6th Sunday of Pentecost
July 16, 2006
Text: MARK 6:17-29
THE KINGDOM PARTY ROARS ON!
To you, the saints at Luther Memorial Chapel and University Student Center, who are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ; the daughter of Herodias said, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
John the Baptist
- his coming was foretold by the prophet Malachi (Mal 3)
- he was a prophet of priestly descent
- he was the forerunner of Christ
- his conception and birth were announced by the Angel of the Lord (Luke 1) with wondrous anticipation
- he leaped for joy in the womb of his mother in the presence of Christ in the womb of the Virgin Mary (Luke 1:39-45)
- you know his rigorous life and his dessert diet
- he grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel (Luke 1:80)
- in the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar, he came out of seclusion and preached (Luke 3:1)
- he preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Luke 3:3)
- he preached, “repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt. 3:2)
- he pointed to Christ in the flesh, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29)
- he baptized and baptized, baptizing even Christ to fulfill all righteousness for us (Mt 3:15)
- he said of Christ that He was the Bridegroom who must increase while John must decrease (John 3:30)
- Jesus said of him, “among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist (Mt 11:11)
John the Baptist! He had boldness appropriate to his office. His calls for repentance included change in life and conduct such as aiding the poor, being honest in duty, serving others. Because He was sent to speak God’s Word, he meddled morally in the life of people. He spoke the truth to people regardless of position and power. Therefore he kept saying to Herod, It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
Herod! He was called a “king” but more often a Tetrarch for he ruled only ¼ of the kingdom of his father. At times he listened to John whom he had imprisoned. He was perplexed and puzzled by what the Baptist said. He appreciated John’s rhetoric who was, after all, the voice, crying in the wilderness. But Herod did not heed John’s call to repent. He listened with curiosity and for a time kept him John safe from his adulterous wife, Herodias.
Herodias! She had lived in Rome, the wife of Herod’s half-brother, Philip. Herod, also had a wife. On a trip to Rome, however, they became charmed with one another. When Herod returned to Judea, he had Herodias in tow. In his lust, he quickly set aside his true wife. He had the possessions and power and palaces to pursue pleasure with whom he wanted, and he wanted Herodias. The historian Josephus tells us that it was his splendid palace at the fortress Macheraeus at which John was imprisoned.
Macheraeus! This military fortress overlooked the Dead Sea. It bordered the wilderness. Herod’s birthday party would therefore have been a retreat for people of substance and leisure. It was a festive wilderness get-away, a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and leading men of Galilee.
And the party roared on! There were bountiful plates of fine food. There was ample provision of intoxicating drink. There was laughter and entertainment. It was, after all, the “kings” birthday. But there were also undercurrents of palace intrigue. God preserve us from ever living in a palace for aren’t there always undercurrents of palace intrigue?
Languishing underneath the party hall, in the dungeon of this fortress was John the Baptist. Simmering underneath the festive mood of this party was the resentment of Herodias. She wanted to put the prophet to death. She wanted to shut him up!
Like Jezebel sought to silence Elijah and worship the idols of Baal, Herodias sought to silence the second Elijah and worship the idol of personal pleasure. Both were strong and calculating women with influence over weak kings. Both were determined to smother the Word of God that contradicted their life’s decisions and their pet idols.
And the party roared on! Seductive dances at a shindig such as this were generally done by women of low reputation. For a princess to flash her flesh and shake her body around was not normal. It would have occurred here only with Herodias’s approval and urging. And approve she did! She was quite willing to submit her daughter to physical degradation in order to gain her own desires.
Even in prison, John kept saying, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” What a stinking cloud hanging over the royal family. What an embarrassment this prophet was, even in chains; a hindrance to their pursuit of happiness. Herodias had the same view of John that the treacherous priest Amaziah had of the prophet Amos. “The land is not able to bear all his words”. In other words, he is a pain in the neck, “shut him up”. She had waited to sink the dagger into God’s prophet. The juncture of motive, means and opportunity was now at hand.
And the party roared on! All it took was a lewd dance to tease his eyes and tickle his lust. Incestuous Herod gushed with generosity. When Herodias’s daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl,…“Whatever you ask me, I will give it to you, up to half of my kingdom.” Now everyone knew that Herod didn’t mean “half his kingdom”. This was a proverbial expression for royal generosity. To actually ask the king for “half his kingdom” would have been treasonous. But this expression in public carried heavy expectation that a substantial gift would follow. The subject was free to make a sizable request.
And the party roared on! After a short recess to confer with mom, these grisly words came from her pretty young lips. “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
We aren’t told what the cultured, fashionable guests said or did. Perhaps there were a few gasps – perhaps only mocking curiosity. We are told how Herod reacted. The king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. Moments before, he had enjoyed boisterous, party-time fun. Then, in an instant, Herod was sobered by death-dripping words from his darling little dancer. “I want you at once…to give me his head…”
Herod was undone by his own sensuality. Controlled by the lust of his flesh he had seduced his brother’s wife. Now he is seduced by Herodias through her daughter’s dance. Herod could yet have done the right thing. He could have refused to satisfy the vengeance of this new Jezebel. He could have humbled himself and qualified his extravagant promise. He could have said, “Oh, dear girl, you misunderstood my intent. I meant a rich gift of property or jewels, not the unjust and illegal execution of John.” Herod could have done the right thing, but he didn’t.
What sort of man would be more afraid of the opinion of party goers than of what God thought of him? What sort of man would be so concerned with pleasing himself and his partners in sin that He would act to violently silence the Word of God? The truth is, Herod is our sort of man. We also like to make ourselves look good and please those around us sometimes even at the expense of withholding witness to God’s Word.
We also may shun being humiliated for appearing too Christian.
John was so concerned for human souls he lost his life defending God’s gift of marriage. In our culture of living together and homosexual promotion, are we so concerned for souls that we steadfastly defend God’s gift of marriage? Do we speak and act to honor marriage and keep the marriage bed pure? In educational and political, community and family venues do we speak the truth in love? Even if it brings suffering and even if others want to shut us up, do we continue to speak the truth in love? That’s all that John did. The same could be said of our witness to the third commandment and weekly worship or our cheerful proportionate gifts to the Church or other areas of life. God’s gift of marriage is central here because that is what cost John his head.
Even when the request was made to silence God’s voice, Herod could have done the right thing, the painful thing. But, He didn’t. Because of his oaths and his dinner guests he did not want to break his word to her.
Talk about a twisted sense of honor. Talk about a warped sense of principle in high places. And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother.
Dear Christians, it is impossible to overstate the horror of this scene. The command was given. The soldiers were sent. The sword was swung. The platters of fruits and meats and delicacies at Herod’s birthday gathering were soon joined by another platter. On that plate was a head dripping with the preacher’s blood. John the Baptist! The forerunner of Christ was dead, decapitated in the dark dungeon of Herod’s palace. After two brief years of preaching, his voice was silent, his head was on display. As she had intended, Herodias had shut him up! And the party roared on!
Beloved, who wants to confess and worship and serve a master who allowed his own forerunner to be shamefully sliced apart? If this is the end that met steady, disciplined John, then what sort of end awaits waffling, rebellious me and you? The same kind of end – death in this dying world!
Dear Christians, please take this text for all its worth, because it is worth a lot. Few events in Scripture demonstrate so clearly that Christ’s kingdom is not of this world. If you want Jesus to hand over heaven on earth, then you will be bitterly disappointed. If you believe you are in a dungeon and that God has messed up your life, then look again. If you think that suffering or aging or the approach of death means that God is set against you, then consider His servant John. Is your dungeon darker than John’s? Is your life more Spartan than his? Is your nemesis more deceitful than Herodias? Is your earthly end to be worse than John’s?
You see, Christ didn’t suffer so that you wouldn’t suffer. He wasn’t crucified so that you would be spared the cross. He did not die so that you wouldn’t die. That’s a false picture of Jesus. The true Jesus died so that plunged into His death you might emerge alive again in the resurrection.
That’s why Ruby Susan was baptized into his death this morning! That’s why you were baptized into His death. You have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer you who live but Christ who lives in you. And the life you now live you live by faith in the Son of God who loved you and gave Himself for you (Gal 2:20). Death could not keep its hold on Him and death cannot keep its hold on you His Bride. His kingdom is not of this world and He has given you His kingdom in full, not half way.
Dear Christians, none of us will get out of here alive, in our mortal bodies. Our mortal bodies must put on immortality. The perishable must put on the imperishable (I Cor. 15). In his brutal death, John the Baptist was mercifully removed from this shallow world of lies and vanity. He was sent off to the arms of the angels and received his reward. He who pointed out Christ with His finger now lives in His eternal presence where no pointing is necessary, where Christ shines like the sun.
John was not the light. He came to bear witness to the light (John 1). The true light who came into the world was never imprisoned in the darkness of Herod’s dungeon. But there was a day when He was bound and brought before Herod. It was the same day that Jesus stood trial before Pilate. Hoping for a way out, Pilate sent him to Herod. By this time Herod no longer feared that Jesus was the beheaded John returned to torment him. By this time, Herod simply desired to be amused by seeing Jesus perform some miracle. When Jesus refused to perform, when Jesus made no answer, Herod and his soldiers treated him with contempt. They mocked him, arrayed him in splendid clothing and sent him back to Pilate (Luke 23:6-12).
Jesus would perform no miracle to amuse this depraved king. But He did perform a miracle to forgive him and us! Jesus suffered not only the momentary wrath of Jezebel, but the eternal wrath of the Father in our place. He suffered the torments of the damned in hell as our substitute. John meant exactly what he said when he pointed to Christ and said “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” He took it away from us by suffering its penalty for us. Christ’s blood cleanses us from all sin, the sin of dancing with the devil, of dishonoring marriage, of personal vanity, of seeking to silence God’s Word. Christ died for us who like Herod sometimes fear loss of approval or place in the world more than God. Christ died for us who like Herodias sometimes find fault with God’s Word that hits too close to home and want to silence its proclamation. The one whom John anointed in the Jordan has anointed us with the washing of rebirth. He loves you. In Him you have obtained an eternal inheritance. In Him you have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of your trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon you (Eph 1:7).
Today, because He comes into our midst, the real party roars on! It includes the angels and archangels and all the company of heaven. It includes John the Baptist. The lasting party, the celebration that has no end, the one feast that provides eternal pleasure is in the presence of the exalted Christ. That’s why He is present to feed and forgive you each week. That’s why comes again to lavish His grace upon you today. Eat, drink and be merry with the fruit harvested from the tree of life. In the Name of Jesus, AMEN.
Text: MARK 6:17-29
THE KINGDOM PARTY ROARS ON!
To you, the saints at Luther Memorial Chapel and University Student Center, who are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ; the daughter of Herodias said, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
John the Baptist
- his coming was foretold by the prophet Malachi (Mal 3)
- he was a prophet of priestly descent
- he was the forerunner of Christ
- his conception and birth were announced by the Angel of the Lord (Luke 1) with wondrous anticipation
- he leaped for joy in the womb of his mother in the presence of Christ in the womb of the Virgin Mary (Luke 1:39-45)
- you know his rigorous life and his dessert diet
- he grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel (Luke 1:80)
- in the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar, he came out of seclusion and preached (Luke 3:1)
- he preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Luke 3:3)
- he preached, “repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt. 3:2)
- he pointed to Christ in the flesh, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29)
- he baptized and baptized, baptizing even Christ to fulfill all righteousness for us (Mt 3:15)
- he said of Christ that He was the Bridegroom who must increase while John must decrease (John 3:30)
- Jesus said of him, “among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist (Mt 11:11)
John the Baptist! He had boldness appropriate to his office. His calls for repentance included change in life and conduct such as aiding the poor, being honest in duty, serving others. Because He was sent to speak God’s Word, he meddled morally in the life of people. He spoke the truth to people regardless of position and power. Therefore he kept saying to Herod, It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
Herod! He was called a “king” but more often a Tetrarch for he ruled only ¼ of the kingdom of his father. At times he listened to John whom he had imprisoned. He was perplexed and puzzled by what the Baptist said. He appreciated John’s rhetoric who was, after all, the voice, crying in the wilderness. But Herod did not heed John’s call to repent. He listened with curiosity and for a time kept him John safe from his adulterous wife, Herodias.
Herodias! She had lived in Rome, the wife of Herod’s half-brother, Philip. Herod, also had a wife. On a trip to Rome, however, they became charmed with one another. When Herod returned to Judea, he had Herodias in tow. In his lust, he quickly set aside his true wife. He had the possessions and power and palaces to pursue pleasure with whom he wanted, and he wanted Herodias. The historian Josephus tells us that it was his splendid palace at the fortress Macheraeus at which John was imprisoned.
Macheraeus! This military fortress overlooked the Dead Sea. It bordered the wilderness. Herod’s birthday party would therefore have been a retreat for people of substance and leisure. It was a festive wilderness get-away, a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and leading men of Galilee.
And the party roared on! There were bountiful plates of fine food. There was ample provision of intoxicating drink. There was laughter and entertainment. It was, after all, the “kings” birthday. But there were also undercurrents of palace intrigue. God preserve us from ever living in a palace for aren’t there always undercurrents of palace intrigue?
Languishing underneath the party hall, in the dungeon of this fortress was John the Baptist. Simmering underneath the festive mood of this party was the resentment of Herodias. She wanted to put the prophet to death. She wanted to shut him up!
Like Jezebel sought to silence Elijah and worship the idols of Baal, Herodias sought to silence the second Elijah and worship the idol of personal pleasure. Both were strong and calculating women with influence over weak kings. Both were determined to smother the Word of God that contradicted their life’s decisions and their pet idols.
And the party roared on! Seductive dances at a shindig such as this were generally done by women of low reputation. For a princess to flash her flesh and shake her body around was not normal. It would have occurred here only with Herodias’s approval and urging. And approve she did! She was quite willing to submit her daughter to physical degradation in order to gain her own desires.
Even in prison, John kept saying, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” What a stinking cloud hanging over the royal family. What an embarrassment this prophet was, even in chains; a hindrance to their pursuit of happiness. Herodias had the same view of John that the treacherous priest Amaziah had of the prophet Amos. “The land is not able to bear all his words”. In other words, he is a pain in the neck, “shut him up”. She had waited to sink the dagger into God’s prophet. The juncture of motive, means and opportunity was now at hand.
And the party roared on! All it took was a lewd dance to tease his eyes and tickle his lust. Incestuous Herod gushed with generosity. When Herodias’s daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl,…“Whatever you ask me, I will give it to you, up to half of my kingdom.” Now everyone knew that Herod didn’t mean “half his kingdom”. This was a proverbial expression for royal generosity. To actually ask the king for “half his kingdom” would have been treasonous. But this expression in public carried heavy expectation that a substantial gift would follow. The subject was free to make a sizable request.
And the party roared on! After a short recess to confer with mom, these grisly words came from her pretty young lips. “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
We aren’t told what the cultured, fashionable guests said or did. Perhaps there were a few gasps – perhaps only mocking curiosity. We are told how Herod reacted. The king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. Moments before, he had enjoyed boisterous, party-time fun. Then, in an instant, Herod was sobered by death-dripping words from his darling little dancer. “I want you at once…to give me his head…”
Herod was undone by his own sensuality. Controlled by the lust of his flesh he had seduced his brother’s wife. Now he is seduced by Herodias through her daughter’s dance. Herod could yet have done the right thing. He could have refused to satisfy the vengeance of this new Jezebel. He could have humbled himself and qualified his extravagant promise. He could have said, “Oh, dear girl, you misunderstood my intent. I meant a rich gift of property or jewels, not the unjust and illegal execution of John.” Herod could have done the right thing, but he didn’t.
What sort of man would be more afraid of the opinion of party goers than of what God thought of him? What sort of man would be so concerned with pleasing himself and his partners in sin that He would act to violently silence the Word of God? The truth is, Herod is our sort of man. We also like to make ourselves look good and please those around us sometimes even at the expense of withholding witness to God’s Word.
We also may shun being humiliated for appearing too Christian.
John was so concerned for human souls he lost his life defending God’s gift of marriage. In our culture of living together and homosexual promotion, are we so concerned for souls that we steadfastly defend God’s gift of marriage? Do we speak and act to honor marriage and keep the marriage bed pure? In educational and political, community and family venues do we speak the truth in love? Even if it brings suffering and even if others want to shut us up, do we continue to speak the truth in love? That’s all that John did. The same could be said of our witness to the third commandment and weekly worship or our cheerful proportionate gifts to the Church or other areas of life. God’s gift of marriage is central here because that is what cost John his head.
Even when the request was made to silence God’s voice, Herod could have done the right thing, the painful thing. But, He didn’t. Because of his oaths and his dinner guests he did not want to break his word to her.
Talk about a twisted sense of honor. Talk about a warped sense of principle in high places. And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother.
Dear Christians, it is impossible to overstate the horror of this scene. The command was given. The soldiers were sent. The sword was swung. The platters of fruits and meats and delicacies at Herod’s birthday gathering were soon joined by another platter. On that plate was a head dripping with the preacher’s blood. John the Baptist! The forerunner of Christ was dead, decapitated in the dark dungeon of Herod’s palace. After two brief years of preaching, his voice was silent, his head was on display. As she had intended, Herodias had shut him up! And the party roared on!
Beloved, who wants to confess and worship and serve a master who allowed his own forerunner to be shamefully sliced apart? If this is the end that met steady, disciplined John, then what sort of end awaits waffling, rebellious me and you? The same kind of end – death in this dying world!
Dear Christians, please take this text for all its worth, because it is worth a lot. Few events in Scripture demonstrate so clearly that Christ’s kingdom is not of this world. If you want Jesus to hand over heaven on earth, then you will be bitterly disappointed. If you believe you are in a dungeon and that God has messed up your life, then look again. If you think that suffering or aging or the approach of death means that God is set against you, then consider His servant John. Is your dungeon darker than John’s? Is your life more Spartan than his? Is your nemesis more deceitful than Herodias? Is your earthly end to be worse than John’s?
You see, Christ didn’t suffer so that you wouldn’t suffer. He wasn’t crucified so that you would be spared the cross. He did not die so that you wouldn’t die. That’s a false picture of Jesus. The true Jesus died so that plunged into His death you might emerge alive again in the resurrection.
That’s why Ruby Susan was baptized into his death this morning! That’s why you were baptized into His death. You have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer you who live but Christ who lives in you. And the life you now live you live by faith in the Son of God who loved you and gave Himself for you (Gal 2:20). Death could not keep its hold on Him and death cannot keep its hold on you His Bride. His kingdom is not of this world and He has given you His kingdom in full, not half way.
Dear Christians, none of us will get out of here alive, in our mortal bodies. Our mortal bodies must put on immortality. The perishable must put on the imperishable (I Cor. 15). In his brutal death, John the Baptist was mercifully removed from this shallow world of lies and vanity. He was sent off to the arms of the angels and received his reward. He who pointed out Christ with His finger now lives in His eternal presence where no pointing is necessary, where Christ shines like the sun.
John was not the light. He came to bear witness to the light (John 1). The true light who came into the world was never imprisoned in the darkness of Herod’s dungeon. But there was a day when He was bound and brought before Herod. It was the same day that Jesus stood trial before Pilate. Hoping for a way out, Pilate sent him to Herod. By this time Herod no longer feared that Jesus was the beheaded John returned to torment him. By this time, Herod simply desired to be amused by seeing Jesus perform some miracle. When Jesus refused to perform, when Jesus made no answer, Herod and his soldiers treated him with contempt. They mocked him, arrayed him in splendid clothing and sent him back to Pilate (Luke 23:6-12).
Jesus would perform no miracle to amuse this depraved king. But He did perform a miracle to forgive him and us! Jesus suffered not only the momentary wrath of Jezebel, but the eternal wrath of the Father in our place. He suffered the torments of the damned in hell as our substitute. John meant exactly what he said when he pointed to Christ and said “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” He took it away from us by suffering its penalty for us. Christ’s blood cleanses us from all sin, the sin of dancing with the devil, of dishonoring marriage, of personal vanity, of seeking to silence God’s Word. Christ died for us who like Herod sometimes fear loss of approval or place in the world more than God. Christ died for us who like Herodias sometimes find fault with God’s Word that hits too close to home and want to silence its proclamation. The one whom John anointed in the Jordan has anointed us with the washing of rebirth. He loves you. In Him you have obtained an eternal inheritance. In Him you have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of your trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon you (Eph 1:7).
Today, because He comes into our midst, the real party roars on! It includes the angels and archangels and all the company of heaven. It includes John the Baptist. The lasting party, the celebration that has no end, the one feast that provides eternal pleasure is in the presence of the exalted Christ. That’s why He is present to feed and forgive you each week. That’s why comes again to lavish His grace upon you today. Eat, drink and be merry with the fruit harvested from the tree of life. In the Name of Jesus, AMEN.
posted by Luther Memorial Chapel at
7/17/2006
