On Sunday mornings at Westlake Baptist we have been going through the Gospel of Mark since Easter Sunday. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I can say that I have enjoyed the time of study, and I have found God challenging me personally on a lot of things. This past week, I preached out of Mark 6. Specifically we focused in on Jesus calling and commissioning the disciples to go out and preach the Gospel. However, there is another story in that chapter that fascinated me. It is the story of King Herod trying to figure out who Jesus was.
This section of Mark’s Gospel begins with the phrase, “King Herod heard of it, for Jesus’ name had become known.” There was this traveling Jewish preacher who had stirred everyone up and got them talking about the things He said and did. Jesus had created such a ruckus with His ministry that even the king had heard about him. I know this is a very different time that we are living in, but I am sure of this; President Trump has never heard of, nor is he aware of the pastor of Westlake Baptist Church. That isn’t a knock on the President. It is a fact, that he has bigger and more pressing matters to tend to, and I’m just not that important. But here, king Herod has heard of Jesus and is hearing reports from people on what Jesus is saying and doing as He travels around from town to town. There is something about Jesus that strikes fear in Herod’s heart. So much so that Herod is curious about what people are saying about Jesus, and who do they think He is. The first report that Herod gets is someone says, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” I’m pretty sure that Herod didn’t hear anything else, because this was Herod’s worst nightmare. So much so, that Herod is convinced that this is in fact a resurrected John the Baptist. Why would this be a problem, if in fact John the Baptist had been resurrected? Mark does a good job in recounting Herod’s relationship with John the Baptist in Mark 6:17-29. Here is a condensed version.
Herod was having an inappropriate relationship wit his brother’s wife. John the Baptist came to Herod at one point and told him that what he was doing was wrong and that he needed to stop it. Herod doesn’t like it but sees fit only to put John the Baptist in prison, but Herodias (the woman in question) certainly cared. In fact in Mark 6:19 it says that she held a grudge against John the Baptist and wanted him killed. One evening at a later point in time, she would get her wish granted. It was Herod’s birthday. Herod wanted to show off his power and prestige and so he threw a good old fashioned birthday bash for himself and many others in his kingdom. While they are partying and drinking too much, Herodias’ daughter comes in and starts to dance for Herod. In his drunken stupor, Herod enjoys it a little more than he should and he asks the young woman what she would like him to give her. He says he is willing to give her up to half of his kingdom. She goes and tells this to her mother. Herodias being opportunistic tells her to ask for John the Baptist’s head on a platter. When she goes and tells this to Herod, he is afraid, but he grants her wish. So Jesus is scaring Herod because Herod think this is the prophet that he put to death come back to get his revenge. As we like to ask on Sunday mornings, so why does any of this matter to us today?
There are a few lessons we can learn from this story.
- Stand strong for what is right. John the Baptist knew his message could get him in a lot of trouble with king Herod. But John the Baptist had long before decided to honor God with his life. He was a prophet, and he was going to tell the truth no matter what happened. We need courage of conviction in America today. We need men and women who will stand on the truth and proclaim the truth in love (Eph. 4:15). Speaking the truth will not make you popular with people, but it will glorify your Father who is in heaven.
- Guard your life. There are temptations literally around every corner, and if we aren’t careful we will fall right into sin. Herod compromised with marriage, he compromised later with giving in Herodias’ request, and he lived in fear that it would come back to get him. If we guard our heart, then we will have no reason to fear what others find out about us.
- Sin will find us out. Moses in giving the Law to the nation of Israel said in Numbers 32:23, “Be sure of this, your sin will find you out.” We can hide it for a while. But if we don’t allow God to deal with it privately, then we will get exposed publicly.
- There is grace available. Herod messed up repeatedly, and he was living in fear. I wonder how many people in America can say they are in the same place right now? If so, here is the good news. Jesus wasn’t John the Baptist resurrected to get even with Herod. Jesus is the Savior who had come to call and redeem Herod to believe in Him, be forgiven of his sins, and have a relationship with God. The same is true for you today. Don’t mistake God’s grace and the lack of judgment on your life right now for God not caring about the sin in your life. Don’t run from it and don’t hide it. Rather, confess it and receive God’s grace. I promise you this, if God can forgive a sinner like me, I know He will forgive a sinner like you, if you confess and repent of your sin and trust in Him.
I will close this blog with one of my favorite verses, “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Rom. 5:20). There is no one alive today who has sinned so much that the grace of God cannot overcome and forgive that sin. If you would like to talk about what this means or what it looks like to trust Jesus Christ, I hope you will reach out to us either here on the blog, on Facebook (search Westlake Baptist Church), or e-mail us at westlakebc@gmail.com. We would love to tell you how God’s amazing grace saved a wretch like us.
Pastor Justin