Mark 6:1-56 NIV
A Prophet Without Honor
1Jesus
left there and went to His hometown, accompanied by His disciples. 2When
the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard Him
were amazed.
“Where did this man get these
things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given Him? What are
these remarkable miracles He is performing?
3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t
this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph,a Judas and Simon? Aren’t His
sisters here with us?” And they took offense at Him.
4Jesus
said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his
relatives and in his own home.” 5He
could not do any miracles there, except lay His hands on a few sick people and
heal them. 6He was
amazed at their lack of faith.
Jesus Sends Out the Twelve
Then Jesus went around teaching
from village to village. 7Calling
the Twelve to Him, He began to send them out two by two and gave them authority
over impure spirits.
8These
were His instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no
money in your belts. 9Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. 10Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. 11And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that
place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”
12They
went out and preached that people should repent. 13They
drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.
John the Baptist Beheaded
14King
Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ Name had become well known. Some were
saying,b “John the Baptist has been raised from the
dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in Him.”
15Others
said, “He is Elijah.”
And still others claimed, “He
is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago.”
16But
when Herod heard this, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised from
the dead!”
17For
Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and
put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom
he had married. 18For
John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s
wife.” 19So
Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not
able to, 20because
Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy
man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzledc ; yet he liked to listen to him.
21Finally
the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high
officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22When
the daughter ofd Herodias came in and danced, she pleased
Herod and his dinner guests.
The king said to the girl, “Ask
me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” 23And he
promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my
kingdom.”
24She
went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?”
“The head of John the Baptist,”
she answered.
25At once
the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right
now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
26The
king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he
did not want to refuse her. 27So he
immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went,
beheaded John in the prison, 28and
brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave
it to her mother. 29On
hearing of this, John’s disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
30The
apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to Him all they had done and
taught. 31Then,
because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a
chance to eat, He said to them, “Come with Me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”
32So they
went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33But
many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns
and got there ahead of them. 34When
Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they
were like sheep without a shepherd. So He began teaching them many things.
35By this
time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote
place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. 36Send
the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages
and buy themselves something to eat.”
They said to Him, “That would
take more than half a year’s wagese ! Are we to go and spend that much on bread
and give it to them to eat?”
When they found out, they said,
“Five—and two fish.”
39Then
Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green
grass. 40So they
sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41Taking
the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, He gave thanks and
broke the loaves. Then He gave them to his disciples to distribute to the
people. He also divided the two fish among them all. 42They
all ate and were satisfied, 43and the
disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. 44The
number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.
Jesus Walks on the Water
45Immediately
Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of Him to Bethsaida,
while He dismissed the crowd. 46After
leaving them, He went up on a mountainside to pray.
47Later
that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and He was alone on land. 48He saw
the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly
before dawn He went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by
them, 49but
when they saw Him walking on the lake, they thought He was a ghost. They cried
out, 50because
they all saw Him and were terrified.
Immediately He spoke to them
and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 51Then He
climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely
amazed, 52for
they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.
53When
they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there. 54As soon
as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. 55They
ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they
heard He was. 56And
wherever He went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in
the marketplaces. They begged Him to let
them touch even the edge of His cloak, and all who touched it were healed.
Mark 6
6:1-6 Our Lord's countrymen tried to prejudice the minds of
people against Him. Is not this the carpenter? Our Lord Jesus probably had worked
in that business with His earthly father. He thus encouraged all persons who
eat by the labor of their hands.
6:7-13 Though the apostles were conscious of their weakness, yet,
in obedience to their Master, and in dependence upon His Strength, they went
out and told them they must repent of their sins, and turn to God. The servants
of Christ may hope to turn many from darkness to God, and to heal souls by the
Power of the Holy Spirit.
6:14-44 Herod feared John while he lived, and feared him still
more when he was dead. And this miracle of feeding the five thousand people shows
that Christ came into the world, not only to restore, but to preserve and
nourish spiritual life and in Him there is enough for all that come. None are
sent empty away from Christ but those who come to Him. Though Christ had dispensed
bread enough at command, He teaches us not to waste any of God's provisions,
remembering how many are in want.
6:45-56 The church is often like a ship at sea, tossed with
tempests, and not comforted: we may have Christ for us, yet wind and tide
against us; but it is a comfort to Christ's disciples in a storm, that their
Master is in the heavenly Tabernacle, interceding for them as the Great High
Priest. And no difficulties can hinder Christ's appearance for His people, when
the set time is come. He silenced their fears, by making Himself known to them.
Our fears are soon satisfied.