Mark 6:14-29

John the Baptist Beheaded

14King 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."

15Others said, "He is Elijah."

And still others claimed, "He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago."

16But when Herod heard this, he said, "John, the man I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!"

17For 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. 18For John had been saying to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." 19So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, 20because 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.

21Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22When the daughter of Herodias 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." 23And he promised her with an oath, "Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom."

24She went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask for?"

"The head of John the Baptist," she answered.

25At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: "I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter."

26The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, 28and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. 29On hearing of this, John's disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

BACKGROUND READING:


Malachi 4


Matthew 14:1-12



Dig Deeper

The inevitable had finally happened. Jesus had avoided it for as long as possible, but word about Jesus and his doings had gotten back to Herod Antipas. News traveled pretty well by word-of-mouth back then, and despite Jesus’ best efforts to keep things relatively quiet, Herod now knew what was going on. Due to this, from here on out, the mission changes, things are even more urgent now.


The question that was raging, and this question is one of the themes of Mark’s gospel, is who Jesus was. Some thought that perhaps he was Elijah, returned to Israel. That made sense because according to the Old Testament Elijah had never died, he was simply taken to heaven. On top of that, some read Malachi 4 and concluded that Elijah, himself, was to come back. Could he be Elijah?


Others thought that he was one of the prophets of long ago. He was behaving like these prophets described in the Scriptures. Others thought that he was John the Baptist, raised from the dead. Looking at the three possibilities of who people thought Jesus was gives us two things to think about. First, this should dispel any notions that Jesus was a soft, effeminate teacher with nothing more than a message of love and social responsibility. His message was certainly full of those things, but it was so strong, so authoritative, and so confrontational that people thought he might be one of the great radical prophets of old. Second, Jesus was obviously doing incredibly miraculous things to make everyone think that the only explanation was that he was not a normal human being, but was somehow connected with a resurrected prophet.


The theory that Herod latched on to was that of him being John the Baptist. Herod probably didn’t have a well-thought-out theory of resurrection, but he did clearly entertain it as a possibility. If it was John, back from the dead, that would explain the incredible things that Jesus was doing. He assuredly was demonstrating powers that John before his death did not have. It doesn’t take much speculation to see Herod’s fear in hearing about this man. If it was John, who would be the first one on John’s hit list?


Mark, perhaps realizing that he hasn’t informed his readers about the details of what happened to John, takes a moment to go back and tell us what happened between John and Herod.


There was no sense of a right to privacy in the ancient world like we have now. Only royalty might have some sense of a private life (this is why they often employed deaf and mute servants), yet word of Herod’s life had obviously leaked out anyway. He had already married his brother’s wife, and now comes this scandalous tale of his step-daughter dancing erotically at his party.


John’s confrontation with Herod is far deeper than just a prophet denouncing the shabby moral behavior of a king. Herod the Great, the father of Herod Antipas, had fancied himself to be the true king of the Jews, the one in the line of David and Solomon who would restore the Temple and bring about the kingdom of God. Antipas, no doubt, saw himself as continuing in that legacy. He desperately wanted to be the sovereign ruler over all of Israel, the one who would restore the kingdom, and the one whom his fellow Jews would finally recognize as their true king (to this point he was only king because of the Roman power backing him).


John’s vision of the kingdom was very different. It wasn’t about great Temple rebuilding projects and power, it was about repentance. John was announcing one who would come and be the true king. To really drive home that point that Antipas was not the one, John confronts him. Would the true king, the Messiah, act like this? Would the Messiah marry his brother’s wife (who had clearly thrown in her lot with him for reasons of political aspirations)? This is why Herodias was so annoyed with John; he was standing in the way of Herod being seen as the true king (although we can look back now and realize that John, or no John, that would have never happened). Herod was a bit distressed at putting to death such a popular figure, but it seems that he was more afraid of Herodias.


John’s death demonstrates a point which is made time and again throughout the Bible. There is a clear connection between those who would speak for God’s standards and point out human pride, folly, and sin, and the fact that they will suffer in this age for those actions.



Devotional Thought

When confronted with human sin and pride do you stand up and confront it like John or do you just let it slide like what other people do isn’t your business? Who do you know who might benefit by being confronted about their behavior? Are you willing to suffer the possible consequences of speaking out for God?