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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about
Jesus, and he said to his attendants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen
from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in
prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, for John had been saying
to him: “It is not lawful for you to have her.” Herod wanted to kill John, but
he was afraid of the people, because they considered John a prophet.
On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for
the guests and pleased Herod so much that he promised with an oath to give her
whatever she asked. Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a
platter the head of John the Baptist.” The king was distressed, but because of
his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted and had
John beheaded in the prison. His head was brought in on a platter and given to
the girl, who carried it to her mother.
John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it.
Then they went and told Jesus.
Matthew 14:1-12
King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become
well known. Some were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead,
and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
Others said, “He is Elijah.”
And still others claimed, “He is a prophet, like one of
the prophets of long ago.”
But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, whom I
beheaded, has been raised from the dead!”
For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested,
and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his
brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married. For John had been saying to Herod,
“It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” So Herodias nursed a
grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, because
Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy
man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to
him.
Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod
gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading
men of Galilee. When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced,
she pleased Herod and his dinner guests.
The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want,
and I’ll give it to you.” And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I
will give you, up to half my kingdom.”
She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask
for?”
“The head of John the Baptist,” she answered.
At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request:
“I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths
and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. So he immediately sent an
executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in
the prison, and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the
girl, and she gave it to her mother.
On hearing of this, John’s disciples came and took his
body and laid it in a tomb.
Mark 6:14-28
Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was going on.
And he was perplexed because some were saying that John had been raised from
the dead, others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the
prophets of long ago had come back to life. But Herod said, “I beheaded John.
Who, then, is this I hear such things about?”
And he tried to see Him.
Luke 9:7-9
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be
to God.
It’s only been two weeks since an armed man entered a
church in Sutherland Springs and opened fire on the congregants, killing 26.
These were people who were in the house of the Lord Jesus, bringing Him their
worship and devotion when their lives were brought to a sudden and horrific
end.
In the weeks since then, there have been other incidents
around the world targeting Christians, ones you probably don’t even know about
unless you dedicate some time to Christian ministries that focus on the matter
of Christian persecution (Voice of the Martyrs and International Christian
Concern to name two). One such event happened in Nigeria as five Christians
have been killed and five missing after attacks by Muslim Fulani herdsman. The
dead were found shot to death before their corpses were hacked with machetes, a
horrific way to see your life end when you were dedicating it to Jesus.
Let’s now turn to the Bible and consider the life and
death of John the Baptist. He was special from the very beginning, the son of
Zechariah and Elizabeth who was way too old to conceive and bear a child, or at
least that’s what everyone else believed. He would grow up to fulfill Isaiah’s
prophecy, the one who was the voice in the wilderness preparing the way for
Jesus to come (Isaiah 40:3). And He would be the one who would baptize Jesus in
the Jordan River.
Yes, John was dedicated to Jesus and was held in high
esteem by Him, evident by these words:
Truly I tell you,
among those born of women there
has not risen anyone greater than John
the Baptist. Matthew 11:11
Wow! Those are powerful words that place John on a pedestal
of Christ believers. You would think John would have been destined for a great
long life with a peaceful passing. Surely He would be blessed for His faithful
devotion to Jesus, right?
Not exactly. For as we see in today’s scripture passage,
John shared something in common with those Christians who we discussed earlier,
those who died in present times. For as we see, John the Baptist is going to be
beheaded and perhaps there could be no more horrific way to die than that. Look
again at our verses for today:
King Herod heard
about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying, “John the
Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at
work in him.”
Others said, “He
is Elijah.”
And still others
claimed, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago.”
But when Herod
heard this, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!”
For Herod himself
had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison.
He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had
married. For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have
your brother’s wife.” So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to
kill him. But she was not able to, because Herod feared John and protected him,
knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was
greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him.
Finally the
opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high
officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. When the
daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his
dinner guests.
The king said to
the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” And he
promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my
kingdom.”
She went out and
said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?”
“The head of John
the Baptist,” she answered.
At once the girl
hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the
head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
The king was
greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not
want to refuse her. So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring
John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, and brought back his
head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother.
On hearing of
this, John’s disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb. Mark 6:14-28
As what should come as no surprise, people still were
trying to figure out who Jesus was, a common theme throughout His ministry life.
Some believed He was like one of the prophets of old. Still other believed He
was a reincarnated Elijah or John the Baptist, the latter raising the anxiety
of one King Herod who had ordered the beheading of John.
What comes after this is a flashback of sorts as we’re
told of the circumstances that led up to John’s execution.
It began when Herod married his brother Philip’s wife,
Herodias. Seeing the marriage as unlawful, John called out Herod which resulted
in the king developing a grudge against John. Actually, Herod wanted to kill
John but did not do so because he “feared John and protected him, knowing him
to be a righteous and holy man”. In fact, the scriptures tell us that Herod actually
“liked to listen” to John, even though his words “greatly puzzled” the king.
Well, Herod wasn’t the only one who was holding a grudge
against John. For as we see his polygamist wife Herodias also had a healthy
hatred, one that led to her manipulating his killing when the opportunity
presented itself.
It all got started when Herod “gave a banquet for his
high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee”, a
gathering where Herodias’ daughter danced for the audience. We read where her
performance pleased her father so much that he made the following promise in
front of all gathers:
“Ask me for
anything you want, and I’ll give it to you. Whatever you ask I will give you,
up to half my kingdom.”
Well, the daughter went away unsure of what she should
ask for and so she went to her mother who, as we see, knew exactly what she
wanted. For Herodias advises her daughter to ask for “the head of John the
Baptist” and that’s exactly what happened, the daughter requesting the head be
placed on a platter.
It was a very macabre request given the girl could have
asked for anything and the king became “greatly distressed” because he was painted
into a corner. You see, he had sworn an oath before his dinner guests and was
bound to honor that oath, no matter how much it troubled him. So Herod didn’t
refuse his daughter and “immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring
John’s head”.
And those orders were carried out, John’s head cut off in
his prison and brought back on a platter, just as the daughter had asked. The
head was presented to the girl who in turn gave it to her mother who had gotten
what she wanted in an act of sheer evil.
It was a horrific end to John’s life but then again, it wasn’t
really the end was it. For although John’s disciples came to collect his body
and lay it in a tomb, he had entered into the promise of salvation through his
belief and trust in Jesus. He did not perish but gained eternal life, all because
of God’s love for him (John 3:16).
You see, if it weren’t for Jesus, John’s horrific death
would have been the end of the story. But with Jesus, his demise was only the
closure of one season and the beginning of an everlasting one. Nothing could
take away his forever life with God and his Savior. Nothing.
The same goes for the church parishioners in Sutherland
Springs and the Christians in Nigeria. Death was not the end for any of them
but only a transition into glory, a glorious end that transcends any appalling
way any of us could die. And they (we) only have this blessed assurance and truth
through Jesus who Himself suffered a rather horrific end, didn’t He?
I mean, death by execution didn’t get more graphically
shocking that crucifixion. But that’s the penalty Jesus received even though He
had never sinned in His life. He was perfectly faultless and blameless and yet
He was nailed to a cross and lifted up to hang, bleed, and eventually die. It
was an awful way to go but His story didn’t finish that way. Rather, we know
Jesus had a glorious resurrection and later ascension to sit in a place of
honor and authority at His Father’s right hand.
Friends, we all are going to die and no one knows what
that death is going to look like when it comes. Perhaps this isn’t what is most
important in the big scheme of things anyways. For when we have placed our
faith and trust in Jesus, we have the guarantee that death will not be the end
but rather a magnificent new beginning of life, one that will never end, one
that will not have to deal with evil and persecution ever again.
I don’t know about you but that’s truly something I look
forward to. I pray you have accepted Jesus as Savior so you can have the same
hope for your future.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
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