Mark 6:14-29

Turn with me to Mark chapter 6.

Mark 6 · chapter mention

As most of you know, we have been studying through Mark's Gospel,

and we've already seen some really, really remarkable things

! surrounding the life of Jesus Christ.

And he's been traveling, for the most part,

in and around a village called Capernaum.

It's a fishing village on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee.

We've seen him casting out demons, he's healed sick,

he's performed all kinds of miracles.

And we learned last week that he sent his disciples out in pairs.

So word of Jesus has been spreading very quickly all over this region.

Between Jesus and his closest followers,

they've been shaking things up in the area,

and word's begun to spread all over Galilee,

and indeed, even to the local Roman government officials,

as we see in this passage, a man named Herod.

And this is where we find ourselves in Mark chapter 6, verse 14.

Mark 6:14

And I have to warn you before we jump into this passage,

this is not a light-hearted passage.

Some of you have already mentioned this to me yesterday at the picnic,

and you mentioned how you're excited to see

how we're going to actually go through this passage.

It's not an easy passage by any means.

There's a lot of feel-good passages in God's Word,

and this is not one of those.

There's a lot of passages that we like to quote.

We like to put them around our homes for good reasons.

We like to post them on Twitter.

This one, however, is not likely to go on your Facebook status anytime soon.

So what we're about to read is one of the most gruesome displays of human depravity

that we find in the New Testament.

So if you're ready, if your stomach is ready, read along with me, starting in verse 14.

And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death,

but she could not.

For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe.

When he heard of him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.

But an opportunity came when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders

and the leading men of Galilee.

For when Herodias' daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests.

And the king said to the girl, Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.

And he vowed to her, Whatever you ask me, I will give to you, up to half of my kingdom.

And she went and said to her mother, For what should I ask?

And she said, The head of John the Baptist.

And she immediately came in with haste to the king and asked, saying,

I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on the platter.

And the king was exceedingly sorry.

But because of his oath and his guests, he did not want to break his word to her.

And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head.

And he went and beheaded him in the prison.

And brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl.

And the girl gave it to her mother.

And the disciples heard of it.

They came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

How's that for a happy ending?

For a good, light-hearted Sunday morning passage?

I wish I could say there was more to this passage.

But there really isn't.

And Nathan told me to stop there.

So I had to stop there.

In reality, I kind of feel like I should be preaching a funeral right now.

Rather than a Sunday morning sermon.

This is really the biblical version of Braveheart.

Instead of William Wallace, it's John the Baptizer.

Instead of Longshanks, it's Herod Antipas.

And instead of paving the way for Scotland's freedom,

it's John the Baptizer paving the way for Christ,

who would bring freedom from our sins.

Most of us know a good deal about John the Baptist.

He was essentially sent by God as a forerunner to Jesus.

He was born miraculously against all odds to an aging couple named Zachariah and Elizabeth,

who was the cousin of Mary, mother of Jesus.

One of the interesting things about John the Baptizer

is that he's included in many of the Messianic prophecies that we see in the Old Testament.

He was the one who was coming to prepare the way.

Someone who was coming and preaching in the wilderness.

And indeed, that's what he did.

He's described as a man who wore strange clothing.

He wore skins, and he looked much like an Old Testament prophet.

He ate locusts, amongst other strange things.

And people thought he was a little bit different.

People thought that there was something a little bit strange about John.

In the words of Christian rock legend DC Talk,

they have a verse in one of their most popular songs that many of you have probably heard.

In their verse, it says,

With skins on his back and hair on his face,

they thought he was crazed by a locust T8.

You see, the Pharisees tripped when they heard him speak

until the king took the head of this Jesus freak.

Wes, if we could do that.

Where's Wes?

If we can do that as a closing song today, that would be perfect.

His primary ministry centered around the Jordan River,

where he baptized followers and prophesied about the coming Messiah.

He was in an important, integral role of what Jesus did.

And as strange as he may have been to the people in that day,

what possibly made him the most unique

was that he had the privilege of baptizing the Son of God.

No one else can hold claim to that,

except for John the baptizer.

And Jesus also spoke well of him, saying,

Among those born of women,

there is not risen anyone greater than John the baptizer.

And this in and of itself should be enough for us

to pay attention to this man's life.

By the way, I made the distinction between Baptist and baptizer

because there's some apparent confusion in some circles

that John was the first Southern Baptist.

If you study Baptist history,

you see that Baptists don't come until well after the Reformation.

I know people, including people who are related to me,

that I won't mention their name

because this is going on the internet at some point.

But they believe that John the Baptist was the first Baptist.

And he was the first baptizer.

But in our context today,

Baptist means many different things,

including the title of the convention

to which we as a faith family belong.

But just to be clear,

John's no more a forerunner to our denomination than Paul,

or any of the apostles,

or than Jesus himself.

But he did play an important role

in preparing the way for Jesus,

the coming Messiah.

And we, as a church,

and as a denomination,

still baptize in the way that he baptized,

which is through immersion.

We hold that to be very important here in this faith family.

We see a stark contrast, however,

in the other important man in this passage,

named Herod.

We should not confuse him with his father,

who is Herod the Great,

who was responsible for the deaths of thousands of firstborns

around the time Jesus was born.

See, his father was trying to quelch

any type of prophecy that could have come true

in his time.

So he killed off many firstborns.

This is Herod the Great's son,

known as Herod Antipas.

And when Herod the Great died,

his kingdom was divided into four different parts.

And Herod Antipas was ruler of the Galilee region.

He therefore wasn't technically a king.

He was a tetrarch,

which literally means the ruler of a fourth part.

But although he wasn't a king,

he still made his followers call him king.

This is the kind of person he was.

And he was actually banished in 39 AD

for asking or requesting of Rome

that he be made a king.

So this is the type of egocentrism

that surrounds Herod's life.

Jesus, in contrast to what he says about John,

summed up the character of Herod Antipas

by once calling him a fox

in Luke 13, 32.

So Herod decides to take on a wife

named Herodias.

It's important to note here

that Herodias was Herod's

half-brother's daughter.

She was also,

to complicate the family tree even further,

she was also married

to one of Herod's brothers,

divorced Herod's brother,

in order to become Herod's wife.

So Herodias relates to him

as niece,

as sister-in-law,

and as wife.

In the Jewish culture,

that didn't bode very well.

It wasn't a good thing

for that type of thing to happen.

In fact, it was forbidden by the law.

And so straight shooting John,

preaching the gospel of righteousness

and the gospel of repentance,

tells them only what he finds

in his own law,

in his own truth text.

And he tells them,

in verse 18,

it's not lawful for a man

to marry his brother's wife.

And that John,

he was just so close-minded,

wasn't he?

Isn't that what people tell us

when we hold to our truth text?

I'm surprised that people are surprised

that we want to hold

to our truth document.

And that was certainly

the attitude of this royal couple

who decided to get married

against what John was teaching them

and preaching to them.

And this,

for very personal reasons,

Herodias nursed a grudge

against John.

She wanted to have him killed,

but she couldn't

because there was something

about John

and something interesting

happened.

When John was arrested

and was in the depths

of the dungeon,

Herod began to form

a relationship with John.

It's interesting.

I believe this text

really indicates to us

that Herod and John

were actually fairly close.

I don't know how much

they interacted,

but we see that they

interacted some.

We see that Herod

favored John

in some way.

And so,

in verse 20,

it says,

when he heard him,

he was greatly perplexed,

and yet he heard him gladly.

And it's safe to say

that John was a pretty direct person.

He didn't beat around the bush.

He told the gospel truth

as it was.

He was direct

and to the point.

It didn't matter who it was.

It didn't matter who

he was teaching to.

It didn't matter how much

it offended them.

He was going to say it.

And it says,

he feared John.

Why would a man

like Herod Antipas,

a man who esteems himself

as king,

though he isn't,

and wants all his followers

to call him king,

he's an egocentric type of person,

and why would he,

Herod,

be afraid of a man

like John the Baptist?

And I think that it has something

to do with John's righteousness.

In other words,

when you're living

in a state of unrighteousness

and you encounter

a righteous character,

there's something

intimidating about that.

And Herod distinctively

recognized John's

moral excellence.

And so Herod is perplexed

because he's uncomfortable

in his fear.

Yet Herod somehow

is drawn into

John's character.

And I think it's because

something about

righteous character

does one of two things

with those

who practice unrighteousness.

Either one,

they hate them.

They turn away from them

in bitterness

and hatred

and rejection

of that person.

We see this in Herodias

in this passage.

Or,

they have a sort of

reverent respect

for the person.

This is what we see

in Herod Antipas.

Herod feared John

because he recognized

something in him.

He recognized justice

and righteousness

and holiness.

And he admired a man

in whom he saw

those things.

He listened to John.

He continued to listen

to him preach gladly.

But the ultimate problem

with Herod

was that while he feared John,

he never quite looked

to John's master.

He never quite saw

Christ in him.

He never quite saw

God

in the person

of John the Baptist.

And John was a man

who was preaching

Christ as Messiah

and a message

of repentance.

But there was no repentance

in Herod's heart.

He was under

the dreadful sway

of sin.

And his heart

was hardened

by his own lust

for power,

for wealth,

and for all things

of this world.

This is the same man

who would later

mock the Savior

as he stood trial

before him.

I want you to see

the contrast

between these two men

in this passage.

One,

revered by Jesus,

preaching repentance.

He was a little strange.

Yes, indeed.

He was very strange.

But he was unashamed

by the message

that God called him

to preach.

His very character

shouts righteousness.

It proclaims truth.

He looked different

than the world

because he understood

that this world

was not his home.

He's the picture

of what God desires

is to be radically different

than the culture.

Not for his own sake,

but to glorify God

with his life.

Was John perfect?

There's no way.

He was still human.

But his mistakes

are certainly

not highlighted

in Scripture.

On the other hand,

we have a man

who is a picture

of the prodigal.

a man who

lived his life

lavishly,

squandering away

his life

for the sake

of no one

but himself.

He was a man

who slew a preacher

whom he respected.

And ultimately,

he lost his power

only to go down

in history,

known mostly

for his infamy

and not for anything

good.

He was a picture

of human depravity.

And he's only part

of the picture

of human depravity

in this text.

Because there's

a woman here

and her name

is Herodias.

And if there was

ever a black widow,

she was it.

She is the woman

your mom

warned you about.

Okay?

You would do well

to stay away

from this type

of woman.

She is conniving.

She's cruel.

She's the epitome

of evil.

And she harbored

hatred for John.

Not just a little

kind of

heartbreaking

type of hatred.

It was

horrible hatred

that leads

and just ate her

up on the inside.

And she had been

waiting for a moment

that she could kill

John the Baptist

or see him killed.

And so this is

what's happening

in this text.

Herod's party

is advancing

on into the evening.

And it wasn't

uncommon for people

to be drinking

heavily during

these types of parties.

He's invited

all the important

people

and all of Galilee

are here.

His military leaders

are here.

All kinds of people

are in this group,

this party that he's

got going on,

this feast.

And the party's

advancing on.

They're probably

getting a little bit

inebriated.

And the text says,

For when Herodias'

daughter came in

and danced,

she pleased

Herod

and his guests.

This, by the way,

was a type of

entertainment

that was set aside

for harlots

and prostitutes.

It was unheard

of for someone

of Herodias'

daughter's stature

and place in life

to do this type

of dance.

And I think it's

safe to say

this dance

was sensual.

There was something

sinful about

this dance.

And so Herodias

sends her

young daughter

in to dance

in front of

many men.

We don't know

how many are there,

but many men

who are possibly

intoxicated

to watch her

do a sensual

dance.

So this whole

thing,

this whole

scenario

is conceived

by sin.

And this is

exactly why

Herod liked it.

It was an

unusual thing.

It was unusual

to see someone

of nobility

dancing in this

way.

And his guests

were pleased

as well.

And Herod

falls right

into the trap.

And he offers

her anything

in this kingdom,

up to half

of the kingdom.

And so she

goes away,

the daughter

goes away,

leaving everybody

else to guess

what she might

ask for.

This is a

generous offer,

by the way.

This is an

offer that any

of the people

in that room

would have

loved to have

received.

And so they're

all wondering

what in the

world is going

to happen.

What in the

world is she

going to ask

for?

She goes

away,

and in

verse 24

she asks

her mother,

for what

should I

ask?

And she

said,

the head

of John

the Baptist.

And she

came in

immediately

with haste,

immediately

with haste,

to the king

and asked

saying,

I want you

to give

me at

once the

head of

John the

Baptist.

And in her

own little

evil conniving

way,

on a

platter.

mother,

like

daughter.

We find

suddenly that

Herod is

sober.

He didn't

want this to

happen.

He didn't

want this to

be her

request.

And he

is truly

distressed

here in

this passage.

I believe

the text

indicates that.

In verse 26

he says that

the king

was exceedingly

sorry.

The language

here indicates

a very deep

sorrow.

This word

perilupos

in the

Greek

means

surrounded

by sorrow.

And it's

only used

a handful

of times

in the

New Testament.

One being

when Jesus

was in the

Garden of

Gethsemane

about to

face an

arrest that

would ultimately

lead to

his death.

A time

when Jesus

would sweat

droplets of

blood.

He was

under such

distress.

Same word

used there

in the

Garden of

Gethsemane

as it is

here in

our text

this morning.

And so

I have no

doubt that

Herod was

indeed

sorrowful.

But what

was he going

to do?

What would

his friends

think if

they were

to go

back to

their areas

of nobility

and tell

everyone in

all the land

that Herod

is a man

that goes

back on

his promises?

And so

Herod began

to fall

into the

temptation

of being

afraid

of man.

The problem

was really

that Herod

had no

backbone.

He was

the ruler

of that

land.

He may

not have

been a

king,

but he

was the

ruler

of that

land.

And anything

that he

said

goes,

and he

could have

told her

anything

that he

wanted to,

including what

probably all

of us in here

are thinking,

and what maybe

most of us

would have

told her,

being people

of God's

word and

people who

are redeemed,

that girl,

that is

sick.

you shouldn't

be asking

for stuff

like that.

Young

girls are

supposed to

like dresses

and closets

full of

shoes or

wardrobes

full of

clothes or

jewelry.

She

asked for

the head

of John

the Baptist,

but Herod

buckles under

the pressure

and he

gives the

order to

do the

unthinkable.

And I

want you to

see something

here that

is pathetic

and astounding

at the same

time.

Because Herod's

conscience has

kind of

become to

be awakened

in a sense

through the

person of

John the

Baptist.

He had

had his

eyes open

or begun

to have

his eyes

open to

righteousness

or at

least begun

to respect

righteous

character.

He may

have even

begun to

consider some

of his own

depravity.

There was

a little

life and

then it

was all

crushed

because he

was afraid

of what

people might

think about

him.

You know

there are a

lot of

people today

that do

just the

same thing.

How many

people do

you know

that have

had their

eyes open

to eternal

things?

Maybe through

something that

you shared

with them?

Maybe through

something that

another believer

shared with

them?

Or maybe

they came

across a

Bible passage

and they

began to

understand

something about

their condition

of their

heart.

They began

to understand

something about

the sin

and the

debt that

they owe

to God

because of

this sin.

They become

aware that

they have a

deep-seated

problem with

sin and

maybe they

learned

something about

the atonement.

They began

to think about

it and then

it became

known to

their friends

that they

were thinking

on these

topics and

on these

issues.

And then

there was a

little smirk.

Or maybe

there was a

little sneer.

Or,

you a

Christian?

No way.

I

want to

have all

hope

crushed

from

beginning

to think

about it

and then

for them

to turn

away,

to never

return

again

to that

thought

process

simply

because

they're

concerned

about what

other

people think

about them.

If you

don't know

anybody like

this,

then you

can just

think about

our

politicians

today.

Over the

past 20

to 30

years.

This is

as if

they can't

make a

decision on

their own

without

taking a

poll or

without asking

or trying

to figure

out if

somebody's

going to

be offended

by their

stance.

And so

you see

politicians

who are

going against

their

biblical

faith.

Because

they don't

want to

take a

stance for

a biblical

marriage.

Or they

don't want

to take a

stance that

might lead

their polls

to drop.

If people

or will

the people

elect me if

I take a

stance on

this issue?

Will my

party agree

with me if

I don't

agree with

everything that

they hold

to you?

And this

tragic mentality

has worked

its way into

the Christian

life as

well where

born again

believers don't

truly live for

God.

They live for

fear of what

man might

say to

them.

And little

by little

they begin to

look more

and more

like the

world and

less and

less like

the redeemed.

They begin to

look more like

Herod and less

like John the

Baptizer.

And this

is what

happens when

we fear

people over

our great

sovereign

creator God.

And in my

counseling experience

one of the

greatest struggles

I see people

facing is this

very issue

that we're

talking about

here.

Where we

think too

much of

man and

too little

of God.

God being

the greatest

being in the

universe and

everything,

literally

everything in

the universe

having been

created for

His glory,

to glorify

Him.

We know

this from

Colossians 1

16,

all things

have been

created through

Him and

for Him.

He deserves

the affections

of our hearts,

but in our

minds,

in our hearts,

we often get it

backwards and we

tip the scales

the wrong way.

And God

becomes less than

man and we

fear man over

God.

Instead of God

being the center

of our affection,

the desire of

our hearts,

instead of us

being focused

on what other

people think

about us.

And well-meaning

believers,

whether they

realize it or

not,

are concerning

themselves more

with what people

think about them

than what God

thinks about them.

And this

mentality, by the

way, is

everywhere in our

society.

You see it in

our public

school systems

where principals

and teachers

will say things

like, you

know, we just

really like to

focus on high

positive self-esteem.

this might come

as a surprise

to some of us

in here, but

self-esteem is

an unbiblical

concept.

Scripture teaches

us to humble

ourselves before

the Lord, not

to esteem

ourselves.

In 1 Peter 5,

6 and James

4, 10, I

could give you

some more

references, but

I think two

should suffice

for this morning.

There's more

places that talk

about humbling

ourselves in

Scripture.

Scripture teaches

us that there's

nothing good about

us apart from

Christ.

What Scripture

does teach is

that our hearts

are wicked.

Our righteous

acts are as

filthy rags

before a holy

God.

According to

Isaiah 64,

Romans 3, 12

says, no one

does good, not

even one.

There's

absolutely

nothing

esteemable

about us

because of

our sin

condition.

So Kyle, are you

saying that we

should all walk

around with low

self-esteem?

Absolutely not.

On the contrary, I'm

saying that we

shouldn't esteem

ourselves at all.

This low self-esteem

is still focused on

the self and still

glorifying man

in the self.

And when you get

this concept, it'll

blow your mind

because what happens

is when we put

God as preeminent

in our lives

and in our hearts,

when we concern

ourselves about

Him and His

thoughts and His

desires, how we

esteem ourselves

becomes a non-issue.

It doesn't matter

if we have low

self-esteem or

high self-esteem,

we esteem Christ

and Christ alone.

So self-esteem,

no matter high or

low, it no longer

matters.

Whether other

people think about

you, it no longer

matters.

Whether you were

invited to the party

or not, it no

longer matters.

Whether people

make jeering

statements or

hiss or make

smart remarks about

your faith, it no

longer matters.

matters.

Because the only

thing that matters

is that Jesus

paid it all on

the cross for

your sins.

So that we may

be righteous in

Him.

Not of anything

that we can boast

about in and of

ourselves.

But if we are to

boast, it's to boast

in the sacrifice

that He paid.

That we are

righteous only

because of Him.

And that our

lives may shout

His glory and

His praise.

Proverbs puts it

best.

The fear of

man lays a

snare.

It entraps us.

But whoever

trusts the

Lord is safe.

Proverbs 29, 25.

And that is

just it.

If we fear

man, we live

in the self-entrapment

and the self-deception

of conceitedly

thinking that we

are somehow

important.

And we're not.

But Christ in us

is important.

And when we

place our trust

in Him and

His goodness

and we lean

on His

righteousness,

our identity

is no longer

wrapped up in

this world.

Our identity

is now wrapped

up in Christ.

And we

experience freedom

from this world.

It's a freedom,

by the way,

that Herod Antipas

would never know.

I don't know if

Herod slept well

that night.

I don't know if

he could have

slept well that

night.

Maybe he did,

maybe he didn't.

I wouldn't have

been able to

sleep well that

night if I had

done what he

did.

I don't know if

John ever crossed

his mind after

this time.

I think probably

he did.

I think probably

John's memory

slowly faded

from Herod.

And he probably

eventually thought,

well, what was

the big deal

about John

anyways and all

of his preaching

and all of his

righteousness?

Meanwhile,

word of Jesus

is being spread

all over Galilee.

Great miracles

have taken place.

Things are being

moved and shaken

up a bit in the

land.

He's commissioned

his apostles on

a missionary

journey.

And people are

being healed.

And word of Jesus

is beginning to

creep inside the

palace walls.

This is where we

get to in verse

14 through 16,

which introduce

our passage.

And it tells us

what happens.

In verse 14,

Herod,

heard of it

for Jesus'

name,

had become

known.

Some said,

John the Baptist

has been raised

from the dead.

And that's why

these miraculous

powers are at

work in him.

But others said,

he is Elijah.

And others said,

he is a prophet

like one of the

prophets of old.

But when Herod

heard of it,

he said,

John,

whom I beheaded,

has been

raised.

This language

is so graphic

here that this

I and this

passage should

stand out to

us.

John,

the man I

beheaded,

I did this.

It's on me.

And suddenly

he remembers

his evil deed

as though

he had buried

it away

and it had

risen back

up into

his mind

when he

hears about

Jesus.

Even though

this was not

the man,

Jesus was not

the man that

he beheaded.

His conscience

is bringing it

back to light

in his mind.

And you may

have experienced

something similar

to this,

where maybe

possibly you

did something

atrocious,

committed an

atrocious act

or a sin,

possibly even

before you

became a believer

in Jesus Christ

and something

happens in your

life.

You thought that

you had buried

it away,

you had buried

it deep

in the depths

of your heart

and you thought

that it was

over and you

didn't have to

think about that

anymore,

but then suddenly

something happens

in your life,

an event takes

place,

maybe you heard

a sermon,

maybe you had

a friend in

your life that

had something

similar happen

to them,

and something

all of a sudden

begins to come

up and you

remember this

deed that you

did in the

past.

And these

things happen

to us because

God gives us,

he has built

into us a

conscience to

know whether

we've done

right or wrong.

And when these

things happen,

it's God's way

of leading us

to repentance.

And so if you

have dealt

with sin,

then you're

going to have

these feelings

rise up from

time to time

until we deal

with these things.

And this is

what's going on

in Herod's

heart right

now.

He's feeling

a bit guilty

because of

what he's

done in

the past.

He hears

of the miracles

and the

righteousness of

Jesus and

falsely assumes

that it must

be John the

baptizer raised

from the dead.

And it

shouldn't come

to surprise

us that

Herod believes

that people

could be

raised from

the dead

because he

was not a

regenerate

believer.

He was

certainly not

repentant.

He likely

had little

contact with

his righteousness

people and

he had no

idea how to

deal with

this thing

that was

going on

in his

heart.

This

conviction

that was

going on

in his

heart.

And it

was tearing

him up

on the

inside.

And the

reality is

that Herod

needed a

new heart.

That only

comes through

the gospel

of Christ

and the

regenerate

heart of

a believer.

Therefore,

if anyone

is in

Christ,

he is a

new creation.

The old

has passed

and the

new has

come.

And so

we understand

his regeneration

and it

helps us to

understand our

sin for what

it really

is and it

helps us to

turn away

from that

sin and

to run

toward

righteousness.

But for

Herod,

it was not

so.

He had

little

understanding

of what

his depravity

meant.

And this

is demonstrated

no greater

than in the

last New

Testament

recording of

Herod Antipas

in Luke

23.

Starting in

verse 8,

it says,

when Herod

saw Jesus,

he was very

glad.

By the way,

this is when

Jesus is going

before Herod

in trial.

He's already

gone to see

Pontius Pilate,

Pontius Pilate,

sends him

back to

Herod,

finds out

Herod's in

this region.

So he

goes and

finds out

that he's

from Galilee

and sends

him on

to Herod.

So Herod's

glad of

this happening

for he had

long desired

to see

him.

Of course

he did.

He thinks

this might

be the

man he

murdered,

the man

he beheaded.

He thought

this man,

he'd heard

of his

miracles

and his

signs

and his

wonders

and of

course

he thought

that he

wanted to

see him

because he

had heard

about him

and he

was hoping

to see

some sign

done by

him.

Herod was

looking for

some sort

of spiritual

pleasure

in this

meeting with

Jesus,

maybe something

of a magic

show,

so to speak.

That's probably

how he was

viewing it at

least.

Verse 9,

so he

questioned

him at

some length

but he,

Jesus,

made no

answer.

The chief

priest and

the scribe

stood by

vehemently

accusing him

and Herod

with his

soldiers

treated him

with contempt

and mocked

him.

Then arraying

him with

splendid clothing,

he sent

him back

to Pilate.

You see,

Herod was

looking for

some sort

of spiritual

entertainment.

He was

hoping to

see some

sort of

sign in

Jesus,

but there

is no

repentance

here.

In fact,

Herod remained

in front of

the Son

of God

perfectly

dead

in his

heart.

Here,

Herod stands

before God

himself,

righteousness

incarnate,

absolute

perfection,

and there

is nothing,

there is

nothing going

on in his

heart that

day.

And what

might be

even more

terrifying,

even more

bone-chilling,

is that

Christ sees

nothing in

him.

He won't

even reply

to him.

The Son

of God

standing

before Herod

has nothing

to say to

him.

He is

spiritually

dead before

the Son

of God,

and it

is a

tragic

day.

God

tells us

in Ezekiel

33,

as surely

as I

live,

declares

the Sovereign

Lord,

I take

no pleasure

in the

death of

the wicked,

but rather

that they

turn from

their ways

and live.

There is

no rejoicing

going on in

heaven in

that moment.

You see,

it's possible

for someone

to stand

before the

Son of

God,

and for

nothing to

happen in

their hearts.

And I

think the

primary message

in our text

today is

twofold.

Kind of

two primary

messages going

on here.

First is

for non-believers,

and we

know that

you're here.

We know

that you're

among us.

In a room

this size,

there are

non-believers

here.

If Jesus

has been

moving in

your heart,

whether a

friend has

shared something

with you

recently,

whether you've

heard something

through a

sermon

recently,

or maybe

you've

been flipping

through

Scripture

at some

point

recently,

but maybe

you've

come to

see that

there's

a sin

problem

in your

life.

There's

a gap

between

you and

God.

And you've

come to

see that

Christ is

the answer

to that

sin

problem,

as the

perfect

Son of

God,

a sinless

human

sacrifice,

the only

sacrifice,

by the way,

that can

atone for

your sins.

The

application for

you this

morning is

to repent,

to turn

away from

your sin,

and to run

towards

righteousness.

He's already

completed the

work.

Christ has

already done

it.

He's

completed it.

It is

finished.

All you

have to do

is to repent

and to turn

away from

your sin

and believe.

There's a

stark message

for believers

this morning

as well.

I feel

like I

need to

remind you

in a sense

this morning

that you're

recipients

of the

greatest

blessing

known to

man.

You're

recipients

of this

blessing.

And God

didn't intend

for that

to be kept

secret.

Go

proclaim

Him to