Mark 6

Mark 6:1-13

**5. THE GREAT TEACHER AND THE TWELVE. 6:1-13

TEXT 6:1-13**

And he went out from thence; and he cometh into his own country; and his disciples follow him. And when the sabbath was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, Whence hath this man these things? and, What is the wisdom that is given unto this man, and what mean such mighty works wrought 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 were offended in him. And Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages teaching. And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and he gave them authority over the unclean spirits; and he charged them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no bread, no wallet, no money in their purse; but to go shod with sandals: and, said he, put not on two coats. And he said unto them, Wheresoever ye enter into a house, there abide till ye depart thence. And whatsoever place shall not receive you, and they hear you not, as ye go forth thence, shake off the dust that is under your feet for a testimony unto them. And they went out, and preached that men should repent. And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 6:1-13

He went out from thence; from the house of Jairus or the city of Capernaum or the Lake of Galilee or what?

How shall we designate or name His own country?

Why enter the synagogue in Nazareth if He was once rejected? Cf. Luke 4:14-29.

Specify just what caused the astonishment of those who heard Jesus.

Was Jesus a carpenter or the son of a carpenter?

How many children did the mother of Jesus bear?

Show how unreasonable was the offence of those in Nazareth.

Why did Jesus quote the familiar proverb?

Why was Jesus unable to do any mighty works in Nazareth?

What caused Jesus to marvel? Why?

At what place did Jesus call His apostles and send them out?

Why send them out two by two?

Was the Holy Spirit involved in the authority exercised by the twelve? Prove your answer.

Why the instructions concerning the physical needs of the journey?

Why the instructions in Mark 6:10?

What was the message of the twelve?

Why anoint with oil?

COMMENT

TIME.Autumn of A.D. 28, and early winter of A.D. 29. This second rejection of Christ at Nazareth (Mark 6:1-5) was soon after the healing of Jairus-’ daughter, autumn, A.D. 28. The sending out of the twelve followed very soon, and their labors extended through several weeks of the autumn of 28, and early winter of 29.

PLACES.From Capernaum the Savior went to his own country, to Nazareth, where he had been reared, not far from twenty miles to the southwest of Capernaum. Being there rejected a second time, he went into the villages round about in the vicinity of Nazareth, teaching. From one of these, what one is unknown, he sent the apostles out on their mission.

PARALLEL ACCOUNTS.Jesus at Nazareth (Mark 6:1-5) with Matthew 13:54-58, and Luke 4:16-30. Sending out of the disciples (Mark 6:6-13) with Matthew 9:35-38; Matthew 10:1-42; Matthew 11:1; Luke 9:1-6.

LESSON OUTLINE.1. Christ Rejected again at Nazareth. 2. The Apostles Sent Forth.

ANALYSIS

I.

CHRIST REJECTED AGAIN AT NAZARETH, Mark 6:1-6.

Comes to Nazareth. Mark 6:1; Matthew 13:54; Luke 4:16.

Teaches on the Sabbath. Mark 6:2; Matthew 13:54; Luke 4:17.

The People Offended. Mark 6:3; Matthew 13:57; Luke 4:28.

A Prophet Not Honored at Home, Mark 6:4; Matthew 13:57; Luke 4:24.

Their Unbelief. Isaiah 53:1; Mark 6:5-6; Matthew 13:58.

II.

THE APOSTLES SENT FORTH, Mark 6:7-13.

The Twelve Called. Mark 3:14-19; Matthew 10:1-4; Luke 6:13-16.

The Twelve Sent Forth. Mark 6:7; Matthew 10:5-15; Luke 9:1-5.

The Twelve Charged. Mark 6:8-11; Matthew 10:5-15; Luke 9:1-5.

The Twelve on Their Mission. Mark 6:12-13; Luke 9:6.

INTRODUCTION

After the healing of the woman, the Lord raised from the dead the daughter of Jairus, the account of which is given in Mark 5:35-43. Immediately after this, on his return home (Capernaum) from the house of Jairus, Christ heals two blind men and a dumb possessed, giving the Pharisees new occasion to say that he cast out devils, through Satan. Matthew alone (Matthew 9:27-34) mentions these incidents. Jesus, then, accompanied by his disciples, goes into Lower Galilee, again visiting Nazareth, where he is the second time rejected, the account given in Luke 4:14-29, being held to describe an earlier incident of the Lord’s ministry. If that be correct, the Savior gave them a second opportunity to accept the gospel after his fame as a great Teacher had been established, and when they rejected him a second time he returned no more.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

I. CHRIST REJECTED AGAIN AT NAZARETH. Mark 6:1. And he went out from thence. From Capernaum, where he made his home. Came to his own country. To Nazareth, the town where he had been reared from childhood and had lived until he was thirty years of age. Whether his mother still lived in Nazareth is a matter of conjecture. Cook says: The works wrought in the interval (since his first rejection, nine months before, April, A.D. 28), the effects of his personal influence, the progress made in spite of all opposition, might be expected to work upon the minds of the Nazarenes so far as to prepare them for listening to him, notwithstanding their former rejection. Natural sympathy would draw him thither. His sisters, probably married to Nazarenes still dwelt there. His disciples follow Him. The twelve apostles are meant. They now constantly attended his footsteps. The presence of the Lord and his companions at Nazareth would, no doubt, produce a strong effect. His fame had extended over all Israel.

Mark 6:2. When the sabbath day was come. The seventh day of the week, Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, always observed by the Savior as a part of the Jewish law which remained in force until he died upon the cross. The language implies that one day or more elapsed between his arrival and his public teaching. It had been the practice of Jesus, from early childhood, to attend all the synagogue services; and he was still suffered to do so, in spite of the opposition he had excited. When Sabbath came, therefore, he went to morning worship. He began to teach in the synagogue. The synagogues of the Jews were the town and village churches, where they worshipped in their various quarters for ordinary occasions when they need not go up to Jerusalem. Most probably there would be only one in so small a place. But in all the Jewish synagogues there was a freedom of speech allowed; and there would be no objection, therefore, to one like Jesus, who had already achieved for himself a name as a remarkable rabbi, addressing the assembled congregation. Many hearing, were astonished. The usual effect upon those who heard the wonderful Teacher was produced. The sentiments which follow were probably expressed while he was teaching. A Jewish audience was not as decorous as the modern congregation in the United States or Great Britain. Some uttered one thing and some another. From whence hath this man these things? The things, namely, that he was saying. The simple people marveled at his facility and power of utterance, and at the weighty character of the thoughts that were conveyed by the utterances. What wisdom is this? They admitted the existence of great intellectual and rhetorical superiority; but they stood in doubt in reference to the origin of such superiority; was it from above, or from beneath? Such mighty works, As the evangelist notes in Mark 6:5, that no mighty work had been done in Nazareth, these must refer to what had been reported there. They do not venture to deny his wisdom or his miracles, but, by wondering at them, really bear witness to them. This admission left them inexcusable, both intellectually and morally, for not receiving Jesus as the true Messiah.

Mark 6:3. Is not this the carpenter? This, and the Jewish custom which required every father to teach his son a trade, whatever pursuit in life he might eventually follow, indicate that Christ worked in his earlier years at the carpenter’s trade with his father. St. Mark’s is the only gospel which gives this name as applied to our Lord himself. In Matthew 13:55, it is said that they called him the carpenter’s son. There is no contradiction; some called him one, some the other name. The word translated carpenter here is of wider meaning than our word carpenter. It includes all workers in wood, our cabinet-maker as well as carpenter. Son of Mary. Though neither of the evangelists speak of Joseph’s death, yet it may be plainly inferred that Christ was now called the son of Mary (Mark 6:3), because of her being a widow. See Luke 8:19; John 2:12; John 19:25-27. Brother of James, etc.,. sisters here with us. These four were either (1) own brothers and sisters of Jesus, children of Joseph and Mary; or (2) children of Joseph by a former marriage; or, (3) cousins (brothers taken in the wider sense of near relatives), children of Clopas and Mary, sister of Mary the mother of Jesus (John 19:25, with Mark 15:40). The weight of Protestant authority, on the whole, favors the idea that they were own brothers of Jesus. For a discussion of this subject, see my Commentary on John, pp. 48, 49, Of the four brethren here named, James came to have authority hardly, if any, less than that of an apostle, as the leading figure in the church at Jerusalem. He was called by early writers James the Just, and wrote the Epistle of James. He must not be confounded with the apostle James, who was the brother of John. Of Joses and Simon nothing more is known. Judas was probably the author of the Epistle of Jude. They were offended. That is, they stumbled, and fell into error. That Jesus was a carpenter, had grown up in their midst, and that they knew all about his family, proved to them that he could not be the Messiah, whom they expected to be a temporal prince surrounded with earthly splendor. His pure life for thirty years in their midst, his surpassing wisdom and mighty works counted nothing with them.

Mark 6:4. A prophet is not without honor. This was a common proverb that Christ applied to his case, showing that he was rejected on these natural principles, not because they had not evidence in his works, but because they had prejudice against his lowly origin among men. The proverb is founded on human experience. There is a kind of natural jealousy among the companions and neighbors of a man who rises from their level until he is far above them.

Mark 6:5. And he could there do no mighty work. His power was not changed. His miracles were not feats of magic, but required two conditions to call them forthan opportunity, and a sufficient moral purpose. Unbelief prevented both. The unbelieving would not come for healing; to heal such would be contrary to his purpose in the miracles, the demonstration of his spiritual power. Hence he could not. When men do not believe, they do not give him the opportunity to save them, and to save the unbelieving is contrary to his purpose, and impossible.Schaff. He could not, not from a lack of power, but because the conditions that he always required before he would exercise his power were absent. Those who expect his blessing must come for it in faith.

Mark 6:6.* He marvelled.* Our Lord does not marvel at other human things generally; but he does marvel, on the one hand, at faith, when, as in the case of the centurion, it overcomes in its grandeur all human hindrances, and, on the other, all unbelief, when it can, in the face of numerous divine manifestations, harden itself into a willful rejection on himself. See Matthew 8:10. And he went. He now seems to have left Nazareth, never to return to it, or preach in its synagogue, or revisit the home where he had so long toiled as the village carpenter. Went round about the villages. On the evening of the day of his rejection at Nazareth, or more probably on the morrow, our Lord appears to have commenced a short circuit in Galilee, in the direction of Capernaum.

II. THE APOSTLES SENT FORTH.Mark 6:7. And he called unto him the twelve. The apostles. After long wanderings and continuous trials, the twelve were now, in their Master’s opinion, in a measure prepared to work by themselves in spreading the new kingdom. Matthew gives a touching reason for the mission of the twelve. It was because he pitied the multitude, who were like harassed panting sheep without a shepherd, and like a harvest left unreaped for want of laborers (Matthew 9:36-38). Another reason was that the Master wished to train them for their great work under his direction. Two by two. They were sent out in pairs that they might counsel, help and encourage one another, an example that might still be followed with profit. Gave them power over unclean spirits. Their work was to cast out unclean spirits in the world and the divine authority was given to cast them out of the men who were possessed of demons. This power was needful that they might be able to demonstrate that they were the Lord’s messengers.

Mark 6:8. Commanded them. There follows now the charge that he gave them, Matthew 10:5-42, gives this charge at much greater length, Nothing for their journey. Make no preparation, such as is ordinarily made on the eve of a journey; set out just as you are, God will provide for all your wants. The open hospitality of the East, so often used as the basis for dissemination of new thoughts, would be ample for their maintenance. A staff only, A walkingstick as used in journeys upon foot to support and ease the traveler. Matthew (Matthew 10:10) gives neither staves; i.e., they were to take one only. Scrip, A wallet or small bag (compare 1 Samuel 17:40), It was so called, perhaps, because it was designed to hold scraps, trifling articles, scraped off, as it were, from something larger, It was part of the pilgrim’s or traveler’s equipage. Money. Literally, brass, or rather copper, said to be the first ore that was wrought. Copper having been early used for money, the word has sometimes that meaning.

Mark 6:9. Be shod with sandals. Such as they had on at the time, without waiting for shoes especially adapted for the journey. In Matthew, they are directed not to wear shoes; here, to be shod with sandals. The shoe of the ancients resembled the modern shoe; the sandal was simply a sole of leather, felt, cloth, or wood, bound upon the feet by thongs. Not put on two coats. Literally, tunics. The tunic (Greek) was the inner garment, worn next the skin, usually with sleeves, and reaching to the knees. It answered rather to our shirt than to our coat. The entire outfit shows that they were plain men, to whom there was no extraordinary self-denial in the matter or the mode of their mission. They were going to their brethren (Matthew 10:5), and the best way was to throw themselves on their hospitality. They were accustomed to live in about this way.

Mark 6:10. In what place soever ye enter into a house. On their arrival at a city, they were to settle down in the first house to which they obtained access, which, however, was not to exclude prudence and well ascertained information (Matthew); and, once settled in a house, they were to keep to it, and try to make it the center of a divine work in that place. This injunction was meant to exclude fastidious and restless changes.

Mark 6:11. Shake off the dust. testimony against them. By this symbolical action they vividly shook themselves from all connection with such, and all responsibility for the guilt of rejecting them and their message. Such symbolical actions were common in ancient times, even among others than the Jews. More tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah. See Genesis 13:13; chaps. 18, 19. The cities that stood out in the history of the world, as most conspicuous for their infamy, were yet less guilty (as sinning less against light and knowledge) than those who rejected the messengers of the King.

Mark 6:12. They went out, and preached that men should repent. This is one-half of the brief, unambitious narrative of the first apostolic tour of the apostles. Going out from the Lord’s presence, or the place where he delivered these instructions, they proceeded to fulfill them, not at random or confusedly, but on a systematic method, going about or through the country and among the villages, or from town to town. Men should repent. The same message which had been already brought by John the Baptist and by Christ himself. The time had come for preaching the cross of Christ.

Mark 6:13. They cast out many devils. In this verse we have the other half of the evangelist’s report of the first apostolic tour. Anointed with oil. To suppose that the oil was used medicinally, is contrary to the whole tenor of the narratives. It was the vehicle of healing power committed to them an external sign such as our Lord sometimes used to connect himself and the person cured. It was probably also a symbol of anointing by the Holy Spirit.Schaff. The Jews were in the habit of anointing their faces and hair with oil every day when they went among their fellows. This was omitted when sick or fasting. The apostles anointed a sick man when about to heal him with a word and send him forth. It meant that the patient was able to go out among his fellow-men.

FACT QUESTIONS 6:1-13

How far from Capernaum to Nazareth?

What other incidents occur after the raising of the daughter of Jairas before he arrives at Nazareth? (Cf. Matthew 9:27-34)

What of the mother of Jesuswhere was she living?where were his sisters? Were they married?

Was Jesus keeping the law by worshipping in the synagogue?

How did those of Nazareth express their astonishment?

If Jesus did no mighty works in Nazareth which mighty works are meant in Mark 6:2?

What Jewish custom was observed in the fact that Jesus was a carpenter?

What is inferred in the expression Son of Mary?

Give the three opinions as to who were the four of Mar 6:3.

Why is a prophet without honor in his own country?Please do not give a superficial answerrelate this to our blessed Lord and answer accordingly.

What were the two conditions upon which Jesus could perform His mighty works?

What are the two things that cause our Lord to marvel?

What was the reason for the mission of the twelve? Cf. Matthew 9:36-38.

What was the purpose of the mission?

Read Matthew 10:10 and Mark 6:8 and explain the apparent contradiction.

What was a scrip? What kind of money? Why sandals? What is meant by two coats?

In what way did Jesus prevent fastidiousness and restless change?

Why shake the dust from their feet?

Please explain the purpose in anointing with oil.

Mark 6:1-56

SUMMARY 6:17:23

The testimony for Jesus furnished by the preceding section, is based chiefly on the opinions which men formed concerning him. The disciples, though slow and hard of heart to realize his true nature, were constrained by the continued demonstration to acknowledge his inherent divine power. The masses of the people who had witnessed his miracles were wild with excitement wherever he went, and they brought to him their sick from every quarter, a practice which could not possibly have been kept up had not his cures been real and unfailing. His enemies, though they differed in opinion as to the source of his miraculous power, with one consent acknowledged its reality, and none of them counted him less than a prophet. The strange conceit that he was John the Baptist, or that he was one of the old prophets raised to life again, attests the struggle of unbelieving minds in trying to solve the problem of his power and of his being. Even the Nazarenes, who, of all his enemies, knew him most intimately and rejected him most scornfully, were constrained to wonder whence he obtained his wisdom and his mighty works. There was only one solution of the problem which was satisfying to the mind, and those alone were satisfied with their own conclusion and rested in it, who believed him to be the Christ and the Son of God. And to this day the men who have rejected this conclusion and have tried to account for the career of Jesus in some other way, have been driven to conceits as baseless and as unreasonable as any of those adopted by the Jews.McGarvey.

Mark 6:14-29

**6. THE DEATH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST 6:14-29

TEXT 6:14-29**

And king Herod heard thereof; for his name had become known: and he said, John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore do these powers work in him. But others said, It is Elijah. And others said, It is a prophet, even as one of the prophets. But Herod, when he heard thereof, said, John, whom I beheaded, he is risen. For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife: for he had married her. For John said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife. And Herodias set herself against him, and desired to kill him; and she could not; for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous man and a holy, and kept him safe. And when he heard him, he was much perplexed; and he heard him gladly. And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, and the high captains, and the chief men of Galilee; and when the daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and them that sat at meat with him; and the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. And she went out, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou forthwith give me in a charger the head of John the Baptist. And the king was exceeding sorry; but for the sake of his oaths, and of them that sat at meat, he would not reject her. And straightway the king sent forth a soldier of his guard, and commanded to bring his head: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, and brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel; and the damsel gave it to her mother. And when his disciples heard thereof, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 6:14-29

Just who was this Herod? i.e. who was his father?brother?wife? etc.

Why did Herod associate the words of Jesus with John the Baptist?

Was Jesus like Elijah or one of the Old Testament prophets? In what way?

Why did Herod want to see Jesus?

Who was Herod Philip? Who was Herodias?

If Herod’s sin was so plainly and publicly condemned by John why did Herod want to see him and hear him?

Was the fear of the popularity of John a factor in Herod’s respect for John? Cf. Matthew 14:5.

Who attended the birthday banquet?

Why make such a rash offer?was the dance professional?

Was Herodias behind the dance and its purpose? Why?

Why the urgency in the request for the head of John?

Who beheaded John?

Where did this incident take place?

What do you imagine Salome and Herodias did with the head after it was brought to them?

COMMENT

TIMEWinter of A.D. 29. PLACESAt Herod’s Palace and capital, Tiberias on the Lake of Galileeor at Machaerus the palace-fortress east of the Dead Sea.

PARALLEL ACCOUNTSMat 14:1-12.

OUTLINE1. The fear of Herod and of others, Mark 6:14 to Mark 16:2. The imprisonment and its reason, Mark 6:17-18. 3. The hatred of Herodias, Mark 6:19-20. 4. The dance and the death, Mark 6:21-29.

ANALYSIS

I.

THE FEAR OF HEROD AND OF OTHERS, Mark 6:14-16.

Fear based on what he heard of the miracles of Jesus.

His conscience said, this is John risen from the dead.

Others saidthis is Elijah, or a prophet like the prophets of our fathers.

II.

THE IMPRISONMENT AND ITS REASON, Mark 6:17-18.

John in prison because of the hatred of Herodias.

John had rebuked Herod for his marriage to his brother’s wife.

III.

THE HATRED OF HERODIAS, Mark 6:19-20.

A continual desire to kill in the heart of Herodias.

Prevented by the respect of her husband for John.

IV.

THE DANCE AND THE DEATH, Mark 6:21-29.

The time of the dancea birthday supper.

The reward of the dancepromised by an oath.

The mother of death.

A sad departure.

The trophy of lust and hate.

EXPLANATORY NOTES 6:14-29

Mark 6:14. King Herod: King by courtesy only, since Herod was but a Tetrarch, that is, a governor of the fourth part of a kingdom or province. Jesus warned His disciples to beware of Herod, saying: Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the leaven of Herod (Mark 8:15).

heard: of the fame of Jesus, which the Apostles by their miracles and preaching had helped to spread.

John the Baptist is risen again from the dead. He must have suffered martyrdom during or after the Apostles-’ first mission, and before the fourth Passover after our Lord’s baptism.

is risen again. Evidently Herod was no Sadducee, who said there is no resurrection, neither angel nor spirit (Acts 23:8), or his guilty conscience and superstitious fears had obscured his religious belief.

mighty works: miracles. John the Baptist had worked no miracles during his lifetime. And many resorted to him, and they said: John indeed did no sign (John 10:41). Herod seems to have imagined that John the Baptist having risen would necessarily do mighty works.

Mark 6:14-15. In these verses three opinions are given concerning our Lord. He is John the Baptist risen from the dead, or Elijah or another prophet.

It is Elijah. According to the prophecy, Behold 1 will send you Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord (Malachi 4:5). Elijah had not died, but had been taken up to heaven while conversing with Elisha. And as they went on, walking and talking together, behold a fiery chariot, and fiery horses parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven (2 Kings 2:11). There was therefore an expectation among the Jews that Elijah should return to earth as the forerunner of the Messiah. Moses had said, a Prophet should be raised up by God (Deuteronomy 18:15), but this refers to Christ Himself.

Mark 6:16. John whom I beheaded. Herod fears to meet his victim again.

Mark 6:17. Herod. had apprehended John, etc. Mark here refers to a preceding event. Herod had had John the Baptist bound and then imprisoned him, probably in Machaerus (the Black Fortress), which Herod the Great had built, and which was situated east of the Dead Sea.

This castle had been in the possession of Aretas, father-in-law to Herod Antipas, and Emir of Arabia Petraea. Probably Herod had seized this castle when his lawful wife, hearing of his approaching marriage with Herodias, had fled to her father at Petra. Machaerus was both a palace and a prison. At this period Herod was probably living there with an armed retinue, on account of the war with Aretas in which he was engaged. Herod lost the day, and the Jews considered this defeat a punishment for the beheading of John the Baptist.

for the sake of Herodias. Herod’s sister-in-law and niece.

he had married her. This was unlawful for four reasons:

(1)

Herodias-’ first husband, Herod Philip I. (not the Tetrarch) was still living.

(2)

The daughter of Aretas, Herod’s wife was also alive.

(3)

Herodias was niece to Herod, being the daughter of Aristobulus, his eldest half-brother.

(4)

Herod Antipas was a convert to Judaism, and hence bound to observe the Jewish law. This distinctly forbade marriage with a deceased brother’s wife (Leviticus 20:21) unless that brother died without issue which was not the case, since Salome was the child of Herodias and Herod Philip I.

Mark 6:18. *to have,*i.e. to marry.

it is not lawful for thee, etc. John boldly rebuked vice even in the great. As our Lord said, when speaking of him, John was no reed shaken with the wind; he was a prophet and more than a prophet, and spoke with a prophet’s fearlessness. Luke tells us that John also reproved all the evils which Herod had done (Luke 3:19).

Mark 6:19. Herodias laid snares. Naturally his boldness in rebuking Herod would arouse her anger and resentment, which was all the keener because she perceived that John had a great influence of Herod, who feared John.

Mark 6:20. kept him. Preserved him from Herodias-’ vengeance, at least for a time.

when he heard him, did many things. Herod was awed by John’s virtue. He feared and esteemed him, and did many things to please the Precursor, but not the one thing against which John’s rebukes were chiefly directed. Herod would not put away Herodias.

heard him willingly. Herod had his better moments, but he had not the courage to conquer his vices and to amend. It was easier to listen than to yield, and the many things evidently did not cost him so much as the one necessary sacrifice would have done. They were matters of less moment than his sinful marriage. In like manner, Felix coming with Drusilla (a daughter of Herodias), his wife who was a Jew, sent for Paul, and heard of him the faith that is in Christ Jesus (Acts 24:24).

Mark 6:21. *a convenient day,*i.e. for the vengeance of Herodias, that she might win by stratagem, where she had failed by direct petition.

made a supper. Probably at the castle of Machaerus.

for his birthday, Herod, like the Roman emperors, made a great banquet on his birthday. The Jews disliked the observance of birthdays, as being connected with idolatry and favouring it, since at these banquets libations and sacrifices were frequently offered to the gods.

princes. High civil or military officials.

tribunes. Doubtless here military tribunes are referred to, of whom there were four or six in each legion. Ten Roman civil tribunes were chosen by the people to protect them from the oppression of the senate and nobles. These tribunes would hardly be living in Palestine.

chief men of Galilee. The local authorities, the great landowners.

Mark 6:22. when the daughter. had danced. Salome here dishonors herself and family by performing the part of a hired scenic dancer, Moreover these oriental dances were generally immodest. It was customary to give some such entertainment at the close of the banquet. Herod and his guests, from their couches, would have a full view of the performers.

Ask me what thou wilt. It would seem as though Salome hesitated as to what request to proffer, since Herod reiterates his offer, and enforces it with oaths, as the original expression indicates.

Mark 6:23.* though it be the half,* etc. Not to be taken literally, but meaning that Herod was willing to bestow great gifts on her. It was a boastful assertion made in presence of his flatterers; possibly he was not sober when he made it. Assuerus had promised Esther the half of his kingdom, but at least it was his to give (Esther 5:3).

Mark 6:24.* What shall I ask?* Herodias does not hesitate as to her reply; she had long since decided what she wished to obtain.

Mark 6:25. Immediately with haste. Herodias feared delay, lest she should ultimately meet with a refusal. When Herod was sober, he might again refuse to accede to the request of Salome.

Mark 6:26.* struck sad.* Mark’s graphic expression for denoting Herod’s consternation. The original Greek word indicates great sorrow and grief. Herod feared to keep his rash oath, yet had not the manliness to break it, by refusing to commit a crime. To keep a rash oath is a sin against the Second Commandment. Herod, by keeping his oath, broke the fifth Commandment also.

Mark 6:27. an executioner, literally a spiculator which signifies either (1) a scout, (2) a special adjutant, (3) a soldier of the guard. The spiculators formed a special division of the legion, and each emperor had a body of them to guard his person and execute his orders. They were often employed as instruments to execute the emperor’s private vengeance. As Herod was at war with Aretas, these spiculators would be in attendance.

Mark 6:28.* the damsel gave it to her mother.*

The crime is now accomplished. Jerome says that Herodias glutted her vengeance by piercing the saint’s tongue with needles (as Fulvia did to her enemy Cicero). Nicephorus states that Salome met with a terrible death as a punishment for her share in the sacrilegious crime. When crossing the ice it broke under her, and the fragments drifting together severed her head from her body.

Mark 6:29. his disciples. took his body. Jerome tells us they buried their master in Sebaste (Samaria). Herod allowed them to perform this act of respect. They buried the headless corpse only. Matthew adds that these disciples came and told Jesus. Possibly some of John’s disciples now attached themselves to Christ, while others in outlying districts entered the Church later, through the ministry of the Apostles (see Acts 19:1-7). In this narrative four details are given by Mark alone:

(1)

Herodias was John the Baptist’s enemy rather than Herod, who esteemed him.

(2)

Herod kept him for a time at least from her vengeance.

(3)

Salome consulted her mother regarding the request.

(4)

Herod sent a special executioner to behead John. (Cecilia)

FACT QUESTIONS 6:14-29

In what sense was the title king used for Herod?

Was Herod a Sadducee? Discuss.

Why associate mighty works with John when John did no mighty works?

Show how Malachi 4:5 related to the opinion of some.

In what place had Herod imprisoned John? Who was Aretas?

Give the four reasons it was unlawful for Herod to marry Herodias.

Show how the description of John given by our Lord fit him.

John’s imprisonment was actually a protectionshow how.

What respect did Herod show for John the Baptist?

Who attended the birthday banquet?

Why offer a reward for the dance?

Was the dance and the request prepared ahead of time?

Why was Herod so sad?why carry out the rash vow?

What does Jerome add to the story?

What does Matthew add?

State the four details given by Mark not included in the other gospels.

Mark 6:30-44

**7. THE FEEDING OF THE FIVE THOUSAND 6:30-44.

TEXT 6:30-44**

And the apostles gather themselves together unto Jesus; and they told him all things, whatsoever they had done, and whatsoever they had taught. And he saith unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while, For there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desert place apart. And the people saw them going, and many knew them, and they ran there together on foot from all the cities, and outwent them. And he came forth and saw a great multitude, and he had compassion on them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things. And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, The place is desert, and the day is now far spent: send them away, that they may go into the country and villages round about, and buy themselves somewhat to eat, But he answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat? And he saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see, And when they knew they say, Five, and two fishes. And he commanded them that all should sit down by companies upon the green grass, And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties. And he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake the loaves; and he gave to the disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all. And they did all eat, and were filled. And they took up broken pieces, twelve basketfuls, and also of the fishes. And they that ate the loaves were five thousand men.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 6:30-44

Where had the apostles been? What had they been doing? Into how many villages and towns do you imagine they went?

What reaction would their success have on Herod?

There was more than one reason for suggesting they go apart to a lonely placecan you discover them?

Please attempt to locate the area into which Jesus and His apostles were going.

How did the crowds know where they were going?

Read John 6:4and discover why there was such a large crowd.

Wasn-’t Jesus tired?How is it He was not filled with irritation instead of compassion when He saw the crowd?

What two things did Jesus do for the crowds? Does this set some kind of example for medical and preaching work? Discuss.

Why ask how many loaves they had?

Why were they to sit in companies?

At what time of the year was it when this miracle was performed?

What particular type of miracle was here performed?

How much did the people eat?

COMMENT

TIME.Spring of A.D. 29. PLACES.Capernaum, Bethsaida.

PARALLEL ACCOUNTSMat 14:13-21; Luke 9:12-17; John 6.

OUTLINE1. The occasion for the miracle, Mark 6:30-37. 2. The miracle, Mark 6:38-44.

ANALYSIS

I.

THE OCCASION FOR THE MIRACLE, Mark 6:30-37.

The return and report of the apostles, Mark 6:30.

The need for retirement, Mark 6:31.

The unsuccessful attempt to seek solitude, Mark 6:32-33.

The compassion and teaching of Jesus, Mark 6:34.

The concern of the disciples and the answer of Jesus, Mark 6:35-37.

II.

THE MIRACLE, Mark 6:38-44.

Give what you havefive barley loaves and two fish, Mark 6:38.

Sit in ranks of fifty and hundreds on the green grass, Mark 6:39-40.

Blessing and multiplying the bread and fish He distributed to the apostles, Mark 6:41.

They ate their fill, Mark 6:42.

They gathered twelve baskets of fragments, Mark 6:43.

There were 5,000 men who ate, Mark 6:44.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Mark 6:30-44. THE APOSTLES HAVING RETURNED, JESUS CROSSES THE LAKE WITH THEM IN SEARCH OF REST, AND THERE FEEDS FIVE THOUSAND. Here, and here alone between the beginning of the Galilean ministry and the week of the Passion, we have four parallel reports. John comes into parallelism with the synoptists at this crossing of the lake, and continues parallel through the record of the return, when Jesus walks on the water, though here we lose our four-fold record by the silence of Luke. John contributes a valuable note of time in the remark that the passover was at hand. The death of the Baptist occurred, therefore, in the spring, and there remained just a year of the ministry of Jesus after the death of the forerunner.

Mark 6:30. The tidings of the death of John would seem to have reached Jesus while he was still alone; but about the same time his company was again gathered around him by the return of the apostles. Of the tone of the report they brought to him nothing is saidwhether cheerful or sadnor is there anywhere any glimpse of them in the work of this mission. They reported what they had done; Mark adds, and what they had taught. In their teaching he would certainly see defects, but his response to their report would be nothing else than cheering: he was training them, and he would not fail to encourage them.

Mark 6:31-32. The invitation was addressed to the twelve alone. Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a whilei.e. a little while, A while is by no means an adequate translation of oligon, a little, He did not expect long rest, but he did hope for a little.The place was probably Capernaum, After the reunion of the company of Jesus the crowd had returned, and those who were coming and going gave them no leisure so much as to eat. The whole of Mar 6:31 is peculiar to Mark, and both parts of it are intensely characteristicthe representation of our Lord’s feeling and the graphic description of the circumstances.For the invitation two motives appear, one in Mark and one in Matthew. From Mark we should attribute it to tender care of the apostles, weary from their work, and to his desire to be alone with them for a little. This is one of the touching illustrations of his thoughtfulness toward them, In Matthew it is when Jesus heard of the death of the Baptist that he withdrew privately to the desert place. Joined with the other motive was the desire to be in quiet, that he might have leisure for the thoughts that the death of John suggested. The death of such a man must have been a heavy blow to him, more especially since it was such a death. His personal love for John would make him now a mourner; and the event must also have awakened the thought of Mat 17:12Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of themand have brought the certainty of his own death freshly before him. It may also have led him to think of modifying his method thenceforth and giving himself more fully, as he did, to the training of his apostles. Thus the two motives were one in effect, driving him away from the shifting, intruding, exacting crowd to be alone with his own.They went away, not by ship, but in the boatthe boat that they were wont to use. They must have gone in the early morning.

Mark 6:33. They succeeded in getting away, but not unobserved. Luke says they went to Bethsaida; John, that Jesus went up into the mountain; Matthew and Mark, merely that the place was *desert.*i.e. uninhabited. The fact seems to be that they went to Bethsaida, which stood at the extreme north of the lake, where the Jordan enters it (see chap. Mark 8:22), and thence proceeded a little to the south-east, to some convenient point in the hills that rise from the shore of the lake, where they might hope to be alone. It may be that at Bethsaida itself they did not touch at all, and that Luke’s mention of it is meant only for a general designation of the locality. The distance from Capernaum to the vicinity of Bethsaida would not be more than six or eight miles, and could be traversed on foot about as quickly as by boat; if the boat was in no haste, more quickly. In the journey for rest there would be no haste, and the pursuing crowd arrived first. The people were out of all citiesi.e. from many towns in that region, especially from those that must be passed on the way. The crowd grew in going. John speaks of Jesus already seated in the mountain, lifting up his eyes and seeing the crowd approaching, which may be a reminiscence of the fact that they came, not all at once, but kept streaming in. John also connects the mention of the coming throng with the fact that the passover was at hand. It may be that some part of the multitude was made up of pilgrims to Jerusalem, who turned aside to see the Prophet of Galilee.

Mark 6:34. He came out. From the boat. The disciples may have been impatient that the ever-present throng was even here; with the Master, however, it was not impatience, but compassion.The activity of the day was rich and various. The motive, pity for the spiritual state of the multitude, which seems to have been often affecting him with a sad surprise. The shepherd-impulse was strong in his heart and the sight of sheep unshepherded always drew it forth. So he began to teach them many things, or, as in Luke, he spoke to them of the kingdom of God, into which as a fold he would gather the unshepherded (Luke 15:4-6; Luke 19:10; John 10:16). He also healed their sick (Matthew), or, as in Luke, healed them that had need of healing. Such was the rest that he found, and such the opportunity for quiet meditation. He had had no leisure to eat; but, while he became a shepherd to the shepherdless, no doubt his heart was full of the sentiment of Joh 4:32-34: My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.

Mark 6:35-44. In this paragraph the synoptists are quite closely parallel, save that Matthew condenses a little, as usual, and Mark adds his fresh touches of description. John diverges at the beginning in attributing the inquiry about the possibility of feeding the multitude, not to the amazed disciples when Jesus has proposed that they shall do it, but to Jesus himself, as a question intended to test the faith of Philip. If it were necessary, no doubt the two conversations could be woven in together and harmonized with a tolerable degree of plausibility; but it is more satisfactory to leave them as two independent reports of the same event. Perhaps the independence is worth more to us than an unquestionable harmony would be. (This is true, for the value of several narratives, instead of one, must be due to their independence. Yet harmony is compatible with independence. Nay, if several accounts of the same events are true, they must be in real harmony with one another, though we are sometimes unable to show this. The omission from the narratives of a single connecting act or remark may render it forever impossible for us to see the exact connections or point out the exact sequence of the things reported. But it is desirable to show the harmony of the different narratives wherever this can be done, or at least to show that the several accounts, though independent, need not be supposed to contradict one another at any point, Compare notes on John 6:5).

The suggestion of the apostles (Mark 6:35-36) seemed not only rational, but the only rational one: the people must not be kept away from the necessary comforts, and the disciples thought that even for Jesus to keep them longer would be no kindness. A startling proposal, Give ye them to eat. The words are identical in Matthew, Mark and Luke, showing how sharply the incisive and startling command entered the minds of the hearers. Matthew introduces it with equally astonishing remark, They need not depart, He proposed that which is impossible to men; but he himself was there. There had been as yet no multiplication of food by his hands, so far as we know, except as the turning of water into wine (John 2:1-11) might be called such. The belief of the apostles in his miraculous power ought by this time to have been perfect; but it is to be remembered that he did not propose himself to feed the multitude: he said, Give ye them to eat. After that proposal it was only natural that they should think first of their own resources, and inquire how the thing could be done. It was not altogether unbelief that made them speak of buying bread for the people; he had compelled them to look at the matter from that side. They knew that they had nothing adequate, and were equally sure that it was impracticable to buy.Two hundred pennyworth of bread. The proposal to buy is omitted by Matthew, and the quantity by Luke. This quantity is mentioned in Mark without comment, and in John as insufficient. The denarius (penny is a very poor translation, or rather, not a translation at all) was equal actually to about fifteen cents, but relatively to considerably more. In Matthew 20:2 it appears as a suitable return for a day’s labor,In Mark alone are the disciples sent to find how many loaves they have. Their investigation and report are represented in the words when they knew, they say, Literally, knowing, they say, One of Mark’s telling brevities. The loaves were thin and brittle; from Luke 11:5-6 it appears that three would be required for a meal for a single person. The fishes are called in John (not elsewhere) opsaria, a word that denotes a condiment, something eaten with bread or other staple food. Hence the idea of small fishes; but that idea cannot be insisted on, as the word had come to be used of fish generally, After the report of a hopeless quantity, Matthew adds the reply of Jesus: Bring them hither to methe one hope of making the small supply sufficient. This is the one hopeful thing to do with Christian gifts and resources of every kindoffer them to him in whose hands a handful can feed a multitude.

The proposal thus to feed the people was another suggestion of the Shepherd’s heart. Bodily wants were not beneath his notice, and yet this act had predominantly a spiritual purpose, Brief though the record is, that had been a great day of power and teaching, and such a day might well close with a climax of convincing might. The people must sit down in order to secure orderly and impartial distribution. Heavenly things must be handled with earthly wisdom; bread produced by miracle must be distributed in the best human order. The description of the sitting down is peculiar to Mark, and is unlike anything else in the New Testament. He commanded them to make all sit down by companiessymposia symposia, company by companyupon the green grass. And they sat down prasiai prasiainot exactly in ranks, but rather in blocks like garden-beds, some in blocks of a hundred and some by fifties. The repetition or doubling of the descriptive words is in the Hebrew style. The change of word from the general symposia, company, to the purely descriptive prasiai, garden-beds, shows how the scene arose pictorially in the memory of the narrator, and he again saw the people arranged in squares and looking, in their vari-colored clothing, like flower-beds on the grass.The grass is mentioned by Matthew and John. John says that there was much; Mark alone calls it green grassa part, again of the pictorial memory of the scene. The word corresponds, too, to the season, the passover-time, in spring.

He looked up to heaven, and blessed. So Matthew and Marki.e. he blessed God, praised God in thanksgiving; Luke, he blessed them, the loaves and fishesinvoked the blessing of God upon them; John, he gave thanks. It was simply the grateful prayer before eating, grace before meat, offered by the host or head of the family. (So Luke 24:30; see notes on Mark 14:22-23.) Distribution was made by the hands of the disciples; so expressly in all but John. The separate mention of the giving out of the fishes is a slight link between Mark and John.In Mark’s addition to what Matthew and Luke tell, and the two fishes divided he among them all, we see distinctly recorded the deep sense of wonder, and yet the keen observation of an observer close at hand. This story, as told in Mark, can be nothing else than the report of an eye-witness; the evidences are of the plainest and most irrestible kind.As to the process of the miracle, speculations seem to be in vain. Theories of the acceleration of natural processes have been proposed for such occasions, but they were useless, and when closely examined are absurd. If this work was performed at all, it was done by creative power; and that is enough to say of it. It was no insufficient or halfway work: they were all satisfied.In John the command to gather the fragments is mentioned; in the others, only the gathering. The word for baskets here is not the same as in the record of the similar miracle in chap. Mark 8:8. The word here is cophinus, the source of our words coffer and coffin. This, apparently, was the wicker provision-basket that was in common use. The collecting of the fragments shows again, like the order in the distribution of the food, the Saviour’s purpose that miracles shall never displace prudence. Though divine power can produce a super-abundant supply, still it is right that nothing be lost.A fresh sign of the independence of the four narratives is found in the manner of recording the number of the multitude. That there were about five thousand men is mentioned by Luke in connection with the hint of the disciples that it was impossible to buy bread for so many; by John, in connection with their sitting down, when their number was ascertained; Mark says at the very end, just after mentioning the great store of fragments that was left, that they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men (about, however, is omitted in the best text); Matthew, at the same point, says that here were about five thousand men, besides women and children. The women and children would be arranged, according to Jewish custom, separately from the men, and in such a multitude would be less in number. Thus there are three different ways of connecting the number with the story, all naturala striking proof of independence.

The immediate effect of the great work is reported by John alone (John 6:14): Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth the prophet that should come into the world. Conviction of his greatness, but conviction of what kind the next section shows. (W. N. Clarke).

FACT QUESTIONS 6:30-44

Here in Mark 6:30 is the first use of the term apostlesshow how appropriate it is just here.

What was the possible multiple purpose in withdrawing to a lonely place? Cf. Matthew 14:13.

What prevented their eating?

Is there any reason to believe there was an excessively large crowd in the district?

Did Jesus and His apostles go to the city of Bethsaida? If not why mention it?

How far from Capernaum to Bethsaida?

Did Jesus have any time for rest or prayer? Was Jesus unhappy about this?

In what way is the independence of two accounts worth more to us than an unquestionable harmony?

Show how the words of Jesus Give ye them to eat entered the minds of the hearers.

Why mention the amount of two hundred shillings worth?

what is wonderfully encouraging about the words of Jesus Bring them hither to me.

Show the difference in the use of the two words symposia and prasiai.

Why bless the loaves and fish?

What are the evidences of an eyewitness in the description?

What particular type of miracle was this?

Show the striking proof of accurate independent report on the counting of the 5,000.

What kind of baskets were used?

What was the reaction of the miracle on the multitude?

Mark 6:45-52

**8. JESUS WALKING ON THE WATER 6:45-52

TEXT 6:45-52**

And straightway he constrained his disciples to enter into the boat, and to go before him unto the other side to Bethsaida, while he himself sendeth the multitude away. And after he had taken leave of them, he departed into the mountain to pray. And when even was come, the boat was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land. And seeing them distressed in rowing, for the wind was contrary unto them, about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking on the sea; and he would have passed by them: but they, when they saw him walking on the sea, supposed that it was an apparition, and cried out: for they all saw him, and were troubled. But he straightway spake with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid. And he went up unto them into the boat; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves; for they understood not concerning the loaves, but their heart was hardened.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 6:45-52

If they were at Bethsaida when they landed how is it they now came to Bethsaida as recorded in Mark 6:45?

Why the urgency of Jesus in asking His disciples to go over the sea to Bethsaida?

Was there some special burden on the heart of Jesus that He wanted to be alone with God in prayer? Cf. John 6:15.

Did Jesus know there was to be a storm at sea?

How could He see them in the sea if it was at night?

What is meant by distressed in rowing.

Why say and would have passed by them? (Mark 6:48 b.) What purpose was there in this?

Did the disciples believe in ghosts? Why their fear?

Show how appropriate were the words of Jesus to them.

When and why did the wind cease?

In what manner could it be said their heart was hardened? Mark 6:52?

COMMENT

TIMESpring of A.D. 29. PLACEThe sea of Galileenear Bethsaida.

PARALLEL ACCOUNTSMat 14:22-36; John 6:15-21.

OUTLINE1. Jesus urged His disciples to get into the boat and go before Him to Bethsaida, Mark 6:45. 2. Prayer in the mountain, Mark 6:46. 3. The boat was in the midst of the seaThe disciples rowing for their lifeJesus came to them walking on the water, Mark 6:47-48. 4. They saw Him and were afraid. He calms their fears and the sea, Mark 6:49-51. 5. They should have understood His powersbut they did not, Mark 6:52.

ANALYSIS

I.

JESUS URGED HIS DISCIPLES TO GET INTO THE BOAT AND GO BEFORE HIM TO BETHSAIDA, Mark 6:45.

He remained alone.

He sent the multitude away.

II.

PRAYER IN THE MOUNTAIN, Mark 6:46.

Said farewell to disciples.

Alone in prayer.

III.

THE DISCIPLES IN THE MIDST OF THE SEA ROWING FOR THEIR LIFEJESUS CAME TO THEM WALKING ON THE WATER, Mark 6:41; Mark 6:48.

At night.

Came to them three hours before daylight.

Wanted to pass by(so they could see him).

IV.

THEY SAW HIM AND WERE AFRAIDHE CALMS THEIR FEARS AND THE SEA, Mark 6:49-51.

They cried out in fear because they thought He was a ghost.

He comforts them with Be not afraid it is I.

When He stepped into the boat, the wind ceasedastonishment.

V.

THEY SHOULD HAVE UNDERSTOOD HIS POWER, BUT THEY DID NOT, Mark 6:52.

The loaves and fishes should have taught them of His power.

Their hearts were dull.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

The effect of this miracle upon the minds of those present was very great, So mighty and wonderful an exhibition of power, reminding them, perhaps, of the feeding of their fathers in the wilderness by Moses, led them to say, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world, We can scarce doubt from the context that they meant the Messiah, for so great was their enthusiasm that they proposed among themselves to take Him by force and make Him king (John 6:14-15). It is said by Pressene; The multitudes are ravished, enthusiastic; now, indeed, they believe that they have found the Messiah after their own heart. Thus, the effect of the miracle was to confirm them in their false Messianic hopes, for they interpreted it as a sign and pledge of the highest temporal prosperity under His rule, who could not only heal the sick of all their diseases, but feed five thousand men with five loaves of barley bread. Hence, He must immediately dismiss them. It appears from Matthew and Mark that He sent away the disciples first, perhaps that the excitement of the multitude might not seize upon them. That they were unwilling to leave Him, and that He was obliged to constrain them to depart, is not strange, if we remember that they knew no way by which He would rejoin them but by a long walk along the shore; and this in the solitude and darkness of the night, for it was evening when they left the place. (compare Matthew 14:15; Matthew 14:23, where both evenings, the early and late, are distinguished.) Aside from their reluctance to leave Him alone at such an hour, there may also have been fear upon their own part of crossing the lake in the night, remembering their great peril from which He had a little while before delivered them (Matthew 8:24) and perhaps also, seeing signs of an approaching storm.

After His disciples had departed, the Lord proceeded to dismiss the multitude, perhaps now more willing to leave Him that they saw His special attendants had gone. So soon as all had left Him, He went up into the mountain alone to praythe second instance mentioned of a night so spent; the first being the night prior to the choice of Apostles (Luke 6:12-13), and both marking important points in His life.

We assume that the place where the people were fed was the southern angle of the plain of Butaiha, where the mountains meet the lake. From this point the Apostles, to reach Capernaum, would pass near Bethsaida at the mouth of the Jordan; and as Jesus proceeding along the shore must necessarily pass through it, we find no difficulty in supposing that they directed their course toward it with the design of stopping there, and taking Him with them into the boat when He should arrive. This is plainly intimated by Mark 6:45, and is wholly consistent with John 6:17. This latter passage is thus translated by Alford. They were making for the other side of the sea in the direction of Capernaum.-’ He adds: It would appear as if the disciples were lingering along shore, with the expectation of taking in Jesus; but night had fallen and He had not yet come to them, and the sea began to be stormy. The great wind that blew and the tossing waves made all their efforts to reach Bethsaida useless. Nor could they even make Capernaum. In spite of all their endeavors, they were driven out into the middle of the lake and southerly, down opposite the plain of Gennesaret.

Thomson (ii. 32), referring to this night voyage of the disciples, says: My experience in this region enables me to sympathize with the disciples in their long night’s contest with the wind. I spent a night in that Wady Shukaiyif, some three miles up it, to the left of us. The sun had scarcely set, when the wind began to rush down toward the lake, and it continued all night long with constantly increasing violence, so that when we reached the shore next morning, the face of the lake was like a huge boiling caldron. The wind howled down every wady, from the northeast and east, with such fury that no efforts of rowers could have brought a boat to shore at any point along that coast. In a wind like that, the disciples must have been driven quite across to Gennesaret, as we know they were. We subsequently pitched our tents at the shore, and remained for three days and nights exposed to this tremendous wind. No wonder the disciples toiled and rowed hard all night, and how natural their amazement and terror at the sight of Jesus walking on the waves. The whole lake, as we had it, was lashed into fury; the waves repeatedly rolled up to our tent door, tumbling on the ropes with such violence as to carry away the tent pins. The width of the sea opposite the plain of Gennesaret is about six miles, and the disciples, who had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs when Jesus met them, were thus something more than half the way over. As this was about the fourth watch of the night (Mark 6:48), or from 3-6 A.M., the disciples must have been struggling against the wind and waves some eight or ten hours.

The incident respecting Peter’s attempt to walk on the water to meet Jesus is mentioned only by Matthew. That after he had been rescued they entered the ship, is expressly said: And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased (Matthew 14:32). In like manner Mark (Mark 6:51): And He went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased.-’-’ But with this John’s narrative has been thought by some to be in contradiction (Mark 6:21): Then they willingly received Him into the ship, and immediately the ship, was at the land wither they went (R.V., They were willing therefore to receive Him into the boat). It is said that the disciples willed or desired to take Him into the ship with them, but did not, because the ship immediately came to the shore. Tholuck, however, defends the translation of Beza, they received Him with willingness, which is the same as our English version. John mentions the will only, assuming that every reader would understand that the will was carried into effect (M. and M.) Some deny that the ship came to the shore by miracle, but suppose that it came rapidly in comparison with the earlier part of the voyage, the wind having subsided and the sea become smooth. On the other hand, Luthardt and most rightly regard it as supernatural. (Samuel J. Andrews)

FACT QUESTIONS 6:45-52

What false hopes did the multitude obtain from the feeding of the five thousand?

How account for the reluctance of the disciples to leave Jesus?

Jesus spent a night in prayer once beforewhen?

Read Mark 6:45 and John 6:17 and harmonize them.

How does Thomson help us appreciate the plight of the disciples?

When Jesus came to them on the water how far and how long had they rowed?

Why was the incident of Peter’s walking on the water omitted by Mark?

Harmonize the following accounts: Matthew 14:32; Mark 6:51; John 6:21.

Mark 6:53-56

**9. HEALING ON THE PLAIN OF GENNESARET. 6:53-56

TEXT 6:53-56**

And when they had crossed over, they came to the land unto Gennesaret, and moored to the shore. And when they were come out of the boat, straightway the people knew him, and ran round about that whole region, and began to carry about on their beds those that were sick, where they heard he was. And wheresoever he entered, into villages, or into cities, or into the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and besought him that they might touch if it were but the border of his garment: and as many as touched him were made whole.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 6:53-56

Who was with Jesus at this time? Could thirteen men all get into one small boat? Explain.

Please locate Gennesaret on the maphow large a district was this?

Does the expression moored to the shore suggest there was no town here?

How did the people know Jesus?

Are we to conclude from Mark 6:55 that many people followed Jesus carrying their sick from place to place? Explain.

Why lay the sick in the market places? i.e. why select such a place?

Wasn-’t it rather superstitious to desire to touch His garment? Why did Jesus permit it? Why was the touch effective?

COMMENT

TIMESpring A.D. 29. PLACEThe plain of Gennesaret and the adjacent villages and cities.

PARALLEL ACCOUNTSMat 14:34-36.

OUTLINE1. The Landing at the plain of Gennesaret, Mark 6:53. 2. The gathering of many people, upon recognizing Him, to seek help, Mark 6:54-55. 3. The superstitious desire of many people to heal the sick, Mark 6:56.

ANALYSIS 6:53-56

I.

THE LANDING AT THE PLAIN OF GENNESARET, Mark 6:53.

Occurred just after the feeding of the five thousand.

The boat was mooredor fastened to the shore.

II.

THE GATHERING OF MANY PEOPLE FOR HELP, Mark 6:54-55.

This happened immediately after disembarking.

Prompted by their knowledge of Him.

The whole region turned out to bring their sick wherever they found Him.

III.

THE SUPERSTITIOUS DESIRE OF MANY TO HEAL THE SICK, Mark 6:56.

Occurred in villages or cities or in the country.

Sick laid in marketplacesthat they might at least touch His garment.

Those who did touch were healed.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

53. *And when they had passed over, they came into the land of Gennesaret, and drew to the shore.

And having crossed* (the lake, from east to west) they came to (or upon) the land of Gennesaret, a small district four miles long and two or three wide, on the west side of the sea of Galilee, or lake of Tiberias, to which it gave one of its names. Josephus describes this district as the garden of the whole land and possessing a fertility and loveliness almost unparalleled. Capernaum appears to have been in or very near this delightful region, so that John (John 6:17) describes this same voyage as a voyage to Capernaum. Drew to the shore, or came to anchor near it, or retaining the passive form of the original, were brought to anchor (or to land.)

54. *And when they were come out of the ship, straightway they knew him.

And they going out* (or as they went out) from the ship, the men of that place (Matthew 14:35), straightway knowing (or immediately recognizing) him, whom they had often seen before, as they lived so near his home and the centre of his operation. It is an interesting thought, very often incidentally suggested in the gospels, that during the three years of our Saviour’s public ministry, his person must have become perfectly familiar to the great mass of the population, at least in Galilee. This, with the certainty that he retains his human body, and is to appear in it hereafter upon earth as he already does in heaven, should preserve us from a tendency to look upon all sensible and bodily associations with the person of our Lord as superstitious and irreverent, an error into which some devout believers are betrayed by their aversion to the opposite extreme of gross familiarity and levity in speaking of his glorified humanity.

55. *And ran through that whole region round about, and began to carry about in beds those that were sick, where they heard he was.

Running about that whole surrounding country, they began, i.e.* at once without delay, and afterwards continued, upon beds (or pallets,) to carry about those having (themselves) ill wherever they heard that he was (literally, is, the graphic present) there. The construction of the last clause is ambiguous, being understood by some as an example of the Hebrew idiom which combines the relative pronoun with the adverb there, to express our relative adverb where; but this would require a pronoun in the first place. Others refer the first of the two particles to the place where they heard of him, and the last to the place where he actually was. But most interpreters prefer the simpler and more obvious construction which refers both particles to one and the same object, -of whatever place they heard that he was there.-’ The running about and carrying about may refer to the same act, or the former to the spreading of the news and the latter to the actual bringing of the sick. The meaning is not that each one was carried from place to place in search of him, but that some were carried one way, some another, so as to fall in with him in some part of his circuit.

56. *And withersoever he entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought him that they might touch if it were but the border of his garment; and as many as touched him were made whole.

Country,* literally, fields, as in Mark 6:36 and in such English names as St. Gile’s or St. Martin’s in the Fields, i.e. outside of old London. Streets, or more exactly, markets or marketplaces, as in every other case where it occurs, but with greater latitude meaning than we now give to the English word. The Greek one according to its etymology and usage, means a place of meeting, especially for business, whether commercial or political, and therefore corresponding both to forum and market. The agora of ancient cities was an open place or square, sometimes immediately within the gates, but usually near the centre of the town. As denoting thoroughfares or public places, streets is therefore a substantially correct translation. The sick, or more exactly, the infirm, a synonymous express with the one in Mark 6:5. If it were but, literally, even, only. This desire was only superstitious so far as it ascribed a magical effect to the mere touch, or regarded contact as essential to the healing power of the Saviour’s word. It may have been his purpose to reach greater numbers in a given time without destroying all perceptible connection between the subject and the worker of the miracle. (Compare Acts 5:15; Acts 19:12). This is not a mere repetition of the statement in Mark 1:32-34, but designed to show that throughout the course as well as at the opening of our Saviour’s ministry, his miracles were many, those recorded in detail being only a few selected samples, and also that his constant practice was to heal all who needed and desired it, (J. A. Alexander)

FACT QUESTIONS 6:53-56

In which direction had the crossing been made? How large was the plain?

How can we explain the fact that John 6:17 describes this same voyage as going to Capernaum?

Why would the people of this district perhaps know Jesus better than some others?

What incidental lesson can we learn from the reference to the human appearance or recognition of Jesus?

There is no meaning in Mark 6:55 of each one carried from place to place in search of Himwhat is the meaning?

What is the literal meaning of the word country?

Show the patience and love of Jesus in healing the sick.