more.

I beg of you church, learn of the true Jesus.

Learn of the Jesus, who calls you to lay down your life, the Jesus who says come find peace in me.

The Jesus who says that you do not need money, but you just need to follow me.

Follow that Jesus.

The Jesus of the apostles, who when they were beaten and jailed for Christ, counted it as joy to be able to suffer to Christ.

That is the Christ you want, not the Christ of the American prosperity, or the do what ever you want Jesus, I beg of you, to learn of the true Jesus, who says, be willing to give up everything and come follow me.

Transition: In this passage Mark tells us that Herod was not the only one confused on who Jesus is.

Part 2: The people wonder who Jesus can be.

Mark 6:15

Point 2: Avoiding the mistaken identity of Christ requires avoiding other people’s misunderstanding of Christ.

Explanation: Look at verse 15, “Others said, “It is Elijah.”

and others said, “It is the Prophet, or like on of the prophets.”