MARK CHAPTER 6 THE PROPHET IN HIS OWN TOWN (1-6) THE DISCIPLES COMMISSIONED (7-13) THE MURDER OF JOHN THE BAPTIST! (14-29) THE FEEDING OF THE 5000 (30-44) JESUS WALKS ON WATER (45-52)

Mark 6:1 And He went out from there, and He came into His home town; and His disciples followed Him. Where is Jesus? Nazareth Who is with Him? His disciples

2 And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, "Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands? What day is it? Saturday How did the people react to His teaching? They were astonished!!

Base of Galilee Ministry Where He called Home Birthplace

6:3 “ Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James, and Joses, and Judas, and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us? " And they took offense at Him What is the tone of the question? Condescending, “isn’t this the guy who makes wood things?” Did they accept His teaching for that matter? No, “they were offended by Him” If you are Catholic, would you have a problem with this verse? Yes, it clearly states that Jesus had biological brothers and sisters.

6:4 And Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his home town and among his own relatives and in his own household." What does this statement mean? The villagers had a real issue accepting Him as the Messiah after watching Him grow up They couldn’t get past His humanness In His own family, only Mary believed at this point

6:5 And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands upon a few sick people and healed them. 6a And He wondered at their unbelief. There is a very interesting and even disturbing statement here, do you see it? “He could do no miracles” I thought God could do anything, what does this mean? Miracles on humans were based on their faith in the miracle worker and in His home town only a few believed Note how Jesus struggles with “unbelief”

6b And He was going around the villages teaching. This may be because of the unbelief of His own village in that Jesus didn’t want it to spread beyond Nazareth. It may also simply be a reference to what he was doing, preaching the word.

6:7 And He summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs; and He was giving them authority over the unclean spirits; The Greek here implies that they are being sent as His “representatives” They are to be like Jesus so He gives them the ability to do miracles Why 2 by 2?... Two = a true witness Deut. 17:6 This then is their “baptism by fire”!!!

6:8 and He instructed them that they should take nothing for their journey, except a mere staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belt; 9 but to wear sandals; and He added, "Do not put on two tunics." What is going on here, why take nothing, what about the tunic statement? They were to be wholly dependant on God to provide for them!! The one tunic implies that God will provide indoor lodging for them Without baggage, they would stand out from the other travelers and draw attention to themselves – providing more opportunity for witness!!

6:10 And He said to them, "Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave town. Here is that indoor lodging we mentioned, God wanted them to stay in the place He had prepared for them. Additionally, friendly custom required that you stay for a few days when visiting and moving around might hamper the mission.

6:11 "And any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake off the dust from the soles of your feet for a testimony against them." What is this all about? It represents their symbolic acceptance of that house or cities complete rejection of the gospel What is this based on? The Jewish custom of the day was to remove the dust from their clothing and shoes when reentering Jewish land

6:12 And they went out and preached that men should repent. 13 And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them. Why is this verse important to us today?.. It is an example because they did what God asked them to do, nothing more and nothing less. What is the core or what I called the central parable?.. The giving out of the seed!! That is what we are called to do, nothing more and nothing less – give out the word When we do, who should we depend on for help and support?.. God!!!

These men were called of God And were available for duty (like us?) And, because of that willingness they were what? USED OF GOD FOR HIS PURPOSE!!!!! HOW ABOUT YOU?

What do we take home? Like the disciples, our job is to give out the word Like the disciples, we are to depend upon God to help us with this assigned task