Was John the Baptist Raised from the Dead?
The Origins of Mark 6:14-29
Nathanael Vette
University of Edinburgh , United KingdomWill Robinson
Macquarie University , AustraliaAbstract
In the vox populi of Mark 6:14-16 (cf. 8:28), we find the puzzling claim that some believed Jesus was John the Baptist raised from the dead. The presentation of John in the Gospel is similar to Jesus: Mark depicts John as a prophetic figure who is arrested, executed, buried by his disciples, and—according to some—raised from the dead. This paper reviews scholarship on the question of whether the tradition concerning John's resurrection—as well as the tradition concerning his death to which it is prefixed (6:17-29)—originated outside of the early Christian community. We examine the possibility that sects or individuals in the ancient world believed John had indeed been raised from the dead—as well as figures supposedly connected to John (Dositheus, Simon Magus). We conclude on the basis of internal evidence from the Gospel that the report in 6:14-16 likely originated in a Christian context. At the same time, it may also provide a glimpse into first-century CE attitudes concerning the resurrection from the dead.
Keywords:
Gospel of Mark, Resurrection, John the Baptist, Historical Jesus, Second Temple Judaism, Samaritan StudiesReferences
Achtemeier, P. J., Jesus and the Miracle Tradition (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books 2008).
Allison Jr., D. C., The New Moses: A Matthean Typology (Edinburgh: T&T Clark 1993).
____________, Studies in Matthew: Interpretation Past and Present (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic 2005).
____________, Constructing Jesus: Memory, Imagination, and History (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic 2010)
Anderson, H., The Gospel of Mark (NCB; London: Oliphants 1976).
Aune, D. E., “Magic in Early Christianity”, ANRW II 23/2 (1980) 1507-1557.
Aus, R., Water into Wine and the Beheading of John the Baptist (BJS 150; Atlanta, GA: Scholars 1988).
Backhaus, K., “Echoes from the Wilderness: The Historical John the Baptist”, Handbook for the Study of the Historical Jesus (ed. T. Holmén and S. E. Porter) (Leiden: Brill 2011) II, 1748-1785.
Badke, W. B., “Was Jesus a Disciple of John?”, EvQ 62 (1990) 195-204.
Bauckham, R., The Jewish World Around the New Testament: Collected Essays I (WUNT 233; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 2008).
Bock, D., Mark (NCBC; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2015).
Boring, M. E., Mark: A Commentary (NTL; Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox 2006).
Bowman, J., The Gospel of Mark: The New Christian Jewish Passover Haggadah (SPB 8; Leiden: Brill 1965).
Bultmann, R., The History of the Synoptic Tradition (trans. J. Marsh) (Oxford: Blackwell 21968).
____________, The Gospel of John: A Commentary (trans. G. R. Beasley-Murray, R. W. N. Hoare and J. K. Riches) (Philadelphia, PA: Westminster 1971; Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock 2014).
Casey, M., Aramaic Sources for Mark’s Gospel (SNTS MS 102; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1998).
____________, “Prophetic Identity and Conflict in the Historic Ministry of Jesus”, Israel’s God and Rebecca’s Children: Christology and Community in Early Judaism and Christianity: Essays in Honor of Larry W. Hurtado and Alan F. Segal (ed. D. B. Capes, A. D. DeConick, H. K. Bond and T. Miller) (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press 2007) 121-134.
Catchpole, D. R., Resurrection People: Studies in the Resurrection Narratives of the Gospels (Macon, GA: Smyth & Helwys 2002).
Collins, A. Y., Mark: A Commentary (Hermeneia 55; Minneapolis, MN: Fortress 2007).
Cook, J. G., Empty Tomb, Apotheosis, Resurrection (WUNT 410; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 2018).
Crossley, J. G., “History from the Margins: The Death of John the Baptist”, Writing History, Constructing Religion (ed. Crossley and C. Karner) (Aldershot: Ashgate 2005) 147-161.
Danove, P. L., The End of Mark’s Story: A Methodological Study (BIS 3; Leiden: Brill 1993).
Dibelius, M., Die urchristliche Überlieferung von Johannes dem Täufer (FRLANT 15; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 1911).
Donahue, J. R., and Harrington, D. J., The Gospel of Mark (SP 2; Collegeville, MN: Liturgical 2005).
Endsjø, D. O., Greek Resurrection Beliefs and the Success of Christianity (New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan 2009).
Ernst, J., “War Jesus ein Schüler Johannes’ des Täufers?”, Vom Urchristentum zu Jesus für Joachim Gnilka (ed. H. Frankenmölle and K. Kertelge) (Freiburg: Herder 1989) 13-33.
Evans, C. A., “Josephus on John the Baptist and Other Jewish Prophets of Deliverance”, The Historical Jesus in Context (ed. A.-J. Levine, Allison and J. D. Crossan) (Princeton Readings in Religions; Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press 2006) 55-63.
Feldman, L. H., “A Selective Critical Bibliography of Josephus”, Josephus, the Bible, and History (ed. Feldman and G. Hata) (Leiden: Brill 1989) 330-448.
Focant, C., “La tête du prophète sur un plat, ou, L’anti-repas d’alliance (Mc 6.14-29)”, NTS 46 (2001): 334-353.
____________, The Gospel According to Mark: A Commentary (trans. L. R. Keylock) (Eugene: Pickwick, 2012).
Fossum, J. E., The Name of God and the Angel of the Lord: Samaritan and Jewish Concepts of Intermediation and the Origin of Gnosticism (WUNT 36; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 1985).
____________, “Samaritan Sects and Movements”, The Samaritans (ed. A. D. Crown) (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 1989) 293-389.
France, R. T., The Gospel of Mark: A Commentary on the Greek Text (NIGTC; Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans 2002).
Gundry, R., Mark: A Commentary on His Apology for the Cross, Chapters 1-8 (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans 2000).
Grotius, H., Annotationes in Novum Testamentum (Groningen: Zuidema 1827).
Grundmann, W., Das Evangelium nach Markus (THNT 2; Berlin: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt 1977).
Guelich, R. A., Mark 1-8:26 (WBC 34a; Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson 1989).
Gnilka, J., “Das Martyrium Johannes’ des Täufers (Mk 6,17-29)”, Orienterung an Jesus: zur Theologie der Synoptiker—Für Josef Schmid (ed. N. Brox and W. Pesch) (Freiburg: Herder 1973) 78-93.
____________, Das Evangelium nach Markus (EKKNT 2/1-2; Zürich: Benziger 1978-1979).
Haenchen, E., Der Weg Jesu: Eine Erklärung des Markus-Evangeliums und der kanonischen Parallelen (Berlin: Töpelmann 1966).
Harvey, A. E., “‘They Discussed Among Themselves What This “Rising from the Dead” Could Mean’ (Mark 9.10)”, Resurrection: Essays in Honour of Leslie Houlden (ed. S. Barton and G. Stanton) (London: SPCK 1994) 69-78.
Hoehner, H. W., Herod Antipas: A Contemporary of Jesus Christ (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan 1980).
Hooker, M. D., The Gospel According to St. Mark (Black’s NT Commentaries; London: A&C Black 1991).
van Iersel, B. M. F., Mark: A Reader-Response Commentary (JSNTSupp 164; London: A&C Black 1998).
Isser, S., The Dositheans: A Samaritan Sect in Late Antiquity (SJLA 17; Leiden: Brill 1976).
Jensen, M. H.., Herod Antipas in Galilee: The Literary and Archaeological Sources on the Reign of Herod Antipas and its Socio-Economic Impact on Galilee (WUNT 2/215; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 2006).
Karakolis, C., “Narrative Funktion und christologische Bedeutung der markinischen Erzählung vom Tod Johannes des Täufers (Mk 6:14-29)”, NovT (52 (2010) 134-155.
Kermode, F., The Genesis of Secrecy: On the Interpretation of Narrative (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press 1979).
Kingsbury, J. D., The Christology of Mark’s Gospel (Philadelphia, PA: Fortress 1983).
Kraeling, C. H., “Was Jesus Accused of Necromancy?”, JBL 59 (1940) 147-157.
Kraemer, R. S., “Implicating Herodias and Her Daughter in the Death of John the Baptizer: A (Christian) Theological Strategy?”, JBL 125 (2006): 321-349.
Lohmeyer, E., Das Evangelium des Markus (KEK 1/2; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 1937).
Macdonald, D. R., The Homeric Epics and the Gospel of Mark (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press 2000).
Malbon, E. S., In the Company of Jesus: Characters in Mark’s Gospel (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox 2000).
Marcus, J., Mark 1-8 (AncB 27; New York, NY: Doubleday 2002).
____________, John the Baptist in History and Theology (Studies on Personalities of the New Testament; Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press 2018).
Marxsen, W., Der Evangelist Markus: Studien zur Redaktionsgeschichte des Evangeliums (FRLANT 67; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 1956).
Meier, J. P., “John the Baptist in Josephus: Philology and Exegesis”, JBL 111 (1992) 225-237.
____________, A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus (ABRL; New York, NY: Doubleday 1994).
McClelland, N. C., “Elijah/Elias”, Encyclopedia of Reincarnation and Karma (ed. McClelland) (Jefferson, NC: McFarland 2010) 84-85.
Moloney, F., “Mark 6:6b-30: Mission, the Baptist, and Failure”, CBQ 63 (2001) 647-663.
Nortje, S. J., “John the Baptist and the Resurrection Traditions in the Gospels”, Neotestamentica 23 (1989) 349–358.
O’Brien, K. S., The Use of Scripture in the Markan Passion Narrative (LNTS 384; London: T&T Clark 2010).
Pesch, R., Das Markusevangelium (HTKNT; Freiburg, Herder 1976-1977).
de la Potterie, I., “Mors Johannis Baptistae (Mc 6,17-29)”, VD 44 (1966) 142-151.
Rainbow, J., “John the Baptist, Elijah and Naboth: What Does 1 Kings 21 Have to do with Matthew 14?”, Searching the Scriptures: Studies in Context and Intertextuality (ed. C. A. Evans and J. J. Johnston) (SSEJC 19; LNTS 543; London: T&T Clark 2015) 64-80.
Roth, W., Hebrew Gospel: Cracking the Code of Mark (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock 1988).
Rothschild, C. K., Baptist Traditions and Q (WUNT 190: Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 2005).
Schweizer, E., Das Evangelium nach Markus (NTD 1; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 1998).
Siew, A. K. W., The War Between the Two Beasts and the Two Witnesses: A Chiastic Reading of Revelation 11.1-14.5 (JSNTSupp 283; London: T&T Clark 2005).
Smith, A., “Tyranny Exposed: Mark’s Typological Characterization of Herod Antipas (Mark 6:14-29)”, BI 14 (2006) 259-293.
Smith, M., Jesus the Magician (San Francisco, CA: Harper & Row 1978).
Stein, R. H., Mark (BECNT; Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic 2008).
Stenhouse, P., The Kitāb al Tarīkh of Abu’l Fath: Translated into English with Notes (Sydney: The Mandelbaum Trust 1985).
Taylor, J. E., The Immerser: John the Baptist within Second Temple Judaism (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans 1997).
Taylor, V., The Gospel According to St. Mark (London: Macmillan 21966).
Theissen, G., Lokalkolorit und Zeitgeschichte in den Evangelien. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der synoptischen Tradition (NTOA 8; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 1992).
Webb, R. L., John the Baptizer and Prophet: A Socio-Historical Study (JSNTSupp 62; Sheffield: JSOT 1991).
Wink, W., John the Baptist in the Gospel Tradition (SNTSMS 7; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1968).
Winn, A., Mark and the Elijah-Elisha Narrative: Considering the Practice of Greco-Roman Imitation in the Search for Markan Source Material (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock 2010).
Wolff, C., “Zur Bedeutung Johannes des Taufers im Markusevangeliums”, TLZ 102 (1977) 857-865.
Wright, N. T., The Resurrection of the Son of God (Christian Origins and the Question of God 3; Minneapolis, MN: Fortress 2003).
License
- Pursuant to the Act on Copyright and Related Rights of February 4, 1994, the Author of the publication grants to the Publisher of the journal „The Biblical Annals” e a non-exclusive and royalty-free license to use the Work submitted for publication, without time and territorial restrictions in the following fields of use:
a) record the Work and copy it by means of any technique (including printing and electronic recording) on all known data carriers (including IT, electronic and polygraphic), and in all IT systems (in particular those available online);
b) enter the Work into computer memory, disseminate the Work and its copies, as well as market the Work and its copies;
c) publicly perform, replay, display and screen the Work, as well as lend, rent and lease the Work and its copies;
d) make available, market and disseminate the Work and its copies via IT networks, and in particular via the Internet, including the promotion or advertising of the Work, the journal or the Publisher. - The Author shall further grant his/her consent for the Publisher to use and dispose of derivative works.
- The Publisher may sublicense the work.
- Third parties may use the articles and other materials containing the Works, or developed on the basis of the Works in line with the model Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (also referred to as CC BY 4.0).
