John the Baptist had his head chopped off.
That simple sentence should strike fear in the soul of every
“Prosperity Gospel” preacher but stir faith in the hearts Christians facing
crises. Why? Because the bloody sword serves to remind
that God’s goal for us is not health and wealth but holiness and His glory.
John the Baptist was a good and Godly man if there ever was
one. He was Jesus’ cousin, miraculously born to aging parents, and filled with
the Holy Spirit before birth. As the promised prophet who prepared the way for
the Messiah, John preached truth to whomever stood before him—the poorest
peasant, the proudest Pharisee, or the richest ruler. It was the last that landed him in jail.
When Herod, the immoral and irritable non-Jewish ruler of
Israel, divorced his first wife to marry his brother’s ex-wife, John said that
such should not be so. Herodias, Herod’s
new woman, didn’t care for being called out, so Herod had John imprisoned. Herodias wanted John dead, but Herod
protected and feared him because John was a “righteous
and holy man”(Mk 6:20).
Herodias “nursed a grudge against John”(Mk 6:19),
and at Herod’s birthday party she got her shot at revenge. The evening’s entertainment was a dance by
her daughter, and the girl’s moves so delighted her stepdad that he promised anything
she wanted as a prize—“up to half my
kingdom”(Mk 6:23). At mom’s urging, the girl requested John’s head—on a
platter. Herod hadn’t imagined anything
evil, but “because of his oaths and his
dinner guests” he didn’t have the guts to refuse, so “he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s
head”(Mk 6:27).
At face value, the story is sad, sickening, and not very
reassuring for if one so incredibly special and spiritual met no better fate
than the edge of the sword, what hope do we not-so-holy have?? All hope,
actually, and absolute assurance that our sovereign God always works His
perfect plan according His perfect purpose.
Simply put, John’s work on earth was done, and it was time for him to
go. He had previously stated a profound
truth that held more meaning than he knew—“Jesus
must become greater; I must become less”(Jn 3:30). John didn’t have jail cells
and sharp swords in mind as his chosen way of “decreasing,” but somehow in God’s
divine design they brought Him glory and fulfilled His purpose.
Christians face many challenging circumstances and
situations we wouldn’t choose on our own—emotional pain, physical suffering,
and financial struggles that all bring anguish and agony. Without doubt God could make things what we would
call better with only a whim of His will, but often He does not. Sometimes hearts break, accounts go bankrupt,
and funerals are planned. When this happens,
it is not because God cannot do anything but because He is doing something
bigger and, therefore, better in us, in others, or in both.
This is not the message you hear from smooth-talking
preachers on TV (and sadly at many conferences and through many books) who tell
you that more than anything God wants your bank balance to be hefty and your
body to be healthy and that if you just have faith to claim such blessings and
favor, they will come to be. But this is
the message you hear coming from the mouth of God Himself. “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome
the world"(Jn 16:33).
God never promises earthly prosperity, pain-free
relationships, or even physical protection (ask the many who have been martyred
for their faith just this year), but He promises His peace, His presence, and the
power of His resurrection to work in us here and take us to there. The sword
would never have touched John’s neck had a sovereign God not allowed the swing,
so as lesser trials come our way, we can be certain that the same God is still
in total control and is using our hurt to make us more like Him and to bring
others to Him.
We will never
understand all of God’s ways, and we aren’t meant to, but we can trust all of
God’s heart. All of the time.
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