Lesson 80

LESSON 80 - Mark 6:14-29

14And 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 shew forth themselves in him. 15Others said, That it is Elias. And others said, That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets. 16But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead. 17For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias’ sake, his brother Philip’s wife: for he had married her. 18For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife. 19Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not: 20For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly. 21And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee; 22And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. 23And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. 24And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. 25And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist. 26And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath’s sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. 27And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, 28And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother. 29And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb.

There are several "Herods" in the New Testament. First there was Herod the great, son of Antipater. At 25, he was made governor of Galilee and king of Judea. He was ruling when Jesus was born and when the wisemen came to inquire where the King of the Jews was. To escape Herod's attempt to kill the Christ Child, Joseph took Mary and Jesus to Egypt. Matt 2:1-19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child’s life.

Herod the great's son, Herod Antipas, took the throne after his father's death and reigned. This is the Herod spoken of in Mark 6:14, who killed John the Baptist.

Later, there was Herod Agrippa (Acts 12), who was grandson of Herod the great and nephew of Herod Antipas, and then he was followed by his son, Herod Agrippa II, mentioned in Acts 25:13,26:32.

Herod Antipas had heard of the fame and miracles of Jesus, perhaps from the conversation and questions of his servants. Matt 14:2 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus, 2And said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.

Herod desired to see Jesus. Luke 9:9, 23:8-9 Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by him: and he was perplexed, because that it was said of some, that John was risen from the dead; 8And of some, that Elias had appeared; and of others, that one of the old prophets was risen again. 9And Herod said, John have I beheaded: but who is this, of whom I hear such things? And he desired to see him.

Herod met Him at Jesus' trial several years perhaps after John the Baptist's death: Lk 23:8-9 And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had heard many things of him; and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him.

Strange that though Herod desired to see Jesus do a miracle, he never made an attempt to follow through. By the grace of God, Light came to the palace several times, to his father, Herod the great, when Jesus was born, to the son Herod Antipas, when John the Baptist talked with him and again to him when Jesus was arrested.

Yet Herod Antipas did not seek answers. He didn't want to know the truth. A few simple questions would have given the information as to Who Jesus really was, but Herod didn't seek the truth. He chose to reject the light and remain in spiritual darkness. Our choices are very important and could make all the difference in our future, as his choices shaped his future.

Herod respected John the Baptist (v 20) and had conversations with him, even though he had had John arrested. Herod's unlawful wife, Herodias, hated John for his opposition of her marriage to Herod and wanted to get rid of him. So she devised a plan to get Herod to kill John, as stated in Mark 6:21-28.

Herod made an unwise and careless statement in v 22, but the problem came when he swore (gave his word in front of witnesses) that the girl could have anything she wanted, which led to John's murder. Herod didn't want to lose face in front of all his high officials and military leaders, so he had John killed.

John the Baptist's disciples claimed his body and gave it burial. (v 29) They honored the man he was and the life he lived. That's what a funeral should be: a celebration of the life of the departed person. When you come to your time to depart this earth, what will your friends and family say about how you lived your life? Will you have a testimony of light or darkness, of following Satan or following the Lord? It's all about choices.