Mark 6:14–29

¹⁴King Herod heard of it, for Jesus' name had become known. Some said, "John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him." ¹⁵But others said, "He is Elijah." And others said, "He 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 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. ¹⁸For John had been saying to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." ¹⁹And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, ²⁰for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly. ²¹But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. ²²For when Herodias's daughter 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 to you." ²³And he vowed to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom." ²⁴And she went out and said to her mother, "For what should I ask?" And she said, "The head of John the Baptist." ²⁵And 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." ²⁶And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. ²⁷And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head. He went and beheaded him in the prison ²⁸and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. ²⁹When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

A hero is defined as someone who displays courage or the will for self sacrifice in the face of danger for some greater good. When one gives his life for another or for a greater good it is called a noble death. One might say that in our gospel text today we have the story of a hero of the faith: John the Baptist, who gave his life for his testimony about Jesus. He was faithful to Jesus unto death and when the gun was pointed at his head, or more accurately, when the executioner's sword was placed at his neck, he remained faithful.

Having one's head on the executioner's block was not an unfamiliar experience for the prophets of the Old Testament. Men like Moses, Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Amos and John the Baptist all faced persecution in one form or another. They were variously hated, reviled, despised, physically abused, beaten, imprisoned, exiled and even put to death. We might say that in their sufferings their lives took on the form of a cross: the cross which Jesus bore. Indeed, the cruciform lives of the prophets was just that—a foretelling of the sufferings and death of Jesus Christ. The very suffering of the prophet's lives was in itself a prophecy of the death of Jesus.

But the cruciform life was not limited to just the prophets: the Apostles, the disciples and all believers in Jesus Christ also take on the life of the cross. Jesus tells his disciples, "Take up your cross daily and follow me." To follow Jesus is to take on a life shaped in the form of a cross. Jesus says, "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before you." Also, "They will put you out of the synagogues and indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God." The cruciform life is what we are called to as followers of Christ. This is even reflected in the oath we make before God when we become members of the church. We vow to "...continue steadfast in this confession and Church and to suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from it." Do you remember this? How many of you are even aware that when you were confirmed you swore to give your life if necessary for Christ rather than deny him in the hour of testing?

But how many of us are really ready to do this? We look at martyrs like John the Baptist and consider them great heroes of the faith, extolling them as role models for our faith, but are we really ready to suffer all, even sacrifice our lives for the sake of Christ? Are we ready for persecution, for friends and neighbors who hate us, for eggs being thrown at the church, for people with a political agenda storming the worship service and yelling and shouting at us, for radicals burning down the church building out of hatred for the message we preach? These things are happening right here in our own country. Are we ready to suffer and give our life for Christ when the gun is pointed at our head? Or will we cower and give in? Will we recant our message or change it to some politically correct gospel that denies the deity of Christ and the sovereignty of God in moral issues? John the Baptist did not give in. But look what it got him—the executioner's sword.

No, frankly, I'm afraid most of us are not ready for persecution. We pride ourselves in being great Christians. We think we are doing so well, that we are obedient, that God is pleased with us, that our faith is strong. We compare ourselves with others and always compliment ourselves in how good and pious we are. We are more active in church activities. We are involved more in the church, and so on and so forth. But if the gun was placed at our head where would we be?

The fact of the matter is someone like John the Baptist puts us to shame. Compared to him, we aren't faithful at all. Compared to him our faith is weak, our commitment to Jesus is shallow and we just plain don't love God with all our heart. The bottom line is just that: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, Jesus tells us. We simply don't. We simply just are not the great Christians or committed believers or church leaders we imagine ourselves to be. We are not heroes of the faith after all.

The first and greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all you heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. But instead, the example of John the Baptist shows us clearly that we don't love him all that much. It shows us that we have sinned. We haven't lived up to God's law. We haven't fulfilled his commands. We are sinners who deserve eternal death and punishment. Love for God calls for complete commitment even unto death. We don't really love God that much. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The example of John shows our need for repentance. It accuses us of sin; the sin of idolatry—loving our own lives more than God.

So then, who is the real hero of this passage of scripture? It is certainly not us. Is it John? No, not even John is the hero. The real hero is Jesus Christ himself. It was Jesus who loved God with all his heart, soul and mind. It was Jesus who was faithful to God unto death. It was Jesus who died for a greater good; who sacrificed himself for someone else. John's death pointed to the death of Jesus. Herod thought that John had risen from the dead. But it wasn't John who rose from the dead, it was Jesus. Jesus who died, not on account of any sin he had done, but on account of our sin; our sin of not loving God with all our heart. It was Jesus who rose from the dead, not John, but Jesus, whose resurrection guarantees our resurrection on the Last Day. It was Jesus who suffered persecution, hatred, shame and torture taking our place to pay our debt to God. Jesus made restitution for our sins and made right all that we do wrong. It was Jesus who silently stood up to the executioner and took his place on the cross that should have been ours and who made restitution for our sins.

When we do not love God with all our heart, Jesus loves him for us. When we do not live up to the law of God, Jesus fulfills God's law perfectly on our behalf. There is therefore now no accusation or charge against us. It is the cross shaped life of Jesus Christ who fulfills and completes all righteousness. It is the cross shaped life of Jesus who is our righteousness. It was by his cross that our sins were paid for, that we are forgiven and that eternal life becomes ours.

So who is the real hero of this passage? It was Jesus. Therefore, baptized into Christ God sees us as heroes as well. In Christ God sees us as righteous. He sees no sin in us. He sees only love for him and for our neighbor. All else is wiped away. All else is expiated by the cross of Jesus. For by faith in Christ our lives are absorbed into Jesus. We share his life, including his cross. His cross becomes our crosses that we bear in his name. His sufferings become our sufferings that we bear in our lives. His cross shaped life becomes our cross shaped life.

And just as his Spirit worked faithfulness in John the Baptist, so his Spirit is at work in our lives as well, clothing us with the righteousness of Jesus. This magnificent deed of John was not on account of John's goodness, but it was the fruit which the Spirit of God produced in his life. That same Spirit of God produces that same great love and faith in our lives as we face our crosses. No, we are not heroes, but when God calls us to suffer our crosses, he gives us His Spirit, just as he gave John His Spirit to face the cross. Then we will face our crosses with the same love for God.

The real hero was Jesus Christ; the same Jesus who took up his cross and died for us. The same Jesus who works true faith in our hearts and gives us the love for God with all our heart, soul, and mind. The same Jesus who gives us his Spirit of courage and power in that moment when we are called upon to give testimony to the Gospel of Jesus Christ before our friends and neighbors and even before kings and queens if he should so choose. John the Baptist is an example for us. His faith is an example of the faith the Holy Spirit produces in us. His faith is an example of what the Holy Spirit produces in our lives. His death is an example of the hope and comfort we have of eternal life. Just as he did in the life of John, the Spirit of Power does make us bold to proclaim the message of Christ no matter what the consequences; no matter what cross we may have to bear. It was Jesus Christ who bore the cross for us and who lifts us up under the load of our crosses just as he lifted up John the Baptist to boldness and courage in the face of death and so he will surely do with us.

Amen.