Mark 6:14 - Meaning and Application

Here are the strange ideas people had about the Lord Jesus, as Mark 6:15 shows. His own countrymen could believe nothing great about him because they knew his poor family. Others, who were not held back by that bias, were still willing to believe almost anything rather than the truth, that he was the Son of God and the true Messiah. They said he was Elijah, whom they expected to come, or a prophet, meaning one of the Old Testament prophets brought back to life, or like one of the prophets, a prophet newly raised up and equal to those in the Old Testament.

Herod, the ruler, had his own view of Jesus. He heard about Jesus’ name, fame, words, and works, and he said, “It is certainly John the Baptist” (Mark 6:14). As sure as they were there, he said, “It is John, whom I beheaded” (Mark 6:16). “He has risen from the dead, and though he did no miracle while he was with us, he has now returned with greater power, and these mighty works are showing themselves in him.” An idle faith commonly goes with an active imagination. The people said, “It is a prophet risen from the dead,” and Herod said, “It is John the Baptist risen from the dead.” It seems people expected a prophet to rise from the dead and do mighty works, and they thought it neither impossible nor unlikely. So they suspected this when it was false, but later, when it was true of Christ and clearly proved, they stubbornly denied it.

Those who fight against God’s cause often find themselves defeated, even when they think they have won. They never really succeed, because the word of the Lord lasts forever. Those who rejoiced when the witnesses were killed were troubled again when, after three or four days, they rose in their successors (Revelation 11:10, 11). The unreformed sinner, who escapes the sword of Jehu, will be struck by Elisha. A guilty conscience needs no accuser or tormentor besides itself. Herod blamed himself for John’s murder, even if no one else dared to charge him with it. “I beheaded him,” he said, and that fear made him imagine Christ was John risen from the dead. He had feared John while he was alive, and now, when he thought he had gotten rid of him, he feared him even more when he was dead. One might as well be haunted by ghosts and evil spirits as by the horrors of a guilty conscience. So anyone who wants lasting peace must keep a clear conscience (Acts 24:16).

There can be strong feelings of conviction where there is no saving change of heart. This Herod, who thought this about Christ, later tried to kill him (Luke 13:31) and treated him with contempt (Luke 23:11). So he would not be persuaded, even if someone rose from the dead, not even John the Baptist. The story of Herod’s putting John the Baptist to death is brought in here because of this, just as it is in Matthew.

We can also notice the high regard Herod once had for John the Baptist, something mentioned only by Mark 6:20. Here we see how far a person may go toward grace and glory, and yet fall short of both and be lost forever. Herod feared John, because he knew he was a just and holy man. A man may highly respect good people, especially good ministers, and even value the good in them, while still being a bad man himself. John was just and holy. To make a full good man, both justice and holiness are needed, holiness toward God and justice toward other people. John was free from love of this world, and so he was a true friend to both justice and holiness. Herod knew this, not only from common talk, but from knowing John himself. Even people with little justice and holiness of their own can still recognize and respect those qualities in others. So Herod feared him and honored him. Holiness and justice command respect, and many who are not good themselves still admire those who are.

Herod also watched John. Some understand this to mean he protected him from his enemies. More likely, he paid attention to John’s good life and noticed what was praiseworthy in him, speaking well of it to those around him. He clearly listened to what John said and did. He heard him preach, which was remarkable, since John’s outward appearance was so plain. To hear Christ himself preach in our streets will not be a strong excuse on the last day (Luke 13:26). Herod also did many of the things John taught him. He was not only a hearer of the word, but in some ways a doer of it. He gave up some sins that John rebuked and took up some duties John pressed on him. But doing many things is not enough unless we are careful to keep all of God’s commandments. He heard John gladly. He did not hear him with fear, as Felix heard Paul, but with pleasure. There is a shallow joy that a hypocrite may feel while hearing the word. Ezekiel was to his hearers like a lovely song (Ezekiel 33:32), and the rocky ground received the word with joy (Luke 8:13).

John was faithful to Herod by telling him his fault. Herod had married his brother Philip’s wife (Mark 6:17). No doubt the whole country shamed him and blamed him for it, but John rebuked him and said plainly, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” This was Herod’s own sin, the one he would not give up, even though he did many of the things John taught him. So John spoke to him about this sin in particular. John would not spare him, even though he was a king, just as Elijah did not spare Ahab when he said, “Have you killed and also taken possession?” Even though John had some influence with Herod and might have feared that plain speech would ruin it, he still rebuked him. Faithful are the wounds of a friend (Proverbs 27:6). And though some people are like swine and will turn back and tear apart those who throw pearls before them, usually the one who rebukes a person, if that person has any sense at all, will later find more favor than the one who flatters with his tongue (Proverbs 28:23). Though it was dangerous to offend Herod, and even more dangerous to offend Herodias, John chose the risk rather than fail in his duty. Ministers who want to be faithful in God’s work must not be afraid of people’s faces. If we try to please people beyond what helps their spiritual good, we are not serving Christ.

Herodias, Herod’s wife, hated John for this (Mark 6:19). She wanted him dead, but when she could not get that, she had him put in prison (Mark 6:17). Herod respected John until John touched his Herodias.

Many people who claim to respect preaching only want smooth words. They like good preaching as long as it stays far away from the sin they love. But if preaching touches that sin, they cannot stand it. So it is no surprise when the world hates those who say its works are evil. It is better for sinners to persecute faithful ministers now than to curse them forever for their unfaithfulness.

The next step is the plot to take John’s head. I think Herod himself was part of it, despite his claims that he was upset and shocked. It seems likely that he and Herodias planned it together, because Mark says it happened “when a convenient day was come” (Mark 6:21), a day fitted for such a purpose. There had to be a court feast on the king’s birthday, with a supper for his lords, high captains, and leading men of Galilee. To honor the occasion, Herodias’s daughter had to dance publicly, and Herod had to act as if he was deeply pleased with her dancing. If he showed delight, then the people around him would likely pretend to share it, just to please him.

Then the king made her a wild promise, offering her anything she asked, even up to half his kingdom. Yet even that would not have reached the real goal, for John the Baptist’s head was worth more than a whole kingdom. He backed the promise with an oath, so there would be no easy way for him to back out: “Whatever you ask, I will give you.” I can hardly think he would have made such a broad promise unless he already knew what she would ask. She was coached by Herodias, her mother, and asked for John the Baptist’s head. She wanted it brought to her on a platter, as if it were a toy to play with (Mark 6:24-25). There was to be no delay, no time to reconsider, she must have it at once.

Herod granted the request, and the execution happened immediately while the company was still together. It is hard to think the king would have done this if he had not already made up his mind. Still, he acted as if he was very unwilling. He would have people believe he would not have done it for anything, if he had not been trapped by his promise. The king was deeply sorry, or at least he acted that way. He said he was sorry, and looked sorry, but it was all false show. In truth, he was glad to have found an excuse to get John out of the way. A man who cannot hide his feelings, as the saying goes, does not know how to rule. Yet Herod was not without real sorrow, even if it did not stop him. He could not sin without trouble, because even a natural conscience makes evil feel uneasy. If simply doing the sin is painful, how much worse will it be to think back on it later?

Herod also acted as if he was bound by his oath. But if the girl had asked for only a quarter of his kingdom, I do not doubt he would have found a way around it. The promise was made rashly, so it could not bind him to do what was wrong. Sinful oaths must be repented of, and therefore not carried out, because repentance means undoing the wrong we have done as far as we can. When Emperor Theodosius was pressed by someone who reminded him of a promise, he answered, “I said it, but I did not promise it if it is unjust.” If Herod knew nothing of the plan when he made that rash promise, then it is likely he was pushed into carrying it out by the people around him, just to keep up appearances. He did it for the sake of those sitting with him, whose company he wanted and whose approval he valued. In this way rulers make themselves slaves to the people whose respect they crave.

No one among Herod’s subjects feared him more than he feared his lords, his high captains, and the leading men. The king sent an executioner, a soldier from his guard. Bloody tyrants always have men ready to carry out their cruel and unjust orders. Saul had Doeg ready at hand to attack the priests of the Lord, while his own servants refused to do it.

The result was this, Herod’s wicked court was full of triumph, because this prophet had troubled them, and the head was given to the girl, and through her to her mother (Mark 6:28). But John the Baptist’s followers were all in tears. John’s disciples did not expect this. When they heard about it, they came, took up the neglected body, and laid it in a tomb. There Herod, if he had wanted, might have found it later, when he frightened himself by imagining that John the Baptist had risen from the dead.