Mark 6

1 – 2

Jesus left there and went back to His hometown. His followers went with Him. On the Sabbath day He taught in the synagogue. Many people heard Him and were amazed.

They said, “Where did this man get these teachings? What is this wisdom that has been given to Him? And where did He get the power to work miracles?

When you have been spending time with the Lord, and He sends you someone who needs help, they will think that you have all the answers. God will give you the answers and the power to pass on so do not think it came from yourself!

3. He is only the carpenter. His mother is Mary. He is the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And His sisters are here with us.” The people did not accept Jesus.

The word for carpenter here could be translated as a handyman who can fix anything.

4 – 6

Jesus said to them, “Other people give honor to a prophet. But in his own town with his own people and in his own home, a prophet does not receive honor.” Jesus was not able to work many miracles there.

The only miracles He did were to heal some sick people by putting His hands on them. Jesus was amazed that they had no faith. Then Jesus went to other villages in that area and taught.

God does not do miracles for men as if He were a puppet in a circus show. If men only want God to do something for them and they do not want to really walk with Him then He will wait for them to see how serious it is to play with God. If a man will get to the point of really needing help and just reach out in trust to God with his whole heart then healing and many other things are waiting for him.

7 – 11

He called the 12 followers together and sent them out in groups of 2. He gave them authority over evil spirits. This is what Jesus told them: “Take nothing for your trip except a walking stick. Take no bread, no bag, and no money in your pockets. Wear sandals, and take only the clothes you are wearing.

When you enter a house, stay there until you leave that place. If any town refuses to accept you or its people refuse to listen to you, then leave that town. Shake its dust off your feet. This will be a warning to them.”

Why would God send you to do a job for Him and then not make sure you have everything you need? Jesus is getting His followers ready to go all over the world by teaching them to trust God for their food and other things they need.

Do not waste your time thinking that you need money or something else before you can work for God. Just go and watch what He does!

12 – 13

The followers went out and preached to the people to change their hearts and lives. The followers sent many demons out and poured olive oil on many sick people and healed them.

Only here and in James 5:14 do we see that oil was used when praying for the sick. The oil is always showing the presence of the Holy Spirit in the Bible. This helps us remember that it is not possible for a man to do a miracle of healing but only though the Holy Spirit.

14. King Herod heard about Jesus, because Jesus was now well known. Some people said, “He is John the Baptist. He is risen from death. That is the reason He can work these miracles.”

This Herod was the son of Herod the Great who killed the babies in Bethlehem. He took away his brother’s wife Herodias. When John the Baptist told Herod that God would punish him for this adultery, Herodias kept looking for a way to kill John.

15. Others said, “He is Elijah.” Other people said, “Jesus is a prophet. He is like the prophets who lived long ago.”

People today say that Jesus was a good teacher. Men need to decide if Jesus is the Son of God or just a good man. Everything that Jesus did was promised in the Old Testament and there is no one else who can be proven to be the Messiah.

How many men in history have been killed in the exact way that the Old Testament said the Messiah would be killed? How many were given to the Jewish leaders for thirty pieces of silver? For how many were the thirty pieces of silver used to buy a field?

There are many other Scriptures that showed what would happen to the Messiah and nobody in history can come close to these things.

16. Herod heard all these things about Jesus. He said, “I killed John by cutting off his head. Now he has been raised from death!”

Herod was confused because he was a part of the Jewish group which did not believe that anyone could rise from the dead. Pray that people who need Jesus will see that something is wrong with the lies they have been believing.

17 – 20

Herod himself had ordered his soldiers to arrest John, and John was put in prison. Herod did this to please his wife, Herodias. Herodias was the wife of Philip, Herod’s brother. But then Herod married her. John told Herod that it was not lawful for him to be married to his brother’s wife.

So Herodias hated John and kept on wanting to kill him. But she could not because of Herod. Herod was afraid to kill John because he knew John was a good and holy man. So Herod protected John. Also, Herod enjoyed listening to John preach. But John’s preaching always bothered him.

We speak God’s Word even to people who are not really listening. We pray that something of what is shared will go into their spirit and set them free. If a man has opened his life to a demon, such as the spirit of adultery, then he will not be able to hear the Word with his spirit because the demon will make him deaf to the things of God.

The man who commits adultery is a complete fool, and he destroys himself. Proverbs 6:32

She has been the ruin of many. Many men have been her victims. Her house is the road to the grave. Her bedroom is the den of death. Proverbs 7:26-27

21 – 22

Then the a time came for Herodias to cause John’s death. It happened on Herod’s birthday. Herod gave a dinner party for the most important government leaders, the commanders of his army, and the most important people in Galilee. The daughter of Herodias came to the party and danced. When she danced, Herod and the people eating with him were very pleased. So King Herod said to the girl, “I will give you anything you want.”

Herodias planned these evil things to get what she wanted. She does not care that she is also destroying her daughter’s life by teaching her how to do more evil.

The mouth of a fools destroys him. He trap himself with his lips. Proverbs 18:7

23. He promised her, “Anything you ask for I will give to you. I will even give you half of my kingdom.”
Even half of a kingdom is not enough for the bitterness of Herodias!

The woman who lives only for pleasure is spiritually dead even while she lives. 1 Timothy 5:6

24 – 25

The girl went to her mother and asked, “What should I ask the king to give me?” Her mother answered, “Ask for the head of John the Baptist.”

Quickly the girl went back to the king. She said to him, “Please give me the head of John the Baptist. Bring it to me now on a platter.”

An adulterous woman destroys a man, then wipes her mouth and says, “What’s wrong with that?” Proverbs 30:20

26 – 29

The king was very sad. But he had promised to give the girl anything she wanted. And the people eating there with him had heard his promise. So Herod could not refuse what she asked. Immediately the king sent a soldier to bring John’s head.

The soldier went and cut off John’s head in the prison and brought it back on a platter. He gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. John’s followers heard about what happened. So they came and got John’s body and put it in a tomb.

Herod and His wife planted a seed of bitterness and they got a harvest of evil in their own lives. After these days Herod was accused by one of his enemies and was taken off his throne and sent to the wilderness in Europe. Herodias went with him. See Hosea 8:7.

30 – 31
The apostles that Jesus had sent out to preach returned. They gathered around Him and told Him about all the things they had done and taught.

Crowds of people were coming and going. Jesus and His followers did not even have time to eat. He said to them, “Come with Me. We will go to a quiet place to be alone. There we will get some rest.”

When we are being used of God to walk together with people who are going through trouble or sharing the Gospel to those who have never clearly heard -we are not even thinking about food!

32 – 34

So they went in a boat alone to a place where there were no people. But many people saw them leave and recognized them. So people from all the towns ran to the place where Jesus was going.

They got there before Jesus arrived. When He landed, He saw a great crowd waiting. Jesus felt sorry for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So He taught them many things.

We serve a God who cares about the things we need. It is a gift from God when we can look past what we see on the outside and see what people really need!

Your heavenly Father already knows you need all these things. Matthew 6:32

The hairs on your head are all numbered. So do not be afraid; you are very valuable to God. Luke 12:7

35 – 38

It was now late in the day. Jesus’ followers came to Him and said, “No one lives in this place. And it is already very late. Send the people away. They need to go to the farms and towns around here to buy some food to eat.” But Jesus answered, “You give them food to eat.”

They said to Him, “We cannot buy enough bread to feed all these people! We would all have to work a month to earn enough money to buy that much bread!”
Jesus asked them, “How many loaves of bread do you have now? Go and see.” When they found out, they came to Him and said, “We have five loaves and two fish.”

John tells us that this food came from a boy who was there. Maybe the boy was planning to sell this food, but he gave it away. Maybe they gave the leftovers to the little boy who was hoping to sell his fish? The twelve baskets left over were also a lesson to the twelve disciples that God can give us what we need. John 6:8

39. Then Jesus said to the followers, “Tell all the people to sit in groups on the green grass.”

He lets me rest in green meadows. Psalm 23:2

40 – 44

So all the people sat in groups. They sat in groups of 50 or groups of 100. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish. He looked up to heaven and thanked God for the bread. He divided the bread and gave it to His followers for them to give to the people.

Then He divided the two fish among them all. All the people ate and were satisfied. The followers filled 12 baskets with the pieces of bread and fish that were not eaten. There were about 5,000 men there who ate.

John tells us that after this the people were going to make Jesus their king so He left them and went into the mountains. God had planned a certain day for Jesus to be seen as king. Daniel was shown the exact day that this would happen. God has His reasons for not letting people do things that He has not planned. John 6:16, Daniel 9:25

45 – 46

Then Jesus told His followers to get into the boat and go to Bethsaida on the other side of the lake. Jesus said that He would come later. He stayed there to tell the people they could go home. After sending them away, He went into the hills to pray.

After a time of hearing people’s problems and helping them we will be tired and it is important to go before God and spend time in His Word and prayer to get our strength back. If Jesus had to do this because He was in a human body then we also need to do this. Do not ignore this wisdom or you will keep going in your own weakness!

47 – 48

That night, the boat was in the middle of the lake. Jesus was alone on the land. He saw the followers working hard to row the boat because the wind was blowing against them.

At some time between three and six o’clock in the morning, Jesus came to them, walking on the water. He kept walking until He was almost past the boat.

Jesus does not push Himself into our lives. He will keep walking and waiting for a better time if we do not invite Him to be a part of what we are going through. Instead of thinking of all the many things we can do when there is trouble -the first thing we should do is to ask Jesus to come and help us!

Remember Peter is telling Mark this story as Mark writes it down. Peter does not talk about how this was the time that he walked on the water to Jesus. It may be that Peter did not want to show that he was proud of this or because it was embarrassing that he began to drown. Matthew 14:28

49 – 52

But when His followers saw Him walking on the water, they thought He was a ghost and cried out. They all saw Him and were terrified. But Jesus spoke to them and said, “Have courage! It is I! Do not be afraid.”

Then He got into the boat with them. And the wind became calm. The followers were greatly amazed. They had seen Jesus make more bread from the five loaves. But they did not understand what it meant. Their minds were closed.

God has done miracles in our lives. There are times that we could have been killed. There are many things that we know have happened to us that showed that God was there. How can we think that He will not help us when the next problem comes to us?

53 – 56

When they had crossed the lake, they came to shore at Gennesaret. They tied the boat there. When they got out of the boat, the people saw Jesus and immediately recognized Him. They ran to tell others everywhere in that area that Jesus was there.

They brought sick people on mats to every place Jesus went. Jesus went into towns and cities and farms around that area. And everywhere He went, the people brought the sick to the marketplaces. They begged Him to let them just touch the edge of His coat. And all who touched Him were healed.

We see the reason why the wind was against them because the devil knew that good things were going to happen and was trying to make the followers of Jesus turn back. As we work in the ministry we see that demons try to pay us back for going into the places that have been given to them but they cannot stop us and when we see them doing this we know that we are winning the fight!