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Mark 6:16
ESV But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.”
NIV But when Herod heard this, he said, 'John, whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!'
NASB But when Herod heard about it, he kept saying, 'John, whom I beheaded, has risen!'
CSB When Herod heard of it, he said, "John, the one I beheaded, has been raised! "
NLT When Herod heard about Jesus, he said, 'John, the man I beheaded, has come back from the dead.'
KJV But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead.

What does Mark 6:16 mean?

Herod Antipas has heard that the message preached by John the Baptist—a man he beheaded—is being preached again. Amidst the speculation that this new preacher is Elijah or another of the Old Testament prophets returned, Antipas concludes that it is John, raised from the dead. Antipas liked John and was intrigued by his preaching (Mark 6:20), but his wife, Herodias, felt threatened by John's accusation that her marriage to Antipas was incestuous. Antipas kept John in prison so John would be safe from Herodias but available to speak with Antipas when the mood struck. But Herodias took advantage of Antipas in a weak moment and tricked him into executing John.

When Antipas hears the same message from a new source, he is concerned, but he does nothing. The new preacher, Jesus, knows how to play Antipas' game. He considers Herod an enemy (Mark 8:15), but unlike John does nothing directly other than call him a "reed shaken by the wind" (Matthew 11:7) and a fox (Luke 13:32).

Antipas doesn't think Jesus is literally a resurrected John, since John was imprisoned, alive, during the early days of Jesus' ministry (Matthew 11:2–6; Luke 7:18–23), and John's body was buried without a head. Antipas believes that the power and authority that John had has been transferred to Jesus, just as Elisha inherited Elijah's power (2 Kings 2:9–10). Although Elijah was a great prophet, Elisha went on to do greater things than Elijah. Similarly, although John was a mighty preacher he did not perform any miracles (John 10:41) while Jesus did more than could be recounted (John 21:25).
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