The True Spiritual Head

Title: The True Spiritual Head By Pastor Lohn Johnson

Text: Mark 6: 22 For when Herodias's daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, "Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you."  23 And he vowed to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom."  24 And she went out and said to her mother, "For what should I ask?" And she said, "The head of John the Baptist."  25 And she came in immediately 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, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her.  27 And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head.

INTRODUCTION: My dear friends in Christ, Being headless is one of the most terrible fates to contemplate.  It has come up in the news all too often recently – often those who cause that condition are themselves headless.  Our American history has a popular story accenting the terror of being headless.  In colonial times the fictional character Icabod Crane is terrified by a guy from his town who was acting like a headless horseman [Video: Disney’s Legend of Sleepy Hollow]  This story is fictional.  But our text’s headless account is all too real and because of that even more frightening.  And it represents our natural condition in more ways than we’d care to admit.

I. Herod, who should be called Antipas, was the son of Herod the Great, who ruled when Jesus was born. Antipas was not really a “king” but a sub-ruler, entitled a tetrarch, more like a Duke or an Earl

A. Herod was living in sin with his sister-in-law Herodias, and John the Baptist was not afraid to tell him so. John spoke God's Word truthfully, but Herodias was angry at him, so Herod locked him up in prison.

1. But this was not good enough for Herodias.  She wanted him dead.  So she devised an evil plan.

a. On Herod's birthday her daughter danced for Herod and for all the important men who were gathered for his feast.  This was no ballet dance.  It was not some sweet little tap-dance routine performed by a young girl.  It was an erotic, lustful dance designed to accomplish one thing--put Herod into such a state of frenzy that he would boastfully and stupidly make an oath of generosity.  It worked.  Herod promised the daughter of Herodias anything up to half of his kingdom.  Her mother commanded her, "Bring me the head of John the Baptist!"  She went back to Herod with this request and that night, while men were singing, "Happy Birthday!" blood flowed in John's prison cell.  At this point Herod was not thinking with his head.  You might contrast this and ask, “Who’s really headless here?” b. If you play the game of chess, you are familiar with the pieces on the board – from the lowly pawn to the all–important king.  If one of your pawns gets “captured” – it’s not that big a deal. But if your king gets captured – the game is over. Pawns have little power – are usually used to set up other pieces or sacrificed to help clear the way for the other, more important pieces – like the rook, knight, bishop, or queen. Kings, however, while their movement is somewhat limited when compared to the other pieces – are the one piece you want to protect at all cost.  That’s the way it is in life, also – isn’t it?  People will strive to be a king – but nobody wants to be a pawn. The truth, however, is that even kings can end up being pawns (like Herod Antipas had become in today's Gospel account) –

2. Now Herod might claim that he had been tricked; that Herodias tempted him with her daughter into making a promise which cost John his head.

a. But he admits in verse 16, "I beheaded John the Baptist."  b. This is not to say that he was repentant of his sin, but it is more than our first parents were willing to admit.  They, too, were tricked...by a snake...by cunning Satan.  His evil plan was somewhat identical to the plan of Herodias.  She wanted John beheaded.  Satan wanted God's creation beheaded.  Herodias tricked Herod, and Satan tricked Adam and Eve.  When they took a bite of the fruit that he tempted them with, sin's axe flew and cut off their head!  [Video: Alice in Wonderland?]

B. Did you ever see a chicken with its head cut off?  It runs around wildly for a few minutes, as if it's looking for its head, and then it plops onto the ground, dead.

1. That was Adam and Eve.  When they sinned, they were cut off from God.

a. They were dead but didn't know it.  b. They ran around the Garden, not looking for their head, but trying to hide from God; and sooner or later they, and all of their children, would plop over and die eternally in hell.

2. And that's how you and I were born into this world.  As children of Adam and Eve, we were born without a head.

a. "Now pastor," you may be thinking, "You're wrong here.  We were all born with a head.  It even came out first, for most of us.  If we were born without a head, we would all be dead."  And so we were.  We were born "Dead in our trespasses and sins," Scripture tells us.  We may be born with a human head, but we are born dead in sin because we are born cut off from our true Head who is Christ. b. And just like Adam and Eve, we run around in life trying to hide from our true Head.  When you children disobey your parents, you are acting as if you had no head.  He has placed your parents over you to be your head in His place.  But when children, or any of us despise authority, and thus disobey the head over us, we are acting headless—without our true head which should be God.  Yes, we are acting like Herod.

II. When people of the world refuse to hear the words of God, it is because they are rejecting their Head. Herodias wanted John's head cut off because he spoke the Word of God truthfully.

A. People today want to live their sinful lives and they do not, like Herodias, want to hear what God says about it.  Or people of today are like Herod and hear what God says a little bit but to not take it to heart.  So by staying away from church, by staying away from the preaching and teaching of God's Word or not taking God’s word to heart, they, like Herodias or Herod, are acting as if they have no head.

1. And don't we all do this to some extent?  We like being our own head.  We want to live our life our way, not God's way.

a. But our head in not really a spiritual head.  Then we headlessly live life according to our will, our standards, our commandments, and not His.  b. And if God is not our head, we will die.  We may run around day after day, week after week, year after year through life, but eventually the chicken will fall to the ground. c. When we live headless lives we need to repent!  If you have been cutting off His authority over you, His words from your life, repent now before it is too late

2. Herodias may have thought that when John was beheaded, that would be the end of it.  No more guilt, no more anger, no more fear of punishment, no more preaching.

a. But after John came Jesus...preaching and teaching in the same way that John had...calling sinners to repentance.  And Jesus, too, they arrested; and like John, they cut Him off from the land of the living, nailing Him to a tree.  But the Head would not stay dead.  On the third day He rose again.  b. He did all this for us.  So we wouldn’t have to be headless.  So we wouldn’t have to drop over dead like a headless chicken.  He paid for mankind’s sin, for mankind’s rejection of God being our true head.  And now He, the Head of His church, gives life to His body.

B. You are that body. You are His church

1. Jesus is your Head placed upon you in your baptism.

a. And the life He now lives, He gives to you so that you live with Him and under Him in His kingdom.  Although you and I have rejected Him as our Head by our sinful lives, He forgives you.  Though we day after day continue to rebel against His words for us, thus placing His head on a platter, He continues to restore you as His body under Him through His words of absolution and His sacrament of undeserved love [grace]. b. Jesus is not an angry Head. He is not a revengeful Head.  He, as your Head, does not seek your destruction.  He is certainly not frightful like the Headless Horseman.  He even came looking for Adam and Eve to restore them, so He comes seeking you in His words of mercy, that through such words He restores you as His precious body.  He puts His life back into you.  He gives peace to your heart and hope to your eternal soul.  The words He gives you today restore Him to His rightful place as your Head, for His words of grace forgive your sins and put faith into your heart.

2. Our society is filled with people who are running around headless thinking they are not.  Doing what they think is right in their own eyes.  They do not acknowledge God as their true head.

a. Do you have a friend or loved one who is still running around like a headless chicken?  I have such dear ones and I'm sure you do too...friends and loved ones who have little or no regard for the hearing of God's Word...friends and loved ones who are really headless because they are living their life apart from Him.  b. Let us not be selfish with what we have been given.  Christ has covered you as your forgiving Head, and He deeply desires to restore them also under His headship.  Without Christ as their Head, our friends and loved ones may run for a while through life, but sooner or later they will fall to the ground and die.  We can give them Jesus today.  We can restore them to that place under their merciful Head as God works in and through us.

CONCLUSION: John's head, to this day, is cut off from his body.  Herodias made certain of that.  But you are not Headless.  Jesus is your Head.  You are His body.  He has restored you.  He forgives you.  And through you He now will work to forgive and restore lost sinners near and dear to you.  Amen

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