Marcos 6

Marcos 6

Constable - The parallels between John’s burial and Jesus’ are also striking (cf. Mk 15:42–47). John died alone; his disciples were not with him. The same was true of Jesus with the exception of His disciple John and some of His female disciples. Herod gave John’s disciples permission to bury his corpse as Pilate permitted Joseph of Arimathea to bury Jesus. The disciples of each man gave their teacher an honorable burial in a tomb. This pericope shows that people who preach repentance and point to Jesus as the Messiah can expect opposition, persecution, imprisonment, and perhaps a martyr’s death. This is a comfort for disciples who suffer for their witness for Jesus. It does not relieve them of their suffering or hold out the hope of escape, but it does enable them to see that they are in the best of company. This is some encouragement. Historically martyrs have found strength in remembering that they are part of a large company who have shared the sufferings of their Savior. they came and took away his body and laid it in a tomb - Took away is the verb airo which means to lift up or pick up and carry away. Picture John's headless body lying on the floor of his prison cell with blood everywhere -- a gruesome scene for sure! Body is ptoma which means that which has fallen and in this context John's corpse. Rest assured his severed head will be united with his glorified body throughout eternity! And be just as assured that Herod, Salome and Herodias will suffer unspeakable torment forever and ever in the Lake of fire! The gears of God's justice may grind slowly but they grind surely. Body (4430)(ptoma from pipto - to fall) what has fallen; of people and other animated creatures corpse, a dead body: animal or human, (dead) body, corpse, esp. of one killed by violence. LS - metaph. a fall, calamity, Thayer - 1. in Greek writings from Aeschylus down, a fall, downfall; metaphorically, a failure, defeat, calamity; an error lapse, sin. 2. that which is fallen; hence, with the genitive of a person or with nekrou/ added, the (fallen) body of one dead or slain, a corpse, carcass; Ptoma - body(3), corpse(1), dead bodies(3). Matt. 14:12; Matt. 24:28; Mk. 6:29; Mk. 15:45; Rev. 11:8; Rev. 11:9 Ptoma in the Septuagint - Jdg. 14:8; Job 15:23; Job 16:14; Job 18:12; Job 20:5; Job 31:29; Job 33:17; Job 37:16; Ps. 110:6; Prov. 16:18; Isa. 8:14; Isa. 30:13; Isa. 30:14; Isa. 51:19 John MacArthur analyzes Herod - In his interactions with both John the Baptist and Jesus, Herod Antipas stands like Judas as a monumentally tragic figure in history. He had the greatest man who had ever lived, the most honored prophet of God in his hands, and he locked him in a dungeon until he had him executed. More importantly, he had an audience with the King of kings, and he mocked Him and turned Him away. Such wasted opportunity was the result of his insidious love for sin, his arrogant unwillingness to believe, and his cowardly fear of the truth. Herod claimed to rule over others, but in reality he was a man controlled by the fear of man. His fear of the people initially kept him from killing John. His fear of his friends finally compelled him to authorize John’s execution. His fear of John made him anxious when he heard about Jesus. But his fear turned to scorn when he finally had an audience with the Son of God. Herod feared everyone except the Lord, and he lost his soul as a result. (MNTC-Mk) R C H