Christ Rules! Herod Drools

A Sermon By Jim Hammond from Mark 6:1-32

Focus: The successful mission of the twelve disciples is set against the ominous backdrop of opposition, rejection, and even martyrdom. Jesus asks us to follow him on an urgent and dangerous mission.

OUTLINE

I. HOMETOWN FOOLS (REJECTION) (Mark 6:1-6)

II. DISCIPLES TOOLS (CONNECTION) (Mark 6:7-13)

III. HEROD DROOLS (OPPOSITION) (Mark 6:14-29)

IV. CHRIST RULES (ORCHESTRATION) (Mark 6:1-32)

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I wonder if what is killing marriages across the country is the same attitude that is killing churches—a consumer attitude, a “what’s in it for me” attitude? In marriages some people have the attitude, I have all these needs and I married you and you aren’t meeting these needs. In many churches people are getting the wrong message. The message, “If I want something bad enough all I need to do is ask God and he promises to give me those things I want and ask for.” Both viewpoints are based on an argument that marriage, or church, or Christianity is designed primarily to answer the question: “What’s in it for me?”

It sounds attractive, but this question is light years away from the description of Christianity that Jesus gave us. Is the “what’s in it for me?” question the attitude Jesus’ modeled? No!

Today’s message is important for you to hear because many have bought into a half baked commitment to Christ as if Christianity was only to be considered from the “what’s in it for me?” angle. Today’s’ message is important for you to hear because REAL Christianity is based on commitment not a consumer attitude, just as healthy marriages are based on commitment. We are going to discover today that REAL CHRISTIANITY may cost you rejection of the sort Jesus experienced, and dangers and opposition of the sort John the Baptist experienced, and challenges of the sort the disciples experienced.

Let’s start with the concept of rejection. Imagine a homecoming and the expectations you would have coming home after you had been doing great things that caused a public stir. You know the news of your accomplishments have reached your hometown. And you are coming home. What are your thoughts? What are your expectations? Maybe you don’t expect a ticker tape parade. Maybe you don’t expect a great banner and welcome. But you do expect some kind of warm welcome and approval, a local hometown boy makes good. You are a hero of sorts.

Jesus has just stilled a storm, cast out demons, healed many people, preached with authority and is being crowded by the masses wanting to see more. His fame has spread like wildfire. Like anybody else under these circumstances Jesus probably thought he would be welcomed and cheered as the local hero. But came home and faced the great disappointment of rejection. I wonder if he feels something similar to what some of the Vietnam vets felt when they returned home to less than a hero’s welcome after giving of themselves and making dangerous sacrifices. That kind of rejection from the hometown crowd, and even family can hurt.

Personal rejection usually pulls the plug on my motivation. But we are going to see the incredible strength of character of Jesus today. He is not paralyzed by rejection. He was committed to his purpose, and he prepared his followers for that same tenacity so that they will also be committed to his purpose even in the face of opposition, rejection and the danger of martyrdom.

QUOTE: The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult, and left untried. [i]

How many of you have family members or friends who reject your faith? As we read this morning Mark 6 you will identify with Jesus. I bet Jesus had to cope by telling himself the truth, “I’m not home yet.”

I. Hometown Fools (Rejection) (Mark 6:1-6)

(Mark 6:1-6 NIV) "Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. {2} When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. "Where did this man get these things?" they asked. "What's this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles!

At least the hometown crowd is asking the right questions. Even they are amazed by the power of the man before them. Asking the right questions is the beginning of faith. Who is Jesus? This is the right question. Where does he get the power to do these miracles? Given all the evidence, if Jesus is not the Son of God, then he was a lunatic; if his words are not the Truth, he was a liar; if his power is not given by God, he is in league with the devil. Everyone needs to ask these questions about Jesus. “Where did this man get these things?” The problem is that the hometown people ask them with a hometown prejudice that distorts their thinking.

{3} Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him. {4} Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor." {5} He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. {6} And he was amazed at their lack of faith. Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village."

REJECTION:

This passage shows us the HOMETOWN FOOLS. They are fools because they reject Jesus.

Cary Grant once told how he was walking along a street and met a fellow whose eyes locked onto him with excitement. The man said, "Wait a minute, you're ... you're--I know who you are; don't tell me--uh, Rock Hud--No, you're ..." Grant thought he'd help him, so he finished the man's sentence: "Cary Grant." And the fellow said, "No, that's not it! You're ..." There was Cary Grant indentifying himself with his own name, but the fellow had someone else in mind.

The key word for this section is rejection. It reminds me of John’s Gospel that says,[ii]

(John 1:11 NIV) "He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him."

Why didn’t they receive him? Because they were looking for someone else.

The hometown crowd does not go as far as the teachers of the law from Jerusalem and ascribe the source of Jesus’ power to Beelzebub, an unpardonable sin. They simply think it unlikely that God can work so dramatically in this fellow who is just “one of them”.

MARY’S SON—the “Handyman”

Notice here that the people of Nazareth identify Jesus as Mary's son. Normally, a man is identified as the son of his father. There might be several possibilities for why they call him “Mary’s Son”.

· One possibility is simply that Joseph is no longer alive, and that they are familiar with Mary. This familiarity shows up also naming of his brothers and sisters. The point of their comment being he is a local boy. They think they have Jesus pegged as just one of Mary's boys who used to be one of us.

· A more malicious possibility is that they are maligning Jesus and they are alluding to the old local rumors of an illegitimate pregnancy and birth. Even Joseph didn’t believe Mary’s story until an Angel revealed it to him.

The Comment about him being the carpenter needs to be understood in their context. Carpenters aren’t teachers.

· This is not a simple identification but pointing out that this man has no credentials, he is nothing but that “handyman” we used to hire doing odd jobs for us.

A REJECTED PROPHET (A HINT OF WHAT IS TO COME)

Jesus' response marks the first time in this gospel that the term prophet is applied to Him. Jesus has come like a prophet and is rejected like a prophet. There is already a hint here of what will happen to Jesus. What is described in just a few more sentences is the martyrdom of John the Baptist. This brings the fact of opposition and what that might mean into a sharper focus. Jesus is knowingly walking straight into danger.

The death of John the Baptist means more to Jesus than simply losing a close friend. It is a foreshadowing of what is to come for himself. Jesus’ rejection in his own hometown foreshadows the rejection by his own people whom he came to deliver, a rejection that will culminate in Jerusalem.

{5} He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. {6} And he was amazed at their lack of faith. Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village."

It seems Jesus is powerless to work miracles apart from a People's faith. Why? Was it because their cynicism prevented them from bringing their sick to him for healing? Perhaps the simplest explanation is that skeptics don’t seek miracles. They are not coming to Jesus to be healed.

REJECTION WHERE YOU LEAST EXPECT IT

Rejection will come sometimes when and where it is least expected. Rejection is not the end of the world. They rejected Jesus. Failure is common to the experience of anyone who sews the seeds of the gospel. Jesus is perplexed by their UNBELIEF.

REJECTION CAN STOP YOU COLD. But Jesus is Undeterred from His Purpose.

He is perplexed but not paralyzed. This lesson will serve the disciples well when they are sent out on their mission. They will meet resistance, scorn, and doubt. Christian workers can take comfort from this episode from Jesus life when they to meet opposition.

II. Disciples’ Tools (Connection) (6:7-13)

(Mark 6:7-13 NIV) "Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits. {8} These were his instructions: "Take nothing for the journey except a staff--no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. {9} Wear sandals but not an extra tunic. {10} Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. {11} And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them." {12} They went out and preached that people should repent. {13} They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them."

FUNCTIONAL SIMPLICITY

Jesus began his public ministry by calling Israel to repent. He expands his ministry by sending the disciples to their countrymen to preach repentance, to cast out demons, and to anoint the sick. He gives them some instructions. He tells them to operate within functional simplicity. Take only what you need for your purpose. He mostly tells them what not to bring. He has them take very little, a bare minimum. But what they are given is what is required for ministry. So let’s take a look at minimum ministry requirements. What is the bare minimum that is required for ministry.

A. Minimum Ministry Requirements

1. Christ’s Authority (Connection)

For ministry this is the fundamental and primary ministry requirement – a connection with Christ! You need very little else. But you do need this to do anything for Christ. Jesus put it another way later in his ministry. He said “apart from me you can do nothing!” (John 15)

2. A Buddy System

The second bare minimum one needs for ministry is also implied in the instructions. Jesus sent them out two by two. You need a buddy system. You need support. Sending them two buy two provides some measure of protection from attack and from temptations, as well as mutual encouragement.

The gesture of shaking the dust from their feet in Israel serves as a message of warning as if they were pagans. This was the Jewish practice when leaving a pagan Godless place, to shake the dust off your feet in order not to contaminate the holy land.

III. Herod Drools (Opposition) (6:14-29)

(Mark 6:14-29 NIV) "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."

Mark interrupts his reports of the disciples mission with a flashback about the death of John the Baptist. The questions the disciples were asking, "who is this?" Is now being asked even by the political powers.

{15} Others said, "He is Elijah." And still others claimed, "He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago." {16} But when Herod heard this, he said, "John, the man I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!"

Herod's fear is not the fear of God. He may lose some sleep over it, but he does not want to change.

{17} 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. {18} For John had been saying to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."

John condemned Herod publicly for marrying Herodias, his niece, who was already the wife of his half-brother.

{19} So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, {20} 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. {21} 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. {22} 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." {23} And he promised her with an oath, "Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom."

Herod's young stepdaughter captivates him with her presumably erotic dancing. Herod Drools with incestuous lust, This is not surprising since incestuous lust led him to steal his brother’s wife. The half drunken Herod offers half his kingdom. He is a king without control.

{24} She went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask for?" "The head of John the Baptist," she answered. {25} 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." {26} The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. {27} So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, {28} and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. {29} On hearing of this, John's disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb."

Herodias seized the to opportunity to do away with John by sacrificing her daughter's dignity sending her to dance to win Herod's favor. Perhaps it was a preplanned method of doing away with her enemy John. Herod offers half his pitiful little kingdom which brings in the death of one of God's men. Herod who calls Jesus a shaking reed and a fox is himself outfoxed by his wife. Herod values his honor of keeping a rash oath more than John's life and he ends up killing the one he fears but loves to listen to. This will not be the last time that the political ruler submits to the will of others to have an innocent man executed.

HEROD REMINDS ME OF THE BOSS

The boss was complaining in our staff meeting the other day that

he wasn't getting any respect. Later that morning he went to a

local sign shop and bought a small sign that read:

"I'm the Boss!"

He then taped it to his office door.

Later that day when he returned from lunch, he found that someone

had taped a note to the sign that said:

"Your wife called, she wants her sign back!"

BEWARE OF THE DANGER’S OF SAVING FACE

Herod saved his face but lost his soul. Beware of trying to protect your pride. People might name their children John, but nobody names their baby son Herod. We think he has done a terrible thing. In order to protect his pride, and save face, he removes John’s head. People, this sin lurks closer than we realize. Many are put in the position of attempting to save face after sin, attempting to hide that sin, worse things are done. Abortion, the killing of innocent life is often an attempt to save face. Isn’t this a lot like Herod’s sin?

THE MESSAGE IN THE STRUCTURE

The question is why does Mark tell this story now? Why does he include this story here in this context? There is a clear purpose.

Notice the structure:

Hometown Rejection: 6:1-6

Sending of the Disciples: 6:7-13

Martyrdom of John: 6:14-29

Successful return of the Disciples: 6:30

The narrative about John's death is not simply an interesting digression. It informs the reader of the meaning of the disciples’ mission. Each account helps interpret the other.

The mission is both urgent and dangerous. The power to do miracles will not keep them from suffering and death. Mark purposefully uses again this literary sandwich technique to set forth the connected truths. Combining the accounts this way foreshadows the suffering that comes to God's messengers. What happens to John will happen to Jesus in his mission and to the disciples in theirs. Though the mission of the disciples is successful, evil looms on the horizon. All would-be kings will consider the messengers’ message of Christ’s kingdom subversive and will use their power to stamp it out. The good news is that Christ’s kingdom will advance in spite of the evil that attempts to thwart it.

IV. Christ Rules! (Orchestration) (6:1-32)

John loses his head but gains the kingdom. Herod saved his face but lost his soul. Here there is another triumph in the midst of suffering. John's martyrdom is not a defeat. Twelve more preachers are sent in his place. Ironically even Herod suspected that John would ultimately triumph when he said, "John, the man I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!"

Soren Kierkegaard said, "The tryrant dies and his rule ends, the martyr dies and his rule begins." God raises the dead and raises of new witnesses to take their place here in his life.

We must not miss the point that King Herod is hearing the disciples proclaim the kingdom of God. The simple message is this CHRIST is king, and Herod is not.

Follow Jesus into the dangers of his mission. Rejection is to be expected. When you are rejected focus again on the purpose, not on pleasing people. Christ Rules! even when there is rejection and suffering and death. Be a part of his kingdom expansion. Make sure you ARE connected with him BY YOUR COMMITMENT, and BY YOUR COMMITMENT CONNECTED WITH other Christians then watch as Christ Orchestrates the powerful expansion of his Kingdom through you!

[i] -- G. K. Chesterton in What's Wrong with the World. Christianity Today, Vol. 39, no. 1.

[ii] -- Robert F. Simms, Boone, North Carolina. Leadership, Vol. 11, no. 4.