TEXT [Commentary]

2. The death of John the Baptist (6:14-29; cf. Matt 14:3-12; Luke 9:7-10)

14 Herod Antipas, the king, soon heard about Jesus, because everyone was talking about him. Some were saying,[*] “This must be John the Baptist raised from the dead. That is why he can do such miracles.” 15 Others said, “He’s the prophet Elijah.” Still others said, “He’s a prophet like the other great prophets of the past.”

16 When Herod heard about Jesus, he said, “John, the man I beheaded, has come back from the dead.”

17 For Herod had sent soldiers to arrest and imprison John as a favor to Herodias. She had been his brother Philip’s wife, but Herod had married her. 18 John had been telling Herod, “It is against God’s law for you to marry your brother’s wife.” 19 So Herodias bore a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But without Herod’s approval she was powerless, 20 for Herod respected John; and knowing that he was a good and holy man, he protected him. Herod was greatly disturbed whenever he talked with John, but even so, he liked to listen to him.

21 Herodias’s chance finally came on Herod’s birthday. He gave a party for his high government officials, army officers, and the leading citizens of Galilee. 22 Then his daughter, also named Herodias,[*] came in and performed a dance that greatly pleased Herod and his guests. “Ask me for anything you like,” the king said to the girl, “and I will give it to you.” 23 He even vowed, “I will give you whatever you ask, up to half my kingdom!”

24 She went out and asked her mother, “What should I ask for?”

Her mother told her, “Ask for the head of John the Baptist!”

25 So the girl hurried back to the king and told him, “I want the head of John the Baptist, right now, on a tray!”

26 Then the king deeply regretted what he had said; but because of the vows he had made in front of his guests, he couldn’t refuse her. 27 So he immediately sent an executioner to the prison to cut off John’s head and bring it to him. The soldier beheaded John in the prison, 28 brought his head on a tray, and gave it to the girl, who took it to her mother. 29 When John’s disciples heard what had happened, they came to get his body and buried it in a tomb.

NOTES

6:14 Herod Antipas. He was one of the client-kings of Rome, the son of Herod the Great, and of Idumean descent. He had authority over the neighboring regions of Galilee and Perea from 4 BC to AD 39.

the king. Officially, Herod Antipas was a “tetrarch,” of lesser status than a king. However, he was popularly referred to as a king.

6:15 Elijah. Many regarded Jesus as some type of prophetic figure. He was called Elijah either because of his miraculous work (see 6:14) or because of Elijah’s association with the end times (Mal 4:5-6).

6:16 John, the man I beheaded, has come back from the dead. He probably meant that the spirit of John inhabited Jesus, as Jews did not believe in an immediate individual bodily resurrection apart from the resurrection at the end times. In Acts 2 and at the close of the Gospels, Jesus’ immediate bodily resurrection as himself is declared, apart from the final resurrection.

6:17 Philip’s. Some argue that Mark erred here in referring to Philip the tetrarch, but Mark probably referred to another Herod, adding the second name Philip to make his identity clear (Guelich 1989:331).

6:19 bore a grudge. This rare term (enechō [TG1758, ZG1923]) is used only here and in Luke 11:53 in the Gospels. It refers to someone who opposes someone or something. In Luke, it is used of the scribes and Pharisees who opposed Jesus after he rebuked them.

without Herod’s approval she was powerless. The NLT renders the Gr. expression, “but she could not” with this explanatory detail. Without Herod’s approval she could not have John killed.

6:20 respected. According to the Gr., Herod feared (phobeomai [TG5399, ZG5828]) John.

he protected him. Herod was captivated by John and respected his piety even in the face of criticism. The literal Gr. is that Herod “kept him safe.”

greatly disturbed. The Gr. term means to be at a loss about something (aporeō [TG639, ZG679]). It describes the disciples’ reaction when Jesus initially announced that he would be betrayed by one of them (John 13:22). It was the women’s first reaction when they discovered the empty tomb (Luke 24:4).

6:22 his daughter, also named Herodias. This reading is supported by B D L. It is generally agreed that Salome is referred to here, so some speak of an error by Mark. However, it is possible that she also bore her mother’s name. Another possibility is that the text follows the alternate textual reading in which she is simply identified as Herodias’ daughter. That reading, found in the Textus Receptus, is not as well attested externally, but for a defense of its originality, see Gundry 1993:320. If this was Salome, she was in her middle teens.

performed a dance. Two options must be noted here. Either this dance was not as sexually suggestive as modern renderings tend to suggest, or Herod’s family was not scrupulous as to the discretion of women in the family (Hooker 1991:161). It is hard to be sure which cultural scenario was at work here. The early church fathers describe such regal parties as similar to pagan rites (Origen Commentary on Matthew 10.22; Marcus 2000:395. On Herod’s lack of concern for Jewish sensibilities, see Josephus Antiquities 18.38 or War 2.2.5, where dancing in the family is noted). It may be that Herod was indifferent to the public behavior of his daughter.

pleased. The term here is areskō [TG700, ZG743], which in the LXX often means being pleased by being aroused (Gen 19:8; Esth 2:4, 9; Job 31:10; cf. Jdt 12:14). The language is similar to that of Esth 2:9.

6:23 up to half my kingdom! This may be hyperbolic, but the point is that she was free to ask for whatever she wanted and Herod had bound himself by a public vow to honor her request. The language recalls Esth 5:3.

6:26 he couldn’t refuse her. More lit., “he did not wish to break his word to her.” The vow Herod made gave him no honorable alternatives. The culture was very much rooted in issues of honor and shame, so John had to be killed, much to Herod’s regret. The term perilupos [TG4036, ZG4337] means to be very sorrowful.

6:27 executioner. The term here is spekoulatōr [TG4688, ZG5063], which refers to a body guard who does whatever the king requires. He could also perform executions (Marcus 2000:397; Tacitus History 1.24-25; 2.11). As a client-king, Herod apparently had the authority to execute people.

6:28 his head on a tray. In the Midrash on Esther 1:19-21, the head of Vashti is brought to the king on a platter (Guelich 1989:333).

6:29 buried it in a tomb. John’s disciples were allowed to give his body an appropriate burial.

This verse also marks the end of an A-B-A pattern in ch 6 where the focus is first on rejection (1–6), then mission (7–13), and finally rejection and death (14–29). John the Baptist’s fate before Herod pictures the kind of suffering those who affirm Jesus may face.

COMMENTARY [Text]

This passage explains how Herod killed John. The implication that Jesus ministered as though he were John the Baptist returned from the dead indicates that the injustice and guilt for executing John were being exacted in the continuation of his power despite John’s death. Thus, the details about the death underscore Herod’s sense of responsibility for what was continuing to take place (6:17 begins with an explanatory use of “for”).

John the Baptist was arrested because he spoke out against the unlawful marriage of Herod and Herodias, who had both gotten divorced to marry each other. This was probably not the only point of contention with the law, as they had also married within the family (Lev 18:16; 20:21). One was not to marry a brother unless levirate marriage was invoked. Josephus also notes this event (Antiquities 18.5.2.116-119) and speaks of John’s call to repentance as being of concern to the leader. He does not mention the marriage explicitly, although the previous section does mention the turmoil the marriage produced with King Aretas, the father of Herod’s original bride.

This event is important because it shows the opposition to John’s call for righteousness. Mark makes it clear that the stakes in this calling are high. One can lose one’s life by speaking truth that those in power do not want to hear. The portrayal of such ruthlessness in Herod’s house fits the history of his family, which often held power with an iron grip, going all the way back to Herod the Great, who even killed family members and a wife when he felt his grasp on power slipping. Mark was setting up his theme of suffering for following in God’s way. John the Baptist was a forerunner to Jesus, not only in announcing his approach, but also in the pattern of obedience he represented—an obedience that cost him his life.