The Bold and the Brutal - Mark 6:14-29

You're listening to the Christ Our Cornerstone

podcast, a ministry of Christ Our Cornerstone

Church in O 'Neill, Nebraska. I'm Pastor Logan

Merrick, and it's our prayer that this message

strengthens your faith and draws you closer to

Christ. Let's dive in. Let's go ahead and open

our Bibles to Mark chapter six. The title of

my sermon today is called The Bold and the Brutal.

Do a little play on words. Anybody want to know

where that little play on words comes from? The

soap operas, the bold and the beautiful. My big

idea is true faithfulness to God. You can write

it down. I'll have it right up here. True faithfulness

to God can provoke powerful opposition, but God

calls us to stand firm like John the Baptist,

regardless of consequences. When I was growing

up, I could not stand to have to stay home from

school. Like, no matter how sick I was, I hated

it. And there was a reason for that. Mostly,

it was the fact that there was nothing to watch

on television. There was only two things. The

price is right, and the thing we've already said,

the 80s and 90s were thick with them soap operas,

right? My mom loved soap operas. She loved them

so much that we took a vacation to Dallas to

see where Dallas was filmed. And I remember as

a kid having no idea what I was looking at. And

everywhere we went, there was these posters and

stuff that said, who shot JR? Which is still

a famous line, right? Who shot JR? I've been

there when they filmed, I've sat in JR's car.

I still can't tell you who shot JR, because it

just didn't care. But my mom absolutely loved,

and as a matter of fact, I texted her the opening

to this sermon and said, thanks for the inspiration.

I mean, my mom treated that trip like Disney

World. I mean, she just was so, so pumped, but

our - I gotta interrupt you a second. Yeah. I

just gotta add one thing. Most of you probably

don't know this. Go back and watch all the old

episodes, and there's one episode where they're

out at the horse ranch and they're unloading

a load of hay. Keith, Tom, Jack, and I sent that

load of hay down. Really? What? Look at all these

connections, man. The Lord knew. I don't know

that I've even named the soap opera Dallas for

anybody that doesn't have any idea what I'm talking

about. So funny man Like how does that phone

call work? Hey, we need some hay for Dallas on

there. It could never be tarred from the time

that it left Dallas to go out there because they

didn't want people thinking they were holding

in growth. And we could not get out of the truck

when we unloaded it because they didn't want

us in the movie. That is so funny. I gotta be

honest, every time she told me... Another stipulation,

I said, man, we can make it happen, but it's

going to cost. Oh, my gosh. That's so awesome.

Thank you, Doug, for sharing that. Well, the

reason why I bring up soap operas is because

the passage that we are going to unpack today

reads like a soap opera. It's an account that

has everything from family betrayal to sexual

immorality, political corruption, manipulation,

power struggles, revenge, a reckless ruler, a

bitter woman, and a shocking death, much like

JR. I actually Googled and I said, I asked Google,

what makes a soap opera a soap opera? And here's

what it gave me the definition of a soap opera.

A drama characterized by intertwining storylines

emotional conflict, melodrama, and an intense

focus on relationships. That's a pretty good

definition, I think. And so we're about to see

in Mark chapter six how that kind of lays out.

But in this story, we're going to see this. We're

going to see a brother that betrays a brother.

We're going to see a wife consumed with hatred.

We're going to see a young girl used as a pawn,

a weak ruler trapped by his own pride and a faithful

prophet who refuses to compromise the truth.

But unlike a soap opera, this isn't fiction.

And the end of the story is a twist that nobody

saw coming. With soap operas, they always had

the most random twist where somebody dies and

yet they always come back to life, no matter

how many times they've died. So yeah, this is

a twist that nobody saw coming. It's really good.

The corruption is real, the sin is real, and

the death is real. And so this morning, as we

look at the death of John the Baptist and Mark,

starting in verse 14, I want us to focus on the

three central characters in this tragedy. We're

gonna look at John, we're gonna look at Herod,

we're gonna look at Herodias and see what each

one reveals about the human heart and about our

response to the truth. So let's go ahead and

read that now. So starting in verse 14, if you

do not have a Bible, we've got some in the back

or it'll be right up here for you. King Herod

heard of it, for Jesus's name had not become

known. Some said John the Baptist had been raised

from the dead. That is 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, talking about what he had heard,

he'd heard about Jesus, okay? But when Herod

had heard of it, he said, John, whom I beheaded,

has been raised. For it was Herod who had sent

and seized John and bound him in prison for the

sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife,

because he had married her. For John had been

saying to Herod, it is not lawful for you to

have your brother's wife. 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 him, he was greatly

perplexed, and yet 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's daughter

came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his

guest, And the king said to the girl, ask me

whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.

And he vowed to give it to her. Whenever you

ask of me, I will give it up to half of my kingdom.

And she went out and said to her mother, for

what should I ask? And she said, the head of

John the Baptist. And she came in and immediately

with haste to the king and asked, say, I want

you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist

on a platter." And the king was exceedingly sorry,

but because of his oaths and his guest, he did

not want to break his word to her. And immediately

the king sent an executioner with the 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 when his disciples heard of

it, they came and took his body and laid it in

a tomb." That's pretty wicked, right? Pretty

made -for -TV storyline. So if we're taking notes,

my first note here that we're going to look at

is Herod's cowardly heart. And so who is Herod?

Yes, he is a king, but we're going to find out

in just a second. He's not a true king. I'll

get into that in just a second. What else do

we know about Herod? What do we see in the text?

He's well known that he married his brother's

wife. His father is Herod, the Herod the Great,

who murdered all of the little boys when Jesus

was born. So that's his father. So when his father

dies, what ends up happening is all the land

that he ruled gets broken up between his sons.

And so, each one of the sons have this makeshift

authority that's not real. Let me just go ahead

and go into it. So firstly, Herod isn't really

a king in the full sense. He's more like a puppet

ruler for Rome, a tetrarch with limited authority,

propped up by Caesar and dependent upon Roman

approval. He has power, but not nearly as much

as he pretends to have. Now, why is that funny?

Why is that funny? What does he promise the girl?

Half his kingdom. He doesn't even have the power

to give it to her. But he, in his drunken, lustful

stupor, he says things that he really can't do.

So it's really, really funny that he does not

have the authority, but he acts as if he does.

So that should tell us something about Herod.

Yes, so yeah, so there he's a part of Rome, right?

But you have a Caesar who is technically like

the one, right? And then you've got these rulers

that are underneath. Think of them like governors.

Does that make sense? And so that's what Herod

Antipatous is his name. That's who he is because

he rules over Antipatous. And so but again, it's

it's a makeshift puppet like he has no real authority.

And so what does that tell us right off the bat

about Herod? Like if we were If we're reading

this and we're taking notes and you were just

to take notes about who Herod is Just reading

the text and just looking at it What would you

start? What would be some of the things that

you would describe Herod as just looking at that

and knowing what what you know at this point?

What's that he's a poser yeah, that's a word

I've heard in a long time Very selfish what else?

He's a bragger. Yeah. What's that? Arrogant is

a great one. A creep. He is a creep. That is

very true. You can write this down. What about

a man that's intoxicated by his own image? He's

not just intoxicated by alcohol and lust, like

I said, but he's drunk off of his own pride as

well. As I said, His father was Herod the Great,

the ruler who slaughtered all of the children.

But when all of their father, Herod the Great,

his stuff got divided amongst the brothers, each

one of the brothers slowly but surely got their

authority stripped from them slowly but surely

by Rome, because frankly, they were incompetent

rulers. They just were. And so Rome continually

stripped authority away. because none of them

could truly govern well. And so here sits Herod

Antipatous, desperate to look powerful, desperate

to appear important, desperate to protect his

reputation. But what landed John the Baptist

in prison? What did it say? What landed him in

prison? It's the fact that he told the truth.

He preached the truth. He was unwilling. It didn't

matter that Herod was not a Jew. He was going,

you are a ruler of some sort. You have some sort

of authority. Therefore, you are still under

God's law. And therefore, what you have done

by marrying your brother's wife, by the way,

she's not only his brother's wife, but it's also

his half niece. And oh, by the way, he was already

married to an ally. So you've got all of this

weird, twisted soap opera -like things where

why would Herodias want to be married to Herod?

We're going to get into that in a little bit.

But you have Herod that takes his brother's wife

and his half -niece, marries her, divorces his

ally's daughter, the queen, And then he's like,

all right, we're good to go. And John the Baptist

goes, not so fast. No, God looks down upon this.

This is adultery. This is divorce. These are

all the things that are disgusting. And so John

the Baptist confronts him with the word of God.

And that's what lands him in jail, but not because

Herod himself is the one upset. Who was the one

upset? The wife, Herodias, she's the one upset.

So Herodias, like I said, was originally married

to Herodias' brother, Philip, but she desired

greater status and influence. And so Herod, though

already married for political alliance, abandons

his wife and enters into a sinful relationship

with Herodias. And so, like I said, there's already

a blood relative of... Harrod himself. And the

entire family situation is morally twisted, politically

corrupt, and spiritually it's rotten. So again,

you see why I continually refer to it as a soap

opera. But the beautiful thing is, is John the

Baptist refused to stay silent about it all.

John preached against their unlawful marriage,

he preached against their sexual sin, and he

preached against Herod's corruption, his indulgence,

and his wickedness, and yet Mark tells us something

fascinating. Herod was intrigued by John. Herod

feared him, he protected him for a time, and

he listened to him gladly. Herod couldn't stand

what John had to say, but he also couldn't stop

listening. Why? Why? Because truth has a way

of piercing our heart, yes? Even though it can

be something that is painful to hear, the truth

will set you free, right? So truth begins to

pierce our heart and it makes us curious. And

so even corrupt people often recognize the truth

when they hear it. I want you to write this down.

The word of God has a way of unsettling us, exposing

us and convicting us and pressing us against

the conscious. So the word of God has a way of

unsettling us, exposing us and convicting us

and pressing us against the conscience. But here

is the danger of what we do with that conviction

actually matters eternally. Because conviction

alone does not save anyone. You can hear truth,

you can admire truth, and you can even listen

to truth and still refuse to surrender to it,

yes? And that's Herod. Then comes this banquet

Herod is drunk and carried away by lust and pride

and makes a reckless Promise in front of all

of his guests after the dance of Herodias his

daughter But he never expected the request to

be what it was so just so you guys know I don't

want to get too Too adult but what the dance

that Salome is her name, and she will ultimately

marry someone in the scriptures and she comes

back in the New Testament, but she dances provocatively.

And so when it says that she pleased those there,

it was meaning in an arousal way. So this is

very disgusting. what's going on. And so when

you think about that, when you think about Herod,

when we talk about him being a creep, he very

much was a creep. But now Herod is trapped because

he's made this oath, again, based off of his

lust and based off of his pride and based off

of his drunkenness. And so he thinks that he's

trapped. And Mark says that he was deeply grieved,

but instead of standing for righteousness, he

caves to the pressure of the room. Rather than

humble himself publicly, he sacrifices a righteous

man to preserve his image. Sounds kind of familiar,

yes? Herod liked listening to truth until the

truth cost him something. And it isn't that still

true today. Many people enjoy sermons emotionally

while rejecting them practically. They love being

inspired, they love being moved, they love religious

language and spiritual curiosity, but obedience,

repentance, submission, costly holiness, that's

where many walk away. Herod cared more about

a political opinion than in his reputation and

his pride and the approval of the people around

him than he did the obedience of God. And sadly,

Herod still lives in many hearts today, even

within the American church. He represents conviction

without conversion, interest without surrender,

spiritual curiosity without obedience. And his

cowardice becomes fatal, not to himself immediately,

though it will, but to the man courageous enough

to preach the truth. I want you to write this

down. Cowardice will always show up the moment

truth steps in and demands obedience. And if

we choose the way of the coward, we should not

be surprised when innocent people around us are

harmed by our compromise. Cowardice always shows

up the moment truth steps in and it demands obedience.

And if we choose the way of the coward, we should

not be surprised when innocent people around

us are hurt by our compromise. We see many Herod's

in our own political system. I don't know how

many politicians I've seen, including our own

president, claim to be a Christian, but can't

quote scripture to save their life. will take

scripture out of context. And then the second

you need them to stand for true righteousness,

they fold like the cowards that they are. Because

it's about what? Public image. It's about greed.

And so there are not only Herod's in the church,

we see Herod's still politically. Let's look

at point number two. Let's look at Herodias.

So point number two is Herodias' bitter heart.

If Herod represents cowardice in the face of

truth, then Herodias represents bitterness towards

the truth itself. Herodias is one of the darkest

figures in the entire account because she not

merely is embarrassed by John, but she hates

him. But why does she hate John? Yeah, he called

her out, right? He spoke the truth. He refused

to affirm her sin. John keeps preaching, John

keeps confronting, and John keeps declaring that

what she and Herod are doing is unlawful before

God, and instead of repenting, Herodias becomes

enraged. Church, this is what a bitter human

heart does. You can write this down. A wounded

and prideful heart will often turn conviction

into personal offense. Rather than allowing the

truth to lead us to repentance we begin treating

the person speaking truth as the enemy Saw a

video this week of a guy sharing the gospel with

a woman who just would not hear what he was saying

and because she was Living an alternate lifestyle

and he she kept just saying you just you hate

me in your homophobic And he's like if I hated

you, I wouldn't be out here I'm trying to tell

you the truth and I'm trying to tell you in love.

And she just begins to just name call and become

very, very hateful. And the man never changes.

Like he's just, he stays there like no matter

the names that she calls him and all these things.

And he is just faithful to what he's saying.

And he's just like, no, I want you to know that

I do love you. And it didn't change her, but

she grew more. and more bitter. And you could

see on the man how his heart broke more and more,

the more she continued to just name call. And

he's like, but that's what it does. We want people

to affirm our sin. And when you don't affirm

the sin, you will then grow bitter and hard to

it. And you begin to see someone like John the

Baptist or someone who is a messenger of the

gospel as the enemy. And that's exactly what

happens here. Mark tells us that Herodias had

a grudge against him and wanted to put him to

death. I want you to think about that for a second.

What had John done to her? Nothing. Just told

the truth. She wants him dead. He hadn't harmed

her, had not abused her, had not even lied to

her. He just simply told the truth. But when

people refuse to repent they often try to silence

the voices exposing their sin Who does Herodias

remind you of there's an Old Testament character

What'd you say Jezebel she's considered the Jezebel

of the New Testament What did Jezebel do she

killed the prophets right of the Old Testament?

Because they would speak out against her and

here is Herodias killing the prophet of the New

Testament He is actually, John the Baptist is

considered the last of the Old Testament prophets.

So, Herod imprisons John, but Herodias wanted

to erase him. And bitterness always works that

way. It is never satisfied with disagreements.

It wants destruction. Bitterness does not merely

want silence. It wants vengeance. You can almost

feel her obsession in the passage. She wants

for the perfect moment, the perfect opportunity,

the perfect weakness inherent. And when the opportunity

finally comes at this drunken banquet, she takes

advantage of it immediately. Because bitterness

matures into hatred when left unchecked. What

does the scripture say about bitterness? It says

it's like rot to your bones. Can you say that

this is rotten? Yeah When you hang sorry I Tell

people all the time especially when I'm doing

counseling When you hang on to bitterness the

bitterness does nothing to the person you're

holding the bitterness to it's you know, it's

just tearing you up It's like it's like a knife

or a sword that you're holding on to and literally

Holding on to it this way and pushing it into

yourself. You're not doing anything to harm the

other person Bitterness is dangerous. And if

you are bitter towards someone or something You

know something that's happened to you in the

past. I would encourage you To repent of that

and try to let go of bitterness and that's literally

a day by day second by second thing It's not

something that just happens like that Let me

get back to what I was saying We need to understand

something. Offended pride is incredibly dangerous

because pride says, how dare you confront me?

How dare you expose me? How dare you tell me

I'm wrong? And when pride combines with bitterness,

people begin justifying all kinds of evil in

order to protect themselves from conviction.

That is not only true in this text, it's true

in our culture right now. We live in a society

that increasingly celebrates sin, mocks conviction,

attacks truth tellers and demands affirmation

instead of repentance. Truth is no longer merely

disagreed with. Truth is treated as violence.

And Christians need to understand this. A culture

that refuses to repent will eventually grow hostile

towards anyone who lovingly speaks biblical truth.

There's no way around it and you must come to

terms with this now. You cannot be ashamed of

the gospel. Yes, it could possibly cost you your

life in a world hell bent on being hell bent.

But before we point fingers only at the world

outside these walls, we should examine our own

hearts too. Because bitterness is not just a

cultural problem, it is a church problem, it

is a human problem. And some people in this room

may still be nurturing bitterness from wounds

held years ago, whether it's a harsh word, a

betrayal, a correction, a confrontation, or some

sort of offense. And instead of surrendering

that hurt to Christ, you've allowed it to grow

roots. Hebrews warns us that about the root of

bitterness, because bitterness never stays contained.

It spreads, it poisons, it distorts, and it blinds.

Herodias became so consumed by resentment that

she could no longer distinguish righteousness

from offense. And that's what bitterness does.

And the frightening part of this passage is this.

Herodias finally gets what she wants. John is

executed. The voice confronting her sin is silence.

and the prophet's head is delivered on a platter.

But here is the true tragedy. Write this part

down. Removing the preacher did not remove the

guilt before God. And the same is true today.

You can silence the messenger. You can avoid

conviction. You can surround yourself with people

who affirm your choices, but that changes the

truth of God's word. Because truth does not cease

to exist simply because we resent hearing it

Point number three, who's the last person in

this passage that we haven't looked at yet? John

so we have John's courageous heart So Coming

to John, we stand in complete contrast to Herod's

cowardice and Herodias' bitterness, and we see

instead a courageous heart. For Mark 16 -18 tells

us why John was in prison, for John had been

saying to Herod, it is not lawful for you to

have your brother's wife. And notice how simple

and direct John is. There's no compromise. There's

no softening of the truth. There's no concern

for political consequences. There's no fear for

losing influence. And there's no, well, there

is, I say there's no fear of losing his life.

There does become a time where John, we see it

in another gospel, where John does in prison,

send his disciples after Jesus. And he's like,

Hey, just so we're clear. You are the Messiah,

right? Like I didn't get that wrong. Like I'm

about to die for this belief in the thing that

I preached. And Jesus doesn't answer him. Jesus

just sends back the message, the blind see the

dead are alive. That's his way of going. Yeah,

I am. But I can't, I'm not going to confirm that

to you except through the miracles that you've

seen. And so that was enough for John to die,

but there was some fear there in the beginning,

but I am fully aware, fully believe, let me say

it like that, that John was not afraid when he

went to his death. John simply tells the truth

and the church, sorry, and church, that kind

of courage is becoming increasingly rare. John

was bold, he was clear, he was uncompromising,

he was morally anchored, and above all, he was

God -fearing. He feared God more than he feared

man, and that's the difference. Write this down

for me. Herod feared public opinion, Herodias

feared exposure, and John feared only the Lord.

And because of that, John was willing to suffer

for the truth. John understood something that

the modern church desperately needs to recover.

Silence in the face of sin is not compassion.

This week, last night when Tracy got home, she

was telling me about, or my mother -in -law was

telling me I guess that her, my mother -in -law's

aunts and uncle are going to a church And she

was up there visiting them and they had said

to her, yeah, we just learned in our Bible study

at church that the God of Islam and the God of

Christianity are the same. My mother -in -law

was like, no, no, it's not. And so then I'm like,

okay, who is this goober that's the pastor of

this church taking these elderly people for?

their money and lying to them and so she looks

them up and then I find the pastor on Facebook

and I see on there that He had posted this quote

from himself that said I Would rather stand before

God saying that I loved and affirmed everyone

then stood on the language of scripture that

only divides I would rather stand before God

and say that I was loving and affirming to all

than to stand on the words that divide. This

man claims to be a pastor and he thinks that

he's being compassionate and that that's why

I have this written. Silence in the face of sin

is not compassion. It's not. It's lethal. And

so we must not be afraid to speak truth, but

let me be clear. We can speak truth without being

hateful. We can say things in love and in grace,

but you still must say the thing. Don't dance

around it. Just say the thing. Be clear. Because

here's the thing, unlike my guy on Facebook,

real love tells the truth, real love warns, real

love confronts, and real love calls people to

repentance even when it's uncomfortable, yes?

I have sat with people, my wife can tell you,

and I've... I got this from a pastor that I served

with at Green Valley in St. Joe. We would be

doing counseling and somebody that had been in

the church for some time and they'd be talking

and Pastor David would just lean over and he

would tap them on the leg and he would say, you're

not saved. You're not saved. No, I am. I've been

coming to church here. No, no, no, no. Everything

that you're saying tells me You're not saved.

I've had to tell people that before. People have

been going to church a long time. But when I

look at the fruit of their life and then I listen

to the words of their mouth, I have to go, you're

not saved. Is that a loving of me as a pastor

to say that? No, not at all. It's what I'm supposed

to do. And you too, brothers and sisters sitting

in this room right now? You too. John did not

preach against Herod because he hated him. John

preached against Herod because he feared God

and cared more about righteousness. But faithfulness

comes with a cost. John is arrested, he's imprisoned,

then he's silenced. Then eventually he's executed

in one of the most humiliating and gruesome ways

imaginable. A drunken ruler trying to save face

in front of his guests orders the execution of

a righteous prophet, like it's nothing more than

entertainment at a banquet. And from a worldly

perspective, it appears that John loses. Herod

still sits on the throne, Herodias gets exactly

what she wanted, and the prophet's voice is silence.

But church, appearances can be deceiving, because

spiritually speaking, John is actually the freest

person in the entire story. Herod sits in a place

that he is enslaved by fear. Herodias appears

powerful, but is consumed by bitterness and hatred.

But John, even though he is in chains, he is

free. Free from the approval of men, free from

compromise, free from slavery, free from the

slavery of protecting an image. The man in chains

was freer than the people sitting at the banquet

table. And what an important reminder this is

for believers today, faithfulness to Christ may

all cost us something. It may cost us comfort,

it may cost us popularity, it may cost us relationships,

but for some believers around the world, it costs

them their freedom and even their lives. We're

seeing this in Nigeria right now. But the call

of discipleship has never been about safety.

It's always been about faithfulness. And here

is what encourages me about John. He never changed

his message to save his own life. He could have

softened the truth. He could have stayed quiet.

He could have protected his own life. But John

understood that preserving obedience matters

more than preserving comfort. John loses his

head because he refuses to lose his conviction.

And in the end, who is the truer victor in the

story? Herod? Nope. Herodias? Not even close.

It's the righteous man in the prison cell who

walks into eternity faithful to God while the

powerful people at the banquet remain chained

to their sin. Church, this world may look at

obedience to Christ and call it weakness. It

may mock conviction. It may pressure believers

to compromise, but never forget, apparent defeat

is not actual defeat in the kingdom of God. It's

the whole thing of what's the saying? We may

have lost the battle, but we've won the war.

John's death was not about the triumph of evil.

It was the testimony of faithfulness. And the

same God who saw John in that prison cell sees

every believer today who chooses truth over compromise,

courage over cowardice, and obedience over approval.

So I want you to stand firm. speak truth, love

boldly, and refuse to compromise and trust that

God's justice will always have the final word.

Here's where I'm closing. The question is this,

why is this narrative here? Because we're chugging

along. If we remember, let's go back. Mark wrote

this, right? So he is taking the eyewitness account

of who? Whose Mark's eyewitness account through?

Peter, right? So he's giving us an eyewitness

account, but he is writing this letter to this

gospel to the Romans, and his whole thesis is

that Christ is the true King. So if we're chugging

along, looking at Jesus, all of a sudden, boom,

now we've got John the Baptist and his death.

Why would that narrative all of a sudden be there?

What do you think Mark's trying to tell us? That's

good, yeah. Challenge us, right? Are you willing

to speak for truth? Yeah, that's good. Let me

go back for just a moment. At the beginning of

the passage, Herod hears about Jesus and immediately

becomes terrified. Why? He thinks it's John the

Baptist risen. So he's scared to death. And once

again, we see Herod's guilty conscience and his

spiritual curiosity rise to the surface. But

what ultimately does Herod do with Jesus? Do

you guys remember? Because Pontius Pilate sends

him, sends Jesus to Herod. What does Herod do?

Do you remember? Yeah, before he sends him back,

what does he do? He mocks him as a king and puts

the robe on him and beats him. Once he sees it's

not John the Baptist, he feels all this relief

and then he's like, okay, yeah, just get out

of here. So he mocks and humiliates Christ. He

dresses him up in a royal robe and he sends him

back to Pilate. And so why would Mark include

this story here? Because the account foreshadows

the death of Christ himself, a righteous man

killed. for the bloodlust of others. Mark is

writing to show us the true king, and in this

story we see what always happens when sinful

power encounters holy truth. Power feels threatened,

truth is rejected, a righteous man is condemned,

and weak leaders choose self -preservation over

righteousness. John's death points us forward

to Jesus. Like John, Jesus would speak truth

to corrupt power. Like John, Jesus would be arrested

unjustly. Like John, Jesus would be mocked, humiliated,

and executed by cowardly men trying to protect

themselves. But neither death was defeat. And

so this morning, let me ask you, who are you

most like in the story? Are you like Herod? Intrigued

by truth, convicted by it, even emotionally moved

by it, but unwilling to surrender to it because

obedience might cost you something? Are you like

Herodias? So hardened by pride and bitterness

that conviction feels like a personal attack?

Refusing repentance while demanding affirmation

from everyone around you? Brothers and sisters,

if that is you, hear me clearly. Unrepentant

bitterness and rejection of Christ does not lead

to freedom. It just leads you to judgment. But

my prayer is this, that we would be like John

the Baptist. Men and women who speak truth with

grace and love, people who are not ashamed of

the gospel, believers who fear God more than

man. May we not shrink back because of fear.

And instead, may we cling to Christ, seek first

his kingdom, and remain faithful no matter the

cost. Because in the end, the approval of this

world fades away, but the kingdom of God stands

forever. Let's pray.