Sunday Sermon

"You Killed the Prophets"
[Mark 6:14-29]
April 2, 2006 Second Reformed Church

News travels. Sometimes it travels for the sake of caring or mere information, and sometimes it travels by gossip. Sometimes the news travels accurately, and sometimes the news arrives distorted or misunderstood. Still, news travels.

The news of the healings Jesus had performed and even the raising from the dead of Jairus' daughter had reached throughout the kingdom, even to the very ear of King Herod. And they had heard the reports correctly: Jesus healed the sick and raised the dead and taught with greater wisdom than the Pharisees and the scribes. But what this meant was not understood. At that time it was believed by some that just as demons could possess a person, the soul of a dead person could possess another person to get a message across or to exact revenge, etc. So, some said that Jesus was possessed by the soul of John the Baptist, and some said he was possessed by the soul of Elijah, but when King Herod heard what Jesus was doing and saying, he was convinced, "This is John, whom I beheaded, he is raised." King Herod believed that Jesus was possessed by the soul of John the Baptist, and he worried that Jesus might be coming for him.

The rest of this morning's Scripture is a flash--back. We're told that Herod had thrown John in prison because Herod had married his deceased brother, Philip's, wife, Herodias, which was against God's Law. And John repeatedly preached against the marriage and told Herod that he was in sin. And Herodias, his wife, resented John. She was annoyed by him and wanted him to stop his criticism of them and their marriage. She was tired of being told that they were living in sin. She wanted John dead, but Herod was unwilling to have him put to death. So Herod threw John in prison, and Herodias began to scheme.

In this country we have freedom of speech. No one was thrown in prison for saying that President Clinton sinned in committing adultery. There is no risk of being put to death for saying that Governor Corzine lied to the people of the state of New Jersey. We have more latitude with what we say regarding our politicians.

However, let us suppose for a moment, that your uncle, who claimed to be a Christian, was having an affair and you found out about it. Would you go to your uncle and tell him that he is sinning and must stop? If you do, you might risk your relationship with your uncle -- in fact, you might destroy your whole extended family. Would you tell him?

Let us remember the boundaries that are set out for us in the Scripture: we are to denounce all sin, and we are to confront those professing Christians who continue in unrepentant sin, as Jesus taught us, and usually within the context of the church that the individual is accountable to. First we go as individuals, then with witnesses, and then we bring the whole community. And we must remember that the purpose of confronting sin and sinners is to bring about repentance and restoration.

John went to King Herod in the hopes that he would repent of his sin and restore his family and his reputation before the kingdom. We are to do likewise -- cautiously and wisely -- but we ought not be afraid based on who the person is or what the consequences might be. Herod was afraid of John and his wife, so he threw John in prison.

Yet, we're also told that Herod enjoyed listening to John. Herod knew that John was a holy and righteous man. He was a prophet of God. And he spoke in a way that was profound and engaging. Still, Herod also found him very confusing. Herod didn't understand what John was saying. But he listened and enjoyed.

The same is true in our churches: we have people in the church who don't believe the Scripture, they don't believe that Jesus is God the Only Savior, but they enjoy listening and they enjoy being around people who do believe such things, like John. Why?

Well, for some, the mere philosophical engagement of ideas is a rush for them -- merely discussing the issues of the Scripture makes them feel good and gets them excited. So the fact that they don't believe it is irrelevant, because for them, it is the process of discussion and debate that they come for.

For others, although they themselves do not believe, they admire people who do. For them is it a sociological experiment -- like going to the zoo. They don't want to be a penguin, but they admire the penguins, and enjoy watching them and being around them

And for others, they enjoy the benefits of associating with people who are known for their beliefs. These are people who are glad to be guilty by association, as it were. They enjoy being in the company and being known as being in the company, of people who are treated differently due to their belief. For them, it is the appearance that matters. If you don't understand, then spend a day with me when I am wearing the collar and a day when I am not. I am treated much differently and far better (by most people) when I am wearing the collar.

For Herod, it may have been a combination of the three -- here was the King, debating matters with the renown John the Baptist. Surely the people would have looked at the king as though he must be so wise, so good, for the Baptizer to be spending time with him. And the king apparently enjoyed the debates and instruction, though he didn't understand what John meant. Even so, this relationship caused the King to respect and honor and protect John.

But he was also afraid of his wife, so he threw John in prison, hoping to appease her. But it didn't, the damage was done. She had been dishonored in her eyes, and her husband, the king, was unwilling to avenge her honor against the prophet. So, she schemed.

Then Herod's birthday came. And all the best people were invited: all the nobles, and the chief military officers, and all the best people of Galilee were invited to a banquet. The feast went on for hours with more and more food and more and more drink, as the king impressed the who’s who of the nation with his wealth and generosity.

After some time, Herodias sent her daughter in to dance lasciviously before Herod and his guests. The story of Salome and the seven veils comes from this occasion. And she danced and enticed the men to lust after her, even her step-father. And when they were all sexually excited and Herod saw that his guests were well--pleased with the show, he swore before God that he would give her anything at all that she desired, even up till half of the kingdom. And she ran back to her mother who was waiting for her husband to make such a foolish and sinful commitment, and she told her to go back and ask for the head of John the Baptist on a wooden platter.

So she ran back to her step--father and said, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the baptizer on a wooden plate." Notice, Herodias did not just want John killed, she wanted his decapitated head to be displayed like hors d'oeuvres. She wanted John humiliated and killed.

And this request made Herod very sad. But what was the king to do? So he ordered the execution of John the Baptist and John's head was brought on a wooden platter, and Herod gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. John was the last of the Old Testament prophets.

Jesus said to the scribes and the Pharisees, in particular, but also against all the guilty, "You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of innocent Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation" (Matthew 23:33-36).

How did it come to this? How did Herod go from respecting and protecting a holy man, to murdering him, to being consigned to hell? The answer is that sin grows -- it blossoms. "Little" sins matter. They lead to greater and greater sins.

Herod began by sinning in lusting after his brother's wife, then it grew into a sinful marriage after Philip's death. Then the sin grew as he submitted to his wife and imprisoned John, and then allowed his step--daughter to be used for entertainment, and he lusted after her, such that he took the Name of the Lord in vain and made a rash vow to this foul child of an evil mother. And then the sin grew, because it was more important to him not to lose face in front of all of the great people of the kingdom than to obey God, so he murdered John and humiliated him before all those present. No wonder he was very sad.

What is the "little" sin that you don't mind committing? What is the "little" sin that you think you have under control? That you don't believe will ever spiral into more and more sin, like it did with Herod?

James describes this growth: "But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it is conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death" (James 1:14-15).

It is an easy path from stealing a pencil or a candy bar, to justifying stealing hundreds or thousands of dollars. It is an easy path from lusting at a person from a distance to engaging in rape, prostitution, and adultery. It is an easy path from discounting one obscure section of the Scripture to discounting everything God has said.

We must be vigilant against the "small" sins. It only takes a few moments of reflection to note where and when and how we are tempted to sin. Flee those things. Avoid them. For the sake of the holiness and glory of God, we must do whatever is necessary to avoid falling into sin, which always leads to more sin.

Jesus said, "Woe to the world for temptations to sin For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire" (Matthew 18:7-9).

Of course Jesus is not endorsing self--mutilation. Jesus is telling us to leave behind everything that leads us into sin, before we follow that sin into the eternal fire of hell. And the things which tempt a person are different: you and I are not tempted in the same way by the same things. But whatever we are tempted by, we must run from, give up, and avoid.

Some of us need to give up television, or movies, or the computer, or certain types of books, or attending certain types of meetings, or whatever it may be. All Herod did was lust after his brother's wife. In the end, he murdered and humiliated John the Baptist. We must be vigilant against even the "small" sins.

And so we come to this table, not because we have achieved perfection. Not because we have refused all temptation and never sinned. But because we know we are sinners, forgiven, justified, and made holy, only by the life, death, and resurrection of the Only Savior, Jesus Christ. As we come to the table, let us ask for Christ's Grace, that we would flee from temptation and do good, resting in Him Alone, for the power and the courage to identify sin and leave temptation behind us.

Let us pray:
Holy God, we come before You ever needful of Your Forgiveness. Forgive us for our sin. We ask that You would give us Your Grace, that we might be obedient and faithful to our call. We ask that You would lead us in holiness and righteousness and that we would consciously, vigilantly look to You for the power to flee temptation and the humility to return to You quickly to repent of our sin. For it is in Jesus' Name we pray, Amen.