Don’t leave it too late!
Image: Martineric @ Flickr
Mark 6:14-29 Expand passage
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.
In my first article in this Mark Marathon, I mentioned that the question “Who is Jesus?” was one of the major themes of Mark’s gospel. In fact, the entire first half of the gospel is taken up with the question. Who is this man? How can this man have power over the wind and the waves, cast out demons, heal the sick, and forgive sins? How can he preach with authority about the Kingdom of God?
As you probably know, many people – including his disciples! – guessed at Jesus’ identity and got it very wrong. According to the start of the passage (and other passages such as Mark 8:27-28), many people believed that Jesus was either a prophet, or John the Baptist, or Elijah. Herod Antipas was no different in this regard. In our passage today, he sees Jesus and immediately thinks that it must be John the Baptist returned from the dead!
However, as we will see, he probably had different reasons for saying this than did most other people. But first, a little bit of background.
There are several Herods in the Bible – it can get a bit confusing at times! Most people are probably familiar with Herod the Great, who was King of the Jews from 40-4BC. He was the megalomaniac who ordered the slaughter of the infants of Bethlehem (see Matthew 2). Although he was King of the Jews, he was actually of Idumean descent – an Edomite. Edomites were descended from Esau, the brother of Jacob. The two nations had always been at odds with each other (see, for example, Numbers 20:14-21), and the Jewish people in Jerusalem resented Herod because of this.
However, the Herod we read about today – Herod Antipas – was actually the son of Herod the Great. He is also known as ‘Herod the Tetrarch’ – tetrarch meaning ‘ruler of quarter of a kingdom’: in a King Lear style situation, Herod the Great decided to divide his kingdom up amongst his sons.
So, history lesson over. What bearing does this have on the story? Well, one thing I find interesting in the light of this is John the Baptist telling Herod “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” Although Herod was not Jewish by descent, he was following the Jewish religion (at least nominally).
John was not telling Herod to follow a law which had no bearing on him. I fully believe that Christians should not impose Christian rules and laws on a secular world. What motive do atheists, agnostics, or those of other religions have to follow laws that are specifically Christian? There are none. No, in order for someone to follow Biblical commands, they must first know the God of the Bible. I believe that is what is happening here: John is simply calling Herod to account. “You are claiming to follow the Jewish religion? Then you must shape up and start respecting the laws!”
It did make me think. I know of a few people who quite like Christianity… but they don’t like what it has to say about various different things (although the common issue seems to be sex and relationships). They’re quite happy to turn up to church on a Sunday, to get their weekly dose of spirituality – but they don’t actually want it to affect their lives in any meaningful way.
Jesus says, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34). The Christian life is not easy – Jesus said that it will involve sacrifice. This will come in a different form for everyone – for some people it may mean not getting into certain relationships, or not drinking too much, or – the list goes on. But Jesus then goes on to say, “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.” If we obey God’s commands, if we take up our cross and follow Jesus, we will indeed save our lives – and our souls.
Anyway, let’s continue on with the passage! The second paragraph describes how John the Baptist actually dies. Because John had been saying that their relationship was unlawful, Herodias held a bitter grudge against him. Herod makes a rash promise to his daughter, and the instant Herodias hears of this she seizes the opportunity. (As an aside, perhaps this goes to show how much people resent any criticism of their relationships! In my experience, people are very sensitive about this particular area of life).
John the Baptist is then executed, and the head given to Herodias on a platter. The image is quite horrific, and I think serves to illustrate the level of hatred that Herodias had for John.
The actions of Herod throughout all this remind me of Pilate at the trial of Jesus. Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent. However, instead of doing the right thing and releasing him, he washes his hands of it and hands Jesus over to the Jews. Herod knew that John was a “righteous and holy man” (v20), and yet – albeit reluctantly – he had John executed.
This falls in line with the wider image of John the Baptist’s death acting as a precursor to Jesus’ death on the cross. John the Baptist was regarded by many as a prophet, and he had many disciples. And yet, he was still killed. This is perhaps a hint that Jesus would come to the same end – but with vastly different results. As John points out in Mark 1:7-8, Jesus is “mightier” than John – his death could accomplish far more than John’s ever could.
I mentioned at the beginning that Herod had different reasons for believing that Jesus was John the Baptist than most people. The reason was probably to do with guilt: Herod knew that John was a good man. He knew that he had done wrong in having him executed, and he was fearful of divine judgement. So, when he heard of Jesus, he immediately jumped to the conclusion that it was John the Baptist. (Interestingly, to me at least, in AD36 the Nabataean King Aretas waged war against Herod, and the Jewish historian Josephus records that many regarded the defeat as divine retribution for Antipas’ killing of John the Baptist).
Herod knew who John the Baptist was – and yet didn’t do anything about it until it was too late. We face the same choice today with Jesus. Do you know who he is? Don’t leave it too late.
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