Untitled Sermon (7)

The death of my uncle has me asking questions?

If someone were to look at your life what would they find?

We are going to look at a life with a ....

Herod’s Background

The Bible Knowledge Commentary 6:17–18

Herod had first married a daughter of the Arabian king, Aretas IV. Then he became enamored with his half-niece Herodias (daughter of his half-brother, Aristobulus) who was married to Herod’s half-brother (brother means half-brother) Philip (her half-uncle; cf. Josephus The Antiquities of the Jews 18. 5. 1–2). They had a daughter, Salome. Herod divorced his wife in order to marry Herodias who had divorced Philip (not the Philip of Luke 3:1). John had repeatedly denounced this marriage as unlawful (cf. Lev. 18:16; 20:21).

Harod the Great his dad had 10 wives one was even named Cleopatra.

To Jews Birthdays were pagan celebrations in which nothing good could happen.

Luke 13:32 CSB

He said to them, “Go tell that fox, ‘Look, I’m driving out demons and performing healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will complete my work.’

Matthew and Mark Notes

his head on a tray. In the Midrash on Esther 1:19–21, the head of Vashti is brought to the king on a platter

3 Themes - Magnifying glass, Glasses, and a Telescope

Harod was not a King like Jesus was a king (Magnifying Glass)

Harod was not a king only a tetrarch. He only controlled a 1/4 of the territory that his father Harod the Great controlled. He was

And his authority was limited by Rome. He could not give any of it away and He could easily be manipulated by the women on his life.

Harod could only kill but Jesus could bring life.

2. Who do bad things happen to the good people? (Glasses)

Story about the man with a ticket on his car door.

Forerunner of Jesus ministry and more than that the forerunner of Jesus death.

John did not view himself as good. In all for gospels he says he is not worthy to untie Jesus’ sandals.

His disciples took his body away.

Mark 15:42–43 CSB

When it was already evening, because it was the day of preparation (that is, the day before the Sabbath), Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Sanhedrin who was himself looking forward to the kingdom of God, came and boldly went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’s body.

Matthew and Mark Notes

This verse also marks the end of an A-B-A pattern in ch 6 where the focus is first on rejection (1–6), then mission (7–13), and finally rejection and death (14–29). John the Baptist’s fate before Herod pictures the kind of suffering those who affirm Jesus may face

3. Harod killed the messenger but He cannot kill the message. (Binoculars)

The voice of one crying in the wilderness.

John was send out like the disciple were send out and he returned like the disciples. He returned to God as we all will someday.

He is asking us to serve him. Not a short term missions trip? Not as a Sunday school teacher for a few weeks.

He is calling us to server him for life.

Does your life matter? The message matters does you life line up with it?

When you come back to Jesus what will you report.

The first documentation of Christianity entering China was written on an 8th-century stone tablet known as the Nestorian Stele. It records that Christians reached the Tang dynasty capital Xi'an in 635 and were allowed to establish places of worship and to propagate their faith. The leader of the Christian travelers was Alopen.[16]

Some modern scholars question whether Nestorianism is the proper term for the Christianity that was practiced in China, since it did not adhere to what was preached by Nestorius. They instead prefer to refer to it as "Church of the East", a term which encompasses the various forms of early Christianity in Asia.[17]

In 845, at the height of the Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution, Emperor Wuzong decreed that Buddhism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism be banned, and their very considerable assets forfeited to the state.

In 986 a monk reported to the Patriarch of the East:[18]

Christianity is extinct in China; the native Christians have perished in one way or another; the church has been destroyed and there is only one Christian left in the land.

The 13th century saw the Mongol-established Yuan dynasty in China. Christianity was a major influence in the Mongol Empire, as several Mongol tribes were primarily Nestorian Christian, and many of the wives of Genghis Khan's descendants were Christian.

at this time the Chinese Christians began to work with Christians in the West.

In 1294, Franciscan friars from Europe initiated mission work in China. For about a century they worked in parallel with the Nestorian Christians. The Franciscan mission disappeared from 1368, as the Ming dynasty set out to eject all foreign influences.

The story of John is the only story in Mark’s gospel that is not about Jesus or is it.

When they look at your life I hope they see Jesus…Jesus in the small, Jesus right in front of them…Jesus in the panorama.

He was a for runner and he ran his race well. I hope you can too.

And after he had run his race all that he left was Jesus.

When people look at your life I hope they seen Jesus.