Recap of Mark,chapter 6 from Wednesday evening bible study meeting notes

 

     Mark 6 describes Jesus' return to His hometown. In this chapter, Jesus goes to Nazareth and faces rejection by his own family. He then sends his Apostles in pairs to various cities in the region where they also face rejection. He continues preaching his ministry, healing people and performing miracles. He also sends the disciples away to preach on their own. The chapter covers the beheading of John the Baptist, the feeding of five thousand people and Jesus walking on water.

Mark 6:2 "And when the Sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing [him] were astonished, saying, “From whence hath this [man] these things? and what wisdom [is] this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?"

“Sabbath” . This implies that no public teaching was done until the Sabbath.

“Teach in the synagogue”.

“Astonished”: Here the people’s initial reaction gave way to scepticism and a critical attitude toward Jesus.

Whenever Jesus was near a synagogue on Sabbath, He always preached and taught. Here in Nazareth, all of the people think of Him as just a man like them, because they saw Him grow up in the house of Mary and Joseph. They could not visualize Him as God manifest in the flesh, because they knew Him too well.

I can see a little jealousy in the statement "from whence hath this man these things". You see, a prophet is without honour in his own home town. They surely could not believe these miracles which they had been hearing about were done by this fellow they knew so well.”

I am quite sure that most of us have experienced this phenomena either on one side of the coin or another… I was the first child in my family of 6 kids to go to college and I am the youngest.. I remember well the rivalry that existed in my household but one conversation with my middle brother came to mind as I read this.. I have a brother 10 years older than myself, who is now deceased. We worked together for a time and one day on a construction site I told my brother, as we were unloading a truck, that I intended to go to college and that I had been already accepted in a local college. I remember that he laughed and ask me what I was pretending to be…. I insisted that I was going to college and would begin the following semester when he became enraged at my conversation. He wanted to know just how I thought I would get by while I did “nothing” and added “do you really think you are smart enough for that???? And laughed again.. I remember my father reacting in a similarly negative fashion… He said go back to work and work harder.. grow up and be a man and forget this nonsense… Part of this reaction was resentment for my audacity, part of it was jealously, and a portion of it was that it was threatening to them, in terms of me raising above the current established way of things, as we knew it and disregarding an established family identity by taking a different path..….For the years that followed that attitude never stopped and after I graduated my place seemed to shift in the family structure and after my second and third graduations the relationship with my family was nothing like it had been before… There was a distinct distance that saddened me a little.. However, not to go on too long about myself, but since that time I have nieces and nephews that have attended many different universities and become professionals. Maybe I started something good in spite of my audacity.. I only wish that I had the wits at that time to reflect on God’s Words to help me through also… The younger we are when we begin to serve God the less regret we will feel along the way…This is one of the true blessings of living for the Lord….



Mark says:

“And he went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his disciples follow him. 2 And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands? 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.

They were offended by him…..Mark doesn’t tell us what Jesus taught in that synagogue service. Were the people astounded by the content of his teachings or his authoritative manner? Probably both—but especially his authoritative manner. He was, after all, one of them. They must have thought, “Who does he think he is?” They answer that question, “He is a carpenter, the son of Mary.” “the son of Mary”?. People would usually identify a man by his relationship with his father rather than his mother, and he is so identified in John 6:42. It is possible that Joseph is dead by this time, although we would expect people to identify Jesus by his father’s name even after the father’s death. Identifying Jesus as Mary’s son may be intended as a slur on the legitimacy of his birth.

“4 But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. 5 And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. 6 And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching.”

It is such a blessing when we can clearly see and feel God’s blessing… when his teachings become a reality for us in our own experiences… In our own lives…. Isn’t that what the study of God’s Word is all about in the final analysis? I wonder how many principals in this chapter that you could all extract and find examples of in your lives also….

It could be that they might disturb memories of things gone by that may require some prayer and forgiveness. That would be a wonderful recognition to have unconscious burdens lifted from our shoulders by our willingness to reach out in prayer and by God removing the heavy weight from us as only God’s forgiveness can do…It’s part of the Joy of living for God… We are very blessed indeed….

I often wonder how Jesus felt in his heart after experiences like this one. It says that “ He marvelled at their disbelief”… We can only speculate what “ marvel” meant in reality for Him.. But we can identify more closely with Jesus as our humanness and His human likeness overlap into a form of spiritual identification…

But Jesus was not deterred nor should we be.

It is a wonder and a blessing that we can study his word and open our eyes to all of it’s glory… Praise God..

In verse 45 Mark records:

45 And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people. 46 And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray. 47 And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land. 48 And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them.

This fourth watch is always important when mentioned, because this is the last watch of the night. This watch is the time that satanic agents who went out , are said to perform their activities are returning to their bases. This is the time of the morning when the Israelites were delivered from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 12 and 14).

49 But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out: 50 for they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid. 51 And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered. 52 For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.

There are several things the Twelve do not understand about the loaves, or about anything that Jesus does. "Understand" is from the Greek root word suniemi and means to analyze the evidence and come to a conclusion. Their confirmation bias tells them that Jesus is the Messiah, come to make their lives easier and richer. What they don't see is that Jesus isn't there to make them prosperous but to provide what they need, which applies only to what's required in order to accomplish God's work (Philippians 4:12–13).

"Hardened" comes from the Greek root word poroo. It brings to mind an elephant's foot, heavy layers of tough skin that prevent any dexterity or feeling. At the same time the Twelve's spiritual understanding is blinded by their hard hearts, they worship Jesus as the Son of God (Matthew 14:33). It is possible to talk the talk without understanding the words. A testament to the importance of bible study..

We see this in churches that have gone astray in their understanding of God's expectations as well as cults who use familiar words but have heretical teaching. Words are useless if they are twisted away from the truth.

This entire episode is an illustration of God giving the Twelve what they need. Although they didn't get to debrief their missions trip, they do get time away from the crowds. They didn't bring food, but God provided (Mark 6:39–43). The next day, when the crowd finds them again, Jesus will say, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst" (John 6:35). Jesus will show that man lives on the Word of God, not by bread alone (Matthew 4:1–4) when He tells the Twelve that to do God's will is more satisfying than bread (John 4:31–34). For a while yet, however, the Twelve will miss the point that if we trust and obey God, He will take care of us (Mark 8:16–21). It’s hard to have the faith to believe in miracles and the disciples were no exception..….

We are left with some food for thought. Where would we place ourselves in the events of this chapter? Who would we be? What does that tell us about who we are? How can we apply this chapter to our own lives? Ask these things for yourselves and address them all in prayer. The journey through the scriptures is an awesome one indeed… God bless you on your journey…..

We ask Lord that you continue to bless our little bible study and all of its members and their families.. We ask for health and strength and wisdom to live out your Word each day in our lives. Let us be a light in the darkness and if we can change one life for the better and guide one soul to Jesus than we have lived a life worth living. We thank thee for all of the opportunities that you have provided for us along the way that give our live meaning and purpose. Thank you Lord for making your presence known to us everyday and we ask only that you help us overcome our own weakness and short-comings as we take baby steps with thee.. Be with all of the victims of the storms here in the Philippines.. We know that the poorest of them will suffer the most… We ask the you can move others to intercede with their suffering as so many need housing, food, milk, diapers ,warm clothing and fresh water.. Help your babies Lord, as we know the needs for the little ones are special…

We ask these things in Jesus’ name…

Amen