All right, if you have your Bibles, open those
to Matthew 14. I was thinking about Father's
Day, and I'm like, man, what could be a really
encouraging passage for fathers? And I thought,
what better encouragement than the beheading
of John the Baptist? So that's where we are in,
as providence would have it. Matthew 14, verses
1 through 12. Matthew writes, he says, at that
time, Herod the Tetrarch heard the report about
Jesus and he said to his servants, this is John
the Baptist. He's risen from the dead and that's
why these powers are at work in him. And then
Matthew explains, for Herod had laid hold of
John and bound him and he put him in prison for
the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife.
Because John had said to him, it's not lawful
for you to have her. You don't get to marry your
brother's wife. And although he wanted to put
him to death, he, that is Herod, feared the multitude
because they counted him, John, as a prophet.
But when Herod's birthday was celebrated, the
daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased
Herod. Therefore he promised with an oath to
give her whatever she might ask. So she, having
been prompted by her mother, said, Give me John
the Baptist's head here on a platter. And the
king was sorry. Nevertheless, because of the
oath and because of those who sat with him, he
commanded it to be given to her. So he sent and
had John beheaded in prison. And his head was
brought on a platter and given to the girl. She
brought it to her mother. Then his disciples
came. And they took away the body and buried
it and went and told Jesus. Would you bow before
me in asking God to help us as we look at this
text? Our gracious God, Lord, would you help
us this morning by means of your spirit to understand,
Lord, not only the meaning of the text, but Lord,
how it might apply to our own lives. Lord God,
would you give illumination. But above all, Lord,
I pray that your spirit would show us Christ.
Lord, worship, if it is to be worship that pleases
you, Father, must be pointing and derived in
your Son, for he is the one in whom you're well
pleased. God, I would ask, Lord, for your help
and favor now for the glory and honor of Christ,
we pray. Amen. There's an old adage that says
if you want to keep peace at dinner parties,
there are two topics that we should always avoid.
And I guess it's not just dinner parties, it's
wherever you go. If you want to keep peace, two
topics you don't ever want to talk about. And
they are politics and religion. Now we're told
to avoid those because they can be so divisive.
Yet interestingly enough, the scriptures don't
shy away from either of those topics. Now, we
need to say this. Of course, the Bible is not
some political handbook, but it does speak into
the political sphere. A couple of examples. The
prophet Nathan, he confronted King David over
his adulterous relationship with Bathsheba. If
you go to the Old Testament as well, you see
the prophet Elijah confronting evil King Ahab
and telling him what he was doing was against
the law of God. In fact, if you look at the prophet's
job, one of their main descriptions would be,
they must speak truth in the political or civic
sphere. And the reason this is true is because
all authority, all authority, is a delegated
authority. Now we know that because in Matthew
28, Jesus said, all authority, all power, it's
the word authority there, exousia, is given to
me in heaven and earth. There is no authority
that Jesus doesn't have. So any authority whatsoever,
civic, political, religious, ecclesiastical,
it doesn't matter. All authority is a delegated
authority, meaning it finds its source in God.
And we see that in John 19. Do you remember Jesus
is standing before Pilate, who was the Roman
prefect. Pilate thought he was a big shot. And
he says, he looked at Jesus and he said, what,
you're not going to answer me? Don't you know
what I could do to you? And Jesus answers in
John 19, 11. He said, you could have no power.
He said, don't get too proud there. He said,
basically, Jesus is telling Pilate that the Roman
Empire was not ultimate. The ultimate authority
is God himself. Pilate only held that position
because God had seen fit to give it to him. God
ordains governing authorities, and they are subject
to him. authorities. Romans chapter 13 verse
1. Let every soul, there's no clarification,
let every soul, all people, be subject to the
governing authorities for there is no authority
except from God. And the authorities that be
or the authorities that exist are appointed by
God. Government is God's servant. It does not
exist independently of God as though it were
morally autonomous. Government does not get to
make its own moral code. Now, each sovereign
nation is free to enact its own civic laws. It's
free to do that, but it cannot enact its own
moral law. All rulers are accountable to God,
and the church has grounds to remind those rulers.
of God's standards. We have the moral authority
to make sure that our leaders know the law of
God. So that means even political leaders, even
a pluralistic society like our own, even civic
leaders, they are still under the moral law of
God. Now I do want to note something that's very
important. The church does not create moral truth.
It bears witness to the truth. The truth is found
in the Godhead. So the church has always had
a prophetic voice, always. And it's important
that we see this. We have a mandate, a command
from God that you and I as collective church
members, as a collective body, has to be light
in this world and bear witness to the light.
Now, what do I mean by prophetic voice when I
say that the church has this prophetic voice
or arm? This is when the church clearly speaks
the truth of God's law to the contemporary culture,
secular culture. So we speak prophetically when
the church proclaims truth and moral order in
a dark world. Now this is very problematic and
you have to be very careful. The church must
be careful when it claims to be speaking prophetically.
This cannot be some rationale to simply push
our own political agenda. It cannot be rationale
to simply endorse our own political candidate.
That is an abuse of power when that takes place.
But when the church is speaking truth, when we're
speaking prophetically, there must be a clear
biblical mandate behind it. And by clear biblical
mandate, I mean a thus saith the Lord that we're
proclaiming. Let me give you one decision and
I'll explain why I'm taking the time to do this.
In the Obergefell decision that the Supreme Court
handed down, when we codified... as a nation,
so -called gay marriage. The church, prophetically
and rightly, lifted up her voice and opposed
vehemently that decision, saying the government
had no authority to redefine marriage. Marriage
was not instituted by the state. Marriage had
been instituted by God, and God alone determines
what is and is not marriage. So when the state
enshrines into law what violates God's moral
law or even natural law, we must raise our voice.
We cannot be silent. James Cassidy wrote an article
called The Church's Prophetic Voice and he said
this, In the history of God's people, there have
been various and sundry occasions when the church
has been called upon to speak to the civil government.
After all, God alone is the one true king of
all nations who serve at his command. And the
church as the kingdom of God is the place in
which the word God speaks to not only his people,
but to all peoples everywhere, including civil
governments. In ages past, God spoke through
the prophets to civil governments in extraordinary
circumstances. You know, I mentioned Nathan with
King David. But think about Daniel. Daniel would
often speak to pagan Babylonian kings about God
and his rule. You have John the Baptist in our
text today calling out King Herod over his sexual
immorality. So what I'm saying, and I want to
get to my point in a moment, if and when the
state enacts a law or codifies a violation of
God's moral law, the church can't keep silent.
We've got to lift our voice. Now, we're not going
to speak out, or we should not, on what a tax
code might be or an immigration policy or even
foreign policy ought to be. Now, we can all have
varying opinions. We can all think our opinions
are informed by biblical mandate. But there is
nothing that would be clearly biblical to enact
laws like that. We can't do it. So we have to
be careful. One last quote. There's a great Princeton
theologian. His name was Charles Hodge. And he
wrote, But he didn't write a whole lot on politics.
But this I thought was interesting. He said the
church has nothing to do with the state in the
exercise of its discretion within its own sphere.
And therefore has no right to meddle with questions
of policy, whether that policy be foreign or
domestic. And that they profane the pulpit when
they preach politics or turn this sacred desk
into a rostrum for lectures on secular affairs.
Amen. I agree with everything Charles Hodge just
said there. said there. Nevertheless, he did
acknowledge there is a time though when the church
must speak into the civic sphere. If the state
passes any laws contrary to the law of God, then
it is the duty of the church to whom God has
committed the great work of asserting and maintaining
his truth and will to protect and remonstrate.
I don't know that. You all see it, to protest.
Let's use that word, okay? It's a remonstrance,
I know that. If the state does anything directly
contrary to the law of God, the church is bound
to make that law known and set it home upon the
conscience of all concerned. Okay, great. Now
you're saying, why, pastor, are you taking the
time to say all that? Why explain all that? Because
of our text. Here in our text this morning, John
the Baptist, that great prophet, he's going to
lose his life. Yea, he will lose his head for
simply speaking the truth of God into the political
sphere. John, as a courageous man, refused to
be silenced and he would not stop speaking the
truth. And here we are in this Father's Day and
it is providential that we're here in this passage.
We do see the courage of a real man. We see the
courage of a true prophet of God who is bold.
and who was also unapologetic, who would lift
up his voice for truth. So there's a showdown
coming, and today it's here. You have King Herod,
and I'll explain in a moment, he's not really
a king, and John the Baptist. Now, who is this
Herod? Because if you're not paying careful attention,
we read the word Herod, and there are many Herods
in the New Testament, and they're not the same.
Herod is the name of a family dynasty. It's not
an individual name. It's kind of like the title
Caesar. There were many Caesars in Rome. There
were many Herods in Israel. So it's a family
who ruled over parts of Israel. Now they ruled
under Roman authority. That's technically why
they weren't kings. And their reign was primarily
during the time of Jesus and the early church.
The very first Herod that is mentioned is found
in Matthew chapter 2. This is Herod the Great.
He is the one known as King Herod, and he was
the one that was ruling at the time of Jesus'
birth. He was also the one who gave that evil
law that all the male children in Bethlehem and
the surrounding area who were two years and under
should be murdered. That's him. Now, he wanted
to destroy the Christ child. Because remember,
when the Magi came and said, where is the king
of the Jews who had been born? He thought himself
as the king of the Jews, so he wanted to wipe
out any rival power. Well, eventually he dies.
Herod the Great dies, and his rule is divided
into a Tetrarchy. Tetrarchy is ruled by four,
but it's actually divided between three of his
sons. Two Tetrarchs, one Ethnarch. Doesn't matter
the terms. So you have Herod Antipas. Now this
is one we're going to see in our text today.
He's the ruler of Galilee, the Tetrarch of Galilee.
He's the most prominent in the New Testament.
He's the one who executed John the Baptist. He's
also the one who interrogated the Lord Jesus
Christ. So when you read about Herod, it's not
Herod the Great there. This is Herod Antipas.
He had a brother, Philip. He was Tetrarch there
of Eteria and Trachonitis. So these are the territories
northeast of the Sea of Galilee. And then you
have another Herod, Herod Archelaus. He's an
ethnarch, so he ruled over an ethnic community,
Judea, Samaria, and Edomia. Now he was an awful
ruler. He was so awful that Rome exiled him,
and in his place they put in Pontius Pilate,
who would rule over that area. Now later in the
book of Acts, there's two more Herods mentioned.
You have Herod Agrippa, known as Herod Agrippa
I. He is the one who beheaded James. James would
have been the grandson of Herod the Great. All
these Herods. Then you had Herod Agrippa II.
He was the one who actually wanted to hear Paul
when he gave his defense. I don't know if you
remember that later in the book of Acts. That's
Herod Agrippa II. He would have been the great
-grandson of Herod the Great. So that's the context.
Now remember in chapter 13, Jesus had gone back
to his hometown of Nazareth. He was rejected
by those who had known him since childhood. So
as we continue in chapter 14, Matthew... The
writer is continuing the scene of the misunderstanding
of who Jesus really is. There is widespread confusion
over Jesus' identity. And in this opening section,
you meet Herod. He thinks that Jesus is John
the Baptist who had risen from the dead. A little
paranoia, don't you think? I mean, Herod had
John beheaded in prison. Now he hears about this
miracle worker in Galilee and he's like, oh man,
I'm in trouble. I know who that is. That's John.
He's come back to life. Now Matthew is writing
about this event. Not so much about John the
Baptist and a history lesson concerning him,
but rather this is a foreshadowing. What happened
to John, his execution, will soon happen to Jesus.
Just as John lost his life, Jesus will lose his.
John was rumored to have risen from the dead.
The Lord Jesus Christ will actually rise from
the dead in victory. So we see the theme of death
and resurrection being introduced into the text.
Now look at verses 1 and 2 as we work our way
through this. At that time, Herod the Tetrarch,
he heard the report about Jesus. He said, this
is John. He's risen. I know it. That's why these
miracles are being done. So you have Herod Antipas.
Where was he ruling? In Galilee. Where was Jesus'
base of operations? In Galilee. Where did Jesus
do most of his miracles? In Galilee. So it makes
sense that Herod heard about this man because
keep in mind, as we had seen, massive crowds
are following Jesus. They're hanging on his every
word. And certainly that would have caught the
gaze of any political leader. Political leaders
were very paranoid because people were always
trying to depose them. Now some at that time
were saying Jesus was Elijah reincarnate. This
is Elijah, come back. Others said, no, he's the
great prophet. Others said, no, he's just one
of the prophets. And then Herod weighed in. He's
like, no, you guys, you're all wrong. That's
John the Baptist risen from the dead. And we
see that in Mark 6, the parallel passage. Now
King Herod heard of Jesus, for his name had become
well known. Of course it had. And he said, John
the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore
these powers, these miracles, that's why they're
at work in him. Now, Herod is part Jewish, but
only in name. He's very superstitious, and he
lives like a pagan, technically under the law.
His conscience was bothering him, and we'll see
why in a minute. This is how he arrived at that
bizarre conclusion that somehow Jesus must be
John. Raised or resurrected. First of all, that
doesn't even make sense. What's the age difference
between Jesus and John the Baptist? Six months.
Just six months is all that's between them. And
besides, John had been executed not that long
ago. There's no way, because Jesus would have
been doing miracles before John had even been
executed. So it doesn't make sense. Secondly,
do you remember, John tells us in John 10 .41
that John the Baptist did no miracles. None.
No recorded miracles of him. So why would Herod
assume that a miracle worker must be John the
Baptist resurrected? Because he's paranoid. Why?
Look at verse 3 through 5. What did he do? For
Herod had laid hold of John and bound him and
put him in prison. Why? For the sake of his wife,
Herodias, another Herod. We'll get to that. But
that's his brother Philip's wife. And that, by
the way, was known as Herod Philip. Herod II.
I know all that gets confusing, but because John
said to him, you can't have her. You can't get
her to do that. Now it says in Luke verse 5,
he wanted to kill him. He wanted to put him to
death, but he feared the multitude because they
thought John was a prophet. So now the plot thickens
just a little bit here, doesn't it? So Herod
Antipas had fallen in love with his sister -in
-law, his brother Philip, or Herod Philip's wife.
And this happened on a trip to Rome. So he came
home. He divorced his own wife and he married
Philip's wife, whose name was Herodias, because
she's the granddaughter of Herod the Great, the
niece of Herod, by the way. So now you've got
a really bizarre thing going on, right? Herodias
was Herod and Philip's niece and Philip's wife
and now Herod's wife. Are you following me here?
I know, it's very messed up. So their union was
not only adulterous, It was incestuous and a
gross violation of God's moral law. And John
the Baptist would not sit idly by and take it.
He's going to lift up his voice and say, that
is evil and you don't get away with it. So John,
using the prophetic arm, he rightly lifted up
his voice. He spoke the truth to Herod and that
ticked him off. That made him and his wife very
angry. But it didn't matter to John. God's law
equally applies to kings as it does to peasants.
No one stands above the authority of God. But
this royal couple was being publicly embarrassed.
Their name was being besmirched because you have
this prophet who is ruining their standing among
the people. Because John was out there saying
to everyone, listen, their marriage is unlawful
and that's going to invite the judgment of God.
is going to lose status in the community and
people aren't going to respect him. So the next
thing they know, Rome's going to depose him.
I've got to get rid of this prophet. So you have
John the Baptist, a thorn in Herod's side. Just
shut up, John. But he wouldn't. John was widely
popular though. And he was viewed as a prophet
and he was. And by the way, that's the first
prophet in over 400 years. So this is a big deal.
That's why Herod was afraid to kill him. He's
going to have a revolt or mutiny on his hands.
So he said, I'm going to put him in prison. Now,
what was John's crying? He simply told him, your
marriage is in violation to God's law. Go back
and look at the history of English kings and
see when clerics and pastors would tell the king,
look at King Henry VIII. You didn't want to tell
him anything, right? I mean, like, we know this
is what happens. They don't want to hear the
truth. But we don't have a choice, friends. We
must stand for righteousness. J .C. Ryle, I love
his writing. He said, kings find it easier to
imprison and behead the preacher than to bind
his sermon and silence the voice of his reproof
in their own hearts. God's witnesses may be put
out of the way, you can kill them, but their
testimony often lives and works on long after
they are dead. God's prophets don't live forever,
but their words often survive them. That's the
case with here. It took a lot of courage. It
took a lot of metal, if you will, for John the
Baptist to speak like he did to Herod. Because
the truth is, Herod had been given quite a bit
of authority from the Roman government. And John
would not be deterred. Why? He feared God more
than he feared the king. He feared God more than
he feared Rome. See, but the problem was, it
wasn't just Herod that wanted him dead. Now,
I'm telling you ladies, you get you guys mad.
Herod's, I mean, Herod's bad. He put him in prison.
Herodias, she's in... In a total different category
of herself. She's going to take care of what
Herod's afraid to take care of. She's going to
come up and back cleaner. And she's going to
take care of it. She hated John even more. She
doesn't want him just in prison. She wants to
see him in the grave. So she develops. And I'll
get to this. There's many that think she developed
this plot. And I agree with them. In verses 6
through 8. So Herod had a big birthday celebration.
Birthdays were not widely celebrated in the ancient
culture. Unless you had political leaders. So
now the daughter of Herodias. We know from another
passage her name is Salome. She danced before
Herod and his friends. Therefore, and he liked
it. He liked the way she was dancing for him.
So he promised to give her whatever you want
to ask, I'll give it to you. So she's like, oh
mom, what should I ask? And her mother, knowing
her husband, knew that Herod would probably do
that and says, go ask for John the Baptist's
head on a charger, on a platter, right now. So
now Herod is an important public... political
figure, right? So his birthday would be a large
celebration, a large bash. Many important dignitaries
attending, probably Roman dignitaries. Now his
stepdaughter, who is also his great niece, is
the one dancing. This is Herodias' daughter,
Salome. This is his brother Philip's daughter,
by the way. She's dancing before him and his
guests. Now this party would have been likely
wine -filled lusts field and the dance more than
likely was an exotic dance being performed. The
whole scenario is grossly wicked. That's what's
taking place here. Some suggest, and I think
they're right here, Herodias knew that her husband
had been lusting after her daughter and she arranged
this whole thing in order to get her away and
get rid of John the Baptist once and for all.
So the young girl goes to dance. She pleases
Herod. So he makes this big promise. He's the
big man. He's got to look big in front of everyone.
He makes this grandiose promise, and he swears
with an oath. Now, he was assuming, I think,
she's a young girl. She's going to ask for gold,
silver, maybe some clothes, maybe some property.
But instead, she leaves the room, and she goes
and asks her mom. We know that from Mark 6, 24.
So she went out. Herodias is not in there, mostly
just men. And she says, why should I ask mom?
Cold, calculated. John the Baptist had. There
you have it. Herodias wants John out of her way.
I want to shut him up forever. I want him to
stop embarrassing us. And how? She wants immediate,
visible proof that John is dead. Not just in
prison. So her daughter comes back in front of
all the guests and all the dignitaries. And she's
like, I know what I want now. Tell me. Give me
that prophet's head right now on a charger. And
John was executed for the crime of speaking the
truth to a corrupt politician and his adulterous
wife. That's why he was killed. Look at verse
9. And the king was sorry. You bet he was. He's
scared. Nevertheless, because of those and because
of those who sat with him, he can't be publicly
embarrassed. His pride won't let him do that.
He commanded it to be given to her, so he sent
and had John beheaded in prison, and his head
was brought on a platter. What a great birthday
gift, right? And given to the girl. What's she
going to do with it? Here, Mom. There you go.
So we read that Herod's sorry, but he's not repentant.
There's a worldly sorrow that leads to death,
and this is the case. And there's a godly sorrow
that leads to repentance. Herod was sorry in
the sense that he knew that John the Baptist
was a prophet. He knew that. He knew that John
the Baptist was a righteous man. He also knew
that John the Baptist did not deserve death.
This is why he was filled with fear. He is violating
his own conscience here. He, I believe Herod,
was not expecting Herodias to ask for John's
head, but she did. And he does not want to be
embarrassed. He doesn't want to lose face in
front of them. After all, he had sworn with an
oath, tell me what you want, daughter. You can
have it all. And this is a sad commentary on
life. Herod feared man more than he feared God.
And that's a terrible choice in light of eternity.
So many people, they shipwreck their lives, they
shipwreck their faith. They will not follow the
crucified Christ. They fear man. I look foolish.
I'm going to be rejected. I'll lose my standing.
The courage to do right will disappear if you
are motivated by the court of human approval.
If you measure everything you do in life by what
other people are going to think, you will not
do right. And this is really, this is the sin,
the great sin of politics. What do we always
accuse politicians of doing? Speaking out of
both sides of their mouth. They want to please
everyone. God says, if you please everyone, you
will do nothing when you try to please everyone.
You can't do it. So Herod made good on his promise.
He sent the executioner and the sword into prison.
And he brought her head in and gave it to the
young girl who gave it to her mother, the mastermind
behind the plot. Again, J .C. Ryle. He said,
truly there was an event here. Now, I love what
he said. Listen carefully. If there ever was
one in the world which might make ignorant men
say, what prophet is there to serve God? I mean,
if serving God is going to make you lose your
head sitting in prison, why serve God? But these
are the sorts of things which show us that there
will one day be a judgment. God will right all
wrongs. The God. of the spirits of all flesh
shall at last set up a judicial inquest and reward
everyone according to his works. The blood of
John the Baptist and James the Apostle and Stephen,
that's the first Christian martyr, and Polycarp,
disciple of John the Baptist, and Hus, Reformation,
Ridley and Latimer, the Oxford martyrs there,
shall yet be required. No one gets away with
it, friend. It is all written in God's book.
I should say contemporary, and I don't want to
weigh in, but you think if O .J. did it or not,
he's now in eternity. He didn't get away with
it if he did. It is all written in God's book.
The earth will reveal her bloodshed and will
no longer cover her sling. The world shall yet
know that there is a God who judges the earth.
What a horrible choice foolish Herod made. He
had the chance to do right. He could have rectified
it, but he didn't. And John the Baptist's life
ends. But his work was now finished. And his
prayer was now answered. You're like, well, what
prayer? Do you remember in John 3 .30? John the
Baptist said, he, Jesus, must increase, but I
must decrease. Here it is. We read that the disciples
of John came and they took his body away for
burial. And then it says they went and told Jesus.
And that's an important thing. Don't overlook
that. John's disciples would become Jesus' disciples.
And that's fitting because John's ministry was
always supposed to lead people to Jesus and never
to himself. That's what Matthew's writing about
here. So as we end this, you say, okay, so what?
What's the takeaway from all this? I think there
are a few things. As men, as husbands and fathers,
We can learn from men like John the Baptist,
from our spiritual forefathers, to have courage.
We need men who have steel in their spine, who
have courage, courage to be bold and proclaim
the truth without apology, regardless of the
cost. We have to set an example for our young
people, for our children, of what following God
looks like. God help us. Let us not fail in that.
But you must understand, this is more important.
Matthew was not primarily writing to tell us
about John the Baptist. Matthew was not primarily
writing to give us a moral example to follow.
Matthew is foreshadowing of what will take place
and happen to Jesus. Now follow me here and then
we're done. In Matthew's gospel, the ministry
of John the Baptist always is foreshadowing Jesus'
ministry. Remember in Matthew 3, John the Baptist
comes on the scene, he's preaching the gospel.
What's he preaching? The kingdom of heaven was
at hand. That's Matthew 3. Go to Matthew 4, Jesus
is introduced publicly, and he comes preaching
the gospel. And what's he preaching? The kingdom
of heaven was at hand. Preaching the same. In
Matthew 11, there was opposition to John's ministry.
In Matthew 12, there was growing opposition to
Jesus' ministry. In the text today, John's violent
death is a prefigure of Jesus' violent death
that is to come. Think about Herod. Herod, ruling
under Roman authority, was responsible for John's
death. Pontius Pilate, ruling under Roman authority,
was responsible for Jesus' death. In Matthew
14, we read that John was seized and bound. In
Matthew 27, we read that Jesus was seized and
bound. In chapter 14, it says Herod feared the
people. Why? They considered John to be a prophet.
And in chapter 21, we read that the religious
leaders, the chief priests and the Pharisees
feared the people. Why? They considered Jesus
to be a prophet. Herod was reluctant to execute
Jesus. Herod was reluctant to execute John. Pilate
was reluctant to execute Jesus. He didn't want
to do it. John subsequently died a violent death.
The Lord Jesus died a violent death. John was
buried by his disciples. Remember Joseph of Arimathea?
Jesus was buried by one of his disciples. And
this is where the differences stop. John was
rumored to have risen from the grave. The Lord
Jesus Christ literally rose again from the grave.
What was rumored of John was the reality of Jesus.
The death of John the Baptist marks the end of
that old covenant prophetic error. John the Baptist
is the last of the Old Testament prophets. What
was his purpose? To prepare the way for the coming
of the new covenant. So we see that John in his
death is pointing forward to the greater suffering
of Christ. Which would institute the new covenant.
John's ministry was great. Did many things. It
exposed darkness. But it was the death and resurrection
of Jesus Christ that gave the answer. To the
darkness. John called people to repent. But it
was Jesus who offered the atoning sacrifice to
which that repentance pointed. And that, my friend,
is what we celebrate on this Lord's Day and every
Lord's Day. Our salvation is through the death,
burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And in that, we find hope. This is why we gather
today. We come to commune with Christ as he meets
with us in his way at the table of the Lord.
Praise be to God. Would you join me in prayer?
Father, we would fail if we would make worship
about anyone or anything other than Christ. Lord,
we thank you for the life and the ministry of
John the Baptist. Lord, I thank you for men who
set examples and who've... Lit paths that we
can walk that have gone before us and blazed
a trail. But Lord, we find hope and solace in
Christ alone. He's your son, the beloved one.
He's the one in whom truly you are well pleased.
He's the one in whom we can hide and find our
source of righteousness. He's the ark that will
shelter us from the impending storm. Lord, we're
so very grateful, Lord, for what you have done.
God, your word is so good, so very beautiful
and sustaining. Lord, it gives us food for our
soul, nourishing. Oh, Lord, we thank you for
the nourishment of the word of God. And now,
Lord, as we prepare to commune with the risen
Christ, the living one, that he's present with
us. Lord, that as we remember the body and the
blood of Christ that has forever procured our
salvation. Lord, what more can we say, Lord,
than thank you, Lord. God, we give you our lives,
Lord. Help us to honor our king and to live for
his glory. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
Deacons, if you would come and prepare the table,
Lord.