Mark

By Joyce Webb 2022

Chapter 6     Vs. 14-34

Verse 14   King Herod (ruler over the Jews at that time)   heard about the things Jesus was doing.   At first, Herod thought John the Baptist had come back to life.

(Herod had killed John the Baptist some time before this.)

Verse 15 Other people said that Jesus was really Elijah come down from heaven. Or maybe another prophet.

Verse 16 Herod said, “It is John, the one I cut off his head. He is come back from the dead.”

Verse 17, 18 Some time before Herod had called for John the Baptist to come to him. He put John in prison.

Herod had married his brother’s wife. John told Herod that it was wrong to do that. Herod became angry with John. And Herod’s wife was angry, too.

Verse 19 Herod wanted to kill John, but Herod was afraid of the people. The people liked John and many went to hear John preach.

(Herod wanted the Jewish people to like him —so he was afraid to kill John and make the people angry.)

Verse 20 Herod also was afraid of John. He knew that John was a good and holy man. He knew how John lived. He heard him preach. In some ways, Herod liked John.

Verse 21 One evening, Herod was having big supper for his birthday. He had invited many important men.

Verse 22 His wife—named Herodias—had a daughter. The daughter — was asked to come and dance before the men.

(This is my idea of what was going on at the supper—as I have read other kinds of reports about such things of that time.

The men were probably drinking–a lot—the daughter was probably a lovely teen-ager. The dance was probably a sexy kind of dance.

The men were all pleased with what they saw. Many of them were probably half drunk.)

Herod was pleased with her dancing and with the men all being happy about it. Herod was feeling good —and powerful—so he said to the girl—”Ask of me whatever you want. I will give you anything you ask. Verse 23 — I will give you half of my kingdom if you ask for it.”

Verse 24 The girl went to her mother to ask the mother what she should ask for.

Herod’s wife, Herodias, saw a chance to get back at John the Baptist.

She told her daughter to ask for the head of John the Baptist.

(I do not think that was the kind of “gift” the daughter was looking for. She was a princess, so she probably had everything she wanted anyway—so she listened to her mother. She probably wanted to please her mother, and she probably knew her mother was angry with John.)

So, she asked Herod for the head of John the Baptist.

Verse 26 Herod was surprised and very sorry he had made such a promise to her.

Because he had made this promise in front of all those important men—he felt he had to keep his promise.

Verse 27, 28 So he had a man kill John, and the man put John’s head on a sliver plate and brought to the daughter. The daughter gave it to her mother.

(I wonder what the daughter thought when she was given John’s head.)

Verse 29 When the men who followed John—-heard about what happened. They went to the king’s place and asked for the body of John to put it in a tomb.

Verse 30 When Jesus’ disciples met together, they began talking about what happened. They told Jesus what happened to John.

Verse 31 Jesus said, “Come to the desert (area of dry land), —rest for awhile. The crowds kept coming to see Jesus and the men had little time to eat.

Verse 32 They all got on a ship and crossed over the water to the desert place to rest.

Verse 33 The people saw them get into the ship to cross the water.
They went by land around the water, and met Jesus and the disciples when they came to shore.
Verse 34 When Jesus saw all the people, and that they had walked all that way to see him, he felt sorry for them.

He saw them like a group of sheep without a shepherd.

Jesus began to teach them..