The whole of today's gospel seems to be about John the Baptist. His death sentence was issued by Herod. His head was taken by a soldier of the guard. It was presented to Herodias on a platter and finally reached her mother who gloated over her revenge on the Baptizer. Not to take anything else from John, still, the lesson today might be said to be not so much about John as it is about us. It is about us and how we hear. The dramatic and tragic details are all about the beheading of John the Baptist, but, it seems, Mark supplies that account only to explain Herod's reaction to what he was hearing about Jesus. That is the clue that today's message for us might well be what our Lord himself once said: "Take heed how ye hear." Look how you listen. Use your head to listen or you may lose more than your life.

Consider all this once again from that perspective. And before we begin, let me alert you to the conclusion I would suggest that we should reach. John lost his head but gained the kingdom. Unless we use our heads, we may lose the kingdom. Unless we put our minds to our hearing, we may lose the kingdom. But if we "when we hear the words of truth, the gospel of our salvation, believe on this Christ Jesus, we will be marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit, the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God's own people, to the praise of his glory" (Ephesians 1:13-14).

Now to the details. Notice how focused the text is on hearing. The first verse alerts us. "King Herod heard of it..." He heard how the twelve disciples were going about declaring that all should repent and casting out demons and anointing with oil and curing many who were sick. Others were hearing the reports as well, "for Jesus' name had become known," this passage reports. And what is terribly serious and pertinent here for all of us is how these who heard reacted. Some discounted the power of Jesus. They said, " 'John the Baptizer has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these powers are at work in him.' But others said, 'It is Elijah.' And others said, 'It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.' "

None of them really perceived God-in-Christ. None of them heard correctly. Jesus had not really become known to them. Matthew reports Jesus once said, "The reason I speak to them in parables is that seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand" (Matthew 13:13).

There's the rub. There's the nub of the problem even today. See it in Herod in the way he listened to John. Herodias, the wife of Philip, his brother, whom he had married, had a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But Herod "knowing that John was a righteous and holy man, protected him." Nevertheless, even though he perceived what kind of man John was, even though he listened to John, he didn't really hear and he certainly never understood. "When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him." What he had been hearing from John was certainly more than John's rebuking him because he had unlawfully married his brother's wife. This is what John was proclaiming -- what his message is for us today. From his first appearance in the wilderness he proclaimed a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Mark 1:4). And he announced the coming of Jesus who would "baptize with the Holy Spirit" (Mark 1:8). John baptized Jesus and testified, "I saw the Spirit descending like a dove, and it remained on him." The evangelist John reports his testimony. "I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God' " (John 1:32-34). Later, when John saw Jesus walking by, he said to his disciples, "Look, here is the Lamb of God!" (John 1:35).

Can we not conclude that John had said all these things to Herod as well? And Herod? Well, "he liked to listen to him." But he cut him short. Before he understood, he cut him short. The soldier of the guard beheaded him. But it was Herod who cut him short. John, who believed and confessed his faith in the Son of God, and who understood his words, "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28), this John went headless to heaven. Herod, who liked to listen but was satisfied with being perplexed, went head-long to hell.

But keep remembering, this is about our hearing, our listening, our understanding. May I say your hearing, your listening, your understanding? May I say to you, all you who consider yourselves to be average Christians, who fill these pews Sunday after Sunday: Remember how easy it is to become accustomed to Christianity, no longer to be greatly moved by John's warning to flee from the wrath to come. Understand that we all are surrounded by evil and our wills remain weak because of sin. Are you actually regarding this Jesus as little more than "one of the prophets"? Are some even today not doing any better than Herod at really understanding?

This is about your hearing. As earnestly as I am able I say to any of you on the fringes of this congregation, who like to listen on occasional Sundays but are content to remain perplexed: Do not let John's message today fall short of your understanding. Let Herod be a warning. Perplexed, not persuaded, he let a foolish oath and a silly dancing girl destroy him. One cannot be saved even by much listening. He cut John off short and died short of believing.

The apostle Paul was treated in the same way as John. And finally his testimony was cut short just as was John's. When Paul was arrested and testified before the Roman governor, Felix, "concerning faith in Christ Jesus," and about "justice, self-control, and the coming judgment," Felix cut him short with the words, "Go away for the present, when I have an opportunity, I will send for you." To you who have been delaying your decision about Jesus Christ, as earnestly as I can I say, "Do not sell this Lord and Savior short." Felix "used to send for Paul very often and converse with him." But he left him in prison. One cannot be saved even by much listening (Acts 24:24-27).

Festus was the next governor, and he ordered Paul brought before his tribunal and invited King Agrippa and Bernice to sit in. When Paul defended himself and testified "that the Messiah must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles" (Acts 26:23), Festus cut him short: "You are out of your mind, Paul!" And Paul turned to Agrippa: "King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you believe." But Agrippa cut him short: "Are you so quickly persuading me to become a Christian?" (Acts 26:27-28).

You who have only been listening and are perplexed, are you quickly becoming persuaded, or are you sitting fast? You who are temporizing and delaying your believing, hear, listen, and understand what Paul said to Agrippa. It is what the Spirit of God and I are saying to you now, "Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that not only you but also all who are listening to me today might become such as I am." This is what Paul was. He confessed, "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost." This is what Paul became: "But for that very reason, I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life" (1 Timothy 1:15-16). This is what those Ephesians became of whom the Second Lesson speaks, "When you heard the words of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, you were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit -- the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God's own people."

Is not this what all of us, in our best desiring, want to become? All of us who have perceived in Jesus Christ the power and love of the Son of God, do we not long to be, fully and completely, beloved children of God? You who, like the twelve, have been following faithfully, do you not with the Ephesians say, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing ... just as he chose us in Christ ... to be holy and blameless before him in love" (Ephesians 1:1-4)? All of you, to whom again today God "has made known the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure ... set forth in Christ" (Ephesians 1:9), do you not feel the Spirit's urging to perceive, to hear, to understand, to receive him as your Savior, not only in your head but in your heart?

When Paul lost his head for Jesus' gospel and testimony, the Christians in Rome buried his body. And they continued as faithful followers even though he did not rise from the dead. When John's disciples heard about their teacher's death, "they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb." And they believed John and followed the Lamb of God even though John did not rise from the dead. When Jesus breathed his last on the cross, and after the centurion said, "Truly this man was God's Son!" (Mark 15:39), then Joseph of Arimathea and others of Jesus' friends took down his body, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb (Mark 15:46).

But this Jesus did rise from the dead! On the third day Joseph -- and you and I -- believed the message of the angels, "He has been raised!" On the third day they -- and you and I -- perceived him: "Behold! It is I myself!" They listened: "It was necessary that the Messiah should suffer and rise from the dead that repentance and forgiveness of sins be proclaimed to all!" They understood when they gathered around his table and heard him say, "Take eat, take drink -- my body, my blood, given for you!" They -- and you and I! If Herod, perplexed, feared because he thought John had been raised from the dead, how much more do we, we who are wise to salvation and know our Lord is risen from the dead and has gone before us to glory, how much more should each one of us say, each day, "Just as I am, Oh, Lamb of God, I come! I come!" "