Gospel: Mark 6:14-29 (Pentecost 8: Series B)

Picture someone reading the Gospel of Mark for the first time when they come to Mark 6:14. “Some said, ‘John the Baptist has been raised from the dead.’” Wait... what? When did John die? They flip back over the past few chapters, thinking they missed a detail. But there is nothing there about John dying, so they read on.

Then they come to Mark 6:16. “But when Herod heard of it, he said, ‘John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.’” He was beheaded!? When did that happen? Again, they glance back over the past couple chapters to find a clue, but there is nothing there. So, they read on.

Then, Mark fills us in. Mark 6:17-29 goes back in time and recounts the events of John’s rebuke, arrest, imprisonment, beheading, and burial. It is as if the Apostle Mark took a page right out of Dave Schmitt’s Epic sermon structure.

Our reading starts at a moment of questioning and crisis, then moves back through time, and finally points us forward to our ultimate hope. And how Mark recounts all this reminds us of a beautiful (albeit mind-numbingly profound) truth: Wherever you are in the unfolding story, you are connected to the same story.

The question of who Jesus was after He sent out the Twelve, was connected to who John the Baptist was, and it is connected to who we are. Our lives are in continuity with the Scriptural narrative, not just the Scriptural truths. The Bible is not just true in an abstract sense. It is real, with real lives and real history. The narrative Scripture account has been and continues to actually unfold, from God’s creative beginning towards God’s glorious work of the New Creation. The jumping around within the narrative sequence we experience in Mark 6 reminds us that, wherever you are in the unfolding story, you are connected to the same story, even centuries, cultures, and continents away.

Let us jump in a bit more to the text of Mark and see how John’s story and Jesus’ story are intertwined.

John was the forerunner, sent to go before the Christ. He prepares the way for Jesus. What John does and what happens to John give us a glimpse of what will happen to Jesus and what Jesus will do.

John proclaims the Word of God and people gather from all around to hear his message. We will see great crowds of all kinds of people gather around Jesus to hear the Word of God as well.

Mark 1:14-15 is a key moment in the opening sequence. John is arrested. And now the time is fulfilled, and it is the moment for Jesus to begin preaching the message of repentance and the call to believe in the Gospel. John is arrested, and Jesus picks up where John left off.

John prepared the way for Jesus. This is true with respect to his preaching, for sure. But it is also true of his arrest. What John does, Jesus will do in a bigger way. What happens to John, will happen to Jesus in a bigger way. John speaks the Word of God. Jesus speaks as God Himself. John is arrested. Jesus will be arrested. The one verse of Mark 1:14 will be expanded greatly as it relates to Jesus’ ministry, with several predictions of His arrest and chapters detailing the final week of His earthly life.

What John does, Jesus will do in a bigger way. What happens to John, will happen to Jesus in a bigger way.

John prepared the way for Jesus with his preaching and subsequent arrest and death. But then the plot flips and we find hope in the fact that Jesus prepares the way for John (and for us). Our reading today ends with a body in a tomb. John is arrested and beheaded. Then his corpse is handed over to his friends, who laid it in a tomb. “This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.”

The Gospel of the Lord, the Good News promised by God, is that this is NOT where the story ends, even though this is where our reading ends.

Jesus’ three passion predictions in Mark 8-11 each tell us the end of the story. He will rise! Jesus will be what the Apostle Paul calls, “The first fruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20). Jesus is the sign and source of the resurrection. He IS the resurrection and the life. This is the promise for all who follow Him, for all who have faith in Him.

This is the promise our text points to. The story does not end where our text ends, just as your story does not end when your earthly life ends. Our text ends with a dead and buried John, but that is not where the story will end. In Mark 6, it does end there for John. Keep reading to the end of Mark’s Gospel, and John is still dead. What about today? How’s John now? Yep, still dead.

But this moment is not all there is. This moment is in continuity with the rest of the story. Not just backwards, as we emphasize that the Bible is historical and took place in the same world we live in, but also and always forwards, as we trust that the end of the story won by Jesus is ours, even now, as we cling to it in faith.

Before John spoke a single word of proclamation or baptized the first person in the Jordan, God was at work to bring about the resurrection of all the dead on the Last Day through the resurrection of Jesus. He had given His Word of promise, and God is always faithful.

While John was delivering the uncomfortable word of Law to Herod about his sin, the end of the story was in God’s gracious hands. While Herod’s executioner prepared his blade to behead John, Jesus was fulfilling the Father’s will. While John’s corpse was laid in a tomb, the tomb of Jesus was as good as empty!

Picture someone reading the Gospel of Mark for the first time when they come to Mark 6. In real time as a reader, this chapter can be disorienting as it challenges you to look backwards and forwards in time in order to process the present moment. This experience, this exercise, this is the life of faith.

We are living now. This is the only moment we have. But this moment is not alone. This moment is in continuity with all moments. This moment is under the providence and the promises of God. This is the day which the Lord has made. Today is the day of salvation. And Lord, haste the Day when our faith shall be sight.

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Additional Resources:

Craft of Preaching-Check out out 1517’s resources on Mark 6:14-29.

Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching Mark 6:14-29.

Text Week-A treasury of resources from various traditions to help you preach Mark 6:14-29.

Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!