Read Mark 6:1-6; A Prophet without honor
Let’s think about where we are as we walk along with Peter’s recollection of the ministry years. Jesus and His disciples go back to Nazareth. This is where Jesus grew up. His family and people from the town watched Him grow from a toddler to a teen to a young carpenter.
As usual for Jesus, He began teaching and amazed the people. Verses 2-3 are interesting…
2“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, Judas and Simon? Aren’t His sisters here with us?” And they took offense at Him.
They are baffled at the contrast they are seeing. Amazing wisdom and remarkable miracles and yet this is the child they watched grow up to be a carpenter. His mother, brothers and sisters are here with them. Then the statement “they took offense at Him”. The wisdom didn’t matter. Even the miracles didn’t matter. What was Peter thinking when that happened? What was he thinking while recounting the story to Mark? Obviously Mary never told anyone.
In verse 4 Jesus makes a remarkable statement…
4 Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.”
Verse 6 says even Jesus was amazed at their lack of faith. Does familiarity breed apathy?
I find verse 5 interesting. It is like an aside in the story Peter is telling Mark…
5 He could not do any miracles there, except lay His hands on a few sick people and heal them.
It almost sounds like healing sick people is no big deal. I bet it was to the sick people.
Read Mark 6:6-13; Jesus sends out the twelve
The teaching ministry is growing. First there was John the Baptist, then there was Jesus and now Jesus is commissioning the twelve. I love the fact they went out two by two. Jesus created ministry teams that would work together and reach more people. It makes me think of the fact that today we are never alone. The Holy Spirit is always with us as we are ministers in the Kingdom.
Jesus gave them very distinct directions to follow in verses 8-11…
8 These were His instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 9 Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. 10 Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. 11 And 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.”
In verse 12 Peter summarizes their efforts by saying they drove out demons and healed people. Have you ever wondered about how many people are healed from demons in the Scriptures? It makes me wonder if it is the same today. When people do some of the horrific things they do with seemingly no regret, are they actually demon possessed? Why would today be any different than in Jesus’ time?
I also wonder about Judas. Who was he paired with? They were driving out demons and healing people. How did Judas become the trader after experiences like that? I wonder what Peter thought about those things as he recalls those things from 30 years ago.
Read Mark 6:14-29; John the Baptist is beheaded
King Herod heard about all Jesus was doing and said it was John the Baptist raised from the dead. To tell the story of John’s death, Peter does a flashback. Herod’s dislike for John started when John told him it was wrong for him to have taken his brother’s wife. Because of this Herod put John in prison but was afraid of doing more because the people knew John was a prophet and Herod knew he was a righteous man. Also, Herod like to listen to John though it greatly puzzled him.
However, Herod’s wife hated John and wanted to kill him. When the opportunity arose, she told her daughter to ask for John’s head on a platter. Verses 26-28 shows what a shallow man Herod was…
26 The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27 So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, 28 and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother.
The death of His cousin deeply effected Jesus. Peter doesn’t talk about that to Mark, but in Matthew 14:13 we see Jesus need to be alone with His thoughts and talk to His Father…
13 When Jesus heard what had happened, He withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place.
Jesus knew where His strength came from.
Read Mark 6:30-44; Jesus feeds the 5000
When the twelve got back from being sent out, they reported on everything that happened. Because of the crowd, Jesus took them away to eat and rest. However, seeing them leave by boat, the ever-present crowd went ahead of them. Because of Jesus’ compassion on the crowd, when He saw them, He began teaching them. His disciples said to Jesus, “It is late send them away so they can find food”. That statement leads into one of the most famous miracles.
Verses 37-44 tell the story…
37 But He answered, “You give them something to eat.” (setting the stage for the miracle)
They said to Him, “That would take more than half a year’s wage! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”
38 “How many loaves do you have?” He asked. “Go and see.”
When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.” (John 6:9, a small boy’s lunch)
39 Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41 Taking 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. 42 They all ate and were satisfied, 43 and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. 44 The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.
I imagine Peter telling this story with a big grin on his face. Of all the miracles Peter was a witness to, this was by far the most public. The estimate of 5000 were only men. The reality was probably more than 10,000. Try to picture thousands of people sitting on a grassy hill eating from what started out as a young boy’s lunch. Not only did they all eat all they wanted, but there were twelve baskets left over. The word here for basket refers to a lunch pail size basket. Twelve lunches left over for the twelve. Can you see Peter’s smile in your mind’s eye?
Read Mark 6:45-56, Jesus Walks on the Water
After the miracle lunch was finished, Jesus sends the twelve away on a boat, sends away the crowd and goes to a solitary place to pray to His Father. Verses 47-52 tell the amazing story…
47 Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and He was alone on land. 48 He 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, 49 but when they saw Him walking on the lake, they thought He was a ghost. They cried out, 50 because they all saw Him and were terrified. Immediately He spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 51 Then He climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, 52 for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.
The twelve got in the boat without Jesus. Peter does not mention why except Jesus sent them away. I wonder how they thought He would catch up with them later? Hours later they are still rowing across the lake. Scripture says He sees them straining at the oars. They are in the middle of a lake that is 20 miles wide and Jesus can see them. Just that thought is overwhelming. Jesus decides to walk out to them. As He approaches them they are terrified and think He is a ghost.
Jesus says, “take courage, it is I”. Interestingly, Peter leaves out the part where he asked to walk on the water recorded in Matthew 14:28-33. Maybe he didn’t want to remember. Would we?
28 “Lord, if it’s You,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to You on the water.”
29 “Come,” He said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”
After experiencing the feeding of thousands, the twelve watches Jesus walking on the water. Verse 52 seems to be a clarification of where they were spiritually,
52 for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.
Five loafs feed thousands of people and they “had not understood”. We wonder at that and yet how often do we not understand God’s hand moving right in front of us.
The verse 33 in Matthew 14 tell of a major spiritual advance on the part of the twelve…
33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”
Can you imagine watching those two miracles on the same day? Thinking about it takes my breath away. They were convinced He was who He said He was. He had total control over nature.
The rest of the chapter tells of more crowds and more healings. When they landed, the people recognized Jesus and began bringing the sick to Him for healing. All who touched the edge of His cloak were healed. Peter is telling Mark about just another day with Jesus. Imagine being one of the twelve and living through that day after day. What a blessing for them.
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