1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Mark 6, 14 to 29. King Herod heard about this, for 2 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:10,000 Jesus's name, had become well-known somewhere. 3 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:12,300 Saying John the Baptist, he has been raised from the dead and 4 00:00:12,300 --> 00:00:14,800 let his wife miraculous powers are at work in him. 5 00:00:15,300 --> 00:00:19,500 Others said he is Elijah and others claimed, he is a prophet 6 00:00:19,500 --> 00:00:23,100 like one of the prophets of long ago, but when Herod heard this, 7 00:00:23,100 --> 00:00:26,300 he said, John whom I beheaded has been raised from the dead 8 00:00:27,100 --> 00:00:30,400 for Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested and 9 00:00:30,400 --> 00:00:33,600 he had them bound and put in prison, he did this because of 10 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:34,900 herodias. His brothers. 11 00:00:35,100 --> 00:00:37,900 Phillip Phillips wife whom he married for. 12 00:00:37,900 --> 00:00:41,000 John had been saying to Herod. It is not lawful for you to have 13 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:44,000 your brother's wife. So herodias nursed a grudge 14 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:47,000 against John and wanted to kill him but she was not able to 15 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:50,400 because Herod feared John and protected him knowing him to be 16 00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:53,900 a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was 17 00:00:53,900 --> 00:00:56,100 greatly puzzled yet he liked to listen to him. 18 00:00:57,500 --> 00:01:01,000 Finally the opportune time came on his birthday Herod. 19 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:03,100 Give a banquet for his high officials and Military 20 00:01:03,100 --> 00:01:04,900 commanders in the Leading Men of Galilee. 21 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:08,200 When the daughter of herodias came in and danced, she pleased 22 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:12,300 Herod, and his dinner guests. The king said, to the girl asked 23 00:01:12,300 --> 00:01:15,100 of me anything you want and I will give it to you. 24 00:01:15,600 --> 00:01:18,700 And he promised with an oath, whatever you ask, I will give 25 00:01:18,700 --> 00:01:22,200 you up to half my kingdom. She went to her mother. 26 00:01:22,300 --> 00:01:25,000 She went and said to her mother, what shall I ask for? 27 00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:29,900 The head of John the Baptist, she answered once the girl her 28 00:01:29,900 --> 00:01:33,000 to the king with the request, I want you to give me right now. 29 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:35,000 The head of John, the Baptist on a platter. 30 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:38,700 The King was greatly distressed, but because of his Oaths and his 31 00:01:38,700 --> 00:01:40,600 dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. 32 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:44,300 So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring 33 00:01:44,300 --> 00:01:49,200 John's head so in meet the man, went and beheaded John in prison 34 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:52,700 and brought his head on a platter, he presented it to the 35 00:01:52,700 --> 00:01:56,600 girl and she gave it to her mother on hearing of this John's 36 00:01:56,600 --> 00:01:59,500 disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb. 37 00:02:02,300 --> 00:02:04,600 We've called this series and mom come follow me. 38 00:02:04,700 --> 00:02:08,100 You can see it up on the screen there and what a lot of what 39 00:02:08,100 --> 00:02:12,400 marks been doing so far is showing who that me in that 40 00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:16,700 sentences which is Jesus. A lot of what he's been doing 41 00:02:16,700 --> 00:02:19,200 for us is teaching us Jesus's identity. 42 00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:22,700 So, what is that? Well, we've seen most of all 43 00:02:22,708 --> 00:02:25,800 that Jesus is God. That's the only possible 44 00:02:25,800 --> 00:02:28,700 explanation we could have for the fact that Jesus has the 45 00:02:28,700 --> 00:02:32,700 power to cast out, evil to heal the sick and even to beat down 46 00:02:32,700 --> 00:02:38,300 death and we've seen that Jesus is the king of subversive but 47 00:02:38,300 --> 00:02:44,900 Unstoppable Kingdom, we've seen that NG Sedalia, T, and in his 48 00:02:44,900 --> 00:02:50,400 royalty, in his godness and is King nurse He still cares. 49 00:02:51,700 --> 00:02:53,200 Jesus. The God. 50 00:02:53,200 --> 00:02:56,000 And King should be Transcendent. He should be above all this 51 00:02:56,000 --> 00:03:00,700 Above The Fray. But instead we find him in the 52 00:03:00,700 --> 00:03:06,200 trenches, we find him teaching people, helping people loving 53 00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:10,700 people. Jesus is compassionate, he cares 54 00:03:10,700 --> 00:03:13,500 about people. He cares about their troubles. 55 00:03:15,200 --> 00:03:17,700 I'm going to see as we go through the rest of Mark, that 56 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:22,700 Jesus concern and coming to his own creation, is to help those 57 00:03:22,700 --> 00:03:27,200 who need it. The most His desire is to win a 58 00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:30,700 people for himself. The safe. 59 00:03:32,500 --> 00:03:35,100 There's we get properly into our passage for this morning. 60 00:03:35,400 --> 00:03:37,300 We're going to refer to that identity, and we're going to 61 00:03:37,300 --> 00:03:39,000 need to keep it in our heads as we go along. 62 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:41,800 Because a lot of what this passage is about is starting to 63 00:03:41,808 --> 00:03:45,800 think about what an appropriate response that identity might be. 64 00:03:46,900 --> 00:03:50,600 So as we go through, we're going to bear in mind that Jesus is 65 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:55,000 the god and King who cares and saves. 66 00:03:56,300 --> 00:03:59,900 That's who mocks showed us the God, and King, who cares? 67 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:04,800 And saves. And if we do get into the 68 00:04:04,800 --> 00:04:08,100 passage, I think it's helpful to see that The Narrative of 69 00:04:08,100 --> 00:04:12,400 chapter 6 doesn't actually need this passage to be here at one 70 00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:14,700 level. So if you look back at the last 71 00:04:14,700 --> 00:04:17,500 couple of verses of the previous passage and then down at the 72 00:04:17,507 --> 00:04:20,700 next couple of verses of the following one, you could just 73 00:04:20,700 --> 00:04:22,500 read straight through it. Ignore this passage. 74 00:04:22,500 --> 00:04:26,300 It still makes sense. Which I think makes us well, 75 00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:29,300 what's Market put this bit here for them because he could have 76 00:04:29,300 --> 00:04:32,900 left it out. And I don't think Mark is prone 77 00:04:32,900 --> 00:04:35,500 to spilling ink when he doesn't need to everything. 78 00:04:35,500 --> 00:04:39,500 Mark Wright's has purpose and that includes this slight 79 00:04:39,500 --> 00:04:44,500 digression that we see here. Like I said before, Mark has 80 00:04:44,500 --> 00:04:47,900 been teaching us about Jesus identity as the God and King, 81 00:04:47,900 --> 00:04:51,800 who cares and saves. and now he wants us to start thinking 82 00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:56,200 harder about one appropriate response that identity looks 83 00:04:56,200 --> 00:04:59,500 like So we're going to think about those responses by looking 84 00:04:59,500 --> 00:05:03,200 at the two men featured in The Passage, by John the Baptist and 85 00:05:03,200 --> 00:05:07,400 a Herod, but before we do that, lets just get kind of the events 86 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:10,300 of this passage nailed down in our minds. 87 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:13,900 So Herod, he's the kind of local ruler of the area. 88 00:05:14,700 --> 00:05:19,700 His wife herodias has a grudge against John the Baptist and 89 00:05:19,700 --> 00:05:22,200 that's because of some of the things that John has been saying 90 00:05:22,200 --> 00:05:26,400 about them. In response to that Herod, has 91 00:05:26,400 --> 00:05:29,500 John arrested will see more of their kind of motivations behind 92 00:05:29,500 --> 00:05:33,600 that later. But Herod has John arrested and 93 00:05:33,600 --> 00:05:36,600 then the first chance she gets herodias Banks Herod into a 94 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:40,800 corner and forces him to have John executed. 95 00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:43,900 And those are the main beats of the story. 96 00:05:44,200 --> 00:05:48,200 The Grudge. The arrest herodias is scheme. 97 00:05:48,700 --> 00:05:52,900 John's death And so it's in the context of all that they actual 98 00:05:52,900 --> 00:05:55,500 narrative that we get here that will get a look at these two 99 00:05:55,500 --> 00:05:57,700 guys, John and Herod. And first we're going to think 100 00:05:57,700 --> 00:06:01,400 about John and from him. We're going to see that real 101 00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:06,600 repentance has roots. Will repentance has roots. 102 00:06:09,200 --> 00:06:12,900 Now we know from chapter one, we might know just from our own 103 00:06:13,200 --> 00:06:16,300 kind of reading of the Bible. John is all about repentance in 104 00:06:16,300 --> 00:06:18,500 chapter 1. It says that his is a repentance 105 00:06:19,100 --> 00:06:23,800 baptism for repentance. There's a sentence in chapter 106 00:06:23,800 --> 00:06:25,600 one that says something about baptism and repentance. 107 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:27,500 I can't remember the exact wording right now but it's that 108 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:30,400 he's all about repentance baptism of repentance for the 109 00:06:30,400 --> 00:06:32,100 Forgiveness of sins. That's right, right? 110 00:06:32,900 --> 00:06:37,200 That's what it is. Long story short, if John was on 111 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:40,800 Mastermind, his specialist subject would be repentance. 112 00:06:42,800 --> 00:06:45,700 That's Ed's In this passage. We don't actually get lots of 113 00:06:45,700 --> 00:06:49,200 detail about John. We only even get his words just 114 00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:50,900 one time. And even that's not dialogue, 115 00:06:50,900 --> 00:06:55,700 it's kind of a quote from the past The why are we bothering to 116 00:06:55,700 --> 00:06:58,400 kind of zoom in on John? Why are we focusing on? 117 00:06:58,400 --> 00:07:01,700 And what can we really glean from John In this passage? 118 00:07:03,200 --> 00:07:06,100 Well, like I said before, we're focusing on response to the 119 00:07:06,100 --> 00:07:09,500 identity of Jesus. And at this point in history, 120 00:07:09,500 --> 00:07:12,500 when these events are taking place, I don't think anybody 121 00:07:12,500 --> 00:07:16,500 knows more about the identity of Jesus than John does. 122 00:07:18,100 --> 00:07:22,400 John baptized Jesus and the spirit descended on him. 123 00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:28,100 God the father's voice spoke. This is my son, whom I love with 124 00:07:28,100 --> 00:07:28,600 him. I am. 125 00:07:28,600 --> 00:07:32,700 Well pleased John was a prophet of God. 126 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:37,500 He knew more about who Jesus was than anyone up to that point. 127 00:07:38,500 --> 00:07:42,400 And everywhere, Mark shows us how John's responding. 128 00:07:43,100 --> 00:07:45,000 He's showing us a perfect response. 129 00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:49,100 Now was John perfect. Was his response to Jesus 130 00:07:49,100 --> 00:07:50,500 perfect. No course it wasn't. 131 00:07:50,500 --> 00:07:52,800 He's a flawed human. Like you like me? 132 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:59,600 But what Mark is doing here is showing us what John gets right. 133 00:08:00,300 --> 00:08:06,600 A repentant faith in response to who Jesus is And even Herod can 134 00:08:06,600 --> 00:08:09,300 see that in the passage. If you look at verse 20, Howard 135 00:08:09,300 --> 00:08:13,100 says, John is a righteous and holy man. 136 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:19,400 And then Verse 18, we get to see how that knowledge of who Jesus 137 00:08:19,400 --> 00:08:21,900 is how that plays out in John's life. 138 00:08:24,900 --> 00:08:29,000 That says, John had been saying to Herod it is not lawful for 139 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:33,700 you to have your brother's wife. Don't herodias was previously, 140 00:08:33,700 --> 00:08:37,500 married to Harrods brother and it wasn't that Harrods brother 141 00:08:37,500 --> 00:08:41,200 died or anything like that. Hurry, let Herod and herodias. 142 00:08:41,200 --> 00:08:43,500 Just decided they'd get married to each other. 143 00:08:43,500 --> 00:08:46,600 Their previous marriages be damned and so they got married. 144 00:08:48,100 --> 00:08:52,400 And so John unabashedly stands up and says God created marriage 145 00:08:52,400 --> 00:08:55,300 as a lifelong Covenant, you're in sin? 146 00:08:57,100 --> 00:08:59,300 Now we know there's exceptions that lifelong Covenant. 147 00:08:59,300 --> 00:09:02,300 We know this circumstances in which that Covenant gets broken 148 00:09:02,300 --> 00:09:04,500 and in practice, it doesn't stay lifelong. 149 00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:09,600 But herodias is divorce from Philip that wasn't one of those 150 00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:12,500 exceptions. This was just Herod and 151 00:09:12,500 --> 00:09:18,900 herodias, suiting themselves. But John's faith means that he 152 00:09:18,900 --> 00:09:23,200 has a willingness and ability to speak. 153 00:09:23,200 --> 00:09:28,100 Truth to power. Herod and herodias were really 154 00:09:28,100 --> 00:09:30,000 powerful. That's obvious from the passage. 155 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:33,000 They are the ones that get to choose, whether John is free or 156 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:34,900 locked up. They're the ones who get to 157 00:09:34,900 --> 00:09:38,000 choose whether John lives or dies in the end. 158 00:09:39,900 --> 00:09:44,900 And even still John can stand up and say to Herod what you're 159 00:09:44,900 --> 00:09:50,900 doing is wrong. Even in the face of death, it 160 00:09:50,900 --> 00:09:54,200 seems for all the world like John can openly say What God 161 00:09:54,200 --> 00:10:00,300 Says is right and wrong. What God Says is beautiful and 162 00:10:00,300 --> 00:10:04,500 not beautiful. Ultimately yeah, John is in 163 00:10:04,500 --> 00:10:07,500 prison. He's actually also free. 164 00:10:07,500 --> 00:10:10,700 He's free from worry about what other people think of him. 165 00:10:10,900 --> 00:10:14,400 He's free from worry about how other people respond to him. 166 00:10:16,100 --> 00:10:19,300 And so if we take it that John's response to, Jesus is a 167 00:10:19,300 --> 00:10:23,300 wholehearted and faithful one, we get to see what the out. 168 00:10:23,300 --> 00:10:27,300 Workings of a wholehearted and faithful response to Jesus look 169 00:10:27,300 --> 00:10:32,400 like in John's life and they look like that ability to speak. 170 00:10:32,400 --> 00:10:37,900 Truth to power. John even in the face of that 171 00:10:37,900 --> 00:10:41,900 aggression from Harrods household, he can stand up and 172 00:10:41,900 --> 00:10:44,700 speak and it looks like from the passage. 173 00:10:44,700 --> 00:10:47,400 Actually, he was able to keep doing that until the point where 174 00:10:47,400 --> 00:10:51,900 they beheaded him for it. And the reason for that, is that 175 00:10:51,900 --> 00:10:57,400 real repentance has roots. The psalmist tells us in Psalm 176 00:10:57,400 --> 00:11:02,400 1, that the one who Delights in God is like a tree planted by 177 00:11:02,400 --> 00:11:06,000 streams of water that yields its fruit in season. 178 00:11:07,600 --> 00:11:11,100 So, strong and healthy tree. No wind could ever uproot, it 179 00:11:11,100 --> 00:11:15,200 wouldn't be strong enough. And I don't know about you, but 180 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:18,100 I would like to be more like that tree. 181 00:11:18,700 --> 00:11:22,800 I'd like to have an unwavering tireless faith, more like John's 182 00:11:24,400 --> 00:11:28,000 I wish my roots ran a bit deeper than they actually do. 183 00:11:30,400 --> 00:11:34,400 Forge on his faith, in Jesus means he can keep speaking and 184 00:11:34,400 --> 00:11:38,400 embodying the gospel, no matter what threat gets held over his 185 00:11:38,400 --> 00:11:42,200 head. And if we're people who love 186 00:11:42,200 --> 00:11:47,000 Jesus, I think we can say, with some confidence that we're going 187 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:50,200 to need to be like that. True be like that, too. 188 00:11:50,700 --> 00:11:53,800 We're going to need to have Roots like that too in the 189 00:11:53,800 --> 00:11:58,000 future. Your culture used to be. 190 00:11:58,500 --> 00:12:02,900 If not actually Christian quite warm to Christianity, people 191 00:12:02,900 --> 00:12:05,500 would say it was a nominal Christianity that we had in this 192 00:12:05,500 --> 00:12:07,600 country say a couple of generations ago. 193 00:12:09,200 --> 00:12:12,100 And if we use the seasons to kind of think about the 194 00:12:12,100 --> 00:12:14,800 relationship between Christian people and the culture that we 195 00:12:14,800 --> 00:12:17,100 live in there. Maybe that time a couple of 196 00:12:17,100 --> 00:12:22,400 generations ago was the summertime And if that was the 197 00:12:22,400 --> 00:12:26,000 summer time, then I think it's fair to say, actually, we're 198 00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:30,800 well into the Autumn now that winter is actually right around 199 00:12:30,800 --> 00:12:34,800 the corner. And for that reason, we're going 200 00:12:34,800 --> 00:12:40,500 to need the kind of faith that John had In this passage Well, 201 00:12:40,500 --> 00:12:43,400 you'll need a faith. That's full of fiber and full of 202 00:12:43,400 --> 00:12:46,800 backbone. Faith is rooted in who Jesus is 203 00:12:46,800 --> 00:12:49,200 the god and King? Who cares? 204 00:12:49,500 --> 00:12:54,300 And saves? in Ephesians chapter 4, Paul 205 00:12:54,300 --> 00:12:59,200 writes that those who aren't mature in Christ are infants, 206 00:12:59,300 --> 00:13:03,000 tossed back and forth by the waves and blown here and there 207 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:06,700 by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of 208 00:13:06,700 --> 00:13:12,200 people and they're deceitful scheming Who's immature people 209 00:13:12,200 --> 00:13:16,700 are people who lack Roots deep roots in Christ and because of 210 00:13:16,708 --> 00:13:20,500 that they're violently blown around by the World, by the 211 00:13:20,500 --> 00:13:25,200 world's lies. But Paul contrasts that with 212 00:13:25,200 --> 00:13:28,500 those who are growing to full maturity in Christ. 213 00:13:28,500 --> 00:13:31,400 And when he does that, he's not talking about someone special, 214 00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:33,900 but kind of rarefied, air of Christian faith. 215 00:13:34,300 --> 00:13:37,300 He's talking about Christian people, normal Christian people. 216 00:13:37,300 --> 00:13:41,200 He means people who are meeting with God's people, we can we 217 00:13:41,200 --> 00:13:44,200 count people who are serving and being served people who are 218 00:13:44,200 --> 00:13:46,200 speaking and hearing the truth in love. 219 00:13:47,900 --> 00:13:50,800 Because those are the kind of people that have roots. 220 00:13:54,500 --> 00:13:59,500 So if it is late Autumn for us in this country, now if winter 221 00:13:59,500 --> 00:14:03,900 is coming, we're going to need a kind of Faith Like John's. 222 00:14:03,900 --> 00:14:06,300 We're going to need those Deep Roots. 223 00:14:09,100 --> 00:14:12,500 That HR policy that you could never in good conscience, sign 224 00:14:12,500 --> 00:14:17,800 up to is going to come. Even that law that says you 225 00:14:17,808 --> 00:14:21,500 can't offer to pray for somebody else is on its way. 226 00:14:23,400 --> 00:14:27,200 The active expectation that you won't just accept things, God 227 00:14:27,200 --> 00:14:29,500 says that are wrong but you'll have to endorse them. 228 00:14:29,500 --> 00:14:33,200 You'll have to affirm them. Those facts are going to make 229 00:14:33,200 --> 00:14:38,000 their presence felt in our lives and when they do we will need 230 00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:40,800 Deep Roots, like John to stand firm. 231 00:14:43,600 --> 00:14:48,900 Jesus offers us, the deepest Roots, anchored in him, anchored 232 00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:51,300 in who he's revealed to be at the cross. 233 00:14:53,500 --> 00:14:56,900 But you know what? John still ends up dead, doesn't 234 00:14:56,900 --> 00:15:00,600 he? We don't get a happy ending in 235 00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:04,300 this passage. And the reason for that and we 236 00:15:04,308 --> 00:15:09,600 see this in the rest of Mark is that for Jesus the way to Glory 237 00:15:10,400 --> 00:15:14,600 was through suffering. And if we're people who belong 238 00:15:14,600 --> 00:15:17,500 to Jesus, if we answer that call come follow me. 239 00:15:17,700 --> 00:15:20,800 How else can we get to where he's gone without following the 240 00:15:20,800 --> 00:15:24,900 same path? The Christians to same for John, 241 00:15:25,300 --> 00:15:28,200 the weight of Glory is through suffering. 242 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:34,100 But even In this passage with its beheading and imprisonment 243 00:15:34,100 --> 00:15:37,600 persecution, Even In this passage we get strains of that 244 00:15:37,600 --> 00:15:42,200 glory and actually they come from all places the lips of 245 00:15:42,200 --> 00:15:47,500 herot Verse 16, John whom I behead. 246 00:15:47,500 --> 00:15:49,300 It has been raised from the dead. 247 00:15:51,500 --> 00:15:55,100 Now, here it is wrong and that point John hasn't been raised 248 00:15:55,100 --> 00:15:58,700 from the dead, but it's actually not the substance that he's 249 00:15:58,700 --> 00:16:01,400 wrong about. It's the timing that he's wrong 250 00:16:01,400 --> 00:16:06,100 about. Because Jesus has been raised 251 00:16:06,100 --> 00:16:09,000 from the dead. John is going to be raised from 252 00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:12,200 the dead. All believers will be raised 253 00:16:12,500 --> 00:16:17,200 from the dead. Victory Belongs To Our God and 254 00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:21,700 King who cares and saves and even though we could never 255 00:16:21,700 --> 00:16:24,300 deserve it, he shares that Victory with us. 256 00:16:25,300 --> 00:16:28,800 He shares that Victory with everybody, who loves him. 257 00:16:31,600 --> 00:16:36,900 And the price he paid to make that possible was his own life. 258 00:16:39,500 --> 00:16:43,800 So, whatever stands against us. Now, whatever opposition is 259 00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:50,400 thrown at us a story. His story has a happy as a 260 00:16:50,408 --> 00:16:57,600 Victorious ending and so we can stand firm not in our strength, 261 00:16:58,100 --> 00:17:03,200 but in response to who we know Jesus to be in response to our 262 00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:07,200 God and King, who cares? And safes. 263 00:17:11,099 --> 00:17:13,599 Now we're going to move on to thinking about Herod in a 264 00:17:13,599 --> 00:17:15,400 moment. But before we do just one more 265 00:17:15,400 --> 00:17:20,800 thing about John, Don is unsurprisingly a person in this 266 00:17:20,800 --> 00:17:23,099 passage, but he's also something else for us as well. 267 00:17:23,200 --> 00:17:27,200 He's a proxy, he's a proxy for Jesus. 268 00:17:27,599 --> 00:17:30,500 Sometimes people might talk about someone being a type of 269 00:17:30,500 --> 00:17:33,700 Christ, especially in the Old Testament and some of us might 270 00:17:33,700 --> 00:17:35,500 be used to seeing those types of Christ. 271 00:17:35,500 --> 00:17:38,600 In the Old Testament. Are David reminds us of Christ, 272 00:17:38,600 --> 00:17:41,100 Joseph reminds us of Christ in various ways. 273 00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:45,100 We've got this book at home, that's going to come up on the 274 00:17:45,100 --> 00:17:47,400 slide. Now, it's called Jesus and the 275 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:51,000 lions den and the point of the book maybe, as you can tell from 276 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:54,400 the title is that the Old Testament is full of these Jesus 277 00:17:54,400 --> 00:17:56,800 moments. So, here's an example, from the 278 00:17:56,800 --> 00:17:59,800 book in the story of Daniel, there's a point where his 279 00:17:59,800 --> 00:18:02,400 enemies want to get rid of him and they try and get him into 280 00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:05,300 trouble. And then the book parallels, 281 00:18:05,300 --> 00:18:08,400 that with Jesus life where we see exactly the same thing being 282 00:18:08,400 --> 00:18:10,400 true between Jesus and the Pharisees. 283 00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:15,000 I think some of us will be used to seeing those Jesus moments in 284 00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:16,500 the Old Testament. That's a thing. 285 00:18:16,500 --> 00:18:20,200 Maybe, maybe we're quite used to doing, but we don't usually have 286 00:18:20,200 --> 00:18:23,400 to do it in one of the gospels. Like we've got here, we're 287 00:18:23,400 --> 00:18:25,500 normally just given Jesus really directly. 288 00:18:27,400 --> 00:18:30,500 But what we've got with John, the Baptist here is a Jesus 289 00:18:30,500 --> 00:18:36,600 moment, John represents Jesus for us and the passage shows us 290 00:18:36,600 --> 00:18:38,200 that. So just to prove, I'm not making 291 00:18:38,200 --> 00:18:40,500 it up, we can see that really clearly in the passage the verse 292 00:18:40,500 --> 00:18:43,300 16. Howard doesn't quite forget 293 00:18:43,300 --> 00:18:45,000 things right there as we've already talked about. 294 00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:48,400 But he does equate, John, and Jesus, and he's right to do 295 00:18:48,400 --> 00:18:52,300 that. Verses 17 and 18. 296 00:18:52,300 --> 00:18:55,900 John's arrest it. And he's done nothing wrong. 297 00:18:55,900 --> 00:18:59,100 All he's done. Is speak the truth and later the 298 00:18:59,100 --> 00:19:00,500 same thing would happen to Jesus. 299 00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:04,900 Then in verse 20, John gets described as a righteous and 300 00:19:04,900 --> 00:19:09,200 holy man, we know that Jesus is the ultimate righteous and holy 301 00:19:09,200 --> 00:19:12,900 man and then at the end and I think most clearly John is 302 00:19:12,900 --> 00:19:15,300 executed having not perfect wrong. 303 00:19:16,600 --> 00:19:20,000 And then his disciples take his body, put in a two. 304 00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:23,900 Exactly the same as what would happen to Jesus. 305 00:19:25,100 --> 00:19:29,400 Over and Over In this passage Mark casts John in the Jesus 306 00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:32,300 roll. John for us. 307 00:19:32,300 --> 00:19:36,300 Here is a living breathing picture of Jesus. 308 00:19:37,900 --> 00:19:41,100 So, as we move on to thinking about Herod, we're going to take 309 00:19:41,100 --> 00:19:45,900 it that Howard's response to John is more than a response to 310 00:19:45,900 --> 00:19:48,600 John actually, it's a response to Jesus. 311 00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:53,400 It's a really clear barometer of how Howard's responding to the 312 00:19:53,400 --> 00:19:57,800 identity of Jesus himself. as we come on to her and we're going 313 00:19:57,800 --> 00:20:04,000 to see that Fascination is not Faith, Fascination isn't faith 314 00:20:09,700 --> 00:20:12,300 Now I actually get a pretty short story here in that this 315 00:20:12,300 --> 00:20:16,600 passage I think is about 300 words in English, but we also 316 00:20:16,600 --> 00:20:19,200 get is a really authentic. Three-dimensional. 317 00:20:19,200 --> 00:20:22,900 Picture of Harrity feels really real In this passage. 318 00:20:22,900 --> 00:20:25,900 He feels really real in the kind of complex relationship and 319 00:20:25,900 --> 00:20:29,300 response. He's having to John and we can 320 00:20:29,300 --> 00:20:32,800 see that I think most clearly and just that chunk 17 to 20. 321 00:20:32,800 --> 00:20:35,100 So let me read those. It's been a while since we 322 00:20:35,700 --> 00:20:39,000 looked at chunk of the passage so verses 17 to 20. 323 00:20:41,100 --> 00:20:44,700 But Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, 324 00:20:45,100 --> 00:20:47,000 and he had him bound and put in prison. 325 00:20:48,100 --> 00:20:51,700 He did this because of herodias. His brother Philips wife, whom 326 00:20:51,700 --> 00:20:54,900 he married. For John had been saying to 327 00:20:54,900 --> 00:20:56,900 Herod. It is not lawful for you to have 328 00:20:56,900 --> 00:21:00,500 your brother's wife. So herodias, nursed a grudge 329 00:21:00,500 --> 00:21:04,100 against John and wanted to kill him but she was not able to 330 00:21:04,700 --> 00:21:09,000 because Herod feared John and protected him knowing him to be 331 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:13,700 a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was 332 00:21:13,700 --> 00:21:16,700 greatly puzzled, he liked to listen to him. 333 00:21:18,800 --> 00:21:22,300 So from that, and from the end of the passage Herod, has John 334 00:21:22,300 --> 00:21:24,900 arrested? And then he executes him, 335 00:21:25,600 --> 00:21:27,800 doesn't sound like a complex relationship at that point 336 00:21:27,800 --> 00:21:30,200 sounds horrific, but doesn't sound very complex. 337 00:21:31,500 --> 00:21:33,400 But actually in that junk, I just read verse 19. 338 00:21:33,400 --> 00:21:36,300 We get to see the motivation for the arrest. 339 00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:42,300 Herodias, herod's wife wants John dead and Herod arrests him 340 00:21:42,300 --> 00:21:44,300 as a way of putting him into protective custody. 341 00:21:45,900 --> 00:21:47,800 Because things aren't as simple here in terms of Harris 342 00:21:47,800 --> 00:21:49,300 responses. We might first think when we 343 00:21:49,308 --> 00:21:52,600 read the passage, the reason herodias wants John Dad. 344 00:21:52,600 --> 00:21:54,900 We talked about before. It's there in verse 20 is 345 00:21:54,900 --> 00:21:57,800 because of what John's been saying about Herod and herodias 346 00:21:57,800 --> 00:22:03,400 is marriage. But Herod knows, John is 347 00:22:03,400 --> 00:22:08,500 righteous and holy Herod, fears him and actually he's quite 348 00:22:08,500 --> 00:22:12,200 intrigued by what John has to say for himself. 349 00:22:13,800 --> 00:22:17,000 And we only hear one thing that John has to say for himself 350 00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:18,600 which is Herod me, you're in sin. 351 00:22:19,600 --> 00:22:21,500 And so at that point is actually a bit of a surprise. 352 00:22:21,500 --> 00:22:24,000 I think that we get that that description of him being 353 00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:30,200 intrigued being puzzled by what John's saying, I think Howard's 354 00:22:30,200 --> 00:22:33,400 feelings towards John aren't straight forward at all 355 00:22:33,400 --> 00:22:40,000 actually. ultimately Herod is very, very straightforward as a 356 00:22:40,008 --> 00:22:45,200 man and that leads to the mess that we see in this passage, The 357 00:22:45,200 --> 00:22:47,100 main narrative is kind of centered around. 358 00:22:47,100 --> 00:22:52,100 Herod's birthday party, which is a first century banquet, and 359 00:22:52,100 --> 00:22:55,000 that means drink. It means the men in one room and 360 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:57,900 the women in another room. And it means we can expect a 361 00:22:57,900 --> 00:23:01,900 fairly rawkus time. If we're at that party and 362 00:23:01,900 --> 00:23:04,400 actually, it turns out to be a bit more even than rawkus, it 363 00:23:04,400 --> 00:23:07,800 turns out to be risky. So in comes herodias his 364 00:23:07,800 --> 00:23:09,500 daughter and let's not miss the fact. 365 00:23:09,500 --> 00:23:13,100 This is herod's own stepdaughter, incomes herodias 366 00:23:13,100 --> 00:23:17,800 his daughter and dances. I think we can get from the 367 00:23:17,808 --> 00:23:21,000 context, the kind of dance that's in question here. 368 00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:23,000 This is a room full of drunk, man. 369 00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:25,300 There's only one woman there. It's exactly. 370 00:23:25,300 --> 00:23:31,000 The kind of dance you think is And Herod enjoys it so much, so 371 00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:32,600 he lets himself, get carried away. 372 00:23:32,700 --> 00:23:36,000 He promises to do whatever she wants and he makes the promise 373 00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:39,800 in full view of the Great and the not-so-good of his court. 374 00:23:41,800 --> 00:23:45,200 The girl goes to herodias and we know straight away where that's 375 00:23:45,200 --> 00:23:46,900 going herodias. Wants John dead. 376 00:23:48,300 --> 00:23:50,700 Back in. Goes the girl back to Herod and 377 00:23:50,700 --> 00:23:53,900 then verse 26. It doesn't want to say yes. 378 00:23:55,200 --> 00:23:56,600 But he feels. He's got no choice. 379 00:23:58,100 --> 00:24:01,000 He's greatly distressed by the request. 380 00:24:02,700 --> 00:24:05,400 But he does say yes in the end, why does he say yes? 381 00:24:06,600 --> 00:24:11,900 By simply reputation verse 26, says, the King was greatly 382 00:24:11,900 --> 00:24:16,100 distressed, but because of his Oaths and his dinner guests, he 383 00:24:16,100 --> 00:24:21,500 didn't want to refuse her. And so for that reason, a 384 00:24:21,500 --> 00:24:25,000 righteous and holy man, loses his head. 385 00:24:26,700 --> 00:24:32,400 Why three main reasons? Parents partying, herod's 386 00:24:32,500 --> 00:24:36,100 toggling of his stepdaughter and herod's desire to be well, 387 00:24:36,100 --> 00:24:42,100 thought of and so that complex got a warm relationship that he 388 00:24:42,100 --> 00:24:45,400 has with John is out the window in the face of herod's 389 00:24:45,500 --> 00:24:53,200 overwhelming, simplicity And if we remember that John here is a 390 00:24:53,500 --> 00:24:56,900 picture of Jesus at. He's a proxy of Jesus, we get to 391 00:24:56,900 --> 00:25:01,500 ask what's the character of herod's response to Jesus 392 00:25:01,500 --> 00:25:06,800 himself? We see clear positive signs. 393 00:25:06,800 --> 00:25:09,100 Don't we Harrods protecting John. 394 00:25:09,100 --> 00:25:11,600 He's listening to his words, even when they're critical 395 00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:15,700 words. But ultimately, what we see is 396 00:25:15,700 --> 00:25:20,300 that herod's response, no matter how warm Is deficient. 397 00:25:21,300 --> 00:25:23,900 There's something missing here. Just look at the mess that gets 398 00:25:23,900 --> 00:25:26,400 born out of the response. Yeah, he's interested in John, 399 00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:29,300 he's protecting, John but all the way through it's obvious 400 00:25:29,300 --> 00:25:35,000 that something's missing And so John gave us this example of 401 00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:38,900 repentant faith of unconcerned for what other people think. 402 00:25:40,100 --> 00:25:46,300 And in contrast to that inherit, we see a really active fear of 403 00:25:46,300 --> 00:25:48,500 people, and what they think, even for someone in such a 404 00:25:48,508 --> 00:25:54,200 position of power. We see inherited a response that 405 00:25:54,600 --> 00:26:00,900 is not that a follower of Jesus, not that of a disciple. no 406 00:26:00,900 --> 00:26:07,700 matter how much Fascination and interest there might be That 407 00:26:07,700 --> 00:26:10,200 said the Herod we see in this passage, she's not like a 408 00:26:10,200 --> 00:26:14,000 stereotypical image of someone who would say is an opponent to 409 00:26:14,008 --> 00:26:18,300 the gospel, is he he's way more real and ordinary and every day 410 00:26:18,300 --> 00:26:22,000 than that, he's not a Richard Dawkins or a Stephen Fry, 411 00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:24,400 issuing tirades against Christianity. 412 00:26:25,800 --> 00:26:29,400 He seems warm to things of faith in some ways. 413 00:26:31,500 --> 00:26:34,700 But the problem for Harriet is that he is in a settled 414 00:26:34,700 --> 00:26:37,600 position. He's in a settled position of 415 00:26:37,600 --> 00:26:42,500 curiosity and unrepentant, disregard for the gospel. 416 00:26:46,200 --> 00:26:48,900 How many times must Herod? Have heard John. 417 00:26:49,300 --> 00:26:52,700 I remember this is the John who when he preached multitudes we 418 00:26:52,700 --> 00:26:55,500 don't know how many thousands probably of people repented in 419 00:26:55,500 --> 00:26:58,900 response to John's message. We don't know how many times 420 00:26:58,900 --> 00:27:02,400 Herod must have heard that from John and the best he can muster 421 00:27:02,400 --> 00:27:05,000 along the way as this kind of puzzled enjoyment that we see. 422 00:27:10,500 --> 00:27:13,800 With herod's response to Jesus isn't enough. 423 00:27:15,500 --> 00:27:20,100 What About Us? I wonder if you might be someone 424 00:27:20,100 --> 00:27:24,300 who finds themselves puzzled and interested as you listen to 425 00:27:24,300 --> 00:27:28,800 Christians, maybe as you read the Bible for yourself, I wonder 426 00:27:28,800 --> 00:27:31,900 if you're someone who enjoys being with God's people, maybe 427 00:27:31,900 --> 00:27:34,900 does that a lot in the same way that Herod seem to have with 428 00:27:34,900 --> 00:27:40,400 John You might even be someone who would forcefully even and 429 00:27:40,400 --> 00:27:44,200 gladly State their admiration for Jesus, Isaac? 430 00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:46,900 Jesus, yeah, Greg guy righteous and holy man. 431 00:27:49,300 --> 00:27:54,800 If that's you, and if that's where it stops with you, this 432 00:27:54,800 --> 00:27:57,100 passage has a clear message for you. 433 00:27:59,400 --> 00:28:04,700 The things that you're feeling and doing or not the same things 434 00:28:05,100 --> 00:28:09,700 as saving faith. Now don't get me wrong, those 435 00:28:09,700 --> 00:28:13,600 things that you're doing, they're not a mistake, they're 436 00:28:13,600 --> 00:28:15,800 good things to do. You should read the Bible, you 437 00:28:15,800 --> 00:28:20,600 should admire Jesus. If you're growing and knowledge 438 00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:24,500 of Jesus, that's fantastic and praise God for that fact. 439 00:28:26,500 --> 00:28:31,100 But if your admiration and enjoyment of God's people is for 440 00:28:31,100 --> 00:28:35,500 you a settled position. If that's somewhere, you're just 441 00:28:35,500 --> 00:28:40,000 really comfy actually. If it means you get to have a 442 00:28:40,008 --> 00:28:42,800 little hit of Jesus now and then to make you feel better but the 443 00:28:42,800 --> 00:28:45,300 rest of your life you live without reference to him without 444 00:28:45,300 --> 00:28:50,900 thinking about him. That's not the same thing as a 445 00:28:50,908 --> 00:28:53,100 response of repentance and faith. 446 00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:57,900 It's not the same thing as knowing Jesus as our God and 447 00:28:57,900 --> 00:29:09,100 King, who cares and saves. and ultimately, if that's you If 448 00:29:09,100 --> 00:29:12,900 that leaves you in the same position as Herod, was long as 449 00:29:12,900 --> 00:29:16,600 you're there, you're in danger. I don't want that to be heard by 450 00:29:16,600 --> 00:29:19,400 anyone who really is a follower of Jesus who really is earnestly 451 00:29:19,600 --> 00:29:22,800 trying to live their lives, out in response to him and getting 452 00:29:22,800 --> 00:29:25,500 things wrong because we all do that, I do that. 453 00:29:25,500 --> 00:29:28,400 Like I said, before, my roots, don't run as deep as I'd like to 454 00:29:28,400 --> 00:29:33,700 be known as deep as they should. But if you are in that same 455 00:29:33,700 --> 00:29:36,900 position as Herod sat, still comfortable not growing. 456 00:29:38,100 --> 00:29:40,300 Well, the author c.s. Lewis puts it this way. 457 00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:44,500 Now, is our chance to choose the right side. 458 00:29:45,700 --> 00:29:48,300 God is holding back to give us that chance. 459 00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:52,400 We won't last forever. We must take it or leave it. 460 00:29:55,900 --> 00:30:00,700 Because the truth is that Jesus is the god and King, who cares 461 00:30:00,700 --> 00:30:04,300 and saves and that fact changes everything. 462 00:30:06,100 --> 00:30:10,600 Jesus created all things and he rules and Reigns over them. 463 00:30:11,500 --> 00:30:16,100 He created you and him ruling and reigning over you is the 464 00:30:16,100 --> 00:30:19,500 right thing whether you like the idea or not. 465 00:30:21,500 --> 00:30:24,600 Maybe it seems like bad news that Jesus should be ruling over 466 00:30:24,600 --> 00:30:27,700 you, but it's not. And that's because of who Jesus 467 00:30:27,900 --> 00:30:31,400 is. He doesn't leave us with nothing 468 00:30:31,400 --> 00:30:34,000 to go on when it comes to his character. 469 00:30:35,500 --> 00:30:40,600 Instead he became human and entered his own creation, he 470 00:30:40,600 --> 00:30:45,000 allowed himself the God and King of Everything, he allowed 471 00:30:45,000 --> 00:30:48,500 himself to be tortured to death at the cross. 472 00:30:50,100 --> 00:30:56,900 And he did that for you. He did that to win your heart 473 00:30:56,900 --> 00:31:01,600 and to win your freedom. He did that ultimately because 474 00:31:01,600 --> 00:31:05,200 he loves you. Doesn't he deserve more than a 475 00:31:05,208 --> 00:31:09,200 dash of admiration here and there in response to that? 476 00:31:10,300 --> 00:31:14,200 Jesus is Worthy. He's worthy of Your Love. 477 00:31:14,500 --> 00:31:19,100 He's worthy of your devotion, your faith, your whole life is 478 00:31:19,100 --> 00:31:24,700 Jesus, is the god and King who cares and saves and to all of 479 00:31:24,700 --> 00:31:28,000 us. He invites us, come follow me. 480 00:31:32,700 --> 00:31:39,200 Let's play together. I have a father. 481 00:31:39,200 --> 00:31:42,100 We thank you and praise you for that. 482 00:31:42,100 --> 00:31:44,900 God and King, who cares and saves? 483 00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:48,700 He needn't have come, he needn't care about us. 484 00:31:48,700 --> 00:31:53,200 He needn't shed his own blood to save us and yet he did because 485 00:31:53,200 --> 00:31:56,100 he loves us. We pray, whoever we are. 486 00:31:56,100 --> 00:32:00,200 Whatever we make of that today, that you would open our eyes and 487 00:32:00,200 --> 00:32:02,900 soften our hearts towards those facts. 488 00:32:03,800 --> 00:32:05,800 Thank you for Jesus and that he loves us. 489 00:32:05,800 --> 00:32:09,500 We pray for those who maybe haven't responded to that before 490 00:32:09,500 --> 00:32:11,900 and maybe even here today are seeing for the first time. 491 00:32:11,900 --> 00:32:14,100 But that's the case that they haven't responded 492 00:32:14,400 --> 00:32:16,700 wholeheartedly. We pray that you would put 493 00:32:16,700 --> 00:32:19,200 people around them to speak the gospel to them. 494 00:32:19,200 --> 00:32:23,000 We pray that they wouldn't just forget what you have to say for 495 00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:24,500 yourself. Wouldn't just go on into the 496 00:32:24,500 --> 00:32:29,900 busyness of life but word pause. Would take a moment to do 497 00:32:29,900 --> 00:32:32,300 business with you, to answer your call. 498 00:32:32,300 --> 00:32:37,400 We pray, people would come follow, you, Lord Jesus, we pray 499 00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:40,600 for those of us who do know you, those of us who longed to have 500 00:32:40,800 --> 00:32:42,900 deeper roots to be able to stand firm. 501 00:32:42,900 --> 00:32:47,900 Like, John, did we know that we might need those deeper Roots, 502 00:32:47,900 --> 00:32:50,300 very much in months and years to come. 503 00:32:50,600 --> 00:32:53,800 We pray, we be a church family. Who each other is presenting 504 00:32:54,100 --> 00:32:57,400 Jesus to one another that God and King who cares and saves? 505 00:32:57,500 --> 00:33:00,100 Would we be speaking? King of him encouraging, one 506 00:33:00,100 --> 00:33:03,400 another in him. And what that fact grow us to 507 00:33:03,700 --> 00:33:07,900 full maturity in the way that you and able it to, we pray for 508 00:33:07,900 --> 00:33:11,300 the work of your spirit and the Heart of us as a church family 509 00:33:11,300 --> 00:33:14,200 that we would be growing. So that maturity, that we would 510 00:33:14,200 --> 00:33:16,600 be able to stand firm and stand strong. 511 00:33:17,000 --> 00:33:19,900 And that your name would be glorified as a result. 512 00:33:19,900 --> 00:33:22,600 We pray all these things in the name of your son, Jesus. 513 00:33:23,100 --> 00:33:23,500 Amen.