Mark 6

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Mark 6 is a chapter of rejections and abundance. Jesus is dismissed in his hometown, where they know his family and take offense. He sends the Twelve out two by two with nothing but a staff, and they preach, heal, and drive out demons. Meanwhile Herod, hearing of Jesus, thinks John the Baptist has come back, and Mark tells how John died: Herodias's grudge, a birthday banquet, a dancing daughter, a rash oath, and a head on a platter. The apostles return exhausted; Jesus takes them away to rest, the crowds follow, and he feeds five thousand with five loaves and two fish. That night he walks to the disciples across the sea, and the sick of Gennesaret are healed by touching his cloak.

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Mark 6 packs more into fifty-six verses than most books, and it is held together by a question: who is this? In Nazareth the answer is easy and wrong. He is the carpenter, Mary's son, we know his brothers and sisters, and they are offended that he presumes to teach them; Mark says he could do almost nothing there and was amazed at their unbelief. Jesus sends the Twelve out with a staff and sandals and nothing else, and they come back with stories. In between, Mark tells the story of how John the Baptist died, because Herod Antipas has heard of Jesus and is sure it is John come back to haunt him. The tale is told slowly: the grudge of a queen, a birthday party, a girl dancing, a king who promises half his kingdom and cannot back down in front of his generals, and a prophet's head brought in on a dish. It is a preview of another execution by a reluctant ruler under pressure from a crowd. Then the chapter opens out. Jesus tries to take his exhausted men to a quiet place, five thousand people get there first, and instead of resenting them he sees sheep without a shepherd, teaches them, and feeds them with a boy's lunch until twelve baskets are left over. That night he walks across the water to the disciples, says the words God says, it is I, do not be afraid, and climbs into the boat. They are astonished, Mark says, because they had not understood about the loaves. The chapter ends with the sick lining the marketplaces of Gennesaret, reaching for the edge of his cloak.

Passages clés

Mark 6:1-6 Mark 6:7-13 Mark 6:14-29 Mark 6:30-44 Mark 6:45-52 Exodus 33:19-22

Historical and literary context

Nazareth was a village of a few hundred people where everyone knew the carpenter's family; the brothers named here appear elsewhere in the New Testament, and James led the Jerusalem church. Herod here is Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee and Perea, who had married Herodias, the wife of his half-brother. The Jewish historian Josephus records that Antipas executed John at the fortress of Machaerus and gives the daughter's name as Salome. The disciples' travelling kit matches what a Jewish teacher might allow for a short mission, and shaking off dust was what Jews did when leaving pagan territory. The green grass places the feeding in spring, near Passover, and the groups of hundreds and fifties recall Israel organized in the wilderness. "Passing by" and "It is I" echo God's appearances to Moses and Elijah.

How the chapter unfolds

Verses 1 to 6: rejection at Nazareth and the saying about a prophet without honor. Verses 7 to 13: the sending of the Twelve. Verses 14 to 29: Herod's guilt and the flashback to John's execution, inserted between the sending and the return. Verses 30 to 44: the return of the apostles, the attempt to rest, the compassion on sheep without a shepherd, and the feeding of the five thousand. Verses 45 to 52: the walk on the sea, the disciples' terror, and their hardened hearts. Verses 53 to 56: healings at Gennesaret as the sick reach for the fringe of his cloak.

Why this chapter matters

The feeding of the five thousand is the only miracle recorded in all four Gospels and became, for the early church, a picture of the Eucharist and of Christ as the shepherd who feeds Israel in the wilderness. "A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown" passed into proverb. The death of John the Baptist is the Gospel's rehearsal for the death of Jesus, a righteous man killed by a weak ruler under pressure from a banquet crowd. "Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid" on the water has been heard as the voice of God himself. Mark's note that Jesus "was amazed at their unbelief" is one of the rare places where the Gospels show Jesus surprised.

Interpretive tension to watch

Mark says Jesus "could not" perform miracles in Nazareth, a statement Matthew softens to "did not," and readers have to decide what unbelief can and cannot limit. Mark calls Herodias's first husband Philip, while Josephus names him Herod, a discrepancy explained in several ways. The disciples' hardened hearts in verse 52, blamed on their failure to understand the loaves, shows Mark's characteristic severity toward the Twelve. Why Jesus "intended to pass by them" on the water is debated: an echo of God passing by in Exodus 33, or a test, or simply the way it looked from the boat.

Questions pour ce chapitre

The people of Nazareth could not believe because they knew Jesus' family. How does familiarity get in the way of faith?
Herod was sorry, but kept his oath because of his guests. When have you seen a bad decision made to save face?
Jesus took the tired disciples away to rest, and the crowd arrived first. How does he respond, and what does that ask of us?

Study with context

Use this as a chapter guide, then press deeper into the text itself. The goal is to slow down observation, notice structure, and ask better questions before jumping to conclusions.

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1 And he went out thence and came to his own country, and his disciples follow him. 2 And when sabbath was come he began to teach in the synagogue, and many hearing were amazed, saying, Whence [has] this [man] these things? and what [is] the wisdom that is given to him, and such works of power are done by his hands? 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James, and Joses, and Judas, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended in him. 4 But Jesus said to them, A prophet is not despised save in his own country, and among [his] kinsmen, and in his own house. 5 And he could not do any work of power there, save that laying his hands on a few infirm persons he healed [them]. 6 And he wondered because of their unbelief. And he went round the villages in a circuit, teaching. 7 And he calls the twelve to [him]; and he began to send them out two [and] two, and gave to them power over the unclean spirits; 8 and he commanded them that they should take nothing for the way, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their belt; 9 but be shod with sandals, and put not on two body-coats. 10 And he said to them, Wheresoever ye shall enter into a house, there remain till ye shall go thence. 11 And whatsoever place shall not receive you nor hear you, departing thence, shake off the dust which is under your feet for a testimony to them. 12 And they went forth and preached that they should repent; 13 and they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many infirm, and healed them. 14 And Herod the king heard [of him] (for his name had become public), and said, John the baptist is risen from among [the] dead, and on this account works of power are wrought by him. 15 And others said, It is Elias; and others said, It is a prophet, as one of the prophets. 16 But Herod when he heard [it] said, John whom I beheaded, he it is; he is risen [from among the dead]. 17 For the same Herod had sent and seized John, and had bound him in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of Philip his brother, because he had married her. 18 For John said to Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have the wife of thy brother. 19 But Herodias kept it [in her mind] against him, and wished to kill him, and could not: 20 for Herod feared John knowing that he was a just and holy man, and kept him safe; and having heard him, did many things, and heard him gladly. 21 And a holiday being come, when Herod, on his birthday, made a supper to his grandees, and to the chiliarchs, and the chief [men] of Galilee; 22 and the daughter of the same Herodias having come in, and danced, pleased Herod and those that were with [him] at table; and the king said to the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt and I will give it thee. 23 And he swore to her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask me I will give thee, to half of my kingdom. 24 And she went out, and said to her mother, What should I ask? And she said, The head of John the baptist. 25 And immediately going in with haste to the king, she asked saying, I desire that thou give me directly upon a dish the head of John the baptist. 26 And the king, [while] made very sorry, on account of the oaths and those lying at table with [him] would not break his word with her. 27 And immediately the king, having sent one of the guard, ordered his head to be brought. And he went out and beheaded him in the prison, 28 and brought his head upon a dish, and gave it to the damsel, and the damsel gave it to her mother. 29 And his disciples having heard [it], came and took up his body, and laid it in a tomb. 30 And the apostles are gathered together to Jesus. And they related to him all things, [both] what they had done and what they had taught. 31 And he said to them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place and rest a little. For those coming and those going were many, and they had not leisure even to eat. 32 And they went away apart into a desert place by ship. 33 And many saw them going, and recognised them, and ran together there on foot, out of all the cities, and got [there] before them. 34 And on leaving [the ship] [Jesus] saw a great crowd, and he was moved with compassion for them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. 35 And when it was already late in the day, his disciples coming to him say, The place is desert, and it is already late in the day; 36 send them away that they may go into the country and villages around, and buy themselves bread, for they have not anything they can eat. 37 And he answering said to them, Give ye them to eat. And they say to him, Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them to eat? 38 And he says to them, How many loaves have ye? Go [and] see. And when they knew they say, Five, and two fishes. 39 And he ordered them to make them all sit down by companies on the green grass. 40 And they sat down in ranks by hundreds and by fifties. 41 And having taken the five loaves and the two fishes, looking up to heaven, he blessed, and broke the loaves, and gave [them] to his disciples that they might set [them] before them. And the two fishes he divided among all. 42 And they all ate and were satisfied. 43 And they took up of fragments the fillings of twelve hand-baskets, and of the fishes. 44 And those that ate of the loaves were five thousand men. 45 And immediately he compelled his disciples to go on board ship, and to go on before to the other side to Bethsaida, while he sends the crowd away. 46 And, having dismissed them, he departed into the mountain to pray. 47 And when evening was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone upon the land. 48 And seeing them labouring in rowing, for the wind was contrary to them, about the fourth watch of the night he comes to them walking on the sea, and would have passed them by. 49 But they, seeing him walking on the sea, thought that it was an apparition, and cried out. 50 For all saw him and were troubled. And immediately he spoke with them, and says to them, Be of good courage: it is I; be not afraid. 51 And he went up to them into the ship, and the wind fell. And they were exceedingly beyond measure astonished in themselves and wondered; 52 for they understood not through the loaves: for their heart was hardened. 53 And having passed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret and made the shore. 54 And on their coming out of the ship, immediately recognising him, 55 they ran through that whole country around, and began to carry about those that were ill on couches, where they heard that he was. 56 And wherever he entered into villages, or cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the market-places, and besought him that they might touch if it were only the hem of his garment; and as many as touched him were healed.

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