Gospel of mark
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SIN: JEALOUSY 1. Jealousy is the strongest of the mental sins. (Proverbs 27:3,4) 2. Jealousy is the most cruel of all sins; it turns a person into a monster. 3. Jealousy removes all happiness from a believer; it is a mental sin by which you make your own misery. 4. Some people cannot stand the success of others; consequently jealousy destroys the basis of friendship. 5. So great was the sin of jealousy that a whole offering of the Levitical Code was prescribed for it. (Numbers 5:11-31) It is the only offering that was designed for one sin only. 6. Jealousy is the basis for the destruction of married love. (Song of Solomon 8:6) 7. The same jealousy which destroys love can also destroy the normal function of the soul. (Job 5:2; Proverbs 14:30) This is the explanation of some cases of psychoses and neuroses. 8. Jealousy motivates to revenge. (Proverbs 6:34) 9. Jealousy of Joseph motivated his brothers to sell him into slavery. (Acts 7:9) 10. Therefore jealousy takes real or apparent wrongs out of the Lord's hand and intrudes on divine judgment. (Deuteronomy 32:35; Romans 12:19) 11. Jealousy split the nation of Israel. (Isaiah 11:13 - Ephraim's jealousy of Judah) 12. Jealousy was the motivator of the religious leaders who crucified Jesus Christ. (Matthew 27:18; Mark 15:10) 13. Jealousy rejects the teaching of the Bible truths. (Acts 13:45; 17:5) 14. False doctrine of apostasy produces jealousy (1 Timothy 6:3,4). CHRISTIAN LIFE: SUFFERING 1. Ultimately, all suffering is a result of the sin of Adam. 2. God is sovereign and allows even undeserved suffering to come upon the world for a reason (Romans 8:28) a) To bring people to a point of helplessness where they call out to Him b) To test and develop faith, so bringing glory to Himself. 3. There will be no suffering for believers in eternity (Revelation 21:4). 4. Unbelievers will suffer forever in the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:12-15). 5. Suffering can be caused by: a) Discipline for your own sins b) The effect of the sins of others on you - gossip, war, crime c) Self-induced suffering as a result of your own actions – e.g. sickness from smoking, poverty from poor stewardship d) The sovereign will of God - health, weather.
a) All suffering is designed for blessing in the Christian walk (1 Peter 1:7, 8, 4:14) b) Even discipline is designed to restore fellowship (Hebrews 12:6) c) Suffering follows the principle of grace (Romans 8:28, 1 Thessalonians 5:18). 7. Purpose of Christian Suffering: a) To receive discipline for carnality or backsliding (Psalm 38) b) To glorify God (Job 1:8-12, Luke 15:20, 21) c) To illustrate doctrine (Book of Hosea) d) To learn obedience (Philippians 2:8, Hebrews 5:8) e) To keep down pride (2 Corinthians 12:7-10) f) To develop faith (1 Peter 1:7, 8) g) To witness for Christ (2 Corinthians 13:4) h) To demonstrate the power of God (2 Corinthians 11:24-33, 2 Corinthians 12:7-10) i) To manifest the fruit of the Spirit (2 Corinthians 4:8-11) j) To help others who suffer (2 Corinthians 1:3-5) k) From indirect action - because other believers get out of fellowship (Romans 14, 1Corinthians 12:12, 13, 26, 1Samuel 21, 1Chronicles 21). 8. Dealing With Suffering - Applying Spiritual Daily Orders: To be a believer is to be associated with suffering. It is not a strange thing, it is our duty, and we are to take it as a soldier takes the rigours of a long campaign; without complaint, and with dignity and strength. The five “Daily Orders” for the battle against the adversary, to be applied in the church age, in the power of the Holy Spirit are found in 1Peter 5:8,9. They will protect us against the cunning of the “lion”. a) Be Sober! - At all times be self controlled, not under the control of any emotion, or any other substance(drink or drugs), but only by the Holy Spirit. Romans 13:11-13. 1 Thessalonians 5:6 -8. b) Be Vigilant! - At all times, stay awake to danger, don’t relax your guard, don’t get careless. c) Resist! - Stand up to, resist, oppose everything he stands for. Zero tolerance of evil is to be the standard for our lives. Also refer, Luke 4:3-12, Ephesians 4:27, 6:11-13, James 4:7. d) Be steadfast in the faith once delivered to the apostles! Be unbreakable, stand as a solid mass of soldiers resisting attack. Stand with the apostolic doctrines, and their practices. As a local church be united, stand together, tight and committed to each other. e) Keep on knowing you are not alone! All believers suffer pressures when they stand for their Lord. DEATH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST MARK 6: 21-29 [MATTHEW 14:6-12] see HARMONY 74-3 21 And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee; 22 And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. 23 And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. 24 And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. 25 And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist. 26 And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. 27 And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, 28 And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother. 29 And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb. KEY WORDS
BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS 21 And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee; The question as to what day this was using Matthew’s account alone is answered here in verse 21, which states that it was his birthday. An advertisement here in Australasia used to say, “rust never sleeps”, but in human affairs, Malice never sleeps. Those who hate because they are guilty of some sin and have been nailed by the truth knows no bounds of space or time. It is classified by Mark as a “convenient day”, opportune for the designs of Herodias on the life of John the Baptist. She had long waited for an opportunity to kill this man, who had rightly accused Herod of an illegal union with Herodias. Herod was a religious Jew, and will will find him celebrating Passover in Jerusalem, Luke 23:7-15, and he may have celebrated Pentecost, and the Feasts of Trumpets and Tabernacles but he never saw that the one who fulfilled them all was here in his territory. Like all people who play act at religion he could look pious and attend ceremonies to look good, but he didn't care anything about the things of God, only about the things for himself and his own pleasure and pride. Pride always goes before a fall into destruction. Proverbs 11:2, 13:10, 16:18, Isaiah 28:1-12. He truly celebrated, in a totally pagan manner, his own birthday, which he kept as a formal festival, in eating, and drinking, and dancing; and so was a very opportune time for Herodias to take the advantage of Herod, when in a good humour, and too drunk to think straight, amidst his corrupt nobles, to ask for the death of the Baptist. Psalm 69:12, Proverbs 20:1, 31:4-8, Daniel 5:1-5, Joel 1:5-7, Nahum 1:2-10, 1 Corinthians 6:9-14. 22 And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. 23 And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. Salome is stated to be the daughter of Herodias, not of Herod, as she was the daughter of Philip, the brother of Herod Antipas from whom he had taken both his wife and daughter. Under her mother’s instructions, she danced erotically and sexually excited Herod and his guests with her dancing. In Mark’s version it tells that she not only pleased Herod but also his lords, captains, and principal men who were in the banqueting hall. All these older men are acting like love sick fools in the presence of this young and beautiful girl, and her mother has her moment. The pleasure of the king, and his state of drunkenness is shown in his words to Salome where he told her, “ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee”. He reinforced his offer with an oath adding that he was willing to give her up to half his kingdom, an offer which is only given in Mark. The sexualized dancing that excites the guests of Herod and affects the foolish old drunk man here was forbidden to Jewish girls, and the Lord had warned that such things as this would be followed by invasion and destruction. Isaiah 3:16-26. The giving of, "to the half of his kingdom", was a way of speaking used by princes when they give full power to persons to ask what they will of them. It was a formal way to express their great generosity and liberality, it was not to be taken literally by the person, for Herod already had given the rulership of the kingdom to his wife, Salome’s mother Herodias. In essence they were saying, “let it be ever so great, or cost what it will, though as much as half a kingdom comes to, it shall be granted. cf Esther 1:10-12, 5:3-6, 7:2. It was a very foolish and drunken promise, for it is the sort of thing that maliciousness will always take and utilize to the full. It was ironic that if Herod swore by his head, which was a common form of swearing with the Jews, she answered him; as you have swore by your head, give me John Baptist's head. Proverbs 6:1-5. 24 And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. 25 And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist. In these verses Mark explains the actions of Salome making it clear that they were planned with her mother, and the plan has been successful. She seeks guidance from her mother about what she should ask for as a reward for her dancing saying, “what shall I ask?” The reply from Herodias was instantaneous; she wanted the head of John the Baptist. Salome turned on her heel and immediately returned to the banqueting hall to where the king and nobles still were drinking. She then directly asked, “I will that thou give me by and by in a charger, the head of John the Baptist”. Proverbs 27:3-4. “The charger” was a large platter on which food is placed, and one will be taken from the banquet to fulfil this request. It was customary for princes to demand that the heads of persons ordered for execution were to be brought to them. For this there were two reasons: 1. To satisfy their resentment - to feast their eyes on the proof that their enemy was dead; and, 2. To confirm the fact that the sentence had been executed. John would have the Psalms as his comfort, for he was in God’s hands and the single axe blow freed him from his prison cell to join Abraham. Psalm 27:1-2, 37:12-15, 68:20, 116:15. There is a similar instance in Roman history of a woman requiring the head of an enemy to be brought to her. The Roman historian says that, “Agrippina, the mother of Nero, who was afterward emperor, sent an officer to put to death Lollia Paulina, who had been her rival for the imperial dignity. When Lollia’s head was brought to her, not knowing it at first, she examined it with her own hands until she perceived some particular feature by which the lady was distinguished.” These people were ruthless and totally without remorse. Hatred can make us all this way! Mental attitude sins are totally destructive of goodness and righteousness. 26. And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. 27 And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, 28 And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother. Probably the strongest reason why Herod murdered John however was his lack of courage to obey the law and to follow the dictates of conscience against the opinions of wicked people. He valued the opinions of his drunken colleagues, all of whom would abandon him within a few years of these events and happily see him and Herodias exiled to France to die. He was afraid of the charge of cowardice rather than be afraid of the Lord’s judgment upon him. He was afraid of the temporary ridicule and contempt of wicked men who did not matter eternally and opened himself to eternal judgment. The Latin word for an executioner is "speculator", and is the name of an officer concerned in executions, and particularly in beheading of persons; and so is used by Latin writers. In ancient literature a writer speaks of a soldier that was condemned by Piso, on suspicion of murdering his fellow soldier. He was taken outside the camp, and as soon as he stretched out his neck, he, who was thought to be killed, suddenly appeared; upon which the centurion that had the management of the execution, ordered the "speculator", to put up his sword, and returned the condemned person to Piso.'' Josephus says of Herodias that, “she was a woman full of ambition and envy, having a mighty influence on Herod, and able to persuade him to things he was not at all inclined to.” This is one of the many proofs that we have that the evangelists drew characters according to truth. This man needed to “fear the Lord”, but he feared the wrath of his adulterous wife above the things that really mattered. Psalm 19:9, Proverbs 1:7, 3:7, 8:13, 9:10. As Shakespeare said, “Love(Lust) truly does make fools of us all!” |