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Mark 6:29

in Mark 6

When John’s disciples heard about this, they came and took his body and placed it in a tomb.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And when his disciples heard thereof, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb.

KJV

And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb.

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This verse in Mark 6

Commentary

12 notes on this verse

A commentator

Bede

On the Gospel of Mark · Written before 735.

Upon hearing this, his disciples came, took away his body, and placed it in a tomb. Josephus reports that John, being bound, was taken to the fortress of Machaerus, where he was beheaded. Ecclesiastical history narrates that he was buried in Sebaste, a city of …

This site's exposition

they came and took his body and placed it in a tomb

When John’s disciples heard about this, they came and took his body and placed it in a tomb. It is the last act this Gospel records for them, and the account of John's death closes here.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Josephus

Antiquities of the Jews - Book XVIII, Chapter 5, Section 2 · Written before 100.

proposed

Now some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod's army came from God, and that very justly, as a punishment of what he did against John, that was called the Baptist: for Herod slew him, who was a good man, and commanded the …

The Medieval Church4 voices

A commentator

Theophylact of Ohrid

Catena Aurea by Aquinas · Written before 1107.

proposed

There follows, And the king was exceeding sorry. Herod not being his own master, but full of lust, fulfilled his oath, and slew the just man; it would have been better however to break his oath, than to commit so great a sin. 'Spiculator' is the name for the public servant commissioned to put men to death. In a mystical way, however, Herod, whose name means, 'of skin,' is the people of the Jews, and the wife to whom he was wedded means vain glory, whose daughter even now encircles the Jews with her dance, namely, a false understanding of the Scriptures; they indeed beheaded John, that is, the word of prophecy, and hold to him without Christ, his head.

A commentator

Bede

Catena Aurea by Aquinas · Written before 735.

proposed

(ubi sup.) There follows, And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb. Josephus relates, that John was brought bound into the castle of Macheron, and there slain; and ecclesiastical history (Theodoret. Hist. Eccles. 3:3) says that he was buried in Sebaste, a city of Palestine, once called Samaria. But the beheading of John the Baptist signifies the lessening of that fame, by which he was thought to be Christ by the people, as the raising of our Saviour on the cross typifies the advance of the faith, in that He Himself, who was first looked upon as a prophet by the multitude, was recognised as the Son of God by all the faithful; wherefore John, who was destined to decrease, was born when the daylight begins to wax short; but the Lord at that season of the year in which the day begins to lengthen.

A commentator

Theophylact of Ohrid

Commentary on Mark · Written before 1107.

proposed

But the reckless and lustful Herod feared to break his oath and therefore kills the righteous man, when he ought in this case to have violated the oath and not committed so terrible a crime (to keep an oath is not always good). A guardsman …
Or else, The head of the law, which is Christ, is cut off from his own body, that is, the Jewish people, and is given to a Gentile damsel, that is, the Roman Church, and the damsel gives it to her adulterous mother, that is, to the synagogue, who in the end will believe. The body of John is buried, his head is put in a dish; thus the human Letter is covered over, the Spirit is honoured, and received on the altar.
5 more voices on this verse

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

And when his disciples heard of it,.... That is, when the disciples of John heard of this barbarous execution of their master, they came; to the prison in the castle of Machaerus, and took up his corpse; the trunk of his body; for his head was carried away, to glut the revenge of Herodias; and laid it in a tomb; See Gill on Mat 14:12.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Christ's retirement into a desert place with his disciples; the crowds that followed him thither to receive instruction from him; and his feeding five thousand of them with five loaves and two fishes,

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

How Jesus felt, or what He said, on receiving this intelligence, is not recorded; but He of whom it was said, as He stood by the grave of His friend Lazarus, "Jesus wept," was not likely to receive such intelligence without deep emotion.
These verses describe the death of one of the most eminent saints of God. They relate the murder of John the Baptist. Of all the evangelists none tells this melancholy story so fully as Mark. Let us see what practical lessons the passage contains for our own souls. We see, in the first place, the amazing power of truth over the conscience . Herod "fears" John the Baptist while he lives, and is troubled about him after he dies. A friendless, solitary preacher, with no other weapon than God's truth, disturbs and terrifies a king. Everybody has a conscience.
These verses describe the death of one of the most eminent saints of God. They relate the murder of John the Baptist. Of all the evangelists none tells this melancholy story so fully as Mark. Let us see what practical lessons the passage contains for our own souls. We see, in the first place, the amazing power of truth over the conscience . Herod "fears" John the Baptist while he lives, and is troubled about him after he dies. A friendless, solitary preacher, with no other weapon than God's truth, disturbs and terrifies a king. Everybody has a conscience. Here lies the secret of a faithful minister's power. This is the reason why Felix "trembled," and Agrippa was "almost persuaded," when Paul the prisoner spoke before them. God has not left Himself without witness in the hearts of unconverted people. Fallen and corrupt as man is, there are thoughts within him accusing or excusing, according as he lives — thoughts that will not be shut out — thoughts that can make even kings, like Herod, restless and afraid. None ought to remember this so much as ministers and teachers. If they preach and teach Christ's truth, they may rest assured that their work is not in vain. Children may seem inattentive in schools. Hearers may seem careless in congregations. But in both cases there is often far more going on in the conscience than our eyes see. Seeds often spring up and bear fruit, when the sower, like John the Baptist, is dead or gone. We see, in the second place, how far people may go in religion, and yet miss salvation by yielding to one master-sin. King Herod went further than many. He "feared John." He "knew that he was a just man and holy." He "observed" him. He "heard him, and did many things" in consequence. He even "heard him gladly." But there was one thing Herod would not do. He would not cease from adultery. He would not give up Herodias.

The words behind it

16 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

5 in all, six open

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    2 Chronicles 24:16

    And Jehoiada was buried with the kings in the City of David, because he had done what was good in Israel for God and His temple.

    it leads to

    • Hebrews 6:10

      For God is not unjust. He will not forget your work and the love you have shown for His name as you have ministered to the saints and continue to do so.

    • 2 Chronicles 31:20

      So this is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah. He did what was good and upright and true before the LORD his God.

    • Nehemiah 13:14

      Remember me for this, O my God, and do not blot out my deeds of loving devotion for the house of my God and for its services.

  • Through

    Acts 8:2

    God-fearing men buried Stephen and mourned deeply over him.

    it leads to

    • Genesis 50:10–11

      When they reached the threshing floor of Atad, which is across the Jordan, they lamented and wailed loudly, and Joseph mourned for his father seven days.

    • 1 Samuel 28:3

      Now by this time Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had removed the mediums and spiritists from the land.

    • 2 Samuel 3:31

      Then David ordered Joab and all the people with him, “Tear your clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourn before Abner.” And King David himself walked behind the funeral bier.

    • Genesis 23:2

      She died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went out to mourn and to weep for her.

  • Through

    Matthew 14:12

    Then John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. And they went and informed Jesus.

    it leads to

    • Acts 8:2

      God-fearing men buried Stephen and mourned deeply over him.

Where this verse is studied

About Mark

Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee, Rembrandt, 1633, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Public domain.
Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee, Rembrandt, 1633, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Public domain.
Mark: the study guide →Read Mark 6 →
This page draws on 12 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Alexander Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture, Mark; Bede, On the Gospel of Mark; Bede, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews - Book XVIII, Chapter 5, Section 2; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Pseudo-Jerome, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Theophylact of Ohrid, Catena Aurea by Aquinas and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Mark.

Read on in Mark 6 →