Catching up - Knowing Jesus through Mark 6

Because of one hurricane scare and one hurricane reality, we are somewhat behind in our church-wide focus on the Gospel of Mark. This Sunday and Monday, September 28-29, Rev Derek Noble will be here. Some time ago, I asked him to preach Mark 9-11 because that's where I planned to be by now. He has prepared those chapters and you don't want to miss those sermons. Thus far, we have made our way through chapter 5 in worship.
So to be faithful to our study, I will briefly sketch chapters 6-8 here on the blog. By exploring 6-8 here, we'll be ready for Derek to jump in Sunday with chapter 9. It's a lot to take in but here goes. I'll do seperate posts for each chapter through this week.
Chapter 6: Verses 1-6
- Jesus goes home. His disciples join him as he teaches in the local synagogue but Jesus is quickly questioned by the locals who knew him in reference to his family. Jesus is clearly disappointed that the locals, many of whom he clearly knows from childhood, belittle his ministry.
- Jesus "marvels" at their unbelief. Disappointed, surprised, who knows exactly what was going through Jesus' mind and heart at this moment but he expected a different reaction from those who have known him all their lives. Many of them were the religiously faithful of the village but in this crucial moment, they did not believe.
Verses 7-13
- Jesus moves on
- He sends the disciples out two by two: Ministry is done in partnership with others
- Note the simplicity that Jesus instructs the disciples to maintain on their journey (in food, clothing and finances etc.)
- No drama (as the popular phrase goes) Jesus tells the disciples to "dust off" rejection and move on - much like Jesus just did in his hometown
- Mark describes the fruit of their journey - preached repentance, they casted out many demons, anointed and healed the sick
Verses 14-29
- Mark describes Herod's fear of Jesus by recalling his treatment of John the Baptist
- in past tense, Herod recalls his arrest and execution of John the Baptist
- He recalls it because people are saying Jesus is John returned or maybe Elijah. Herod's fear grows.
- Foreshadowing of Jesus' death and resurrection in verse 29.
(Read Tom Wright's commentary on this section especially)
Verses 30-44
- After this active ministry (verses 12-13), Jesus calls the disciples to rest in a "lonely place" (RSV)
- They are followed again. Jesus has compassion on the crowds and teaches them "many things."
- Feeding of the 5000: my favorite phrase here is Jesus' retort to the disciples when they tried to send the people away at dinner time - "No, you give them something to eat."
- There was enough food to go around, no there was more than enough!
- 12 baskets full: that number 12 is always significant (12 disciples, 12 tribes of Israel) signifies completeness, restoration, and even abundance
Verses 45-52
- Jesus finally makes it to a quiet place to pray (Jesus shows us that the needs of people and the need to pray are not exclusive of each other. Too many times, many people, most notably pastors, feel like prayer gets pushed off and becomes impossible in the face of human need...Jesus shows us that we are the ones who make prayer a priority, we can always come back to prayer)
- The disciples are in the boat with the "wind against them"
- Jesus walks on the water but Mark notes that he "meant to pass them by" !! Which begs the question - where was he going?! Bishop Will Willimon says that it indicates that maybe Jesus is up to more in the world than just the concerns of the church (disciples in the boat)! Jesus is about saving the whole world!
- "They did not learn the lesson of the loaves" Interesting to see Mark connect this last story with the loaves story - so do we miss the lesson of the loaves? So what is the lesson of the loaves?
Verses 53-56
- It's day time, Jesus and the disciples come ashore and are immediately bombarded again with human needs
- "Touching the fringe of his (Jesus') garment" and being healed reemerges (recall Mark 5: 27-29). Power goes out from Jesus' person

*Please read about chapter 6 in Tom Wright's Mark for Everyone. If you don't have a copy, attend a Sunday school class this Sunday and borrow one or order one from www.amazon.com