Mark Study 27
A Prophet Silenced
Mark Study #27 by Michael Spencer
Step into the study, pour yourself a cup of coffee, get comfortable and let's enjoy the Gospel of Mark.
Our scripture this week is Mark 6:14 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."
15 Others said, "He is Elijah." And still others claimed, "He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago."
16 But when Herod heard this, he said, "John, the man I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!"
17 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.
18 For John had been saying to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."
19 So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to,
20 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.
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 Galilee.
22 When 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."
23 And he promised her with an oath, "Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom."
24 She went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask for?" "The head of John the Baptist," she answered.
25 At 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."
26 The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her.
27 So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison,
28 and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother.
29 On hearing of this, John's disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.(NIV)
This is the only part of Mark that extensively deals with a person other than Jesus. The departure is rather sudden and more than one critic has quickly assumed the story was inserted later. Greek scholars will note a more polished style in this section, a contrast with Mark's usual rough writing style. It is not inappropriate or unreasonable to suggest that Mark may have adapted this account from a previous source, but Mark's use of it is no accident. This is not an insertion into the flow, but a prefiguring of many things that are important to Mark. In his commentary on Mark, James Brooks notes that "John's death was significant to Mark as a preview of the death of Jesus." This section could legitimately be called a "pre-passion" narrative.
To the reader, this story bristles with intrigue, drama and characterization. It is one of the Gospel accounts that most people remember the first time they hear it. The picture of political leaders driven by lust and executing the voice of conscience seems almost too contemporary. Apart from Mark's use of it in the story of Jesus, this account stands well on its own, giving a tragic end to the ministry of John the Baptist and painting the picture of a prophet faithful unto death. To scholars, this passage is sometimes irritating. In places it contradicts the account of Josephus and there are significant textual problems. The NIV translation is a bit too free. Yet, it is a majestic and exciting story and fulfills its purpose even today- preparing God's people to suffer as they speak the truth in the world.
The NIV inserts "about this" into verse 14 when it is not in the Greek, nor strongly suggested by the language of the verse. The Herod intended here is Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee and Perea (the land east of the Jordan) from 4 B.C. to 39 A.D. It is important to separate him from his father, Herod the Great, (40-4 B.C.) the Roman "Rent-a-King" for all of Palestine and his brother Herod Agrippa I who was the same ruler from 37-44 A.D. A Tetrarch was not a king, a point Mark does not want his readers to miss. A Tetrarch was a ruler in a four way division of power, which Antipas shared with his siblings. Given Mark's emphasis on the crowds, miracles and reputation of Jesus, the reader should be ready to ask what the political rulers of the land would have to say about him. No doubt, Jesus following would have been politically explosive if turned towards rebellion. Yet, ironically, Mark finds that, in an effort to make some sense of what Jesus is doing, the popular interpretation of Jesus is....reincarnation (of a sort)! Elijah had never died and his return was part of the Messianic timetable. (Malachi 4:5) Another interpretation was that Jesus was a new prophet as predicted in Deuteronomy 18:15, 18-19. These same three options are reviewed by the apostles in Mark 8:27-28. Josephus reports that John the Baptist had worked miracles. While scripture does not report any of these, 6:14b suggests this was commonly believed. It was Herod who suggested that John the Baptist was back from the dead, an event with which he was intimately familiar.
The attempt to interpret Jesus into known categories continues today. Even a "man-on-the-street" survey would reveal comparisons of Jesus with Buddha, entertainment figures, cult leaders, magicians and faith healers. The recent pile of books from the self-appointed "Jesus Seminar" contains a whole new slate of suggestions. Jesus is a cynic philosopher, a peasant revolutionary, a wandering sage. These images typically give more credence to the Greek and pagan influences in Galilee and attempt to fit Jesus into new boxes discovered during the third "quest" for the historical Jesus. Dead Sea Scroll fans have encountered books announcing that Jesus is a renegade Essene. All these things tell us more about those making the guesses than about Jesus, just as the attempts to fit Jesus into the clothes of Elijah or John tells us what people were wanting Jesus to be in the first century. In fact, the Gospel portrait of Jesus is all about his uniqueness. For all his similarity to rabbis, exorcists, teachers, political figures or popular Biblical characters, he is always more than this. It is the "more" aspect of Jesus' identity that we see in all the Gospels. The more honestly one reads the New Testament, the clearer it becomes that any and all attempts to file Jesus away in a scholarly folder miss the majesty, glory and mystery of his person.
Mark wants to show us more than just Herod's guilty conscience; he wants us to see the despicable events that followed the imprisonment of John. He wants to prepare his readers for the likelihood of suffering and death in the footsteps of Jesus, who followed in the footsteps of John. The actual historical situation that underlies this episode is worthy of research beyond this study, but I will summarize it. Antipas had fallen in love with his brother's wife and both parties divorced their spouses to create an illicit and illegal marriage of convenience. Herodias was married to Antipas's brother who is apparently named Herod Phillip (a point of contention between Mark and Josephus.) This brother later declared war on Antipas and defeated him over this matter, but Mark is interested in John's condemnation of the marriage and the conflict this creates with Herod. As a faithful prophet, John finds the marriage wrong according to the scriptures (Leviticus 18:16; 20:21) and makes it a prominent theme of his preaching in public. There were probably political overtones to this as well. Antipas' discarded wife was from the bordering Kingdom of the Nabateans. Josephus says that Antipas acted to silence John in order to prevent a political uprising, and this seems entirely plausible, though of little interest to Mark.
The web is tangled by the personal interest taken by Herodias in John. In what must be a purposeful harkening back to the story of Elijah, Jezebell and Ahab, John's nemesis becomes the woman, not the ruler. Antipas' own attitude towards John is rather startling: He likes him, protects him, fears him and knows him to be a righteous man. In a bizarre detail, Herod Antipas even likes to listen to John, though he is "greatly puzzled" when he does. This picture of a ruler who imprisons a prophet, yet fears and admires his truthfulness, is complex and interesting. It suggests all sorts of subtle applications, but I will only mention a couple. First, we should remember that those who silence the truth may not always demonstrate hostility; they may, in fact, demonstrate admiration and even attraction. This does not lessen their opposition. It is an aspect of fallen human nature that can be quite deceiving. Jesus experienced it in the kiss of Judas. We may experience it as those who ultimately insist that true Christianity be eliminated express admiration for Christian morality and works of charity. It is dangerous to be seduced by the admiring voices of those who finally have the power and desire to destroy you. The other application is to simply note the persistent power of the conscience. It is true that some individuals sin to the point of numbing their own sense of right and wrong, but this is rare. More often the voice of conscience is persistent and must be silenced through some other action or entertainment. Herod Antipas feared and admired the man who spoke the truth because his conscience told him this man spoke the truth- even though that truth was at the expense of Herod's wrong choices. We should remember this as we read II Corinthians 4:1-2 "Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God." We are commanded to set forth the truth plainly and appeal to the conscience as we communicate the truth to lost people.
It is Herod's own insatiable lust that opens the door for Herodias to eliminate John from the scene. Birthday parties were not a Jewish custom, but Herod and his peers had imbibed deeply at the well of Greek culture. This party probably takes place at Tiberias or Sepphoris. The daughter is Salome, the young daughter of Herodias, destined to be married to Herod Phillip, but at this point probably 12 or 14 years old. (The NIV passes over a serious textual variant. Good manuscript evidence says "his daughter Herodias" which is both unthinkable and historically impossible. Most likely this is a copyists error- only two letters difference in the masculine and feminine forms- that was later corrected.) Herod Antipas' lust for the girl is plain and this may explain why a royal princess was dancing at the banquet, for such a thing would not have normally occurred. The mother knows how to manipulate her lecherous husband. Herod's offer to the girl is similar to Esther 5:3,6; 7:2. Ironically, Herod could not have give her a hundredth of his Kingdom, as a Roman vassal he had no authority to do this whatsoever. His drunken lusts had brought him to imagined heights and disgusting depths.
As I read this, I wondered about the theological purpose behind such an account. It is easy to say there is nothing here of value because God is not spoken about in an obvious way.. Yet the rest of the Bible stands in the shadows, commenting on this scene. In Psalm 2 the Kings and mighty men plot their plans, but God laughs and brings his Messiah to rule. I think of Daniel 5, where God's pronouncements of judgment bring a sobering end to Belshazzar's mocking and partying. I think of Revelation 6, where the Kings of the earth, confronted with the judgment of God, call upon the rocks and mountains to hide them from the inevitable. I think of Revelation 17, where the Kings of the earth remember their drunken orgies with Babylon, the fallen world-system, and mourn God's destruction of her. Herod is a preview and an insight into those world-rulers who live as if somehow God were a respecter of Kings. With all the pomp and ritual of earthly government, we would do well to remember that every King who rules without thought of God is a fool who will find himself wiped from the boot of a conquering Messiah. Jesus is a king of a difference sort. We think of his confrontation with Pilate and the truth that his Kingdom is not of this world. But Herod, in his lusts, his guilty conscience, his cowardice and violence, stands in contrast to the Kingdom that comes in power, exists by love, heals all diseases, expells all devils, includes all outcasts and depends on no King except the eternal King, the Lord Jesus Christ. Interestingly, Josephus tells us that both Herodias and Antipas committed suicide. So much for the glory of earthly kings.
Mark and Josephus may be in conflict about when and where John was executed, but the details can be harmonized. Herodias' ghastly instructions to serve John's head up as part of the banquet would have been unusual. Lower class criminals were seldom given the mercy of a quick beheading. Herod may be shocked at the suggestion, but the practice was not unheard of; Tacitius writes about Nero having the heads of his enemies brought to him during banquets. Unlike the Jews in Jerusalem, Antipas did have enough authority to take a life without permission from Rome. Herod's cowardice before his guests is yet another slimy aspect of his character. He probably intended to release John at some future date. Some have even implied he may have contemplated divorcing Herodias in response to John's demands. Instead, he thinks of his own reputation as King and orders up the martyrdom of John in response to the bizarre request of the women. One wonders how much evil is done in the world for similar reasons of reputation.
If we are correct in locating Mark's audience as Christians suffering Roman persecution, then this passage has a larger meaning looming over the details. The message of discipleship will increasingly include the inevitability of suffering. There is no flinching from this; no escapism implied. John, as a disciple of the truth, was imprisoned and executed. To be a Christian, is to expect the same thing. Not only because of the example of John, but because of the larger example of Jesus himself. Suffering and discipleship are bound together in Mark's message. Yet these are rarely bound together today. In the name of Biblical Christianity, an entire cult of escapism, health and wealth has developed in many churches. Kenneth Hagin, one of the foremost practitioners of this distortion, wrote a booklet entitled "How to Write Your Own Ticket with God. How do we face our brothers and sisters in the suffering church who have discovered the twentieth century to be the bloodiest century of the Christian church? How do American Christians defend our decisions to see suffering as evil, even focusing the guns of spiritual warfare on the kinds of suffering that we are encouraged to choose? My favorite preacher, Dr. John Piper, has observed that there are no "closed countries" on the mission field, only Christians not willing to pay the price of suffering to proclaim the Gospel in those countries. Mark understood this. I am afraid we do not.
John's disciples bury the body of their master. John's influence was much larger than most Christians know. We see this in Acts 18:24-19:7. Paul finds disciples of John in Ephesus and the very presence of so much material about John the Baptist in the Gospels (particularly the Gospel of John) shows that the early Christians knew John's followers would not automatically become Christians, but needed to know that John himself had pointed his entire mission towards the one who was to come, Jesus the Lamb of God. Even though we read in Luke 7:18-22 of doubts on John's part, the New Testament uniformly shows John's ministry as "Christianity before Christ;" true faith lived our in advance of the coming of the Messiah.
I will close with further words from Dr. James Brooks: "John, like Jesus, was executed by a secular ruler. Herod, like Pilate, did not want to execute his prisoner but caved in to pressure from others. Herodias, like the chief of priests, schemed to bring about the execution. John's disciples, like Joseph of Arimethea, tenderly buried the body of their leader."
Questions
Brooks says that "John's death is significant as a preview of Jesus?" Explain.
What about this story makes it appealing and memorable?
What sort of things might Herod Antipas have heard about Jesus?
How would the political rulers of Galilee evaluate Jesus?
What are some of the ways people try to categorize Jesus today? Why and how does Jesus defy categories?
Herod's divorce and marriage of his sister-in-law was shocking in his time. What does this tell us about the kind of person he was?
Why would John the Baptist trouble himself with preaching against Herod's personal life? What were the risks?
Some would say that the personal morals of a ruler do not matter if he does his job. Do you agree?
Herod is fascinated by- even admiring of John. What does this show about the human condition?.
How do we appeal to the conscience of lost people? If we do not appeal to the conscience, what do we wind up appealing to?
Herod's lusts are painted in vivid colors for the readers. What did Mark want us to see? Why?
What is the theological message in this story of Herod's lust and his wife's evil revenge? Where is God in that scene?
Read Psalm 2. How does this view of "Kings" fit in with being a good citizen? How should rulers read these passages?
Herod promises the girl what he cannot deliver. Why do humans so easily exaggerate and lie to get their desires?
Could Herod have said NO to the request for John's head? What kind of reasoning process did he engage in?
Mark is talking to his readers about preparing to suffer. What is the American attitude toward suffering? What is the Christian attitude towards suffering?
Should we ever choose suffering? What did Dr. Piper mean when he says there are no closed countries on the mission field?
If following Jesus required suffering, unemploment, economic ruin, imprisonment...what would be the effect on Christianity? What has been the effect when this has occured?
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