A Noble Calling (Mark 6:14-29)

We are going to be in Mark chapter 6 today.

Mark 6 · chapter mention

So please turn in your Bibles to Mark 6.

And if you don't have a Bible, please raise your hand and we'll get one right to you.

We'll be teaching out of the CSV today.

Mr.

Barnes here is passing out the Bibles in expert fashion.

So Mark chapter 6.

Mark 6 · chapter mention

As we are flipping there.

Okay, and we are going to be starting in verse 14 and going through verse 29.

So, if you are able, please stand for the reading of God's word.

Okay.

Starting in verse 14.

King Herod heard about it because Jesus' name had become well known.

Some said John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that's why miraculous powers are at work in him.

But others said, He's Elijah.

Still others said, He's a prophet, like one of the prophets from long ago.

When Herod heard of it, he said, John, the one I beheaded has been raised.

For John himself had given orders to arrest, or Herod himself had given orders to arrest John and to chain him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because he had married her.

John had been telling Herod, It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife.

So Herodias held a grudge against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not, because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing he was a righteous and holy man.

When Herod heard him, he would be very perplexed, and yet he liked to listen to him.

An opportune time came on his birthday when Herod gave a banquet for his nobles, military commanders, and the leading men of Galilee.

When Herodias's own daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests.

The king said to the girl, Ask me whatever you want, and I'll give it to you.

He promised her with an oath, Whatever you ask me, I will give you up to half my kingdom.

She went out and said to her mother, What should I ask for?

John the Baptist's head, she said.

At once she hurried to the king and said, I want you to give me John the Baptist's head on a platter immediately.

Although the king was deeply distressed, because of the oaths and the guests, he did not want to refuse her.

The king immediately sent for an executioner and commanded him to bring John's head.

So he went and beheaded him in prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl.

Then the girl gave it to her mother.

When John's disciples heard about it, they came and removed his corpse and placed it in a tomb.

And let's pray.

Lord, I thank you so much for this morning, and I thank you for what you want to do this morning.

Please fill me with your spirit to teach your word.

Let us draw closer to you, and let us become more like you as a result.

In your name.

Amen.

Go ahead and have a seat.

For those of you who have children's and children's ministry, don't worry, they're doing the same passage out there in every explicit detail.

No changes whatsoever.

Okay.

I hope you know I'm kidding.

So here's my question to start off with to ponder throughout the whole thing.

What motivates us?

What is it that actually motivates us to do anything in life?

We live in an interesting world where we say what motivates us constantly, and that's usually what we want to have motivating us.

But the question is, how do we know what actually motivates us?

What do we strive for?

What do we sacrifice for?

And that's one of the best ways to determine the primary motivations of our heart is what are we willing to sacrifice good things for in order to obtain or achieve?

That kind of puts our money where our mouth is to a certain extent.

And so, you know, for easy examples, a professional athlete is motivated to the point where he or she is training constantly.

Training, weight training, watching what they're eating, and what they are willing to give up as a result is comfort sometimes, is a normal rhythm of life, is a nor a traditional family dynamic sometimes.

Musicians, a lot of times, I've met many that are like it's like, no, this is my this is my motivation, this is my thing, this is what I do.

I'd be like, awesome! Do you practice?

No, not really.

You know, do you do you expand your craft?

What no, not at all.

And we're like, okay, so what you're saying is you like music.

That's okay.

But that's not the same thing because uh, you know, as somebody who that wants to be their life, not only are they going to devote themselves to like up to eight hours of practice a day for some of these people, but they're also committing to a like gypsy-like lifestyle where certain things like home don't exist, your primary doctor doesn't exist, things like that.

You're sacrificing things to get something else.

And this is the primary motivation, uh, the primary way of knowing what on earth motivates us is what are we willing to let go of, even if they're sometimes important things.

On the darker side of that, if uh money is our motivation, we might sacrifice our kids.

If uh our prestige or our brand is our motivation, we might sacrifice our genuine relationships for the one that climbs ladders.

Different things like that.

And that's what we'll talk about a little bit today, in that which sounds like a little bit of a downer, but have you read this passage?

That's actually the bright spot.

So I was actually like looking through it and I'm like, I got the passage with no Jesus.

Whoa, this is gonna be interesting.

So, okay, that's a little bit of things to hold on to and think about as we go through this.

Starting in verse 14, King Herod heard about it because Jesus' name had become well known.

And we go, what on earth is it?

Looking at the context, and if you haven't didn't catch the message last week, I'd highly recommend listening to it.

It was really awesome.

This is when Jesus commissions the twelve and he sends them out, and they're going and they're preaching, and they're performing miracles and driving out demons and healing them, and so Jesus' name is spreading, his brand is spreading in the area of Galilee.

And King Herod heard about it because King Herod because Jesus' name had become well known.

And some said John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that's why miraculous powers are at work at him.

So they're going, well, that must be John, what's happening, because they know John and they're hearing about this guy, and they go, It must be John raised from the dead.

And others said, Oh, he's Elijah.

Still, others said he's a prophet, like one of the prophets from long ago.

And when Herod heard of it, he said, John, the one I've beheaded, has been raised.

Now, get a little dark for a second here.

Spoiler alert John was beheaded, and his head went this way, and his body went this way.

So this would have been the most impressive resurrection in history if that had happened.

It amazes me that they're actually going, oh, it must have been John that came back.

It'd be like.

But he grow a head again?

Like it doesn't, like, that doesn't, okay.

But having that said, that's what Herod is convinced is happening here.

He is equating Jesus' ministry with John's ministry.

So hold on to that for a second.

Got to do a little bit of groundwork here because Herod is one of this is one of the only passages in Mark that even mentions Herod.

So we gotta do a little groundwork, and it's amazing to me how confusing this is, who Herod is, because that's a title.

And so it's become a title.

So I'm going to blitz through this insanely fast because it's not the point of the story, but it bears mentioning so that we get a little bit of groundwork.

So I have a slide, if you don't mind tossing that up there, on who is Herod.

Okay.

So this is Herod's family as it relates to the gospels.

I chopped out quite a bit because it turns out Herod has at least Herod the Great had at least ten wives.

And this is a big TV, but so we're starting here with Herod the Great.

Herod the Great is the one at the birth of Jesus.

He is the one in Matthew 1 and 2 in Luke chapter 1, who he was there for Jesus' birth.

Luke 1 · chapter mention

He killed all the children in Bethlehem.

That is Herod the Great.

He's called Herod the Great because he did amazing building projects.

So he's known for his amazing building projects and for being an absolute psychopath.

So here's why.

You ready for this?

But just a little punch this into your mind for just one second.

Herod the Great is only Matthew 1 and 2 in the Gospels.

Everywhere else, that ain't him.

So, Herod the Great.

First wife who's not even on here, uh, Doris and Antipater II, he had them both killed.

Second wife, Marianme the First, uh, he she had Alexander who's not on here, and Aristobulus IV, he had them all killed.

So, but why do we have this on here in the first place?

Because Aristobulus married Herod the Great's sister's daughter.

You call that a cousin, by the way.

Berenice, and they had Herodias.

So that's who we're talking about today in the story here, in this Herodian.

She's actually a part of this lineage.

Okay.

They're all dead except Herodias.

Marianne II, she's a bit problematic because she's a daughter of the high priest, can't kill her.

So he divorced her and deposed Dad from being high priest.

So, meanwhile, Philip here, Philip I, is a private citizen in Rome.

He is not in the ruling party.

He's not a part of all of this.

He is the Philip in this story who was married to Herodias.

So we'll talk about that in a second.

But ultimately, he's Herodius's first husband in this situation.

Private citizen, not a ruler.

Okay.

Next, first, how would you like to be the second, by the way?

Okay.

And then you have Malthus.

Malthus had two notable children, Archolaus, who had the title of Ethnarch.

So of the Tetrarchs, he was like the super Tetrarch.

Except he wasn't, because he's over Judea, the area where Jerusalem is, Bethlehem.

And Rome really didn't appreciate his ruling style and how troublesome Judea was, so they yanked him out of there and installed governors.

And that is why, when Jesus, in Jesus' trial, you have governor Pontius Pilate over the trial and not a Herod.

Okay.

You guys are sitting there going, like, what you don't have to remember this?

We're getting to the point.

So, Archelaus was a Tetrarch, an ethnarch.

Brother Herod Antipas.

He's the guy here in all of the Gospels except for Matthew 1 and 2, referred to as Herod.

So when you hear Herod, it's Herod Antipas, who is the Tetrarch over Galilee, where Jesus primarily did most of his ministry, where John the Baptist was primarily, and that's why there's so much trouble in Galilee as it pertains to Jesus and John the Baptist, because it's Herod Antipas who's actually over that area where these two real big troublemakers appeared out of nowhere.

Does that make sense?

If you get nothing out of all of this intro, it's when you read Herod, think that guy, Herod Antipas.

Just to complete the biblical mentions here.

Cleopatra, no, not that one, had Philip II, and that is another tetrarch over the northeast area.

You probably might be going, okay, that's three, but it's a tetrarchy.

The fourth is confusing, and we're not talking about it.

Because this wasn't confusing.

So, anyway, that is something, just to kind of get a picture of what's going on here.

We're talking about this guy right here, ruler over Galilee.

We're talking about Herodias here, who was uh his the his first wife's niece, or first husband's niece, second husband's niece.

Okay?

Yeah, there are way too many boxes being closed here for any kind of family treat.

But big thing to remember, Herod Antipas is the story.

Back to the story.

So, Herod goes, John, the one I beheaded, has been raised.

Because Herod himself had given orders to arrest John and to chain him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip, wife, because he had married her.

John had been telling Herod, it's not law for you to have for you to have your brother's wife.

Okay, so what happened here?

Philip I married to Herodias, private citizen living in Rome.

Herod Antipas goes to visit him in Rome.

Supposedly they fall in love.

Herod Antipas goes back.

Herodias does the unprecedented in that culture and divorces her husband and goes and marries Antipas.

So that was a cultural no-no back then, but having that said, it was a very shrewd political move because she's no longer a rich private citizen.

She is now the wife of a Tetrarch.

So there is some power climbing here, if that makes sense, as well.

So, and John the Baptist said, Hey, that's not cool.

Because how would you like to be Philip?

You are a private citizen, you have no say in any of this whatsoever.

When the governor of this area rolls in and says, Hey, your wife's really nice.

Now she's mine.

What do you do about it?

You can do nothing whatsoever.

So it's a pretty brutal situation, ignoring the fact that Herodias is both of these people's niece.

So, having that said, Herodias held a grudge against him and wanted to kill him.

But she could not because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing he was a righteous and holy man.

When Herod heard him, he would be very perplexed and he liked to listen to him.

Okay, two characters here.

First, talking about Herodias.

What is her motivation?

Because if I am the the spouse of the ruling party of that area, normally it really wouldn't bug me that much if somebody criticized me.

But John's a very notable character.

He's very popular, he has the ear of the people.

And so he is damaging her brand every time he criticizes her.

And invalidating her position politically.

And so she held a grudge to where every moment she wants, she can, wants to kill the guy.

Keep that in the back of your mind as Herodias' motivation, because it'll come into play in a moment.

And then you have Herod.

Herod feared John and protected him, knowing he was a righteous and holy man.

I'm going to add as well in Matthew 14, 5, he also had it out for John, but he feared the people.

So there's a political aspect here that if Herod kills John the Baptist, there is an uprising.

Because all of the people love John the Baptist and see him as a prophet.

And so that's a big political problem when there's an uprising and you have Rome breathing down your neck.

You do not want a riot.

So Herod has a little bit of a political motivation here.

Number one, he fears him and protects him.

Because he recognizes he's a just and holy man.

He likes to listen to him, but he has no idea what he's talking about.

So it's one of those things of like, man, this is really good and entertaining, but what are you talking about?

So part of the reason that you may be going, like, why would a Jewish ruler not knowing anything that John the Baptist is talking about?

Because Herod's entire line is uh he's his dad is Antipater the Idomedian, the uh Idommean, the Edomite.

So they actually married into the Hasmonean dynasty, the Maccabees.

They married into that and they played nice with Rome, that's how they got to power.

So they're not even really dark Jewish.

So, but they are in power.

Herod has no idea what John's talking about, but he liked to listen to him and he wants to protect him because he does not want to riot on his hands, and he really doesn't want to kill this guy who he's probably a little intimidated by.

Okay, are we tracking so far?

Yeah.

We get to slow down a little bit, which is wonderful.

So here's what happens: an opportune time came on his birthday when Herod gave a banquet for his nobles, military commanders, and leading men of Galilee.

So it's Herod's birthday, and he throws a party for all the important people in Galilee.

Why would he do that?

Well, because he is a ruler, a politician, and a giver of gold.

And the point of what you the point of being a leader at that point is to keep the influential people happy and wealthy and in your court.

So, big party, all the important people gather together at Herod's birthday.

And that's the scene that we have here.

It's a very good political moment.

He gets to demonstrate his generosity and he gets to keep them close and in his pocket.

So, Herodias' own daughter came in and danced.

Who is Herodias' daughter?

We learn from Josephus her name is Salome.

So, Salome was the daughter of Philip, who lost his wife Herodias, who's now going in and dancing for this group of politicians, including Herod Antipas, who is his her uncle stepdad.

Okay.

You want to get weirder with this?

She ends up marrying Philip II.

So, okay.

There you go.

With that, having all of that said, uh, you know, commentators can go all all crazy with this.

Just know that they aren't they are not amazed by her epic ballet interpretation of Swan Lake.

That's not why they're like, Woo! Okay, good.

So she came in, she danced, she pleased Herod and the guests.

And here's the scene here the king says the girl, ask whatever you want, and I'll give it to you.

And he promised her with an oath, whatever you ask me, I will give you up to half my kingdom.

Here is Herod's moment.

Herod Opas, in front of his important people, he gets to demonstrate his generosity for those who please him.

And that's him in front of the crowd.

So Salome goes, I'll be right back.

And goes and finds mom and says, What should I ask for?

So this is her moment.

She's a part of this big political mess as well.

And this is her moment to possibly get favor and position in front of all of these important people, all of the important people in the area.

And so mom has a chance to set her up for life.

Right?

What does Herodias ask for?

I want John the Baptist's head.

Okay.

So think about what's happening here for a second.

Because she's asking for something that does not benefit her daughter in any way, shape, or form.

This does not propel her position.

It is also putting her new husband in an absolute impossible position politically that could end him.

But this is what she is willing to sacrifice in order to get what motivates her, which is this political power and her brand intact.

She's willing to settle this grudge, even if it does nothing for daughter, and even if it ends her husband.

Isn't that crazy?

It's a little too human for our liking.

It's very, very potentially relevant to how we can act sometimes.

So she hurries to the king, says, I want you to give me John the Baptist's head on a platter immediately.

And this is Herod's moment, although the king was deeply distressed.

Because of his oath and his guests, he did not want to refuse her.

So on one side, he can risk killing a just and holy man who's seen universally as a prophet.

He can risk having an out of full-on riot in his region, which brings down Rome on them, who has already removed his brother for similar reasons.

But if he refuses, then he looks weak in front of everybody important to him in Galilee.

So he's stuck.

What do I do?

Do I cave to the influence of the people around me, the rulers and the leaders, or do I look weak and possibly prevent a riot?

Well, although the king was deeply distressed, because of his oaths and the guests, he did not want to refuse her.

So he sent for an executioner, commanded him to bring back John's head, went and beheaded him in prison, brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother.

So, Herod's motivation, his position in power, his influence with all of the important wealthy people in Galilee.

That is his motivation to the extent that he's willing to sacrifice a just and holy man, and he's also willing to risk an uprising in Galilee.

This is why when I started out talking about what motivates us and what do we, what are we striving for that we're willing to sacrifice for?

Because these people are making big sacrifices to get something.

And we're gonna flip that in a second so it's less depressing, because I know you guys are like, oh my gosh, here.

Okay, so when John's disciples heard about it, they came and removed his corpse and placed it in a tomb.

So, his body taken and is buried.

And that's the end of John the Baptist.

Is that a little bit crazy?

That that's the end of John the Baptist?

That's it for this guy.

Because, and here's the John the Baptist is an interesting character because he is so enigmatic, and yet he is also he's sermon fodder.

I'll put it that way.

He's basically somebody that we can tend to make so analytical that we forget he was an actual human being, and the Bible actually has a whole lot to say about him.

And so usually when we teach John the Baptist, what we go is, oh, he was a great preacher, he was Old Testament, Jesus did New Testament, we're really uncomfortable with the Old Testament, we love the New Testament, so sorry.

Jesus! That's not entirely false, but it there's more nuance to that because of what we see actually, what the Bible says.

So let's get to know John a little bit super quick here.

John the Baptist, and this this first chunk with his birth is all from Luke 1.

He was supernaturally born to elderly parents.

For those of you who know your Bibles really well, the people who are typically supernaturally born to elderly parents, kind of a big deal.

Okay?

Number two, his birth was foretold by an angel.

Again, pretty big deal when you look throughout the whole length of scripture there.

That angel tells Dad, he will be great in the sight of the Lord.

Think about that.

John the Baptist is called great in the sight of the Lord.

Isn't that crazy?

That is that's amazing to me.

He was filled with the Holy Spirit from the womb.

Again, not typical.

He is tasked to turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord.

He came in the spirit and the power of Elijah.

Let's wrap our heads around this for a second.

John the Baptist had Old Testament prophecies about him in Isaiah 40, 3 through 5, the messenger preparing the way in the wilderness.

Malachi 3, 1 and 4.5 talking about Elijah coming to prepare the way before the coming of the king.

How many people can you think of in the New Testament that have Old Testament prophecies about them?

I think of two.

And the other one's a really big deal.

So, having that said, we get to know John a little bit here.

He also acts as a sign, like before he has, you know, he's in the womb, and Mary comes and he leaps in the womb as a sign to Mary that Mary's carrying the Messiah.

That's amazing.

Okay.

His description, we read that we went over this pretty much the first or second week of when of a body, which is crazy.

Uh, in Mark chapter 1 through 6, wore camel hair and a leather belt.

Mark 1 · chapter mention

He ate wild locusts and locusts and wild honey.

So he was not a normal guy, right?

He lived in the wilderness, he wore camel skin, camel hair, leather belt, locusts and wild honey.

Okay, his ministry, he preached repentance.

That was his ministry.

Repent.

Great crowds came to him and he baptized them.

He had a massive brand in Galilee.

Everybody knew him.

Great crowds came to him, like we see in the Gospels with Jesus, and he baptized them.

He foretold the coming one.

He said, Look, no, you're not looking for me, you're looking for Jesus.

And then he identified Jesus as the Lamb in John 3, and then with by baptizing John with the Holy Spirit coming and descending upon Jesus like a dove.

And he also was so effective at teaching his disciples how to pray, according to Luke 11:1, that Jesus' disciples go, hey, can you teach us to pray like John does?

Luke 11:1

That so, ministry, pretty epic with that.

Legacy.

When the people, when Jesus comes onto the scene and the people, his disciples go, hey, this guy is like everyone's leaving you and going to him, and John the Baptist is like, yes! This joy of mine is fulfilled.

He must increase.

I must decrease.

That is pretty impressive considering his brand is shrinking by the day.

He has a rough moment though.

He's in prison for as much as two years, depending on who you ask.

And so he sends his disciples to Jesus and goes, Look, are you really him?

Are you really the Messiah?

So he has a low moment there.

And Jesus' response is, you know, look, the blind see the lame walk, blessed as he is not offended by me.

Everyone considers him to be a prophet.

That's, we see that in Matthew 21, Mark 11, and Luke 20, that he is universally considered to be a notable prophet.

And he is mistaken for Jesus.

His ministry is mistaken for Jesus constantly throughout there.

So I know that we like to contrast them, it's just that the people didn't.

And so, because he is constantly, they go, when Jesus is will work, they're like, oh, this is John.

There's got to be John.

So what's John's motivation?

Clearly, it's not his brand, right?

Because he's happy when it shrinks.

His motivation was his calling and his following of what he was created to do.

This immense calling, which is amazing.

And yet he was killed on a whim.

Just like that.

Here, fine, here, dead.

Why?

Because I mean, uh raise your hand if your birth was foretold by an angel to your elderly parents.

Got it?

Good.

Okay, sweet.

Immense calling.

But what John does is he really does a good job of demonstrating the potential of following Christ.

Of truly following him.

When Jesus says, whoever wants to follow me, deny yourself.

Take up your cross and follow me.

Whoever seeks to gain his life will lose it.

Whoever seeks to lose his life will gain it.

John embodies this.

And so from this side of heaven, we look and we go, what a waste! Because that's a really gross story.

Cousins! This is really not cool.

And yet, he's great in the sight of the Lord.

And I kind of think that his motivation might have been on target.

He was willing to do what he was called to do, and he was willing to sacrifice other good things as a result.

And that included his own celebrity status.

Pretty crazy with that.

I'm gonna slip in one more motivation in this passage, that's not in this passage, that we hear in scripture, uh, a little bit in the gospels and also in Acts.

There are these people called the Herodians.

The Herodians are a group of Jews who believed that the best bet for the well-being of the Jewish people was to align themselves politically with the Herodian kingdom.

So they believed that their best bet was not the prophecies of the Messiah, not the reading of the law and the temple, like the Pharisees.

But rather to say we need to support Herod, our political leader, in order to be safe.

There's motivations, and we're willing to sacrifice things to motivate to get what we want.

So here's my question: what motivates us as Christians?

What is it that uh truly drives us and what are we willing to give up?

I'm painting with a broad brush on a big scale here, so I'm not talking about a bide, but I would argue that the most common motivation within the 21st century evangelical church is comfort and tribal identity.

We want to be comfortable and we want to be us and our people, and we're right and they're wrong.

And this is we're the we're the ones.

And that's not, I'm gonna say I said that is uh indicative of where we're at.

That's a human thing that just goes back to the beginning.

So I'm not ripping on the church specifically, I'm I'm ripping on humans.

Uh so we're often willing to sacrifice things in order to maintain those motivations.

And our motivations and our sacrifices betray us.

They betray us as we seek for comfort and we seek for tribal usness.

And if if I can push into dangerous territory for a moment, as if I haven't already.

Uh that's why a lot of times we like leaders, our we like our leaders to either be so fluffy that they constantly encourage us but never challenge our idols, or that our guard dogs that attack everyone on the outside and affirm us as the right ones.

So that tends to be why we gravitate towards these things, because it helps our comfort and it helps our identity.

Um I'm gonna step away from that in a moment and come back.

Because Jesus has some things to say about John the Baptist.

So when Jesus talks, I tend to want to listen, unless it convicts me, and then I have mixed feelings.

So when Jesus talks here, which I would I would almost call a eulogy, even though John the Baptist was alive here in a lot of this, he connects him to Elijah in Matthew 11, 14 and 17, 10 through 13.

He says, Yeah, no, this he is, if you're willing to receive it, he is Elijah, the forerunner, coming before the Messiah.

He calls him a burning and shining lamp in John 5, as the Pharisees are coming at Jesus.

And he's like, look, John was a burning and shining lamp, and you wouldn't receive him.

He came to the Pharisees in the way of righteousness, according to Matthew 21, 32.

And then the big passage here in Matthew 11, 7 through 11, and also Luke 8, 24 through 28.

So Matthew 11 and Luke 8 parallels here.

This is, by the way, immediately after John has his low moment.

So that is even more beautiful to me.

That John, that Jesus here, I'm gonna read it.

As this as the men were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John.

What did you go out into the wilderness to see?

A reed swaying in the wind?

What did you go out to see?

A man dressed in soft clothes?

See, those who wear soft clothes are in royal palaces.

What then did you go out to see?

A prophet?

Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.

This is the one about whom it's written.

See, I am sending my messenger ahead to you.

He will prepare your way before you.

Truly I tell you, among those born of women, no one is greater than John the Baptist has appeared.

But the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Jesus here says, humans, pinnacle, John the Baptist.

Jesus is a bit of a wild card because he's also God.

And then confirms is like, but there's hope because he's greater, who is in the kingdom of heaven, is greater than here.

So here's the point that I really am weaving here throughout all of this.

John the Baptist is called the greatest among women by Jesus.

And yet, if we're honest, oftentimes, we don't want him in our church.

He lives in the wilderness, he wears camel hair garments and a leather belt, and he eats bugs.

So we want to want him here.

But when it comes down to it, he might make things awkward.

Right?

That challenge is our that challenges our comfort.

That threatens our identity.

And so this is what hits me as I've been chewing through all these passages in uh the previous weeks is if John's ministry was so often mistaken for Jesus throughout all of this, would we want Jesus?

I believe we would.

You know, I really, I really think so.

But would we can pretty much universally agree that John the Baptist walking would make us kind of uncomfortable?

If you wouldn't like grab your kid and go, you know.

But we might be threatening to do the same thing for Jesus when he shows up because Jesus was kind of a nomad.

He was common, he lived with a bunch of followers, went from place to place to place, and they were constantly trying to kill him.

So I think that's something that hits me.

What would change, what would have to change in my motivations to strive for his kingdom in such a way that it mirrors what John the Baptist's legacy is, to where he was he did his work, was snuffed out, because we have an inheritance in heaven reserved, undefiled, that cannot be taken from us.

How can I work towards that?

What would have to change in my motivations to actually strive for that rather than striving for my comfort, rather than striving for my tribe?

That would involve sacrifice.

That would involve lots of sacrifices because often the things that threaten our devotion to Jesus are the things that we cling to the tightest.

Because we're humans, not because we're bad people, but because we're people.

So I don't want to tell you point A is bad without you know giving an idea how to go to point B.

So, number one, uh we just need to be aware.

What's our motivation?

What are we most passionate about?

Are we most passionate about the furtherance of the kingdom, even if it's awkward?

Or are we most passionate about what we saw on the news today?

Or about social media, or about what our tribe told us about what's happening here and this kind of thing.

That's gonna change in a week.

Not that those things are necessarily bad.

But would we be willing to maybe sacrifice those to refine our focus?

Something I'm challenged by as a whole lot is what are the things that consume my thoughts during the day?

What are the things that consume my passions?

What am I willing to sacrifice in order to do so?

Because if I'm comfortable and if I want uh you know, if I want our tribe to be us, I really don't want John the Baptist in here.

What if John the Baptist lived in the creek bed in a Tascadero instead of in the wilderness in Galilee?

You know, or in sunken gardens.

What if what what if what if the uh the next one lived in sunken gardens?

Or what if he wasn't particularly special but still was a child of the king?

Um these are things that really I've been really hit with because it I sit there and I pray through this passage and go, God, where do you want to go with this?

Where do you you know?

Like you can very easily go, moral of the story, don't get involved in a political war with Herod.

And I was like, that's that's not that's not our takeaway here.

Um I so our my prayer is that we would look and go, how can we align in such a way that our motivations and our sacrifices reflect the calling of our king and not necessarily the um galvanization of our tribe?

Those don't have to be mutually exclusive, but 2021 this year feels like it.

So that's something that I'm praying for, and just remember for my and praying for for myself, because there's a whole lot of soul searching here, but just remember as Christians, as followers of Christ, he calls us to follow him because he has already guaranteed our inheritance.

He has given us the Holy Spirit as a seal.

Wouldn't it be a bummer just to let that just kind of flicker?

What can what can we do?

Not when we work up our own energy and strive, but but rather just say, God, what do you want to do?

Here I am.

That's my prayer for us today, is just to not to start making a checklist because all you A-type people are just like, okay, got it.

I'm gonna do this, I'm not gonna do this, not gonna do this, good, you know.

It's like no.

Just turn off the noise, turn off the nose, and talk to your savior and trust that he's faithful, faithful to guide us in the right direction.

Let's pray.

Lord, I thank you so much for how amazing you are.

I thank you for just the gift of being yours.

I thank you that we can cling to you at all times.

I thank you that you are worth sacrificing everything for.

You are worth you are far above and beyond a treasure in a field or a pearl of great price.

It's worth selling everything to obtain.

And you are so good that it's a joy to follow you.

And I ask, Lord, that we would follow you in this, not out of uh guilt, not out of duty, not out of begrudgingness, but rather out of the greater joy that you set before us.

I thank you, Lord, that you emptied yourself, came in the form of a human and gave your life on the cross for us.

That although you are king of all, you came to earth to save us, that you you demonstrate sacrifice in a healthy way.

And I ask that we would follow you again, not out of obligation or guilt, but out of joy.

Spark that.

Fill us with your spirit, fill us with your spirit afresh, and rekindle our joy to follow the work that you're doing.

Give us eyes to see and ears to hear, and be glorified.

And I thank you that you are faithful above all things.

In your name.

Amen.