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Mark  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  15:29
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Children’s Thought:

If you could have one wish in the world, up to half a kingdom, what would you wish for?
[pause]
A good heart will wish for good things.
A bad heart will wish for bad things like:
Accidents, injuries, revenge
In today’s story for the grownups, a girl, whether young or old, won a great wish and she took some really bad advice and wished something very bad.
Let me Pray for you.
Father, help these children and all of us to wish, hope for, dream and pursue good things not bad, so the world is better because we were here.

Royal Speculations

We left off last week with the 12 Apostles being sent out and having great success
casting out demons
anointing the sick and healing them
sharing that Jesus and the kingdom were at hand.
And eventually, even Herod Antipas heard about it!
Mark 6:14 ESV
14 King Herod heard of it, for Jesus’ name had become known. Some said, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.”
People who have never read the bible, like to put there own labels on Jesus:
A good man
A good teacher
A prophet
but we know him to be the Christ, the Messiah, the son of God.
Here is some more of the popular speculation
Mark 6:15 ESV
15 But others said, “He is Elijah.” And others said, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.”
But Herod had his own idea
Mark 6:16 ESV
16 But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.”
That,
may have been wishful thinking because Herod had given the order to have jesus killed.
Herod believed John to be a good man but because he got all excited and publicly made an outlandish promise, he had to have John executed so Herod wouldn’t be embarrassed in front of his key men.
Men who could support or undermine his authority.
Wouldn’t it be a comfort to your guilt to know that innocent man you had killed
had come back to life on his own.
It’s would be almost like you never sinned in the first place
So Herod would like to claim, wether he believes it our now, that this new miracle worker in John the baptist,
raised from the dead.
Now Mark brings us into the story of why John the Baptist was thrown in jail, why he was kept alive, and ultimately why he was murdered.
Mark 6:17 ESV
17 For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her.
So John the baptist was thrown in Jail as a favor to Herod Antipas wife, Herodias.
And why was she so angry
Why did she want to silence this man?
Mark 6:18 ESV
18 For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
None of us like to have our faults pointed out
None of us like to have our actions questioned
So Herodias, got very angry with John the Baptist
Mark 6:19 ESV
19 And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not,
She didn’t want John the Baptist removed from the public areana
she wanted him D E A D dead.
But how to move Herod from having arrested John to killing John.
Can you imagine the arguments
Herodias: I want him dead!
Herod: Honey he’s fine,
he’s locked up,
he can’t speak against you any more
Herodias: I want him dead!
Herod: No, I like listening to him
Herodias: I want him dead!
Herod: No, he’s a holy man, I can’t just kill him.
We don’t have their real conversations but the bible tells us why Herod Antipas kept John alive
Mark 6:20 ESV
20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.
A lot of people are very confused by the word of God, until they are ready to accept it and make Jesus Lord of their lives.
A lot of people even life, some of the things Jesus said, just not everything he said.
Well, Herodias isn’t getting her way.
She is hoping, she is wishing, she is scheming,
how can she get Herod to kill John the Baptist
or at least how can she get him to stop protecting that outspoken Baptizer?
Do you know the verse 1 Peter 5:8 ?
It’s a warning that when were are stirred up
the devil is more that happen to help us mess up.
it says.
1 Peter 5:8 ESV
8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
The devil is on the prowl was people seeking evil, and He is going to help them every chance he can.
[pause]
From another perspective, when we have evil intent in our hearts,
it’s going to grow, if we don’t do something about it
James 1:14–15 ESV
14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
In Herodias case, sin in her heart leads to the death of John the Baptist.
Mark 6:21–23 ESV
21 But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 For when Herodias’s daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.” 23 And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.”
Now Herod Antipas was really a Tettrarch not a king.
So he serves Rome and can’t really give her half his kingdom but
his words meant she could ask for something really big.
I find it interesting that she goes and asked her mother what to request.
Mothers and fathers should never be such evil influence on their children.
Mark 6:24–25 ESV
24 And she went out and said to her mother, “For what should I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” 25 And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
How enticing would your payoff have to be to order the death of an innocent man.
What was Herod II’s price,
well he didn’t want to be embarrassed in from of his nobles and generals.
That was a pretty low price to sell out your convictions.
Mark 6:26 NIV
26 The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her.
Because of his Oaths
Because of his Dinner Guests
He orders this Godly man to be killed.
That is really messed up!
But it shows, even with adults
peer pressure can cause us to do some really wrong things,
just so we still look good to our people.

Lord keep us from selling out our convictions, to please our peers!

You know what he did
Mark 6:27–28 ESV
27 And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison 28 and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother.
She got her revenge.
As we share the truth of the gospel with others, including that they are sinners in need of God’s grace, may God open their ears to hear and soften their hearts to respond positively,
may our hears not become such enemies, such hatters of the truth.
for completion, lets read verse 29 too
Mark 6:29 ESV
29 When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

Observations

Herod Antipas probably wanted to think of himself as a great king,
yet a little partying
a little outrageous dancing,
and Herod is ready to give away half his kingdom
His wife used his weaknesses to corner
and control him.
I wonder how Lordly he felt when he went to bed that night.
Warning for men,
be careful not to sell out our convictions
for a little thrill.
A warning for women, don’t be using your good looks and favors to control guys , to make them your toys.
We should note that even adults have to deal with peer pressure,
to do the wrong thing.
Parents should never ever lead their children into sin
like Herodias lead Salome into giving her such an evil request to give to Herod at the party.
We assume Salome’s dance was seductive
Let’s Pray.
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