“Mark 6:14-16 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.”
Jesus’ name had become known, not merely through Jesus, but also through the twelve who were commissioned with the preaching of Christ. So Mark puts an emphasis on the necessity of others joining in the proclamation of Jesus. Now, just because Christ is preached does not mean he will be accepted. Sometimes people have a distorted view of Christ because they heard a distorted view of Christ. That’s certainly unfortunate. But Jesus proclaimed himself truly and accurately. The twelve are proclaiming Christ truly and accurately. And yet, people still have all sorts of strange understandings of who Jesus is.
Some think Jesus is John the Baptist raised from the dead. Elijah the prophet returned from heaven. Or a prophet in the line of Elijah. People will happily take Jesus as a man. But call him God, and suddenly there’s a problem. Which seems strange, considering all the false things that people are willing to set as their “gods.” But there’s one distinctive difference between Christ and all the other false gods that compels people to accept false gods and reject Christ. And that is the word, “Lord.” Paul said we preach Christ AS LORD. That qualifier matters.
All the other false gods allow a person to be good by their own merit and set their own standard for righteousness. Not so when Jesus is LORD. A man’s merit accomplishes nothing to Jesus the Lord. The false gods allow a person to retain self-autonomy. Not so when Jesus is LORD. Jesus the Lord does not allow a man to keep his autonomy. And the false gods allow humanity to treat them like a magic genie, who grants every worldly request. But not so with Jesus as LORD. And Jesus the Lord supplies a person according to his own will.
People want to stand righteous on their own merit. They want autonomy from God. And yet they want the benefits of an all-powerful being to grant their every wish. Don’t be like them. Genuine Christianity is the exact opposite of those things and it’s because Christianity is based on Christ the Lord.”
