John the Baptist has already been on the stage as the “prophesied preparer” of Jesus’ way, a role drawn from the OT (Mal 3:1; Isa 40:3; Ex 23:20). Yet not everyone was pleased with John’s other messages, especially when he came near to bone and exposed the sensitive nerve-endings of King Herod’s love life. He boldly denounced the way Herod was playing around in high society and Herod’s wife-swapping practice (6:17–18) merited
Mark 6:1–46