Mark 6 - Mission of The Twelve and The Death of John The Baptist

Mission of The Twelve and The Death of John The Baptist

Jesus sends the Twelve (the Twelve Apostles) out to the various towns, in pairs, to heal the sick and drive out demons. They are only to take their staffs and that if any town rejects them "...shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them." (11) which is "...a gesture both of contempt and of warning."

Mark then tells of the death of John the Baptist at the hands of Herod Antipas. Herod is married to his wife Herodias, former wife of his brother Herod Philip I. John condemns Herod so Herod incarcerates John. Herodias seeks revenge on John during a birthday party for Herod. Her daughter dances for Herod and persuades Herod to kill John. John's disciples take his body and put it in a tomb. This is also found in Matthew 14:1-12. The year in which John died is unknown. Josephus has Herod killing John to quell a possible uprising around AD 36. Herod Philip died in 34 and Herod Antipas died sometime after 40 after being exiled to either Gaul or Spain.

Read more about this topic:  Mark 6

Famous quotes containing the words mission of, mission, twelve, death, john and/or baptist:

    “Perhaps the mission of those who love mankind is to make people laugh at the truth, to make truth laugh, because the only truth lies in learning to free ourselves from insane passion for the truth.”
    —Umberto Eco (b. 1932)

    “Perhaps the mission of those who love mankind is to make people laugh at the truth, to make truth laugh, because the only truth lies in learning to free ourselves from insane passion for the truth.”
    —Umberto Eco (b. 1932)

    “Peering, I heard the hooves come down the hill.
    The posse passed, twelve horse; the leader’s face
    Was worn as limestone on an ancient sill.”
    —Allen Tate (1899–1979)

    “It is better to sit down than to stand, it is better to lie down than to sit, but death is the best of all.”
    —Indian proverb, quoted in Sébastien-roch Nicolas de Chamfort, Maxims and Considerations, vol. 1, no. 155 (1796, trans. 1926)

    “I have a Vision of the Future, chum.
    The workers’ flats in fields of soya beans
    Tower up like silver pencils, score on score.”
    —Sir John Betjeman (1906–1984)

    “You should approach Joyce’s Ulysses as the illiterate Baptist preacher approaches the Old Testament: with faith.”
    —William Faulkner (1897–1962)