Herod Thought Jesus Was A Resurrected John
6:14-16
There was speculation in Herod’s court about the identity of Jesus. Some said he was John the Baptist raised from the dead. Some said he was Elijah. Others said he was a prophet. (15)
When Herod learned about Jesus and his working miracles, Herod believed he was John the Baptist resurrected. This probably came from guilt.
This is another stark contrast to those in Nazareth, even Jesus’ earthly family. They thought he was crazy. He was an embarrassment. Herod thought Jesus was John the Baptist, a great prophet and preacher.
Herod Murdered John
6:17-29
Herod Antipas was the son of King Herod the Great. He was tetrarch of Judea and Perea. Rome never actually made him king, but he used the title locally.
Herod Antipas was first married to the daughter of the king of the Nabataean empire. This was probably a treaty marriage, as the Nabataean Empire was wealthy and powerful at the time. It existed in what is now known as Jordan. The Nabataeans build the city of Petra, which is now a tourist destination.
Herod repudiated his first marriage and married his niece, Herodias. She was also the wife of his half brother, Herod II. Antipas and Herodias had an affair while Herod II was visiting Rome. Herodias then agreed to divorce her husband in order to marry Antipas. She brought her daughter Salome with her.
The Jews were scandalized by the marriage. John the Baptist condemned the marriage as a violation of Jewish law. It was forbidden by Leviticus 18:16, which says “you shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife; it is your brother’s nakedness”. Leviticus 20:21 all says: “If a man takes his brother’s wife, it is impurity”.
Herodias took offense at John’s condemnation. She wanted Herod to execute John. But Herod was afraid of John and kept him alive in prison instead. Herod recognized John as a righteous and holy man. (20)
However, at a banquet for the leading men of the area, Herodias used her daughter, Salome, to get what she wanted. Salome did some dirty dancing that pleased Herod and all the men there.
In his enthusiasm, Herod promised to give her whatever she wanted. At her mother’s request, Salome asked for the head of John. Since Herod had taken a vow in front of all of these leaders, he complied. He had John beheaded and gave Salome the head. Herod did not want to do it, but did it to keep his promise.
John’s disciples came, took John’s body, and laid it in a tomb. (29) This prefigures the death of Jesus and his burial.
The Apostles Return
6:30-32
The narrative “sandwich” is now closed as Mark returns to the story of the Apostles’ mission trip. The first piece was the sending. The second piece was the return. The filling was he story of the death of John.
The Apostles returned from their preaching trip. They told Jesus all they had done. Jesus took them away to a desolate place away from the pressing crowds to rest. There were so many people around they could not even eat.
Jesus recognized and demonstrated that, even in the Lord’s service, there must be times of rest and restoration.
Jesus Had Compassion
6:33-34
The crowds continued to press in, even arriving at the desolate place before Jesus and the disciples got there. Jesus had compassion on them. He saw them as sheep without a shepherd. They had no purpose and no leader.
The Sadducees were not shepherds because they were mostly concerned with their wealth and political power.
The Pharisees had become conceited by their rule following and looked down on the masses.
The common people had no one to lead them to the true worship of God.
So, Jesus taught them.
In Ezekiel 34, God gave Ezekiel a message condemning the leaders of Israel, calling them the shepherds of Israel. God declared that he would personally become the shepherd who would take care of the people. Jesus fulfills the promise.
Jesus Feeds 5k+
6:35-43
While the disciples wanted to send the crowd away so they could find food, Jesus told them to feed them. (37) The disciples ignored all of Jesus’ previous miracles and focused on the physical limitations. They still did not see Jesus as God.
They did not have enough money to go buy food for all of the people. So, Jesus both provided and taught them a lesson.
Jesus sent them into the crowd to look for food and they came up with five loaves of bread and two fish. Jesus took the food, prayed, and multiplied it enough to feed everyone and have 12 baskets left over. (43)
All ate and were satisfied. If there were 5,000 men there, there probably also many women and children. Matthew’s version specifically mentions women and children. (Matthew 14:21)
Jesus fed them all enough for them to be satisfied and full.
Jesus again acted to meet the needs of the people. He was the good shepherd.
He also showed the disciples a miracle. Only God could do this. There is also symbolism here that points to Jesus’ divinity. They were in a desolate place just as Israel was in the desert during the Exodus. (Deuteronomy 8) In his deity he provided food just as God had provided manna for Israel.
Jesus is still the good shepherd. He leads his people and teaches them. He takes care of them.
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