Mar 6 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Mark 6:1-6: 6:1-6 Nazareth’s rejection of Jesus contrasts ironically with the faith displayed by others, and the miracles he couldn’t do contrasts with the power displayed elsewhere. Summary for Mark 6:1-2: 6:1-2 The people’s amazement at Jesus’ teaching was due to the wisdom of his teaching and his power to heal and cast out demons. • Where did he get: His quiet years in Nazareth had not prepared them to accept him as an authoritative teacher and healer.

Summary for Mark 6:1-6: 6:1-6 ^a Nazareth’s rejection of Jesus contrasts ironically with the faith displayed by others, and the miracles he couldn’t do contrasts with the power displayed elsewhere.
Summary for Mark 6:1-2: 6:1-2 ^b The people’s amazement at Jesus’ teaching was due to the wisdom of his teaching and his power to heal and cast out demons.

• Where did he get: His quiet years in Nazareth had not prepared them to accept him as an authoritative teacher and healer.
Summary for Mark 6:3-4: 6:3-4 ^c The residents of Nazareth thought of Jesus only as a carpenter (literally craftsman).

• He’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary: One expects “son of Joseph”; this phrasing probably indicates that Joseph had died by this time.

• brother ... his sisters: See study note on 3:31-35.

• They were deeply offended: They thought Jesus was claiming to be someone he could not possibly be.
Summary for Mark 6:5-6: 6:5-6 ^d Faith and healing are frequently connected in Mark (2:5 ^e; 5:34 ^f, 36 ^g; 9:23-24 ^h; 10:52 ⁱ). Jesus’ miracles were not performances but the partial realization of God’s Kingdom; entrance to that Kingdom and its benefits require repentance and faith (1:15 ^j).

• A few sick people were healed, but the unbelief that Jesus encountered in his own village amazed him, a unique occurrence.

• This section of Mark (3:7–6:6a ^k) speaks of Jesus’ rejection by his family (3:21 ^l, 31-35 ^m), the scribes (3:22 ⁿ), and the people of Gerasa (5:17 ^o); it ends with rejection by people in his hometown (6:1-6a ^p). Along the way, a few people believed and were healed. This ending is similar to the ending of the previous section (1:14–3:6 ^q).
Summary for Mark 6:6-13: 6:6–8:21 ^r Jesus’ mission and the disciples’ misunderstanding are prominent themes in this section. 6:6 ^s This summary of Jesus’ healing and preaching ministry introduces an account concerning the disciples. Jesus’ teaching from village to village probably took place around the Sea of Galilee and perhaps in Capernaum (see 2:1 ^t).
Summary for Mark 6:7-13: 6:7-13 ^u Jesus now sent the disciples out to preach and heal. During this mission, Jesus’ memorable teachings were engraved in their minds by retelling, and it prepared them to remember and retell later what Jesus did and taught (Luke 1:2 ^v). 6:7 ^w two by two: This practice fulfilled the Old Testament requirement of two witnesses (Num 35:30 ^x; Deut 17:6 ^y; 19:15 ^z; see Matt 18:16 ^aa) and provided for companionship and mutual help (Acts 13:1-3 ^ab; 15:22 ^ac, 39 ^ad, 40 ^ae).

• giving them authority: Jesus can delegate his authority (see Mark 1:27 ^af; 2:10 ^ag) to others.

• The disciples were to cast out evil spirits and to preach and heal (6:12-13 ^ah; see 6:30 ^ai).
Summary for Mark 6:8-9: 6:8-9 ^aj The instructions for the disciples’ mission were about what they should leave behind (food ... bag ... money ... change of clothes). They were to travel light, counting on Jewish hospitality for food and lodging (cp. Luke 22:35-37 ^ak).
6:10 ^al They were to stay in the same house and not abuse hospitality by seeking out better offers of food and lodging.
6:11 ^am The shaking of dust from the feet is best interpreted as a symbolic act pronouncing God’s judgment upon those who rejected the apostles’ preaching (cp. Acts 18:6 ^an), which was really a rejection of Jesus and of God, who sent him (9:37 ^ao).
Summary for Mark 6:12-13: 6:12-13 ^ap The message to repent is an abbreviation of the fuller message of 1:15 ^aq.
Summary for Mark 6:14-29: 6:14-29 ^ar The account of John the Baptist’s death, sandwiched between the sending out and the return of the disciples, continues the theme of Jesus’ authority and power (see 6:7 ^as, 14 ^at). John’s fate and the warning given to the disciples in their missionary charge (6:11 ^au) also foreshadowed Jesus’ death. The one greater even than John (1:8 ^av) would soon be handed over to religious and political leaders and put to death (8:31 ^aw; 9:31 ^ax; 10:33 ^ay). 6:14 ^az soon heard about Jesus: The successful mission in Galilee and Perea of six teams of disciples (6:12-13 ^ba) spread Jesus’ fame throughout the region.

• This must be John the Baptist raised from the dead: Either Herod was thinking that the spirit of John the Baptist had come to rest upon Jesus at his death, as the spirit of Elijah came upon Elisha, or he was saying figuratively in exasperation, “This is John the Baptist all over again!”
6:15 ^bb The return of the prophet Elijah had been prophesied in Mal 3:1 ^bc; 4:5-6 ^bd (cp. Mark 9:11-13 ^be).
6:17 ^bf imprison John: The Jewish historian Josephus (Antiquities 18.5.2) says that John was imprisoned in the fortress of Machaerus in Perea.

• Josephus (Antiquities 18.5.1–4) states that Herodias was the wife of Herod Antipas’s half brother, Herod Philip.
6:18 ^bg Mark gives the moral-religious reason for the imprisonment and execution of John the Baptist. Josephus refers to the political reason (fear that John’s great popularity might start a revolution; Josephus, Antiquities 18.5.2). Similarly, the religious reasons for Jesus’ condemnation (Mark 14:63-64 ^bh) became political when he was brought before Pontius Pilate (15:2 ^bi; Luke 23:2-3 ^bj).

• It is against God’s law: Not only was the relationship adulterous (Lev 20:10 ^bk), but it violated the further law against marrying a brother’s wife (Lev 18:16 ^bl; 20:21 ^bm).
Summary for Mark 6:19-28: 6:19-28 ^bn Herodias’s role in the murder of John the Baptist recalls the story of Jezebel (1 Kgs 19:1-2 ^bo). Herod succumbed to pressure (Mark 6:26-28 ^bp), which foreshadows the later story of Pontius Pilate, who put Jesus to death against his better judgment (cp. 6:20 ^bq, 25-28 ^br with 15:6-15 ^bs).
6:22 ^bt his daughter, also named Herodias: According to the first-century Jewish historian Josephus, Herodias’s daughter was also named Salome (Josephus, Antiquities 18.5.4).
6:29 ^bu This verse is similar to the description of Jesus’ death and burial (see 15:43-46 ^bv). Disciples of John existed after his death until at least the AD 200s (see Acts 18:24–19:7 ^bw).
Summary for Mark 6:30-44: 6:30-44 ^bx The disciples’ mission concludes (6:6-13 ^by, 30-34 ^bz), followed by the account of the feeding of the 5,000 (6:35-44 ^ca; see also Matt 14:13-21 ^cb; Luke 9:10-17 ^cc; John 6:1-15 ^cd). The feeding of the 4,000 is sufficiently different to indicate that these were two separate occasions (see Mark 8:1-10 ^ce). 6:30 ^cf Mark calls Jesus’ disciples apostles here to indicate their new status as those who had been sent out (see study note on 3:14-15) and to avoid possible confusion between them and John the Baptist’s disciples.

• The apostles reported the success of what they had done and taught.
Summary for Mark 6:31-33: 6:31-33 ^cg Let’s go: Jesus and the disciples probably proceeded northward along the western shore of the Sea of Galilee toward Bethsaida (Luke 9:10 ^ch), in sight of the crowds along the shore.

• so many people: The great crowds demonstrate the success of the apostolic mission and the greatness of Jesus, whom the apostles represented.
6:34 ^ci they were like sheep without a shepherd: God’s people need a shepherd (Num 27:16-17 ^cj; 1 Kgs 22:17 ^ck; 2 Chr 18:16 ^cl; see Jer 13:10 ^cm; Ezek 34:23 ^cn). Teaching people God’s word is compared to feeding sheep in Jewish literature (e.g., Ezek 34:1-24 ^co; 2 Baruch 77:13-15).
Summary for Mark 6:35-36: 6:35-36 ^cp The place where Jesus taught was remote,, but it still had farms and villages ... nearby where the people could buy something to eat.
6:37 ^cq Jesus suggests that, just as the disciples were able to cast out demons and heal through his power (6:7 ^cr, 13 ^cs, 30 ^ct), they should be able to feed the crowd. Their reply considered only what they themselves were capable of doing. They did not consider Jesus’ power.
6:41 ^cu The words took, blessed, breaking, and giving echo Jesus’ words at the Last Supper (14:22-25 ^cv). Both events envision the final messianic banquet in which believers will eat and drink with Jesus in the Kingdom of God (14:25 ^cw; Matt 5:6 ^cx; 22:1-10 ^cy; see Rev 2:7 ^cz; 19:7-9 ^da; 22:1-2 ^db, 14 ^dc, 17-19 ^dd).
Summary for Mark 6:42-44: 6:42-44 ^de This miracle makes Elisha’s great miracle of feeding 100 people with twenty loaves (2 Kgs 4:42-44 ^df) seem trivial by comparison. Readers of the Gospel must ask themselves, “Who is this man who does such things?” (Mark 4:41 ^dg). He is the Messiah, the Son of God (1:1 ^dh).
Summary for Mark 6:45-52: 6:45-52 ^di This story is a manifestation of Jesus’ glory to the disciples (6:48-50 ^dj). It is also a rescue story (6:47-48 ^dk, 51 ^dl) and a story about the disciples’ lack of understanding (6:51-52 ^dm).
Summary for Mark 6:45-46: 6:45-46 ^dn The disciples proceeded to Bethsaida, the home of Peter and Andrew (John 1:44 ^do), while Jesus dismissed the crowd and went apart to pray. Jesus was a man of prayer (Mark 1:35 ^dp) and urged his disciples to pray (see 14:38 ^dq).
6:48 ^dr It was about three o’clock in the morning (literally about the fourth watch of the night, which began at 3:00 am): This was a Roman designation of time (Jews reckoned only three watches), which supports the view that Mark wrote for Christians in Rome.

• Mark does not explain how Jesus saw his disciples’ plight late at night in the middle of the lake (cp. John 6:19 ^ds), as it is not important to the story.

• Jesus came toward them, walking on the water: It appears that Jesus’ purpose was to rescue the disciples from the storm. However, Mark then states that Jesus intended to go past them. Numerous attempts have been made to explain this, but the best explanation is that “to go past them” speaks of a divine manifestation (cp. Exod 33:18–34:6 ^dt; 1 Kgs 19:11-13 ^du): Jesus apparently sought to show his divine glory to the disciples. This understanding is supported by the disciples’ fear, a response often associated with theophany.

• Many have tried to rationalize the miracle of Jesus’ walking on the sea, but Mark, Matthew, and John clearly understood this as a miracle, beyond natural explanation. If Jesus is in fact the Son of God, there is no need to find another explanation.
Summary for Mark 6:49-50: 6:49-50 ^dv The disciples’ terror is understandable—humans cannot walk on water, so they concluded that they were seeing a ghost. As in many divine manifestations, the Lord gave a word of assurance: Don’t be afraid and Take courage! The reason is, I am here! It was not a ghost but Jesus—their friend, Savior, and Lord.

• I am here!: Because Jesus’ walking on the sea and stilling the storm were miraculous, Mark’s original readers would have understood the exclamation I am as a parallel to God’s self-description in the Old Testament (Exod 3:14 ^dw; Deut 32:39 ^dx; Isa 41:4 ^dy; 43:10-13 ^dz) and thus as a reference to Jesus’ divinity.
6:51 ^ea Jesus’ entrance into the boat calmed the storm.

• totally amazed: They were reverential and awed at the greatness of Jesus Christ, the Son of God (cp. 2:12 ^eb; 5:24 ^ec; Matt 14:33 ^ed).
6:52 ^ee The account ends with a comment about the disciples’ dullness. It was not from lack of opportunity to believe in Jesus—they had witnessed the miracle of the loaves and many other miracles—but because their hearts were too hard, usually a quality of Jesus’ opponents (e.g., 3:5 ^ef; see also 8:17 ^eg, 21 ^eh; 9:32 ^ei). Later their hearts would be softened, and they would understand (Luke 24:44-49 ^ej; John 12:16 ^ek; 13:7 ^el).
Summary for Mark 6:53-56: 6:53-56 ^em This summary of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee emphasizes his great popularity and healing ability. 6:53 ^en Gennesaret refers to a fertile plain, 3.5 miles long by 0.5 miles wide (5.6 by 0.8 kilometers), between Tiberias and Capernaum on the northwest coast of the Sea of Galilee. The original journey was to Bethsaida (6:45 ^eo), so perhaps the winds (6:48 ^ep) blew the ship off course and they landed at Gennesaret. Alternatively, 6:45 ^eq might indicate the direction of the journey (i.e., northeast) and not the actual goal of the voyage.
6:56 ^er The fringe of a garment refers to the tassels worn by Jewish men on their robes (see Num 15:38-39 ^es; Deut 22:12 ^et). Just touching the fringe of the garment of Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, brought healing to the sick (see also Mark 3:10 ^eu; 5:28 ^ev).