JW:
The Chiasm:
6
7 And he calleth unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and he gave them authority over the unclean spirits;
8 and he charged them that they should take nothing for [their] journey, save a staff only; no bread, no wallet, now money in their purse;
9 but [to go] shod with sandals: and, [said he], put not on two coats.
10 And he said unto them, Wheresoever ye enter into a house, there abide till ye depart thence.
11 And whatsoever place shall not receive you, and they hear you not, as ye go forth thence, shake off the dust that is under your feet for a testimony unto them.
12 And they went out, and preached that [men] should repent.
13 And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.
- 14 And king Herod heard [thereof]; for his name had become known: and he said, John the Baptizer is risen from the dead, and therefore do these powers work in him.
15 But others said, It is Elijah. And others said, [It is] a prophet, [even] as one of the prophets.
16 But Herod, when he heard [thereof], said, John, whom I beheaded, he is risen.
17 For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip`s wife; for he had married her.
18 For John said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother`s wife.
19 And Herodias set herself against him, and desired to kill him; and she could not;
20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and kept him safe. And when he heard him, he was much perplexed; and he heard him gladly.
21 And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, and the high captains, and the chief men of Galilee;
22 and when the daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and them that sat at meat with him; and the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee.
23 And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom.
24 And she went out, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptizer.
25 And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou forthwith give me on a platter the head of John the Baptist.
26 And the king was exceeding sorry; but for the sake of his oaths, and of them that sat at meat, he would not reject her.
27 And straightway the king sent forth a soldier of his guard, and commanded to bring his head: and he went and beheaded him in the prison,
28 and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the damsel; and the damsel gave it to her mother.
29 And when his disciples heard [thereof], they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb.
31 And he saith unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while. For there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.
JW:
Typically the inside of a Markan sandwich has a lesson/conclusion/point that is intended to be applied to the more important outside stories. Here the inside lesson is that Herod, set in opposition to Jesus as much as anyone in GMark as he is the supposed King of the Jews, not only believes in the rising of the dead but believes it because the subject (so to speak) was a righteous man. In beautiful ironic contrast Jesus' handpicked disciples will never believe that Jesus rose from the dead. So for those who need points sharply explained, the False King is promoting the true king's only important teaching, a righteous man rises from the dead, and the true king's hand-picked disciples resist promoting their teacher's only important assertion, that a righteous man rises from the dead. All too easy.
More interesting to me is the parallel our clever original author makes regarding the presentation of Jesus/John's flesh:
Verses:27 And straightway the king sent forth a soldier of his guard, and commanded to bring his head: and he went and beheaded him in the prison,
28 and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the damsel; and the damsel gave it to her mother.
14
The Skeptical Markan expert should note well that both John and Jesus have their bodies presented as food and both are given to their disciples. Both have a setting of a feast for their lords. As always though in "Mark", this is a physical thing for John and a spiritual thing for Jesus.22 And as they were eating, he took bread, and when he had blessed, he brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take ye: this is my body.
Joseph
RELIGION, n. A daughter of Hope and Fear, explaining to Ignorance the nature of the Unknowable.
The Israeli/Arab Conflict - The McMahon–Hussein Correspondence - 1916