FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH
Opening Prayer
Lord God, thank you for your covenant of grace, for providing a Savior, and for life and salvation in him. Holy Spirit, please help me to follow him in faith and obedience.
Read MARK 6:14–29
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
John the Baptist Beheaded
14 King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying,[a] “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
15 Others said, “He is Elijah.”
And still others claimed, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago.”
16 But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!”
17 For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, 20 because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled[b]; yet he liked to listen to him.
21 Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 When the daughter of[c] Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests.
The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” 23 And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”
24 She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?”
“The head of John the Baptist,” she answered.
25 At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
26 The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27 So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, 28 and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. 29 On hearing of this, John’s disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
Footnotes
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
“’Take up thy cross,’ the Savior said, / ‘if thou wouldst my disciple be. / Deny thyself, the world forsake, / and humbly follow after me.’”1
John the Baptist’s non-violent campaign against the king was a one-man protest. His message had always been one of repentance, of turning away from sin. He had not flinched from urging King Herod to renounce his marriage to his sister-in-law, Herodias, forbidden by Mosaic Law while his brother still lived.2 Herod imprisoned John to prevent further public defamation, but he remained somewhat in awe of him. Herodias, however, harbored deep resentment and so, in the end, John’s fearless obedience to his calling would cost him his life.
When Mark was writing his gospel, during the years of persecution under Nero (emperor, 54–68 AD), death was an ever-present reality. It was no accident but a clever tactic for Mark to insert John’s martyrdom, which had already occurred, between the sending of the disciples and their return. As a literary device, it gives the reader a sense of the passage of time. As a teaching device, it inserts the reality of persecution and death into the life of Christian discipleship. Not only must the disciples turn away from prestige and wealth, but they must also face the possibility of death. According to church tradition, Mark faced his own horrific martyrdom in Egypt in 68 AD, and became the patron saint of the Coptic church. This church is known for its ability to sustain constant persecution and yet rise again undaunted, rejoicing in its other name, the Church of the Martyrs. In Alexandria, on Palm Sunday in 2017, 17 people died in the attack on the cathedral bearing Mark’s name. Coptic Pope Tawadros, who was present, forgave the attackers, saying they had succeeded only in shortening his people’s journey to God’s eternity. Today, 360 million Christians live where persecution is constant and severe. Last year, 5,898 of them died for their faith.3
Apply
Ask God for the grace to face persecution and the sterngth to follow him to the end, whatever that end may be, and pass form life into his eternity.
Closing prayer
Heavenly Father, your ways are perfect and your plan will not be thwarted. In the difficulties of life, help me to remember and trust that you will carry out your purposes in and through me.
1 Charles William Everest, 1814–77 2 Lev 20:21 3 https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christianpersecution
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