Mark 6:16 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But when Herod heard of it, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised."

NIV: But when Herod heard this, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!"

NASB: But when Herod heard about it, he kept saying, 'John, whom I beheaded, has risen!'

CSB: When Herod heard of it, he said, "John, the one I beheaded, has been raised!"

NLT: When Herod heard about Jesus, he said, 'John, the man I beheaded, has come back from the dead.'

KJV: But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead.

NKJV: But when Herod heard, he said, “This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!”

Herod Antipas has heard that the message preached by John the Baptist—a man he beheaded—is being preached again. Amidst the speculation that this new preacher is Elijah or another of the Old Testament prophets returned, Antipas concludes that it is John, raised from the dead. Antipas liked John and was intrigued by his preaching (Mark 6:20), but his wife, Herodias, felt threatened by John's accusation that her marriage to Antipas was incestuous. Antipas kept John in prison so John would be safe from Herodias but available to speak with Antipas when the mood struck. But Herodias took advantage of Antipas in a weak moment and tricked him into executing John.

When Antipas hears the same message from a new source, he is concerned, but he does nothing. The new preacher, Jesus, knows how to play Antipas' game. He considers Herod an enemy (Mark 8:15), but unlike John does nothing directly other than call him a "reed shaken by the wind" (Matthew 11:7) and a fox (Luke 13:32).

Antipas doesn't think Jesus is literally a resurrected John, since John was imprisoned, alive, during the early days of Jesus' ministry (Matthew 11:2–6; Luke 7:18–23), and John's body was buried without a head. Antipas believes that the power and authority that John had has been transferred to Jesus, just as Elisha inherited Elijah's power (2 Kings 2:9–10). Although Elijah was a great prophet, Elisha went on to do greater things than Elijah. Similarly, although John was a mighty preacher he did not perform any miracles (John 10:41) while Jesus did more than could be recounted (John 21:25).

Mark 6:14–29 follows the disciples' success in continuing John the Baptist's work with a flashback of John's execution. John was Jesus' cousin (Luke 1:36) and the herald of Jesus' ministry (John 1:19–28). He preached repentance to many, including Andrew and Peter (John 1:35–42). He also baptized Jesus (Mark 1:9–11). Herod Antipas ruled over Galilee, where Jesus was from, and Perea, near where John preached. Antipas was fascinated by John, but his wife felt threatened by John's condemnation of their incestuous marriage. This story is also found in Matthew 14:1–12, Luke 3:19–20, and Luke 9:7–9.

Jesus returns to His hometown of Nazareth, but the people there are faithless and skeptical. As a result, Jesus performs no more than a few minor miracles. He then assigns His twelve apostles to travel in pairs, preaching repentance and healing various conditions. Mark then takes a brief detour to explain the death of John the Baptist, beheaded after Herod Antipas is tricked by his wife. The focus then returns to Jesus, explaining His miraculous feeding of thousands of people, walking on water, and healing people in Gennesaret.

Even as the Twelve are given opportunity to wield some of Jesus' power and authority, they still struggle to understand. They misinterpret who He is, what He has come to do, and how much He will ask of them. They fear Jesus' display of deity, but seem to dismiss the murderous rejection of His hometown and the death of John the Baptist. It's easy to have faith in a prophet who seems poised to rescue Israel from foreign rule. It is still beyond them to understand that He is actually God.

The Gospel of Mark emphasizes both Jesus' servanthood and His role as the promised Messiah: the Son of God. This is done through a concise, action-packed style. Mark provides relatively few details, instead focusing on actions and simple statements. This relates to the Gospel's authorship, which is believed to be based on the memories of the apostle Peter. These include many of Jesus' miracles, in contrast to other Gospels which include many more of Jesus' teachings and parables. Mark also makes frequent mention of Jesus' ministry being misunderstood by others.