7 And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8 He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts— 9 but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. 10 And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. 11 And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” 12 So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. 13 And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.
14 King Herod heard of it, for Jesus' name had become known. Some said, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” 15 But others said, “He is Elijah.” And others said, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” 16 But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.”
The name of Jesus of Nazareth was becoming a household name, not only in Galilee, but throughout all of Israel. This was accelerated when He sent out the twelve, two by two, preaching and healing in His name. Word was travelling fast because Jesus' disciples were traveling light, and they were not staying in places like Nazareth, where people were not receptive to the truth. We note one again Mark's emphasis on Jesus authority over the unclean spirits that had been haunting in the background. Well something was haunting King Herod as well. When he kept hearing about Jesus from reports all over his kingdom, guilt was filling his heart and mind. The passage goes on to describe this last statement we read: “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.” Herod had blood on his hands, and he feared that John the Baptist, or at least the spirit of John the Baptist, had come back to haunt him. That's of course because both John and Jesus preached the necessity of repentance, and to repent was something Herod, and many others were, and are, not willing to do. They would rather remain in their guilt. How about you?
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