Mark 6:14-29
So far in Mark 6 we have seen Jesus rejected in his hometown of Nazareth, continue the “purpose for which He came” preaching from village to village (Mark 1:38) and then send out the twelve apostles for the first time to go out in His name, preach that people should repent, heal disease and cast out demons. Now Mark brings us to what almost seems like an interlude, he goes into great detail to tell us about the death of John the Baptist. Sitting directly between the sending out of the twelve into ministry and Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000 is the only story in the book of Mark that does not focus on Jesus. For Mark it is a long narrative with lots of details, for the original readers in Rome it is a story that is poignant as they live under the persecution of evil leaders similar to Herod and for us I believe it is the all important lesson that discipleship has great rewards but also a price. To follow Jesus we must all take up the cross and carry it, John the Baptist was faithful to the end of this life and was rewarded in eternal life. Obedience will not always bring us praise or even what we call blessing but it will always bring us the reward of abundant life that knows no end.