Dwell in the Word Mark 6:14-29

Consider these questions as we dwell on Mark 6:14-29:

1. In the story of Herod and John the Baptist, how does Herod's reaction to John's preaching reveal both his conviction and his reluctance to change his ways? How does this relate to the importance of repentance and amendment of life when confronted with God's word?

2. What do we learn from Herod's actions regarding his oath and the subsequent beheading of John the Baptist? How does this illustrate the potential conflict between human promises and obedience to God's commandments? How should believers navigate such situations?

3. The passage highlights the contrast between Herod's desire to please people and his reluctance to break an oath, versus the disciples' commitment to following God's word. How can modern-day believers ensure they prioritize God's guidance over the opinions or expectations of others? What practical steps can be taken to cultivate a deeper trust in God's word?

Transcript:

Well, of all the stories that we have looked at so far in Mark, this is probably the most interesting. But there is a purpose for it. There's a reason Mark put it in his Gospel. And the idea that's being conveyed to us here as it starts out is that King Herod has been hearing about Jesus. It is not just the people in the backwater regions of Galilee who are hearing about Jesus and seeing his authority to teach. All that we've seen so far in the Gospel of Mark, it is getting all the way to the king. It's gone all the way to Herod. Well, Herod and John the Baptist had some issues. Primarily, the issues were regarding his wife, Herodius. Well, back during the reign of Herod, this Herod, there were some interesting things going on. One of them was that Herod had taken his brother's wife. There was adultery involved and this was not good. Well, John the Baptist, as we read here, has been speaking against it. It's not lawful for you to have your brother's wife. Well, Herodius didn't want to hear that, and John the Baptist didn't stop, obviously. Herod threw him in jail, but he feared him.

He understood that John was a righteous and holy man, and so he kept him safe. He wasn't doing anything to harm him. And look at what I've highlighted here, the last part of verse 20, you can see it if you're watching on video. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly. And so, Herod would hear John the Baptist, and he was perplexed. He was obviously convicted of his sin. But he didn't want to get rid of John. He heard him gladly. He understood that what he was doing was wrong. He didn't do anything about it, which is the issue, and we'll get to that when we talk about our application. But he still heard him gladly. He was glad to hear the preaching of John the Baptist. And so, what happens here? We read the story. It's pretty straightforward. The daughter of Herodius comes in to dance. He says, Your dancing is great. I'll give you whatever you want. And he says this in front of the guests. And so, she goes and asks her mother. And yeah, she ends up with the head of John the Baptist on a platter.

Herodius got what she wanted. She wanted the death of John the Baptist. And we see in verse 29 that John had disciples of his own. He had people who were following him and they took his body, they lay in a tomb, and obviously they grieved. This would have been a very difficult thing. And so, what do we take from this very different passage of scripture that we've read today? Well, I think there's two really important things that we need to think about. The first one is, when we hear the word and we're convicted of it, are we doing anything about it? Are we amending our lives? Are we repenting and turning from our sin? That's an important thing. If we just hear the word and move away from it and don't amend our lives, that's not a good thing. But also, the other question that we need to ask, are we trusting? Are we worried about, I guess you should say, what people think or what God has to say. Are we men pleasers? Are we concerned with pleasing God? Because look at what Herod did. He knew that what John was saying was right, and he protected John the Baptist, but it just so happens he makes this, Oh, I've made an oath in front of people, and he doesn't want to break that oath.

How dare he break that oath? So, he does something that he knows is wrong because he's made an oath to people. So, what are we concerned with? Are we concerned with what people have to say? Or are we concerned with what God has to say? That's a very important question for us to ask. Are we allowing ourselves to be guided by God's word? Are we letting that be our guiding factor in our lives? Are we letting what we would hear from people, how we think people would react to what we have to say? So, may we think about that. May we evaluate our lives? May we not only let ourselves be convicted by God's word, but are we going to take what people have to say more seriously? Are we going to trust the word of God? Because we know that His word does not fail. So may we be more concerned with keeping our oaths to God than we are with keeping a promise that we've made to people. May that be what leads us and guides us as we live and love in God's world.