I’m amazed at the number of men that I have been mistaken to be. I was grabbed once when I was in high school and went to a basketball game to watch some friends from out of town play a game when Argentine was a high school. They quickly realized I wasn’t who they thought I was. I have a cousin I met when I went to KU. He had an aunt, his mother’s sister, that saw me in Lawrence and called me, but I didn’t respond because my name wasn’t Billy, and I didn’t know her at the time. She told her sister about the incident, and she said that was Dexter not Billy. Probably the most startling incident took place when I went to the airport to pick Karen up. A gentleman came up to me and asked if I was Abdulla. These were all innocent mistakes in identity. I find it more frustrating when somebody that knows me well, looks right at me, and mistakes me for somebody else.

Matthew 16:13-17 Jesus asks his disciples a question:

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.

Verse 17 gives us some insight why people weren’t sure who Jesus was. God must be involved in revealing to us His Son. If God is not welcome into our lives, people will always get Jesus’ identity wrong.

In our study of the Gospel of Mark, we were first introduced to John the Baptist in chapter one. Isaiah the prophet said this about the person that would prepare the way for the Lord. “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way” “a voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'” And so, John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

We are told that after John was imprisoned, Jesus started his ministry. We weren’t told why John was imprisoned. Here in this sixth chapter of Mark we find out.

King Herod/Herod Antipas divorced his wife, and married his half-brother’s divorced wife, Herodias while his brother was still alive. Jewish law prohibited marrying a brother’s wife while the brother is still alive. Most people tend to stay quiet about other people’s sins, probably because they know they are guilty of sin too. John, being a prophet of God, spoke out about Herod’s sin publicly. Herod didn’t want to kill John, but he couldn’t have John exposing his sin publicly either, so he put John in prison. Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man.

It’s a bad place to be in when you have a secret sin in your life. Especially when you are drawn to the truth of God’s Word. How can you worship when the Spirit of God is convicting you of that sin? The preacher might not know your secret, but God knows all things.

We’re told how Herodias was able to kill John later in chapter six.

• On Herod’s birthday he gave a banquet for his high military commanders and the leading men of Galilee.
• Herodias’ daughter was the entertainment for the evening. She danced for the king and his guests.
• Everyone was pleased by her dancing.
• The king promised with an oath to give his stepdaughter anything she asked for up to half of his kingdom. He made this vow in front of all his guests.
• She went to her mother and asked her what she should ask for.
• Her mother told her to ask for the head of John the Baptist on a platter.
• The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oath and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. So, he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother.

Now we know the backdrop of Herod’s confusion about who Jesus was. Had John been raised from the dead? Was it Elijah or some other prophet? Herod said, “John, the man I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!”

We can’t afford to get it wrong when it comes to who Jesus is, the Son of God, what Jesus did, laid his life down on the cross, and what Jesus is going to do, come back again and receive the church as his bride.

“For each person, God chooses the best possible ways to reveal himself. He uses his Word, various circumstances, our thought processes, and other people to get our attention. He is persuasive and persistent, but He never forces us to submit to him. To miss or resist God’s message, as Herod did, is a tragedy. How aware are you of God’s attempts to enter your life? Have you rejected or welcomed him?”¹

After John was beheaded, his disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb. I was curious and googled what happened to John’s head. I got several answers. One answer was Herodias buried his head in a dung heap. Another answer was Joanna, wife of Chuza, buried the head on the Mount of Olives where it remained hidden for centuries.

The story of the beheading of John the Baptist is sandwiched between Jesus sending the twelve out to do ministry and their return.

“The report of their return, which one would expect after verse 13, has been placed following the death of John, producing a sandwich construction. What does Mark intend by bracketing the martyrdom of the Baptizer by the mission of the twelve? The sandwich structure draws mission and martyrdom, discipleship and death, into an inseparable relationship. Whoever would follow Jesus must first reckon with the fate of John. John’s martyrdom not only prefigures Jesus’ death, but it also prefigures the death of anyone who would follow him.”²

Mark 6:30-34

30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught.

31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.

33 But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them.

34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So, he began teaching them many things.

The crowds that flocked around Jesus may have been coming for the wrong reason, but they were still coming and hearing Jesus’ teachings. Jesus was trustworthy, He wasn’t looking to take advantage of anyone. We need to be careful who we flock to see. We’re finding out more and more everyone cannot be trusted.

The feeding of the 5000.

This crowd that came out to see Jesus hadn’t made the necessary preparations for food.

• The disciples approached Jesus and informed him of the dilemma, “”This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. Send the people away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”
• The disciples weren’t expecting Jesus’ response, “You give them something to eat.”
• Here we see another lesson the disciples had to learn about who Jesus really was.
• “That would take more than half a year’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”
• Jesus told the disciples to find out how much bread was available.
• Five loaves and two fish.
• Mark 6:39-44, “Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. So, they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.

Why did Jesus feed the crowd, He could have just as easily sent them on their way, like the disciples suggested. Jesus doesn’t ignore the needs of people, He is concerned with every aspect of our lives, the physical as well as the spiritual. We must be cognizant of the fact that people do have both physical and spiritual needs. We can’t minister effectively to spiritual needs without considering physical needs.

“Jesus fed the people with bread by taking it, blessing it, breaking it, and giving it. These steps provide the basis for Communion, that the church has celebrated for centuries. Just as Jesus was able to provide enough food for the people to be satisfied, his power also continuously provides for our needs today. By faith we meet him again each time we take Communion.”³