Mark | Chapter 6

Mark 6:1

“A Perfect Person in a sinful world”

1. Introduction
2. Vs. 1 Familiarity breads contempt?

Introduction

In the first 6 verses of chapter 6 Mark finishes off this section with the limits of human popularity by showing another hindrance when popularity is coupled with familiarity. These two collided in Jesus’ home town of Nazareth, as what had been heard about Him crashed head long into what the people from His home town had believed about Him for 30 years. Charles Darwin once said that belief was “the most complete of all distinctions between man and the lower animals.” Though I disagree with Darwinism I would say that his observation, suggests that when a person exhibits a “lack of faith or unbelief” it puts them on a lower level then the lower part of creation. I made the statement during the teaching last week that one of the common denominators in that those who DID receive a touch from Jesus is that they approached Him in brokenness and humility. The other side of the coin is in this chapter where we see a community that had grew up with Jesus and had every reason to trust Him, choice to not do so. The author of Hebrews in chapter 3 verse 12 warns his readers saying, “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God.” 

Vs. 1 Familiarity breads contempt?

Vs. 1 Before we get to far into the text there are some general observations of this section which will take up our entire time this morning. We will take up the text in it’s entirety next week. I’m taking the time in this section because I believe that this text before us goes a long way in clearing up some mysteries with regards to Jesus upbringing is this little village of Nazareth. So we will be looking at all 6 verses as it relates to this before breaking it apart next week. Though Nazareth was not His birth place (Bethlehem was) it was here the vast majority of His earthly life was spent with the exception of the short stay in Egypt. For all practical purposes Nazareth was His “home town”. There is only one bible verse that addresses Jesus’ childhood and it is in Luke chapter 2 verses 41-52. There we are told of the incident at Jesus bar mitzvah in the temple where He amazed the scholars with His understanding of scripture. Luke concludes that little portion of Jesus’ transition from childhood to an adult with the only phrase that grants any insight of what His early life was like saying, “He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” What that means specifically is left for many a person’s imaginations. There have been fanciful stories of Jesus doing all sorts of miracles, healing birds, and other animals, parting rivers and streams but these are unsubstantiated fairytales. This passage I believe clears up a good portion of the mystery. First off Mark in verse 3 tells us that Jesus was living with His parents and as time went by this family grew as Mark records 4 half brothers and then mentions that He also had half sisters though he doesn’t record a specific number for us. This section indirectly tells us two things about Jesus upbringing:

1. Nothing miraculous: Looking at the text we are told that those who had grown up with Him in this little village were “astonished” both about the “wisdom that was given Him” and “such mighty works…performed by His hands”. According to Luke chapter 4:16-30, Jesus had come to Nazareth a year earlier right after His temptation by satan in the wilderness but prior to any public miraculous works. At that time; He had gone into the synagogue of His youth on the Sabbath, opened up the scroll of Isaiah and read, “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.” He then rolled up the scroll and told his neighbors that in their hearing the words of Isaiah were now fulfilled. And though they marveled at gracious tone of Jesus’ words they question the validity of His announcement saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” Jesus then launched into a prophetic announcement that a “prophet is without honor in his own country”. He backed that statement by stating that during the times of two of the greatest miracle workers in Israel’s history; both Elijah and Elisha, their greatest miracles were done not in Israel but in gentile regions because of unbelief.  Jesus’ fellow villager’s response to this was to take Him out of the synagogue to a cliff in an attempt to throw Him off, but He just passed through them and left. My point is that there clearly had been NO “recovery of sight to the blind, OR the setting at liberty those who are oppressed” during Jesus’ 30 years with them. This is further supported by this text in Mark as they again would NOT have been “astonished” by what they had heard in the year since Jesus had been among them. Instead they would have said, “Yah, we saw Him do all sorts of miracles and works during the 30 years He lived here!” Instead these villagers who were well acquainted with Jesus do not deny what they have been hearing about Jesus’ fame, there are ONLY astonishment is because they had not witnessed or heard of it for the 30 years He lived among them. This is further backed by their statement found in Luke chapter 4 of, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” and here before us in Mark chapter 6 “Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary?” These two statements are in essence saying, “Are you sure you got the right Jesus?” And apparently their opinion hadn’t changed in a year even with the increased awareness of the miracles that had been accomplished by Him. They would NOT have made those statements if Jesus had been performing “mighty works among them for thirty years”!  Based upon Luke’s words of Jesus increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men, I’m of the opinion that what they witnessed was a “perfect person living in a sin-filled world”! All through Jesus’ youth and on into adult hood He lived among them PERFECTLY, albeit NOT outwardly miraculously. In other word’s, other than His day to day perfection, there was nothing that separated Him or distinguished Him from others in His family or those who lived around Him. His uniqueness lies in His inward character that manifested its self in a perfect life. It was only visible in that He never told even 1lie, always treated people with love and grace, spoke the truth and was never 1 time self-centered. I’m certain that He had a great reputation as far as His work as a carpenter was concerned. That leads to another question: “Why then do these people have such contempt for Jesus, if He lived so perfectly among them?” That question leads me to the 2^nd aspect to Jesus’ upbringing in this little village of Nazareth.           
2. People had a hard time with His virgin birth: I’ve come to this conclusion by piecing together several scriptures along with this last statement of the villagers of Nazareth “Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary?” Mary and Joseph were from Nazareth they had grown up here and their pending marriage would have been common knowledge and like all Jewish weddings a community event. All that changed when Mary a virgin received a visit from the angel Gabriel and was told that she was highly favored among women because she had been chosen to conceive and bring forth a Son whom she calls Jesus. Though Gabriel’s message was amazing as it related to the prophetic truth’s promised Israel it did cause her to question not the promises but the means which they would be fulfilled namely her seeing that, “she had never known a man”! Gabriel explained to her that this would be accomplished supernaturally by way of the Holy Spirit and that Jesus will be the Son of God. He finished by saying to her that her much older cousin Elizabeth was 6 months along herself and that “With God nothing is impossible”. Mary, this amazing young girl, received this truth, left Nazareth and went to visit Elizabeth for the next 3 months in a city in the area of Judah. Upon here arrival John the Baptist still in Elizabeth’s womb leapt in her womb and the Holy Spirit tells Elizabeth that Mary is pregnant with the Messiah and they praise God. Mary then returns back home to Nazareth three months pregnant with some explaining to do with Joseph. He being a righteous man obviously loved her but couldn’t take her as his wife seeing that she was pregnant with what he initially believed was another man’s child. He too received a visit from an angel that Mary’s pregnancy was of the Holy Spirit. All of this information is relevant as it relates to this small village where everyone would have known everybody. This village I believe was far less accepting and believing of Joseph’s Mary’s explanation of her pregnancy. This is the reason why every incident that reinforced what Gabriel had told them was as Luke said in chapter 2 verse 51 something that Mary “kept…. in her heart.” I think it also explains why Mary responds the way she does at the wedding at Cana which was a neighboring city of Nazareth. Chronologically that event took place at the same time Jesus had been in Nazareth a year earlier. At that time, I believe that Mary was asking Jesus to reveal His true identity which had remained hidden and a source of her personal ridicule in Nazareth for 30 years leaving her with only Joseph and the things she treasured in her heart as a comfort. You will recall that Jesus told His mother on that occasion that “His hour had not yet come” for Him to reveal His true identity. Those words indicate that only His death and resurrection would truly reveal this. The final piece of the puzzle is found in the statement from the villagers who knew Jesus and said to Him are you not “the carpenter, the son of Mary?” That is never the way Jewish people would refer to a person’s family origins as it is an indication of being illegitimate which I believe is how they viewed Him. If you go to John’s gospel in chapter 8 verse 41 you can hear what the religious leaders no doubt had picked up from the villagers of Nazareth as they fired back at Jesus “We are not born of fornication; we have one Father-God”. In their mind Jesus was conceived outside of marriage either by Joseph or some other man. A year earlier they said that Jesus was Joseph son conceived outside of marriage, and now He was Mary’s son conceived outside of marriage; as far as they were concerned He could be Joseph’s or Mary’s illegitimate son but He could not be God the Son!

When you consider most of the unbelieving world’s view of Jesus, they are fine with Him being a great teacher, they rather like the fact that He turned against the religious establishment and had no interest in politics. They like that He identified with the common person, was compassionate to the poor and down trodden. There are two things that the world will not ever agree with when it comes to Jesus: His virgin birth and His resurrection! Make Him a good man, a moral man, or any other kind of virtue but don’t make Him the Son of God!

Mark 6:1-6

“The majesty of the Master”

1. Introduction
2. Vs. 2-3 The mystery of the Master
3. Vs. 4-6 The marvel of faith

Introduction

While in the 6^th chapter of Mark last week we spent the entirety of our time looking at the mystery that was the majesty of the Master in His early earthly life. I for one won’t be the same for the time we spent looking at His perfection. But equally surprising was the reactions of the villagers from His home town. It wasn’t the “mighty works” that took them aback it was that these were being attributed to the Jesus they knew. Usually when that is the assessment it is because the person who is being evaluated has such a bad reputation as to warrant the reaction. But that was simply not the case with Jesus; you would have thought that they would have said in light of His perfection, “Well that makes perfect since, He was always such a polite and caring person while He lived here.” In the case of Jesus their familiarity with Him bread contempt that was NOT BECAUSE of His character but IN SPITE of it. Listed in the 2^nd verse is four observations that puzzled them about Jesus whom they had known for 30 years:

• The source of His knowledge
• The character of His wisdom
• The significance of His power
• The majesty of His person

That these four observation was the source of contempt is an indictment not upon Jesus but upon the villagers of Nazareth who had witnessed of His perfection for 30 years. The only conclusion you can come up with is that these four things will always remain a mystery to those who CHOOSE to believe that Jesus is NOT and cannot ever be the Son of God! People that refuse to believe, will never be able to see:

• How a mere carpenter could be a prophet!
• How a person who grew up in their midst could have such character!

No, they fall into the trap that so many do, that a person’s education or upbringing determines a person’s character. They will continue to believe that some how God must work through their own preconceived acceptable channels of their choosing and if God so chooses to not do so He will be subject to their preconceived prejudices.

Vs. 2-3 The mystery of the Master

Vs. 2-3 A year later the hearts of those in Nazareth are still hard towards their own native son Jesus. Though they don’t kick Him out of the synagogue and attempt to throw Him off the cliff they nonetheless are offended by Him. He had left the crowds in Galilee to the quite of His small home town. What amazing grace Jesus has towards those who reject and mock Him! He still desires to reach those with His love! People who have and continue to have no affection towards Him and aren’t even open to the possibility of honest inquiry. From the perspective of Jesus disciples who had just witnessed a lifeless girl being brought back to life in Capernaum it must have seemed as a strange strategy to take leave of this highly effective environment and go back to a place where a year ago it had not only been ineffective it had nearly been fatal. They had witnessed this little village where they had treated Him so poorly. They had just seen life where there was once death and now they were in Nazareth a village that was dead where once the author of life was! What a lesson for all of Jesus’ disciples that seem to think that successful ministry is to be gaged upon record breaking numbers and amazing events instead of faithful obedience in reaching people who may not may not want to be reached!

As was the custom the ruler for the 2^nd time invited Jesus to speak on the Sabbath. But instead of His teaching drawing praise for the content, power and the fact that He was a home town boy made good, it again brought the same general questioning it had a year earlier. Their astonished was not in the truth He spoke or the way in which He spoke it. NO, they just couldn’t seem to get over their prejudice do to the familiarity with Him. “Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are preformed by His hands.” They had heard of His fame and popularity but to them He was still a controversial figure do to the reputation of His mother Mary. Her story was well known in this little town how she was pregnant prior to her marriage to Joseph. Jesus had worked with Joseph in the building trade; they knew his brothers and apparently His sisters stilled lived in Nazareth and all of this offended them. To the people of this little “Bean” town of Nazareth Jesus was at best an unimportant carpenter whose parents didn’t have a good reputation. In their small mindedness they just couldn’t get beyond this and discounted all of which others were attributing to Him. These folks had been His neighbors, they had sat next to Him at the synagogue, had Him build them something. A carpenter was a respected craftsman in that day, but nobody expected a carpenter to do miracles or teach profound truths in the synagogue. Where did He get all this power and wisdom? And why didn’t the rest of His family possess this same power and wisdom? Even more, why did His brothers and sisters not believe in Him? There is that old maxim that says, “Familiarity breads contempt” but the contempt shown by Jesus fellow citizens says nothing about Him and everything about them. They couldn’t get beyond what their own prejudices prescribed.  The Greek word “offended” is where we get our English word scandalize and as hard as it is for us to understand Jesus instead of being a great source of community pride was a source of embarrassment as they viewed Him as a scandal. They did what so many still do today, “They couldn’t explain Him, so they rejected Him.” They look with eyes that didn’t see anything special about Jesus. When it comes to Jesus there are only two possibilities:

1. You are like these villagers who see nothing amazing abut the Son of God!
2. You see nothing about Jesus that ISN’T AMAZING!

Vs. 4-6 The marvel of faith Introduction

Vs. 4-6 Mark doesn’t say that Jesus “Should” do no mighty works but that He “Could” do no mighty works because of their unbelief.  Jesus pointed out to the villagers that such a prejudicial evaluation is a product of the fallen nature. What a tragedy it is when people are unable and unwilling to recognize worth and honor even when they are most familiar and acquainted with. Such an evaluation never harms Jesus but it does limit His ability to minister to them, to heal and touch them with His love and truth. It is amazing to me that Jesus still responded to the few that could get beyond their faith limiting prejudice but no great work was done in His home town. To this day though the town is recognized as the town where Jesus was raised there is nothing honorable about Nazareth and in fact it remains in the area dominated by Muslims and if you are visiting it you won’t be able to take your Jewish tour guide. With all three of these accounts:

• Jairus
• The woman with the issue of blood
• And Jesus interaction with His home town of Nazareth

Each of these folks had to get beyond their limited view of the person and work of Jesus. We limit the possibilities of our encounter with Him if we fail to come to Him as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords in broken humble recognition of Who He is. We must also not that we need to recognize not only who He is with regards to His abilities but we also note who He is with regards to His character and willingness! Had Nazareth just came to Him broken, humbled recognizing that even though they had defamed Him and His family, He would do mighty works among them! When you read through the gospels only twice do we read that something happened that caused Jesus to marvel:

1. Here in Mark chapter 6 verse 6 we are told that Jesus marveled at the unbelief of the Jews from His home town.
2. Then in Luke 7:9 we are told that Jesus marveled at the belief of the Roman Centurion.

The character and nature of the Lord made it impossible for Him to marvel except when it came to: Faith or the lack of it! In both of these incidents faith is the common denominator in the things that caused Jesus to marvel while on earth. The Jewish people had been blessed with superior revelation from God which should have provided them a greater advantage of trusting God. And there should have been no village with a better opportunity in viewing “Emanuel” (God with us) then Nazareth and these villagers. If Israel was court side seats, then Nazareth was center court front row. Yet when you consider a gentile Roman Centurion, who had no direct revelation, he definitely was in the nose bleed section if he was in the stadium at all. What this revels is that the condition of a person’s heart is the greatest determining factor to belief and faith. Because of the hardness of the heart of His neighbors in Nazareth Jesus was unable to bless, heal and teach those that He loved and instead Jesus departed and made another circuit to the towns and villages around the Sea of Galilee and to enable greater efficiency in this He commissioned His disciples so that they would have the power and authority to be effective ministers.    

Mark 6:7-13

“Discovering the Master through ministry”

1. Introduction
2. Vs. 7-9 No special equipment
3. Vs. 10-11 Not going to get but to give
4. Vs. 12-13 No Statistics

Introduction

The story we are looking at this morning of the first outreach led by the disciples and is found in 3 of the 4 gospels. From their appointment to be His disciples until now they have been with Jesus in training for about 1 year. During that year they knew that they were being prepared to be sent away from Jesus to do His work. They had observed Him; His methods, His words, His authority and power. They had taken note of not only His ability over every human affliction but the compassion in which He handled each and every person as they were the single most important person He had ever met. They had witnessed how he dealt with crowds, and opposition. They where present during the two visit’s to Jesus’ home village of Nazareth where His work was paralyzed by unbelief. The time had now come for them to be His apostle’s sent away, His ambassadors, saying the things He had been saying, doing the things He had been doing. Before we look at the text this morning I want us to skip ahead to verses 30-32 where Mark tells us how the first mission experience went. It is very revealing by what we DON’T FIND: There is no specifics given in the report, no details of where they had gone, what people had they had encountered or specific victories won in His name. In fact, none of the gospels including Mark say anything other than what we are told in verse 12 that they “told Him ALL THINGS, both what they had done and what they had taught.” What seems to have caught the attention of Peter when he communicated this to Mark was NOT what they had done and said while they were out but rather the care of Christ for them on their return! This may be the single most important point of their time away from the Master doing ministry: As wonderful as it is to fulfill our calling in service it pales in comparison of being in His presence and experiencing His personal love and care for us! I suggest to you that this may very well be the purpose and goal if our service. Only a few days earlier after their experience on the Sea of Galilee they had asked “Who can this be?” The passage before us is driven by the disciple’s continual exploration of that question. This passage gives some very important principals in ministry that still need to be exercised today.

Vs. 7-9 No special equipment

Vs. 7 The first four principals of ministry as it relates to the question asked by the disciples, “Who can this be?”  is found in verse 7:

1. Vs. 7a “He called the twelve to Himself”: Ministry is first and foremost about discovering Who Jesus is! I can’t help but notice that Jesus’ first move in sending them out was to “calling them to Himself”. What we learn by Jesus sending the 12 out is that you can best find the answer of who Jesus is in SERVING rather than in the common method in most churches, SITTING. There is a place for observation in discovery but to truly learn you will need to lace up your sandals and get to work. Jesus was a strong proponent of O.T.J.T., “On the job training”. Jesus was communicating that through service they would encounter Him in away that merely sitting and watching with Him would never be able to reveal! We followers of Christ were never designed to be spectators instead we were called to be participants. Saints if you are not “Growing the antidote is you will need to get up and get GOING!”
2. Vs. 7b “and began to send them out two by two”: The word “send” here is the same word where we get our English word “apostle” from. It means a person sent out on a special commission to represent another, accomplishing His work and purpose on His behalf. Solomon wrote in Ecc.4:9 “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor.”  Ministry is done in unity with others not in isolation. Our discovery is a group activity as Jesus paired up the 12. Although we are not told who Jesus parried together in Mark’s account you will find it in Matthews account of 10:1-42 there we read that Peter and his brother Andrew were placed together, John and his brother James were together, Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew, James and Thaddaeus and lastly we have the odd pairing of Simon the Zealot with Judas Iscariot. What’s amazing in the last pairing is they also received power and authority in the name of Jesus to do His work. This fact reveals that just because a work is done in the name of Jesus, under His authority and even accomplishes what it is suppose to doesn’t necessarily legitimize the instrument that has been used.
3. Vs. 7c “gave them power”: Ministry primarily is about connection with Jesus and His power. The words “gave them power” in the Greek is in the imperfect tense which means that He “kept on giving them power” through out the mission He sent on. The word for “power” is a word that means “delegated authority”. These 12 possessed the authority to command demons to leave and lives to be restored in God’s power who had commissioned them. I am not saying that these 12 didn’t have given attributes and talents to go along with education and life experiences, what I am saying is that their effectiveness was about connection to Jesus power and all the above traits. The quicker we understand this and the more reliant upon this the more effective we become in what He has called us too.
4. Vs. 7d “over unclean spirits”: Based upon verse 13 we know the ministry wasn’t exclusively geared to power and authority over “unclean spirits” but Mark specifically mentions this one element in the 7^th verse. This was something that caused the disciples particular amazement upon their return in Luke 10:17 as they mention that “even the demons are subject to us in Your name”. Another great principal about ministry is: When we are doing what Jesus has called us to do, in His power NOTHING is difficult. There is polarity in ministry as it relates to Jesus: John 15:5 “Apart from Jesus we can do nothing” and Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. As long as we are on the Philippians 4:13 side of the equation we have nothing to fear! They learned that “This Jesus” had no equal and there was nothing they could ever encounter outside of His power and authority. This power and authority is provisional because it is a given as opposed to Jesus universal power and authority. What confidence we can have over any and every entrenched evil or stronghold when we are acting upon His given authority.

Now we look at another principal in verse 8-9

• Vs. 8-9 “He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff..” He told them that they already had everything they needed for the job and they wouldn’t need “special equipment”. They didn’t need “extra baggage” that would slow them down and cause unwanted delays. Jesus wanted them to operate in the balance of having what they needed for the task but still having to trust Him for their needs! It seems to me that the principal that Jesus is teaching His disciples is that their greatest provision is total dependency upon Him. Total dependency is not opposed to planning and provisions and in fact they can be a sign that you are totally dependent, what we need the most in ministry is simple, JESUS! Lack of preparation is never a sign of inspiration but it very well may be a sign of in subornation!

Vs. 10-11 Not going to get but to give

Hospitality was a sacred duty in the Eastern culture. It was never the responsibility of the stranger to seek it out but the duty of the village to offer it. So Jesus told them that if any village should refuse hospitality towards them than they should treat them as if they were a gentile house and not have fellowship with them.          

• Vs. 10-11 “In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place….” Any stranger could expect to be taken care of and entertained when they came into a town or village, there were no hotels in those days, so Jesus tells them that they were to utilize cultural hospitality as a means as a place to stay but the difference was that were going to give more than they were to receive. Clothed in His power and authority they were to stay and be a blessing for the time they were in the village. They were not to be beggars, or solicitors seeking funds for their mission. They were going out to GIVE, not to GET! The principal they were to learn is that if they are out in Jesus’ power and authority, ministry is about giving and not getting and only then is it worthy of support! They were instructed when leaving a village, they didn’t receive them they were to leave in a way that expressed sorrow by shaking the dust off their feet, indicating that this village would not receive the blessings that they had been sent to give. Rabbinical law required that when a man entered the temple courts he must take off staff, sandals and money belt and it appears that Jesus was suggesting that their entrance into the simple homes of villagers should be treated with such reverence as they would approach the temple.
• Vs. 12-13 No Statistics

The meaning of these words in the Greek doesn’t mean that they proclaimed or told people to repent but rather that they preached in such away that it produced repentance.

• Vs. 12 “So they went out and preached that people should repent.” Jesus told them that as them went from village to village they would encounter two different groups: Those that would offer hospitality and those that would offer hostility, those that they would consider friends and those that would consider them as enemies and they were to minister and be a blessing to both! They were to stay at the house that offered them hospitality and be their servants and not expect to be the households pampered guests. The last principal they learned about Jesus was that His message and method was about truth and transformation. They had been sent in His power and authority to bless the village and the blessing was that they can only experience the blessings of God by turning away from the things that hindered them receiving the blessings. It is the “Goodness of God that leads to repentance”. People will never let go of the life they have until they become convinced that it is keeping them from enjoying something far better. That was the message Jesus wanted them to convey to the villages they were sent too. That is always the problem with sin, it keeps us from experiencing and enjoying the gifts God so desires to lavish upon us!                    

Vs. 13 I again notice that no stats were taken, no numbers were recorded on how many saved, how many delivered from demons or how many healed from various diseases. Success was not to be measured by numbers but rather in obedience to which was seen in that Jesus received all glory and honor.   

   Mark 6:14-29

“The terror of goodness”

1. Introduction
2. Vs. 14-15 Three views of Jesus
3. Vs. 16-18 The terror of goodness
4. Vs. 19-29 A sinners conscious

Introduction

Looking at the gruesome details of this story you would have thought that I planned it to follow the day most in our country celebrate evil, but I didn’t. With all the words and work of Christ going on evil was equally active as depicted in this story. In fact, it sat upon the throne in the same area where the King of kings and the Lord of lords was doing His work. Oh to be sure it trembled and was paranoid in the presence of truth but it was nonetheless active. We face similar questions today when we see the face of evil and wonder where is Jesus, He is here, He hasn’t left or forsaken us and instead even though evil seems as though it is advancing it is only doing so that His presence may be known. Light is most visible when surrounded by darkness. Victory is at hand, His kingdom will come, His will, will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Don’t hide under a basket or a bed come on out and shine and the Herod’s will fear even while they distribute their evil. And the world will know that Jesus has been among them.       

Vs. 14-15 Three views of Jesus

Vs. 14 These first two verses reveal two separate and important truths:

First though not immediately apparent in the text is the fact that John the Baptist’s beheading took place right at the same time Jesus sent His disciples out. I believe Mark and the other gospel writers deliberately places it after the sending out of the 12 and prior to their return in verse 30-34 to indicate two things about their time away from Jesus:

1. That the timing of their departure coincided with John the Baptists death and as such indicates the concern Jesus had for His disciples. It seems that He wanted to get them away from Himself and the boldness of the opposition created by the execution of John.
2. Secondly, I believe that it is meant to indicate the successful priority of the disciple’s ministry while they were out. Verse 14 says that King Herod, with a guilty conscience, had “Heard of Jesus for His name had become well known.” Prior to these disciples being sent out Jesus’ ministry had been localized to where ever He was at but when paired up Jesus was suddenly every where. I think this accounts for Herod’s paranoia as he was hearing about Jesus being every where in dozens of places simultaneously. What stands out to me is that Herod had not been hearing about the disciples, no he had been hearing about Jesus! As I said last week these men had not been taking stats or bragging about what they were doing. Instead every place they had been and everyone they met had a singular conclusion to what they had encountered while the pairs of disciples were among them, “They had been with Jesus!” This truth cannot be emphasized enough in the Church today…. Successful ministry begins and ends with everybody talking about Jesus and nobody talking about the church!

There is another thing that caught my attention as it relates to to King Herod and that is that he attributed the miracles of Jesus to John and made the assessment that Jesus was John who had risen from the dead. That statement is remarkable for two reasons:

1. Herod was an Edomite (a descendant of Esau) but aligned himself with the Sadducees who we know didn’t believe in the resurrection or any supernatural work for that matter. Yet because of His guilt at being compliant at John’ death his theology has changed. 
2. It is also remarkable about this statement is that according to John’s gospel chapter 10:41 “John preformed no SIGN!” Again I believe that it indicates the level of guilt and paranoia that King Herod had.  

Vs. 15 The second thing this section points out is that with all the work and words that Jesus had done for over a year people had a hard time equating this work to Jesus and making the distinction of this must be God. Instead they concluded that Jesus was doing this as: “The risen John the Baptist, Elijah, The prophet, or like one of the prophets.” Buy this time the news of Jesus year long ministry had penetrated the palace and the ears of Herod Antipas and his Galilean place in Tiberias, one of the few cities that Jesus had never set foot in in that region. There were three opinions about Jesus voiced here and each of them reveal the heart of the people that held the view:

1. John the Baptist risen from the dead: This is the verdict of a guilty conscience as Herod had allowed an innocent man to be executed and was now haunted by what he had done. No person can avoid the greatest horror we will ever face, living with ourselves!
2. It is Elijah: This was the verdict of the hopeful nationalist waiting for a man who would have the power and authority to overthrow the Roman occupation. Oddly enough the disciples and even John the Baptist fell into this category at times. It was a common held belief that before the Messiah would come Elijah the greatest of the miracle working prophets would come and pave the way. To this day the Jews leave a chair open with a glass of wine at Passover then they go and open the door that Elijah may come in announcing the Messiah has come to take His place at the table. This nationalist view is of a person who wants the Messiah to come and make things right but a person who they will have to obey and submit too.      
3. It is the prophet, or like one of the prophets: This is the verdict of the person longing to hear from God. For three hundred years there had not been one word from God through the prophets and there were some who thought that Jesus was that voice. The people had grown tired of the vain arguments of the Rabbis, they longed for the “Thus says the Lord” of authority and when Jesus spoke they heard it. But Jesus was far more then “A” word from God He was “THE” word “OF” God! And with His words was the power and authority that would cause every knee to bow and every tongue to confess that He is God.

Elijah was good, the prophets were good and John the Baptist was good; but none of them was good enough to account for Jesus. He is not just the best among men but better than all men combined. What a tragedy that people try to explain Jesus away, he can be a good man, a teacher, a prophet and even savior but He must not be Lord God who died for my sins. The best among men are but dim lights powered by His glory when compared to the light of the world.

Vs. 16-18 The terror of goodness

Here we are introduced to the three primary characters in our story:

1. Herod was a walking contradiction: Herod the Great (who following the birth of Jesus ordered the deaths of all males 2 years old and under in Bethlehem) had married 5 different wives and had children which each of them, later killing some in fear of losing his power. After his death his children married each other or their cousins. When he died he divided his kingdom among his three surviving sons and Antipas was given the region of Perea and Galilee where the most of Jesus ministry was happening. The Herod in this story (Herod Antipas) married his niece, Herodias, who had been the wife of his ½ brother, Philip who was also had a ½ brother named Philip. As a practicing Jew is was unlawful for him to do so according to the law of Moses in Leviticus 18:16 and 20:21. Herod was a source of national embarrassment. Mark calls Herod Antipas a king as that is what his Roman readers would have recognized him as but in reality he was only a tetrarch which was a ruler of a ¼ part of a nation. An odd mixture of a man who at the same time could love sin and desire virtue, could long to hear truth but dread the words he heard and could imprison and condemn a man to die who he longed to set free and listen too. He was a slave to impulse as he acted with out reason and forethought. A reckless man, a danger himself and others!
2. Herodias wanted to eliminate the one man who had the courage and care to confront her about her sin: She wanted to do as she liked with out anyone reminding her that we are all slaves and our only differences lie in who are master is. She concocted a plan to murder John that she may live in peace instead of listen to John and obey that she may truly be at peace. She believed that in killing John she could silence the voice but failed to realize that she still would have to meet the One whom John spoke about! Most of our sins come home to roost and John the Baptist’s death was not the end of his ministry to Herod and Herodias as his voice continued to speak even when they ware served on a gold platter. There is no way Herodias or any one can silence truth because you can never cut us off from our head, Jesus! This story goes to show all of us that those who martyr the witness do far more harm to themselves then they do the saint. All they do to us is send us home to our Lord, they remain ruined on earth. The persecution of Christians is the least productive activity the world can ever be engaged in as it only blesses the believer and causes more to come forward.
3. John the Baptist was a man of great courage and care: He was a miracle child, and from the lips of Jesus in Matthew 11:11 “Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist”.  John had made the cardinal sin as far as Herodias was concerned, publically rebuking such behavior. You can always tell when a society as declined to the point of being reprobate: When they conclude that criticism about abominable behavior is a greater crime then the behavior. To John the imprisonment in a dungeon must have been like a room in the palace as he had lived life in the wild Judean desert with locust as his meat. He lived for truth and died for truth and no man was his master! And while John the Baptist took issue with Herod’s sin publically the religious leaders said nothing.

Vs. 19-29 A sinners conscious

Vs. 19-29 Chronologically verse 17-29 proceed verses 14-16. This is a fitting story for the ghoulish earthly holiday that past Saturday. The ghastly crime of Herodias’ hate filled murder of a just man is recorded. John the Baptist had exposed her sin and her husband / uncles’ weakness. Mark tells us that Herod didn’t share the same hatred of John and in fact he seems to at least had an interest in what John had to say. The location of this even took place in Herod’s place in Machaerus 15 miles on the eastside of the Dead Sea in modern day Jordan. Herodias had been waiting for an opportunity to exploit her husband’s weakness to execute John the Baptist and the time came at a party. All the dignitaries had come for his birthday bash and Herodias sends out her teenage daughter Salome to do a seductive dance that aroused Herod to the the point where he made an oath to her in front of his invited guests promising her what ever she wanted up to ½ his kingdom. The Jew’s would never have permitted a woman to dance seductively before a group of men and even most gentile mothers would have forbidden a daughter to do this but to Herodias her daughter Salome was part of her wicked plan to seduce her husband to do what she wanted and murder John. Herod was faced with breaking many oath’s as he had apparently repeatedly declared his desire to reward the girl for her seductive dance. Salome went and asked her mother who told her the head of John the Baptist and The ½ of his kingdom was not his to give it belonged to the Roman government who put him in charge and of no value when offered by a drunken depot. But the savage hate of the inbred Herodias knew no bounds as she would sacrifice her husband and her daughter to accomplish her murder. She valued John’s head as ½ the kingdom but it was worth far more than that. The sad truth is Herod respected John, feared his words, recognized the righteousness of God displayed in his life but in the end was a slave to his own vile passions, imprisoned by his own immorality. No person can regulate their own sin to fit their convenience; sin is never the servant and always the master! On the slipper slope of evil and sin there always comes a time when the brakes will no longer work and Herod had hit that time. How strange is a sinners conscious: The last of the Hebrew prophets was murdered because He spoke the truth and Herod felt obligated to exercise his morality:

• Not in obeying the laws with regard to marrying his niece, the wife of his ½ brother
• Not in being apart of murdering a righteous man
• But in keeping his drunken depraved oath to a teenage girl who danced sexually pleasing his flesh

Doing what is wrong even when we promise to do so is never morally binding, it was wrong for him to make it and it was far worse when he chose to keep it. Actions make kings not crowns, parliaments or subjects and in this case the true king was executed by the prisoner! It is better to be true than to be consistent, it was Herod’s consistency that trapped him and enslaved him. In Luke 23:6-12 we will again meet up with Herod Antipas when he tries Jesus with the hope to see a miracle. But Jesus would not even speak to this murder adulterer and in Luke 13:31-35 calls him a fox a description of a swindler. In A.D. 39 Herod Agrippa, his nephew denounced his uncle to the Roman emperor and Antipas was deposed and sent into exile.     

  Mark 6:30-44

“True Manna”

1. Introduction
2. Vs. 30-34 Burn on or burn out?
3. Vs. 35-44 Manufacturers or distributors

Introduction

I am amazed at the training methods and risks Jesus took when entrusting the greatest message and only hope to unlearned and inexperienced people. The fact that He did astounded experts in the book of Acts as they noted that those who they had just debated, were unlearned and uneducated fishermen with only one qualifying detail, “They had been with Jesus”! In the rabbinical schools the pupils from a very young age had to show increased academic aptitude that was designed to eliminate students until you were left the best and brightest. The pupils that didn’t make it would be dropouts that would filter to different trades. It is clear that Jesus didn’t choose His disciples from the rabbinical schools but rather from the cast off trades. His were not the best and the brightest, far from it! His disciples were not trained daily in the class rooms but were with Him observing His methods and manners. It is here that we pick up our story in the 6^th chapter of Mark as the 12 have come back having been parried up and sent out with His power and authority. As you look at the whole of this passage you see the ebb and flow of the Christian life: A continuous going into the presence of God from the presence of people, and coming out from the presence of people and back into the presence of God. You can not be effective at our work for God unless you have spent time at rest with God! But you will be restless if you have not been engaged in your work for God, we need both!

Vs. 30-34 Burn on or burn out?

Vs. 30-31 Know doubt Jesus knew that these men needed some debriefing but his story is far more than a story of personal time interrupted. It has been said that, “If you don’t come apart to a deserted place and rest you will just end up coming apart!” Saints, it is always wiser decision to make preparation to burn on so that you won’t just end up burning out! Mark places the beheading of John the Baptist between the sending out of the 12 disciples of verses 7-13 and their return and report of verses 30-31 to give context of the time and situation in which the disciples were sent out. Jesus recognized that these disciples were in danger on three fronts and He had accounted for this and made provision for it.

• First there was the danger from the increased boldness of the opposition
• Second, there was the danger from exhaustion and fatigue as we are told that “many were coming and going, and they din not even have time to eat.” 
• Finally, though not in this text we are informed in the other gospel accounts that by far their greatest danger was from pride and an over estimate of their accomplishments. The disciples were very excited during their debriefing so much so that Jesus had to warn them in Luke 10:20 not to “rejoice that the demons are subject to them in His name but rather that their names are written in heaven.”

Vs. 32-34 The feeding of the 5,000 must not be confused with the feeding of the 4,000. Though they happened the same year the feeding of the 5,000 took place close to Bethsaida in the Spring just before Passover whereas the feeding of the 4,000 took place later in the same year near Decapolis at the other end of the Sea of Galilee. In the feeding of the 4000 we are told by Jesus that their feed was necessitated because they were “very hungry for they had been with Him for three days and hadn’t eaten.” But here we know that they had followed Jesus on foot as He and his disciples were crossing the lake. And even though Jesus had taught all day the request of the disciples to “send them away” was perfectly reasonable as they had time to get back and get food. This suggests to us three things:

1. That this feeding was not a necessity: Though a deliberate action by Jesus it was not one born out of the necessity of the physical needs of the multitudes. To be sure some of the folks were no doubt tired having ran around the lake but they were not in danger of starving. It is impressive that the multitudes had taken the effort to run after Jesus and stay there through out the day to hear Him teach and to have their inflictions ministered too, but in John’s account we are told that “Jesus knew what He was going to do” which is an assessment that this was not a spontaneous event but more of a calculated one.   
2. That this feeding was not about food for the body: This feeding was not about just the multitudes it was also about the disciples who had just returned from their being sent out doing His work in the villages. The timing was very near Passover, the location being out in the wilderness all of which no doubt would have given them time to reflect upon the nation’s wondering in the wilderness. John records Jesus’ words a day later in chapter 6 and reminds us that it took place in the same spot as the feeding of the 5000. The lesson Jesus was trying to convey is found in His words a day later, “I am the bread of life. He who comes after Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” “I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die.” These disciples were to learn that it was far more exciting to be with “THE BREAD OF LIFE”. They were given the privilege to give the multitudes the true “Manna” which in partaking of Him will leave the person not only satisfied in this life but full forever.
3. This feeding was about finding your true fulfillment: I come to this conclusion based upon the number of baskets filled with the crumbs, 12. The number 12 is a very biblical number as it not only represented the number of Jewish tribes it also represented the number of disciples. The point of this seems to suggest that our deliverance of Jesus as the bread of life is the surest way to never hunger ourselves. That which Israel was longing for in manna was only temporary and was pointing to Him who will forever satisfy what we hunger for. Ministry is a basket, nothing more! Its usefulness is not in the straw or branches that are woven together but it what it is designed to gather “The bread of life”!         
4. Vs. 35-44 Manufacturers or distributors

Vs. 35-44 All four gospel accounts record this event with differing details: Matthew tells us that the decision to depart was timed with the hearing that John had been beheaded. Three of the accounts tell us that Jesus was “moved with compassion and healed the sick because they were like sheep without a shepherd” and only Mark tells us that He “began teaching them many things”. Mark also tells us that the feeding of the 5,000 came after the day was “far spent”. And three gospel accounts tell us then that “the disciples told Jesus to send them away, that they may go into surrounding villages and buy themselves bread; for they have nothing to eat.” Only John tells us that Jesus seeing the large multitude coming forward asked Philip “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” And that Jesus said that testing him, for “He Himself knew what He would do.” Matthew, Mark and Luke all record that Jesus then challenged them saying, “You give them something to eat” it is then that Philip answered that “200 day’s wages were not enough to purchase the bread necessary to feed the multitude even if everyone had only a little.” To which Jesus replied, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” John tells us that the disciples came back from this scavenger hunt with the answer from Andrew, Peter’s brother, that they had found a “lad who had five barley loafs and two small fish” and the disciples added “but what are these among so many” to which Luke’s account adds that the disciples said “unless we go and buy food for all these people.” From here each account describes the picturesque grouping of the multitude in 100’2 and 50’s upon the green spring time grass and how Jesus took up the five barley loaves and two fish and blessed it and broke it giving it to the disciples who in turn passed it out them went back and took up twelve baskets full of fragments.

Vs. 35 According to Matthew chapter 10:36-38 Jesus had sent out the 12 because He had compassion on the multitudes but this time the multitudes came to Jesus and His disciples wanted to send them away. There is a difference between Jesus view of the 5000 and the disciples view of them:

• The disciples saw them through the eyes of their needs and said, “Send them away, were weary!”
• Jesus saw them through the eyes of their need and said, “Come unto me all you who are weary!”

The disciples had two suggestions for solving the problem:

1. Send them away: Give these people ample time to go and find their own provisions. I’m of the opinion that this is the one that the disciples preferred as it would mean less work for them and more down time with Jesus.
2. Raise enough money and go and buy enough bread so that all could have something to eat: A denarion was a silver coin worth about $35 today and 200 would be $7,700 or an average year’s wage. This didn’t seem feasible as they didn’t have enough resources for such a large crowd, so that everyone would be able to get even a little. Not to mention that they would have to go to several villages to find enough bread to purchase for 5000 men plus women and children.

What an effective committee of problem solvers these 12 were! Someone has well described a committee as a group of people who as individuals aren’t willing to do anything so they come together with the collative purpose to decide that nothing can be done! Saints, Jesus isn’t interested in what we lack His only interest is in what we have! They adopted a “corporate business plan” to assess the situation which was to “measure their available resources”. But Jesus offered them the “Biblical Plan” which was to “Determine God’s will and then trust Him to meet the need.”  Jesus had the disciples sit the people down in groups of hundreds and fifties in the spring time green grass. The Greek word for “sit down” is one used for a person to recline at banquet and suggests that Jesus meant it to illustrate to the disciples that theses 5000 were attendants at His banquet and were waiting to be served. These loaves were barley loaves the food of the poorest of the poor and the size would have been not like our loaf of bread but like our dinner roll. The two fish would have been salted and small in size. Then Jesus took the little lad’s lunch that Andrew had found and did three things that we must remember:

• BLESSED IT
• BROKE IT
• GAVE IT

The Greek has the word “broke” the loaves and “gave” them are in different verb tenses. The verb tense for “broke” is in the aorist tense which means that the action was “instantaneous” where as the verb tense for “gave” is in the imperfect tense which means that the action was “continuous”. Jesus broke the five loafs and two fish and the disciples kept on giving it out.  Jesus illustrates for us is that, “Blessings and breakings always proceed feedings.” We must allow the Lord to bless our lives and break our lives if our lives are going to be a nourishment for others! What a lesson for these corporate disciples that they were not “manufacturers” they were only “distributors”! They were to get what ever He had given them into the hands of Jesus so that He could “BLESS IT” “BREAK IT” it is then that we “DISTRIBUTE IT” so that He can “MULTIPLY IT”! In the hands of Jesus our little becomes much more than a meal, if we put ourselves and what He has given us into the hands of Jesus where He can bless us, break us and give us away there is no telling what He can do!     

Mark 6:45-56

“The unfavorable winds of obedience”

1. Introduction
2. Vs. 45-48 Trouble with a capital T
3. Vs. 49-52 Be of good cheer it is I
4. Vs. 53-56 A touch of Him

Introduction

This would be a night of miracles when we take into account the other gospel records. Matthew records for us that not only did Jesus walk on water but Peter witnessing this asked Jesus to “command me to come to You on the water”.  Jesus’ response was “Come” and Peter was doing well until he noticed that the wind picked up and he became afraid and was forced to cry out, “Lord, save me!” The other miracle associated with this is found in John’s account in 6:21 where we read that not only did the wind cease immediately when Jesus got into their boat they also immediately arrived at their destination.

The difficulty in these stories is not only the event but what the event was intended to communicate to those at hand. It is one thing to attempt to examine a miracle from the distance of better that 2000 years and quite another to do so through the eyes and words of those who witnessed at that time. All we have been given us in our attempt at this feat is two essential tools: The word of God and the Spirit of God. First, we need to place the story in its context as it took place immediately following the miracle of the feeding of the 5000 which we noted was not based upon Jesus meeting a physical necessity of the multitudes.

Vs. 45-48 Trouble with a capital T

Vs. 45-46 There appears to be two primary reasons for the immediacy of Jesus’ actions in getting the disciples into the boat to depart from the feeding of the 5000.

1. First, what predicated Jesus response is not found in Mark’s account but it is in John’s where we are told that there was a popular uprising underfoot to force Jesus to become king and the disciples were not ready for such a test as their ideas concerning the Messiah and His kingdom were still too political and national.
2. Second, they needed to learn a lesson with regards to success that they still had not grasped, (We are told this in verse 52). They had come from a very successful mission, where they taught and many had been healed and demons had been dislodged. They had very little time to enjoy that when the 5000 had come and in their very hands bread kept on coming forth feeding the close to 10,000 people. To say they were on a spiritual high is an understatement but as wonderful as it is to walk on mountain peaks we are only one step away from a cliff.   

Only a few weeks earlier Jesus had a mid term exam for the disciples on this very lake. The parallels of these two stories are very similar: In the first exam Jesus had informed them that they were “going over” to the the other side of the lake. While he was asleep in the boat the wind and the waves overcame them to the point that they were forced to awake Jesus and then they proceeded to accuse Him of not caring about them. His response was to calm the wind and the waves and cause them to wonder as to who He was. The primary difference in this 2^nd exam is that Jesus was not in the boat with them at all. The point of decision of faith or fear for them is essentially the same questions as prior: “Has Jesus placed us in this situation and are we convinced that He loves us and will never leave us or forsake us?” I submit to you that those are always the questions that we need to answer if we are to choose faith instead of fear!

Vs. 47-48 The Jews had adopted the Roman time keeping methods and night time ran from 6 pm – 6 am and was divided into four watches: 6 pm – 9 pm, 9 pm – midnight, midnight – 3 am, and 3 am – 6 am. So it was around 3 am that Jesus looked out from the shore seeing the disciples straining at the oars. I must admit I’m very impressed at these disciples as by my estimation they had been rowing against the wind for close to 9 hours and had only been able to make it ½ way across the lake but nonetheless were still committed to the task. You wonder if there had been any debates as to turning around and going to shore as clearly they were getting no where. I could hear some of them shouting back at the suggestion saying, “Hey fellows remember the last time when we wanted to give up on His word? You all can drop your oars if you want to but Peter and I are going to keep paddling.” As impressed as I am at their determination to fulfill their Masters command I’m even more impressed at Jesus who had been over looking the trial He had placed them in, praying over them for the entire 9 hours. As such we gain an invaluable perspective that ought to change us when ever we are in similar situations. Jesus was never unaware:

• Of their effort while straining at the task
• He was never ignorant of the impossible situation as they were contrary to the wind
• He was not uncaring about how long they had been at it

All of that information was clearly at His constant disposal but it is what we “boat rowers” often accuse Him of being ignorant of. Looking at this situation in this light causes us to realize that this was clearly part of Jesus plan so that they could learn what was in them and could again see that they lack faith in Him. Mark tells us that at “the 4^th watch of the night Jesus came to them, walking of the sea, and would have passed them by.” Here they witnessed the very person who had placed them in the boat facing the:

• Same wind and waves that caused them to go nowhere
• With less time, they had 9 hours and Jesus was passing them by in an hour
• And less equipment as they were in a boat with oars and He was walking on water

This story presents of very perplexing situation theologically as we are faced with the facts that these disciples were tormented on the very path of obedience. We often think mistakenly that we will only experience calm seas and favorable winds if we take sail in obedience to our Lord but we find here that such is not the case. Instead what we find is that obedience is not the path of least resistance, NO it is the path of the certainty of His presence and power!  

Vs. 49-52 Be of good cheer it is I

Vs. 49-52 The Greek word for “on” here signifies that Jesus’ sandals made contact with the water like a person would on solid ground. Saints remember, the waves that made it impossible for the disciples to arrive at their destination were but steps that guaranteed Jesus arrival to them. The Greek phrase “would have passed them by” is not as it appears as the phrase means to come near as His point was not to leave them in their situation but to come close to them to help them. Jesus had to wait till their situation had become impossible before he began His journey. Oh much like you and I that they found it easier to believe in a superstition than a Savior and cried out in terror instead of rejoicing in Jesus. All of this changed when He spoke to them as a friend to encourage them. He said to them “It is I and nobody else! So stop being afraid!”

It is here that Matthew includes the story about Peter walking on water until the wind arose and he began to sink. It is easy to criticize Peter for getting his eyes off Jesus but least we forget there were 11 others in the boat that never were willing to take the chance in the first place.

Vs. 50-52 The Greek has it that it was the wind that grew “tired and week” where they had been the very circumstances that had caused the disciples the same effect. Ah but with Jesus walking upon upon them it was the elements that grew week and tired.

The miracle that they had just witnessed in their own hands hadn’t sunk in. If Jesus could take a little and feed a lot than He could surely take care of them in their time of need. Jesus had the power to take five dinner rolls and two fish and feed over 5000 with 12 basketful of fragments left over; then surly Jesus could take care of wind and waves walking upon them.

By way of application you will often find that blessings and burdens usually follow each other. The storm that the disciples had experienced only a short time earlier followed an exciting day of teaching and healing, now here again we see the same thing. In the book of Acts, the adding of the 5000 to the church was followed by the storm of persecution. It appears that the disciples needed learn not to become to excited at blessings and not to distraught during burdens as neither is an indication of a greater or lessoning presence of the Lord. Oh that we could learn from our brothers in the boat, that the same One that has placed us in the storms of our situation is the same One that walks of water and has been up all night fully aware of our situation and is interceding on our behalf. Jesus is on our side, He wants us to succeed, He longs to calm our fears: “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” I find it interesting that the wind ceased when He came into the boat which suggests to me that they hadn’t realized that He had always been there with them! The calm is found not in the ceasing of wind but rather in the realization of Jesus in our boat!

Vs. 53-56 A touch of Him

Vs. 53-56 These verses best fit into the context of the seventh chapter as they appear to be part of the reason for the continual examination and harassment from the religious leadership. The contrast Mark presents is the wonderful scene of Jesus passing through the Gennesaret region of Galilee and people in human desperation carried by loved ones on their beds, longing to touch as the women who had the issue of blood had, the hem of His garment and Jesus consenting to this practice. In stark contrast is the Pharisees who allow traditional religion to harden their compassion for human suffering. How horrible it is that many a person so called “faith” is the catalyst for the atrocities and indifferences towards others.

Saints our situation is never the determining factor to gage the presence of Christ! Jesus is not more present in the breaking and blessing of His provisions then He is when we are in the midst of terrible storms thrust at us in this world. He is praying for us even when we think He is absent and in the dark over our circumstances. And we can be certain that He will come to us in that hour and we will reach the shore as planed.

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