David Bahn – Reflections

Mark 6:21-29

And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison ²⁸ and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. ²⁹ When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

We would love to believe that there is a Never Land where dreams come true, fun is king, sickness and sadness is banned, and all is always well. Alas there is no such place. But that doesn’t stop us from wishing somehow there was – or that we could exempt ourselves from suffering and pain, difficulty and distress.

Reality is, however, much more harsh. Evil, death, lying, cheating, stealing, and killing are not only the stuff of prime time TV, they are the stuff of life, and the Bible is not silent or pretentious about that reality. People sin. Lives are taken. Sad events unfold. But these are not glorified here. They are not paraded before our eyes in order to set up a melodrama’s denouement. They show the reality of life in a fallen world. They testify to the need for a savior.

Even the righteous need a savior. John needs a savior because evil has had its way with him. And though there are surely places in his heart that are dark and evil (“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23), the most obvious reason for John’s need is evil’s attack against him.

We might sometimes legitimately wonder why difficulty and suffering has come upon us; especially if we’ve done nothing wrong. Here is the answer: The thief has come to steal, kill, and destroy. He will use anything he can – including sinful people and the sinful world as a whole in his efforts.

Thank God we have a Savior! Jesus is not mentioned in these few verses from Mark’s gospel. But this is part of Jesus’ story – just as our stories are part of his story. His work was to seek and save the lost, and provide a path to life and salvation and an ultimate experience far better than any Never Land we might imagine. That place is called heaven: The life of the world to come. And those who wait in hope and faith for the Day of it’s appearing do not wait in vain – no matter what they may experience in this life.