When Herod heard this, he said, "John, the man I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!"
Two very different kinds of power display themselves in Mark 6. Herod, ruler of Galilee, personifies one type. Rich and ruthless, he has legions of Roman soldiers to carry out his every command. He leaves impressive monuments all over the area he governs. Mark describes how Herod uses and abuses his power: He steals his brother's wife, locks up John the Baptist and then has the propeht beheaded as a party favor. Herod does feel some remorse in killing John, but he also feels he must protect his image by honoring a careless vow.
Jesus uses power in an opposite way. He reaches out to the weak, the suffering and the hungry. After declining an offer of worldly power in the wilderness (Matthew 4), he gives no further thought to cultivating an image of power or importance. He seeks to serve God rather than meet people's misguided expectations.
Of special note, Herod has built a lavish palace in Jesus' home province of Galilee, but Jesus avoids that fashionable area. As Herod wines and dines prominent guests, Jesus roams the countryside with his ragtag band of followers. He, too, serves a banquet of sorts to 5,000 unexpected guests. His simple message of love, forgiveness and healing has its own kind of power. Mark tells of crowds chasing Jesus around a lake, running to fetch their sick friends, pressing in close to touch the Teacher.
Jesus contemptuously dismisses Herod as "that fox" (Luke 13:32). But as talk about Jesus spreads, Herod longs for a chance to meet him. (Eventually he gets that chance at Jesus' trial.) One good thing does come out of the tragedy of John's beheading. Though Jesus has already gained some disciples from among those following John the Baptist, after John's execution even more of them join Jesus as disciples.
1 comment:
It is a point of interest to me that Jesus taught in the synagogue and people were amazed at His teaching, yet the story ends with Jesus' amazement at their lack of faith. The previous parable about seed sown in poor soil comes into play.
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