COMMENTARY ON MARK
LESSON NUMBER 63
“ Mark 6:14 And king Herod heard of him; (for His name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him. 15 Others said, That it is Elias. And others said, That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets. 16 But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead.”
(Mark 6:14-16; Matthew 14:1-2; Luke 9:7-9).
HEROD HEARS ABOUT JESUS
INTRODUCTION
For the first time, Jesus had empowered and sent out the twelve apostles. They had commenced going through all of the towns and villages, preaching the kingdom of God, and that men “should repent,” healing the sick, raising the dead, casting out demons, and announcing that the kingdom of heaven was “at hand” (Matt 10:7; Mk 6:12Lk 9:1-2). They were drawing the attention of the people to something outside of themselves – “the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” They were introducing people to a power outside of themselves – healing, raising the dead, and casting out demons. They were familiarizing people with the need for real change – “men should repent.” They were not calling men to a new set of rules, or presenting to them special disciplines for life. God was doing “a new thing” in the earth, and it was the business of Christ’s messengers to confirm this to the people. As Isaiah prophesied, a way was being made “in the wilderness,” and “rivers in the desert” (Isa 43:19). The “day of salvation” was about to commence – a day in which God would make something out of man – a “new creation” (2 Cor 5:17). In sending forth His disciples, Jesus was adjusting the people’s perception of Himself – acquainting them with the absolute preeminence of Deity in salvation. Men were being shown that improvement – particularly spiritual improvement – is not self-induced. It is the result of the working of the Lord. Man’s part is to know his condition, and of his own powerlessness to change it.
THE WORD OF JESUS REACHES HEROD
“ Mk 6:14 And king Herod heard of Him; (for His name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him.”
KING HEROD HEARD OF HIM. It is interesting that the record of Herod hearing of Jesus follows the preaching and working of “the twelve.” I do not doubt that first-hand reports of Christ’s personal works had reached his ears, for the awareness of Jesus was spreading throughout the land. It is written of Jesus, “And His fame spread throughout all Syria” (Matt 4:24). Two healed blind men “spread abroad His fame in all that country” in which they resided (Matt 9:31). Christ’s “fame” also “spread abroad throughout all the region of Galilee” (Mk 1:28). A leper who had been healed “began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter” (Mk 1:45). A man who had been healed of deafness and dumbness did the same (Mk 7:36). After raising Jairus’ daughter “the fame hereof went abroad into all that land” (Matt 9:26).
The Pharisees “heard” about Jesus (Matt 12:24). Scribes heard of Him, and “came from Jerusalem” to hear Him (Mk 7:1). The “chief priests” and “elders” became aware of Him (Matt 21:23; 26:59). Now, the report of Jesus has penetrated the political world – “king Herod heard of Him.” Matthew and Luke refer to him as “Herod the tetrarch” (Matt 14:1; Lk 9:7) – “tetrarch” meaning “ruler over the fourth part of the country.”
Herod was a member of the Herodian family. The Herod of our text was the “Herod Antipas” of history. He is the one who later sought to “kill” Jesus, and of whom Jesus said, “ Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected” (Luke 13:31-32). He is also the one before whom Jesus was ultimately tried, and who became friends with Pilate in the wicked opposition to Jesus (Lk 23:12). This Herod, according to history, died around AD 39.
There was “Herod the Great,” as history calls him, father of the Herod of our text. He is the one who sought to kill the infant Jesus (Matt 2:1-22). History records that he died not long after the Savior was born (AD 4). This is the Herod that rebuilt the Temple that Jesus twice cleansed, a project that took “forty years” (John 2:20).
There was also a third “Herod,” who was slain by an angel of the Lord when he received praise from the people as though he was a God (Acts 12:21-23), which death occurred in AD 44. This is the Herod that killed James and imprisoned Peter (Acts 12:1-6).
What a despotic family! The first Herod opposed Jesus when he was born. The second Herod opposed Jesus when He ministered, and is associated with His death. The third Herod opposed the chief Apostles of Christ after He had been exalted in heaven.
HIS NAME WAS SPREAD ABROAD. What does “His name was spread abroad,” or “His name had become well known,” NKJV mean? It means that Jesus Himself was becoming more fully known. And why so? This was being done by means of what He has said, and what He had done. Solomon once observed, “Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right” (Prov 20:11). How much more is this true of the Lord Jesus. His “doings” revealed who He was. His words revealed His wisdom, His purpose, and the Source of His mission. His works revealed His mercy, tenderness, and compassion. His words to the religious leaders, and the cleansing of the Temple, revealed His absolute intolerance of sin. The casting out of demons revealed His superiority over the devil and all of his hosts. His attendance at the synagogue and exposition of Moses and the Prophets made known His love for and honor of the Word of the Lord. All of that is involved in “His fame.”
Knowledgeable people could make an association of this Jesus with the promises of God through the Prophets. “His name” coincided with what God had said about the coming Savior. “And He shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD His God; and they shall abide: for now shall He be great unto the ends of the earth” (Micah 5:4). This is an area in which the modern church has not done well. They have tended to associate Jesus with the resolution of contemporary problems rather than with the prophecies and promises of Almighty God, the Architect of our salvation. When Saul of Tarsus was converted, he was found “proving that this is very Christ” (Acts 9:22). He did the same later in a synagogue in Thessalonica (Acts 17:3). He did the same in Corinth (Acts 18:5), and in Rome(Acts 28:23). Apollos did the same throughout the region of Achaia (Acts 18:28).
Jesus’ “fame” was also doubtless spread abroad through the ministry of “the twelve,” as they worked and delivered their glad message in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
MIGHTY WORKS DO SHOW FORTH THEMSELVES. Although I have made this point before, it bears mentioning again. Where Jesus is found, He is also found working. If He cannot work because of unbelief, He will eventually leave. An absence of God-glorifying works confirms the absence of Jesus Himself, for He cannot be hidden. Get Jesus into the house, and where there is faith, His works will “show forth themselves.”
WHAT OTHERS WERE SAYING OF JESUS
“ 15 Others said, That it is Elias. And others said, That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets.”
Herod heard of Jesus, and concluded that he was John the Baptist, risen from the dead. This observation will be covered in the next verse.
OTHERS SAID. Here, it is important to see that those who are confronted with the real Jesus will have something to say about Him. This is because Jesus IS unique. There is none other like Him. What He says overshadows what others say. What He does dwarfs what others do. What people say about “Jesus” will reveal whether they have heard of the real Jesus or of “another Jesus” (2 Cor 11:4).
This matter of what people are saying about “Jesus” is important, as confirmed in Christ’s question to His disciples: “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” (Matt 16:13).
IT IS ELIAS. This is the Greek version of “Elijah.” At the time Jesus asked that question (some time after our text), His disciples replied that some were saying He was Elijah (Matt 16:14). Therefore, this view of Jesus circulated for some time – at least a year or so. Why did they say this? It is because of Malachi’s prophecy: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse” (Mal 4:5-6).
This prophecy had awakened hope in the heart of many Israelites. When John the Baptist came, he was so unique the people asked him, “Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No” (John 1:21). This has confused some, for Jesus once told His disciples that John the Baptist was Elijah. However, he was not the total fulfillment of Malachi’s prophecy, but only a type of it. Rather than “restoring all things,” the people “knew him not, and did to him whatever they wished” NKJV (Matt 17:12). Jesus preceded that statement by saying, “Indeed, Elijah IS coming first and WILL restore all things” NKJV (Matt 17:11). The prophecy of Malachi that was fully answered in John the Baptist is found in the third chapter Malachi: “Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me” (Mal 3:1). Isaiah also spoke of this (Isa 40:33). These people, then, did not see Jesus as the promised Messiah, but as one who would prepare the people for Him.
A PROPHET, OR ONE OF THE PROPHETS. “A prophet” doubtless refers to the promise of “a prophet,” foretold by Moses (Deut 18:15,18). Those who heard John the Baptist asked him, “Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No” (John 1:21). This observation was certainly never made concerning any of the scribes or Pharisees.
“As one of the prophets:” that is, “like one of the prophets of long ago.” NIV He certainly was not like any modern teacher, and few genuine prophets appeared to be then alive. John the Baptist was a prophet – “yea more than a prophet” (Matt 11:9). At the time of Jesus birth, Simeon and Anna were prophets (Lk 2:25-27, 36). Now, multitudes of the people counted Jesus “as a prophet” (Matt 14:5), and he was certainly not like any then current prophet.
Luke records, “and of others, that one of the old prophets was risen again” (Luke 9:8). These were not thinking of a new prophet – one of the prophetic order, so to speak, as some others thought. Rather they considered it entirely possible that one of the former prophets had risen from the dead – even though there was no historical precedent for thinking in this manner. Later, the disciples would report to Jesus that some thought “that one of the old prophets is risen again” (Lk 9:19).
SOMETHING TO BE NOTED OF A CULTURED PEOPLE. Even though Israel was not noted for any degree of spiritual stability, God had cultured them to think in certain ways. Being introduced to the real God, and “hewed” by real prophets (Hos 6:5), it was not difficult for them to think of someone coming back from the dead. They had no trouble thinking of seeing spirits (Lk 24:37), an evil spirit dominating a person (Mk 9:17-18), or the exertion of supernatural power (Matt 9:8). These persuasions were not mere superstition, but were based upon very real displays of Divine power throughout their history.
Today, we have a spiritually uncultured society – even in much of the professed church. The thinking of the people is more cultivated by the world than by God. Thus, it is quite easy for some to consign any miraculous events to the past only – and some even doubt that they took place then. In a culture like this, “salvation” and Divine “care” are explained in terms of this world. Training, discipline, free will, education, and the likes are areas in which explanations for change are found. In the average American city, to say nothing of a church, the appearance of Jesus could not possibly be thought to be an old prophet risen from the dead. Such a notion is completely foreign to much contemporary thought. The reason for this circumstance is that hearts and minds have not been exposed to the real Jesus, or the true Word of the Lord; thus are spiritually crude and unrefined. It is a sad state of affairs.
HEROD BELIEVES JOHN HAS RISEN FROM THE DEAD
“ 16 But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead.”
HEROD HEARS THE REPORTS. People who see the real Jesus do speak of Him, either disparagingly or with great wonder. I do not believe Jesus was ever in a place, and it remained a secret that he was there. As soon as He arrived, the word of His presence began to be spread (Matt 22:34; Mk 2:1; Lk 1:65; John 12:18). Mark says of His ministry, “but He could not be hid” – even though He once “entered into a house, and would have no man know it”(Mk 2:1). That is why Herod heard the reports. Jesus, together with what He said and did, could not be hid.
Contrary to the thoughts of many, the main work is not letting people know about Jesus. Rather, it is to get Jesus into the vicinity, and having Him indwell the people. Jesus is never idle. As He Himself confessed, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work” (John 5:17).
IT IS JOHN. A great consciousness of Herod’s evil deed smote him: “It is John whom I have beheaded!” His bread had come back to him on the waters (Eccl 11:1)! Solomon meant to do good to people, even if they seem to throw it away, and you will still reap a harvest. In Herod’s case, he sowed a deed when he had John the Baptist “beheaded,” and now it had come back to haunt him. I will cover this more thoroughly in verses 17-29, which provide the sordid details of John’s martyrdom, together with why Herod had him beheaded.
This is something similar to the experience of Saul of Tarsus. You may remember that he “consented” to the stoning of Stephen (Acts 8:1), the witnesses who spoke against, and stoned Stephen, laying their garments at his feet while they committed their grievous deed (Acts 7:58). Paul did not forget that dreadful day (Acts 22:20), nor did Jesus. When the Lord appeared to Saul as he was going about to persecute those who believed on Christ, He reminded Saul, “It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks,” or “goads” NKJV (Acts 9:5; 26:14). That is, his conscience pummeled him every time he recalled that day when Stephen died, his face being seen “as it had been the face of an angel” (Acts 6:15).
So it was with Herod. The report of Jesus awakened the bitter memory of what he had done to John. Only eternity will fully reveal the incriminating effects of that memory.
HE IS RISEN FROM THE DEAD. What fear this must have struck into the heart of Herod! Matthew gives the same report“This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead!” (Matt 14:1). Even Herod knew that there is more to man than a body, and that all life does not conclude at death. It was John himself that Herod thought had “risen from the dead.” He certainly was not right in his assessment of the situation, but his thinking was within the realm of very real possibility. The further a people get from God, and the more that worldly wisdom dominates their thinking, the less they are prone to think of the dead being raised. Such a people will devote themselves to attempting to extend life in the flesh. Insightful people devote their efforts to preparing for the life that is after death.
MIGHTY WORKS DO SHOW THEMSELVES IN HIM. Matthew records Herod’s observation in this manner: “And said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him” (Matt 14:2). This is a most intriguing perspective, for while he walked among men “John did no miracle” (John 10:41). He was not noted for what He did, but for what He said. Notwithstanding, he was such a spiritually distinctive man, that it was a marvel that he did not do any miracle. Notice how precisely this is stated: “that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.” NASB That is, only a power external to himself could have wrought such wonders. Even Herod knew this.
LUKE’S GOSPEL. Luke adds yet another facet of this account. He states that when Herod first heard about Jesus “he was perplexed, because that it was said of some, that John was risen from the dead” (Luke 9:7). In distinction from Matthew and Mark, this was Herod’s first reaction, while the other writers focus on his final thoughts on the matter. Perhaps he had adopted the view of the Sadducces, who did not believe there was a resurrection (Matt 22:23). History tells us that the Sadducees had a very prominent political inclination, so they would have probably been viewed by Herod as the more favorable Jewish sect. At any rate, at first it confounded Herod that a report was being given that John had risen from the dead.
Luke informs us that in his initial response Herod also reasoned, “John have I beheaded: but who is this, of whom I hear such things?” (Luke 9:9a). However, as he thought upon the matter, Herod soon arrived at the conclusion, “This IS John the Baptist” (Matt 14:2); “It IS John, whom I beheaded: he IS risen from the dead” (Mk 6:16).
The brashness of Herod, and the oft bold nature of unbelief is seen in Luke’s further words concerning Herod’s response: “And he desired to see him” (Lk 9:9b). This was not the inquiry of faith, but of carnal curiosity – a propensity that still exists among men. Herod did not seek a blessing, but like the Athenians only delighted in “some new thing” (Acts 17:21). He would be granted his wish later, but it would not be under the circumstances he desired.