Mark 6:14

“(de Con. Evan. ii. 43) But in these words Luke bears witness to Mark, to this point at least, that others and not Herod said that John had risen; but Luke had represented Herod as hesitating, and has put down his words as if he said, John have I beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things? We must however suppose, that after this hesitation, he had confirmed in his own mind what others had said, for he says to his children, as Matthew relates, This is John the Baptist, he has risen from the dead. (Matt. 14:2) Or else these words are to be spoken, so as to indicate that he is still hesitating, particularly as Mark who had said above that others had declared that John had risen from the dead, afterwards however is not silent as to Herod’s plainly saying, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead. Which words also may be spoken in two ways, either they may be understood as those of a man affirming or doubling.”

“(in Marc. 2, 25) Here we are taught how great was the envy of the Jews. For, lo, they believe that John, of whom it was said that he did no miracle, could rise from the dead, and that, without the witness of any one. But Jesus, approved of God by miracles and signs, whose resurrection, Angels and Apostles, men and women, preached, they chose to believe was carried away by stealth, rather than suppose that He had risen again. And these men, in saying that John was risen from the dead, and that therefore mighty works were wrought in him, had just thoughts of the power of the resurrection, for men, when they shall have risen from the dead, shall have much greater power, than they possessed, when still weighed down by the weakness of the flesh. There follows, But others said, that it is Elias.”

“(Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.) This Herod is the son of the first Herod, under whom Joseph had led Jesus into Egypt, But Matthew calls him Tetrarch, and Luke mentions him as ruling over one fourth of his father’s kingdom; for the Romans after the death of his father divided his kingdom into four parts. But Mark calls him a king, either after the title of his father, or because it was consonant to his own wish.”

“(Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.) It seems to me that this prophet means that one of whom Moses said, God will raise up a prophet unto thee of thy brethren. (Deut. 8:15.) They were right indeed, but because they feared to say openly, This is the Christ, they used the voice of Moses, veiling their own surmise through fear of their rulers. There follows, But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead. Herod expressly says, this in irony.”