July 11, 1021 Sermon 

Sermon title:  "The Death of John the Baptist"

Scripture:  Mark 6:14-29

(Other lectionary choices include II Samuel 6:1-5 and 12-19, Psalm 24, and Ephesians 1:3-14.)

Mark 6:14-29

The Death of John the Baptist

14King Herod heard of it, for Jesus' name had become known. Some were saying, "John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these powers are at work in him." 15But others said, "It is Elijah." And others said, "It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old." 16But when Herod heard of it, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised." 17For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because Herod had married her. 18For John had been telling Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." 19And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not, 20for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him. 21But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee. 22When his daughter Herodias 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." 23And he solemnly swore to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom." 24She went out and said to her mother, "What should I ask for?" She replied, "The head of John the baptizer." 25Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter." 26The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John's head. He went and beheaded him in the prison, 28brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother. 29When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.

          Today's Scripture reading tells a very sad story. And that story is as true-to-life as can be. You have a man - in this case a king - who has thrown a party, and at that party his stepdaughter, his wife's daughter, dances a sexy dance, and the king is so turned on by his own stepdaughter that he promises her anything she wants. {{R. Strauss's opera "Salome"}}

          I said this was a party, and what do you have at parties? Liquor, alcohol, wine - and you can bet the king had had his share of booze, too. What happens when you drink too much? You lose your inhibitions. As I said, the king was so aroused, he offered the young woman who had just danced, anything she wanted. And you can bet his offer to her was just a little bit influenced by the alcohol in his system.

          Let me back up a minute and tell you about Joe Namath. In recent times he has been pushing some Medicare stuff on TV. Before that, he was a great quarterback at the University of Alabama, and then he went on to lead the New York Jets to a victory over the Baltimore Colts in an early Super Bowl, I believe Super Bowl III. "Broadway Joe", he was called. Then later, after he had had too much to drink, a female sports reporter on Monday Night Football asked him for a comment on the game that he was watching. Instead of answering the question, he said to her, "I wanna KISS you", and he said it more than once.

          Why do I tell you this? As an illustration of what too much alcohol can do. You throw in a young sexy woman and all inhibitions are lost! That's what happened in today's Scripture account:  an older man who had had too much to drink, and a younger woman who had just aroused him with a sexy dance, and he promises her ANYTHING, even half of his kingdom.

          This is a terrible, sad story, and yet I can't believe how true- to-life it is. Then you throw in his angry wife Herodias, who resented what John the Baptist had said about her and her husband, and you end up with a violent death of an innocent man, John the Baptist. This is true-to-life, because if you tell the truth, and especially truth to power, there is often a price to be paid. Look at our own day:  those lawmakers who dare to say the truth, that Donald Trump LOST the 2020 election, are under fire from their Party and may lose their next elections. Friends, there is a price to pay for telling the truth. John the Baptist told the truth, and his telling the truth quite literally cost him his head!

          Remember that John the Baptist was Jesus's cousin, and so his death had to bother Jesus on more than one level. But I think John's death was also a reminder to Jesus of what could happen to him, too - and, as we know, it DID happen to him. John's death probably reinforced in Jesus's mind how little time he had before the authorities came after him, too.

          Not that it matters, because the king who beheaded John the Baptist was pretty weak......but he was REALLY from a dysfunctional family! And we could almost feel sorry for him. His father, Herod the Great, probably had some mental illness - but he was exceedingly jealous, and even had one of his sons killed because Herod thought he was a threat to him. Man, THAT is twisted:  killing your own son because you think he might be after your crown! But that is what Herod Antipas, today's king, had to grow up with:  a VERY jealous father who even killed one of his brothers! Not only that, but the king in today's story just wanted to be loved and loved by his own people. But when John the Baptist criticized him for stealing his brother's wife, that had to hurt. John was right, of course, but that just had to hurt. And John's condemnation of him would hurt him in the public's eyes, too, thus ensuring that he would never be loved by his subjects the way he needed to be loved.

          A sad, sad story but also so true-to-life. In case you are wondering about what happened to today's king, Herod Antipas, within a decade he was gone, exiled to Gaul (modern day France), where he died in disgrace. What happened to Herod should be a reminder to us: speak the truth and serve the Lord. As I heard the late newsman Max Robinson say, all you have is your integrity. Don't chase false gods such as popularity or fame or fortune. Don't make a bargain with the devil because all you really have is your integrity. Speaking the truth may be painful and it may cost you something - but all you really have is your integrity. Let us thank God for the bravery of people like John the Baptist, and - of course - Jesus. Where would we be without them? Amen. Any questions?

Pastor Skip