Day 34 – Monday, February 17, 2025

One Year Journey Through the New Testament

Mark 6

Welcome to our journey through the New Testament!

Jesus is Rejected at Nazareth

Matthew 13:54-58

1 Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. ² And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, “Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! ³ Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” So they were offended at Him.⁴ But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.” ⁵ Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. ⁶ And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Mk 6:1–6.

Points to Ponder:

• Jesus went to His home town and began to do what He did everywhere He went: preach and teach.
• In Nazareth, however, the reaction was not one of disdain for His person, but rather of His role. Jesus was one of them, played with their children, walked their streets.
• How could He now rise to teach us?
• Jesus uttered the famous words, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country….”
• He did not do many miracles, because they did not believe. This was not rejection because of His claims, but because of their familiarity with Him.
• The verbiage is nearly identical to the parallel passage in Matthew 13.

Twelve are Sent to Serve

Matt. 10:1–42; Luke 9:1–6

⁷ And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits. ⁸ He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts—⁹ but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics.¹⁰ Also He said to them, “In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place. ¹¹ And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!”¹² So they went out and preached that people should repent. ¹³ And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Mk 6:7–13.

Points to Ponder:

• This parallels another Matthean passage from chapter 10. As you can see, the gospels do not follow the same chronological order. This is not an error, simply a sorting distinction.
• In this passage, Mark gives a shorter recount, but covers basically the same material. The disciples are given power to heal and power over demons.
• They should only stay where the listeners honor the message of Christ. They should not take many provisions with them, simply a staff.
• This is far from the model of an itinerant evangelist of today’s church. However, the power is available if we believe and trust God totally.

John the Baptist is Murdered

Matt. 14:1–12; Luke 9:7–9

¹⁴ Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name had become well known. And he said, “John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him.”¹⁵ Others said, “It is Elijah.”And others said, “It is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets.”¹⁶ But when Herod heard, he said, “This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!” ¹⁷ For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife; for he had married her. ¹⁸ Because John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”¹⁹ Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not; ²⁰ for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him. And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.²¹ Then an opportune day came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee. ²² And when Herodias’ daughter herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, “Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you.” ²³ He also swore to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”²⁴ So she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask?”And she said, “The head of John the Baptist!”²⁵ Immediately she came in with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”²⁶ And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her. ²⁷ Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought. And he went and beheaded him in prison, ²⁸ brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. ²⁹ When his disciples heard of it, they came and took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb.

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Mk 6:14–29.

Points to Ponder:

• This story parallels Mathew 14, telling the story of the execution of John the Baptist.
• This account shares a bit more detail. The word about John among the people is recorded more fully.
• This account also gives a picture of Herod being intrigued, or perhaps even enjoying his talks with him.
• The same story is told of Herod giving a grand feast and Herodias having her daughter dance for the King and his guests.
• Herod was so pleased, he offered up to half his kingdom as a reward.
• Herodias’ daughter asked her mother what she should request. They decided to ask for John’s head. The king was sorry, but kept his vow, and John was killed.
• His disciples came, took the body, and buried it.
• Be careful the vows you make, for you will have to keep them

Twelve Return

Luke 9:10

³⁰ Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught. ³¹ And He said to them, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Mk 6:30–31.

Points to Ponder:

• In this passage, only found in Mark and Luke, the disciples return from their mission, and recounted all that had occurred.

Five Thousand are Fed

Matt. 14:13–21; Luke 9:11–17; John 6:1–14

³² So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves.³³ But the multitudes saw them departing, and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities. They arrived before them and came together to Him. ³⁴ And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. So He began to teach them many things. ³⁵ When the day was now far spent, His disciples came to Him and said, “This is a deserted place, and already the hour is late. ³⁶ Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves bread; for they have nothing to eat.”³⁷ But He answered and said to them, “You give them something to eat.”And they said to Him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?”³⁸ But He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.”And when they found out they said, “Five, and two fish.”³⁹ Then He commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰ So they sat down in ranks, in hundreds and in fifties. ⁴¹ And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all. ⁴² So they all ate and were filled. ⁴³ And they took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish. ⁴⁴ Now those who had eaten the loaves were about five thousand men.

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Mk 6:32–44.

Points to Ponder:

• This story parallels Matthew 14.
• This story demonstrates God’s great ability to provide in time of lack.

Jesus Walks on Water

Matt. 14:22–23; John 6:15–21

⁴⁵ Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away. ⁴⁶ And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray. ⁴⁷ Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land. ⁴⁸ Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by. ⁴⁹ And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; ⁵⁰ for they all saw Him and were troubled. But immediately He talked with them and said to them, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” ⁵¹ Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased. And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled. ⁵² For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Mk 6:45–52.

Points to Ponder:

• This story parallels another story from Matthew 14.
• It describes Jesus rescuing the disciples from the storm that could have sunk them.
• He made His presence known and assured them they were safe.
• In this passage, the added wrinkle of Peter walking on the water is not recorded.
• Jesus stilled the storms to save His disciples.

Jesus Heals at Gennesaret

Matt. 14:34–36

⁵³ When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret and anchored there. ⁵⁴ And when they came out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, ⁵⁵ ran through that whole surrounding region, and began to carry about on beds those who were sick to wherever they heard He was. ⁵⁶ Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched Him were made well.

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Mk 6:53–56.

Points to Ponder:

• This also parallels Matthew 14.
• Jesus was crowded again as people brought their sick to Jesus.
• They begged for Jesus’ help.
• Whoever touched Him was healed
• Lord, we reach out to You today. Heal us, kind Savior. Let us see your power work among us!

__________________________________________________________________________

All Scriptures from New King James Version unless otherwise noted.

Join us this afternoon at 5:00 pm for a discussion of this chapter live online. Live@5 with Dr. Greg Sloop can be found on Facebook on the Dr. Greg Sloop page or on the Kannapolis Church of God Facebook page or Youtube page.