DAY THREE:  Paranoia over Prophets

Please carefully read Mark 6:14-17 and answer the following questions.

The Herods were one wacky bunch.  This one was Herod Antipas.  He was tetrarch (ruler of a fourth part of his father’s kingdom) of Galilee and Perea from 4 b.c. to a.d. 39 (Matthew 14:1; Luke 3:19; 9:7). Officially he wasn’t a king, but Mark’s use of the title probably reflected Herod’s ambitions.[ix]  Almost every son of Herod the Great had “Herod” as part of his name. The full name of Herodias’ first husband might have been Herod Philip. Because this person and Philip the tetrarch had different mothers, they could have had the same names. The First Century Jewish historian Josephus believed that Herod arrested John in fear that John’s popularity might lead to a revolt.  Mark’s reason does not contradict Josephus. Both could well have been true. Mark chose the one most important to his presentation here.[x] 

1.  What was the paranoid response of this king about Jesus (v. 14, 16)?

2.  What were others saying about Him at this time (v. 15)?

3.  What was the reason for Herod’s paranoia (v. 17, 18)?

NOTE: This woman Herodias was Herod the Great’s granddaughter; he actually had ten wives and many children, and they were big on intermarriage,[xi] not too good an idea genetically, and it might explain some of their bizarre actions and behavior!  Herodias was the daughter of Aristobulus, and the niece of Antipas. On a trip to Rome, Herod “fell in love” with her, and to marry her he divorced his first wife, and persuaded Herodias to divorce her husband. Mark said that this husband’s name was Philip; Josephus identified her husband by the family name Herod. It is possible that Mark did not intend to say that Herodias was the wife of Philip the tetrarch (Luke 3:1).[xii]  If she was, that meant that Herod Antipas not only committed fornication and adultery in the New Testament view, but that he married his own sister-in-law and niece!   

4.  What is God’s simple yet profound plan for meeting our sexual and companionship needs, and how does this contrast with what you’ve read about these people so far (Genesis 2:18-25)?

Scripture Memory:  Try to fill in the missing words in the blanks below, by memory if at all possible, and then review the passage several times today.

And the king was exceedingly ___________________; yet, because of the ________________ and because of ___________________ who ______________ with him, he did not want to _______________ her.  Mark 6:26, nkjv