Opposition, Proclamation, and the Ultimate Price

Mark 6:1-29

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

1 Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. 2 And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, "Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! 3 Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?" So they were offended at Him.

4 But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house." 5 Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.

Sending Out the Twelve

7 And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits. 8 He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts— 9 but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics.

10 Also He said to them, "In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place. 11 And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!"

12 So they went out and preached that people should repent. 13 And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.

John the Baptist Beheaded

14 Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name had become well known. And he said, "John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him."

15 Others said, "It is Elijah."
And others said, "It is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets."

16 But when Herod heard, he said, "This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!" 17 For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife; for he had married her. 18 Because John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."

19 Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not; 20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him. And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.

21 Then an opportune day came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee. 22 And when Herodias' daughter herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, "Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you." 23 He also swore to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom."

24 So she went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask?"
And she said, "The head of John the Baptist!"

25 Immediately she came in 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."

26 And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her. 27 Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought. And he went and beheaded him in prison, 28 brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When his disciples heard of it, they came and took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb.

Here we find opposition to the words and work of God in Christ, the proclamation of the gospel by Him and those chosen to follow and serve Him in this message of the kingdom of God, and the ultimate price paid by the life of the herald of Christ’s ministry, John the Baptist.  Jesus found much opposition from the religious leaders who had muddied the word of God with their own added and contradictory laws which were self serving and not leading the flock towards the kingdom of heaven.  This continues to the present day as certain men would lessen the rule of the scriptures on us by taking away offensive pieces and adding liberal elements that contradict or divert the Lord’s teaching from honoring Him.  They questioned His works and wisdom because He had grown up there and they saw Jesus only as a man who was the son of Mary with brothers and sisters and not the Christ as the Son of God.  They were therefore offended at Him because the finger of God had come among them with the truth and they did not want to repent of their sins and follow Him.  Jesus looked at their unbelief and unwillingness to hear and be healed in body and soul and said, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.”  He pointed out the root cause of their problem with Him as seeing Him only as a man who was related to other non-divine people they grew up with.  Jesus left there and went in a circuit through the surrounding villages instead, then sending out the twelve disciples with the same charge to heal body and soul as they preached the good news of the kingdom through faith and repentance (Mark 1:15).  He supplied all their needs through those who received them and listened with ears to hear as they went, telling that the people should repent as they healed their bodies to match the inner healing through believing God in Christ (John 6:28-29).  That was the message of the kingdom of God, deliverance from sin’s penalty by turning from sin wholly to Him.  

The ultimate price of proclaiming the truth of the gospel by preaching Christ was then paid by John the Baptist when he lost his head which spoke the truth in an attempt to silence the inconvenient truth of Christ (John 1:1, 7-8, 10-12) which he had unreservedly pointed to with his life.  King Herod feared John as if he was Elijah or another prophet and therefore had kept John alive in a cell to hear what he would tell until he was manipulated into cutting off his head to please his adulterous mistress taken unlawfully as a wife from his own brother.  Then Herod imagined that Jesus was John come back to work these miraculous things and he feared this Christ even more.  After the execution of John who paid the ultimate price of his life for proc the truth and pointing to Jesus Christ, the disciples buried his body out of honor and respect.  This price was gladly paid by one who knew his Lord and preached Him until the end; do we have this mindset as well?  May we learn from these accounts to face opposition to the gospel (1 Peter 4:14) as we proclaim the good news of reconciliation with God in Christ (Romans 5:11, 2 Corinthians 5:18-19) and be willing to continue telling the truth without compromise even if we face opposition or must even pay the ultimate price as many missionaries gone into the world have done and continue to do this day.  Are we aware and committed to this message and to our Lord?