There is a spiritual progression between the three very important murders that take place in the gospels and Book of Acts--John the Baptist, Jesus Christ and Stephen.
"The murder of John the Baptist demonstrated the depravity of who was ruling Israel at the time," explains Jordan. "Israel allowed Herod to take John, put him in prison and then kill him.
"They didn't rise up and stop it; they allowed it. They demanded that Rome kill the Lord Jesus Christ, so they moved from allowing the voice of God in John to be killed to demanding the voice of God in Christ be killed.
"In Acts 7, they actually committed the murder, so you see the progression, the deepening of their rejection and the deepening of their failure as a nation to respond positively to the message of repent.
"John preached it, Christ preached it, the little flock in Acts preached it and the nation consistently rejected it.
"With Christ, they demanded, 'Crucify him! Crucify him! We will not have this man to reign over us,' and then they actually go commit the murder of Stephen.
*****
"When Herod the king hears about the ministry and miracles of Christ, his superstitious conscience gets him. He thinks Jesus is John the Baptist being raised from the dead, even though that makes no logical sense; that's a total irrational thought.
"Jesus and John were six months apart; John the Baptist was conceived six months before Jesus Christ. They ministered as contemporaries. It makes no sense to think Jesus is John raised. They lived and worked together, ministering together.
"Israel is warned over and over about necromancy, or communicating with dead people, believing in reincarnation. Herod demonstrates the superstition that comes from a total lack of sound doctrine. It comes from his guilty conscience.
"Mark 6 reports, [14] And king Herod heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.
[15] Others said, That it is Elias. And others said, That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets.[16] But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead.
"You remember how in Matthew 16, when Jesus asked His disciples, 'Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?' they answered, 'Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.'
*****
In Mark 6, you see Herod isn't happy about killing John. He knows who John is and, in his heart, he knows he's wrong. He lets the lust of his flesh put him in a position where it's a choice between what's right and 'what does my lust want?' and lust won out.
Mark 6: 21 reads, [21] And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee;
[22] And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee.
[23] And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom.[24] And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist.
"Herodias wants to kill John but she can't, and what she does is she waits. That's what evil does. It'll wait: 'Can't get you right now but I'll plan and I'll plot.'
"So now we're going to have a Herod Day. Big celebration. Another Daniel 5, another Genesis 40. He gets all of his friends in to celebrate his birthday.
"Herodias comes in and I doubt she was square-dancing. She allured Herod and all these guys and they became putty in her hands. She got the king so stirred up he's willing to give up half his kingdom to this gal! That's the lust of the flesh.
*****
"The passage continues, [24] And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist.
[25] And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist.
[26] And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her.
"Think about that. You're at a feast and they bring in a platter of food and she wants the last serving at the party to be John's head. Why? Because that's what her momma wants.
"Her mother isn't going to feel vindicated or that her revenge is accomplished until she knows John is dead and she's not going to believe he's dead until she sees his head on the platter right in front of her. 'Serve him up!' That's the kind of cruelty, the kind of hatred; that insatiable depth of debauchery that pride and arrogance produces.
"How silly it is for Herod to say, 'I've given my word.' Well, you're a lying adulterer. Your word ain't worth much anyway. You've stolen your brothers wife. You're having a flimflam party. You see the hypocrisy in that?
"When she says, 'I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist,' that expression 'by and by' in the Bible means immediately. If you run the references where you see it used, it's saying, 'Get this done right away, will you?'
"Why did it have to be immediately? Because she wants his head to be served as the final course in the meal at the party.
"The passage says, [27] And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison,
[28] And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother.
"They bring the head, give it to the girl, and then she gives it to her momma. You talk about evil personified! The callousness of that.
*****
"Can I tell you that one of the things that gives you a gauge on the character of a nation is the conscience of the women in the nation. There's a wonderful little word Paul uses in II Timothy 2 about ladies; that they should have shamefacedness: [8] I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.
[9] In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;[10] But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.
"In a nation, when you see the ability of the women to blush at evil, and then you see their inability, whether it's in a family or church or country . . .
"And this woman here in Mark 6 has developed a child to be just as evil as she is and the cup they're drinking from is revenge and vengeance against God's plan for His people. When she gets his head she gets that total assurance of revenge.
"Verse 29 says, [29] And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb.
"Jesus Christ's disciples heard about it, they came and took his body and gave it a proper burial. It was the disciples who took Jesus' body down off the Cross and put it in a tomb.
"Really what that's there for is to remind you Jesus' disciples were not afraid of Herod or Herodias; they still were willing to be identified with John the Baptist and his message. They didn't run to the hills, they didn't quake in their boots. They were willing to stand with the truth he preached. They knew they could get their heads chopped off just like John's but it didn't deter them."
No comments:
Post a Comment