Mark 06

Rejection at Nazareth

1Now Jesus left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. 

 

Jesus returned to His hometown of Nazareth.

 

2When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue. Many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did he get these ideas? And what is this wisdom that has been given to him? What are these miracles that are done through his hands? 

 

Jesus was so quiet and humble in His human form, that even His own townspeople were impressed with His Biblical knowledge.

 

3Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon? And aren’t his sisters here with us?” And so they took offense at him. 

 

Notice that Mary was not an immaculate virgin. Jesus had other brothers and sisters. At least two of them became believers. Jude and James both wrote books of the New Testament. Nazareth did not like little Jesus teaching them Bible doctrine. Therefore, they were offended at someone younger than them teaching Bible doctrine.

 

4Then Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown, and among his relatives, and in his own house.” 

 

Hometowns and home churches do not respect those in their midst. Often times, God will raise up powerful teachers in local churches, but their gifts are not recognized because of spiritual pride inside of the local church leadership. Elders often want to bring in a new leader from California when they may have the best leader in their midst. If elders are doing their job, then they should have someone prepared inside the local congregation.

 

5He was not able to do a miracle there, except to lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 

 

Jesus was omnipotent and could perform His miracles anywhere. However, He only performed miracles when it would benefit believers. Since there were so few believers in Nazareth, Jesus performed very few miracles. He was not a magician for non-believers.

 

6And he was amazed because of their unbelief. Then he went around among the villages and taught.

 

Jesus was amazed that there were so many unbelievers in His hometown. This town of Nazareth represented the blindness of Israel. Jesus, the apostles, and modern evangelists all experience this same amazement. So many people are blind and not interested in the gospels.

 

Sending Out the Twelve Apostles

7Jesus called the twelve and began to send them out two by two. He gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 

 

Jesus began training the disciples for their Acts ministry. Mormons use this verse as a pretext for their bicycle ministers. However, they are spreading the false doctrine of Mormonism.

 

8He instructed them to take nothing for the journey except a staff – no bread, no bag, no money in their belts – 9and to put on sandals but not to wear two tunics. 

 

Jesus was teaching His disciples to trust in God for supplying their missionary needs.

 

10He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the area. 

 

God raised up local believers to provide food and shelter for the disciples.

 

11If a place will not welcome you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” 

 

If the towns and villages rejected the gospel message, then the disciples were to dust off their feet as a testimony against them. This was a practice that the Jews did to Gentile cities that rejected God. Now, this same symbolic gesture was used against the Jews. The symbolic gesture was that the disciples had done their job in teaching the truth, so they were not responsible for the judgment to come against the cities which rejected Jesus.

 

12So they went out and preached that all should repent. 

 

Repent means to change one’s attitude about Jesus from bad to good. All men are born with a bad attitude about Jesus. They are born with hatred towards Jesus The Holy Spirit changes the personality of the believers from bad to good by causing them to be reborn from above. After this rebirth, then the Holy Spirit will send another believer to share the gospel. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God.

 

13They cast out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

 

The disciples, including Judas, were able to perform many miracles. Jesus was preparing those disciples for their Acts ministry. 

 

The Death of John the Baptist

14Now King Herod heard this, for Jesus’ name had become known. Some were saying, “John the baptizer has been raised from the dead, and because of this, miraculous powers are at work in him.” 

 

King Herod was a superstitious pagan king who was more interested in power and pleasure than he was in the things of God.

 

15Others said, “He is Elijah.” Others said, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets from the past.” 

 

Most people, just like the modern cults and isms today, believed that Jesus was less than God in the flesh.

 

16But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised!” 

 

Herod believed in reincarnation. Herod killed John the Baptist, so he thought that Jesus might be the reincarnation of John.

 

17For Herod himself had sent men, arrested John, and bound him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because Herod had married her. 

 

Herodias was the former-wife of Herod’s brother.

 

18For John had repeatedly told Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 

 

Herod was Jewish. This ancestral marriage was a violation of the Mosaic Law.

 

19So Herodias nursed a grudge against him and wanted to kill him. But she could not 

 

Herodias did not like being called an incestuous adulterous. 

 

20because Herod stood in awe of John and protected him, since he knew that John was a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard him, he was thoroughly baffled, and yet he liked to listen to John.

 

Herod enjoyed the teachings of John, but the lust for his incestuous relationship with Herodias deadened his conscience and overrode any spiritual capacity that he once possessed. Believers living in sin will lose their capacity for receiving divine revelation.

 

21But a suitable day came, when Herod gave a banquet on his birthday for his court officials, military commanders, and leaders of Galilee. 

 

Many important and influential people of the satanic world system were present at King Herod’s birthday.

 

22When his daughter Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you.” 

 

The conscience of Herod was so seared, that he lusted after his own daughter.

 

23He swore to her, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.” 

 

Herod offered his daughter the offer to co-reign with him.

 

24So she went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?” Her mother said, “The head of John the baptizer.”

 

This is a picture of Roman society. The women of Rome were cold-blooded killers.

 

 25Immediately she hurried back to the king and made her request: “I want the head of John the Baptist on a platter immediately.” 

 

King Herod’s daughter was a disciple of Roman women.

 

26Although it grieved the king deeply, he did not want to reject her request because of his oath and his guests. 

 

King Herod should have executed Herodias and her mother for conspiracy to murder. After all, Roman Law was blind to injustice. However, the word of Herod in front of his guest was more important than the life of a holy prophet.

 

27So the king sent an executioner at once to bring John’s head, and he went and beheaded John in prison. 

 

This was the result of Roman Law. Satan silenced another prophet of God, but only because God allowed it.

 

28He brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. 

 

It was this degraded society which Jesus chose as His place of birth. He was indeed a lone flower in a dried and scorched wilderness which was devoid of spiritual insight.

 

29When John’s disciples heard this, they came and took his body and placed it in a tomb.

 

John’s disciples buried him in a tomb.

 

The Feeding of the Five Thousand

30Then the apostles gathered around Jesus and told him everything they had done and taught. 

 

The disciples gave Jesus a missionary report.

 

31He said to them, “Come with me privately to an isolated place and rest a while” (for many were coming and going, and there was no time to eat). 

 

Jesus offered the disciples some time to rest from their travels.

 

32So they went away by themselves in a boat to some remote place.

 

The crowds of Jesus were so large, that the disciples could only find rest by taking a boat to remote areas.

 

33But many saw them leaving and recognized them, and they hurried on foot from all the towns and arrived there ahead of them. 

 

Many saw Jesus and the disciples get into the boat. The people watched the direction of the boat and walked as fast as they could to the next town so that they could hear Jesus teach and watch Him perform miracles.

 

34As Jesus came ashore he saw the large crowd and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he taught them many things.

 

Everywhere that Jesus traveled, large crowds followed Him. The people did not have any strong rabbi to teach them. They were sheep without a shepherd. There were very few men who were teaching the people the Word of God. Therefore, Jesus had compassion for the people. He taught them many things about the kingdom of God.

 

35When it was already late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is an isolated place and it is already very late. 

 

Crowds of people walked great distances and listened all day long to the teachings of Jesus.

 

36Send them away so that they can go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy something for themselves to eat.” 

 

The disciples wanted to disperse the crowds into the local villages so that they could eat.

 

37But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said, “Should we go and buy bread for two hundred silver coins and give it to them to eat?” 

 

Jesus had a better plan. The disciples were to feed all of the people. However, the disciples did not have enough money to purchase food for all of the people.

 

38He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” When they found out, they said, “Five – and two fish.” 

 

The disciples also did not have enough food to feed the people.

 

39Then he directed them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. 40So they reclined in groups of hundreds and fifties.

 

Jesus is a God of organization. 

 

41He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. He gave them to his disciples to serve the people, and he divided the two fish among them all. 

 

Jesus thanked God the Father for providing the food. The purpose of food is to energize the believer so that he can perform God’s work.

 

42They all ate and were satisfied, 

 

Most of these people were living in extreme poverty. This may have been one of the largest and most delicious meals of their lives.

 

43and they picked up the broken pieces and fish that were left over, twelve baskets full. 

 

Jesus is the Creator God. He can create cooked fish and bread out of nothing.

 

44Now there were five thousand men who ate the bread.

 

If the average family was four people, then Jesus fed 20,000 men, women, and children.

 

Walking on Water

45Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dispersed the crowd. 

 

There were few true shepherds among the people. There were other people all over Israel who desired to hear the gospel. Jesus traveled by boat as a method of crowd control. It kept the people from following Him and pressing in upon Him.

 

46After saying good-bye to them, he went to the mountain to pray. 

 

Jesus taught all day and prayed before and after His teaching.

 

47When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea and he was alone on the land. 

 

The disciples were at sea, but Jesus was still on land.

 

48He saw them straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. As the night was ending, he came to them walking on the sea, for he wanted to pass by them. 

 

Jesus walked on water so that he could get into the boat.

 

49When they saw him walking on the water they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, 

 

There are no such things as ghosts. The disciples were superstitious. 

 

50for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them: “Have courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.” 

 

Jesus comforted the disciples with His words.

 

51Then he went up with them into the boat, and the wind ceased. They were completely astonished, 

 

The wind was most likely an attempt of Satan to kill Jesus and the disciples all at one time.

 

52because they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

 

The disciples saw the miracles. They were given more light than anyone on earth, yet they still disbelieved. This disbelief hardens the heart, making it more difficult to intake divine revelation.

 

Healing the Sick

53After they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and anchored there. 

 

Gennesaret was the region of the tribe of Gad. During the days of Joshua, the tribe of Gad chose land on the wrong side of the Jordan.

 

54As they got out of the boat, people immediately recognized Jesus. 

 

Jesus was receiving celebrity status.

 

55They ran through that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever he was rumored to be. 

 

Everyone saw Jesus as a faith healer, or a medicine man, but not as the Son of God.

 

56And wherever he would go – into villages, towns, or countryside – they would place the sick in the marketplaces, and would ask him if they could just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.

 

 

Jesus healed every person with whom He came in contact. Faith healers today can only heal those who are stricken by demons. Demons can make people sick. Then, the demons remove the sickness at the faith healers command. These demonic miracles are perceived to be from God. Therefore, the healed person places their trust in the teaching of the faith healer. The teaching of the faith healer is truth mixed with error. However, the one healed does not possess enough Bible doctrine to discern the deception. Many charismatics are deceived in this way. If faith healers were for real, then they should travel to the nearest hospital and heal everyone. They should go to funerals and raise people from the dead. Jesus and the disciples healed everyone.