Mark 6:1-29
6 Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. 2 And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, “Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! 3 Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” So they were offended at Him.
4 But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.” 5 Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.
7 And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits. 8 He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts— 9 but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics.
10 Also He said to them, “In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place. 11 And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!”
12 So they went out and preached that people should repent. 13 And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.
14 Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name had become well known. And he said, “John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him.”
15 Others said, “It is Elijah.”
And others said, “It is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets.”
16 But when Herod heard, he said, “This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!” 17 For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife; for he had married her. 18 Because John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
19 Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not; 20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him. And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.
21 Then an opportune day came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee. 22 And when Herodias’ daughter herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, “Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you.” 23 He also swore to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”
24 So she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask?”
And she said, “The head of John the Baptist!”
25 Immediately she came in 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.”
26 And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her. 27 Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought. And he went and beheaded him in prison, 28 brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When his disciples heard of it, they came and took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb.
There’s a lot going on in today’s reading, and it sums up the world in which we live.
First, Jesus is relatively unknown and unbelieved in His own country. The people were astonished at His teaching in the synagogue but were unable to get past the fact that He was from their neighborhood. Therefore, Jesus could not be the Messiah, at least to their thinking; they didn’t know or just didn’t believe the prophecies which Jesus Himself was fulfilling.
Later, Jesus sends out His disciples to preach repentance, and gave them His power over unclean spirits. In some places they were received, in others not so much. We, too, will be both received and rejected in this life for telling others the truth about Jesus – that He paid for the sins of the world and that people must believe in Him for salvation. When the Holy Spirit gives saving faith, we rightly rejoice. But when the Gospel is rejected, remember that it is not we who are being rejected, but Christ. It is not any of our doing that anyone comes to faith, but like it was with us, people are called by the Gospel, enlightened with God’s gifts, and sanctified and kept in the true faith through the power of God’s Word alone.
Finally, we hear of John’s beheading at the hand of evil Herod. John’s “sin” was telling Herod that it was wrong for him to have his brother’s wife. It was a gutsy call on John’s part, but he spoke the truth in order to call Herod to repentance that he, too, might be saved. We, too, are encouraged always to “speak the truth in love” to others so that they will hear of Christ’s endless love for all mankind by His holy, innocent, suffering and death by which He paid for the sins of the world. It may even be, God forbid, that we lose our lives for that, but we will have given God the glory and possibly be used by Him for the salvation of another. We count all things as loss for the excellence of knowing Jesus Christ and His eternally wonderful payment for all our sins.
Let us pray: Lord Jesus, use us for Your glory and the good of others. Amen.
