Revelation 6:9-11; Romans 6:1-5; Mark 6:14-29

Martyrdom of Saint John the Baptist A.D. 2021
Pr. Neal Blanke

In Jesus’ name.
This has been a difficult 2 weeks.  2 weeks ago today Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, fell to the Taliban.

With the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, governments around the world have been frantically making plans to rescue as many at-risk Afghans as they can.  Germany, which has vowed to evacuate as many as 10,000, and the United Kingdom have been coordinating with civil society partners to determine who is most in need of rescue and how they can be located and evacuated.

India announced…that it will prioritize evacuating Hindus and Sikhs, two religious minorities that have already neared extinction in Afghanistan due to the Taliban’s brutal rule 20 years ago.

Canada has expressed a willingness to grant visas to religious minorities whose lives are presumed endangered under the Taliban.  Among the country’s most vulnerable minorities are Christians.  But the Christian community is becoming increasingly difficult to track down.  And fears are growing that, for many, it’s too late and there’s no way out.

Afghanistan’s Christians are estimated to number between 10,000 and 12,000.  The vast majority of them are converts from Islam to Christianity.  For decades they have largely practiced their faith underground, as conversion is considered a crime punishable by death under Sharia law.

Yet, since the Taliban’s fall in 2001, the Christian community has not only been growing, it has become emboldened, in part because of the modicum of security leant by the U.S. presence on the ground.  In 2019, as the number of children born to converts grew, dozens of Afghan Christians decided to include their religious affiliation on their national identity cards so that future generations wouldn’t have to hide their faith.  Only about 30 Christians successfully made this change before the Taliban’s takeover 2 weeks ago. 

Now the United States’ highly criticized withdrawal has left Afghan Christians with no choice but to join those who cooperated with the U.S. and Afghan governments in attempting to hide.  The memories of public executions, floggings and amputations of Christians and other religious minorities under the Taliban’s previous rule remain vivid.
As the Taliban is reportedly already working to track down the known Christians on its list, some local church leaders are counseling their communities to stay inside their home, even though they know the best and perhaps only long-term hope is to somehow flee the country.  Other Christians are reportedly escaping to the hills in attempts to find safety. 

Some Christians on the ground have expressed that, with the takeover of Kabul, they expect to be killed, mafia-style.  Although some reports say that the Taliban is already conducting targeted killings of Christians and other minorities found using public transportation, as well as executing anyone found with Bible software installed on their cell phones. 

Christians also fear for the safety of their children, with the Taliban already publicizing plans to “eradicate the ignorance of irreligion” by taking non-Muslim women and girls as sex slaves and forcing boys to serve as soldiers.

Without any clear plan from the United States to evacuate Afghans under special threatbesides those who cooperated with our military Afghan Christians and many other religious minority groups are stranded.  They know the Taliban is seeking them.  Christians in hiding have already reported receiving threatening letters or phone calls saying, “We know where you are and what you are doing.”  Without knowing how sophisticated the Taliban’s tracking capabilities are, Christians are turning off their phones to avoid surveillance and have started moving to undisclosed locations.

Further complicating any plans to rescue Afghanistan’s vulnerable minorities is the fact that many of them are without passports.  It is estimated by locals that only 20-30 percent of the known Christian community have passports.  Without passports, it is currently unclear whether any foreign country would accept them, were they able to get out.

Several European government officials have been discussing the possibility of overlooking immigration documentation requirements for those individuals whose identities and vulnerability status can be verified by civil society groups.  But until countries confirm and announce that they are willing to waive passport and visa requirements, many Afghan Christians have been unwilling to risk the increasingly perilous journey…to the airport.  And, currently, a passport and safe arrival at the airport aren’t even enough.  (Kelsay Zorzi, “Afghanistan’s Christians are turning off phones and going into hiding” TheHill.com, August 23,2021.  She is president of the U.N.’s NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief and director of advocacy for global religious freedom for ADF International)
Last Thursday’s terrorist attack means that the U.S. and its NATO allies are no longer flying out noncombatants.  Let us pray for our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan!  The deadline Tuesday is fast approaching.  Christians have been, and will be persecuted, in Afghanistan and around the world.  Let us pray for all of them! 

In order for us to make sense of all this suffering, the Church has designated today, August 29th, as the day to remember the Martyrdom of Saint John the Baptist.  The Martyrdom of Saint John the Baptizer is a violent and salacious narrative.  John was imprisoned very early in the Public Ministry of Christ.  Of course he was not imprisoned at the Baptism of our Lord, but he was imprisoned shortly thereafter.  John the Baptizer was in prison before the start of Jesus’ Galilean Ministry.  At the time of his execution John had been in prison for months.  For months Jesus had been publicly preaching, teaching and performing many miracles, and then right before John’s execution, Jesus had sent out His twelve disciples, to preach, to teach, to cast out demons and to heal the sick.  The people generally did not know what to make of this Jesus of Nazareth.  “Some said, ‘John the Baptist has been raised from the dead.  That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.’  But others said, ‘He is Elijah.’  And others said, ‘He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.'” (Mark 6:14b-15 ESV)  But Herod, that is Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great, had a bad conscience.  Herod had seduced and married “Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife.” (Mark 6:17 ESV)

…John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.  And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death.  But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and Herod kept him safe.  When Herod heard John, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.”  (John 6:18-20 ESV)

Here is a great example of the seed, which fell upon the path.  In Mark, chapter 4, Jesus told the parable of the Sower and the 4 kinds of soil.  The 1st kind of soil is the path.  Jesus said, “Listen!  A sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.”  Later Jesus explained this parable, “The sower sows the word.  And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown:  when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.” (Mark 4:14-15 ESV)  Herod Antipas heard John the Baptizer gladly.  John was a great preacher, but Herod did not understand what he heard.  “When Herod heard John, he was greatly perplexed…” (John 6:20b ESV)
This is a warning to each of us.  Our Christian faith is a precious gift.  If God gives it to you, cling to it, and don’t let it go.  It is the means of your salvation, and it can be lost.  Perhaps Herod did not understand John’s preaching, because of his unrepentant sin, which he was not unwilling to let go of. 

But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee.  For when Herodias’s daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests.  And the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.”  And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.” (Mark 6:21-23 ESV)

Herod’s pride and his unchecked libido had led Herod into adultery with his sister-in-law, Herodias, and then on his birthday, when his step daughter danced, his pride and libido led to lust and to a foolish oath.

And she went out and said to her mother, “For what should I ask?”  And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.”  And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John Baptist on a platter.”  And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her.  And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head.  He went and beheaded him in the prison and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. (Mark 6:24-28 ESV) 

What a sick story, but before we are quick to look down our noses at Herod, Herodias and their daughter, let us remember that we too are sinners, just like they were.  We too struggle with pride, foolish words, hateful thoughts and lust, and we would be damned just like they were, if it were not for the grace and mercy of God in Christ.  We struggle under temptation, and we sin.  Our sins deserve God’s wrath, but thanks be to God that He took Flesh, lived the perfect life, was tempted in every way, just as we are tempted, except that He did not sin.  Jesus is that Incarnate God, Who went to the cross, suffered the wrath of God for us and died in our place.  Christ rose from the dead to proclaim our Absolution, to give us new life and to guarantee that we too will rise on the Last Day.  Jesus has ascended into heaven and promised to return to take us with Him into heaven for eternity.

All these promises change the way we look at the death of Saint John the Baptizer, and of every other martyr.  Where is John the Baptizer now?  Our 1st Scripture Reading from the Revelation answers that question.  The Revelation, chapter 6, beginning with verse 9:

John the Baptizer, and all the martyrs, are now in the glories of heaven.  Chapter 6 is a continuation of chapters 4 and 5.  “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants” (Revelation 1:1 NKJV) begins with an introduction of Jesus in His heavenly glory speaking to John the Apostle in a loud voice like a trumpet in chapter 1.  The 7 letters to the 7 churches are chapters 2 and 3, and then we have the vision of the throne of God in heaven.  John the Apostle writes in chapter 4:
After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven.  And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.”  Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne.  And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald.  Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads.  And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices.  And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.  Before the throne there was [something like] a sea of glass, like crystal.  And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back.  The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle.  And four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within.  And do not rest day or night, saying:

“Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!”

Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying:

“You are worthy, [Our Lord and God],
 To receive glory and honor and power;
 For You created all things,
 And by Your will they exist and were created.
 (Revelation 4 NKJV modified)

and then in chapter 5 there is a problem.  The scroll containing God’s judgment on sinful humanity is sealed with 7 seals.  The Apostle John writes in chapter 5:

And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals.  Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?”  And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it.  So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open the scroll, or look at it.  But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep.  Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and its seven seals.”  And I looked in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.  Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.

Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.  And they sang a new song, saying:

“You are worthy to take the scroll, and open its seals;
For You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
And have made [them a kingdom] and priests to our God;
And they shall reign on the earth.”

Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angles around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice:

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
 To receive power and riches and wisdom,
 And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”

And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying:

“Blessing and honor and glory and power
Be to Him who sits on the throne,
And to the Lamb, forever and ever!”

Then the four living creatures said, “Amen!”  And the elders fell down and worshiped. (Revelation 5 NKJV modified)

The Gospels of Mark and Luke record the ascension of Jesus into heaven, but only record it from the perspective of men on the earth, the perspective of the eye witnesses.  In Revelation, chapter 5, John the Apostle records Christ’s ascension from the perspective of heaven.  Revelation, chapter 5, is the enthronement of the Incarnate God, and He is worthy.  He has conquered sin, death and the Devil and now lives and reigns to all eternity.

Chapter 6 records Jesus, the Lamb of God, opening the 7 seals.  The opening of the 1st seal brings a white horse and a man who will conquer.  The opening of the 2nd seal brings a fiery red horse, and its rider is a picture of world-wide war.  The opening of the 3rd seal brings a black horse, and its rider is a picture of famine.  The 4th seal brings a pale horse, and its rider is Death.  Christ opening the 5th seal is our 1st Scripture Reading.
When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne.  They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? (Revelation 6:9-10 ESV)

Where are the martyrs?  They are in the glory of heaven.  On earth we appeal to neighbors to repent and to avoid the wrath to come, but in heaven the martyrs are completely reconciled with the judgment of God.  From under the altar, the martyrs

…cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?’  Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been. (Revelation 6:10-11 ESV)

So far the 1st Scripture Reading.  Our Epistle Reading tells us that we have been united to Christ’s death and resurrection via our Baptism.  Therefore we do not pity the martyrs, rather we honor them and long to be with them in all the glories of heaven.  May we live here in our Baptism unto Christ and be faithful unto death.  The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

We stand to confess the creed.