14 King Herod heard this, for Jesus' name had become known, and he said, “John the Baptizer has risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him.” 15 But others said, “He is Elijah.” Others said, “He is a prophet, or like one of the prophets.” 16 But Herod, when he heard this, said, “This is John, whom I beheaded. He has risen from the dead.” 17 For Herod himself had sent out and arrested John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, for he had married her. 18 For John said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 Herodias set herself against him, and desired to kill him, but she couldn’t, 20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and kept him safe. When he heard him, he did many things, and he heard him gladly.

21 Then a convenient day came, that Herod on his birthday made a supper for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee. 22 When the daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and those sitting with him. The king said to the young lady, “Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you.” 23 He swore to her, “Whatever you shall ask of me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.”

24 She went out, and said to her mother, “What shall I ask?”

She said, “The head of John the Baptizer.”

25 She came in immediately with haste to the king, and asked, “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptizer on a platter.”

26 The king was exceedingly sorry, but for the sake of his oaths, and of his dinner guests, he didn’t wish to refuse her. 27 Immediately the king sent out a soldier of his guard, and commanded to bring John’s head, and he went and beheaded him in the prison, 28 and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the young lady; and the young lady gave it to her mother.

29 When his disciples heard this, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb.

Mark 6:14-29 - World English Bible

In Mark 6, John found his demise at the hands of Herod Antipas. The reputation of Jesus had spread, for many compared him to the Baptist in message, possibly amplified with the Lord's healing ministry. Notice the comments others made about him would be echoed in response to the question "Who do you say I am?" (Mark 8:2729) Also notice Herod's reaction to the ministry of Jesus foreshadowed the Master's own fate, implicitly in his death, explicitly in his Resurrection.

The story of John's death was familiar but that fact masked the utter shame and depravity of the Antipas, Herodias and Salome. Antipas divorced his first wife, Phasaelis for Herodias; she climbed the social ladder by divorcing one brother (Herod II) to marry another. The Baptist objected to the remarriage not because it directly broke the Law, but because the adulterous affair the king and queen had before the marriage was so public, it scandalized the populace.

To silence John, the king arrested him. At the birthday party of Antipas, Salome danced implicitly in a lewd manner, so as to become an object of desire. The craven Antipas promised anything to girl, even before those in his court! With that promise in hand, the girl consulted with her mother who insisted on the execution of John, a prospect he feared due to the threat of revolt. The incident proved the king was so weak, he was not even master of his own family, much less the court and the kingdom. Lust, not status, drove him.

The story of John's death only heightened his honor, compared with the shame of Antipas, his wife and his stepdaughter.

What does the message of the Baptist mean to you? How does Jesus help you to live out that message?