Mark 6:1-29
Date: January 1st 2023
Speaker: Samuel M. Crites
Scripture: Mark 6:1-29
Exegetical Outline
Main Idea of the Text: Despite the unbelief of his family and friends, Jesus’s identity is demonstrated through his disciples and his fame makes Herod afraid.
6:1-6: Jesus’s true identity is rejected in his hometown.
6:7-13: Jesus sent out his disciples in pairs with his authority to preach repentance, cast out demons, and heal the sick.
6:14-29: Rumors about Jesus’s identity begin to spread, especially that he is John the Baptist.
a. 6:14-20: Herod hears a rumor that Jesus is John the Baptist raised from the dead, causing Herod great fear.
b. 6:21-29: Herod was afraid of Jesus because he was tricked into to beheading John the Baptist.
Homiletical Outline
Main Idea of the Sermon: Regardless of what other men believe about Jesus, Jesus will continue to teach his disciples the truth of who he is so that all men will eventually see his glory.
Jesus is the Son of God, whether men believe it or not.
Jesus’s disciples will truly see his glory.
Jesus’s glory will eventually be undeniable to all men.
Who is Jesus? Mark has been leading us to wrestle with this question over the last several weeks. We began considering this as Jesus taught his disciples about the kingdom of God. As the disciples considered all that Jesus had to teach them about the kingdom of God, they naturally began to wonder: who is this man that knows so much about God’s kingdom? Will he rule over us as our king? The disciples had to be pondering these questions as they began to travel with Jesus.
There is a difference between knowing something in your head and knowing it in your heart. It is the difference between comprehension and agreement. I can comprehend a whole body of knowledge that I disagree with or even believe to be untrue. In fact, the Christian virtue of charity requires us to seek to understand those that we disagree with. We must be able to articulate our opponent’s viewpoint in such a way that they would agree that we have explained it fairly. To be charitable, we must understand people on their own terms before we seek to disagree with them, because we would desire that they be so charitable to us. So, it is possible to comprehend something that you disagree with. This is a kind of understanding that is merely a matter of the head.
There is a deeper way to understand something. Instead of agreeing with merely the head, we also must agree with the heart. We must love with our hearts what we know to be true with our minds. This is the kind of understanding that Jesus is trying to cultivate in his disciples. He wants them to know who he is at a far deeper level than merely agreeing with their minds that he is the Son of God. He wants them to cherish this truth. To hold it so dearly and completely that it redefines everything in their lives: the way they think, the things that they hold dear, what they are willing to sacrifice for.
This kind of deep understanding takes time and many lessons. So we have seen Christ teach his disciples parables, we have seen him explain the parables in private. Then we saw him demonstrate his teaching with power when he calmed the stormy sea. With that one action, he proved that he is not just a great rabbi, he is the Creator God, himself. He exercised an authority over creation that only God can exercise.
Then he took them to see a man that no one could help. This man was so completely dominated by a legion of demons that no one could restrain him, even with chains. He was forced to live in isolation in the wilderness and the demons forced him to continually harm himself. The demoniac was dominated by a power that was too great for him, until the Legion met Christ. The demons fell at the feet of yet a greater power. Jesus, the king of all spiritual powers, simply commanded the Legion into a herd of pigs, and freed a man that no one else could free. Why was he able to do this? Because he is the true king over all authorities. Christ demonstrated his sovereignty to his disciples by exercising his authority over the demoniac and the demons.
Last week, Jesus showed his disciples that he has the power to heal sicknesses that no one else can heal. As he was on his way to help Jairus’s daughter, a woman with a perpetual discharge of blood that no one could heal touched Jesus’s robes as he was passing by in the crowd. Immediately, the disease that had cost her all her money, had prevented her from worshiping in the temple, and that made her an outcast in society was healed. When Jesus confronted her, he called her daughter. Her faith was an opportunity for Christ to show his disciples that he is the great healer of all sicknesses.
Then Jesus took his closest disciples to see his greatest miracle so far. He took Peter, James, and John to Jairus’s house where he raised Jairus’s daughter from the dead. He showed his closest disciples that he had the power to overcome even death. Jesus Christ has been teaching his disciples that he is Creator, King, Healer, and Lord over death. If the disciples were going to become who God planned for them to be, these lessons must become rooted in their hearts. Not only must they know them, but they must also love them deep down in the center of their person. These truths must fundamentally change who they are and how they see the world.
Who is Jesus Christ? Who is he? Can you answer that question? Do you know it deep down in your heart? Do you cherish who he is as your greatest treasure? This is the goal of Jesus’s ministry in Galilee. In the first 8 Chapters, Mark is continuously pushing our noses up against the reality of who Jesus Christ is, and forcing us to continue to wrestle with the question of his identity.
Let’s continue to wrestle as we read Mark 6:1-29:
Mark 6:1-29
He went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. 2 And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. 4 And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” 5 And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And he marveled because of their unbelief.
And he went about among the villages teaching.
7 And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8 He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts— 9 but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. 10 And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. 11 And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” 12 So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. 13 And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.
14 King Herod heard of it, for Jesus’ name had become known. Some said, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” 15 But others said, “He is Elijah.” And others said, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” 16 But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.” 17 For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, 20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.
21 But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 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.” 23 And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.” 24 And she went out and said to her mother, “For what should I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” 25 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 the Baptist on a platter.” 26 And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. 27 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.
Jesus has taught his disciples through their ears. He has taught them parables and explained those parables in great detail. He has taught his disciples with their eyes. He has demonstrated through wondrous works of power that he is Creator, King, Healer, and the Lord of death, itself. Now he is teaching them with their hands. The main idea of our sermon today is this: Regardless of what other men believe about Jesus, Jesus will continue to teach his disciples the truth of who he is, so that all men will eventually see his glory. Our sermon will have three main points. First, Jesus is the Son of God, whether men believe it or not. Jesus takes his disciples to his hometown to learn this one, very important, truth: an unbeliever’s unbelief says nothing about Christ and everything about the unbeliever. Jesus is who he is regardless of whether or not anyone recognizes or understands it. Second, Jesus will continue to teach his disciples who he is truly is. If the faith of the disciples was shaken up by the unbelief of Jesus’s friends and family, it only served to reinforce Jesus’s next lesson. Jesus taught his disciples who he truly is by giving them his own authority and sending them out to preach, cast out demons, and heal the sick. He gave them hands on experience with his identity and power by using them to accomplish his ministry. Finally, as rumors about Jesus begin to spread, we will see that the glory of Christ will eventually be seen by all men, especially those that do not believe. Through his disciples, Christ’s identity and power strikes fear into the heart of one of the most powerful men in that region. The identity of Christ is so undeniable, that even those that do not believe will eventually bow the knee to him.
Jesus is the Son of God, whether men believe it or not
Jesus is the Son of God, whether men believe it or not. Let’s read Mark 6:1-6, again:
Mark 6:1-6
He went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. 2 And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. 4 And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” 5 And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And he marveled because of their unbelief.
And he went about among the villages teaching.
Remember, Jesus’s ministry is not based in Nazareth. His headquarters was in Capernaum by the sea of Galilee. In the normal course of his ministry, he decided to go back to Nazareth, his hometown, to teach in the Synagogue on the Sabbath. As the text shows us, it did not go well. Why did Jesus take his disciples to Nazareth? He knew that he would be rejected by his own people. It would seem that the best-case scenario is that their rejection would embarrass him. The worst-case scenario is that it would cause his disciples to abandon him. They might say, “Why should I believe what this guy says if his own family does not believe him?”
Over the last several weeks, we have seen that Jesus is training his disciples toward Mark 8. In Mark 8, Jesus is going to ask his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” This is the climax of Jesus’s ministry in Galilee. Everything that he is doing is working toward this point. So as we think about why Jesus would take his disciples to his own town when he knows that it will not go well, we must ask ourselves: what is the lesson that Jesus is trying to teach his disciples? Jesus is teaching his disciples that it does not matter if people believe him or not. He is who he is. Even though his own family, who is supposed to know him better than anyone else in his life, denies that he is the Son of God, it changes nothing.
Paul takes up this very issue at the beginning of Romans 3. Paul has just spent two chapters explaining man’s sinfulness. Chapter 1 tells us that all men are under sin, because they have traded the truth of God for a lie and worshipped anything and everything but God. In Chapter 2, Paul argues that the Jews are far worse than everyone else, because they should have known better. God had revealed himself to them and they still turned away from him. He begins Chapter 3 by saying this in Romans 3:1-4:
Romans 3:1-4
Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? 2 Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. 3 What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? 4 By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written,
“That you may be justified in your words,
and prevail when you are judged.”
Does the faithlessness of men make God unfaithful? Paul’s answer is unequivocally, NO! God is who he is no matter what men do. His very name, YHWH, means “I am who I am.”
Exodus 3:14
And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”
Psalm 102:25-27 says:
Of old you laid the foundation of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
26 They will perish, but you will remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,
27 but you are the same, and your years have no end.
God is, period. There is no predicate in that sentence. He simply exists. God is the one that is existence himself. He is not old, or young. He is not in this place and not that place. He is not bound by time or space, but the one that exists unto himself. He is not dependent. He does not tire. He does not need to be verified by anyone. He is the one great constant. This is essential to who he is. The fancy theological word for this is that God is a se, which is Latin for “from himself.”
If God is a se, and Jesus is God, then Jesus is a se. Jesus is from himself. He does not need anything from anyone and is totally self-existent, because he is God. This is the plain teaching of Scripture. Hebrews 13:8 says,
Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
So, when we see the clear teaching of Scripture, we read the unclear passages of Scripture by the light of the clear teachings. What do we know for certain? God does not change and is self-existent. His self-existence is essential to his nature. Jesus is God. Jesus is unchanging and self-existent. Therefore, Jesus does not need anyone, including his family and friends, to verify that he is the Son of God.
Jesus’s divinity is like the sun in the sky. I could deny the existence of the sun, but it would not stop the sun from shining. Even if I were physically unable to see the sun, I would still feel its warmth on my skin. I would be able to taste the fruit from the trees that grew by its light.
This is an important truth to understand because we have the habit of going through the world assuming we are at the center of our own little universe. We live our everyday life as if we are the captains of our own ship. We look at the New Year and say, “I am going to accomplish X, Y, and Z this year. This will be the year I finally get skinny, or get promoted, or take that vacation that I have always wanted to take.” We live as if we are the self-existent ones.
Christ’s family and friends had the arrogance to deny that he was the Son of God. Their unbelief says nothing about Christ and everything about themselves. It shows that they are dead. Only dead people are unaware of the brilliance of the sun that shines in the heavens. If you walk out into a graveyard, those people are sick feet under. They don’t feel its warmth or taste its fruit. They are totally unaware that the gravity of the sun is keeping this earth from spinning off into the void. Their deadness prevents them from experiencing what all living men know as incontrovertible fact: there is a radiant star at the center of our solar system and we are completely dependent on it for life. In the same way, the spiritual deadness of men causes them to deny what every spiritually alive person knows as incontrovertible fact: there is a true Son, the only begotten from the Father, that gives us life and breath and everything. “Let God be true though every one were a liar.”
The disciples needed to see that Jesus is the Son of God, whether men believe it or not. He is faithful in spite of their faithlessness. I am sure that some of them were shaken up by how Jesus was treated in Nazareth. It would be very natural for even an immature Christian to wonder if Jesus was truly who he said he was given the fact that his family and friends denied his divinity. But Jesus is a master teacher. That doubt that they were probably feeling was the perfect context to set them up for the lesson that he was about to teach them.
Jesus will continue teach his disciples who he truly is.
Which brings us to our second point: Jesus will continue teach his disciples who he truly is. Let’s read Mark 6:7-13:
Mark 6:7-13
And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8 He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts— 9 but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. 10 And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. 11 And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” 12 So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. 13 And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.
In the moment that his disciples might be doubting all that Christ has taught them and demonstrated to them, Christ changes the method he is using to teach them. He does not teach them a new parable or demonstrate his power through more miracles. He calls them together and delegates his authority to them so that they can learn with their own hands. This entire exercise is meant to teach the disciples about the authority of Christ through first-hand experience with his power. No longer are they learning about it or witnessing it, they are actually participating in the work he is doing.
I want us to pretend for a second that we are disciples. We have just returned from our trip that Christ has sent us on and we are breathless with excitement. Sure, some people were mean to us and didn’t allow us to enter their villages, but in the villages we did enter, oh man, the things that happened. The blind received their sight, the sick were healed, people were freed from the oppression of demons, and we preached the Gospel. As we are sitting there sharing our stories, Jesus comes over and asks us what we learned. What would be some things that people might say sitting around that campfire?
Here are some things that we might have heard the disciples say. First, someone might thank Christ for this opportunity. The authority by which we did these things was not ours, but given to us by Christ. So in the end, the credit for the miracles we did and the lives that we changed belonged to Christ, not to us. He probably sent us out two by two in order to keep us humble and honest. None of us had the power to do what we did before Christ, so the only thing we could do was give Christ the credit since we were his messengers. Second, someone might recognize that Christ provided for them while they were out doing the work. Not only were our physical needs met, but we went where the Spirit led us to accomplish what he had already planned for us to do. Christ didn’t just give us the authority to accomplish the work, he led us by his Spirit to the places where he was already at work among the people. It was so easy. The people were either ready to hear the Gospel or they turned us away. We didn’t have to quarrel with anyone, we just went where the Spirit led us. Thirdly, someone might thoughtfully reflect on how liberating it all was. The joy and affection of the people that accepted made the rejections a small thing. We might have actually felt more pity for those that rejected us than offense. The judgment we shook off on them was not our judgment, but the judgment of Christ. It is not our place to avenge ourselves or be combative, we could be at peace, because Christ would deal with all those that rejected us in the end.
The lessons the disciples learned are lessons for us too. We are students at his feet just like the disciples were. When I think about this, I am encouraged by the disciples. I realize that I am not a very good student. I wish I could be like the demoniac. He met Christ and was immediately ready to follow Christ to the ends of the earth. The disciples do not learn as easily as the demoniac. They need all these lessons in all the different, creative ways that Christ teaches them. But, it is encouraging, because Christ never gives up on them. He continues to teach them the same lesson over and over. He is faithful even when I am faithless. And he brings me back to his Word over and over to reteach me the things that I should already know. He continues to teach us and he never gives up on us.
Regardless of what other men believe about Jesus, Jesus will teach his disciples the truth so that his glory will eventually be seen by all men. In our first point, we saw that Jesus is the Son of God, whether people believe it or not. He is the self-existent God. It doesn’t matter if men deny it or even if his own family denies it. He is true though every man was a liar. In this last point, we saw that Jesus will go to great lengths to teach his disciples who he is. He sent the twelve out with his own power to give them hands on experience with what they had been learning. He is so patient with them and with us. He is not merely aiming for our heads, he wants the truth of who he is to reach deep into our hearts.
Jesus’s glory will eventually be seen by all men.
This brings us to our final point. The glory of Jesus will eventually become undeniable to all men, but it will only happen through his disciples. We can see this in the final part of our sermon text today. Let’s read Mark 6:14-29:
Mark 6:14-29
14 King Herod heard of it, for Jesus’ name had become known. Some said, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” 15 But others said, “He is Elijah.” And others said, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” 16 But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.” 17 For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, 20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.
21 But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 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.” 23 And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.” 24 And she went out and said to her mother, “For what should I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” 25 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 the Baptist on a platter.” 26 And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. 27 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.
The first time that you read this part of the story, you might be wondering how the death of John the Baptist fits into the narrative of Christ’s ministry in Galilee. It seems that Mark takes a side bar in order to tie up a lose end from the beginning of his Gospel. But pay attention to verse 14, how does the story start?
“King Herod heard of it…” King Herod heard of what? He heard that Jesus’s disciples were healing the sick, casting our demons, and preaching the Gospel. The fame of Jesus Christ had reached one of the most powerful men in the area, but not because of Jesus directly. The fame of Christ had reached Herod through the ministry of the discipels. The disciples were not only doing the work of Christ among the people, but they were spreading the fame of Christ to the most powerful tier of society.
When Herod hears about what Jesus and his disciples were doing, what was his reaction? Fear. He thought that John the Baptist had come back from the dead. Now before we get to the death of John the Baptist, this is a significant detail, because the rumors of Christ are spreading everywhere. The most powerful people in Israel are talking about how he is a prophet of old, Elijah himself, or, as Herod thinks, John the Baptist raised from the dead. Christ’s fame is beginning to get the attention of the most powerful people in the kingdom, and it makes those people uneasy. We can see how Jesus’s path to the cross was beginning to develop. Herod’s first reaction to the rumors about Christ was to be threatened by him. Threatened by his power. Threatened by his popularity among the people. Threatened by Herod’s own guilt over the death of John the Baptist.
To understand Herod’s guilt, Mark must back up and explain how John the Baptist died. John had spoken out against Herod, because Herod had taken Herodias, his brothers Philip’s wife. Herod respected John. In fact, Herod gladly listened to John, even though John condemned his actions. But this was not so with Herodias. She hated John. She not only hated him, but she was cunning. At a party, when Herod’s guard was down, Herodias had her daughter dance for Herod. Herod was so pleased; he foolishly swore to give the girl whatever she wanted. Led by her mother, Herodias’s daughter asked for John the Baptist’s head on a silver platter. Herod was trapped. He was forced to kill John the Baptist. This gives color to our story, because when Herod hears about Jesus, he fears that Jesus is John. John was so authoritative and powerful in his mind that the mere thought of his resurrection makes Herod shake with fear and worry. Little did Herod know; Jesus was not John the Baptist. He was someone far greater: more powerful, wiser, and more terrifying.
The point of this whole episode is to see that the everyone, even the most powerful in society, will eventually be faced with the glory of Christ. They will have to answer the question: Who is he? Herod wrongly thought of him as John the Baptist. Others thought he was Elijah or a prophet of old. The way Herod answered the question shows us that he is selfish and fearful. His first thought was that he was going to lose his throne.
This question is unavoidable. Every person that has ever lived: men and women, rich and poor, wise and foolish, famous and common, powerful and weak will have to answer the question: who is Christ?
Conclusion:
I wan to end our sermon tonight in Philippians 2. Turn with me to Philippians 2:5-11. In Philippians 2, Paul is exhorting the Church to have the humility of Christ. A humility that see other people as more significant than themselves and looks to other people’s needs before their own. This is the kind of humility that Christ demonstrated for us in the incarnation. Let’s read, beginning in verse 5:
Philippians 2:5-11
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
When Christ became incarnate, God became a man. He emptied himself by adding to himself humanity. He did not stop being God in any sense, but became man in every sense, except without sense. He had a human body, a human mind, a human soul, and a human will. He became like us to that through him we could become like God. In humility, he showed how valuable you are to him and how important your need for salvation was. He was humiliated to the point of death on a cross. The God of the universe dying a gruesome criminal’s death.
Because of his humiliation, God exalted him. He is more valuable and honorable than any other person that has ever, is, or will be living. He is the greatest human being, period. One day, every single person will confess that Jesus is Lord. They will be unable to deny that he is the one, true king.
There will be two kinds of people on that day. There will be those that learned who he is willingly, because of the gentle instruction of his Word. While there was still time, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, they were taught who Jesus, precept upon precept. They welcomed the preacher of the Gospel into their home gladly, rejoicing at the good news of the Gospel. These are those that bend the knee willingly. They love the truth that he is their king. Not only do they know it in their heads, but they know deep down in their hearts.
Then there will be those that bend the knee unwillingly. These are the ones that come to realize who he is too late. They are forced to bow as those that have been conquered, broken by their own unwillingness to see the truth. The truth was all around them all their lives and they denied the undeniable. They will bitterly bow before a conquering kind, finally unable to deny his true power.
Who will you neighbor be on that day? Who will your best friend be on that day? Who will your mom, your son, your, your hairdresser, or your plumber be on that day? Every knee will bow, every tongue will confess. He is Lord whether we recognize him willingly or unwillingly.
Let’s pray.