Mark 6:27 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John 's head. He went and beheaded him in the prison

NIV: So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison,

NASB: Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded him to bring back his head. And he went and beheaded him in the prison,

CSB: The king immediately sent for an executioner and commanded him to bring John’s head. So he went and beheaded him in prison,

NLT: 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,

KJV: And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison,

NKJV: Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought. And he went and beheaded him in prison,

Herodias has used her daughter to do what she couldn't: manipulate Herod Antipas into executing John the Baptist. Despite what has probably been months of protecting John, and his prior reluctance to harm God's prophet, Antipas reacts immediately.

"Executioner" is from the Greek root word spekoulator. A spekoulator is a Roman soldier with a specific field, like a spy, scout, guard, messenger, or executioner. It's possible the executioner is already in the room, guarding the nobles and military commanders gathered for Antipas' birthday.

As tetrarch, Antipas does not have to hold a public hearing to pronounce such a statement. There are no courts, juries, or lawyers involved. As installed by the Roman government, Herod is a totalitarian leader with the authority to put certain people—non-citizens like John—to deathas he wishes. He is a Gentile leader showing power over a Jewish prophet in a land occupied by the Roman Empire. Ultimately, however, he only does so because his clever wife manipulates him. He has been confronted by a choice between killing John and risking the rebellion of the people, or sparing John and losing the respect of the nobles.

We need to be careful to not put ourselves in a similar predicament. Antipas attempted to hold a delicate balance between interest in the Jewish God and the power and treasures that came with his worldly position. When we follow Christ, we must allow the Holy Spirit to sanctify us to the point where we will be completely faithful to God and indifferent to what the world has to offer (Matthew 6:19–24; Romans 12:1–2; 1 John 2:15–17). If God allows us to be blessed on this earth, we should recognize it all belongs to Him for His purposes, and He has the right to take it away (Matthew 6:25-34). We should not secure an honored place in the world by treating our relationship with God lightly.

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.