Counting the Cost
Text: Mark 6:14-29
Core Idea: Following Jesus in this world can be extremely costly but the reward that awaits us cannot be compared with anything of this world – we’ll have Christ Himself. He’s the only One who can truly give them life and freedom. Then let us look to Christ and go out with urgency – proclaiming the gospel truth in love.
INTRODUCTION
Good afternoon, Lighthouse. It’s so good to see you, and welcome to those who are joining us online. I pray that all of us will be refreshed through His Word and His Spirit. Well, we took a short break from it, but we’re back in the Gospel of Mark. So, let’s take up from where we left off – if you have your Bibles, please turn to Mark 6:14-29. Now, let me give you a quick recap of what happened so far. If you recall, the last thing we saw was that the people from Nazareth (Jesus’ hometown) took offense at Jesus because they were so familiar with Him. They thought they knew Him, and it was this cynical and apathetic heart that blinded them from seeing who He really was – that He really was the promised Messiah, the Savior King. Now, I shared that Jesus intentionally took His disciples there, knowing that He would be rejected because He wanted to teach them that they too could be rejected and hated as well – that their ministry may not be always fruitful. And this was why Jesus sent them out on a mission trip with this strange instruction – that they should travel light, taking almost nothing with them, which was His way of telling them, “No matter how challenging and difficult the journey could get, learn to trust God, depend on God. Your faith will be tested but this is how it will be refined.” So, this is what happened in Mark 6:1-13. Now, look with me to verse 30, “The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to Him all they had done and taught.” In other words, they came back from their trip.
Then you would expect the passage that’s sandwiched in between the going and the coming back of the disciples to include all the stories of what happened during the mission trip. That sounds logical. But for whatever reason, Mark chooses to tell us a story about John the Baptist – specifically, about his death. Now, if you’re not familiar with who he is, Mark introduced him as the forerunner of Jesus in chapter 1 whose mission was to point people to Him. And this was the last thing we read about him, Mark 1:14, “After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee.” And the story just moved onto Jesus – we actually never heard from him until now. And through this passage, we’ll find out why he was put in prison in the first place.
Now, I don’t know about you, but I couldn’t help but question, “Why did Mark place this story here?” – because let’s be honest: this passage seems unrelated to the rest of the story. It rather feels like an abrupt interruption. What’s the connection between this mission trip and John’s death? Well, as I wrestled with this text, I came to see that Mark did this to teach us something very important about the cost of discipleship – that going into the world as Christians can be much costlier than we think, that following Jesus on a mission in this world could cost us everything. I know, this is hard to swallow. But I pray that in the end, we’ll come to see that Jesus really is worth risking everything we have. Then with that in mind, let me read this for us – Mark 6:14-29.
14 King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in Him.” 15 Others said, “He is Elijah.” And still others claimed, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago.” 16 But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!” 17 For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, 20 because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him. 21 Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” 23 And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.” 24 She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” “The head of John the Baptist,” she answered. 25 At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” 26 The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27 So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, 28 and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. 29 On hearing of this, John’s disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
Amen. This is the Word of God for you today.
CONTEXT
Let’s look at verse 14. Mark tells us that because of what the disciples did on their trip, Jesus’ fame grew – and as a result, Herod heard about Jesus. Now, rumor has it that this powerful and wise rabbi named Jesus could be a prophet of God or possibly Elijah or even John the Baptist himself from the dead. And Herod basically said in response, “No, it can’t be John. I had him beheaded. But then again, maybe it is him – back from the dead to punish me for what I did to him.” Clearly, something was going on here. Well, in order to understand the situation better, we need to talk a little bit about his family.
Herod the Great (not the Herod we see in this passage) ruled over Palestine as the king appointed by the Roman Empire. This is the Herod who reigned when Jesus was born – the one who wanted to kill baby Jesus in order to protect his power. Now, when he died, the kingdom was divided into four parts and given to his four sons, which is why they were given the title “tetrarch” (ruler of a fourth). Herod Antipas (who we see in our passage) was one of them – he became the tetrarch of Galilee. Now, he was already married to the daughter of Aretas, the king of Nabatea. Then we have Herodias who was the daughter of Aristobulus IV, Herod Antipas’ brother. She was married to Herod Philip II, who was also Herod Antipas’ brother (in other words, she married her uncle). But Mark tells us that Herod Antipas started an adulterous affair with Herodias (who was technically his niece but also his sister-in-law at the same time) and they ended up getting married. Clearly, their family tree was twisted and messed up.
Now, according to Jewish law, this marriage was unlawful on two grounds. First, there was the problem of adultery (Lev. 20:10). Second, it prohibited sexual relations with your brother’s wife (Lev. 20:21) – which was why John confronted them, probably calling them to repent. And this ultimately resulted in him being thrown into prison. This is one of the most tragic stories in the Gospel of Mark. But this is not to say that it was tragic for John – no, in fact, his life ended triumphantly. Then the tragedy was not John’s but Herod’s and Herodias’. And Mark is telling us, “Don’t let this tragedy happen to you.” Then what can we learn from this story? I want us to see three things from this passage:
THE RESPONSE
JOHN’S FAITHFULNESS
JOHN’S DEATH
1) THE RESPONSE
This is how Herod and Herodias responded to a call to repentance. Verse 19. Mark tells us that Herodias “nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to because Herod feared John.” Interestingly, Mark tells us that Herod was greatly puzzled by what John said, “yet he liked to listen to him.” The word “liked” in Greek also means “sweet.” In other words, John’s message was in a strange way sweet to Herod – there was something in his message that touched Herod’s heart. But at the same time, he was greatly puzzled. The Greek word for “puzzled” is “aporeo.” The word “poreo” means “to travel, to take a journey.” Then “aporeo” means “not be able to move forward, to be paralyzed by indecision, or to waver indecisively.” What was going on? Of course, we can only speculate, but I wonder if Herod was actually crushed by the weight of his guilt – maybe he regretted marrying Herodias; maybe he wanted to repent. But for whatever reason, he was afraid of making that decision. He was pulled in, yet he was pushing it away. He was attracted but repulsed. Maybe he wanted to get out of this marriage but was drawn to what this marriage can offer. He wanted a new life, but he was scared of losing everything he had built up – his power and reputation. Herod was wavering and could not move anywhere – he was stuck.
In contrast, Herodias was intensely against John which was why putting him in prison was not enough – she wanted him dead. John’s message was a threat to everything she held dear which was why she wanted to get rid of him. But Mark tells us that she wasn’t able to because of Herod. In one sense, she was also stuck.
Friends, does this describe you today? Maybe you’re like Herod – moved by the gospel truth. Maybe your heart is surprised by the costly, sacrificial love that God is offering to you. Even the truth that exposes your sin and tells you the inability to save yourself sounds sweet to your ears because it means that the burden is off of you – all you need to do is trust Jesus. So, you want to give your life to Him. You want to be made free from the sin that’s enslaving you. But the problem is that you actually like your sin. You also like the fact that you have control over your life. You like that you can do whatever with your body, money, and time. And you certainly don’t want to give up your lifestyle. So, you’re still weighing out the options, and as a result, you’re puzzled like Herod. In contrast, you might be like Herodias – very hostile against everything that the Christian faith represents. You feel threatened by the gospel message because you feel like God is forcing you to give up everything you’ve been building your life on, and you don’t like it. Does this describe you?
If so, first of all, I want to thank you for listening to this message because I understand that it must take a lot to be here. I want you to know that we’re praying for you; in fact, we want to journey with you, which is why if you have any questions or if you want to talk about anything that’s on your mind, I would be more than happy to do that with you. But I want to also humbly yet earnestly plead with you to urgently wrestle with the gospel because as we’ll see through Herod and Herodias, the window of opportunity to come to Christ may not be open forever.
Let me explain. Verse 21. “Finally, the opportune time came.” Let’s think about this for a moment – “This opportune time came for who?” It seems like it was for Herodias. She knew Herod’s weaknesses, and she exploited them. Mark tells us that Herodias’ daughter danced for the guests, and it pleased Herod so much that in verse 23, he took an oath that he would give her whatever she asked. So, when her daughter asked, “What should I ask for?” without hesitation, Herodias said in verse 24, “The head of John the Baptist.” Now, verse 26 tells us that Herod was greatly distressed – he was regretting what he said, but because of his hunger for power and reputation, because he was fearful of men, he killed an innocent man. You see, when Herodias’ opportune time opened, Herod’s window of opportunity to submit to John’s message was forever closed – his heart was hardened. We clearly see this in Luke 23:8-9 – it says, “When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see Him. From what he had heard about Him, he hoped to see Him perform a sign of some sort. He plied Him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer.” Herod saw Jesus merely as a source of entertainment and Jesus Himself remained silent – there was no more invitation to repent.
At the same time, even though the banquet seemed like an opportune time for Herodias, this too was the moment when her window of opportunity closed forever. You see, the reason why Herodias wasn’t able to kill John I believe was actually the work of God’s mercy in her life. God wasn’t allowing her to go that far – He was in one sense protecting her from turning her anger into murder. But because she allowed her anger to brew, when the banquet came, God finally gave her up – “If you want to do that, I’ll let you do that.” This sounds a lot like what Paul says in Romans 1:24, “Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts.” This is scary because we think that God’s judgment will come like fire from heaven, but Paul tells us that it can also come by God giving us what we truly desire. She wanted power and control and that’s exactly what she got, but she had to pay a heavy cost – an opportunity to receive forgiveness.
Friends, what are you living for? What’s something that you think you need to have or else you’ll be insecure, meaningless, and hopeless? Whatever that is, if it’s not Christ, even if you somehow obtain it, it’s not going to fulfill you, satisfy you, but instead, it will control you, enslave you. For example, are you consumed with work? Do you feel like you’ll be a somebody if you have this or that career? But you must see that career could control you if it becomes your ultimate thing. It will drive all that you do even at the cost of everything else in your life – health, family, marriage, friendship, and your relationship with God. This means that in one sense, the worst thing that can happen to you is a promotion because it’ll allow you to continue to think that you can find blessings and meaning in career. It’ll convince you to believe that God is blessing you when it’s actually God’s way of judging you. Of course, this is not to say that you shouldn’t work hard or avoid promotions – all I’m saying is that we need to guard our hearts. What are you ultimately living for today?
If you’re not yet a believer, I pray that you’ll wrestle through this with urgency. I’m not saying rush your decision, but I’m saying be intentional in thinking about this issue today. It’s true that giving your life to Jesus is a costly matter. Jesus says it like this in Mark 8:34-37, “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me.” But listen to the rest of His words, “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?” The cost of giving your life to Jesus is heavy but the cost of not giving your life to Jesus is greater. Sin will always lead to death. Please hear this: the Bible tells us that the biggest problem in your life exists inside of you not outside of you; that you have something inside of you that’s destructive called sin. But this is why the gospel is the good news because it says that Jesus dealt with our sin by dying for us on the cross, paying the penalty on our behalf, and rising from the grave to give us life and life to the full. Listen to Jim Elliot who said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” What do we gain in Christ? We ultimately gain a relationship with God Himself – the Giver of life. But we also gain forgiveness, purpose, freedom, community, certainty, and hope. Friends, turn to Christ today – He really is worth giving your life to.
2) JOHN’S FAITHFULNESS
Clearly, the gospel message is offensive to the world – it’ll challenge the value of the very thing that they’re living for. Then what did John do with this gospel truth? He didn’t hide it. He didn’t change it to make it easier for the world to swallow. He didn’t calculate, weigh his options. No, he knew exactly what he had to do – he boldly and faithfully took the gospel truth to the ones who needed it the most. Despite the cost, he spoke out; when everyone remained silent, he spoke out. Why? Because, unlike Herod, John feared God more than men. He chose obedience even though he knew that it could lead him to death. Let me put it this way: it’s important to think about the question, “What are you living for?” But at this moment, John was wrestling with the question, “What will you die for?” Brothers and sisters, what is it that you are ready to die for? I’m not going to sugar-coat it – living as a Christian in this world, proclaiming the gospel in this world will get harder because it goes against everything that this world holds dear. It will be costly to be faithful. Then are you ready to lose everything for the sake of Christ?
Now, this is not to say, “Be obnoxious in the way you do it” – we shouldn’t force it on them, guilt-trip them, or scare them. We must take the truth in love. We’ll remain faithful because we love God, and we love those we’re trying to reach. When we think of John the Baptist, we think of him to be wild, rough, and confrontational – maybe because of the way he spoke against the religious leaders of his days. But we often forget that he was a humble man. Think about the things he said when Jesus entered the scene: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie… He must become greater; I must become less” (Mk. 1:7; Jn. 3:30). And I believe that this is how John spoke to Herod and Herodias. I don’t think he said, “Well, you did something unlawful. You’re going to hell!” No, rather, I think he said it in a gentler tone, “What you did isn’t pleasing to God. Repent – there is a way to life again.” And this is why John’s words would’ve been sweet to Herod’s ears – here’s someone who actually cared when no one else did. Christians, remember that the window of opportunity for many people will not stay open forever, which is why we must share the gospel with great urgency. It’s true that we can’t make people respond with humility – even John couldn’t. Despite our efforts, they may never respond with repentance – but who knows? They might, by the grace of God. We must take the gospel to them.
3) JOHN’S DEATH
Let’s read verse 29, “On hearing of this, John’s disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.” That’s how the story ends. Now, this could be a little shocking to us because I wonder if there’s still a small inclination in our hearts that wants to believe that if we’re faithful to God, He wouldn’t let really bad things happen to us – He will still somehow make a way for us. But then John really died – his voice had been silenced. His disciples took the body, buried it, and that was it. Herod didn’t grieve and repent of his sins – evil continued. How is this possible? Was his death meaningless? Why didn’t God at least use his death in a meaningful way?
Maybe some of you are asking this very question. You’ve been doing your best to be faithful to God and serve the church. But life still seems to be difficult. The pain you feel is unbearable; you feel abandoned and alone; you’re doubting God’s love for you, and you want to give up. But you’re still fighting not necessarily because you’re trusting in His goodness, but because you believe that He’ll somehow make a way for you if you stay true to Him. You say, “Yes, life is hard. But God wouldn’t let me suffer forever. He’ll turn things around one day. I will be healed. Financial provision will come from somewhere. Marriage will work out. I will find the perfect one. I will get into a good job. He will make everything work out.” But let me ask you: what if He doesn’t? Because He didn’t for John. What if injustice continues? What if the pain continues? What if the sacrifice that you made for God, this church seems fruitless, meaningless, absolutely wasteful? How would you respond then? Brothers and sisters, what this passage reminds us of is that bad things do happen to good people and good things do happen to bad people.
This reminded me of Psalm 73. Here, we see a man who believed in God (in fact, he was the worship leader in the Temple) but when he saw that his enemies prospered while he suffered, it drove him to the edge and he said, “My feet had almost slipped” (Ps. 73:2). Now, here’s how he was able to remain faithful, and I pray that this will help us as well. He says in Psalm 73:16-17, “When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply till I entered the sanctuary of God.” He was able to remain faithful not because he finally understood why God allowed this to happen or because God changed his circumstances so that he prospered and his enemies suffered, but simply because he entered the presence of God – and this completely changed his perspective. In other words, he fixed his eyes on God. He thought about who He was. He reflected on His Word. He remembered His love. And in light of Him, though the circumstances remained the same, his heart changed. Then, in the same way, this is how we can remain faithful in all circumstances, especially in the storms of our lives: we must fix our eyes on God – remember who He is. We may never fully understand His ways, but we know that He’s always good, and He will give us the power to sustain through all things.
Now, one thing I want to clarify is that John’s death was not meaningless. As the forerunner of Jesus, John first appeared to prepare the way for Jesus’ ministry. And now, his death was foreshadowing Jesus’ death. And just like John, Jesus would die because of someone else’s sin. Just like John, Jesus would die as an innocent man. Just like John, Jesus would die a humiliating death. Just like John, Jesus would die alone. And just like Herod and Herodias, Jesus’ enemies will celebrate thinking that they had won the battle. In fact, verse 29 looks very similar to the way Jesus’ body was buried – it just says that His disciples came and buried Him. But of course, the difference was that though that was the end for John, Jesus’ story continued. I won’t read it because of time but Mark 16 says that Jesus was not found in the graves – but the angel told Mary that He will meet them in Galilee just as He promised.
Brothers and sisters, because Jesus rose from the grave, John’s death was not wasteful. Because He rose again, even though John’s dead, he’s still able to minister to us who are faithfully walking with the Lord. Because He rose again, John’s story didn’t really end there – he will continue his story, enjoying life with his Creator for eternity. And because He rose again, our lives and our deaths will not be a waste. Then as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
CONCLUSION
Lighthouse family, what are you living for today? And what will you ultimately die for? Following Jesus in this world can be extremely costly but the reward that awaits us cannot be compared with anything of this world – we will have Christ Himself. The world needs to hear this gospel truth – He’s the only One who can truly give them life and freedom. Then let us look to Christ as we endeavor passionately for His Kingdom – going out with urgency, proclaiming the gospel truth in love.
Discussion questions
Read Mark 6:14-29 together and take some time to let everyone share observations about the passage. Try not to move into interpretation or application too quickly. Simply share what you observe from the text.
How would you explain to a non-Christian why bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people?
John the Baptist remained faithful even when it led him to suffer a humiliating death at the hands of wicked people. How can we remain faithful when we know that our obedience to Jesus could lead to ridicule and humiliation?
Why do we need to take the gospel with greater urgency? How can we grow in that urgency?