Mark 7:31-37

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31 Then Jesus left the area around Tyre and went through Sidon to Lake Galilee, to the area of the Ten Towns. 32 While he was there, some people brought a man to him who was deaf and could not talk plainly. The people begged Jesus to put his hand on the man to heal him. 33 Jesus led the man away from the crowd, by himself. He put his fingers in the man’s ears and then spit and touched the man’s tongue. 34 Looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to the man, “Ephphatha!” (This means, “Be opened.”) 35 Instantly the man was able to hear and to use his tongue so that he spoke clearly. 36 Jesus commanded the people not to tell anyone about what happened. But the more he commanded them, the more they told about it. 37 They were completely amazed and said, “Jesus does everything well. He makes the deaf hear! And those who can’t talk he makes able to speak.” ~ Mark 7:31-37

Today, we conclude our study of Mark 7. The Lord Jesus began His earthly ministry in the northern region of Israel, and, for well over a year He ministered in that region. As it is today, Galilee was a rural area, and, the people are far more common and less educated. Before leaving that area for Jerusalem, the Lord Jesus traveled over the border to the north and west of Israel and entered into Gentile territory once again. His goal was the region known as the Decapolis or the Twelve Towns.

In v.31 of today's passage we read, "Then Jesus left the area around Tyre and went through Sidon to Lake Galilee, to the area of the Ten Towns."

The Decapolis or the ten Greek Towns was occupied by many Romans. As a result, the culture there was quite defined by the many Roman soldiers who were stationed there. Earlier, when Jesus was in that area, the people asked Him to leave because they thought Him to be a threat to their way of life. The Lord Jesus complied but commanded a man whom He had delivered from a legion of demons to tell others what the Lord had done for him. 

In Mark 5:17-20, we learn that when the Lord Jesus had returned to that eastern shore area, the locals brought to Him a deaf mute man, and they begged Him to help him. This man is an illustration of all who out of our desperation have turned to the Lord. As a side note, Abraham, the first Jew, was a Gentile before he became a Jew. It was God's culture or definition of things that brought about the difference.

In v.32-34 of today's passage we read, "32 While he was there, some people brought a man to him who was deaf and could not talk plainly. The people begged Jesus to put his hand on the man to heal him. 33 Jesus led the man away from the crowd, by himself. He put his fingers in the man’s ears and then spit and touched the man’s tongue. 34 Looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to the man, 'Ephphatha!' (This means, 'Be opened.')"

The once skeptical people in the Decapolis brought this deaf and mute man to the Lord Jesus who took him aside and healed him by placing His fingers in his ears, and after spitting, He touched the man’s tongue. Since the man was deaf, he could not hear, but, he could feel. The Lord to put His fingers in this man's ears so that he could feel the touch of God who was addressing his ear problem. And, since speech is tied to our ability to hear, the Lord Jesus then touched the man's tongue. He spat and touched his tongue. To somebody who was so helpless, the touch of the Messiah was a great encouragement, and, it bolstered his faith in the Lord Jesus. 

When the Lord Jesus looked in the mute man's eyes, he saw the look of faith. It was at that point when the man was immediately healed. Faith is the required ingredient to receiving anything from God. With the physical healing, the Lord Jesus awakened this man's faith and caused him to believe in Him. 

Looking up to heaven, the Lord Jesus revealed the source of His power. God's power, when accessed, is always accessed through our submission to His will. The Lord Jesus spoke, not to the man’s ears, but to his heart. This is what He does for all of us, He speaks to our hearts. And, He has been known to use some rather unusual means to make an audience out of our hearts. Just after I had graduated from high school, I didn’t know God, so I didn’t know how to listen to Him or how to speak with Him. As you know, in 1981, my father became very sick to the point of death. Just three days before his death, the Lord Jesus met me right where I was. As a result, I became a follower of Christ.

Although my emotional blockages hindered my ability to understand, over time the Lord communicated with me in a way that I could understand. Somehow, He enabled me to know that His intentions for me were all good and that I could trust Him. Like the deaf and mute man, I sensed His deep sigh many times. He probed the deep places of my heart, where the pains of life had left many scars. He confronted that deep, searing pain, that was in me due to losing both of my parents at a young age. He performed His work of enabling my heart to see & hear Him for myself mostly through my pain. Strategically, He used my pain to enable my heart to recognize and to know Him.

In v.35-37 of today's passage we read, "35 Instantly the man was able to hear and to use his tongue so that he spoke clearly. 36 Jesus commanded the people not to tell anyone about what happened. But the more he commanded them, the more they told about it. 37 They were completely amazed and said, 'Jesus does everything well. He makes the deaf hear! And those who can’t talk he makes able to speak.'"

The Lord Jesus, up to this point, had been dealing with the man as an individual. But now He speaks to the crowd, and charges them to tell no one. He did this, as on previous occasions, because the faith of this crowd and the faith of the man who was healed were on two different levels. The eyes of the man who was healed were fixed upon the God who acts. That is where faith must rest. So when this crowd, with its low level of understanding, started to disperse, the Lord Jesus charged them not to tell others, but, He did not say that to the man He healed, for his eyes were fixed upon the God who is ready to act. 

Both of these people in the latter half of Mark 7 were Gentiles that the Lord Jesus went out of His way to meet. Like them, none of us have any right being offered His salvation and gaining eternal admission into heaven. None of us have any standing on our own before God. But just like this desperate woman and this helpless man, the Lord Jesus came looking for us to offer to us what we could not produce for ourselves. 

Have you entered into a personal relationship with the Lord? Have you heard His voice, for yourself? Like the desperate woman and the helpless man, when we come to faith in Him, we become living symbols of what the Lord can do in and through our willing hearts. This was not only what we needed, this is what this desperate world needs. Like you and me, they need His undying love to set them free. The lost need the Lord Jesus to open their ears and loosens their tongues. And, once the Lord has done this work in our hearts, we are granted His heart to see the lost set free.

Mark 7:24-30

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24 Jesus left that place and went to the area around Tyre. When he went into a house, he did not want anyone to know he was there, but he could not stay hidden. 25 A woman whose daughter had an evil spirit in her heard that he was there. So she quickly came to Jesus and fell at his feet. 26 She was Greek, born in Phoenicia, in Syria. She begged Jesus to force the demon out of her daughter. 27 Jesus told the woman, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and give it to the dogs. First let the children eat all they want.” 28 But she answered, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table can eat the children’s crumbs.” 29 Then Jesus said, “Because of your answer, you may go. The demon has left your daughter.” 30 The woman went home and found her daughter lying in bed; the demon was gone. ~ Mark 7:24-30

After a walk of about thirty-five miles, the Lord Jesus was now in the Mediterranean Sea town of Tyre. Earlier in this chapter, the observant to the law religious leaders of Israel accused the Lord Jesus of violating the Word of God. Interestingly, these "leaders" adherence to the "Law of Moses" and all of their additions to it resulted in them being smug and more and more separate from the people who need the truth most, the Gentiles. The Lord Jesus took the disciples to Tyre to illustrate in terms of race what He had just taught in terms of food. All foods are clean, and all peoples are clean, in the sense of being accepted by God. There are no longer any distinctions among foods, as being defiling or undefiling, just as there are no distinctions among people. 

In v.24-26 of today's passage we read, "24 Jesus left that place and went to the area around Tyre. When he went into a house, he did not want anyone to know he was there, but he could not stay hidden. 25 A woman whose daughter had an evil spirit in her heard that he was there. So she quickly came to Jesus and fell at his feet. 26 She was Greek, born in Phoenicia, in Syria. She begged Jesus to force the demon out of her daughter."

As the Lord Jesus and His disciples entered Tyre, the crowd was so great that He had to slip away into a house to escape them. In that home in Tyre there was a desperate Gentile woman who asked the Lord Jesus to cast a demon from her daughter. Her desperation gave room to potential hope enabling her to bring her desperate need to the Lord. Her faith had brought her to possible rejection, but she was so desperate. The risk she ran was great in the eyes of all in that day. Women were not supposed to approach a man whom she did not know. This kind of faith, though, is the key to what life is truly all about: encountering God and telling others about Him.

In Matthew's Gospel we are told this woman recognized the Lord Jesus and used the Jewish messianic title to address Him. She said, "Son of David, have mercy on my daughter for she is severely demon-possessed." It's interesting; she's a Gentile using the Jewish covenant name to make her appeal to the Lord Jesus. Unlike the Jewish religious leaders, this lady was being defined by God.

In v.27 of today's passage we read, "Jesus told the woman, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and give it to the dogs. First let the children eat all they want."

The Lord Jesus employed an illustration that this woman clearly understood. The context of this analogy is the supper table.  

And, the Lord Jesus used the Greek word for dog here that was less offensive than another He could have used. He used the word that described the pets that one would have in the home, not the scavengers out in the allies. 

The Lord Jesus used this illustration to deliberately push whatever faith this woman had in Him to the edge. This desperate lady was like the family dog that feeds on crumbs that have fallen from the table. The Lord Jesus is always on the lookout for such faith. He saw this woman's desperation and her subsequent faith that made this miracle come to pass.

In v.28-29 of today's passage we read, "28 But she answered, 'Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table can eat the children’s crumbs.' 29 Then Jesus said, 'Because of your answer, you may go. The demon has left your daughter.'"

The lady's theology was spot on. She was not under the Abrahamic Covenant. She had long realized she was not one of the children around the dinner table. And, she knew this term used for "dog" was used by the Jews to describe the Gentiles. In context, this word dog was an insult. But, that did not keep her from begging for the scraps. She was convinced she was not worthy of the choice food on the table. 

It was this answer that resulted in the deliverance of her daughter from the demon. For the first and last time in the gospel of Mark, the Lord Jesus heals someone from a distance. This happened on the heels of the Lord Jesus exposing the utter mindlessness of the religious leaders who were bent upon earning God's favor. 

Here, the observant Jew was given yet another example that he was no longer to be defined by his religious activities which drew out their hearts away from Him to self. Like this gentile lady in Tyre, we must be bent upon being defined but by a pure heart in the God of the Bible who has spoken over us through His Son who gave His life to win our hearts. 

Spirituality is more than just a carefully observed ritual. Spirituality is a wild search for God in the arena of our desperately mixed up souls. It is a search involving an unexpected mix of uncomfortable reality, trustworthy freedom, frustrating surprises, and a healthy dose of desperation.

In v.30 of today's passage we read, "The woman went home and found her daughter lying in bed; the demon was gone."

When this gentile woman arrived at her home, her daughter was lying quietly in her bed. And the demon was no longer in her. That very day, a despised Gentile became a grateful recipient of the grace of God. Take note of the formula: great desperation plus a little faith appropriately placed in the Lord Jesus Christ equals wholeness. We are never quite convinced that the Lord Jesus is all we need until He is all we have.

Mark 7:14-23

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14 After Jesus called the crowd to him again, he said, “Every person should listen to me and understand what I am saying. 15 There is nothing people put into their bodies that makes them unclean. People are made unclean by the things that come out of them. 16 Let those with ears use them and listen.” 17 When Jesus left the people and went into the house, his followers asked him about this story. 18 Jesus said, “Do you still not understand? Surely you know that nothing that enters someone from the outside can make that person unclean. 19 It does not go into the mind, but into the stomach. Then it goes out of the body.” (When Jesus said this, he meant that no longer was any food unclean for people to eat.) 20 And Jesus said, “The things that come out of people are the things that make them unclean. 21 All these evil things begin inside people, in the mind: evil thoughts, sexual sins, stealing, murder, adultery, 22 greed, evil actions, lying, doing sinful things, jealousy, speaking evil of others, pride, and foolish living. 23 All these evil things come from inside and make people unclean.” - Mark 7:14-23

As He did earlier in Mark 4, the Lord Jesus utilized another parable in His teaching in today's passage. This time He use it in order to address the misguided religion of the religious leaders. Religion is man trying to earn God's favor, but, this is impossible for us to do. In fact, this is why the Lord Jesus came: in order to provide a perfect sacrifice to make those willing of heart enough to believe in Him right before God.

In v.14 of today's passage we read, "After Jesus called the crowd to him again, he said, “Every person should listen to me and understand what I am saying."

The key to avoiding "religion" is to "listen to" and to "understand" what the Lord Jesus says. The problem with religion is it focuses on the wrong thing; it focuses on the externals. In fact, it focuses on the externals so much that when we succeed in something, we start feeling superior to others. This is what these religious leaders were in the practice of doing. All the while, the problem was not external, it was internal. The heart of the matter is always a matter of the heart. 

The Greek word translated "listen" means to pay attention so much that the Lord defines us. The word translated "understand" means to fit all the little pieces together until we comprehend the main idea and how it looks in our daily lives. There are few things more dangerous for us than not being defined by God.

In v.15-16 of today's passage we read, "15 There is nothing people put into their bodies that makes them unclean. People are made unclean by the things that come out of them. 16 Let those with ears use them and listen."

Five times in this passage we have a form of the word "unclean." It means to be impure, corrupt, or defiled. Throughout Scripture we are told to be able to distinguish between what is impure and what is pure. That which is pure is consistent with God's definition of it, and, that which is impure does not align with what God says on the subject.

At the root to our inability to walk in the truth and to benefit from it is the problem of an impure hearts. It is from the heart that all our evil thoughts and choices emanate. These religious folk carefully obeyed the food laws, but they did not have a heart relationship with the God of the Bible. Their problem was that their hearts were not engaged. And, the way they treated others bore this out.

The food laws given by God in His Word were never meant to make anyone right with God. In fact, they were given by God to improve the quality of our day to day life. The food laws were about sanctification not justification. Sanctification is what happens to us after we have been "born again" and made right in God's eyes through the cross of His Son. As the Lord Jesus highlights here, the law was never meant to address the core of mankind's ultimate problem: a hardened heart toward God. The changing of the hardened heart is the role of God's grace, not His Law.

In v.17-19 of today's passage we read, "17 When Jesus left the people and went into the house, his followers asked him about this story. 18 Jesus said, “Do you still not understand? Surely you know that nothing that enters someone from the outside can make that person unclean. 19 It does not go into the mind, but into the stomach. Then it goes out of the body.” (When Jesus said this, he meant that no longer was any food unclean for people to eat.)"

All of mankind since the Fall in the Garden of Eden has been polluted by sin. Christianity is the only "world religion" (it is really not a religion) that teaches Original Sin, meaning that man was born with a wicked, sinful heart. And, it is sin that has separated us from having a personal relationship with God and from loving others as we ought. 

When we entered into a personal relationship with God, He, through the Holy Spirit began writing His law on our hearts. The essence of His law is "to love." And, through His Spirit and His Word, He teaches us His love for us, modeling for us what it looks like to love others. It has always confused me when Christians justify treating someone in a way that God does not treat us. One way of knowing that you are growing in a meaningful personal relationship with God is seen in how we treat other people, especially the worst.

Brennan Manning writes in his book Abba's Child, "My identity as Abba’s child is not an abstraction or a tap dance into religiosity. It is the core truth of my existence. Living in the wisdom of accepted tenderness profoundly affects my perception of reality, the way I respond to people and their life situations. How I treat my brothers and sisters from day to day, whether they be Caucasian, African, Asian, or Hispanic; how I react to the sin-scarred wino on the street; how I respond to interruptions from people I dislike; how I deal with ordinary people in their ordinary unbelief on an ordinary day will speak the truth of who I am more poignantly than the pro-life sticker on the bumper of my car."

In v.20-23 of today's passage we read, "20 And Jesus said, 'The things that come out of people are the things that make them unclean. 21 All these evil things begin inside people, in the mind: evil thoughts, sexual sins, stealing, murder, adultery, 22 greed, evil actions, lying, doing sinful things, jealousy, speaking evil of others, pride, and foolish living. 23 All these evil things come from inside and make people unclean.'" 

All that defilement comes from inside, and no ritual, no attempt at morality, no attempt at religion can alter that defilement at all. Our need has always been the need a new heart. This is the promise of salvation. This is why the Lord Jesus said to Nicodemus, "You must be born again." This is the work of the gospel. And, we make no contribution to that other than allowing Christ to embrace us. I trust you have been embraced. If not, cry out to Him right now and He will come running to your deepest need.

Mark 7:8-13

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8 You have stopped following the commands of God, and you follow only human teachings.” 9 Then Jesus said to them, “You cleverly ignore the commands of God so you can follow your own teachings. 10 Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and ‘Anyone who says cruel things to his father or mother must be put to death.’ 11 But you say a person can tell his father or mother, ‘I have something I could use to help you, but it is Corban—a gift to God.’ 12 You no longer let that person use that money for his father or his mother. 13 By your own rules, which you teach people, you are rejecting what God said. And you do many things like that.” ~ Mark 7:8-13

Today, we return to our study of Mark 7 where the Lord Jesus has confronted the religious leaders who had come to Galilee from Jerusalem to try to discredit Him. When we are not being defined by the Lord, we are most threatened by Him when He so works in our lives in order to arrest control of our lives away from us. This is why the religious leaders of Jesus' day had such a hard time with Him. They weren't willing to acknowledge Him for who He was, and, they were not willing to let Him have control over their lives.

In v.8-9 of today's passage we read, "8 You have stopped following the commands of God, and you follow only human teachings.” 9 Then Jesus said to them, “You cleverly ignore the commands of God so you can follow your own teachings."

Somewhere along the way, the religious leaders had rejected their worship of the God of the Bible and they were being defined by their definitions of all things. It is so easy for the truth to be lost from one generation to another. This is why we must be diligent, on a daily basis, to bow our wills to Him, so that His truth perpetuates in and through our lives to the generations that follow.

In v.10-11 of today's passage we read, "10 Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and ‘Anyone who says cruel things to his father or mother must be put to death.’ 11 But you say a person can tell his father or mother, ‘I have something I could use to help you, but it is Corban—a gift to God.’"

The Lord Jesus used the fifth of the ten commandments to make His point here. To honor our parents partly means when they are old, we should take care of them. The religious leaders who came from Jerusalem this particular day had figured out a way around the fifth command by what they called "Corban" which was a way of dedicating their bank account to the Lord, prohibiting them from taking care of the needs of the parents. The word "Corban" is only found in this passage and it literally means: "devoted to God as a gift." 

Anything the religious leaders had dedicated to God, they were not required to let people in need use, even their own parents. They got around the commandment of God by inventing a human tradition. It was the equivalent of when someone makes up a will and decides to donate their property to a benevolent organization when they die. But while they're alive they still have full use of it until they die. These religious leaders had come up with this idea so that they would not have to take care of their parents in their old age. The religious leaders kept the law, but not God's law, and, in so doing, they appeared to be in relationship with God but they were not.

In v.12-13 of today's passage we read, "12 You no longer let that person use that money for his father or his mother. 13 By your own rules, which you teach people, you are rejecting what God said. And you do many things like that."

In context here, the Lord Jesus traced for us what it looks like when the traditions of men supersede His Word. We go the way of these religious leaders when we fail to understand the point of God's definitions of all things, and, our need to allow Him to define us. Throughout the Bible, God gives us His definitions of all things in order to reiterate what life is really all about: "His desire to define us for our good." But, we have replaced His definitions instead with ours, thinking we know better than He. 

God's goal is the apprehension of our hearts, but He never forces His truth upon us. He desires for this process to be organic and thus real. Instead of giving Him our hearts, we fall into the trap of giving Him our stuff like our money, time, and interests. Subconsciously we do not allow Him access to the vulnerable spots in our hearts. This is where tradition begins, by not being defined by God, and then, we substitute His Word with ours.

All of this leads us to not loving others as we ought. This is what religious people do, they embrace ritual without reality. And, ritualism without reality leads us to the lack of righteousness and the subsequent trusting relationships we desire and need. And, without a personal relationship with God, ritualism profits us nothing; it is just stale old religion that we all disdain.

The religious leaders saw their sins in their sins, but they did not see their sins in their religion. The solution for such hypocrisy is repentance. We must be careful to embrace God for ourselves. Even though we may be in a relationship with God, we can fall into these religious patterns. The problem with this is trying to make it through this life on our own. The answer is to be embraced by God on a daily basis and to be subsequently defined by Him. We are being defined by God when we walk in obedience to His Word. It is not that we earn His favor, we can never do that; It is that we are being defined by Him for our good and for His glory.

Mark 7:1-7

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1 When some Pharisees and some teachers of the law came from Jerusalem, they gathered around Jesus. 2 They saw that some of Jesus’ followers ate food with hands that were not clean, that is, they hadn’t washed them. 3 (The Pharisees and all the Jews never eat before washing their hands in the way required by their unwritten laws. 4 And when they buy something in the market, they never eat it until they wash themselves in a special way. They also follow many other unwritten laws, such as the washing of cups, pitchers, and pots.) 5 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law said to Jesus, “Why don’t your followers obey the unwritten laws which have been handed down to us? Why do your followers eat their food with hands that are not clean?” 6 Jesus answered, “Isaiah was right when he spoke about you hypocrites. He wrote, ‘These people show honor to me with words, but their hearts are far from me. 7 Their worship of me is worthless. The things they teach are nothing but human rules. ~ Mark 7:1-7

Today, we transition into Mark 7 where Mark continues to present the Lord Jesus as the Servant. You will remember that there are two overall themes in this gospel: In Mark 1:1-8:26 we are given glimpses of the Servant who Rules, and, in Mark 8:27-16:16 we see the Ruler who Serves.

In v.1-4 of today's passage we read, "1 When some Pharisees and some teachers of the law came from Jerusalem, they gathered around Jesus. 2 They saw that some of Jesus’ followers ate food with hands that were not clean, that is, they hadn’t washed them. 3 (The Pharisees and all the Jews never eat before washing their hands in the way required by their unwritten laws. 4 And when they buy something in the market, they never eat it until they wash themselves in a special way. They also follow many other unwritten laws, such as the washing of cups, pitchers, and pots.)"

On this particular day religious leaders from Jerusalem came some 90 miles to challenge the Lord Jesus because His popularity was growing at an alarming rate. They wanted to find a way to minimize Him, because He was a threat to their religion, power and control over the people. According to them the Lord Jesus and His disciples were not religious enough.

The tradition of the religious leaders said, "In order to be properly clean, one had to hold his hands out, with palms up, hands cupped slightly, and water poured over them. Then the fist of one hand was used to scrub the other, and then the other fist would scrub the first hand. Finally the hands again were held out, with palms down, and water was poured over them a second time to cleanse away the dirty water the defiled hands had been scrubbed with. Only then would a person's hands be ceremonially clean."

The religious folks of the Lord Jesus day had made Judaism about their performance. They had lost sight of the fact that the message of salvation is the same throughout the Bible. Salvation is a free gift from God for all willing enough to believe in it and receive it. It has always been about the object of our faith which is the God of the Bible, not us. God draws attention to the importance of our faith in Him because He has always wanted us to be invested from the hearts in Him.

This delegation from Jerusalem came deliberately to try to find something with which to oppose the Lord Jesus. Their motive was antagonism. They knew that if they could find something, they could turn the crowd against Him. This tells us how strongly these traditions were held. The disciples washed their hands before they ate, but according to the threatened religious leaders, they did not do it in the right way.

Now, the traditions had begun in right ways, but as the religious leaders added on to what God had required in the Old Testament, they went array. We must always remember, God gave man the Law for man's benefit, not to so bind us that we can not operate with Him from our hearts. It was the interpretations of the religious leaders of the interpretations of other religious leaders that made things go array. By this time, there was built up a tremendous mass of tradition which demanded inflexible obedience and scrupulous observance of even the minor details, so that the purpose of the Law was lost and forgotten.

In v.5-7 of today's passage we read, "5 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law said to Jesus, “Why don’t your followers obey the unwritten laws which have been handed down to us? Why do your followers eat their food with hands that are not clean?” 6 Jesus answered, “Isaiah was right when he spoke about you hypocrites. He wrote, ‘These people show honor to me with words, but their hearts are far from me. 7 Their worship of me is worthless. The things they teach are nothing but human rules."

Here, we learn the Lord Jesus offended the religious leaders by not following their ritual. Using Isaiah 29:13, the Lord Jesus highlighted the result of tradition not rooted in the Word of God. He called it hypocrisy. Twenty-three times in the Gospels the Lord Jesus used the word hypocrite. Twenty-one of the twenty-three times He spoke it to the religious leaders. He reserved that scathing term for religious, legalistic folk.

The Lord Jesus didn't tolerate these so called leaders. "Hypocrite" was a Greek word used of actors on a stage. They wore masks and played their parts. They really weren't what they projected; they were actors. Those who preach by the yard but practice by the inch must be dealt with by the foot. In today's passage, the Lord Jesus was first in line to apply that reasoning.

The remedy to hypocrisy is worship. Prayer is when we are preoccupied with our needs. Praise is when we are preoccupied with our blessings. Worship is when we are preoccupied with our God. Worship is ascribing worth to something or someone. It is authentic and it comes from the heart. And, it has been etched upon our hearts to worship God. As a result we will find ourselves being defined by Him, because what we worship defines us.

Hypocrisy ignores the word of God. The Greek word used here for "tradition" is the word for "substitution." And the substitute is always something "good." We would never think of offering God something bad! Yet, if it is not defined by Him, which will always minimize us, it is not true worship. Much of what we call worship today would not be defined by God as worship.

Human beings are at their core defined by what they worship rather than primarily by what they think, know, or believe. That is bound up with the central Augustinian claim that we are what we love.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/dallas_willard_581412?src=t_worship

Human beings are at their core defined by what they worship rather than primarily by what they think, know, or believe. That is bound up with the central Augustinian claim that we are what we love.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/dallas_willard_581412?src=t_worship

Human beings are at their core defined by what they worship rather than primarily by what they think, know, or believe. That is bound up with the central Augustinian claim that we are what we love.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/dallas_willard_581412?src=t_worship

Worship is the response of the heart to the knowledge of the mind when the mind is rightly understanding God and the heart is rightly valuing God. Our worship of God is conditioned by the way we understand Him. And, if our understanding isn't framed up by His Word, we will lack in our worship of Him. The more we know Him, the more varied will be the ways that we will worship Him. Thus, our worship should increase with the growth of our understanding of Him.

Mark 6:53-56

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53 When they had crossed the lake, they came to shore at Gennesaret and tied the boat there. 54 When they got out of the boat, people immediately recognized Jesus. 55 They ran everywhere in that area and began to bring sick people on mats wherever they heard he was. 56 And everywhere he went—into towns, cities, or countryside—the people brought the sick to the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch just the edge of his coat, and all who touched it were healed. ~ Mark 6:53-56

Today, we come to our conclusion of our study of Mark 6. In this chapter we have seen the Lord Jesus heal the sick, feed the multitudes, teach the people, and, rescue the disciples from a storm. 

In v.53 of today's passage we read, "When they had crossed the lake, they came to shore at Gennesaret and tied the boat there."

The Lord Jesus and His disciples came ashore at Gennesaret, which is not that far from where they started that day at Bethsaida. Gennesaret, located on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, was a fertile, flattened farming area. The area was analogous of the people there, full of faith. There, we are given today another contrast. It is a contrast between faith in the people who lived there and the fear that was in the disciples.

In v.54-55 of today's passage we read, "54 When they got out of the boat, people immediately recognized Jesus. 55 They ran everywhere in that area and began to bring sick people on mats wherever they heard he was."

The people of Gennesaret immediately recognized the Lord Jesus when He arrived, and they were quick to show their faith by bringing the sick to the Lord Jesus for Him to heal them. 

In contrast, the disciples struggled during the storm, even though they cast out demons and healed the sick, they couldn't feed the people. I find it comforting that Jesus never gave up on His disciples. I find it comforting that He never gives up on me, for often I find their lack of faith to be my story.

When the Lord Jesus doesn’t work in our lives the way we want, we must remember He’s doing something more than we can see with our eyes. He is always working to reveal Himself to us more than anything else. This is what this life is really all about: Learning to believe more in Him and thus be defined by Him.

In the middle of the night, in the middle of the sea, in the middle of the storm, when the winds of the world are pushing against us, we must be vigilant to look for Him to give us a glimpse of Himself. When we come to His word, we must be bent on seeing Him with our hearts. 

God's word is like a pane of glass designed to enable us to look through and see Him. When we see Him and touch Him with our hearts, we will be healed of our myopic approach to life that so often causes us to live distant from Him.

In v.56 of today's passage we read, "And everywhere he went—into towns, cities, or countryside—the people brought the sick to the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch just the edge of his coat, and all who touched it were healed."

Judaism held that men should wear on their robes four tassels or corners. They called it the hem of the garment, literally the tassels of the robe. And so, from this and other Scriptures we know the Lord Jesus, like any male adult Jew, would have worn that kind of a robe with those kind of tassels that marked Him as someone under the covenant.

Again, we read at the end of v.56, "They begged him to let them touch just the edge of his coat, and all who touched it were healed."

The story of the woman with the flow of blood for twelve years must have reached the people there in Gennesaret because the people there followed the example of that woman who had spent all her money in order to find healing. Of course, that didn't happen until she met the Lord Jesus. Here, in today's passage, "all who touched it were healed."

I often wonder about those who have experienced His grace in this way. I wonder, did the physical healing lead them to spiritual healing? Did the physical meals lead them to recognize the Lord Jesus as the bread of life? This was and is the point to the miracles of the Lord Jesus. His ultimate goal in our lives is that we enter into a personal relationship with Him where, on a daily basis, we are learning to look for Him with our hearts. And, when we see His heart for us, we grow in our adoration of Him. We also grow in our trust in Him, even though He might cause or allow difficult moments to come into our lives.

Mark 6:46-52

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46 After sending them away, he went into the hills to pray. 47 That night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and Jesus was alone on the land. 48 He saw his followers struggling hard to row the boat, because the wind was blowing against them. Between three and six o’clock in the morning, Jesus came to them, walking on the water, and he wanted to walk past the boat. 49 But when they saw him walking on the water, they thought he was a ghost and cried out. 50 They all saw him and were afraid. But quickly Jesus spoke to them and said, “Have courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.” 51 Then he got into the boat with them, and the wind became calm. The followers were greatly amazed. 52 They did not understand about the miracle of the five loaves, because their minds were closed. ~ Mark 6:46-52

Today, we continue in our study of Mark 6 where the disciples of the Lord Jesus are being taught by the Lord. As pointed out before, a disciple is a learner. And, like the disciples, the greatest lesson we will learn as followers of Christ is He is the secret to our success. We cannot begin to understand today's passage until we see that our God-given trials are designed to help us to conclude more of Him and less of me.

In v.46 of today's passage we read, "After sending them away, he went into the hills to pray."

Essential to ministry is prayer. Essential to anything worth while is talking to God about it first. After the Lord sent the huge crowd back to their homes, He went up into the hills to pray. Prayer is the breath of the Christian life and because almost nothing decays so fast in the fallen human heart as the desire to talk to God. Therefore, we must make it our habit to talk with the Father about all things. Nothing is more vital than prayer, and few things are more vulnerable to neglect.

The disciples of the Lord Jesus had been successful in ministry. And, right on the heels of that success, they discovered they could not feed the 5000 men on the side of a hill next to the Sea of Galilee. It was in that moment they were at their best, but, they felt differently. They felt like losers. We are at our best when we are most convinced that we need God. We are at our best when we are most dependent upon the Lord.

In v.47-48 of today's passage we read, "47 That night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and Jesus was alone on the land. 48 He saw his followers struggling hard to row the boat, because the wind was blowing against them. Between three and six o’clock in the morning, Jesus came to them, walking on the water, and he wanted to walk past the boat."

Right on the heels of yet another miracle performed by the Lord Jesus, the disciples found themselves in another intense trial. This test, like all of our trials, was designed of the Lord to deepen the disciples intimacy with Himself. And, this time He was not with them in the boat. He had sent them out alone, and He went up into the hills to pray. In like manner, the storms in our lives are made up of these same two elements: trouble, and the seeming absence of the Lord.

The storm arrived when the disciples were at the most vulnerable spot on the lake, in the the middle of it. And, as the storm blew in, at the darkest moment in the night, the Lord Jesus came to them walking on the water. Long before the disciples saw the Lord coming on the water, He saw them in their struggle. We often ask, "Lord where are you in this?," while we are in the middle of our trials. It is imperative that we struggle with such questions. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

When the disciples saw the Lord Jesus, they were scared, thinking He was a ghost. At the end of v.48, "He wanted to walk past the boat." The Lord would have gone past the disciples, but He did not. If He had, the disciples would have been given a more staggering view of God. But that didn't happen, because their fear in the moment was greater than their faith in the Lord Jesus. We miss out on much that God has for us because He, in our view, is smaller than our storms. To see Him from that more staggering vantage point, we must avail ourselves to much greater risks. Vulnerability is a must in these contexts.

In v.49-50 of today's passage we read, "49 But when they saw him walking on the water, they thought he was a ghost and cried out. 50 They all saw him and were afraid. But quickly Jesus spoke to them and said, “Have courage! It is I. Do not be afraid."

The Lord Jesus reassured the disciples with these words, "Have courage! It is I. Do not be afraid." The most repeated command in the Bible, "Don't be afraid", is held up with up along with the name of God, "I AM". "It is I" is the equivalent to "I AM" in the Old Testament. The contrast could not be more clear. The definitions of this world and the definitions of God are not in concert. The setting that dark night on that scary lake screams out, "Which is bigger, our storms or our God?"

It was at this point that the Lord Jesus got into the boat with the disciples, and, the disciples were absolutely blown away! It was not until the disciples heard His voice that they truly recognized Him. To that point, they were fearful because they depended solely on what they saw with their eyes. When the Lord Jesus spoke they recognized His voice. It was the Lord Jesus who said, "My sheep hear my voice and they follow me."

For the disciples, this was a total failure. For the second time, their eyes were opened in a new way. What we think is failure is often seen differently by God. Trusting in the God of the Bible is never a mistake because He uses every ounce of our pain and seeming failure for our good and His glory. 

In v.51-52 of today's passage we read, "51 Then he got into the boat with them, and the wind became calm. The followers were greatly amazed. 52 They did not understand about the miracle of the five loaves, because their minds were closed."

There are times when the Lord Jesus who gives us His promises and He sends us into awful situations. And, those situations are designed to hone our heart's to see Him more clearly. As a result, we see Him more clearly than we did before. And, at this point we find ourselves believing His promises more strongly because it is only in the midst of those horrible times that we discover the substance of His words. That night on that dark sea, the disciples initially concluded the wrong thing about the Lord, but, eventually they saw the Lord for who He was. The passing of time was necessary. Their failure was necessary. This is how He works with us, as He trains our hearts to see Him more deeply and more devotedly. 

The Lord Jesus Christ, this holy God, stands in contrast to this unholy world where we live. Because of sin, we live in a world of death. Most of our lives are spent trying to get what we don’t have and trying to repair the damage of our brokenness. But the only cure for our brokenness is a revelation of a holy God who lacks nothing and who has promised to supply all our needs. It is on this basis of His promises and in the context of our trials that this process happens. We must be in the habit of trusting Him and watching Him as He works on our lives on a daily basis. And, as a result, we will discover that He is not only changing our ability to see Him, but, most importantly, we will discover He is changing our hearts. 

Mark 6:39-45

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39 Then Jesus told his followers to have the people sit in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat in groups of fifty or a hundred. 41 Jesus took the five loaves and two fish and, looking up to heaven, he thanked God for the food. He divided the bread and gave it to his followers for them to give to the people. Then he divided the two fish among them all. 42 All the people ate and were satisfied. 43 The followers filled twelve baskets with the leftover pieces of bread and fish. 44 There were five thousand men who ate. 45 Immediately Jesus told his followers to get into the boat and go ahead of him to Bethsaida across the lake. He stayed there to send the people home. ~ Mark 6:39-45

Today, we continue our study of Mark 6 where the Lord Jesus was about to miraculously feed somewhere between 5,000 to 25,000 people. In the middle of all the ministry that was taking place, including teaching and healing the people of sicknesses, the disciples were being trained by the Lord Jesus on what it means to be His followers. And, as we come to Mark 6:39, the Lord Jesus was about to do something the disciples could not do, feed a very large crowd of people.

In v.39-40 of today's passage we read, "39 Then Jesus told his followers to have the people sit in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat in groups of fifty or a hundred."

Previously, after the Lord Jesus commanded the disciples to feed the massive crowd, Andrew said, "We have five loaves of bread and two fish, but what are these for so many people?" The disciples located in the crowd a little boy who had a prepared lunch. The word "loaves" is the word we translate "biscuit." And, the fish were sardines. 

According to Matthew's account of this story, in addition to 5000, there were also women and children in the crowd. This is what causes most to believe that this crowd could have been up to as many as 25,000 people, and they only had five biscuits and two sardines.

It was at that moment the Lord Jesus ordered the disciples to have the people to sit in groups of fifty and a hundred. And, in an instant, the massive crowd transitioned from a milling crowd to very ordered people. The picture of satisfied wholeness was being painted.

In v.41 of today's passage we read, "Jesus took the five loaves and two fish and, looking up to heaven, he thanked God for the food. He divided the bread and gave it to his followers for them to give to the people. Then he divided the two fish among them all." 

Before giving the food to the people, the Lord Jesus gave thanks to His Father for the provision. I heard an atheist the other day express his gratitude and I thought, "To whom is he grateful?" The English word "gratitude" derives from the biblical word "eucharistos," which comes from two Greek roots: "eu" meaning "good" and "charizomai" meaning "grace." According to the Bible, at the heart of gratitude is a response to the overwhelming grace of God.

This brings up a very important question: "Where did we get our definitions of all things? The answer is not so obvious to many, but, the origin of all good definitions is God. This is why He has given us His word, the Bible. Think of it: Where do we go to get the best definition of love? Of course, we go to Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians and chapter 13. This is where we went wrong in the first place: we allowed someone other than the God of the Bible to define things for us. And, largely, Christianity is being in a relationship with God through which He increasingly defines things for us.

In v.42 of today's passage we read, "All the people ate and were satisfied."

From just such a small amount, thousands were satisfied. The Greek word translated "satisfied," means to be "gorged." These people had never tasted anything like this. We find satisfaction in this life when we discover our true God-given purpose for being here. As long as we pursue our own ideas of what will satisfy us, we never find it. 

In v.43-44 of today's passage we read, "43 The followers filled twelve baskets with the leftover pieces of bread and fish. 44 There were five thousand men who ate."

Surely it was not a coincidence that there were twelve full baskets of the broken pieces of bread and also fish. The basket here is the Greek word that refers to a traveling food bag that one would carry his meal in. There were twelve baskets because there were twelve disciples. The Lord Jesus knew how much to create so that everybody was totally satisfied, and then, there were leftovers. The Lord Jesus was yet training His disciples about satisfied wholeness.

In v.45 of today's passage we read, "Immediately Jesus told his followers to get into the boat and go ahead of him to Bethsaida across the lake. He stayed there to send the people home."

The Lord Jesus Christ is the very antithesis of all other leaders we have known in this world. He sees the hungry people and He is moved to intervene. But, we can not access His involvement in our lives and His blessings until we are in a personal relationship with Him.

The feeding of the five thousand foreshadowed the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper which ultimately points us to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb found in Revelation 19. At that Supper, we will realize the goodness of the Lord in every possible way. It will be then that we will know what it means to live in a world where righteousness reigns, and, we will truly be satisfied.

Sadly, the last picture in today's passage is that of the Lord Jesus sending the people back to their homes. And, we know that in the days that followed this great miracle, the people forgot what happened and they rejected the free gift of salvation the Lord Jesus came to offer the willing.This happened because they chose not to be grateful to the Lord and to be defined by Him.

Mark 6:35-38

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35 When it was late in the day, his followers came to him and said, “No one lives in this place, and it is already very late. 36 Send the people away so they can go to the countryside and towns around here to buy themselves something to eat.” 37 But Jesus answered, “You give them something to eat.” They said to him, “We would all have to work a month to earn enough money to buy that much bread!” 38 Jesus asked them, “How many loaves of bread do you have? Go and see.” When they found out, they said, “Five loaves and two fish.” ~ Mark 6:35-38

Today, we return to our study of Mark 6 where the Lord Jesus has just expressed His compassion toward the huge crowd that had made such a huge effort to run around the Lake eight miles to get to where the Lord Jesus and His disciples had gone. 

We are told by Matthew, the Lord Jesus saw the crowd as sheep without a shepherd. Sheep need a shepherd. They will die without a shepherd. They can’t feed themselves, nor can they protect themselves. There are times when they somehow end up on their backs and are unable to get back on their feet. They are always in the need of someone to clean them and pick the bugs and the thorns out of their wool coats. They must be led to safe places and protected. Sheep are very dependent animals.

In several Old Testament passages, God pictures Israel as sheep without a shepherd. This is the way the Lord Jesus viewed the crowd that day on the banks of the Sea of Galilee, and so, He taught them first. Then, even though there were many obstacles, He eventually fed them.

Human suffering hurts the Lord. This is what gets Him deep down in His gut. Since He is merciful, He feels for and with us when we reach those times of our greatest pain and need. He feels the pain when and where we feel pain. He has compassion on our souls, and, He has compassion for our physical needs. But, He is most concerned about our spiritual needs, and, this is why He allows us to venture off into scary situations. He is skillful at using the trials of our lives to hone our heart's ability to see Him more clearly and to know Him more deeply.

In v.35-36 of today's passage we read, "35 When it was late in the day, his followers came to him and said, “No one lives in this place, and it is already very late."36 Send the people away so they can go to the countryside and towns around here to buy themselves something to eat.” 

The disciples came to the Lord Jesus and suggested the crowd be sent away. But, the very large crowd was very hungry. Many have estimated that this crowd was as large as twenty-five thousand people, maybe even more than that.

The place where they were that evening was desolate and lonely. No one lived there. It was an isolated place. And, the crowd lacked the capability of feeding itself. In the eyes of all, except the Lord Jesus, it was an impossible situation. It is in these contexts that God shows His uniqueness.

In v.37-38 of today's passage we read, "But Jesus answered, 'You give them something to eat.' They said to him, 'We would all have to work a month to earn enough money to buy that much bread!' Jesus asked them, “How many loaves of bread do you have? Go and see.” When they found out, they said, “Five loaves and two fish."

We do well to be aware of the needs that are around us. The two greatest commands in the Bible are: Love God and love people. It is at this point where ministry truly begins. Most often people do not care what we know until they know that we care.

To their credit, the disciples recognized the need around them. When we have been trained by the Lord Jesus, we will recognize the needs of others around us. The sensitivity of the disciples to the needs of others had been heightened when the Lord had sent them out on their overnight treks throughout the villages in the area. This is why they not only recognized the needs of the people, but this is also why they brought the needs to the Lord Jesus.

After the Lord told them to take care of it, they expressed they were not up to the impossible task. Previously, the disciples had healed the sick and cast out demons of those who had been possessed. Due to how many people were there this particular day, the disciples admitted it would require a years wages to feed the crowd. The disciples saw the situation as an obstacle instead of an opportunity. Sometimes the Lord puts us in impossible situations in order to open our souls to the greatest of possibilities which come on the heels of us being convinced that we must have His intervention.

The Lord Jesus sometimes calls us into a lonely place, knowing full well that we will not have enough resources to meet the need at hand. This is a part of His curriculum for us in a given period of time. The wilderness is not necessarily a desert. It may be a lonely place but it is never without its purpose. And, it was Springtime which obviously factors into the whole point of the lessons being taught.

Clearly, we have come to a turning point in the ministry of the Lord Jesus. The Lord at this point was now expanding His ministry beyond Galilee into new areas. Consider that the villages of Capernaum and Bethsaida had populations of no more than 2000 people. Out in this wilderness, the Lord Jesus fed at least 5000, probably up to 25,000, which was a task that was totally impossible for the disciples. This was so by design. We are at our best when we are most dependent upon the Lord. Stay tuned to tomorrows message as we will consider how this story rolls out.

Mark 6:30-34

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30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and told him about all the things they had done and taught. 31 Crowds of people were coming and going so that Jesus and his followers did not even have time to eat. He said to them, “Come away by yourselves, and we will go to a lonely place to get some rest.” 32 So they went in a boat by themselves to a lonely place. 33 But many people saw them leave and recognized them. So from all the towns they ran to the place where Jesus was going, and they got there before him. 34 When he arrived, he saw a great crowd waiting. He felt sorry for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began to teach them many things. ~ Mark 6:30-34

Today, we return to our study of Mark 6 where the Lord Jesus has been training the disciples in His ways. In addition, the Lord Jesus has been preaching the Gospel and healing the sick. The disciples had just returned from their overnight witnessing excursions into the nearby towns and villages, and, they were eager to tell the Lord Jesus about their ministry. They were also in great need of rest. 

In v.30-32 of today's passage we read, "30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and told him about all the things they had done and taught. 31 Crowds of people were coming and going so that Jesus and his followers did not even have time to eat. He said to them, “Come away by yourselves, and we will go to a lonely place to get some rest.” 32 So they went in a boat by themselves to a lonely place."

All of mankind's problems emerge out of the rebellion of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden which resulted in mankind being separated from a personal relationship with God. Returning to God is the key to all of life. When Adam and Eve rebelled, they were separated from the very source of life, truth, purpose and meaning. The enemy would lead us to believe the Lord has cast us off due to our sinfulness and subsequent brokenness. This is not so. 

God desired to provide for us a personal relationship with Himself so much that He sent His Son to pay the debt created by our rebellion and sinfulness. This, of course, is not for His benefit, for He is holy and lacking nothing. He desires this for our benefit. And, like the disciples, we do nothing of real value until we return to the Lord Jesus.

Believe it or not, the greatest risk for falling or stumbling for the Christian is right after experiencing great success in something. When we are successful there is the danger and tendency to believe that the success came from our own efforts and not from God. When we see great accomplishments in and through our lives we tend to start relying on ourselves and not on God. This, as a result, robs glory from God because ultimately everything that happens in our lives is the result of His loving and sovereign care over us.  

It is clear the Lord Jesus recognized this as a period of great danger for the disciples. This is why He hurried them away from their successes. Our greatest threat is not found in defeat but from victory. In defeat, at least we’re humbled and forced to look to God and depend upon Him. Success makes us look in the mirror at self, but our struggles are more likely to make us look to God. When we have success, we can easily over-inflate or overestimate ourselves. When we do this, we subtly go the way of the enemy without even knowing it.

In addition, the Lord knew the disciples needed to eat and to get some much needed rest, so that they could process what had happened in and through them. In all of this, the Lord was training them to become learners. The word "disciple" means "learner." We cannot be disciples of Christ without learning of and from Him. All leaders must first be disciples. The moment we stop learning, is the moment we stop leading. 

The Lord Jesus sent out these low educated men who did not by any means understand the fullness of the message they were preaching, and, who really had no idea of what they were doing. In spite of this, the Lord Jesus sent them out and the message made them a success. 

In v.33-34 of today's passage we read, "33 But many people saw them leave and recognized them. So from all the towns they ran to the place where Jesus was going, and they got there before him. 34 When he arrived, he saw a great crowd waiting. He felt sorry for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began to teach them many things."

 
The people were so hungry they ran eight miles around the northern end of the lake to get to the Lord Jesus. In fact, they ran so fast that they arrived at the other side before He and His disciples got there, even though He had taken a boat to make the four mile trip across the lake. Sadly, most of the people were they hungry for the wrong thing. This is our deliberation each and every day. We must be careful that we are hungering for the Lord and His culture which is largely discovered in His Word. But the process of developing this hunger for the Lord is not so easy. It involves a lot of patience, time and pain.

Our appetites dictate the direction of our lives. However, we most often do not recognize what it means to hunger for the Lord. Our hunger for Him is missed because it comes in that empty feeling that we all know. When we learn, through this sense of longing, to reach out to Him, it is then that we are learning what it means to hunger for Him. 

The problem comes when we frantically start looking to the wrong things to fill up this emptiness. When we do so, we sadly discover we have missed a golden opportunity to refine our ability to hunger for Him. But, this does not have to be the end of the story. 

Resisting the desire to free ourselves from the emptiness and the loneliness, and through the emptiness and loneliness we learn to cry out to Him for His presence in our lives is the first step in growing in this way. And, the more we do it, the more of a habit that it will become. And then, we will discover what it means to hunger for Him.

Mark 6:17-29

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17 For Herod had sent soldiers to arrest and imprison John as a favor to Herodias. She had been his brother Philip’s wife, but Herod had married her. 18 John had been telling Herod, “It is against God’s law for you to marry your brother’s wife.” 19 So Herodias bore a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But without Herod’s approval she was powerless, 20 for Herod respected John; and knowing that he was a good and holy man, he protected him. Herod was greatly disturbed whenever he talked with John, but even so, he liked to listen to him. 21 Herodias’s chance finally came on Herod’s birthday. He gave a party for his high government officials, army officers, and the leading citizens of Galilee. 22 Then his daughter, also named Herodias, came in and performed a dance that greatly pleased Herod and his guests. “Ask me for anything you like,” the king said to the girl, “and I will give it to you.” 23 He even vowed, “I will give you whatever you ask, up to half my kingdom!” 24 She went out and asked her mother, “What should I ask for?” Her mother told her, “Ask for the head of John the Baptist!” 25 So the girl hurried back to the king and told him, “I want the head of John the Baptist, right now, on a tray!” 26 Then the king deeply regretted what he had said; but because of the vows he had made in front of his guests, he couldn’t refuse her. 27 So he immediately sent an executioner to the prison to cut off John’s head and bring it to him. The soldier beheaded John in the prison, 28 brought his head on a tray, and gave it to the girl, who took it to her mother. 29 When John’s disciples heard what had happened, they came to get his body and buried it in a tomb. ~ Mark 6:17-29

Today, we return to Mark 6:17-29 where we read about the story of John the Baptist's death. Herod Antipas put John in jail because John identified him as an adulterer for marrying his brother's wife Herodias. 

In v.17-20 of today's passage we read, "17 For Herod had sent soldiers to arrest and imprison John as a favor to Herodias. She had been his brother Philip’s wife, but Herod had married her. 18 John had been telling Herod, 'It is against God’s law for you to marry your brother’s wife.' 19 So Herodias bore a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But without Herod’s approval she was powerless, 20 for Herod respected John; and knowing that he was a good and holy man, he protected him. Herod was greatly disturbed whenever he talked with John, but even so, he liked to listen to him."

Herod Antipas had John the Baptist placed in a prison which was located down in the desert by the Dead Sea. Herod owned several palaces throughout his province and this was just one of them.

It was Herod's birthday, but, for the Jews of that time, birthdays were not all that important. However, for the Romans, birthdays were a huge deal. And so, the Jew, Herod, wanted a big birthday party which turned out to be a huge men's night out in the fullest sense of the word. It was a bunch of men together, and you can only imagine what the setting was like for this celebration.

In v.21-25 of today's passage we read, "21 Herodias’s chance finally came on Herod’s birthday. He gave a party for his high government officials, army officers, and the leading citizens of Galilee. 22 Then his daughter, also named Herodias, came in and performed a dance that greatly pleased Herod and his guests. 'Ask me for anything you like,” the king said to the girl, “and I will give it to you.' 23 He even vowed, 'I will give you whatever you ask, up to half my kingdom!' 24 She went out and asked her mother, 'What should I ask for?' Her mother told her, 'Ask for the head of John the Baptist!' 25 So the girl hurried back to the king and told him, 'I want the head of John the Baptist, right now, on a tray!'"

 

The daughter of Herodias, according to Josephus the Jewish historian, was a girl named Herodias Salome. She was the almost seventeen year old daughter of Herodias and Herod Philip. While at Herod Antipas' birthday party, Salome danced before Herod and his guests. She so pleased the drunk "King" that he vowed to give her up to half his kingdom for her dancing. In response, after consulting her mother who obviously held a grudge, Salome asked for John the Baptist’s death. 

In v.26-29 of today's text we read, "26 Then the king deeply regretted what he had said; but because of the vows he had made in front of his guests, he couldn’t refuse her. 27 So he immediately sent an executioner to the prison to cut off John’s head and bring it to him. The soldier beheaded John in the prison, 28 brought his head on a tray, and gave it to the girl, who took it to her mother. 29 When John’s disciples heard what had happened, they came to get his body and buried it in a tomb."

Herod Antipas deeply regretted the drunkened vow he made that evening to Herodias Salome. For it, John the Baptist paid with his life. This came as the result of holding this supposed leader to account for his sin of adultery. When we speak the truth to people, they have a choice to receive the truth and be made better by it, or, to reject it and suffer the consequences of a life more defined by sin. Sin will always take us to places we later regret. Sin, also, will always take us further down that road of wretchedness than we could have ever imagined or desired.

In 2 Corinthians 7:10 we read, "For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death." 

There's a huge difference between worldly and godly sorrow. Worldly sorrow results in remorse, but, godly sorrow results in repentance. Worldly sorrow ushers us close to the wisdom of God and then dashes us against the rocks, whereas, Godly sorrow invites wisdom over for our remaining days on this earth. 

Worldly sorrow is so deceiving. We have all experienced those moments when we were so sorry that we got caught in our choice to entertain a certain sin. But, we weren't sorry before we got caught. There was no remorse at all in our lives before the gavel dropped and we had to pay the court. This is the difference between remorse or regret, and repentance.

There is a contrast here between the way of "king" Herod and the real King, the Lord Jesus Christ. The real King serves others, not Himself. The real King saves the willing of heart not by arming them, as many would have wished, but by letting the rulers of this world do their worst to Him. He didn’t slaughter His enemies; He allowed them to slaughter Him.

The prison house where John the Baptist was held before his death is still there to this day. The fortress was named after the Greek word machaera, which means a sword. It was the fortress of the sword, the place where John the Baptist was beheaded with a sword. This is what unnerves us about being sold out to the Lord. We somehow think there should be nothing bad that happens to us. But, think of it, how often have we quoted John down through the years? "Less of me and more of Him."

John the Baptist's followers buried John, because, they knew, a burial is a statement of faith in a resurrection. The idea of placing a body in the ground illustrates the victory Christ has gained over sin and death. We can not have the resurrection without embracing the reality of death.

In 1 Corinthians 15:42-44 we read, "42 It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. 43 Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. 44 They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies." 

The word "cemetery" means "resting place." The picture is that of the seed resting. When the seed is put in the seed bed, it is done so as a statement of faith that we believe in the resurrection that is soon to happen at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of the Christian's faith. This event, which occurred almost two thousand years ago, is the best attested fact in human history. It was predicted in the Old Testament and by Christ Himself. During the forty days following His resurrection, the Lord Jesus showed Himself to be alive from the dead by "many infallible proofs." He appeared at various times and places to many people who told others what they had seen. On the basis of this fact, we have much to look forward to in the future.