Mar 6:14-29 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Mark 6:14-29: 6:14-29 The account of John the Baptist’s death, sandwiched between the sending out and the return of the disciples, continues the theme of Jesus’ authority and power (see 6:7 , 14 ). John’s fate and the warning given to the disciples in their missionary charge (6:11 ) also foreshadowed Jesus’ death. The one greater even than John (1:8 ) would soon be handed over to religious and political leaders and put to death (8:31 ; 9:31 ; 10:33 ). 6:14 soon heard about Jesus: The successful mission in Galilee and Perea of six teams of disciples (6:12-13 ) spread Jesus’ fame throughout the region. • This must be John the Baptist raised from the dead: Either Herod was thinking that the spirit of John the Baptist had come to rest upon Jesus at his death, as the spirit of Elijah came upon Elisha, or he was saying figuratively in exasperation, “This is John the Baptist all over again!”

Summary for Mark 6:14-29: 6:14-29 ^a The account of John the Baptist’s death, sandwiched between the sending out and the return of the disciples, continues the theme of Jesus’ authority and power (see 6:7 ^b, 14 ^c). John’s fate and the warning given to the disciples in their missionary charge (6:11 ^d) also foreshadowed Jesus’ death. The one greater even than John (1:8 ^e) would soon be handed over to religious and political leaders and put to death (8:31 ^f; 9:31 ^g; 10:33 ^h). 6:14 ⁱ soon heard about Jesus: The successful mission in Galilee and Perea of six teams of disciples (6:12-13 ^j) spread Jesus’ fame throughout the region.

• This must be John the Baptist raised from the dead: Either Herod was thinking that the spirit of John the Baptist had come to rest upon Jesus at his death, as the spirit of Elijah came upon Elisha, or he was saying figuratively in exasperation, “This is John the Baptist all over again!”
6:15 ^k The return of the prophet Elijah had been prophesied in Mal 3:1 ^l; 4:5-6 ^m (cp. Mark 9:11-13 ⁿ).
6:17 ^o imprison John: The Jewish historian Josephus (Antiquities 18.5.2) says that John was imprisoned in the fortress of Machaerus in Perea.

• Josephus (Antiquities 18.5.1–4) states that Herodias was the wife of Herod Antipas’s half brother, Herod Philip.
6:18 ^p Mark gives the moral-religious reason for the imprisonment and execution of John the Baptist. Josephus refers to the political reason (fear that John’s great popularity might start a revolution; Josephus, Antiquities 18.5.2). Similarly, the religious reasons for Jesus’ condemnation (Mark 14:63-64 ^q) became political when he was brought before Pontius Pilate (15:2 ^r; Luke 23:2-3 ^s).

• It is against God’s law: Not only was the relationship adulterous (Lev 20:10 ^t), but it violated the further law against marrying a brother’s wife (Lev 18:16 ^u; 20:21 ^v).
Summary for Mark 6:19-28: 6:19-28 ^w Herodias’s role in the murder of John the Baptist recalls the story of Jezebel (1 Kgs 19:1-2 ^x). Herod succumbed to pressure (Mark 6:26-28 ^y), which foreshadows the later story of Pontius Pilate, who put Jesus to death against his better judgment (cp. 6:20 ^z, 25-28 ^aa with 15:6-15 ^ab).
6:22 ^ac his daughter, also named Herodias: According to the first-century Jewish historian Josephus, Herodias’s daughter was also named Salome (Josephus, Antiquities 18.5.4).
6:29 ^ad This verse is similar to the description of Jesus’ death and burial (see 15:43-46 ^ae). Disciples of John existed after his death until at least the AD 200s (see Acts 18:24–19:7 ^af).