May 10 "The Silencing of a Conscience"

Pastor Jeff Manning's latest message from the series, "Mark: Living with Gospel Urgency."

Transcript

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Back to Mark chapter 6. My title this morning is The Silencing of a Conscience. The Silencing of a Conscience. If you were here last week, Jesus sent his disciples out for the first time on their own. I can imagine how many nerves they had to deal with with Jesus not being there by their side. Yes, two by two for encouragement, for accountability, for support, to bear one another's burdens. But those men would learn a ton of lessons while they were doing ministry on their own for the first time. And they would learn that there are a lot of things that can happen to you in addition to indifference. Some people would express their indifference, and those men we learned last week would shake the dust off their feet, and they would say, you know what, if you want to, if you want to persist in your rejection of God, rejection of Christ, that's your business. But we're going to move on to others who are who are willing to listen to the word. Throughout human history, God's prophets in particular, and God's people in general, have suffered at the hands of those who hate God. You think about some of God's prophets, Moses, right out of the gate, Samuel. Think about all they had to deal with, all the murmuring, all the complaining of the people of Israel. Moses' response to that would actually cost him an opportunity to go into the promised land. In the days of Elijah, many of you will readily recall there was a woman, we call her Jezebel. She and her incredibly immoral, ungodly husband, Ahab, the king over Israel for a period of time, a part of Israel. They hunted down and killed hundreds of God's prophets. And even though Elijah escaped, he had a death sentence put over his head. And old Jezebel would have killed him in a heartbeat if indeed she could have had her way. Isaiah, one of the more prominent prophets of our Old Testament scriptures, it is assumed that he was sown in half. Zachariah was stoned to death. And then that's just to name a few. Hebrews chapter 11 says that many others were killed with a sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated. And Israel's interactions with God's prophets shows that they, for the most part, highly rejected them. And that rejection would lead up to the very rejection and even the crucifixion of the ultimate prophet, the ultimate priest, our King Jesus. And so it's not a shock for us to see some of the things that we will be seeing this morning. We're going to see some of the things that lead up to the actual murder of Jesus. Now, today's section in Mark's Gospel centers on two main characters: John the Baptist and a guy named Herod, Herod Antipas. John the Baptist, many of you have at least some readily ready knowledge about John the Baptist. He was the forerunner of Christ. He is the one who had that incredible privilege to say, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the whole world. Alongside him, historically, there's another man, Herod. Now, as many of you know, there are many Herods made reference to in the scriptures. Sometimes you don't know which Herod it is unless you do some extra biblical research. You're probably already familiar with Herod the Great. He is the one who had delegated authority from Rome to rule over Israel. Now, Rome dominated, but we're going to appoint somebody to make sure that they do their business in line with how we want things. It is Herod the Great who issued the decree that all the babies in Bethlehem would be murdered in hopes of putting to death right out of the womb this Jesus, who the rumor is he's the newborn king, king nothing. I'm the king. And so thankfully, as you know, he was unsuccessful. Then after Herod the Great died, his kingdom was divided by his four sons. Those four sons would not have the same level of power, obviously, because the whole Israel, the kingdom of Israel was divided into four sections, and each one of them had jurisdiction over a part of that. Enter Herod Antipas. He is the one who had some governing authority over the greater Galilee area. Herod Antipas is the one that we will see in our story this morning. And he will be a stark contrast to John the Baptist. Now, outside of the influence they had, they still had all four of the brothers, they had the same wicked character that their father Herod the Great had had. And so when Herod Antipas, who's going to be the Herod we will read about in our biblical story, he will exercise military power, he will exercise authority for the death penalty. And as we see his story begin to unfold in Mark chapter 6, we're going to see the demise and the eventual silencing of Herod Antipas' conscience. Conscience. You have one, right? We all have one. God gave us one. We all know that, but it's a little bit more challenging to define exactly what your conscience is. One little boy, when he was asked what your conscience is, he says, it's what makes you tell mama what you did before your sister tells on you. Some have likened your conscience to that check engine light in your vehicle. When that check engine light comes on, it tells you something is not right. And when you read Romans chapter 2, verse 5, it tells us that sometimes when you're thinking about doing something, or maybe you're you've just completed an act, your conscience will either affirm that what you did was appropriate, or it might afflict you and tell you you ought not to have done that. Now, sometimes we will hear people say, look, your conscience be your guide. Don't buy into that. Because if your conscience is not properly informed, by the word of God, your conscience can lead you astray. And sometimes, as we will see this morning, your conscience can be disregarded, it can be silenced, it can be seared. And I hope that we will learn some very sobering lessons from Herod Antipas this morning. So we're going to watch to his sad shame the demise of Herod's conscience. Notice with me first, he has a shaken conscience. A shaken conscience, we'll see this in verses 14 to 18 of Mark chapter 6. King Herod heard of it, for Jesus' name had become known. That is, if you'll read the verses prior to the disciples, the apostles have come back, they've reported what had taken place. And so King Herod, not just at that moment, but he's been hearing stories about demons being cast out of people, about people's lives being restored, health restored, etc. And all of those reports have sparked speculation about this man, Jesus. We've never seen anything like this. How do we explain what this man Jesus is doing? Verse 14. Some said John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work at him. I mean, Jesus had supernatural power, that's undeniable. His popularity is soaring. John the Baptist has recently been killed, and some people are thinking, man, John the Baptist has come back from the dead. Verse 15, others said he is Elijah, and others said he is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old. Now, Jews knew that Malachi had prophesied that there would be another prophet to come in the spirit of Elijah. Ironically, John the Baptist was that one. John the Baptist was the fulfillment of that particular prophecy. Still, others view Jesus as another in the long line of earlier prophets who had the power to do some miraculous things not unlike Elijah and Elisha. Verse 16. But when Herod heard of it, he said, John, whom I beheaded has been raised. Folks, Herod's conscience is shaken. He's thinking to himself, I know it was wrong. I know I shouldn't have. And now, somehow or another, God has brought John the Baptist back from the dead. And I can assure you, he's thinking to himself that John the Baptist has come back to seek vengeance about the one who had him executed. Now, beginning in verse 17, Mark provides a flashback. So we're just simply told in verse 16, um, when Herod heard of it, he said, John whom I beheaded has been raised. Now, beginning in verse 17, we've got a flashback. So this is not chronological, it's a flashback. Sometimes you watch a movie or you watch a TV show, and it'll all of a sudden it'll show, you know, two years prior or 24 years, 24 hours before. And then the next scene sometimes gets a little grainy to remind you this is something. So we're about to go into the grainy mode, and it's almost as though John uh uh Mark could have written approximately two years prior. Verse 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. For John had been saying to Herod, It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife. So, okay, so why was John put in prison? He didn't break any laws, he simply told the truth. He told the truth about Herod's current relationship with his new wife Herodias. So, in the words of Paul Harvey, let me give you the rest of the story about Herod Antipas. Um, Herod Antipas was previously married. Don't know anything about the condition of that marriage, but one of his other brothers was married to Herodias. And uh man, I'll tell you what, when Herod Antipas got a look at her, um in my sanctified imagination, he had some very unsanctified thoughts. And so we do not know whether he did all of the pursuing or if Herodias did it likewise, but Antipas divorces his wife, convinces Herodias to divorce his half-brother, and to marry him. Herodias has a daughter, and this daughter we're told by Josephus, an ancient Jewish historian, her name was Salome. And we're gonna see her come into the picture in a few moments as Antipas's niece and stepdaughter. That'd be a good time for you to just wrinkle your forehead. It's almost like this is a soap opera that nobody has written yet. It is unbelievable, but that gives us an idea of what is going on. So, John the Baptist, we don't know when or how he initially confronted Herod, but Herod, this adulterous, incestuous relationship for crying out loud, it's sinful. It's wrong. I don't know whether he did it in the public square and somebody thought, hmm, Herod ain't going like that. And went and told him, we don't know. But John did not back down at the threat that Herod Antipas probably issued. That brings us to Herod having a stirred conscience in verses 19 and 20. And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death, but she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, that is, when Herod Antipas heard John the Baptist, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly. So as it turns out, Herodias found John's preaching against their sin more offensive than Herod did. And when she first hears about it, man, it just doesn't sit right. And she is now a scorned woman. You don't want to mess with a scorned woman. And so there's this uh bitterness that seeps down into the depths of her being, and she will settle for nothing other than John the Baptist's death. Outside of God's protective care, outside of God's providence, the only reason John had not already been put to dead is because Herod feared him. Think about it. Here's a pagan but somewhat powerful monarch who is afraid of an imprisoned preacher. Something's going on. His conscience is being stirred. Deep down, Herod knew he had done wrong. His conscience has been stirring. Despite knowing how sinful he was, he he recognized that John the Baptist is a righteous and holy man. The only thing Herod knows, the only thing he's done is called sin, sin. He's called a spade a spade. John preached the truth, and Herod knew it. And what I find super intriguing is that last sentence there in verse 20. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly. So from time to time, evidently, Herod would go to the prison wherever John the Baptist, and there's a there's a we don't we don't know for certain where the prison was, he was being held, but he would go and and he would sit and talk to him and maybe ask him questions. And John would share the truth. He would share, as we would call it today, gospel truth. And it seems as though maybe that that John's preaching stirred some things. Oh, oh, oh, oh Herod, he's he's conflicted, he's confused, he's torn, he's alternating between the bed of Herodias and the cell of John. He admired the beauty of John's holy life, and he loved the sin with Herodias even more. Now, undoubtedly, John had a powerful communication skill set. Undoubtedly, man, John, man, I can just imagine him with this big booming voice, no need for a microphone. They weren't invented, obviously, but man, he could just speak. And I and I can imagine him speaking in such a way that it was captivating, and people found that they couldn't help but listen to him. And maybe as he's preaching and as he's answering questions, maybe John's preaching has inspired Herod to maybe live a better life. Maybe there was something about what John was preaching that caused Herod to think, man, you know, I need to be a better husband. I can be a better father. Maybe it somehow it motivated him to give a financial gift to somebody that before he wouldn't even stop to look at. Maybe he pardoned somebody just to kind of show some kindness because of the conviction that he was feeling. But Herod Antipas was a double-minded man, unsaved and unstable in all his ways. And that brings us to a most important principle and a warning to all churchgoers. Fascination with the word does not equal salvation of the soul. Fascination with the word does not equal salvation. Just think about it. Here's Herod, an unrighteous man, enjoying the preaching of John the Baptist. Herod didn't believe him, if you will. He didn't buy into it, hook, line, and sinker, but he still enjoyed listening to him. And so, folks, uh, this truth statement, this truth statement right there, that that is incredibly sobering for churchgoers of churches just like ours right now. Last Sunday, the 1030 service coming up next in every church around the country, around the world, that the truth is proclaimed. It's possible, it is possible for you to find either mine or Jordan's or Kevin's or whomever's proclamation of Bible truth. Wow, it's captivating. And the Lord maybe has gifted us in ways that you you you listen, and maybe you you want to listen. That in and of itself does not mean you're going to heaven. You can have all the admiration in the world for the word of God and the preaching and the teaching of it and go straight to hell as an informed, biblically admirable person. You gotta know Jesus, you gotta know him as your savior and your Lord. So, right now, um it's it's possible that some maybe you came for the first time two or three weeks ago, and it's like, man, I've never heard anything quite like that. And you came back again, and you came back again. Don't think that your fascination with the word equals the salvation of your soul. You've got to put your faith and trust in Jesus. That's why James 1.22 teaches don't be just a listener to the word, a hearer of the word. You've got to be a doer of it. You gotta put it into practice. Jerry Vine says that sin is like a spider web, I mean like a spider uh weaving a web. The spider starts with a single thread and then strand after strand is added until eventually a web is formed. Herod was getting ready to weave a web that would trap his conscience and make it impossible for him to avoid the wrong and impossible for him to do the right. So, despite having his conscience stirred, he would largely ignore its warnings, and that will lead him to travel further down the road of debauchery and to a seared conscience. A seared conscience. Look at verse 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. Oh boy, an opportunity came. Unfortunately, Herod's going to make the most of it, but folks, some opportunities are not positive. They are doors that will open a gateway to hellish, hellish behavior. For him, it proved to be an opportunity to serious conscience. A huge birthday celebrations planned. The guest list is like a who's who of all the prominent and powerful men of his region. They're all invited. Now, I can imagine Herodias saying something like this to Herod, maybe the night before or a week before, oh, my favorite king in the whole wide world. I was thinking, with all of these men coming to celebrate your birthday, have you considered the possibility of Salome dancing for the men? Do you think that would be a good idea? And I can imagine him thinking, I like that idea. Whether or not that conversation took place ahead of time, look at what unfolds. Verse 21. And when Herodias's daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod, her stepfather, and his guests, and the king said to the girl, Ask me whatever you wish, and I will give it to you. Now, folks, there used to be a time when Solome would dance to the tune of Ring Around the Rosie. And now she's probably scantly clad, super immodest, or I can imagine it becoming more. Immodest as she danced and removed garments. And um probably something similar to what a striptease act would be like today. That's what she do it. She does. She's moving her body in a super seductive way. And with King Herod's brain muddled with wine, his eyes burning with lust, with all of these prominent and powerful men in the room, Herod plays a big shot. I'm gonna make an impression on them all. And he makes a proposal to her that he would soon and painfully regret, verse 23. And he vowed to her, Whatever you ask, I will give you up to the half of my kingdom. I can imagine cheers from the men, yeah, yeah, man for whatever. We just want to keep this show going. And I can imagine them wondering, okay, what do you think she's gonna ask for? Maybe a fine, uh perfectly seen, uh sing um perfectly um to her form dress from Rome, maybe matching studded diamond earrings, necklace, and bracelet. What do you think she's gonna ask, guys? What do you think she's gonna ask? Keep it up, Harry! We want more. And by the way, this expression, up to half my kingdom, that was not to be taken literally. The kingdom wasn't his to give away anyway, not a part of it. Is a common expression of rulers in that day designed to say, I'm prepared to reward you very, very handsomely. Incredible generosity. And so Salome goes to her mother. I don't know whether this was pre-arranged or not, but she goes to her mother to seek advice. Verse 24. And she went out and said to her mother, For what should I ask? And she, Herodias said, The head of John the Baptist. In my sanctified imagination, I don't think there's a second's pause. The head of John the Baptist. I wanted on a platter. And so finally Herodias would get what she longed for. There's no indication that Salome is disappointed that she didn't get anything out of the deal. Nothing? There's no indication. I I don't know whether her mind has become progressively warped by the input of her ungodly mother, or if she's just, she knows you don't mess with mama. You do whatever her will is. I don't know. In the late 1970s, a determined single mother named Terry saw her daughter Brooke as their way out and their way up. From the time that Brooke was a toddler, Terry pushed her aggressively into modeling and acting. When Brooke was only 10 years old, her mother arranged and approved a provocative nude photo shoot for a Playboy publication. Terry believed these choices would launch her daughter into stardom and secure her future. Well, Brooke's Shields did indeed become famous. But the cost of it was devastating. She later spoke of feeling exploited, robbed of her innocence, and deeply wounded by the very person who should have protected her. What her mother taught was love and ambition turned into a source of lasting shame and regret. And we see this same destructive spirit at work in Mark 6. Herodias, she saw an opportunity to get what she wanted at her daughter's expense. Two daughters, two mothers, both moms were willing to sacrifice their daughter's purity and dignity on the altar of power, pleasure, and ambition. Thank God that we don't have moms like that represented by our church family. Verse 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. And the king was exceedingly sorry. So for a few moments at least, Herod's conscience is working effectively. He's exceedingly sorry. I meant to double-check this, and since I didn't, I wasn't going to plan to say it, but I'm saying it anyway. Based on what I read, there are only two places where the word translated exceedingly is found. Here and regarding the exceeding grief of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. So if that's the case, he knows. He knows he's messed up. So what are you going to do now? What are you going to do, Herod? What are you going to do? You're exceedingly sorry. You just don't have to go through with it. You're the king. Look at verse 26. And the king was exceedingly sorry. But because of his oaths and his gifts, he did not want to break his word to her. Are you serious? So you're going to play the integrity card now? You don't want to break your promise, and yet you're going to take the life of an innocent man? You know him to be righteous and holy. You know him to be a truth teller. Oh, but now we want to guard our integrity? Herod, he was a sad but spineless man. Sad but spineless. But now I need to stop for a moment and ask, what about you? What about you, my dear brothers and sisters? Are you not doing what you ought to do because of what others will think? Are you afraid of turning from your sin because of what your friends will say? Are you unwilling to stop your drinking and your smoking and you're looking at pornography because your friends will poke fun at you for doing it, for being a little goody two shoes, for being a holy Joe all of a sudden? Are you unwilling to stop your sexual sin and start living a life of full surrender to Jesus because of what your boyfriend or girlfriend might say? Are you afraid that the word might spread to the rest of the guys on the team? So and so, he's no longer doing this kind of stuff anymore. He's made some new vow of purity. Will you follow the leading of the Holy Spirit regardless of what others may say? Will you say yes to the expectations the Bible has of you regardless of what anybody else says? Verse 27. 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. As most all of you know, when you die, a physician will fill out your death certificate. And there's a box, a space, I remember it vividly from my mom and my dad, and it says cause of death. And in that box, physicians have written, you know, some of the most common reasons, you know, um heart disease, stroke, uh, Alzheimer's, accident. And sometimes it might have a double cause. That was the case with my dad, uh, pulmonary fibrosis slash pneumonia. For John the Baptist on his death certificate, decapitation and standing for the truth. Decapitation and standing for the truth. John was a man who kept his conscience and lost his head. Herod was a man who took John's head and lost his own conscience. But now mark this down, my friends. Death to God's messengers never stops God's message. Cut off all the heads you want. It's not gonna stop God's message. As it has often been stated, the blood of the martyrs became the seat of the church. And throughout the church's history, people have sought to stop the advance of Christianity by killing believers. And Muslims today, they think that in chopping people's heads off and threatening to kill families and all of that, they think that's gonna stop the church. Folks, don't be mistaken by some of the statistics that you hear about Muslims advanced through Europe, etc. Regardless, every time somebody's head is chopped off, unbeknownst to those Muslims, maybe under their feet, maybe underground. The church of the Lord Jesus Christ keeps marching on. And so the death to God's messengers never stops God's message. Oh, and by the way, don't feel sorry for John. He went from prison to paradise. Herod and Herodias may have received his head on a platter, but God received his soul into heaven. The scene for his body might have been glory, but the scene for his soul was glory. It was glory. And may we learn a powerful principle from his life. Don't let paying the price keep you from telling the truth. Don't let paying the price keep you from telling the truth. You may not pay with your life, but you and I we're called to take stands on morality. We're called to take stands according to the scriptures. And if you do, if you determine a fresh and a new this morning, I'm gonna take my stand with John, I'm gonna take my stand on the word, you will be limited in your popularity. Um, you might miss out on a promotion. You may get fired. Um, it may cost you financially, you may be slandered, somebody may accuse you of something you've not done just because of your stand. Don't let pain the price keep it from telling the truth. After all, whose approval are you seeking? Man's or God's. Um don't let pain the price keep it from taking a stand, telling the truth and living the truth. Verse 29. When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb. Here's a man of God, one of God's prophets, the best man walking the earth at the time, not including Jesus. That was that was, I didn't mention it earlier in my introduction, but that that was what Jesus said about John the Baptist. There is not another man walking the earth as good a man as him. And yet here he is, he loses his life because of the whims of godless people. And I'm sure John's and Jesus' disciples wept profusely. I can just see them weeping. That ought not to have happened. God, why? Why would you let that happen? Otherwise, the only thing they could do is give him a proper burial. Matthew tells us that when Jesus heard about John's death, he withdrew to a remote place to be alone. I guarantee you, Jesus wept. He was grieved. He was hurt. And he would not forget. He would not forget. John's death was a chilling precursor to the vicious torture, mutilation, and death that Jesus himself would experience in about 12 months or less. And there, so we're gonna flash forward now. Mark took us flashback. We're gonna we're gonna go forward. We're gonna go to the scene hours before Jesus dies. And we're gonna see this same Herod there. And there we're gonna see Herod experience a silenced conscience. And to go here, we're gonna look at Luke 23, verses 8 to 12. Now, if you'll remember Pilate, when Pilate had examined Jesus, found no fault with him, and learned that he resided under the territorial jurisdiction of Herod Antipas, he sent him to Herod. Verse 8. When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him. But think about it. Here's your chance, Herod. All of the remorse, the regret, all of the mistakes of the past. Here's your chance. Standing right there in front of you is the man who can set you free. Cry out to him for forgiveness. Ask him to forgive you for killing one of his best friends. Right there. Ask him to save your soul. Verse 8. When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him because he had heard about him and he was hoping to see some sign done by him for crying out loud. He almost is like a grown-up child who wants a magician to pull an elephant out of a hat. Oh, this is gonna be fun. I want to see Jesus do something. That's the way he's approaching him. I'm hoping, I'm hoping to perform a miracle for me. Verse 9. So he questioned him at length. But he, Jesus, made no answer, not a word. Sometimes you don't dignify the person or the questions with an answer. In addition to that, Jesus is fulfilling scripture. Isaiah 53, 7, he was oppressed, he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth like a lamb, he was led to the slaughter, and like a sheet that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. Verses 10 and 11. The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. And Herod and his shoulders treated him with contempt and mocked him. Verse 11 gives us evidence that Herod's conscience was silenced, dead, and buried before Jesus' body would be. As one pastor put it, in his interactions with both John the Baptist and Jesus, Herod Antipas stands like Judas as a monumentally tragic figure in history. He had the greatest man who had ever lived, the most honored prophet of God in his hands, and he locked him up in a dungeon until he had him executed. More importantly, he had an audience with the King of Kings, and he mocked him and turned away. Such a wasted opportunity was the result of his insidious love for sin, his arrogant unwillingness to believe, and his cowardly fear of the truth. Herod claimed to rule over others, but in reality he was a man controlled by the fear of man. His fear of people initially kept him from killing John. His fear of his friends finally compelled him to authorize John's execution. His fear of John made him anxious when he heard about Jesus, but his fear turned to scorn when he finally had an audience with the Son of God. Herod feared everyone except the Lord, and he lost his soul as a result. I hope and pray that nobody in this room, nobody listening to the live stream, will lose their soul. And so, to those of you who know Jesus as your Savior and Lord, I want to leave with this last plea. Don't neglect your conscience. Keep it well informed from this book. Keep feeding your soul and your conscience the truth, and then live by it and do what the Holy Spirit with your conscience, the law written on your heart, leads you to do and not do. Let's pray. Father. Oh man. There's a good bit about today's scriptural text that just makes us so wish it were different. I don't know for sure. John, I guess, was probably 31, 2. And Lord, there are so many things that happen across the world that just remind us that Jesus, the cause of Christ, is hated. There is a spiritual warfare going on, and we don't wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the spirit of darkness all throughout this world. Lord, help us as believers to let our light shine, regardless of what anybody says, regardless of what the threats may be, regardless of what the cost may prove to be. Lord, help us to tell the truth, live by the truth, and leave the consequences into your providential hands. And oh Lord, help us, again, our conscience is only a good guide as it is properly informed by your word. And so, Lord, help us to be people of the word, people who are sensitive to the leadership of your spirit, so that we might let our light shine brightly for the cause of Christ. In Jesus' name. Amen.