The REAL Reason John the Baptist Was Killed - Mark 6 [Beyond the Words]

hey everyone and welcome to beyond the words where we reveal to you the context history and other details of scripture that will help you to understand the bible more easily and see it in an entirely new light today we're continuing a series on a book of the bible called mark and we're going to be looking at mark chapter 6. we'll look at why jesus's miracles actually left him feeling sad a lot of the times why john the baptist was really killed and why that was such bad news for jesus and finally we'll look at why thousands of people believed in jesus but those closest to him like his family didn't and if you stick around to the end i'll actually give you some action steps that will help you to go beyond the words and apply this chapter to your life so grab your notebook and let's get started now when we finished chapter 5 jesus had just performed three miracles he'd healed a demon-possessed man in gargasa a gentile town casting the demons out of the man and into a massive group of pigs who then jumped off a cliff next he headed to another town on the sea of galilee where he healed both a woman who had been bleeding for 12 years and the 12 year old daughter of a religious leader and because of these miracles jesus began to attract a lot of attention and fame people were flocking to see him they were worshiping him these were people who didn't even know him which makes what's about to happen next so awful because as we begin mark chapter 6 jesus goes home and mark tells us that things are much different jesus travels west to his hometown of nazareth nazareth is just about 13 miles from the sea of galilee and it is a really small town less than a thousand people some estimates suggest only about a hundred to four hundred people at the time of jesus it's so small and so insignificant that it's not even mentioned in the old testament nazareth is not the kind of place that would have given jesus credibility in fact upon hearing that jesus is from nazareth jesus's disciple nathanael asks can anything good come from nazareth but apparently news of jesus fame has found its way back to his hometown and gets a rather confusing reception from these people who've watched him grow up mark tells us that the people are amazed by jesus's teaching and yet despite this the people are also upset at jesus now that's confusing isn't it i mean they think he's an amazing teacher but they're mad at him what is it about jesus that upsets people so much i mean you would think that in this hometown of his they would actually be excited about everything he's putting nazareth on the map he's changing people's lives but if we look back at what's already happened in mark's gospel it's actually really not that surprising that this happens here i mean remember mark never wrote his his gospel with chapters and verses those all came later mark intended for us to hear the story of his gospel from start to finish and if we were listening to it like that then we'd most likely remember that just a few chapters ago just a few stories ago in chapter 3 jesus had an encounter with some people from his hometown in fact the people jesus encountered were his family members jesus is teaching a crowd of people and mark tells us when his family heard about this they went to take charge of him for they said he is out of his mind then later on when jesus family arrives and wants to talk to him mark says jesus mother and brothers arrived standing outside they sent someone in to call him they told him your mother and brothers are outside looking for you who are my mother and my brothers he asked then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said here are my mother and my brothers whoever does god's will is my brother and sister and mother so what we see here is that jesus is already not on the best of terms with his own family members but this tension isn't just between jesus and his nuclear family like we said nazareth is a very small town a few hundred families many if not most of the people in this town would have been jesus's family and for some reason the people who watched jesus grow up are incredibly upset by what he's now doing now let me just say this is one of the huge mysteries in the gospels what was it about jesus that would make those closest to him doubt him and not just doubt him right be angry with him consider him crazy well this is one of those places where understanding the culture and the mindset of the people around jesus is incredibly helpful you see jesus lived in what's called an honor shame culture and in honor shame culture actions are determined as right or wrong not by the individual but by the community for instance if the community had determined that a violent act was necessary then the person who commits that violent act wouldn't need to feel guilty over that act even if they really hurt somebody because they had honored the community this is because honor shame cultures are generally collectivist cultures which means that the needs priorities and desires of the community as a whole are what matter most not the desires of the individual and and let's be honest right this is hard for us to understand in most western cultures since we are so immensely individualistic but it does explain for us why jesus is rejected in his hometown in verse 3 the people of nazareth refer to jesus as a carpenter this means that jesus's earthly father joseph was also a carpenter right it would have been a custom for joseph to pass down his trade to his son now the greek word used here is tekton it can be used to describe a carpenter or a stone mason or really anyone who works with similar hard materials jesus would have been expected to follow in the footsteps of his father but as we know he didn't at least not long term yes jesus was a tecton but at some point jesus left the family business to go into ministry now you might think to yourself why is that a bad thing right shouldn't jesus family have been proud of him for this i mean he's going into ministry but again this is where jesus culture differs from ours the typical way that someone would become a rabbi would be to go through the jewish education system bates affair bait talmud bateman rash and if you'd actually like to know more about these you can find a link in the description or right up here now the climax of this educational process would have been studying under a rabbi and then at the age of 30 the person who had been trained who had studied under that rabbi would be ready to become a rabbi himself but there's no evidence that jesus ever goes through this process no evidence that he ever studies under a rabbi he just suddenly starts his own ministry teaching things in his own way and this could have shamed his family i mean they would have been looked down upon criticized by people around them his shameful behavior would have brought them shame that's how an honor shame culture works and that's why there is such hostility toward jesus from his family and in his hometown but there's more i mean look at how the the crowd refers to jesus they call him the son of mary they don't call him joseph's son they call him mary's son even though we know that jesus was conceived by the holy spirit as far as the town knows mary got pregnant out of wedlock joseph adopted jesus as his son but this jab shows how the people of this town view jesus in their eyes he's not deserving of this fame and attention and so mark tells us that jesus moves on away from his hometown he's astonished by their unbelief and he just can't stay so he leaves to go focus on his true family what he's defined as those who do the will of his father which then actually is the perfect segue into what jesus is about to do next because once jesus leaves his hometown he decides to send his disciples out to further his ministry mark says jesus began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits now there are actually several interesting things that stand out about this command first why does he send them in pairs right is there's something significant about that and the answer is yes deuteronomy says that two witnesses are required to authenticate a testimony these men are authenticating who jesus is and what his message is they are witnesses verifying the truth about jesus but this mission isn't just about jesus and his ministry jesus is sending the disciples out to do this work because they need to have this experience first off like any good rabbi he's leading by example they saw him cast out demons and now he's asking them to do the same thing second being in pairs is a pattern that we see in jesus ministry i mean he almost never encourages his disciples to do anything alone he always has them do things in pairs he always has them do things together right they pray together they serve together jesus may go off to be alone but he encourages his disciples to be together this is one of those things that we really need to pay attention to in the gospels i mean so often our relationship with god is so individualistic right we read the bible by ourselves we pray by ourselves we attend worship or watch a video like this by ourselves and i'm not saying that there isn't a time and a place for doing things alone but doing things alone should be the exception i mean when you look at how the early christians functioned when you look at moments like this you see that the norm should be exercising our faith together we search for ways to pray and read and serve and watch together even if all we can do is connect with someone online nevertheless even as important as this lesson is this isn't the most important reason that jesus sends the disciples on this mission jesus sends out the disciples because he needs their faith to grow jesus tells his disciples that they are to take nothing with them while they travel no money no food no extra clothes nothing you see taking nothing require the disciples to be fully dependent upon god their power and authority comes from jesus they don't have their own independent power and authority and not having an extra tunic means that they won't have an outer garment that would keep them warm when they sleep outside and that's because they won't be sleeping outside they're trusting god to provide lodging and by staying in the first house that they come across they wouldn't be upgrading to better accommodations because they aren't in this for the money they aren't in this for the attention and the perks this is about ministry and faith it's about experiencing jesus authority flowing through them and coming to believe in who he truly is because this mission that they're on together is going to require a lot of faith even though jesus has had much success so far and even though the last chapter was filled with people who all bowed down to worship jesus this chapter has a decidedly different tone mark is showing us both sides of jesus ministry the success and the praise and the defeat and rejection jesus was rejected in his hometown and he can expect to be rejected elsewhere and following him being his disciples will also result in lots of rejection i mean i often wonder do we realize this do we embrace the fact that following jesus is hard or do we try to stay safe and avoid rejection i mean let me ask you have you ever been hesitant to tell somebody about jesus or talk about your faith because you are afraid that it will be awkward or cause issues do you ever fall into the trap of only serving when it's convenient or when it's fun or when it's comfortable but if it's stressful or if it conflicts with something else on your calendar or it seems boring then you decline i mean i'm going to be honest with you right i've done all of these things when i was in high school i wouldn't even wear wear shirts from mission trips that i went on because i was afraid of the ridicule i've turned away from so many opportunities to be used by god because it didn't fit my schedule or my interests i still worry about how i would respond if jesus were here right now and told me to go cast out demons and trust that god would provide food and shelter but here's the thing jesus doesn't ask us to always feel the right way he asks us to do the right thing and that's what jesus is calling us to do to be disciplined to be disciples to do the right thing and so when these disciples go from town to town and they cast out demons and they heal people and they call upon people to repent jesus wants them to be ready because at this moment in the story jesus disciples are definitely not ready and this is really hard on jesus and you'll see what i mean in just a moment but before that i also want to invite you to take a quick moment right now to click thumbs up and the subscribe buttons if you're enjoying this video just by doing that you're going to help make it possible for even more people to see this video and to understand the bible so thank you for being a part of this ministry through that simple act and once again just a reminder stick around until the end because i'm going to be giving you some action steps that will help all of these things that we're learning connect in even greater ways but now back to the passage so as we enter the second half of this passage we quickly realized that just like in life we often go from moments of great joy to moments of great pain in verse 14 all of a sudden we learn that john the baptist is dead and i have to be honest it's really strange how mark informs us of this i mean all of a sudden he quotes herod referring to john's death in the past tense and that's how we find out right he's just gone i actually lost an aunt recently and because of covid and a variety of other factors none of us could be with her when she died and the pain that i felt greatest when i got the news of her death was the realization that she'd been in this decline and i didn't even know about it the grief was so sudden and so final and that's how it feels to learn of john's death if you're hearing this story for the first time your immediate reaction is wait what but there's even more reason to grieve here because the pain of this moment isn't just about john it's also about jesus and you'll see what i mean in just a moment now first we have to talk about why john dies when mark tells us of john the baptist's death he connects it to herod antipas and one thing i want to recognize is that hearing the name herod in the bible can quickly lead to a lot of confusion you see there are several herods in scripture herod the great herod agrippa herod archelaus and in this passage mark is referring to a man named herod antipas now what's interesting about herod antipas is that his power didn't extend very broadly he wasn't the king of all israel he wasn't even the king of jerusalem and in fact he wasn't really even a true king at all the more accurate description of this herod is the title we find in matthew and luke's gospels tetrarch and this is because when his father herod the great died the same herod who ordered all of the young males to be killed when jesus was born when he died his lands were redistributed by rome in some of the land they installed their own governors and other parts they gave to some of herod's sons antipas was in charge of the regions of galilee and perea and since galilee is where most of jesus's ministry occurs this is why we see herod antipas appear so prominently in the gospels this fact also gives us context for the conflicts between herod and john john performed his ministry along the jordan he too crossed into herod's territory and in this passage we learn of events that will ultimately lead to john's death john is upset because herod is marrying a woman named herodius but the real question is why does this upset him so much and the answer to that is actually fairly complex you see when herod decides to marry herodius he's already married and so is herodias herodius is actually the wife of herod's brother philip who is also a tetrarch so for herod to marry herodias not only must he divorce his wife and not only must herodius leave her husband causing both of them to commit adultery but additionally herodias is his niece daughter of his brother aristobulus and then finally this betrayal will ultimately lead to armed conflict between herod's armies and the armies of his former father-in-law eratos costing innocent people their lives this is a moral disaster on many levels it will harm people far beyond those involved it highlights the immorality of those in power those leading the nation and ultimately it's something that john will forfeit his life to resist but here's the thing that's the story that mark tells us that's the story on the surface but then there's also the deeper meaning here the subtle narrative that impacts jesus before mark tells us the story of herod he tells us of these rumors that are spreading around about jesus and as with any person who suddenly thrust into celebrity people quickly begin to ask the question who is this man really and several ideas are floated right some people say that jesus is elijah others say that one of the prophets has come back others say that john the baptist has been raised from the dead but this this rumor isn't something that goes away in fact two chapters later these speculations about jesus are still pervasive jesus asks his disciples who do people say that i am and they tell him john the baptist and others say elijah and others one of the prophets but there's more to this rumor about jesus than simply thinking a prophet has returned this is meant to show us how jesus was viewed by the people around him and more importantly this is meant to indicate how jesus was viewed by herod and the others in positions of power jewish prophets don't often live lives that conclude with happy endings right one of jesus's most powerful condemnations of the religious leaders of his time was woe to you because you build tombs for the prophets and it was your ancestors who killed them and when you look back in mark's gospel who were the religious leaders in mark's gospel talking to just a few chapters ago the herodians the last time that there was a reference to herod's name the religious leaders and the herodians were plotting together against jesus in just the last chapter we saw how jesus sending the demon-possessed pigs off a cliff into the water was his way of saying that he could kick out rome if he wanted to if jesus is claiming that even rome isn't strong enough to defeat him just imagine what kind of a threat herod perceives to his own power and then there's the fact that the jewish historian josephus tells us that herod executed john not just because of the situation with herodias but because john had become too popular john was a threat and so is jesus this is a subtle hint by mark that the pain we feel over john's death in this moment is only the beginning they will do to jesus what they did to john and not only do we feel this but jesus feels this too you know i've always found it interesting that mark places the story of john the baptist in this particular spot i mean it comes right after jesus sends out his disciples to heal and to preach and right before he feeds the five thousand and yet there's no apparent connection to either of these stories at least there's no connection that's apparent in english the greek tells us a different story though as jesus reconnects with his disciples he suggests that they all go to a quiet place the greek words used here are a ramos tapos this phrase has appeared twice before both times in mark chapter 1. the first time was when jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness this was a period of testing jesus was about to begin his ministry and satan was tempting him trying to pull him away from this ministry it's easy to imagine that jesus is going through the same thing right here in this moment john his cousin the prophet who precedes him has been executed he knows that this same fate awaits him and once again he has to wrestle with the weight of what he's here to do be faithful to god or give in and give up but then we see a shift you see the other time that ramos tapos appears in mark 1 is after jesus has performed his first healing miracles he's exhausted he needs to step away and rest which is exactly what he's teaching his disciples to do he's teaching them by example that these are the types of moments where they need to step away to rest to be with the father but as we can see this is something that's easier said than done for jesus ramos tapos also shows us that people are willing to search for jesus in even the most remote of places and so as you're reading this right you think that this is a really great thing for jesus yes there's danger on the horizon but his ministry is so successful people are longing to be near him they're traveling to see him sure his family and hometown reject him sure leaders want to kill him but he has a new family a growing family and it feels like that makes it all worth it i mean just look at what happens next right jesus is preaching and the crowd is so enthralled that they don't even leave for food and then jesus performs this massive miracle of feeding five thousand men plus women and children i mean it seems like it should be this pinnacle moment in jesus ministry something exciting something he could celebrate but when you look closer you begin to notice the loneliness that jesus must feel in this moment because while thousands of people have flocked to see him thousands worship him and believe in him those closest to him just don't get it i mean in both the feeding of the 5000 and the miracle of jesus walking on the water that follows it the difference between jesus's disciples and the crowds who've been following jesus is glaring the disciples can't imagine how jesus will feed all of these people despite all that they've seen him do the disciples don't even recognize jesus walking on the water in fact their reaction as jesus walks on the water is so upsetting that mark thinks it's important to remind us that the disciples didn't even understand the miracle of the loaves and the fishes they don't understand anything that's going on and then when he says this he says something that is especially condemning of the disciples he says that their hearts were hardened any jewish person hearing this story would have immediately known the implications of that phrase when the israelite people turned away from god the prophets would say that their hearts were hardened when pharaoh refused to free the israelite people from slavery in egypt scripture says that his heart was hardened and what's worse there are multiple connections between jesus and moses in these stories in mark's gospel so jesus is compared to moses and the disciples are compared to pharaoh instead of furthering jesus ministry their lack of faith may actually impede it and these are the men closest to jesus these are the men that we call the chosen this is why jesus sent them out to heal and to preach he needs their faith to grow because what it causes you to realize is that at least at this point in jesus ministry he is just so alone his family rejects him his town rejects him his cousin has been killed and once again his disciples who should be furthering his ministry are getting in the way i mean it feels like all that jesus has are the crowds and anyone who has ever tasted celebrity will tell you that when all you have is the crowds you end up feeling so alone mark is giving us this powerful glimpse into the person of jesus what he's feeling what he's experiencing he's allowing us to imagine and connect with jesus in such a way that the gospel isn't just a story of some man who performed miracles god isn't just walking the earth passing through dispassionately pursuing some mission jesus had feelings jesus endured hardships jesus struggled with the same things in his life that we do in ours and i think for some of you that's a message that you really need to hear jesus isn't just god jesus is god in the flesh god loves us enough to come into our world and experience it as we experience it not to pretend to experience it but to truly experience it the good and the bad and for some of you when you hear what jesus is going through in this passage something hits close to home right your maybe your life has been lots of ups and downs recently maybe even just lots of downs or maybe you're just feeling really alone disconnected even from some of those people who you're supposed to be closest to some of you are separated from your family right now are being criticized and rejected by the people around you some of you have lost someone really dear to you and you're really hurting well here's what i need you to hear today here's what i want you to know you have a savior who knows what you're feeling you have a god who cares about what you're going through jesus has been where you are jesus has felt what you're feeling but here is the good news he's not going to leave you there because god came to earth to save you to heal you and just as jesus can heal people of demonic possession and just as he can nourish thousands of people with a few loaves and a few fish and just as he can walk on water and conquer nature he can conquer and heal whatever you're going through and he can nourish you as nobody else can and so if you're hurting today or if you know somebody who's hurting i want to pray for you right now right and like i said right after this i'm going to give you some next steps for this week but first let's pray oh lord we come to you with heavy hearts right now some of us feel like we're on our last leg struggling to make it through today some of us are hurting mourning for those that we love those that we've lost some of us just feel so alone but jesus we know that because of you we are not alone you've been where we are you know our pain and we know that you are the only one who can heal us and redeem it and so i pray lord that you will remove the pain of those who are praying right now and even those who aren't even watching this heal what is broken in their lives be their savior and inspire us with your holy spirit to be the people who take that good news to others so that the gift of your salvation may spread even to the ends of the earth and it's in your name that we pray amen okay so like i said here are a few quick next steps that will help you to apply all of this to your life this week first read mark 6 all the way through now that you have all of this information go read the whole chapter with a fresh set of eyes see what jumps out at you that you've never seen before and then once you do i want to invite you to take it a step further the next thing i want to challenge you to do is invite three people to watch this with you and discuss it together watch this video again pick up on things that you missed watching it the first time but this time i want you to do it with friends or other people right we always learn more with others and they pick up on things that you might have missed and so so take a moment to do that and then third reach out to somebody who's hurting one of the things that stands out to me in this passage is that despite how much jesus was hurting he still focused on his mission of healing and saving others and so i want to invite you to look for others who need to hear the good news of jesus this week and to share his love with them and then finally click this video right here and watch mark three go back and look at jesus's relationship with his family along with the other things that mark referenced in this passage again notice how things change with this new knowledge that you have let me know what you're learning in the comments and again thank you so much for watching have a great week and we'll see you next time

Channel: Brandon Robbins

Views: 518,682

Keywords: bible study, the chosen, the chosen tv, the chosen season 1, the chosen season 2, deep dive, gospel of mark, mark 1, mark 2, mark 3, mark 4, mark 5, mark 6, mark 7, mark 8, mark 9, mark 10, mark 11, mark 12, mark 13, mark 16, jesus, Jesus christ, read the bible, understand the bible, how to read the bible, how to understand the bible, bible study with me, bible study tips, bible study lessons, Mark 5 Bible tudy, beyond the word, brandon robbins the chosen

Id: Arl2UqSsBMA

Length: 31min 11sec (1871 seconds)

Published: Wed Oct 13 2021