6
Jesus left there and went to his home town of Nazareth. His disciples went with him. 2 When the Sabbath day came, he began to teach in the synagogue. Many who heard him were amazed. ‘Where did this man get these things?’ they asked. ‘What's this wisdom that has been given to him? What are these remarkable miracles he is doing? 3 Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son? Isn't this the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?’ They were not pleased with him at all.
4 Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is honoured everywhere except in his own town. He doesn't receive any honour among his relatives or in his own home.’ 5 Jesus placed his hands on a few ill people and healed them. But he could not do any other miracles there. 6 He was amazed because they had no faith.
Jesus went around teaching from village to village. 7 He called the 12 disciples to him. Then he began to send them out two by two. He gave them authority to drive out evil spirits.
8 Here is what he told them to do. ‘Take only a walking stick for your trip. Do not take bread or a bag. Take no money in your belts. 9 Wear sandals. But do not take extra clothes. 10 When you are invited into a house, stay there until you leave town. 11 Some places may not welcome you or listen to you. If they don't, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet. That will be a witness against the people living there.’
12 They went out. And they preached that people should turn away from their sins. 13 They drove out many demons. They poured olive oil on many ill people and healed them.
6:1–13 Jesus came from a common working family in Galilee. Everyone knew that he was the son of Mary of Nazareth. But Jesus' family and community didn't understand that he was also the Son of God. Very few people in Nazareth believed Jesus could heal them. Jesus' town and family didn't have faith in him. But others in Israel did. Jesus sent his 12 most trusted followers out with his authority. The authority Jesus gave them meant that they could do the same work he was doing. Some people would accept their message about God's kingdom and other people wouldn't.
14 King Herod heard about this. Jesus' name had become well known. Some were saying, ‘John the Baptist has been raised from the dead! That is why he has the power to do miracles.’
15 Others said, ‘He is Elijah.’
Still others claimed, ‘He is a prophet. He is like one of the prophets of long ago.’
16 But when Herod heard this, he said, ‘I had John's head cut off. And now he has been raised from the dead!’
17 In fact, it was Herod himself who had given orders to arrest John. He had him tied up and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias. She was the wife of Herod's brother Philip. But now Herod was married to her. 18 John had been saying to Herod, ‘It is against the Law for you to be married to your brother's wife.’ 19 Herodias couldn't forgive John for saying that. She wanted to kill him. But she could not, 20 because Herod was afraid of John. So he kept John safe. Herod knew John was a holy man who did what was right. When Herod heard him, he was very puzzled. But he liked to listen to John.
21 Finally the right time came. Herod gave a banquet on his birthday. He invited his high officials and military leaders. He also invited the most important men in Galilee. 22 Then the daughter of Herodias came in and danced. She pleased Herod and his dinner guests.
The king said to the girl, ‘Ask me for anything you want. I'll give it to you.’ 23 And he gave her his promise. He said to her, ‘Anything you ask for I will give you. I'll give you up to half my kingdom.’
24 She went out and said to her mother, ‘What should I ask for?’
‘The head of John the Baptist,’ she answered.
25 At once the girl hurried to ask the king. She said, ‘I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist on a big plate right now.’
26 The king was very upset. But he thought about his promise and his dinner guests. So he did not want to say no to the girl. 27 He sent a man right away to bring John's head. The man went to the prison and cut off John's head. 28 He brought it back on a big plate. He gave it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. 29 John's disciples heard about this. So they came and took his body. Then they placed it in a tomb.
6:14–29 Jesus came announcing the good news about God's kingdom. But there was already a king in Israel. King Herod Antipas heard about what Jesus was saying and doing. He wasn't happy to hear that another kingdom had arrived. He hadn't been happy about John the Baptist either. John had been preparing people for the coming of God's kingdom. He had told Herod the things he was doing that were wrong. Telling others that God is the true King can be dangerous.
30 The apostles gathered around Jesus. They told him all they had done and taught. 31 But many people were coming and going. So they did not even have a chance to eat. Then Jesus said to his apostles, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place. You need to get some rest.’
32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a quiet place. 33 But many people who saw them leaving recognised them. They ran from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus came ashore, he saw a large crowd. He felt deep concern for them. They were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
35 By that time it was late in the day. His disciples came to him. ‘There is nothing here,’ they said. ‘It's already very late. 36 Send the people away. Then they can go to the nearby countryside and villages to buy something to eat.’
37 But Jesus answered, ‘You give them something to eat.’
They said to him, ‘That would take more than half a year's pay! Should we go and spend that much on bread? Are we supposed to feed them?’
38 ‘How many loaves do you have?’ Jesus asked. ‘Go and see.’
When they found out, they said, ‘Five loaves and two fish.’
39 Then Jesus instructed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups of 100s and 50s. 41 Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish. He looked up to heaven and gave thanks. He broke the loaves into pieces. Then he gave them to his disciples to pass around to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. 42 All of them ate and were satisfied. 43 The disciples picked up 12 baskets of broken pieces of bread and fish. 44 The number of men who had eaten was 5,000.
6:30–44 Mark had shown how Herod made decisions based on his own pleasure and power. Then Mark showed how Jesus was very different from Herod. Jesus had deep concern and love for the people he came to serve. Jesus saw that the people of Israel were like sheep without a shepherd. He had come to be their shepherd. He had sent his disciples throughout Israel to preach and to heal people. Then Jesus spent time teaching the people. The disciples were worried because the crowd was hungry. The disciples still didn't understand that Jesus had the power to provide everything they needed. Jesus took a small amount of food. With it he made sure that the whole crowd had enough to eat. This miracle was a sign. It was a sign of how Jesus took care of the people like a shepherd.
45 Right away Jesus made his disciples get into the boat. He had them go on ahead of him to Bethsaida. Then he sent the crowd away. 46 After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.
47 Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus was alone on land. 48 He saw the disciples pulling hard on the oars. The wind was blowing against them. Shortly before dawn, he went out to them. He walked on the lake. When he was about to pass by them, 49 they saw him walking on the lake. They thought he was a ghost, so they cried out. 50 They all saw him and were terrified.
Right away Jesus said to them, ‘Be brave! It is I. Don't be afraid.’ 51 Then he climbed into the boat with them. The wind died down. And they were completely amazed. 52 They had not understood about the loaves. They were stubborn.
53 They went across the lake and landed at Gennesaret. There they tied up the boat. 54 As soon as Jesus and his disciples got out, people recognised him. 55 They ran through that whole area to bring to him those who were ill. They carried them on mats to where they heard he was. 56 He went into the villages, the towns and the countryside. Everywhere he went, the people brought those who were ill to the market areas. Those who were ill begged him to let them touch just the edge of his clothes. And all who touched his clothes were healed.
6:45–56 Jesus didn't stay in the area where he fed over 5,000 people. He wanted to serve people throughout Israel. He sent his disciples on ahead. Before he left, Jesus spent time alone with God his Father in prayer. Prayer was very important to Jesus. Then he crossed the Sea of Galilee to continue traveling. His disciples were terrified when they saw him walking on the water. They still didn't understand that Jesus had complete power over everything on earth. Jesus calmed the wind and comforted his friends. Then he continued travelling, teaching and healing people. These stories recorded by Mark show how powerful and how kind Jesus is.