"The Danger of Indecision" - A Sermon on Mark 6:14-29

(1) The Story in a Nutshell

Herod had taken the wife of his brother Philip to be his wife. John the Baptist, who was not one to mince words, criticised Herod for this. This was a big call given Herod’s power in the district. But from the moment John the Baptiser had arrived on the scene, he had been boldly calling for people to “repent” … to turn their lives around in a new direction. John the Baptist was saying that a new time was dawning, and that he was announcing this through preparing the way for the Annointed One that would soon follow (Mark 1:4-8). The sort of behaviour that Herod was exhibiting served as an example of what was harming human relationships, what was demeaning society, and what must be “repented” from. Herod had flagrantly, according to John, ignored and broken Jewish law (Lev 18:16, 20:21), therefore God’s law, and this from a community leader!

As often happens, such a call to change one’s ways, when the hearer is actually comfortable with where they’re at or resistant to any challenge to their behaviour, can meet with heavy opposition. John the Baptist is hauled before Herod and subsequently thrown into prison. Subsequently when an opportunity opens for Herod’s even more offended wife Herodias to take her revenge on John the Baptist, she doesn’t hesitate, and John loses his life in gruesome circumstances. The evidence of John’s demise was there for everyone to see, yet when Jesus started to become well known for his message and deeds, Herod’s superstitions raised their head, and he was caused to recall what he had allowed to happen to John the Baptist and experience feelings of guilt in the matter.

If we get into the little details of this text and go to other sources like Josephus, some of the names and logistics of this incident become problematical, yet here we have the very strong basis for some very important teaching for the Marcan community and those disciples of Jesus of all generations to follow. This is especially seen in the placement of this story in Mark’s gospel, which is closely followed in Matthew’s gospel (14:1-12) yet there abbreviated.

(2) The Grave Difficulty of Mission

Despite the call to mission in Mark’s gospel, and the success Jesus was having in ministry, difficulty and danger is never too far from the scene. This was a realistic picture of mission for the Marcan community of the 1st century to appreciate. Putting oneself on the line for Jesus, out of one’s comfort zone, travelling to the other side [of the lake], was never going to be easy, nothing to be ever taken lightly. The first section of Mark concludes with Jesus being rejected in his hometown of Nazareth (6:1-6). And while the second section starts with the disciples’ success in proclaiming repentance, casting out demons and curing the sick (6:7-13), it is quickly followed by the execution of the very forerunner of Jesus and principal proponent of repentance. No wonder that when they returned from their two-by-two mission journeys, Jesus took his disciples to a deserted place for rest and sustenance (6:30-31). Their future will be filled with difficult challenges. Dorothy A Lee-Pollard calls this “a sombre and ominous note in the midst of triumph and success in the mission”. Mark’s point is that mission with Jesus takes place in the context of hostility.

(3) Forerunner to the End

Another aspect of the teaching of this text, is the way in which the person of John the Baptist takes the role as forerunner of Jesus right through to his death. The future reality of the death of Jesus already casts its shadow over this Gospel story; the Pharisees had been conspiring with the Herodians to bring about Jesus’ demise since Jesus healed the man with the withered hand at Mark 3:1-6. Now in very graphic terms, the one who prepared the way and set the tone for the Kingdom of God, John, while being guilty of no crime, was hated, conspired against, held up for ridicule, and killed by a negligent and indecisive community leader. John the Baptist’s own disciples had to suffer loss and lay his body in a tomb. We are being prepared for the climax of Mark’s gospel – the death of Jesus and the flight of his disciples.

(4) The Danger of Indecision (verse 20)

The verse that most captured me when I read this passage in preparation was verse 20. This gave me understanding of why Herod’s life was so messy, and why he became trapped in a situation that he couldn’t get out of – leading to the death of John the Baptist. This gave me understanding of why ministry and mission can be so hard. This gave me understanding as to why people find life so difficult, lack purpose, become anxious, and why hope begins to allude them. People, and Herod serves as a real example, are indecisive. And indecision can be dangerous, not only for the person themselves, but also for all those around them.

As we have the situation in Mark’s text, Herod’s inappropriate relationship with Herodias, wrought hatred, violence and manipulation, badly affecting his household and his community leadership. Look at the way the daughter became involved, and how the “soldier of the guard” was forced into violence against John, and how the guests came to witness such a vicious display of outrageous revenge. Of course Herod’s own heritage had a lot to do with his behaviour in life, being one of the sons of the so-called “Herod the Great” who reportedly had all the children around Bethlehem two years old or under killed in attempt to kill Jesus who he saw as a potential rival (Matt 2:16). While giving us an understanding of his background, this does not take away Herod’s own responsibility for his actions. It was Herod’s own ecstatic reaction to his daughter’s public display of dancing that led him to the point of manipulation.

We read in verse 20 that Herod had a great deal of time for John and held him in high regard; Herod found John to have integrity and spiritual depth. And despite John’s challenging even threatening words (sometimes directed at him personally causing Herod to feel perplexed even fearful), Herod still liked listening to John. Due to this, even though he had thrown John in jail, Herod wanted to protect him from any further harm. But in the end, Herod didn’t have the character or the backbone to save John from Herodias’ ill-will. Herod had wavered about John, but the problem probably really lay in the fact that Herod had never actually formed the habit of being decisive in the cause of right.

We need to be decisive about those things that guide our life. If we aren’t then we lack the boundaries within which to make our decision-making, and then anything can happen. We can make dreadful decisions, be manipulated easily, and waver all over the place. When good people or good opportunities come across our path, we are not in a position to recognise them for their great worth. We may not be strong enough to stand up for what is right for ourselves and everybody else. We need to be decisive about those things that we need to rightly guide our life.

What are some of the things we need to be decisive about???

· That we will live within the law, including the road laws, the tax laws, the copyright laws … to name just three.
· That we will maintain our marriages to the absolute best of our ability, which will include putting up whatever boundaries are necessary to assure our spouse of our continuing faithfulness.
· That we consider the well-being of our neighbours as important, thus avoiding selfish living. (Herod only stood for himself, which meant that when tested he actually stood for nothing.)

What about young people, at the beginning of their lives???

· They will be decisive about their attitudes to alcohol and other drugs before being put in difficult situations they can’t control.
· They will make some determinations about which people are helpful friends and which are not safe people to be around.
· Christian young people will determine to only court and marry a Christian person, and wait to marry that person before engaging in intimacy.
· They will determine to be involved in a Christian Church community, make a contribution, and mature through an accountability to such a group of people.

For everyone??? To see that a relationship with Jesus is paramount, and that everything else should fall into line behind that life orientation. In everything we do, we start with the acknowledgement that we are following Jesus, and make our decisions from there.