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Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
6 He went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief.
And he went about among the villages teaching.
Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles
And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts—but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. 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.” So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.
The Death of John the Baptist
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.” But others said, “He is Elijah.” And others said, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.” For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her. For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.
But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. For when Herodias’s daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.” And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.” And she went out and said to her mother, “For what should I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.
Jesus Walks on the Water
Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.
Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret
When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.
(ESV)
Mark 6 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
Have you ever sat down and read Scripture and thought, “I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to live like that? Or how about, “Did Jesus really mean what I think He meant?” Have you ever been hesitant to embrace what God teaches on a topic in fear that you will lose something? Sometimes reading and studying the Bible raises more questions than answers. But this is primarily because God rarely runs things the way we would. When we look through the Gospels, we get a front row seat to people questioning the teachings of Jesus. It’s strange and mysterious. It’s uncomfortable. It’s counter-cultural. In some instances, it seems impossible.
How do you respond when Jesus brings challenge into your life?
Jesus says, “In order to follow me you must be born again.” Completely puzzled, Nicodemus asks, “How can I go back into my mother’s womb?” He says to the woman at the well, “Come to me and I will give you living water.” Her eyes narrow as she ponders the practicality of such a question. “Uh… the well is deep and you don’t even have a bucket.” He asks a lame man if he wants to be healed and instead of answering Jesus, the man starts complaining about his current situation!
Spiritual truth flies over the heads of these people just as it does us in many ways. In Mark 6, Jesus is using a simple example to illustrate a deep spiritual reality, and this time some of his most loyal followers are missing it. The crowd has gathered and it’s getting late. The disciples take note that the people may be getting a little bit “hangry.”
When it was already quite late, His disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and it is already quite late; 36 send them away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” 37 But He answered them, “You give them something to eat!” And they said to Him, “Shall we go and spend two hundred denarii on bread and give them something to eat?”
Mark 6:35-37 NASB
Mark’s account of this story says “they said to Him” but John’s account tells us it was Phillip and Peter who spoke up.
Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.” 8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, *said to Him, 9 “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?”
John 6:7-9 NASB
Phillip and Peter were thinking of human limitations instead of divine provision. Phillip chimes in with a fairly negative tone stating it would take two hundred denarii just to get bread – which would still only be minimal for this size of crowd. Two hundred denarii would have amounted to nearly 8 months of wages! Peter finds some food but mentions it as an afterthought since the crowd was so large.
Look, I’m not trying to rip on these guys. The point is, we often operate in the same mindset. When God asks the impossible of us, we limit His power by thinking small. Phillip not only pointed out that He needed additional resources to carry out Jesus’ plan, but his response was toward the bare minimum. Peter brought all that he had, but he too was discouraged by the reality that it didn’t seem enough. Jesus said to feed them, but this is all we have.
How do you respond when Jesus brings challenge into your life?
The truth of the story is that Jesus didn’t need their money or resources. All He wanted was their faith! David Guzik writes, “In fact, God doesn’t need any help – but He often deliberately restrains His work until He has our participation.” As we know, Jesus fed the crowds and He fed them abundantly. The most unique part of the story, however, is that he let the disciples – yes, the men who doubted Him – pass the food around to the people (v. 41). Jesus wanted their participation. He wanted them to reveal His glory by their hands and feet. He wanted to empower them to bring His miracle to others.
Even during moments in life when we doubt God, He is faithful to teach us what He’s capable of. He is waiting for our faith, ready to reveal His glory in ways we never thought possible. So, I circle back to the question that plagues my mind as I ponder what this story means in my own life.