Mark 6:12-30

This story reads like a script in a day time soap opera. Misinformation. Speculation. Face saving, grudge holding, pleasure seeking, political posturing, mismanagement of power, massive family drama and murder. All of this comes to us neatly wrapped in sandwich form.

Markan Sandwich: Mark starts telling a story, then interjects another story, then finishes the first story. It is a literary phenomenon as a, “Markan Sandwich.” When Mark does this He is connecting thematic motifs for us to consider.

The sandwich served today is one we need to send back to the kitchen. It is disgusting. Actually the outsides are good, the bread is good, but the inside, will make you want to vomit.

Have you ever been eating a sandwich or really any kind of dish and bit down and realize that there was a hair in your food. I can tell by some of your reactions just how unpleasant it is. Do you know the feeling that you get between your lips as you begin to pull that hair out and wonder just how long it is? It's just disgusting.

That's honestly what I thought about when I was reading this passage. This is just absolutely disgusting on so many levels it's absolutely disgusting it's like you want nothing to do with it you want to send it back to the kitchen so to speak but here it is served up in the text today for us to deal with.

We are going to be forced to discuss some really hard things today especially as we try and apply this passage to our own lives.

Mark 6:12–30 (ESV)

12 So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. 13 And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.

14 King Herod heard of it, for Jesus’ name had become known.

Some said, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” 15 But others said, “He is Elijah.” And others said, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.”

16 But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.”

17 For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”

19 And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, 20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.

21 But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 For when Herodias’s daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests.

And the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.” 23 And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.” 24 And she went out and said to her mother, “For what should I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.”

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.”

26 And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. 27 And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison 28 and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother.

29 When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

30 The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught.

PRAY

The delicious outside. (Mark 6:12-13; 30)

Mark 6:12–13 (ESV)

12 So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. 13 And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them…30 The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught.

So there is the outer layer of the sandwich. The disciples are sent out by Jesus to proclaim that people should repent. They obey and then return and report to Him about their obedience. As a result of them willing to preach repentance some responded positively and recieved the physical, emotional, societal, and spiritual healing they needed. It is so good. But now we have to contrast all that goodness with the nastiness we see in the middle. In the middle we see what happens when a faithful follower of Jesus speaks up to and out against a political authority at the time who was engaged in debauched living! It ain’t pretty.

So that is the delicious outside. Wish we could spend more time savoring it, but we need to attempt to digest…

The disgusting inside. (Mark 6:14-29)

To save time we aren’t going to read through all the verses again, but we will highlight the content as we talk through the passage.

First of all, in verses (14-16) Herod, in His arrogance, came to the wrong conclusion about who John the Baptist was. Here we have an ill informed political authority coming to a wrong conclusion about a very important matter. (man that sound like a familiar storyline).

Herod heard about all the amazing things happening by the obedient disciples of Jesus and everyone in society at that time was trying to figure out how in the world they were pulling it all off.

Maybe John the Baptist was raised from the dead? Maybe Jesus is actually Elijah…after all never died in the OT, just rode of on a chariot of fire. Maybe Elijah has returned. Or maybe He is just a run of the mill prophet of old who happened to have a little bit more power.

Everyone was speculating, but everyones speculation were wrong. Even the highest ranking leader in the land got it wrong. Herod had access to to real data, via census and data keeping; Jesus was from Nazareth, we were told that in last weeks passage, but Herod fails to understand some very basic information. This reality is what we will base our application on later on in the sermon as we talk about 3 very basic building blocks that need to be understood in our society has forgotten.

Next, in verse 17-20, Herod participated in something unlawful and John called him and his partner in lawlessness out for it. Herod’s partner in lawlessness and immorality was offended that their behavior was called unlawful and so she wanted nothing more than to cancel his culture. She nursed a grudge and wanted him killed.

I think this shows us how utterly incessant evil can be. It won’t stop if you give it an inch. It will creatively try and take a foot and a yard and a mile.

Strangely enough, Herod attempts to be a gatekeeper at this point and shows a little backbone and doesn’t allow her wish to come true. Maybe he appreciated the gutsiness of John’s conviction. Herod was compelled and intrigued by John’s willingness to quite literally put his neck on the line for truth. Herod’s assessment of John is found in verse 20. Mark 6:20

Mark 6:20 (ESV)

20 …Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.

Herod knew deep down that what John was saying was categorically, morally right and there was part of him, although greatly perplexed by the content, still gladly appreciated what was being said.

Herod’s assessment of John is that he was “Righteous and holy.”

But in verses 21- we see the backbone of Herod break as he and the guests at his birthday celebration are sexually aroused, by his unlawful wife’s daughter as she erotically dances for them.

And the “guests” at this twisted birthday party were other political higher ups…

Mark 6:21 (ESV)

21 …his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee.

This is sick right? It’s not just a little bit disgusting. This is one long curly hair being pulled out between our lips. I don’t think anyone in their right mind would want these types of people governing the land. Herod himself had actually demonstrated good “leadership ability and business savvy” by helping the Jewish people rebuild the temple in Jerusalem (a project his dad had started), but this fact should not outweigh the immorality we see running rampant at his birthday party.

And believe it or not, it gets worse in verses 22-27. Misinformed, immoral, spineless Herod fails to be the protector of the “righteous and holy” man by offering a rash and reckless vow to a girl who had sexually aroused him. To her he said,

Mark 6:22–23 (ESV)

22 And the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.” 23 And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.”

First of all, he didn’t even have to do this. He didn’t owe her anything, so how ridiculous is it to say something like this and then actually follow through with it? “Ask me for whatever you wish?” “How about up to half my kingdom?”

What the “market value” for“half a kingdom” anyway?

Herod seems to undervalue it so much that he foolishly and recklessly offers it as an appreciation for a sexual favor?

I can’t stress how twisted and off this, but it gets even worse because the “dancing daughter” asks her “grudge holding mom” what she wanted and all she wants is the head of John the Baptist?

What?

They could have had “half the kingdom,” but all she wanted is the “righteous and holy” man speaking of behalf of God dead. Not just dead; beheaded. And beheaded immediately. Like before this birthday party is over, I want his head served to me on a platter as if it was a party favor. Thanks for coming to my immoral, filthy party, here is a head on a platter as a token of my thanks for you being here.

People this is so twisted! This shows you how messed up sinful human hearts can become when it is okay with doing what God has forbidden.

People it gets even worse when we read verses 26-28.

Mark 6:26–28 (ESV)

26 And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. 27 And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison 28 and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother.

Herod knew the order he gave was wrong and evil, but he did it anyway in order to save face. He didn’t want to “break his word” to the temptress, but he was willing to cut the head off of the “righteous and holy” prophet of God. I can’t stress how EVIL this all is.

And Mark finishes the last part of this disgusting middle section in verse 29 which actually is included to foreshadow what would eventually happen to Jesus.

Mark 6:29 (ESV)

29 When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

At the end of the Gospel of Mark, a disciple named.

Mark 15:46 (ESV)

46 And Joseph bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb…

Yuck. Send this sandwich back.

Ok…how to do we apply this passage today in 21st century America. How might we need to put our necks on the line to be faithful witnesses to the One who was completely “righteous and holy,” innocent of all accusation yet severely slaughtered on our behalf? What is the market value of His sacrifice?

His sacrifice is worth our obedience to proclaim things that He says are true.

We will start with two preliminary thoughts and then discuss 3 very basic building blocks of information that need to be upheld.

A word to those holding grudges.

Holding onto to grudges and harboring bitterness will not prove worth it in the end. Herodias held a grudge and that grudge ended up getting a man killed. She could have had half the kingdom, but the grudge she nursed consumed her and cause her to desire a bloody head served on a platter instead. That is very strange interpretation of a cost-benefit analysis. There is a chance that in hindsight, she might have realized how shortsighted and senseless her decision was. But that is what happens to us when we hold grudges we aren’t in our right mind. Don’t let bitterness take root. It will destroy you and other people and end up costing you more than you currently know.

A word to those practicing any form of immorality.

Any immoral person, whether layman or leader, ought to be called to repentance knowing that one day we will be held accountable for our immoral actions. It would be better for us to be called out and repent now, then never be confronted and live comfortably in our sin and be called into account later by God.

Now lets talk about 3 very basic building blocks of information that need to be upheld by the church of the living God.

The highest ranking authorities in our land have failed to understand some very basic information about life in general.

Some of the most most basic building blocks of society have been decimated by governmental policies. When policies and agendas that emanate from the White House fail to identify the difference between men and women; what real marriage is and isn’t and something as basic as whether or not we should kills babies in wombs; those unlawful, evil publications and policies need to be be opposed by the people of the Living God who created good gifts like manhood, womanhood, marriage and babies to spread His glory throughout the globe.

Church of the living God, we are the institution ordained by God to be “in the world but not of it,” so that we may serve the world as a collective “pillar and buttress” of truth: so hold the line.

But remember we aren’t wrestling against flesh and blood. We are at war with the dominion of darkness. The deeds and deceptions of the devil should make our stomachs turn, but we don’t fight because our hate the tyrannical forces of evil is so strong, we fight because the love we have for the True King is so strong and we want Him honored.

If the rulers of the land fail to understand the basic building blocks of society, the church of the living God must remind them.

We must speak up about what is “unlawful” in the land and unmistakably wrong.

Basic Building Block One:

Babies in wombs are not inconvenient problems to be aborted.

We spoke at length about that a few weeks back so we will let that one lie today.

Basic Building Block Two:

Marriage is between one man and one woman till death do they part.

This is God’s design for marriages. However, now that are states that practice things like no-fault divorces. It makes if very easy to eradicate what was to be lifetime commitment upheld by the authority of the God and the state. If you want out, there’s the door, but you have to pay to get out. The Family Law, Divorce Lawyers and Attorneys industry had a revenue of $12.8 billion dollars last year in America. People are making a lot of money off of peoples broken relationships. (I am not saying that there is never a biblical reason for divorce, but I do know that God hates it).

Our society as redefined marriage completely. Two days ago, May 17 marked 20 years since Massachusetts became the first state in the Union to legalize same-sex marriage. And then just 11 short years later the Obergefell decision by the United States Supreme Court established that same-sex marriage is the new law of the land. As it was handed down by the highest court in the land, any entity, institution or ideology that disagreed with the decision would be classified as discriminatory in nature. Plus, June is just around the corner and the broader society identifies it as “Pride” month, so consider where you shop and what you buy from where you shop. Be mindful of what those proceeds might eventually end up funding.

Basic Building Block Three:

Boys are boys and girls are girls.

We live in a society where outward expressions of inward thoughts and feelings, however unusual and against thousands of years of biological scientific fact is seen as a sign of authenticity. We can’t re-define reality because it seems “right in our own eyes.” The universe doesn’t revolve around our impulses, our feelings, or even our self-perceptions. The universe revolves around the One who spoke it into existence. There is truth based on principled, eternally ordered realities.

Genesis 1:27 (ESV)

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

But our society demands that any and every augmentation of those fixed realities must be affirmed and celebrated…BY ALL or else.

From the moment sperm and egg unite, a new life that’s either male or female is created. It’s permanent and it cannot be changed. Yes, sadly medications can be taken and people can undergo surgical procedures to alter appearance, but that does not change the science.

It is a delusion to believe otherwise, but sadly the father of lies has convinced the ruling authorities in this land that “Gender Affirming Care,” is a good thing to offer teenagers.

Affirm any individuals inclination at any and all cost. There is no more gatekeeping or line holding.

It is pure evil to target teenagers, allow them to block their puberty, mutilate and/or castrate perfectly functioning body parts, call it “civil rights” and yet not allow those teenagers to get tattoos until they are 18 years old because they don’t have the ability to express “reasoned consent.”

The church needs to be ready to receive a generation of people who after having their puberty blocked, and irreparable alterations made to their bodies that never “fixed the problem.” The hands and feet of the Living Christ must have a heart that beats of compassion to receive them.

How? That is the million dollar question that we have the answer too!

Think about our Savior. He poured Himself out to serve and save others. He committed Himself to us even while we were yet sinners and still patiently walks with us away from our own tendency towards self-destructive behavior because He began a good work in us and He will continue to complete that work until He come again.

He is committed to us for the long haul and then some and give us a place to belong for eternity.

That is what we need to do. There is not quick fix for for these deep seated deceptions, but we can provide people with a long haul type of commitment as we walk with them in their struggles, and give them a place to belong as they seek to find connection with the Living God through being an engrafted branch into the local congregation.

The church is God’s solution for the brokenness that is very real in our world. The church is the family and household of God and the Body of Christ. The church is the flock of Jesus Christ, the Great Shepherd who laid down His life for His sheep.

We need to learn how to care for people in their varied forms of brokenness.

(Biblical Counseling Courses or Harvest USA free online courses).

In closing, by sandwiching the beheading of John the Baptist in the middle of the the disciples preaching repentance, Mark highlights the potential cost of participating in the work of announcing the Kingdom. The story is not only a flashback to what happened to John, but it is also a foreshadowing of what will happen to another “righteous and holy” man who as brutally killed. A man who death, burial, resurrection and ascension we will now commemorate with holy Communion.

Pray

Sing: There is A Redeemer

Communion

Lift up your challis in defiance towards the world schemes. Our king was slain our king has risen. Our king will come again

Benediction

Matthew 10:16–18 ESV

16 “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 17 Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, 18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles.

Matthew 10:26–28 (ESV)

26 “…have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. 28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Intimidation and violence may await those who are willing to speak out for the kingdom of God in this world, but that is the cost of being a faithful witness to the Kingdom of Light to a world that prefers to stumble around in the darkness.

Have you ever had something in your food that wasn’t supposed to be there? (hair, fingernail, bug?) Share your story if you dare.

Are there any grudges you need to let go of?

Are there any immoral activities that you need to repent of?

How might you involve yourself or education yourself concerning some of the “Basic Building Blocks of Society?” (Life, Marriage, Gender Confusion).

Will you consider enrolling in one or both of these free online courses to be better position to hold the line? https://courses.harvestusa.org