Repeatedly Killed But Eternally Free
The world will kill you for following Jesus. That shouldn't worry you.
{This message was shared with the people and friends of Grace Lutheran Church in Eaton, Ohio earlier today. The text for the message is Mark 6:14-29.]
In Matthew 11:1, Jesus says of John the Baptist: “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist.” (Matthew 11:1) Yet, in today’s Gospel lesson, John, the last Old Testament prophet and the first Christian preacher, is decapitated, his bones placed in a tomb.
Why did John, who had proclaimed Jesus to be “...the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” die in this way?
The answer is simple: If you try to share the Word of God with others, you will get killed. Literally or relationally or financially, you will get killed.
That’s true, first of all, when the Word of God you’re sharing, one sinner to other sinners, is God’s Law. God’s Law is what tells us, “You shall have no other gods; You shall not take God’s name in vain; Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy; Honor your father and your mother; You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness (or, lie); You shall not covet.” People don’t like being reminded of the chasm between God and themselves, of the sinful condition into which we’re all born that will, apart from God’s intervention, separate us from God forever.
You also will be killed in one way or another when the Word of God you’re sharing, one sinner to others sinners, is God’s Gospel. The Gospel tells us: Jesus Christ bore the sins of sinners like you and me on the cross, taking our condemnation, and then rose from the dead to open eternity to all who, by the power of the Holy Spirit, repent and believe in Him. This is God’s free gift to sinners.
When God’s Word comes to us through Holy Baptism, Holy Communion, and the Bible–whether read, heard, or explained, and we are able, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to repent and believe that Jesus is Lord, we are saved for life with God forever.
Jesus puts it this way: “This is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:40)
Even this Gospel can get you killed, rejected, or disdained. I once told a friend that Jesus saves us. He looked at me like I had four heads and asked, “Saves us from what?” The Gospel won’t mean anything to you until you realize you are a sinner who could never be good enough or holy enough to save yourself from the condemnation and everlasting separation from God you deserve. “I need a Savior?” some of the unrepentant will say, “How dare you?”
John the Baptist dared even to preach the Word of God, Law and Gospel, to royalty. Or at least to pseudo-royalty. Herod Antipas was a son of Herod the Great. When his father died, Herod Antipas “inherited” a portion of his kingdom, the regions of Galilee and Perea. He was really a puppet king, but as long as the Romans got to do whatever they wanted in his territory, they allowed Herod the latitude to do whatever he wanted to do with pesky people who shared the Word of God.
To Herod and Herodias, John the Baptist was very pesky. The royal couple were committing adultery, Herodias having been the wife of Herod’s brother when she began an affair with Herod, divorced her husband, and married Herod. Additionally, Herodias was the niece of both Philip, her first husband, Herod’s brother, AND the niece of Herod Antipas, her husband when John the Baptist preached publicly. Without foundation, the Herod clan falsely claimed that they were descendants of King David, rightful rulers of God’s people. So, while claiming to be set apart by God to rule God’s people, they engaged in ongoing unrepentant sin. All of this on top of the vicious cruelty of which the whole Herod clan was constantly guilty.
In the interest of bringing Herod and Herodias and their enablers to repentance and faith in Jesus, John the Baptist called the couple out. “It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife,” John told Herod. (Mark 6:18) Herod and Herodias didn’t like that any more than we like being called out for our sin. When we’re caught “dead to rights” by God’s Law, we don’t want a preacher calling us out; we want false preachers who will tell us, “It’s OK.”
But John the Baptist knew better than that. Unrepentant sin is not OK. If you have the love of the God we know in Jesus in your life, it’s unconscionable to tell people that the sins God condemns are OK. The love of Christ compels us to speak God’s truth in love, both the Law that condemns our sin and the Gospel that sets us free. We tell people the truth about sin so that they can receive the forgiveness and grace of Jesus.
Herod didn’t see things that way. He had John arrested and put into prison. Then he waited, unable to decide what to do with the prisoner who so infuriated him. We see the reason for Herod’s indecision in what I think is the most intriguing verse of our lesson. Mark tells us: “Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. [And then these stunning words] When [Herod] heard [John], he was greatly perplexed [the word in the original Greek is aporeo, meaning at a loss, without resources, left completely wanting, not knowing which way to turn], and yet [the verse goes on] [Herod] heard him gladly [the word translated as gladly is, in Mark’s original words, hedeos, meaning with pleasure, with joy].” (Mark 6:20)
Herod was perplexed when he heard God’s Law which condemned his sin, just as it condemns ours. When the gravity of our sin as measured by the plumb line of God’s Law hits us, we ask with the apostle Paul, “Wretched man [woman, boy, girl] that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24)
But Herod also felt joy when he heard the Gospel, embodied in the answer Paul gives to his own question: “Who will deliver me?...Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:25) It’s Jesus Who delivers sinners from death and separation from God, not because of what they do or don’t do, or their merit, but because it is the desire of the God we know in Jesus to save us. God said through Ezekiel: “I take no pleasure in the death of anyone…Repent and live!” (Ezekiel 18:32)
You know what happened though. While Herod remained indecisive, his had a birthday party. Herodias bore a grudge against John and far from accepting the condemnation of God’s Law, her solution to the “John problem” was to kill the preacher. The party presented an opportunity to put her solution into effect. When her daughter danced for Herod and the cream of Judean society and Herod made his probably-drunken, lustful, power-proud vow to give her up to half his kingdom for her dance, Herodias knew exactly what demand she wanted her daughter to make of Herod: the head of John the Baptist.
At that moment, the imprisoned man was Herod, shackled by lust, drunkenness, and pride, all forcing him to do what he did not want to do.
And John was the free man who died believing in Jesus, set free by the forgiveness God offers us in Christ to live in unashamed fellowship with God for all eternity.
Friends, God hates your sin and he hates how sin condemns you.
But God loves you.
That’s why Jesus took your condemnation at the cross and rose to free you to live with God forever.
In Jesus, your perplexity over God’s condemnation of you as a sinner gives way to the joy of knowing that in Jesus, you have God’s forgiveness and everlasting life with God.
In Jesus Christ, every one of your sins is forgiven and you have eternal life with God.
If you remember nothing else from this morning, remember that: Christ has given us sinners forgiveness and life with God, even if the world, in all sorts of ways, kills us for believing in and sharing God’s holy Word. Amen
[Here’s a link to the outdoor service during which this sermon was delivered today. The people at Grace Lutheran Church were warm and welcoming. I was impressed and inspired by the depth of their faith and understanding of Scripture, theology, and life.]