The Book of Mark #36 cahpter 6:14-29
The Book of Mark
The Murder of the Greatest Prophet
Mark 6:14-29
 
In verses 14-29 of Mark 6 we find the story of the execution of John the Baptist.  It is nestled in between the story of Jesus sending ou the Twelve on a short term mission trip.  We’ve covered that in the last two studies, so tonight we’ll take a look at the murder of a man Jesus described as the greatest man who ever lived. 
 
By the way, this is the only account in the gospel of Mark that is not about Jesus. Every other time another person is mentioned, Jesus is involved.  But with John the Baptist, the cousin and forerunner of Christ Himself, this one account stands independent.  I don’t know the significance of that, but I find it very interesting.
 
I want to share just a little bit of background tonight and then next week we’ll look more at the details of the story.  If you browse through the history of Israel including both the Old and New Testaments and up through modern Israel, you discover ample evidence that they have been and continue to be the most privileged and blessed people to ever live on the earth. 
 
There is a particular way God chose to bless them that especially applies to John the Baptist and that is they were chosen by God to be the recipients of divine revelation. To them what was given the Scripture and the Covenants and much of that Word was delivered to them through the prophets.
 
Men like Isaiah and Jeremiah that were used of God to preach the message of God for the very first time. And it was Jews that God first used to write the Old Testament and then later the New Testament.
 
But what the nation did with this privilege is the tragedy of all tragedies.  In fact, it is the ultimate tragedy of any people because they took this immense privilege and then turned against the very God who gave them the privilege.
 
In fact, not only did they reject the message, they killed the messengers. Starting with the prophets very early in their history, they kept killing them until they finally killed Zechariah, son of Berechiah who was the last of the Old Testament prophets.  And according to Jesus, they killed him somewhere near the temple itself. 
 
It was 500 years before God sent another prophet.  They thought God had forgotten about them and He would have been justified if He had never spoken to them again.  But 500 years went by and finally God sent them a man named John.  He became known as the baptizer, John the Baptist in common language. 
 
Then when he was at his peak, the Jews stood by and watched as he was viciously murdered. And when the Prophet of Prophets, the man of whom John said he wasn’t worthy to carry His sandals was murdered, the Jews not only stood by and watched, they begged for Him to be crucified and said His blood would be upon them and their children and grandchildren. 
 
 
Now I’ve said all of that to help you see just how despicable is the sin of the nation who is chosen by God to receive His revelation, all His promises and covenants and to reject that revelation and then regularly kill the messengers who brought that revelation. That is what they did.
 
In response to that, listen to what Jesus said in Matthew 23:29-39
 
It’s one thing to consider the atrocities that have been waged against the Jews down through the years, and there have been many.  But any assessment of their national life has to include their response to the prophets sent by God down through the ages, 
 
This is the most amazing, astounding, shocking indictment ever to be rendered on a people in human history. You, the chosen people, have systematically and consistently through your entire history, refused to obey the revelation of God and you have killed the messengers who brought that revelation.
 
And, Jesus says, you’ll keep doing it. You’ll do it to the Apostles and the prophets and those that come after them to preach the gospel.  The Jews rejected Jesus and eventually cried for His blood.  They chose Barabbas over Jesus rejoiced in His crucifixion.
 
And Jesus says that will continue until, one day when you finally accept the One Who comes in the name of the Lord. 
 
 
 
So this account of the murder of John the Baptist before us in Mark 6 is actually the culmination of the killing of the Old Testament prophets.  But John also serves a a hinge, if you will, between the Old Testament and the New Testament.  He is the last of the Old, but his story is recorded in the New. 
 
He offers us a look back, but He also points us forward.  He is bridging the gap as He heralds the Coming of the Messiah.  And his execution is a preview of the murder of Jesus Christ.
 
In fact, they form something of a package deal.  To reject John is to reject Jesus.  John the Baptist was the prophet who pointed to Jesus and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” It was John the Baptist who said, “I must decrease and He must increase.” It was John the Baptist who said, “He is far greater than I, I’m not even worthy to loose the strings on His sandals.”
 
So, if you reject Jesus, you have rejected John. If you reject John, you’ve rejected Jesus. If they had received John the Baptist as a true prophet, if they had received his message as God’s true Word, of necessity they would have had to receive Jesus Christ of whom John spoke. You receive them both, or you reject them both.
 
But they rejected both and both were murdered.  The Jews didn’t actually kill John the Baptist with their own hands, Herod did just as the Jews didn’t actually kill Jesus with their own hands, the Romans did.  Still, the Jews stood by while the murders occurred.  So we have this story of John’s murder with all the drama and intrigue and iniquity and rebellion of any modern day soap opera.
When we arrive at Mark 6, the Baptist is already in dead.  He had been in prison for at least a year and in Mark 1:14 we discover that as Jesus comes to Galilee preaching, John is already in prison. 
 
If you compare that with Luke 3:19 and 20, it would indicate that it was soon after the temptation and baptism of Christ that John was arrested. So He has been a prisoner but by verse 16 of chapter 6, we know Herod has already ordered his beheading. 
 
Now to help us understand what led to his execution, notice what we read in the opening line of Mark 6:14.
 
So what has been going on in verses 6-13 makes its way to the ears of Herod.  Jesus has sent out the 12 with all kinds of power and authority.  They’ve been out there preaching and healing and casting out demons and raising the dead. 
 
Up to this point, the Lord had done everything Himself.  But in the final sweep through Galilee for the third and last time, visiting all the towns and villages, He multiplied the messengers and multiplied the power by Twelve and sent them out under His authority to do the same things He had been doing. 
 
Miracles were happening everywhere they went, dead people coming back to life, people with diseases healed, demons being cast out and the gospel being preached. There’s never been anything like this explosion of miracles, the explosion of gospel preaching, and it led to an expanded buzz all through Galilee.
 
And the buzz finally reaches Herod. Herod lives in the lap of lust and luxury and laziness. Up to this point, I think he’s been mostly indifferent to the ministry of Jesus.  He’s nothing more than a nuisance up until now.  After all, Herod is in Tiberius and Jesus never visited Tiberius.  The Jews didn’t go to Tiberius because it had been built by Herod on top of a cemetery and they thought it was desecrated ground and wouldn’t set foot in it.
 
So whatever second-hand reports may have come to Herod up to this point, meant very little to him.  But now the reputation of Jesus and his followers is spreading and it makes its way to Herod. 
 
Now that gives us a little insight to just how effective the 12 were on their mission trip.  They were out there preaching and healing and ministering in the name of Jesus. And here they were, 12 men who had lived their whole lives in this small geographical area and they had never had this power before. 
 
Even when they were with Jesus they hadn’t had it before, they made sure that everyone knew this was a delegated power and it came from Christ and what they did they did in His name. So the reputation of Jesus, maybe for the very first time, makes its way to Herod. 
 
And the buzz is the Jews have a new prophet on the scene and He is unlike any who ever showed up before.  He’s already been identified as a great prophet in Luke 7:16. But they were getting beyond that. While prophets in the past had been known to do a miracle, even a resurrection in the case of Elijah and Elisha, no prophet ever had released this kind of explosive power.
Everywhere He went people were being healed and delivered. And now his followers are out there doing the same things He does.  And there is no human explanation. So word began to circulate that maybe this was John the Baptist who had come back from the dead with supernatural power.
 
Well, Herod didn’t like the sound of that at all. 
 
Luke 9:7-9 says, “Herod the Tetrarch heard of all that was happening and was greatly perplexed because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead and by some that Elijah had appeared and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen again. Herod said, “I myself had John beheaded. But who is this man about whom I hear such things?” And he kept trying to see Him.”
 
He may have been trying to see Him, but Ill bet it was at a distance.  In fact, I think you’re worst nightmare, if you’re Herod, is a resurrected John the Baptist that you beheaded.  How would you like to face that when you went to church Sunday morning?   
 
So he has reason to be concerned. His greatest fear is that John is back because He knows John.  In fact, he knows him very well.  He kept him incarcerated for over a year. He knew him face-to-face. He will give testimony that he was a righteous and godly man. He also knows that he had him executed in a bizarre, lecherous, wicked party to satisfy his own pride and the vengeance of his own wife.
 
So he needs to know if John is really back from the dead.  That’s why he wants to see him. 
 
 
Now let’s take just a minute to refresh our memory on the murder of John the Baptist. 
 
Herod is called in Luke 3:1 a tetrarch.  That means he shares control of the region with four others. Israel had come under Roman power many years before. And Rome ruled its empire by placing regional rulers under Caesar over certain areas. 
 
They were really nothing more than puppet rulers who did what they Caesar told them to do. Whatever power they had was minimal and one false move, and they would be replaced, if not exiled or executed. They might strut their stuff locally with the residents of the area, but everyone knew who called the shots. 
 
Now there are lots of “Herods” mentioned in Scripture.  The Herod in our text is Herod Antipas.  His father was Herod the Great.  To confuse the issue, Herod the Great had ten wives so there were lots of little Herods running around. 
 
Herod the Great was not a Jew, he was a descendant of Esau. So he’s outside the Covenant that God made with Jacob. But he had attached himself to the Jewish people and on the surface was a proselyte to Judaism. He was given the rule of the whole land of Israel which he held under Rome for 36 years. He was an evil, lustful, vicious man. He made a will and requested that when he died, Rome divide the Kingdom into four parts and give a part to each of four of his sons.
 
And that’s what happened. Herod the Great died in 4 B.C. and if you calculate the calendar, his death was what allowed Joseph and Mary to bring Jesus back to Nazareth.  You remember they escaped to Egypt because Herod was slaughtering all the male infants in the land. 
 
But after Herod the Great died, Joseph, Mary and Jesus were able to return to their home in Nazareth because the political scene had changed.  What once had been a unified Israel under Herod the Great had been divided into four parts. 
 
And his son, Herod Antipas is now ruler over this area of Galilee.  Now while the others didn’t last very long, he lasted 42 years.  That means he was in charge through the entire life of our Lord Jesus.
 
Now he stands to lose a lot if a power movement starts.  And if indeed this is John the Baptist who has risen from the dead, and he has the power to conquer death, then Herod is in some serious trouble.  And that’s what he is worried has happened.  So he needs to find out what’s going on with this man named Jesus. 
 
Well that gets us to verse 17 and we’ll start there next time we meet. 
 
Let’s pray.