Eighth Sunday after Pentecost: Gospel, Mark 6:14-29

Mark 6:14-29

Don’t jump too quickly at today’s title after you read the text. The title will stand and I think you will know why. In Amos this week we saw the bent of man’s heart toward the clear declaration of the law. We also saw the result of the will of man not allowing it to accomplish its work. Oh, the heart of man (Jeremiah 17:9)!

In the gospel for the week, we see in miniature what we beheld on the national level in Amos. And it cost John the Baptist his head. This prophet of whom Jesus said none born of woman was ever greater. His adversary, the Herod of the day which this gospel exposes as wickedness incarnate. While John’s head ends up on a platter, what is perhaps more important that we see is Herod’s heart. It is exposed as surely as the head of the Baptist. While not a relic to be worshiped, the Baptist’s head was no doubt precious in the sight of the Lord. Not so the heart that led directly to his death. Oh the unfaithful wife of brother Philip and her daughter were the planning hands of the deed, but Herod’s heart was behind it all and was on display for all to see. You might just say it was Herod’s heart on the platter.