Mark!!

Lesson*#7*Crisis,*

the*Murder*of*John*the*Bap8st*(6:*7<56)*

!! !!! !!!Review!

!!!

In!Lesson!#6!Mark!presented!Jesus’!teaching,!preaching!and!healing!in!a!quick,!7?movement!chiasAc!sequence!across!two!chapters!(4!and!5):!!!!

!A !parable!of!the!sower!(4:!1?20)!!! ! !B !parable!of!the!lamp!(4:!21?29)!!! ! ! !C !parable!of!the!mustard!seed!(4:!30?34)!!! ! ! ! !D !calming!the!storm!at!sea!(4:!35?41)!!! ! ! !C’ !healing!the!Gadarene!demoniac!(5:!1?20)!!! ! !B’ !healing!Jairus’!daughter!(5:!21?43)!!!A’ !healing!the!woman!with!the!hemorrhage!(5:!25?34,!imbedded).!!

!

Given!such!evidence!of!his!teaching*and!healing,!with!Jesus!calming!the!storm!on!the!Sea!of!Galilee,!demonstraAng!his!control!over!creaAon!itself,!one!would!think!that!people!would!recognize!him!as!who!Mark!tells!us!he!is:!!the!“Son!of!God.”!!Rather!than!accepAng!him,!however,!those!closest!to!him—the!people!of!Jesus’!hometown!of!Nazareth—take!offense!at!him!and!firmly!reject!him.!!!!!!

!!

!!**!!!!!

!!

!! !!! !!!Preview!

!!!

!!

!!**!!!!!!!

Facing!increasing!opposiAon,!in!Lesson!#7!Jesus!sends!his!disciples,!two?by?two!into!Galilee,!giving!them!authority!to!teach,!to!preach!.!.!.!and!to!drive!out!demons.!!While!they!are!gone!Jesus!learns!that!Herod!AnApas!has!murdered!John!the!BapAst,!beheading!him!and!displaying!John’s!severed!head!on!a!plaber,!as!part!of!the!entertainment!at!Herod’s!birthday!party.!!The!news!delivers!a!stunning!blow!to!Jesus.!!!!

On!the!return!from!their!mission,!Jesus!asks!his!disciples!to!accompany!him!to!the!east!side!of!the!Sea!of!Galilee—the!Golan!Heights!side—to!a!remote!area!where!he!can!pray!and!confer!with!God,!where!he!can!come!to!grips!with!John’s!murder,!and!where!he!can!understand!the!implicaAons!of!John’s!murder!for!himself!and!for!his!disciples.!!!

!! !!! !!!Preview!

!!!

!!

!!**!!!!!!!

Arriving!at!a!remote!place!on!the!east!side!of!the!Sea!of!Galilee,!a!crowd!of!thousands!is!waiAng!for!Jesus.!!In!his!compassion,!Jesus!teaches,!heals!and!feeds!them,!finally!dismissing!them!and!his!disciples,!as!he!goes!up!the!mountain!to!pray.!!

About!the!fourth!watch!(3:00!–!6:00!AM),!Jesus!comes!back!down!the!mountain,!only!to!find!that!the!crowd!has!stayed,!milling!about!along!the!shore,!and!the!disciples’!boat!is!halfway!out!in!the!lake,!3?4!miles.!!Exhausted,!Jesus!wants!to!go!home,!so!he!simply!walks!on!the!water!from!point!A!(the!Golan)!to!point!B!(the!boat),!astounding!his!disciples!and!implicitly!demonstraAng!his!idenAty!as!“Son!of!God,”!by!once!again!exerAng!control!over!creaAon.!!!!

Aher!spending!the!night!on!the!mountain,!Jesus!knows!what!must!be!done:!!he!must!go!to!Jerusalem—into!the!mouth!of!the!beast—and!confront!the!religious!and!poliAcal!leaders!head?on!.!.!.!ensuring!his!brutal!death!on!the!cross.!

!! !!! !!!!!!!

!!!!

!!

In!Lesson!#7!our!story!reaches!crisis!with!Herod’s!murder!of!John!the!BapAst.!!Aher!John’s!arrest!(1:!14),!Jesus!had!conAnued!John’s!work,!expanding!it!into!Galilee,!where!Jesus!encounters!severe!!opposiAon,!resulAng!in!a!plot!to!kill!him??yet!he!presses!on,!relentlessly!proclaiming!the!Gospel.!*

John’s!murder!is!the!catalyst!that!moves!Jesus!from!rural!Galilee!to!the!center!of!power,!!to!Jerusalem!.!.!.!and!to!the!cross.!!!

!! !!! !!!!!!!

!!!!!!

!!

As!we!enter!this!secAon!of!our!narraAve,!we!wonder!how!Jesus!felt!aher!being!so!thoroughly!rejected!by!his!friends!and!neighbors!in!Nazareth,!the!village!where!he!grew!up.!!!!

Reading!the!opening!verse!of!this!secAon!we!encounter!a!disAnct!change!in!tone,!“He*went*around*to*the*villages*in*the*vicinity*teaching”!(6:!7).!!Jesus’!energy!seems!to!have!collapsed!like!a!deflated!balloon,!foreshadowing!the!news!he!will!soon!receive!of!John!the!BapAst’s!murder.!!

!!!!!*

!!! !! !!!!

!!!

!!

!

James!Tissot,!“The!ExhortaAon!of!the!Apostles”!(opaque!watercolor!over!graphite!on!gray!woven!paper),!c.!1886?1896.!

Brooklyn!Museum,!New!York.!

!! !!! !!!!!!!

!

!

!!!!!

!!

While!Jesus’!disciples!are!out!on!their!mission,!our!story!turns!to!the!murder!of!John!the!BapAst:!!!

“King*Herod*heard*about*[Jesus’*ac8vi8es],*for*his*fame*had*become*widespread,*and*people*were*saying,*‘John*the*Bap8st*has*been*raised*from*the*dead;*that*is*why*mighty*powers*are*at*work*in*him.’*Others*were*saying,*‘He*is*Elijah’;*s8ll*others,*‘He*is*a*prophet*like*any*of*the*prophets.’**But*when*Herod*learned*of*it,*he*said,*‘It*is*John*whom*I*beheaded.**He*has*been*raised*up.’”!!

! ! ! ! ! !(6:!14?16)!

!! !!! !!!!!!!

!

!

!!!!!

!!

Who!was!this!“Herod”!who!

murdered!John?!

?!

?!

!!! !! !!!!

!!!

!!

!

“Herod”!is!a!family!name,!!and!there!are!four*Herods!in!the!Bible.!

Herod!the!Great,!(37!–!4!B.C.)!

Birth!of!Jesus;!slaughters!the!Innocents!of!Bethlehem!!

(Mabhew!2:!1?19)!

Herod!AnApas!(4!B.C.!–!A.D.!39)!

Kills!John!the!BapAst!(Mark!6:!14?29);!Pilate!sent!Jesus!to!him!(Luke!23:!7?12).!

! Coin!minted!in!Tiberias,!A.D.!30.!!!!!!The!inscripAon!reads,!from!L!to!R,!!!!!!“of!Herod,!Tetrarch.”!

#1! #2!!

!!! !! !!!!

!!!

!!

!

“Herod”!is!a!family!name,!!and!there!are!four*Herods!in!the!Bible.!

Herod!Agrippa!1,!(A.D.!37!–!44)!

Kills!James;!imprisons!Peter;!he’s!eaten!by!worms!and!dies!at!

Caesarea!MariAma!!(Acts!12:!1?24)!

Coin!minted!at!Caesarea!MariAma,!A.D.!42.!

Herod!Agrippa!II!(A.D.!50!–!93)!

Paul!makes!a!legal!defense!before!him!(Acts!25:!13!–!

26:!32)!

!!!!!!

#3! #4!!

! Coin!minted!in!Tiberias,!A.D.!73,!!!!!!!aher!the!fall!of!Masada.!!The!!!!!!image!is!the!Emperor!Vespasian,!!!!!!!and!the!inscripAon!reads,!!!!!!!“for!the!Emperor!Vespasian,!!!!!!Caesar!Augustus.”!!

!! !!! !!!!!!!

!

!

!!!!!

!!

Our!historian!Josephus!writes!in!his!Jewish*An8qui8es:!!!

“Many*people*came*in*crowds*to*him*[John*the*Bap8st],*for*they*were*greatly*moved*by*his*words.**Herod,*who*feared*that*the*great*influence*John*had*over*the*masses*might*put*them*into*his*power*and*enable*him*to*raise*a*rebellion*.*.*.*thought*it*best*to*put*him*to*death*.*.*..**Accordingly,*John*was*sent*as*a*prisoner,*out*of*Herod’s*suspicious*temper,*to*Machaerus*.*.*.*and*was*put*to*death.!

! ! ! ! ! !(18.!109)!

!! !!! !!!!!!!

!!!!!!

!!

Herod!the!Great!built!three!major!fortresses!to!safeguard!his!territories!and!to!serve!as!“safe!houses”!for!himself:!!

1.   Herodium!2.   Masada!3.   Machaerus!!

!!!!!*

!!!!

!!

!!**!!!!!

!!

Herodium!!!

Masada!!!

! Machaerus!!!!!!!

!!! !! !!!!

!!!

!!

!

Tel!of!Machaerus,!located!in!Jordan,!15!miles!southeast!of!the!Jordan!River,!

as!it!empAes!into!the!Dead!Sea.!!!

Archaeological!excavaAons!on!the!top!of!Machaerus.!

!!! !! !!!!

!!!

!!

!

Bartholomeus!Strobel!the!Younger,!Feast*of*Herod*with*the*Beheading*of*John*the*Bap8st!(oil!on!canvas),!c.!1630?1643.!

Prado!Museum,!Madrid.![This*enormous*masterpiece*(almost*10*meters*wide)*is*an*allegory*of*Europe*a\er*the*Thirty*Years’*War.]*

Herod! Salome!with!John’s!head! John’s!headless!body!

!!! !! !!!!

!!!

!!

!

Caravaggio,!The*Beheading*of*St.*John*the*Bap8st*(oil!on!canvas),!1608.!St.!John’s!Co?Cathedral!(Altarpiece!in!the!Oratory),!Valleba,!Malta.!

!! !!! !!!!!!!

!!!!!!

!!

!

!!!!!*

As*a*sidebar,!John!the!BapAst’s!purported!head!is!enshrined!as!a!relic!in!Rome!at!!

San!Silvestro!in!Capite!!

Yikes!!

!!! !! !!!!

!!!

!!

!

Caravaggio,!Salome*with*the*Head*of*John*the*Bap8st**(oil!on!canvas),!c.!1607?1610.!NaAonal!Gallery,!London.!

!! !!! !!!!!!!

!!!!!!

!!

Herod!killing!John!the!BapAst!marks!a!turning!point!for!Jesus.!!!!

UnAl!now,!Jesus!has!dramaAcally!expanded!John’s!ministry!into!Galilee,!addressing!huge!and!ever?growing!crowds,!while!antagonizing!and!threatening!both!religious!leaders!and!the!Roman!authoriAes.!!

With!John’s!murder,!Jesus!future!lies!before!him!in!bold!relief:!!either!Jesus!stops!what!he’s!doing,!or!he!presses!on—knowing!that!pressing!on!will!result!in!his!brutal!death,!precisely!what!Mary!and!his!family!knew!when!they!came!to!Capernaum!to!“seize”!him,!saying!“he!is!out!of!his!mind.”!!

!!!!*

!! !!! !!!!

!!!

!!

!

Sea!of!Galilee!(Google!Earth)!

Capernaum!!!

The!“other!side”!

Jesus!&!Disciples!!!

"!Crowds!

!!! !! !!!!

!!!

!!

!

Eric!Feather,!Christ*Feeding*5,000*(mixed!media),!2012.!Reproduced!by!permission.!!See!the!arAst’s!excellent!work!at:!!ericfeather.com.!!

!! !!! !!!!

!!!

!!

!

Sea!of!Galilee!(Google!Earth)!

Capernaum!!!

The!“other!side”!

"!Jesus!&!Disciples!Migdal!!!Gennesaret!!!

Tiberias!!!

!!! !! !!!!

!!!

!!

!

Amédée!Varin,!Christ*Walking*on*the*Sea*(etching!and!engraving),!1866.!BriAsh!Museum,!London.!

!!! !! !!!!

!!!

!!

!

Gustave!Doré,!“Healing!the!Sick!at!Gennesaret”!(Engraving),!1866.!!

QuesAons!for!discussion!and!thought!**

1.   When!Jesus!sends!out!his!disciples!to!teach,!what!prompts!him!to!tell!them!that!if!they!are!not!welcome,!“shake!the!dust!off!your!feet”!and!conAnue!on?!

2.   At!this!point!in!Mark’s!narraAve,!who!do!people!say!Jesus!is?!

3.   What!is!Herod’s!mo8ve*for!beheading!John?!4.   Why!does!Jesus!retreat!to!the!“other!side”!of!

the!Sea!of!Galilee,!taking!his!disciples!with!him?!

5.   Aher!a!long!night!in!prayer!on!the!mountain,!what!decision!does!Jesus!make?!

!!

!

!

!!

Copyright!©!2014!by!William!C.!Creasy!! All! rights! reserved.! No! part! of! this! course—audio,! video,!photography,! maps,! Amelines! or! other! media—may! be!reproduced!or!transmibed!in!any!form!by!any!means,!electronic!or! mechanical,! including! photocopying,! recording! or! by! any!informaAon! storage! or! retrieval! devices! without! permission! in!wriAng!or!a!licensing!agreement!from!the!copyright!holder.!

!!