Mark wrote how “Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly. And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee. And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever you wilt, and I will give it to you. And he swore unto her, Whatsoever you shall ask of me, I will give it to you, unto the half of my kingdom. And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that you give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist. And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother”, and in chapter six and verse twenty-nine of his book, Mark wrote how John the Baptist's “disciples heard of it” and “came and took up his corpse” where we read:
And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb.
The verse reads, “And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, ...” Mark began with the words, “and when” or “and at the time and moment” “his disciples” which means “John the Baptist's students, pupils and attendants” “heard of it” or “were given the faculty for hearing, understood, discerned and discovered that John the Baptist was killed”, “they came” or “John the Baptist's disciples came forth and entered” “and took up his corpse” which means “and carried away and bore forth John the Baptist's dead body”. Mark shared how John the Baptist's disciples heard about his death and went to “carry away” his dead body.
The verse continues, “... and laid it in a tomb.” Mark added the words, “and laid it” which means “and put and lay down John the Baptist's dead body” “in a tomb” or “in a sepulcher, monument or grave”. Mark shared how John the Baptist's disciples “put” his dead body in a “sepulcher”.
When we think through Mark's words in this verse, we see the care and concern John the Baptist's disciples for their teacher. John the Baptist was the “fore-runner” of Jesus who is the Messiah, and now he was “dead”. Though they could do nothing for the life that was gone for John, they were able to carry his body to a grave. God knows “death” shall happen to every person who lives, and because He desired that they have “everlasting life” with Him, He sent His Son Jesus to die for their sins so they may live forever. The care John the Baptist's disciples had for his body is imitated by many today as they bury people they love, but those who have given their lives to Jesus Christ as their personal “Savior and Lord” will go on to live forever with God and will be reunited with those who yield to Jesus as well. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live”. (See John 11:25)
Next time Mark shares how Jesus' apostles “gathered themselves together unto Jesus”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book
“Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the
marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the
Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms
Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County"
in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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