Day 13
Mark 6:14-29; death of John the Baptist
Lance Rummel
I’m struck by the audacity, both good and bad, that abounds in the story of John’s beheading.
First, John has the audacity (intrepid boldness) to stand against King Herod regarding his marriage to Herodias. Other Jewish leaders wouldn’t oppose Herod in this; John alone did. Therefore, John was imprisoned.
Herod knew John was a righteous and holy man (v.20). King Herod feared, protected, and liked to listen to John. Despite this, Herod’s wife had great influence over him and he imprisoned John to appease her. That’s an audacious (bold or arrogant disregard of normal constraints) move, but only the tip of the audacity iceberg.
When Herodias’s daughter danced and pleased Herod and his dinner guests, his reward to her was “anything she wanted up to half his kingdom.” Are you kidding me? Think about that for a minute. The audacity continues with the daughter asking the mother what she should ask for. The mother tells her daughter to ask for the head of John. And she does it! Can you imagine going to the king, your uncle, who is also now your stepfather, and asking for a man’s head on a platter?
The Bible tells us Herod was greatly distressed over this request, but despite this, he had John beheaded immediately and had the head presented to the girl, who then presented it to her mother. Why did he go through with this audacious request? He did it because he did not want to renege on the oaths he made in the presence of his dinner guests. He would not stand for righteousness because it would make him look weak. Audacity and peer pressure were the tools used to kill arguably one of the holiest men to ever live.
Think about the audacity and peer pressure we see every day in our society, on social media, other media outlets, and in other areas of your own life, maybe even within the church. If we are not careful to guard ourselves, these things will dull our spiritual swords and quench our relationships with God.
Live audaciously for God. Stand audaciously against evil. Love audaciously with the love of Christ.