King Herod heard of it, for Jesus’ name had become known. Some said, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” But others said, “He is Elijah.” And others said, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.” For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her. For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.
But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. For when Herodias’s daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.” And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.” And she went out and said to her mother, “For what should I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” And she came in immediately 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.” And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb. (Mark 6:14-29 ESV)
The gospel of our Lord…
I had a hard time saying that after I read this passage today…
As did my pastor. She said that it is hard to say this is the gospel, when gospel means good news and there really isn’t any good news in a beheading. Then there is David Lose who opened his commentary on this passage with “Good night.” Not an easy passage for us to preach on, or even digest as gospel, good news.
But it is there. We have to look for other readings along with this and to the whole of the Gospel of Mark to see where this story fits. But lets look at the Hebrew Scripture passage for the day.
This is what he showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. And the LORD said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said,
“Behold, I am setting a plumb line
in the midst of my people Israel;
I will never again pass by them;
the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate,
and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste,
and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”
Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words. For thus Amos has said,
“‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword,
and Israel must go into exile
away from his land.’”
And Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there, but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.”
Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. But the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ (Amos 7:7-15 ESV)
The plumb line…
I find it interesting that Amos says that God was standing by a wall built by a plumb line and He had a plumb line in His hand, and then He asked Amos, “What do you see?” I guess that is an easy question. But I held up a plumb line today as I spoke about this, and there were a few people there that had not seen one before, so if you did not know what it was you may not get the question right.
And this is what Amos saw – the plumb bob, on the end of the plumb line. Used for vertical plumbness… The plumb line is used to make sure things are straight up and down, or vertical, not horizontal.
You see that is what I thought interesting about all of the readings today. Amos is talking about God using a plumb line to bring Israel, His people, back into alignment. It is the vertical relationship that matters.
And Mark gives us a passage devoid of Jesus, or any relationship there with. Jesus is mentioned, but He Himself is not present. And that is what happens when our lives are devoid of Jesus/God, all hell breaks lose, and we are making deals and promises we should not keep. And we have to save face and do things we know aren’t right.
So how do we maintain in this life and keep that relationship plumb? We focus on God and allow Him to worry about the rest. So make sure you are on God’s plumb line and leave the rest to the master builder because He knows what He is doing.
aSacredRebel 