Confronted By Truth

Introduction

One of the most memorable scenes in Shakespeare’s Macbeth takes place at a royal banquet. By this point in the story, Macbeth has gotten the throne he wanted, but he has gotten there through bloodshed. One of the men who threatens his security is his old friend Banquo, so Macbeth arranges to have him murdered.

And the plan works. Banquo is dead. The problem, at least outwardly, is gone. So Macbeth gathers the nobles of Scotland together for a great feast. He is the king now. He has the crown, the palace, the soldiers, the authority, and the appearance of control. But in the middle of the banquet, Macbeth looks toward the table and sees something that no one else can see.

Banquo is sitting there. The man Macbeth had murdered appears before him like a ghost, and suddenly this powerful king begins unraveling in front of his guests. Everyone else in the room sees a ruler surrounded by wealth and power. Macbeth sees the man he killed.

There is something striking about that scene. Macbeth had enough power to silence Banquo, but not enough power to silence his own conscience. He could remove the man, but he could not simply remove what he had done. That same kind of fear hangs over the opening verses of our passage this morning.

Jesus’ name has become well known throughout Galilee. People are asking who He is. Some say He is Elijah. Some say He is one of the prophets. Others say that John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. And when Herod hears it, he says in Mark 6:16, “John, the one I beheaded, has been raised!”

That is an interesting way to say it. Not simply, “John has been raised.” “John, the one I beheaded.” Herod had not forgotten John. And Mark now takes us backward to tell us why. We will see from the account of John The Baptist and Herod what happens when we come face to face with God’s truth

Mark 6:14–29 “King Herod heard about it, because Jesus’s name had become well known. Some said, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that’s why miraculous powers are at work in him.” But others said, “He’s Elijah.” Still others said, “He’s a prophet, like one of the prophets from long ago.” When Herod heard of it, he said, “John, the one I beheaded, has been raised!” For Herod himself had given orders to arrest John and to chain him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her. John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” So Herodias held a grudge against him and wanted to kill him. But she could not, because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing he was a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard him he would be very perplexed, and yet he liked to listen to him. An opportune time came on his birthday, when Herod gave a banquet for his nobles, military commanders, and the leading men of Galilee. When Herodias’s own daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask me whatever you want, and I’ll give it to you.” He promised her with an oath: “Whatever you ask me I will give you, up to half my kingdom.” She went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?” “John the Baptist’s head,” she said. At once she hurried to the king and said, “I want you to give me John the Baptist’s head on a platter immediately.” Although the king was deeply distressed, because of his oaths and the guests he did not want to refuse her. The king immediately sent for an executioner and commanded him to bring John’s head. So he went and beheaded him in prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother. When John’s disciples heard about it, they came and removed his corpse and placed it in a tomb.”

Our Father in Heaven,

We come before You this morning acknowledging that You are holy, righteous, and true. Your Word is not ours to reshape according to our desires, our culture, or our convenience. You are God, and we are Your creatures. Teach us, then, to come humbly before Your Word.

As we open this passage, give us ears to hear and hearts ready to obey. Guard us from the hardness of Herodias, who hated the truth because it exposed her sin. Guard us also from the divided heart of Herod, who could admire what was righteous and still refuse to repent. Show us where we have excused sin, feared the opinions of others, or loved the approval of man more than faithfulness to You.

Give us something of the courage You gave John the Baptist. Make us willing to stand upon Your truth with humility, clarity, and love, even when it is costly. And above all, direct our eyes to Christ, the One to whom John pointed, the faithful and righteous King who obeyed You perfectly and gave Himself for sinners.

By Your Spirit, open our minds to understand Your Word, convict us where we need conviction, strengthen us where we are weak, and lead us into greater faith and obedience. We ask all of this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

I. Stand on God's Truth — vv. 14–18

Last week we saw Jesus commission the 12 disciples. He sent them to preach the Gospel, heal the sick, and cast out demons. And before we get a report back on how that went, Mark interupts the story with a peculair account. You see word about Jesus had traveled far. Tales of His miracles were being heard across the known world. And what was more concerning were reports that Jesus was openly confronting Jewish religous and political leaders. Now He has sent His followers out on a mission. This has caught the attention of Herod Antipas.

The jewish historian Josephus has recorded a lot about the family of Herod and his dynasty. And they are messed up. Herod Antipas’ father was Herod the Great. Herod the Great is the one from the story of Jesus’ birth. When he heard that there may be a rival king, he ordered the death of all male children under 2 years old in Matthew 2. That is just one instance in a dynasty marked by treachary, bloodshed, and sexual perversion. He divided his rule amongst his 4 sons, making them tetrarchs, not kings, a sore point for all of them. Herod Antipas ruled the region around galilee at this time. And He will appear again at the end of Jesus life. But for for now He has heard reports of this powerful miracle working Jesus and comes to one conclusion

Mark 6:14 “King Herod heard about it, because Jesus’s name had become well known. Some said, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that’s why miraculous powers are at work in him.””

While Mark has been primarily focused on Jesus, the average person in Israel would have known more about John the Baptist as He had been ministering publicly for longer. Jesus’ fame was just starting to surpass his own. And john is a mighty figure. He is the last prophet of old so to speak. He is not timid in his calls for God’s people to repent. Since malachi the people of Israel had not hear from God in generations, for 4 hundred years. No prohet, no vision in the temple, no clear direction. And malachi leaves off with a promise, Malachi 4:5–6 “Look, I am going to send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.””

Another theory for who Jesus was is exactly that Elijah, Mark 6:15 “But others said, “He’s Elijah.” Still others said, “He’s a prophet, like one of the prophets from long ago.””

It is ironic that people mistake Jesus for embodying the spirit of Elijah and not John the Baptist. Because Jesus says that John was actually the fufillment of this prophecy. Both John and Elijah are described as odd, hairy men who stick to the wilderness. Luke 1:17 “And he (that is John) will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to make ready for the Lord a prepared people.”” That sounds an awful lot like the Malachi prophecy. If youre still not convinced And later Jesus tells the disciples concerning Elijah:

Mark 9:13 “But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did whatever they pleased to him, just as it is written about him.””

Matthew makes it even more explicit:

Matthew 11:14

“And if you’re willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who is to come.”

So John isn't Elijah reincarnated. Rather, he fulfills the Elijah-type ministry promised by the prophets.

That becomes especially important in Mark 6 because John's ministry does not merely look like Elijah's in clothing. His confrontation with the ruler looks like Elijah. Herod isnt buying these theories about Jesus. He is convinced that He is John. Mark 6:16 “When Herod heard of it, he said, “John, the one I beheaded, has been raised!””

First of all, Mark has just dropped a bombshell. We learn for the first time that John the Baptist is dead. More than that we learn that it was Herod who killed him. Listen to the guilt in His voice. John, the one I beheaded, has been raised. He is not comforted by the possibility of hearing from john, or elijah, or one of the other prophets. Like the story of Macbeth or Ebeneezer Scrooge, ressurection or seeing the dead was considered a sign of inevitable divine judgement in this culture. And Herod knows hes guilty. Mark goes on to unpack the details of this grizly tale.

Mark 6:17–18 “For Herod himself had given orders to arrest John and to chain him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her. John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.””

Now I want you to notice exactly what got John arrested. John had certainly preached repentance. His entire ministry was preparing people for the coming of Christ. But the specific issue Mark tells us put John in chains was this: “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” That is an incredibly bold sentence. John does not tell Herod, “Personally, I do not approve of your marriage.” He does not say, “Among conservative Jews this relationship is considered inappropriate.” He does not appeal to public opinion, tradition, or what was politically convenient. He says, “It is not lawful.” Why? Because God had spoken.

Leviticus 18:16 says, “You are not to have sexual intercourse with your brother’s wife; she is your brother’s family.” Leviticus 20:21 likewise condemns taking a brother’s wife. Herod had decided that his desires mattered more than what God had commanded, and John looked at one of the most powerful men in Galilee and told him plainly that he was in sin.

And this is where the connection between John and Elijah becomes even stronger. John did not merely dress like Elijah. He ministered like Elijah. In 1 Kings 18, King Ahab sees Elijah and says, “Is that you, the one ruining Israel?” And Elijah answers in verse 18, “I have not ruined Israel, but you and your father’s family have, because you have abandoned the Lord’s commands.” Think about the boldness of that. Elijah is speaking to the king. Ahab has soldiers. Ahab has prisons. Ahab has political power. Elijah has the Word of God.

And Elijah understands something that John the Baptist understands centuries later: kings are not above God.

In fact, that had always been the standard God gave Israel. Deuteronomy 17 said that when Israel had a king, the king was to write for himself a copy of God’s law and read it throughout his life so that he would learn to fear the Lord and obey His commands. The king was not the source of the law. The king was under the law.

And when kings sinned, God sent prophets to tell them so. David was king, but when he committed adultery with Bathsheba and arranged the death of Uriah, Nathan walked into the throne room and told him in 2 Samuel 12:7, “You are the man!” Ahab was king, but Elijah confronted his idolatry and wickedness. Herod was tetrarch, but John told him, “It is not lawful.” God has never taught His people that political power somehow makes sin less sinful.

Now someone might say, “But we are not Israel,” and that is absolutely true. The church is not ancient Israel, and America is not a theocracy. But John is not merely applying some uniquely Jewish civil regulation to Herod; he is applying God’s moral law. In fact, later in Leviticus 18 God says that the pagan nations were judged for these very kinds of sexual sins. They were not Israel. They had not stood at Sinai. Yet they were still creatures accountable to their Creator. Herod may be a ruler, but he is still a creature, and creatures answer to God.

Psalm 2 makes the same point directly to the rulers of the earth. Verse 10 says, “So now, kings, be wise; receive instruction, you judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with reverential awe and rejoice with trembling.” God does not look at earthly rulers and say, “You are powerful enough that My commands no longer apply to you.” He commands kings themselves to bow before Him.

And church, that is something we desperately need to remember. If i am honset, perhaps my greatest fear for the western conservative church is political idolatry. It is easy to condemn the sins of rulers we already dislike. There is very little courage required to point at someone on the other side and announce that he is wicked. The real test comes when the person committing the sin is someone we admire, someone we voted for, someone whose policies we appreciate, someone who claims to represent our values, or someone we have convinced ourselves is useful to our cause. That is when we discover whether our ultimate allegiance is to a man, a movement, or to Christ.

Christians must never reach the place where we excuse in our favorite leaders what we would condemn in everyone else. Adultery does not become righteousness because the adulterer advances policies we appreciate. Dishonesty does not become acceptable because the liar says things we want to hear. Pride, sexual immorality, cruelty, greed, blasphemy, and the public misuse of the name of God do not suddenly become virtues because they are attached to a political movement we support.

And yes, sometimes Christians face difficult political choices in a fallen world and conclude that one option is less harmful than another. Christians can make prudential judgments about those things and may disagree with one another. But there is a tremendous difference between saying, “I believe this was the wiser choice available to me,” and saying, “Therefore I must defend this person’s sin.” Charles Spurgeon once put it simply, “Of two evils, choose neither.” Whatever political decisions we make, the church must never excuse wickedness because the wicked person happens to be useful to our cause. If we condemn a sin when our opponents commit it but explain it away when our allies commit it, our standard is no longer the Word of God.

And this principle has to work in every direction. If we only find prophetic courage when the politician has the wrong letter after his name, that is not prophetic courage. John did not check Herod’s political usefulness before deciding whether adultery was wrong. Nathan did not excuse David because David was the king God had chosen. Elijah did not soften his message because confronting Ahab might create political instability. The prophet’s question was not, “Is this ruler useful to my cause?” The question was, “What has God said?”

Now this does not mean Christians should spend every waking hour attacking politicians. John was a preacher of repentance, not a political pundit. Our mission is to make disciples, not to capture a political party. But precisely because Christ is our King, no president, governor, candidate, party, or movement gets our unconditional loyalty. We can support what is good without baptizing what is evil. We can make prudential political decisions without surrendering our ability to speak prophetically. When Scripture clearly speaks, the church must still be willing to say, “It is not lawful.”

Sometimes people respond to this by saying, “The church just needs to preach the Gospel and stay away from moral issues.” Certainly, the church must preach the Gospel. The Gospel is our central message. We are not here merely to make lost people behave better on their way to judgment. But what was the message John preached? Repent. What did Jesus preach in Mark 1:15? “Repent and believe the good news!” And what did the twelve disciples preach just a few verses before this passage? Mark 6:12 says, “They went out and preached that people should repent.”

But repentance requires us to know what we are repenting of.

Romans 3:20 says, “Through the law comes the knowledge of sin.” Romans 7:7 says, “I would not have known sin if it were not for the law.” The law cannot save Herod. John cannot save Herod. Telling Herod that his marriage is sinful cannot wash away a single one of his sins. But before a man will flee to a Savior, he must understand that he needs to be saved.

So faithful Christianity does not choose between the law and the Gospel. We use them rightly. The law exposes our sin and shuts our mouths before a holy God. The Gospel announces that Christ has done what guilty sinners could never do for themselves. That is part of our Reformed Baptist heritage. We do not believe God’s moral law disappeared when Christ came. The law cannot justify us, but it continues to reveal God’s righteous standard and expose the sin from which Christ saves.

And that means Christians today are going to find ourselves in situations where the easiest thing to do is remain quiet. There will be times when biblical teaching about marriage is unpopular. There will be times when biblical teaching about sexuality is unpopular. There will be times when biblical teaching about human life, honesty, justice, greed, pride, and the worship of God is unpopular. There may even be times when the person violating those commands is someone we otherwise respect.

And in those moments, we need something of the courage of John the Baptist. Not the courage to be obnoxious. Not the courage to say whatever inflammatory thing comes into our minds. Not the courage to confuse our political preferences with the Word of God. But the courage to say, when Scripture clearly speaks, “God has spoken, and therefore I cannot call good what He has called evil.”

Acts 5:29 gives us the principle plainly: “We must obey God rather than people.”

Herod could put John in prison, but he could not change what was lawful. Herod could put chains around John’s wrists, but he could not put chains around the Word of God. Eventually Herod could even take John’s life, but he could not make John’s message false.

The question is not whether faithfulness will always be safe. This passage is going to make painfully clear that sometimes it will not be. The question is whether we believe God’s approval is worth more than the approval of men. And that brings us back to Herod, because the tragedy is that Herod actually knew there was something different about John. He knew John was righteous. He knew John was holy. He even liked listening to him. The problem was that Herod liked hearing the truth far more than he liked obeying it.

II. Submit to God's Truth — vv. 19–20

These first verses ask, “Will we speak the truth?” These next verses turn the question around: What will we do when the truth is spoken to us? John has laid down the gauntlet. He has confronted Herod with the Word of God, and Herod’s wife is not happy about it.

Mark 6:19–20 says, “So Herodias held a grudge against him and wanted to kill him. But she could not, because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing he was a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard him he would be very perplexed, and yet he liked to listen to him.”

Herod Antipas had originally been married to the daughter of King Aretas, ruler of a neighboring kingdom. But he began an adulterous relationship with Herodias and eventually divorced his wife to marry her. We have already seen the many ways this relationship violated God’s law, and John had called it what it was. But notice the two very different responses John receives. Herodias responds with hatred. Her private sin is confronted, her pride becomes anger, her anger becomes bitterness, and eventually her bitterness becomes murderous hatred. John becomes her enemy simply because he tells her the truth.

That is exactly the pattern Jesus describes in John 3:19–20: “This is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light and avoids it, so that his deeds may not be exposed.”

That almost describes Herodias perfectly. She does not prove John wrong. She does not open Leviticus and show him that he has misunderstood God’s Word. She simply wants the voice exposing her sin to disappear.

And one of the clearest signs that we are beginning to harden ourselves against God is when we become more angry with the person exposing our sin than we are grieved by the sin itself. We may do it in much more respectable ways. “That pastor is too judgmental.” “That Christian is legalistic.” “They need to mind their own business.” “I just don’t like the way they said it.” And sometimes those criticisms may even be legitimate. But eventually we have to ask ourselves: Is my real problem the way this was said, or is my problem that I do not want what was said to be true?

Herodias attacks the messenger rather than repent of the message. But Herod’s response is not any better. It simply looks much more respectable, and perhaps that makes it even more dangerous. Herodias hates John. Herod seems to genuinely like him. Yet there is no evidence that either one repents.

Look again at verse 20. Herod “feared John and protected him, knowing he was a righteous and holy man.” He listened to John. He respected John. He recognized that there was something different about this man. Mark even tells us that although John’s preaching perplexed him, Herod “liked to listen to him.”

And yet he remained in his sin. My friends, it is possible to like the Bible, enjoy church, appreciate good preaching, agree with sound theology, feel convicted by a sermon, and still go to hell. Matthew Henry put it well: many people love good preaching as long as it stays far away from their beloved sin.

And that is Herod. He could listen to John call Israel back to God. He could listen to him confront the Pharisees. He could admire his courage and holiness. But then John touched Herod’s beloved sin. John said, “Your relationship with this woman is unlawful before God.” Suddenly the preaching became personal. That is often where the real test comes for us as well. It is easy to love preaching when it confronts someone else’s sins. We can say amen when the preacher condemns the sins of the culture, the sins of another generation, the sins of another political party, or the sins of the person sitting three rows away. But what happens when the Word of God puts its finger on something in me?

What happens when Scripture confronts my pride? My bitterness? My greed? My gossip? My sexual sin? My unforgiveness? My idolatry? What happens when God touches the thing I have already decided I do not want to surrender?

James 1:22 says, “But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”

That last phrase is important: “deceiving yourselves.” There is a particular danger in hearing God’s Word without obeying it because after a while we can mistake our familiarity with the truth for submission to the truth. We begin to think that because we know the Bible, agree with the sermon, and enjoy hearing it taught, we must be right with God. Herod should terrify us out of that assumption. He heard John. He respected John. He protected John. He knew John was righteous and holy. He even liked listening to John. But he would not repent. Herodias rejected the Word angrily. Herod rejected the Word politely. But both rejected it.

The question is not simply, “Do I like hearing the truth?” The question is, “When God’s Word confronts me, will I submit to it?” Because conviction is not conversion. Admiration is not faith. Hearing is not obedience. God has not given us His Word merely to interest us or even merely to make us feel guilty. He calls us to repent, believe, and obey. And soon Herod is going to be placed in a situation where he must choose. He knows John is righteous. He knows killing him is wrong. But at a banquet surrounded by powerful people, Herod will discover whose approval he values more: God’s or man’s.

III. Suffer for God's Truth — vv. 21–29

Mark 6:21 “An opportune time came on his birthday, when Herod gave a banquet for his nobles, military commanders, and the leading men of Galilee.”

An oppurtune time, Herodias had already decided Johns fate. She was just waiting for the right moment. Isnt that so often how the forces of evil work? Genesis 3:1 describes Satan as crafty. 1 Peter 5:8 describes him as a prowling, roaring lion, seeking who he may devour. Sometimes evil is straight forward and clear. But often it waits until it has you in its grips.

Herod throws this big birthday party closely tied to pagan customs rather than jewish. And anyone whos anyone is there. Politicians, military commanders, wealthy merchants and so on. And at this party, Herod’s own step daughter dances at the party. Josephus names her Salome. Its unclear from the text whether or not this is erotic dancing, but Given the character of Herod, it is likely. And it made Herod happy. so happy he made a foolish promise. Mark 6:22–23 “When Herodias’s own daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask me whatever you want, and I’ll give it to you.” He promised her with an oath: “Whatever you ask me I will give you, up to half my kingdom.””

This is a common idiom not meant to be taken litterally. Herod is simply promising to be abundantly generous. and it is a stupid vow to take. Salome immediately goes to her mother for advice on what to ask for, and Herodias, I just picture her grinning ear to ear. Mark 6:24–25 “She went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?” “John the Baptist’s head,” she said. At once she hurried to the king and said, “I want you to give me John the Baptist’s head on a platter immediately.””

Herodias’s sin has moved from adultery, to resentment, to hatred, and now to murder. Sin that we refuse to kill will eventually begin asking us to kill other things in order to protect it. It may demand our honesty. Our relationships. Our conscience. Our reputation.Our obedience to God. Why do we sin? Because we love it. And unless we repent we will do unthinkable things to protect it. Herodias would rather kill the prophet than surrender the sin

Mark tells us in verse 26, “Although the king was deeply distressed, because of his oaths and the guests he did not want to refuse her.” We need to understand that an oath carried enormous weight in the ancient world. A man’s word, especially when sworn publicly before witnesses, was closely tied to his honor. To break that oath in front of the nobles, military commanders, and leading men of Galilee would have humiliated Herod publicly. He had made this grand promise in front of the whole room, and now everyone was watching to see whether the king would keep his word.

And Scripture does take our words seriously. Ecclesiastes 5:4–5 says, “When you make a vow to God, don’t delay fulfilling it… Better that you do not vow than that you vow and not fulfill it.” Jesus likewise teaches in Matthew 5:37, “Let your ‘yes’ mean ‘yes,’ and your ‘no’ mean ‘no.’” Christians should be people whose word can be trusted. We should not make promises lightly and then abandon them whenever keeping them becomes inconvenient.

But Herod’s problem was not simply that he had made an oath. His oath was foolish, and now fulfilling it would require him to commit murder. And the Bible never teaches that a sinful promise suddenly makes sin righteous. Leviticus 5:4–6 even speaks of a person who “swears rashly” to do something and later realizes his guilt. What is he supposed to do? Not carry out the sinful oath. He is to confess his sin and bring the required offering. In other words, Scripture provides a way out of a foolish oath: repentance.

We see something similar in 1 Samuel 14. Saul rashly swears that anyone who eats before evening should die. Jonathan unknowingly breaks the command, and Saul is prepared to kill his own son in order to preserve his word. But the people intervene and refuse to let Jonathan die. Saul’s foolish oath did not create a moral obligation to carry out an unjust killing.

And notice how conflicted Herod is. Mark does not describe him as eager to kill John. He says Herod was “deeply distressed.” That fits what we already know about him. He feared John. He knew John was righteous and holy. He liked listening to him. His conscience was not dead. He knew, at some level, that killing John was wrong. That is what makes this moment so tragic. Herod is not choosing between something he thinks is right and something he thinks is wrong. He is choosing between what he knows is right and what he thinks will preserve his honor in front of the room.

That conflict should have driven him to repentance. He could have stopped everything and said, “I spoke foolishly. I made a sinful promise. I will not compound one sin with another.” He could have endured the embarrassment. He could have disappointed his guests. He could have admitted that his own words had trapped him. But instead of listening to his conscience, he overrules it.

And Herod chooses pride. He would rather have John killed than stand before that room and say, “I was wrong.”

That is the fear of man. Proverbs 29:25 says, “The fear of mankind is a snare.” Herod looks like the most powerful man at the banquet, but in reality he is controlled by everyone sitting around him. John is the prisoner, but John is free. Herod is the king, but Herod is enslaved—to his pride, his reputation, and the approval of the room.

There is an important lesson here for us. Sometimes repentance means admitting that we said something foolish, made a promise we should never have made, took a position we cannot biblically defend, or committed ourselves to something sinful. Keeping your word is a virtue, but keeping your word is never an excuse to disobey God. When our promise and God’s command come into conflict, the answer is not to add another sin to the first one. The answer is to repent. Herod could have lost face before his guests and saved John’s life. Instead, he saved face and murdered a righteous man. And once Herod makes that choice, everything moves quickly.

And once Herod makes that choice, everything moves quickly. Mark 6:27–29 says, “The king immediately sent for an executioner and commanded him to bring John’s head. So he went and beheaded him in prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother. When John’s disciples heard about it, they came and removed his corpse and placed it in a tomb.”

That is an incredibly bleak ending. John has been faithful. He has preached repentance. He has prepared the way for Christ. He has stood before one of the most powerful men in the region and refused to compromise the Word of God. And now he is dead. There is no angel opening the prison doors. There is no last-minute change of heart from Herod. There is no miraculous rescue. John is simply killed, and his disciples come and bury his body.

And church, we need to understand that faithfulness to God does not always make life easier. Sometimes faithfulness costs us. We love the stories where Daniel comes out of the lions’ den, where Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego walk out of the furnace, where Peter’s chains fall off and the prison doors open. Praise God for those stories. But Hebrews 11 tells us that some faithful saints “escaped the edge of the sword,” while others “were killed by the sword.” Both lived by faith. Sometimes God glorifies Himself by delivering His servants from suffering, and sometimes He glorifies Himself by keeping His servants faithful through suffering.

And that means John’s death is not evidence that God failed him. God had been faithful to John from the beginning. He called him. He gave him a message. He gave him the courage to preach it. He sustained him in the wilderness, before the crowds, before the religious leaders, and finally before Herod. And when John’s ministry ended, it ended exactly where it had always been pointing: toward Christ. John himself had said in John 3:30, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” Even in death, John decreases and Christ continues to increase.

And John’s faithfulness was not wasted either. Herod killed him, but Herod could not escape what John had said. At the beginning of this passage, long after John is dead, Herod hears about Jesus and immediately cries out, “John, the one I beheaded, has been raised!” John’s voice had been silenced, but the truth he preached was still working on Herod’s conscience. That is one of the strange comforts of faithful ministry. We do not always get to see what God does with the truth after we speak it. We may never see the repentance we prayed for. We may never see the fruit. But faithfulness to God is never wasted.

And more than that, John’s death itself begins to prepare us for the death of Jesus. John is a righteous man hated for telling the truth. He is arrested and held by a ruler who knows there is something different about him. That ruler knows killing him is wrong, yet gives in to the pressure of the people around him. John is killed, and afterward his disciples come and place his body in a tomb. Later Jesus will be arrested and brought before another weak ruler. Mark 15:15 says Pilate, “wanting to satisfy the crowd,” hands Jesus over to be crucified. Herod gives in to his guests. Pilate gives in to the crowd. John dies, Jesus dies, and both are placed in tombs.

But John is only the forerunner. John died because he faithfully confronted sinners. Jesus died to save sinners. John could stand before Herod and say, “It is not lawful,” but John could not remove Herod’s guilt. John could expose the sin. He could call Herod to repentance. He could warn him of judgment. But John could not atone for a single one of Herod’s sins.

And that is where every one of us stands apart from Christ. God’s law can expose us. It can show us exactly where we have rebelled. It can strip away our excuses. It can make us uncomfortable. It can show us that our sin is far more serious than we want to admit. But the law cannot wash us clean. Knowing that we are guilty does not remove the guilt. That is why God sent someone greater than John.

Jesus Christ lived the righteous life that none of us have lived. Where Herod feared man, Jesus perfectly feared and obeyed His Father. Where we compromise, Jesus remained faithful. Where we have broken God’s law, Jesus fulfilled it perfectly. And yet the perfectly righteous Son of God willingly went to the cross, where He bore the judgment that sinners deserve. He died, He was buried, and unlike John, on the third day Jesus rose from the dead. So if God’s Word has exposed something in you this morning, do not waste that conviction. Do not respond like Herodias and get angry because the light has exposed what you want to keep hidden. Do not respond like Herod and enjoy hearing the truth while refusing to obey it. Do not tell yourself that feeling guilty is enough. It is not.

Repent.

If God has put His finger on a sin in your life, stop defending it. Stop renaming it. Stop making excuses for it. Stop waiting for a more convenient time. Bring it before God and turn from it. And believe the Gospel. Do not trust your church attendance. Do not trust your knowledge of the Bible. Do not trust the fact that you enjoy good preaching. Herod enjoyed listening to John. None of those things can save you.

Trust Christ. Trust the righteous life He lived in the place of sinners. Trust the death He died under the judgment of God. Trust the resurrection that declares that death has been defeated. Come to Him with nothing to offer but your need for mercy. John was faithful to point sinners toward Christ. God was faithful to send the Savior John had promised. And God remains faithful today to receive every sinner who turns from sin and comes to Christ in faith..

Conclusion

So church, Mark leaves us with a simple but searching question: What will we do with the truth of God?

Will we speak it when it is unpopular? John did. He stood before a powerful ruler and said, “It is not lawful.” Will we submit to it when it confronts us personally? Herodias hated the message. Herod enjoyed hearing it. Neither one repented. And will we fear God more than man when obedience becomes costly? John lost his life, but he did not lose his faithfulness.

We do not need more courage simply for the sake of being bold. We need hearts that are ruled by Christ. So where God’s Word has exposed sin, repent. Where fear has produced compromise, obey. Where the approval of people has become too important, remember that Christ is King.

And above all, do not leave here merely admiring John. Look to the One John spent his life pointing toward. Jesus Christ is the faithful King who never compromised, who died for sinners, and who rose again. Trust Him, obey Him, and stand upon His Word whatever it may cost.

Our Father in Heaven,

We thank You for Your Word and for the faithful witness of John the Baptist. Thank You for reminding us that Your truth does not change according to the desires of men, the decisions of rulers, or the pressures of the world around us.

Forgive us for the times we have been silent when we should have spoken, for the times we have excused sin because it was convenient, and for the times we have feared people more than we have feared You. Forgive us also for the ways we have heard Your Word without obeying it, admired truth without submitting to it, or resisted conviction because we did not want to surrender a beloved sin.

Give us tender hearts that are quick to repent. Give us courage to obey You even when obedience is costly. Keep us from pride, bitterness, compromise, and the fear of man. Help us to speak Your truth with humility and love, never for the sake of being offensive, but because we belong to Christ and desire to be faithful to Him.

And we thank You most of all for Jesus. Thank You that He was perfectly faithful where we have failed, that He never compromised, that He willingly went to the cross for sinners, and that He rose from the grave in victory. Help us to trust Him fully, obey Him gladly, and follow Him faithfully no matter what it may cost us in this life.

Keep us steadfast in Your Word until the day we stand before our true King.

Jude 24–25 “Now to him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, without blemish and with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever. Amen.”