Mark 6:14-18
Introduction
In the last study we saw how the twelve disciples were sent out on a mission by Jesus. The passage we looked at last time ended at verse 13. However, I pointed out that the mission did not end at verse 13. It does in fact resume at verse 30.
Before we get there, however, Mark interrupts the mission with a passage about John the Baptist. The kind of text are we looking at today is an interlude in the form of a flashback. Although the interlude about John the Baptist is covered in verses 14 to 29, we are only going to look at verses 14 to 18 in this study. And next time we will look at the remaining verses.
Bear all of this in mind as we make our way through today’s passage.
Verses 14 to 15
Verse 14 introduces the interlude about John the Baptist and links it to the events we have been reading about so far in Mark’s Gospel.
When Mark writes ‘for His name had become well know’ he is talking about Jesus.
This interlude passage is all about the actions of King Herod, but who was he? Well, there are several things we can say about him:
• He was one of the sons of Herod the Great.
• He was properly known as Herod Antipas.
• He was the Tetrarch of Galilee (ruler of one fourth of a province).
• He was not a true king even though he was called a king.
Remember that his father, Herod the Great, was famous for ordering the slaughter of the innocents shortly after the birth of Jesus. See Matthew 2:16-18.
When Mark tells us that Herod had heard about it, he was talking about the miracles of Jesus. See the end of verse 14. Also, in verse 14 we learn that Herod had heard that Jesus was John the Baptist risen from the dead. In other words, Herod was listening to gossip. And in verse 15, we learn that Herod had heard that Jesus was Elijah or one of the other Old Testament prophets. All of this tell us that Herod was a superstitious man.
Verse 16
After listening to the rumours, Herod concluded that Jesus was really John the Baptist. Herod believed that John the Baptist had risen from the dead and that he had taken on a new name - Jesus. Herod thinks that John the Baptist had risen from the dead because he had John the Baptist beheaded in the past.
Herod’s belief about John the Baptist would have astonished and terrified him. Herod would have been terrified because of a common belief from that time. Let me explain. It was commonly believed in those days that a resurrection would lead to judgement. Herod would have believed that the resurrected John the Baptist would bring judgement upon him for the wrong that Herod had done to John. This is why Herod would have been terrified.
Verses 17 to 18
In these verses we see that Herod had ordered John the Baptist to be arrested and put in prison. John was arrested and put in prison because John had rebuked Herod for his marriage to Herodias, saying that it was unlawful. Part of John’s calling was to call everyone to repentance, including those in high places. Herod had put John in prison to silence him.
When John the Baptist said that Herod’s marriage to Herodias was unlawful, he was referring to the Law of God. By marrying the wife of his brother Philip, Herod had broken two laws. Firstly, he had broken the law of adultery. Even though Herod had divorced his legitimate wife before marrying his brother’s wife, under God’s law he was still married to his legitimate wife. Secondly, Herod had married his brother’s wife whilst his brother was still alive. This is against the Law of God.
What can we learn from John’s encounter with Herod? One of the lessons I see in this encounter is the cost of exposing the sin of those in high places, in places of power. John the Baptist was imprisoned and executed for exposing sin in high places. Something to bear in mind in this regard: it is very rare for anyone in a high place to be concerned about justice or doing what is right. When they are exposed, instead of changing their ways (repenting), they will usually punish the innocent person who has exposed them. And all of this is just as true in the church as it is in the world. Have you ever experienced this?
And Finally
You should bear in mind that if we do the same as John, we risk paying a similar price to him.
So, are you willing to do such a thing for the sake of the Gospel?