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| Painting by Steve Dawson |
Text: Mark 6:14-29
To
Him who loves us and has washed us from our sins by His blood and made us a
kingdom, priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever
and ever. Amen.
John
the Baptist is a unique character. He
offends our modern sensibilities. He is
difficult to label. Every time that we
read about him, it is apparent that we cannot tame him.
John
the Baptist’s attire of camel hair and a leather belt definitely communicate a
wild-man prophet. His diet of locusts
and wild honey are not found on most lunch menus as the daily special.
His
message of repentance and baptism echoes off of the wildness and collides with
our political correctness. His message
cannot be sugar coated, no matter how many layers of frosted sugar are applied
to it.
Thus,
John the Baptist and his message offend.
The offense then fuels anger.
Yet,
in the midst of this offense, there is a peculiar draw to him, for apart from
everything that is undomesticated about him, deep down his message and straight
forwardness hits our conscious and we find ourselves confessing that he is a
righteous and holy man.
As
for being offended and also intrigued by John the Baptist, we actually find
that this mixture of offense and intrigue is the current situation in our
Gospel reading from St. Mark. Otherwise
stated, there are two main characters in our Gospel reading from this morning –
Herod and his wife Herodias. They are intrigued
and outraged by John the Baptist.
Herodias,
on the one hand, was irritated by John and his message. In fact she was so furious about John and his
message that she wanted to have him tortured and killed.
Herod,
on the other hand, found himself strangely attracted to John and his message; John
the Baptist had a soft-spot in Herod’s heart.
In other words, Herod was perplexed by John’s message, yet he enjoyed
listening to him. Therefore, he protected John the Baptist from Herodias, that
is to say, until he buckled under the pressure to have John killed, resulting
on John’s head being placed upon a platter.
Even
though we can be fascinated with the drama of today’s Gospel reading, this troubling
story is actually a vivid reminder of what happens when the Word of God is
proclaimed. Indeed, there is no more
dangerous place on earth than a pulpit or when you proclaim the Word of
God. The reason being, when the Word
goes forth, the message of the Lord not only has a way of perplexing and interesting
individuals, but also offending. This is
so, because the Word of God is truth.
The truth resonates with and pricks the conscience; it offends the
sinful nature.
You
see, the Word of God is living and active—sharper than any two-edged
sword. The Word “breaks through and
wounds. It takes away every ground of trust and ascribes redemption solely to
the blood of Christ; it pricks and wounds the soul.”[1] What this
means is that God’s Word has aim. “God’s word is not a reference book in a
library that we pull off the shelf when we want information. There is nothing
inert or bookish in these words. God’s words, creating and saving words every
one, hit us where we live. . . . These words get inside us and work their
meaning in us.”[2] The Word of God works us over in order to show us our sin and show us Christ
crucified for sin. The Word grants us
repentance and gifts us faith. Simply
put, “the Word of God invades the world of sinners,”[3] because “we are unfinished creatures requiring complex and extensive assistance
in every part of our being….”[4] Indeed “the Bible is not content to leave modern people as they are. It wants
to convert and change”[5] –you and me.
Dear
friends, the Holy Spirit through the Word ‘must’ invade; the Word must
continually function as the only source, rule, and standard of the church’s
faith and practice, for apart from God’s Word the world is left in despair with
counterfeit words and can do nothing.[6] “The
Holy Spirit must always work in us through the Word, granting us daily
forgiveness.”[7] It is undeniably needed.
Regarding
all of what was just stated, like Herodias and Herod, you and I and our
neighbors resist this invasion of the Word.
As church going folks, many times we listen to the Word like it was any
other triviality and we keep coming back to church out of custom. Otherwise stated, after the pronouncement of
the Benediction by the pastor, the Word rolls off us like water off a duck’s
back, and then we rush out the doors to watch football at home. We are like little Herod’s who hear, but
really don’t listen. We can hear the
Word and it entertains us from time to time, but we resist it taking root.
We
are also like a little Herodias, who actually fights against this Word, wanting
to have it our own way. The Word is
preached, it offends us; therefore, we end up criticizing the Word and
demanding that it be stated in a more politically correct way to suit our own
fancy. We will even decapitate the Word
in order to diminish potential blowback.
When confronted by portions of the Word that we disagree with, we say
that we can’t take the whole Bible serious, or we do what Thomas Jefferson did,
start cutting out the portions of the Bible that go against our modern eyes.
Fear
of persecution, the lure to place harmonious fellowship above truth, the
yearning not to upset numerical church growth, and the narrative of tolerance all
encroach upon us, tempting all of us to either shrug our shoulders at the Word
of God, like Herod, or eliminate portions of it, like Herodias, in order to
satisfy the mantras of the day.
It really
makes sense why such preaching of the Word put Jeremiah in the stocks, resulted
in Isaiah being sawn in two, and resulted in John the Baptist losing his head. This is the way that it has always been and
always will be with the Word of God.
When the Word of God goes forth, whether from pastors or laypersons, it
confronts and collides with the lies that we believe, lies formed by sin and
lies whispered into our ears by the devil.
Truly, proclaiming the Word of God results in receiving a bull’s-eye
upon the forehead so that the evil one and the world have something to shoot
at.
This
is the way that it was for John the Baptist.
Herodias was offended by John calling out her sin against the sixth commandment. As a result, Herod, not wanting to appear bad
in front of his friends and not wanting the bull’s-eye placed upon him, honored
a request from a frivolous promise that he made, and had John the Baptist
killed. This appeased Herodias and
relieved Herod of embarrassment.
The
convicting message from the man with the breath of sweet honey and locusts:
slaughtered. Herodias got her wish, a
head dripping with the preacher’s blood.
Slaughtered so that her conscious would not be offended; slaughtered so
that she might obtain the feeling of being whole. Herod got his way too. Even though he was sad to see John dead,
Herod was no longer in an awkward position of looking bad in front of Herodias
and fellow company.
This
is the way that typically goes, the Word never achieves popularity in a world
full of people who love lies and love the dark.
Don’t be surprised dear friends, the world is hostile to the God’s Word
and your sinful nature is too. Indeed,
the Word is foolishness to those who are perishing and foolishness to our old
sinful flesh, that is, our old Adam.
And
so it goes, John was preparing the way, giving his head for the head of the
Church, the one, Lord Jesus Christ, who would soon be dead by another ruler’s
decree.”
And
so it goes with Jesus Christ as well. Like
John the Baptist, Jesus experienced the same fate. The Lord Jesus continually revealed that He
was Israel’s true shepherd. Through His ministry
and teaching, He essentially triggers the conflict as His teaching and actions
rubbed against the establishment and undercut their sense of control.
The
world, the evil one, and our flesh simply can’t handle the Word… so we kill
Jesus and those who profess Him.
Beaten,
bloodied, and crucified—because of you and me.
A
decapitated dead body taken and placed in a tomb, because his message was too
much to handle: the death of John.
A
crucified dead body taken and placed in a tomb, because His message and Words were
too much to handle: the death of Jesus.
This
is where the path of the Christian faith leads, my friends. All roads lead to death. All roads lead to the cross for John, for
Jesus, for you, and for me.
Listen,
Christ didn’t suffer so that you wouldn’t suffer; He wasn’t crucified so that
you would be spared the cross; He did not die so that you wouldn’t die.
…
Oh,
but hear the good news of the Gospel that is for each and every one of
you! Christ was beaten, bloodied, and crucified—for
you. Beaten for you who, like Herod,
don’t take the Word of God to heart.
Bloodied for you who, like Herodias, fight against and hold a grudge
against the Word of God. Crucified for
you who, like John the Baptist, suffer persecution from the attacks of the
world. Otherwise stated, Christ Jesus
was beaten, was bloodied, “was crucified, and died so that in Him—welded to His
flesh in the heat of [your] baptism—you might be plunged into the same death
and emerge alive again in His resurrection.”[8]
Dear
friends, the kingdom of God is at hand.
Listen to the Word today, drop your defenses, welcome the Word that breaks
through and takes away every ground of trust and ascribes salvation solely to
Christ, fear God and not man; flee to Christ who is not dead, but alive and who
is the head of the Church.
Hear
today: Christ was beaten, bloodied, crucified, ‘and’ resurrected—for you.
Do
not doubt, do not fear, you are forgiven.
You
are not a little Herod or a little Herodias, but you are a baptized saint,
covered in the forgiving blood that dripped from Jesus’ head.
Yes,
your sin will put you in a tomb, but the Gospel places you in Jesus’ tomb,
where God has raised up for you a mighty Savior, a Savior not confined to death,
but a Savior who lives and reigns today with you and for you as your Lord.
With
John the Baptist, do not fear the guillotine, but recline at the table of the life
giving Lord, for the resurrected Lord is with you in this life, through death,
and unto eternity.
The
peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus. Amen.
[1] Martin Luther, Luther's works, vol. 12: Selected Psalms eds. J. J. Pelikan, H. C.
Oswald & H. T. Lehmann (Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1999),
225.
[2] Eugene H. Peterson, Answering God: The Psalms As Tools For
Prayer (New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1991), 25.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Peterson, Answering God, 35.
[5] William H. Willomon, Shaped by the Bible (Nashville, TN:
Abingdon Press, 1990), 63.
[6] See John 15:1-ff.
[7] Martin Luther, The Large Catechism, The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church, eds. Robert
Kolb and Timothy Wengert (Minneapolis,
MN: Fortress Press, 2000), 438.
[8] Chad L.
Bird, Christ Alone: Sermons and Meditations (Chad Bird
Copyright 2014), 100.
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