PULLING STRINGS
Opening Prayer
Lord God, thank you for your covenant of grace, for providing a Savior, and for life and salvation in him. Holy Spirit, please help me to follow him in faith and obedience.
Read MARK 6:14–29
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
John the Baptist Beheaded
14 King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying,[a] “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
15 Others said, “He is Elijah.”
And still others claimed, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago.”
16 But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!”
17 For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, 20 because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled[b]; yet he liked to listen to him.
21 Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 When the daughter of[c] Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests.
The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” 23 And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”
24 She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?”
“The head of John the Baptist,” she answered.
25 At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
26 The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27 So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, 28 and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. 29 On hearing of this, John’s disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
Footnotes
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Do you sometimes feel like a puppet—that other people are controlling you, ‘pulling your strings’? Bring those situations to God now.Here, Mark used one of his favorite literary techniques, ‘bracketing’—sandwiching a seemingly unrelated incident between two sections of his narrative. Why
interject this flashback to the grisly murder of John the Baptist? It cast a shadow over the success of the disciples’ mission, which was what Mark intended.
So many events in life—some with profound and lasting impact— derive not from well thought-out plans, but from the capricious actions of very flawed people. A boss’s bad mood, or a political leader’s opportunism, can have devastating effects. Even Jesus was affected by such things. Like John, Jesus would be executed by a man who had a plan that backfired (15:9). Like John, he would be ‘handed over’ (10:33) when a devious figure behind the scenes found an ‘opportune time’ (14:11). Moreover, in chapter 13, Jesus would warn his disciples that they should expect similar treatment.
So, we live in this tension: the kingdom of God flashed in as people responded to the good news and were healed (vv. 12, 13, 30), but the shadow of the cross was a constant reality. It was produced by the actions of ordinary people whose ambitions and lusts made them puppets in the hands of darker forces.
Apply
John the Baptist was not raised from the dead (v. 14), but Jesus was! Though we may not see it now, God’s purposes transcend human whims. Be encouraged. Ultimately, his will prevails (see Genesis 50:20).
Closing prayer
Heavenly Father, your ways are perfect and your plan will not be thwarted. In the difficulties of life, help me to remember and trust that you will carry out your purposes in and through me.
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