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Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name had become well known. And he said, "John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him." Others said, "It is Elijah." And others said, "It is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets." But when Herod heard, he said, "This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!" For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, for he had married her. Because John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not; for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him. And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.
Then an opportune day came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee. And when Herodias' daughter herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, "Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you." He also swore to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom." So she went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask?" And she said, "The head of John the Baptist!" Immediately she came in with haste to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter." And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her. Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought. And he went and beheaded him in prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard of it, they came and took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb.
- Mark 6:14-29
On Saturday, we read that Jesus came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, "Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us? So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house." Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching. And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits. He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff -- no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts -- but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics. Also He said to them, "In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place. And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!" So they went out and preached that people should repent. And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.
Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name had become well known. My study bible points out that Herod here is Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great and governor of Galilee, called a king in popular language. Again, Mark's Gospel emphasizes Jesus' fame in Galilee, which is extraordinary.
And he said, "John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him." Others said, "It is Elijah." And others said, "It is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets." But when Herod heard, he said, "This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!" People speak of Jesus with messianic expectation. Elijah was prophesied to appear before the Messiah would come. (Jesus Himself will say that John the Baptist was the spirit of Elijah returned.) "The Prophet" was another popularly expected figure, one who was to be like Moses. We get a sense of the feverish nature of the times, with the people looking for a deliverer. But King Herod has different ideas; his own fears and guilt are driving his expectation that Jesus is John the Baptist returned.
For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, for he had married her. Because John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not; for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him. And when he heard him, he did any things, and heard him gladly. So important is the Baptist to the Gospel story that Mark gives us a flashback of the circumstances of his death. My study bible calls it a "powerful testimony to his faith and zeal. Early Christians regarded John the Baptist with utmost esteem. Here, Mark shows John's fearlessness in telling the truth." It adds, regarding these verses, "What a comment on the righteousness of John the Baptist: the king feared John! The royally clad Herod was frightened of a man clothed in camel's hair, a servant of God who lived out in the desert."
Then an opportune day came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee. And when Herodias' daughter herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, "Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you." He also swore to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom." The setting for this party tells us about life at this court. So much is done for the appearance before the other people of rank.
So she went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask?" And she said, "The head of John the Baptist!" Immediately she came in with haste to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter." Herodias' daughter also acts to please others, as if she has no mind of her own. She's under the sway of her mother. In a profound way, she's not acting in her own true interests. Here, the girl does not reflect at all on what she is told to do.
And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her. Again, we read of the impact of others, and Herod's reflection in their eyes. An extravagant promise becomes a bond he's afraid to break.
And he went and beheaded him in prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard of it, they came and took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb. This grim and terrible scene is the result of manipulation and a complete lack of care for the real matter of our choices, a giving in to the image before others. John's disciples, we note, simply come and do the right thing; there is no sworn vengeance here, no return of blood for blood, but rather acceptance through faith, as will also happen with Jesus' disciples. It is an example, for us, of righteousness carried on.
Today's reading tells us a lot, but it also gives us hints about Herod and his personality, his court, and his surroundings. He's easily bound by all the temptations of power, what is influential among those who are of rank in his kingdom. Once he makes a lavish promise, he's bound to keep it through the manipulations of Herodias, which also makes him a vulnerable person. We contrast these persuasions of his own "crowds" that surround him -- the court and Herodias and her daughter -- with John the Baptist, who remains fully righteous whether pursuing his ministry out in the open by the Jordan, or locked up in Herod's prison, and repeatedly summoned before him. We read of similar aspects of Herod's character on display when it comes to his interactions with Jesus: Herod is curious about Him. When Pilate sends Christ to Herod for judgment as Jesus is a Galilean, Jesus fails to perform any miracles for him, not satisfying the perplexed fascination Herod also has for John in these verses. Jesus then is sent back to Pilate, and we are told in the Gospels that then the two rulers became fast friends, just as Herod here is locked into the eyes and expectations of his court, rather than the righteousness of John. None of these people considers righteousness, a relationship with God, in their choices, but lives for the others of rank or status. (We can count on the idea that Jesus' teaching to invite others who cannot repay us socially isn't followed here!) The girl, in the hands of her mother, becomes the instrument of the most vile bloodlust, the gruesome scene of John beheaded, and his head "served" on a platter at this banquet. Without faith in the one thing necessary, we're all liable to be misled in our lives. What is ostensibly a laudable characteristic of human loyalty becomes perverse and manipulated for evil ends: a mother's influence on her daughter, a king's curiosity and even fear of a holy man. The attachments these people have to others in their circle become a kind of hideous stumbling block leading them on the worst of roads, into places of great treachery and blood-guiltiness of deeds committed against the good, the righteous. All of this emphasizes the importance of putting God first in our lives, holding to the good before all else. It doesn't matter what the relationship is: a king to his court, or mother and daughter, without this emphasis in our lives of clinging to the Good for direction, we are easily lost. The most beautiful and cherished of our notions of loyalty become instruments of the worst evil. And that's what the Gospel emphasizes for us today. A purely worldly view is one in which manipulation holds sway: along with envy, and pride of place or position, and false loyalties. In the view of the Gospels, without our relationship first to God, that which defines righteousness for us, we are somehow less as human beings, weak and empty. We fail to be all that it means to be a human being in the fullest sense of our capabilities. Even the most exalted worldly realities: a court of power, those of high station, love of man and woman, fidelity of a daughter to her mother -- all of these things become corrupted in the absence of reverence first for the good: true righteousness, relatedness to God who is the source of good. When we're tempted to put other goals first, let us remember this failing, and where a solid hope and true direction lies. Each one of the people in this story could have said "no" at some time, consulted with a conscience, remembered a loyalty to God's laws of love and righteousness. But each failed. In that, too, is a foreshadowing of events to come in Jesus' life, and what He called the power of darkness. It's our choice that is the bulwark against that darkness; it's up to us to hold to the light before every other loyalty. This is the way to illuminate the good in all things. Above all let us remember there is no mercy, no graciousness, no charity or kindness in this elaborate scene of worldly extravagance, vanity and vulgarity. In a righteous perspective, those products of humility are where true beauty (and nobility) live. It is grace that teaches us what is good.
