John, Whom I Beheaded
Notes
Transcript
Opening Prayer (Adoration and Intercession)
Read Mark 6:14-16
14 And King Herod heard it, for His name had become well known; and people were saying, “John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him.”
15 But others were saying, “He is Elijah.” And others were saying, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.”
16 But when Herod heard it, he kept saying, “John, whom I beheaded, has risen!”
In the bustling days of first-century Palestine, news traveled swiftly. Imagine that feeling of excitement and confusion when people heard whispers about this itinerant preacher named Jesus. Some said he was John the Baptist returned from the dead! Like the rumors we encounter today, they spark curiosity and fear alike. These words can ignite emotions in our hearts just as they did then—showing us how our perceptions shape our reality. This opening sets the stage for how we encounter Jesus in our own lives, just as they did in Mark 6:14-16.
MAIN IDEA: It takes the Holy Spirit to Lead Us in Truth.
I. Meeting a Would-Be King—Harod Antipas.
I. Meeting a Would-Be King—Harod Antipas.
A. Known as “The Tetrarch” Herod was son to Herod “The Great,” he was ruler alongside his Brothers Herod Phillip, and Archelaus. Herod Antipas is the one member of the Herodian Dynasty that is mentioned the most in the New Testament.
B. He lived from 4 B.C. to 39 A.D., he was deposed and by order of Caesar after constant intrigue to gain the title “King.”
C. Herod is best know for his adoption of Roman culture and debauchery, alongside his entanglement with both Herodias and Salome, Herodias’ daughter (which would have made them his sister-in-law, and niece, respectively).
**The Scriptures introduce the King in this manner to lay the foundation for the coming question—“Who do you say that I am?” (Mark 8:27-33)
II. Spiritually Dead People Lack the Ability to Discern God and His Work. (v. 14-15)
II. Spiritually Dead People Lack the Ability to Discern God and His Work. (v. 14-15)
A. The people’s superstition leads them to believe that the only reason they witness these great works is because someone great is among them.
B. Others would be familiar with the writings of the Old Testament that speak of these works as God sending someone to them.
15 “Yahweh your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers; you shall listen to him.
15 Then the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho opposite him saw him and said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they came to meet him and bowed themselves to the ground before him.
C. John Mark, inspired of the Holy Spirit shows the contrast between the people elsewhere and the people of Galilee, including Jesus’ family. (Mark 6:2-3)
D. There is an eschatological (end of time) hope for the people who are aware of something greater than healings, exorcisms, and signs of power. Here the word of God is echoing the promises made by God through the Prophets
1 “Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says Yahweh of hosts.
5 “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome day of Yahweh.
5 Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God,
6 who also made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
III. The Unregenerate mind is consumed by fear, anxiety, and guilt without hope for reprieve. (v. 16)
III. The Unregenerate mind is consumed by fear, anxiety, and guilt without hope for reprieve. (v. 16)
**For you and for me, those who pledge their lives to Jesus Christ as Master, King, Priest, and Prophet, this may be a weakness but not a state of being.**
A. Herod was fond of John, whose demise is described in verses 17-32, yet for all of his fondness of the wild-haired-dressed Prophet, Herod would not stand his sin being condemned so publicly.
16 ‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife; it is your brother’s nakedness.
21 ‘If there is a man who takes his brother’s wife, it is an impure act; he has uncovered his brother’s nakedness. They will be childless.
B. Herod exemplifies the humanity that comes with familiarity with the Gospel, though not being revived by the Holy Spirit to life to the uttermost. Antipas is a perfect picture of someone who is given the privilege of knowing about God without being transformed by the message upon its hearing.
Like physical pain, guilt is a God-given warning that something is wrong and needs correcting. When guilt is ignored or suppressed, it continues to grow and intensify, and with it come anxiety, fear, sleeplessness, and countless other spiritual and physical afflictions.
John F. MacArthur
C. God’s presence and power are disturbing to the world when our souls are wrapped in, or enslave to, darkness, yet when God’s gift of freedom comes into our hearts and souls we are given the ability to shed our guilt.
36 “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
1 It was for freedom that Christ set us free. Therefore, stand firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.
16 Act as free people, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as slaves of God.
MAIN IDEA: It takes the Holy Spirit to Lead Us in Truth toward ultimate freedom.
Opening Prayer (Thanksgiving and Petition)
