“Silencing God’s Word”
Text: Mark 6:14-29
7-14-2024
In the name of Jesus, dear friends in Christ. During my last year at the Seminary, I taught a Bible Study at a local nursing home in Ft. Wayne. To say the least, this can be quite challenging because it’s a struggle to keep the residents awake and engaged in the discussion. Hmmm... as I look around right now, I’m seeing some eerie similarities! Just teasing. Anyway, I vividly recall a rather disturbing incident that took place at that nursing home. I was discussing a Bible passage with the people attending when another resident rolled into the room with her wheelchair. She listened for a minute or so and then looking straight at me she said, “Shut up! Why don’t you just shut up!?!?” I was aware that this lady had Alzheimer’s and didn’t really know what she was saying so I ignored her and kept on going. But she persisted and got louder. “Shut up! Why don’t you just shut up!?!?” Another woman responded by saying, “No, YOU shut up! We’re trying to listen!” Thankfully, before it turned into a shouting match, one of the able-bodied residents just rolled the noisy gal out into the hallway and shut the doors.
This poor woman really had no evil intent when she disrupted the reading and sharing of God’s Word. Or did she? Consciously she had no evil intent. But deep down, her sinful nature is no different than yours and mine. When God’s Word becomes inconvenient or makes us uncomfortable, we also try to silence it. The problem is that once we start down that road, we soon find ourselves tangled in the web of sin with no easy way out. And depending on how unrestrained our sinful nature is, it will sometimes lead us to extreme measures in our efforts to silence God’s Word.
Our Gospel lesson portrays such a case. Let me give you some background and you’ll see just how out of control things can get. Even though the Romans ruled over the land of Israel, they let the Jews have a king like they had had for hundreds of years. In reality, though, he was nothing more than a puppet-king since he was hand-selected by the Romans and the only power he had was that which was granted by them. Don’t misunderstand. There was a good purpose behind this kingship. It served as a buffer between Rome and Jerusalem. Also, the Romans figured that if the people would govern themselves, then that’s one less headache for them.
So, do you remember King Herod from the Christmas story? You know, the guy who got so angry that he ordered the slaughter of all the babies in Bethlehem? Yes, that insane King Herod. Herod was the family name. Well, he married several women and had children by them. The king in our Gospel lesson was one of his sons, Herod Antipas. Originally, Antipas was married to a princess from a neighboring country. His half-brother, Philip, had married the daughter of another half-brother, which would make her his niece AND his sister-in-law. Her name was Herodias, the gal in our story. However, during a visit, Antipas fell in love with Herodias, dumped his own wife, and took Herodias as his new bride. Is that clear as mud to you? Antipas married Herodias while both of them were still married to their original spouses. And you thought this kind of thing only happened in the backwoods of Kentucky!
Herod’s family life was a weird, tangled, sick mess. But that’s what sin does. And here’s a case where the sins of the father were definitely passed on, and learned quite well, by his offspring. Now, all this was bad enough since Herod Antipas claimed to be a Jew. But he was also the political leader of Israel. We all know how the behavior of a national leader can affect the attitude and behavior of the citizens. Therefore, our leaders are held to a higher standard of accountability. Enter John the Baptist. Perhaps it would be better to call him John the “bold preacher of God’s Word”, because that’s what he did here. Herod’s very public sins were an offense to God and John publicly said so. He called for Herod and his wife to repent. John was putting his life in danger by being so vocal about this, but he had no choice. This was his calling—to preach the full counsel of God’s Word.
Naturally, Herod was not pleased. It was embarrassing to have his sins publicly condemned. So, in an effort to silence this “inconvenient” Word of God, he had John thrown in prison. His wife, though, wanted to silence John once and for all by having him put to death. Herod refused to go that far, because he “feared John, knowing he was a righteous and holy man.” Did that mean Herod had a tiny spark of faith? It’s hard to say. The text does say that although John’s preaching “perplexed” him, he still listened gladly. Herodias, however, didn’t. This woman was so deeply entangled in her sin of adultery (and incest, I would add) that it led her to anger and hatred... and ultimately, murder. John dared to call sin a sin and this touched the raw nerve of guilt in Herodias. She would make him pay for it with his life.
So, she watched and waited for an opportunity to silence John for good. And her patience paid off. Now look where the web of sin leads her next. Herod is having a birthday bash with his buddies and Herodias sends in her teenage daughter to do a very sensual, provocative dance for them. It’s bad enough that a mother would do such a thing, but even worse that her step-father would sit back and ogle at her like he was at a strip club. His perverted mind, weakened further by his drunkenness, was so excited that he blurted out a promise to give her anything she asked for. It’s obvious that Herodias had orchestrated all this because look who Salome ran to for advice. And Mommy was thinking, “Checkmate!” Her husband couldn’t go back on his promise or he’d look like a fool. The price would be John’s head on a platter, which Herod sadly ordered. Finally, Herodias had what she wanted. John couldn’t bother her anymore with God’s Word; not with his head chopped off. That was really the whole point behind this sick request. Silencing John.
But did it work? Not at all. God’s Word cannot be silenced. Not even if you kill the messenger. The guilt of Herod’s many sins, which were now multiplied, still hung over his head. When Jesus arrived on the scene and picked up where John left off, calling people to repentance, it surely included the indictment of Herod and Herodias’ sins. Herod’s guilt led him to the superstitious belief that Jesus was John risen from the dead in order to haunt him. You see, the guilt of sin makes the mind paranoid and irrational.
All that effort to silence the Word of God by killing John didn’t work. In fact, it only made matters worse. But if you look down the road a bit, you’ll see that the same thing happened to Jesus. He spoke the uncompromising truth of God and evil people tried to silence it by killing Him. But in His case, sinful mankind took it one step further. The Bible tells us that Jesus IS the Word of God in the flesh. So when Jesus was crucified, not only did they try to silence the messenger but also the living Word of God. However, that’s not possible. The Word of God endures forever. It cannot be silenced. And in the resurrection of Jesus, not only was the messenger raised to speak God’s Word again, but the Word of God also lived on. The very same Word of God that called Herod and his wife to repentance also called those who had crucified Jesus to repentance. And it’s that Word of God that calls ALL sinners to repentance, including you and me.
The only real question is: What will YOU do with that Word of God when it’s inconvenient or makes you uncomfortable? If it’s your Pastor speaking that Word you can try to silence the messenger by trying to getting rid of him, but as we saw with John that doesn’t silence the Word of God. You can try to silence it by simply tuning out what you don’t want to hear. Or, you can try to silence the Word of God by staying away from it. Remove yourself from worship and only read the “happy” passages of the Bible or find a Pastor and church who’ll make you comfy. Avoid at all costs the ones that convict you of your sin. That’ll silence the Word of God, right? Not hardly. Like Herod, once you’ve heard God’s condemnation of your sins that guilt will haunt you even though it’s no longer being spoken. Unfortunately, the more we try to silence the Word of God the more deeply we get entangled in our damning sins.
The sad truth is that when we try to silence the Word of God that condemns our sins, we also silence God’s Word which offers forgiveness and salvation. They are bound together and you can’t have one without the other. The Lord is calling for you to listen to ALL of His Holy Word. Listen to it when it convicts you of your sins, even if it makes you embarrassed, ashamed, and uncomfortable. Listen and humbly repent. Then, listen to the Word of God as it gently speaks to you the forgiveness won for us by the suffering and death of Jesus on the cross. Listen to the Word of God which declares you righteous in His sight and calls you, His child. Listen to that Word of God which also promises you eternal life in heaven. Yes, listen and do not silence the Word of God, for it is His message of love and salvation for all who believe. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria!