Ears to Hear

So we're gonna start at verse 1. Mark chapter 6 verse 1. Jesus left there and went to his hometown accompanied by his disciples. When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue and many who heard him were amazed. Where did this man get these things?

They asked. What's this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he's performing? Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James Joseph Judith and Simon?

Aren't his sisters here with us, and they took offense at him. Jesus said to them, a prophet is not without honor except in his own town among his relatives and in his own home. He could not do any miracles there, except lay your hands on a few people who were ill and healed them. He was amazed at their lack of faith. Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village, calling the 12 to him, he began to send them out 2 by 2 and gave them authority over impure spirits.

These were his instructions. Take nothing for the journey except a staff, no bread, no bag, no money in your belts, wear sandals, but not an extra shirt. Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them. They went out and preached that people should repent.

They drove out many demons and anointed with oil, many people who were ill and healed them. King Herrod heard about this, for Jesus' name had become well known. Some were saying, John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him. Others said he is a Elijah, and still others claimed he is a prophet like 1 of the prophets of long ago. But when herod heard this, he said John whom I beheaded has been raised from the dead.

For herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of herodias, his brother Philip's wife whom he had married. For John had been saying to herod, it is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife. So herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to because herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man.

When herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled yet he liked to listen to him. Finally, the opportunity opportune time came. On his birthday, herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Gallilee. When the daughter of Herrodius came in and danced, she pleased herod and his dinner guests. The king said to the girl, ask me for anything you want, and I'll give it to you, and he promised her with an oath Whatever you ask, I will give to you up to half my kingdom.

She went out and said to her mother, what shall I ask for? The head of John the Baptist she answered. At once, the girl hurried into the king with the request. I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a dish. The king was greatly distressed.

But because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head. The man went beheaded John in the prison and bought back his head on a dish. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. On hearing this, John's disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

Thanks, Ben. Do keep Mark chapter 6 open in front of you, and, we're going to begin by praying together. Let's pray. Father your word says that your statutes are wonderful, therefore I obey them. The unfolding of your word gives light.

It gives understanding to the simple. I open my mouth and pant longing for your commands. Turn to me and have mercy on me as you always do to those who love your name. Direct my footsteps according to your word. And father, that is our prayer for this evening that as we open up your holy word, your wonderful word, your word which is light and truth that you would have mercy on us.

We know that we cannot understand it, let alone obey it. Without your grace and your mercy. So please be merciful to us, and we pray that you might help us all to leave this place committed to walking in the path of your commands direct our steps towards them. We pray in Jesus' name. Well, this week I was, I was looking up the nation's most common phobias, and, there's some unsurprising ones in there at Heights.

Is, quite near the top. No pun intended there. Heights is quite near the top. Speaking in public, there's a big 1. Small spaces, large spaces, being alone.

Being in crowded places. There's quite a lot of opposites when it comes to to phobias. But of course, as you might have guessed spiders and snakes and, creepy crawly things are right at the top of the list. So 52 percent of Brits have some sort of snake phobia, apparently. And 18 percent of us freely admit that we are terrified of our 8 legged friends.

And from our own experience and from the conversations you had with people, you may well agree that those figures are are true. There are there are all kinds of irrational fears that people have surrounding creatures that are several thousand times smaller than themselves. And yet, the weird thing is lots of people with a with a phobia of spiders, let's say. Lots of people with these phobias Also have a strange fascination with the thing that they're scared of. So for an example, to to an arachnophobe.

Somebody scared of spiders. Spending the night in a rain forest with man eating spiders all around you is literally an appalling idea. But there's also a weird fascination with the nature program that is filmed in that place. People want to see the gross spiders, the size of their webs, the hair on their legs in sort of HD detail with surround sound. They want to be as close as they can to the thing that they hate without actually being there.

Weird, isn't it? Some people are like that. Now I don't know the psychological explanation for that. But it does seem to be the case certainly in my experience that the same thing can both fascinate us and repel us all at the same time. And although that is just a sort of silly, in many ways, lighthearted example, it does seem to be the kind of relationship which herod had with the word of god.

On the 1 hand, he was fascinated by it. He wanted to be near it. He wanted to hear it. He was amazed by people like John the Baptist and his authority as a preacher But in the end, he was also repelled by it. He didn't want the word of god in his life.

Strange relationship, isn't it? The prophet of god both fascinated him and turned him right off. And it's actually that relationship to the word of god, which I want us to reflect on this evening. Seems like a very weird combination of feelings, doesn't it? But if it was the case for him, could it also be true for us?

This is the last in our series all about listening to god's words. We learned last week that Josiah, King Josiah in the old testament is a very positive example of how to listen effectively to the word of god, But tonight, we're gonna look at herod antipas, and we're gonna look at his life and look at what he did, and we're going to learn how not to listen to god's word. This is a case study in how not to listen. And by chapter 6 of Mark's gospel, which is where we're gonna be this evening, there is a theme developing. As the messengers of god, take the word of god out to the world.

They are being rejected. That is what Mark is trying to show us. There is rejection as god's messengers take his word out. So in chapter 6 verse 2, we're told that Jesus was teaching in the synagogue, But then in chapter 6 verse 4, we read that a prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his own relatives and in his own home. He could not do any miracles there except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them.

He was amazed at their lack of faith. The son of god himself is being rejected in his own town as he teaches the word of god. They are offended by him. They don't trust him. They don't wanna be near him.

In verse 6, Jesus sends out the apostles to the villages. To bring the word of god. But then in verse 11, we read this. Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town, And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them. Pretty clear, isn't it?

As god's messengers take god's word out, there are going to be villages where no hospitality is offered, and none of their words are tolerated. And in our passage, we see the most brutal example of it. John the Baptist is a prophet. He's a preacher. He's a word bringer, he is a kingdom proclaimer, and yet what does Mark want us to know about him that he was imprisoned, rejected, dishonored, and in the end beheaded.

Mark is trying to show us that rejection is the context in which the Christian Gospel advances. Rejection is always the context in which the Christian Gospel advances. But in our story, there's just something weird about that whole picture. And I'm afraid it's not quite as neat as it might look. Because in verse 3, we're told that Jesus is rejected because he's offended people.

Okay? He's offended people and he's rejected. In verse 11, people reject the apostles by refusing to listen to them and sending them on. Those are what we might describe as classic signs of rejection. Yeah?

It's pretty pretty obvious you're being rejected if people are doing that to you. But herod is really different. He does reject god's messenger in the end as clear in the story, but also he enjoys him. He likes having him around. He wants to protect him.

He considers him a righteous person. Now, I don't know about you, but those don't seem to be classic signs of rejection. And so the question we're left with at the end of this story is how did herod get himself into this strange old position where he was fascinated by god's words, but in the end, a killer of god's prophet. How did how did that happen to him? Well, let's get into the story and see if we can find out.

So this is the first point. The Phantom profit verse 14, the phantom prophet. King herod heard about this for Jesus' name had become well known Some were saying, John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him. Others said he is Elijah, and others claimed he is a prophet, like 1 of the prophets long ago. But when Harriet heard this, he said John, whom I beheaded has been raised from the dead.

So our voice, as we've seen in just that in that previous little bit, The apostles are traveling around, healing the sick, casting out impure spirits and proclaiming the gospel. They are doing all of that in Jesus' name. And as you can imagine in quiet, predictable villages, that's pretty big news. But oddly, despite what we would say is the clarity of the apostles teaching There's a whole load of confusion about who Jesus actually is. Some people are saying he's a prophet.

Some are saying he's Elijah. He's very famous Old Testament prophet, famous for his miracles, but others are saying that Jesus is actually John the Baptist who has been raised from the dead. So he is the phantom prophet back for round 2. Now why would they be saying that? Well, because in many ways John was the last of the traditional prophets The Bible tells us that he himself was not the light, but he came as a witness the final witness to the light of the world in wrestling terms, as John the Baptist tagged out, he tagged in.

But as we know from our story, John the Baptist was eventually imprisoned and killed. We're gonna learn why that happened in just a moment, but that is the necessary background to verse 14. Jesus is on the scene doing miracles. His apostles are out teaching about him. But quite a few people are starting to believe that this Jesus is actually John raised from the dead.

And the reason this rumor is really gaining traction is because of the miracles. You see, originally, John the Baptist was not known for his signs and wonders. In John's gospel, we're actually told he did no sign. But now, what have we got? There's a powerful preacher back on the scene, and this guy is doing miracles.

So who else could it be? But John the Baptist back from the dead, same fiery preacher, But now he is able to channel the powers of the resurrection age into his ministry. He's able to channel the powers of the new age and look what he can do. What a combination. So to us, this sounds like a weird rumor.

Yeah? Sounds silly that anyone would actually swallow this stuff. But imagine being herod at this point. If you've beheaded 1 of god's prophets, The last thing you want to hear over your morning coffee is that he is alive again because that means he's probably on the way to your house. And if he is, he's coming in judgment.

Herrod would know that he wasn't a Jew but he would be familiar with Jewish thinking, and they understood things pretty clearly after resurrection, its judgment. And so if John has been resurrected, if these rumors are true, that means judgments come into his door. You can feel the terror and the accountability in his expression, John, whom I beheaded has been raised from the dead. So that's the kind of present tense. If you like, that's where we are now.

But to understand exactly why herod was so afraid, and he was right to be, if this was true, he was so afraid. We need to understand that. If we're gonna get it, we need to follow Mark back in time, and we need to go where he goes. And to understand the story. So we're gonna do that now.

Let's look at verse 16, and this is the second point. We've had the phantom prophet, and now we're gonna look at the imprisoned preacher. Verse 16. But when herod heard this, he said John whom I beheaded has been raised from the dead. For herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison.

He did this because of herodias, his brother Philip's wife whom he had married. For John had been saying to herod, it is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife. So herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him, but she was not able to because herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled yet he liked to listen to him. So imagine that we are inside 2 brackets here.

Mark has paused his gospel to tell us why herod is so upset about this rumor. We're in a kind of flashback situation here. And to start with, we need to know who this guy is. This herod is not the same herod who tried to kill baby Jesus. This is his son, herod antipas.

And he was what the Romans called a tetrarch, which means he was ruler of a fourth part. So he was quite an important person. He was in charge of quite a substantial amount of land, and galilee was 1 of the areas of his responsibility. That's who he was. And we know from verse 17 that herod also had a brother called Philip Now here's what it becomes a little bit like a sort of eastenders episode.

Philip originally was married to a lady called Herrodius, but 1 day, herod decided that he would actually quite like his brother's wife. And also she wanted him which always helps. So this is quite the scandal, isn't it? If you've got brothers or sisters, It's gonna make Christmas very difficult if you decide to approach their partners and take them for yourself. Hate to think what Christmas would have been like in the, Antopus household, but that's what had happened.

Philip, his brother hadn't died. And that is the reason this is an unlawful marriage. He was still alive. If Philip was dead, it wouldn't really be an issue in some senses. But that's not the case.

Herrodius left him. And according to history, herod left his previous wife so they could get together. So are you following the drama of sort of who this is and what's going on here? It is all a bit confused, but that's relationship for you. It's a very strange situation.

It feels a little bit like Saturday night television, but John, as we can see, is not amused by what is going on here. In fact, he is preaching against them, and he's not just doing it in public. Matthew's gospel tells us He was condemning herod to his face. Now, if your goal is a preacher, is to have a quiet life. That is not what you do.

If you want a nice book deal and, you would quite like to be invited to conferences, and you would like to make a bit of a name for yourself in the prophecy world. These are not the sort of issues you take on generally. But John was openly condemning it, which is just interesting in so many ways. Herrod, as we've already said, was not a Jew. Okay.

He was not a Jew, and he had no loyalty to the law of god. But in John's mind, that is not an issue. Because for him, every person is accountable to the law of god. And so he goes to a gentile ruler and he preaches leviticus 18 expecting that gentile ruler to repent. Why does he do it?

Because the word of god is binding on all of his creation, and non jew. There's 1 lord, 1 faith, 1 holy word of god for all people. That's why he preaches it. No problem doing that no matter who his audience is. And what is clear is that this preaching left a very sour taste in the mouth of herodias.

Verse 19 She nursed a grudge against him and wanted to kill him. But herod, as we already know, wasn't convinced. In fact, in verse 20, we're told he actually feared John. Maybe he knew that if he was responsible for the death of a popular prophet, he would have a mutiny on his hands. Maybe he was just scared.

To lay a finger on what he considered to be a holy person in case he would be judged, or maybe just wanted him around for some Saturday night entertainment. Maybe it was a combination of all of them. Either way, these 2, husband and wife, as is often the case in marriages, had to come to a compromise, and that was going to be prison. That would stop John preaching in public. It would stop him exposing the unlawfulness of their relationship.

But it wasn't quite as extreme as death. So it's a good you know, if those were married, I guess there's 1 very small sub lesson here, Not the main application, not even the secondary application. I wouldn't even call it the third or fourth stream of application, but you can see there's an effective compromise here. John is put in prison. So in many ways, it is a pretty good middle ground.

And yet despite all the practical advantages, It is still not clear to me at this stage why herod wants this. Herrodius is easy to understand. Knows a grudge against him and will kill him. How dare he? Probably someone someone like that come from the wilderness and condemn our marriage.

Does he know who he is? But Harris, you know, why why would he want somebody around who is continually preaching against his lifestyle voices. Why would he want him? Why not just be done with him as his wife so wisely suggests. We still got that question to deal with.

Well, let's move on and see if we can get a bit closer. So we've had the phantom prophet. We've had the imprisoned preacher. And thirdly, gonna look at the beheaded Baptist. Okay.

Verse 21. Finally, the opportune time came. On his birthday, herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galile. When the daughter of Herodius came in and danced, she pleased herod and his dinner guests. So as we know by now, herod obviously thought that preaching was quite an entertaining pastime.

But here we have what might be described as more traditional entertainment. We're at a birthday party. There's chin wagging with very important people. There's drinking. There's dancing.

These are these are classic good times. But actually, we get the impression that it's not quite as innocent as it sounds. Look at who is doing the dancing in verse 22. It is the daughter of herodias by marriage that makes her his step daughter or even worse originally his niece. Historians estimate that she couldn't have been more than 14 years old.

And in the context of the banquet, it would definitely be a sexual dance. So now we can see What sort of hearts we're dealing with here? Herrod is enjoying a sexually provocative dance from his 14 year old niece, and her mother, Herrodius, was almost certainly the 1 who sent her in there. From her angle, it was a cold, perverted, manipulative, selfish plan to get our own way But herod, the old fall was more than happy to play along without a single complaint. And so verse 22.

When the daughter of Harodius came in and danced, she pleased herod and his dinner guests The king said to the girl, ask for me anything that you want, and I'll give it to you. And he promised her with an oath, whatever you are I will give you up to half of my kingdom. She went out and said to her mother, what shall I ask for? The head of John The Baptist, she answered. No hesitation.

You can imagine her hands together. Rubbing her fingers in clay ahead of John the Baptist. That's what we always wanted. Go back. At once, the girl hurried into the king with the request.

I want you to give me right now. The head of John the Baptist on a platter. The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests he did not want to refuse her. So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison and brought back his head on a platter.

He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. It's like a disgusting version of pass the parcel, isn't it? Executioner to teenage daughter, daughter to mother, head on a platter. I mean, we don't need to know that detail, do we? We don't need to know that the head was on a platter or in a dish, but Mark has added it to show how sorted this whole event really is.

And so at this point, herod looks pathetic, doesn't he? He is a Roman ruler. Who cannot rule himself. He makes this generous offer. Look how generous I am.

Big wigs of galilee, look what I can afford to give away, but he's a fool. In fact, even when things go wrong and he feels dressed. He could have backtracked. He could have said, not doing that. Not doing that.

If I cut his head off, how am I gonna hear the word of god? How will I hear the word of god if I get rid of him? No chance. Try something else. But verse 26, because of his oaths, and his dinner guests.

He did not want to refuse her. Like so many other people in his situation, Zurich sees in the book of Esther, pilot before the crowds at the end of the gospel. When the rub comes and their test comes, Keeping up appearances is more important than doing what is right. Herrod is a very weak man in a very powerful position. He is a man who is fascinated by the word of god But in the end, he's a man who despised that very same word.

And at this stage, I think we're ready to try and answer our big question. How did his ears get into this condition? How did he manage to have the word so near and yet so far? Well, firstly, it must be the case that herod managed to enjoy the preaching of the word of gods, and yet to screen out any conviction of sin. He was somehow able to disconnect the authority of John which he liked with the authority of his message, which he didn't like.

He was somehow able to sit above the preaching enjoying it as a form of entertainment, but not to see it as an interaction with the living god himself. He was in some way able to feel perplexed, even in anguish, even convicted, maybe. Without ever feeling repentant. When the prophet Ezekiel was preaching, people loved to hear him. At 1 time, they actually considered him to be like a popular musician.

They said that to hear ezekiel was like going to a gig. Here's ezekiel 33. My people come to you as they usually do, and they sit before you to hear your words, but they do not put them into practice. Their mouths speak of love, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. Indeed, to them, you are nothing more than 1 who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays on an instrument well.

For they hear your words, but they do not put them into practice. The preacher and his word is amusing but not hearts changing. So you see Mark is trying to show us that rejection of the word of god takes a very many forms. 1 of which is that we would rather be entertained than to do business with the word of god. Now, in what way might that play out for us, Well, it's gotta be the case that if our aim is to be amused, then the chances are we're gonna be hopping around church is for months and months and months.

We might try this 1. We might try that 1. We might have a break with this 1. We might try that 1 again. We might go there for this 1.

We might go down the road for that 1. They can offer this. I'll go there. They can offer this better. I'll go there for months and months and months and basically 1 of the motives is that we would be entertained.

Or will become selective with the word of god. That happened to the church in corinth, didn't it? They were divided because they all had their preferences. I follow a potter, said 1. I follow Paul, said the other.

I follow Christ, said another. And Paul had to step in and say, guys, This is not healthy. It's not healthy what you're doing. The question you should be asking is not which apostle amuses me the most, but are they faithfully bringing the gospel? That is a clear lesson from herod.

The word of god is not just here for our superficial amusement. It is here to teach and correct and rebuke and encourage and train in righteousness. Healthy ears. Want to hear it for those reasons. But secondly, and this is probably the bigger point, The reason that herod was so excited in his eardrums by the word of god but ultimately close to it was because he refused to repent.

Repentance is actually the key to this whole section. When the apostles go out preaching in the villages, no 1 is going to reject them for healing their sick. Who would reject someone who can come and get rid of your evil spirits and heal all your unwell people? Who's going to reject a messenger like that? But if verse 12, they preach that people should repent, then they can expect a frosty reception.

If John the Baptist had just preached general truths about the kingdom of god. If he hadn't been so determined to put his finger on specific issues, and specific sins and call for specific repentance if he just talk generally about god, then he wouldn't have lost his head, but he preached repentance. We saw at the beginning that as god's messengers go out, god's messengers are rejected, but now we can sharpen the picture even more. The reason that they are rejected is because they call people to turn from sin and believe in Christ. Repentance is the issue.

Repentance is what brings rejection. And because it was something that Harriet would not do, his fate was sealed. And it's sad, isn't it? Because things could have been so different for him if you think about it? You know, if he had just said John, I've ruined my life.

I've sinned against god. I've sinned against my brother. I've sinned against my stepdaughter. I've sinned against the men of Gallilee at my party. I've sinned against my first wife.

I've sinned against my second wife. My life is a mess. My relationships are all over the place. I don't know what to do, but I I know I need your god. Fear had done that in verse 20, he wouldn't have committed murder in verse 27.

None of it needed to happen, but he sat on the fence. And so he ended in moral disaster. And do you know the last time that we hear from this herod in the bible, is the moment where Jesus himself was on trial before him. And do you know what he wanted of Jesus at that time? He wanted a miracle.

He wanted to see a sign. He wanted to be entertained. But Jesus didn't say a word. When he cut John's head off, The door was shut and his window of opportunity had closed. If we sit on the fence when it comes to repentance, we will end in disaster.

So let's pray that we wouldn't be like that because it is a temptation, isn't it? It's a very real temptation. Often, We can come and we can agree with the words. We read it or we hear it, and we think, you know, that's right. That is right.

That is something I've gotta deal with. I should seek the lord with regard to this issue. I should do something. But also truth be told we're settled in our sin, and we don't wanna leave certain things behind. And just like for herod, Very often, the issue in which we feel that tension is to do with sinful relationships.

Maybe 1 where sexual sin is taking place before marriage. Maybe 1 where a non Christian and a Christian are dating and preparing to unite themselves in marriage without any thought to the consequences. Maybe 1 in which 2 people of the same sex are sexually involved with 1 another, or maybe just like herod, it's a person abandoning their spouse in pursuit of another. And look, it's not always easy to work out. In these messy situations, what exactly repentance is gonna look like?

It's not always easy to draw a straight line. This is what you must do, and you can do it by this time tomorrow. I understand there are complexities, but here is the point when it comes to heart repentance when it comes to mourning over our sin when it comes to seeking the lord's word and trying to reorientate our lives so that we honor him in every way that we can. We sit on the fence at our peril. JC Ryal in his book Forts for young men says this.

I grant you that true repentance is never too late. But I warn you that late repentance is rarely true. I grant you that 1 repentant thief was converted in his last hours so that no man might despair. But I warn you that only 1 was converted so that no man might presume. For herod, it was a sinful relationship.

Whatever it is for us, let's not sit on the fence. Let's turn to the lord while we have breath in our lungs. Because when we do, the glorious news is that we will always find forgiveness and hope in the arms of Jesus Christ. Without without a shadow of a doubt, Mark is wanting us to go there. Just look at the little Easter egg trail he leaves for us look at the sign posts in this passage.

Herrodius wanted John dead, but she had to wait for the right opportunity. At the end of the gospels, the chief priests wanted Jesus dead, but they had to wait wait for the right opportunity. Herrod bowed under peer pressure and handed John over to execution, just as pilot would bow under pressure. And hand Jesus over to execution. The disciples came to collect the body and lay it in a tomb verse 29.

Just like Joseph of Aramothea would take the body of Christ and lay it in a tomb. The idea of a headless John in a resurrected body was a silly rumor, but the resurrection of Jesus Christ is historical fact. He lives. And that means he really is qualified to deal with our sin this evening. Perhaps we've failed perhaps we have failed very greatly in the area of relationships like herod has and like many of us have.

Perhaps we've turned from god's word many times. We've known we should have done something, but we haven't. Well, Jesus Christ died on a cross He was laid in a tomb. He was raised to life in order to take away those sins. So that we could be truly forgiven.

No matter what you've done, do what herod failed to do. Turn to the lord this evening. He will save you. He will wash you. He will forgive you.

He will justify you. He will sanctify you. He will make you righteous in his sight. He will give you eternal life. Why would we sit on the fence?

When such a savior lives and is ready to forgive us this evening. So that is herod. He listened to John's word, as the word of a man, an entertaining, exciting, perplexing word of man. Herrod received John as a man, a righteous, upstanding, holy man. But in the end, he was undone.

Because he didn't receive John's word as the word of god. And by god's grace, let us learn from him this evening. There's gonna be a prayer that is gonna come up on the screen. We don't do this every week if you're a regular here. But it seemed appropriate after thinking about how not to sit on the fence with regard to repentance to give people an opportunity to pray and to turn to the lord and to ask him to take away their sins.

It's nothing magical. It's not, you know, anything particular. Particularly special. It's just an opportunity to use these words to turn to the lord in repentance and faith. And for those who already have, why not use this time of silence to pray about the things that god has taught us this evening.

Let's have a moment of quiet, and then Ben will bring us back