Mark 6:14-29; 2 Thess. 1:3-8, Unbreakable Truth (4)

Again, in today’s passage about John, we see a prophet who would not “bend” or “break” the message of God, even to save his own life. 

John reproved Herod (v14-20).  Why did he do this?  This was what prophets did in Israel.  They called everyone to repent of their sins of idolatry and greed and immoralities.  This involved the king as well as the people.  We have posted on this, that the kings of Judah had prophets who were faithful to call them to follow the word of the LORD as they ruled (cf. our blog https://ronandcindy.blogspot.com/ on Jan. 18, 2025).  You might wonder about Herod, being a Roman leader, as to why John reproved him.  He was, of course, the king of Judah, ruling over God’s earthly people.  And Herod also claimed to be a Jew.  He was Idumean, meaning he had Edomite background.  But the Idumeans had settled in southern Judah and had become Jewish proselytes.  For John to reprove Herod for his relationship with Herodias reminds me of Elijah’s prophetic ministry with Ahab and Jezebel.

Before we leave this topic, let us remember that the ministry of “pastors” (Eph. 4:11-16) is to the Body of Christ.  They do not have a “political” calling as did the prophets of Israel.  Their ministry is to build up Church.  They should certainly call out the sin of the world in which we live, but in the context of edifying the Body.  Sometimes it seems local churches and pastors are more like precinct meetings.  This is not only a concern in “liberal” churches that preach against oppression and discrimination in society, but is also a concern in “conservative” churches that might emphasize the pro-life or democratic issues in our country.  What we believe we are called to as pastors is to equip people to live in a society that is operated by the “god of this age.”  This is just something to consider.

Back to our passage, it is hard to underestimate the effect of John’s loss in terms of the response of the people.  He was the most prominent voice in the movement not called “Jesus.”  Given that the other gospels tell us his imprisonment raised questions for him, we should not be surprised if his death raised questions for the Jewish people.  If John announced the coming of Messiah, and was put to death, what did this mean with respect to the Messiah? 

These questions come from a “worldly” perspective.  Evolution tells us everything is getting better.  Job’s friends told him a more righteous life would relieve his sufferings.  We may come to faith in Christ because we think our lives will be easier.  But that is not the wisdom of Christ!  Jesus said, whoever seeks his own life would lose it (Mk. 8:35).  Paul said all who live godly in Christ Jesus suffer persecution (2 Tim. 2:13).  Paul’s life was proof of this: his apostleship was proven by the many ways he suffered for Christ (2 Cor. 11:22-23).  This is why we included the 2 Thessalonian passage in today’s reading.  Indeed, God will set things right and give rest to His servants, not today but in the age to come.  As for today, His grace will be sufficient to sustain and strengthen us (2 Cor. 12:9-10).