Already the Master had called them more than once. He had "many things to say" unto them, and was ever drawing them into closer sympathy with himself, and a higher sense of individual responsibility. St. Mark is not so full as St. Matthew, but from what he does tell us we are able to understand the nature of the work and its reason. The disciples are now to become apostles.
I. CHRIST PREPARES AND AUTHORIZES HIS OWN MINISTERS. There was need for this. Many whom he had cured were proclaiming him, not only without permission, but against his express command; and the devils were continually confessing him. This was inconvenient on account of danger to his person, because of the fact that he had been charged with being in collusion with Beelzebub, and the misrepresentation that took place as to the nature and aims of his kingdom. Christ first says, "Come, follow me," ere he says, "Go." He "began to send them forth by two and two," i.e. tentatively, as they were ready, and as his purpose demanded. "Great is the authority of conferring authority (Bengel).
1. The representatives of the Christian ministry were qualified for their task by the personal instruction of the Master, and communion with him in suffering.
2. Those most highly qualified to proclaim the gospel waited until he authorized them.
3. Their appointment had relation to their personal fitness and the exigencies of Christ's work. All the disciples do not seem ever to have been away from Christ at one time.
II. WHEN CHRIST HAS PREPARED HIS DISCIPLES HE HAS WORK FOR THEM TO DO. Their office was not to be a sinecure. The state of society, its rampant evils, its transitional character, and the attitude of expectancy exhibited by many, were so many reasons for their being sent forth.
2. There is never a time when earnest Christian effort is ]PGBR> needed. 3. The adaptation of men is to be considered in determining the ministry they have to perform.
III. THE APOSTLESHIP INVOLVED TESTIMONY, MORAL APPEAL, AND SUPERNATURAL POWER. (Vers. 7, 11-13.) The particular duties of the Christian ministry are determined by the demands of the age, etc, in which it is carried on, but in essence they are always the same.
IV. IT INVOLVED A DIVINE COMMUNION AND A HUMAN FELLOWSHIP.
1. He sent them forth, but his spiritual presence went with them. It was only of what he had given that they could communicate to others, and as he accompanied their efforts with his power.
2. He sent them by two and two. For mutual comfort, help, and co-operation. The deficiencies of one would be made up in the gifts of the other.
V. THE EQUIPMENT FOR IT WAS SPIRITUAL, NOT MATERIAL; DIVINE, NOT HUMAN. What they were to take with them is suggested only by the directions as to what they were not to take. It was in their message and its spiritual accompaniment their influence was to consist. The Master who sent them would provide for them. Christianity, which subsidizes all honorable means and influences, is independent of all. Silver and gold have I none, but what I have give I thee" (Acts 3:6). - M.
And He went out from thence, and came into His own country.
I. GRACIOUS CONDESCENSION. Jesus, although He had been cruelly treated at Nazareth, once more turns His steps homewards. Jesus practised what He preached (Matthew 18:21, 22). Love of home natural to men. Thoughts suggested by visits home. How shall we be received — welcomed or sighted? Have we so passed our time since we left home, that we may deserve a cordial reception; or may even some poor Nazareth be justifiably ashamed of us?II. UNWORTHY PREJUDICES. "He came to His own and His own received Him not." Neither did His brethren believe in Him (John 7:5). Why? Because He was known to them; and was poor and of lowly origin. Some look at religion as children at books, more attracted by the binding than the contents.
III. FATAL REJECTION. Nazareth turned its back on Jesus. He left never to return. Learn:
I.To do good to those who despitefully use us and persecute us.II.To guard against evil and ignorant prejudices.III.To take heed how we reject Jesus.IV.To beseech Him to return and save us, if we have thoughtlessly or wilfully slighted Him.()
Was it not a strange metamorphosis to Him — once a peasant lad; now the Light of the world! And yet here are surroundings unchanged, and natures as narrow and stupid as ever, and He, having moved away from them as the infinite is remote from the finite; He, able to heal the sick and forgive sins by a word, and they helpless and hopeless in both body and soul. As He spoke, authority seemed to voice itself in natural, faultless utterance. He had not gained this gift at the feet of any sage. Public debate could not confer it. The people were astonished. Such wisdom and such deeds are not in the carpenter's line, they said.
I. THE SINNER CANNOT UNDERSTAND NOR ENDURE THE SAINT. Humanity cannot comprehend divinity. Now, no more than then, is there any room for Christ where Satan rules.
II. GOD'S GREATEST BLESSINGS ARE OFTEN PREVENTED BY MAN'S DISTRUST. Unbelief forfeits infinite mercies. So does unauthorized credulity.
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Our Lord may have had two reasons for leaving Capernaum and for visiting Nazareth. One, a personal reason — to see His mother and His sisters, who seem to have been married there. The other, a ministerial reason — to escape from the busy throngs who resorted to Him by the lake, and to take a new centre for evangelistic labours on the part of Himself and His disciples.
I. THE UNREASONABLENESS AND INEXCUSABLENESS OF UNBELIEF IN CHRIST.
1. He was well-known to them. They had hitherto always found Him true and upright; therefore they ought to have candidly considered His claims.
2. He brought with Him a great and acknowledged reputation.
3. He came to Nazareth and taught publicly, thus giving His townsmen an opportunity of judging for themselves of His wisdom and moral authority.
II. THE GROUNDS OF UNBELIEF IN CHRIST.
1. Prejudice on account of His origin and circumstances.
2. His educational deficiency. He had not been trained in the rabbinical schools, so they thought nothing of Him.
III. THE REBUKE OF UNBELIEF. "A prophet is not without honour," etc. There was sadness in Christ's language and tone. Yet what a reproach to the unbelieving! They might be offended; there were others who would believe, evince gratitude, and render honour.
IV. THE CONSEQUENCES OF UNBELIEF.
1. Christ "marvelled."
2. The results to the people of the town were lamentable — "He could do no mighty work."
3. Benefit to others — "He went round about the villages, teaching." The indifference or contempt of the unspiritual and self-sufficient may be the occasion of enlightenment and consolation to the lowly, receptive, needy. Application:(a) The coming of Christ to a soul, or community, is a moral probation involving serious responsibility.(b) It is the most fatal guilt and folly, in considering the claims of Christ, to overlook the wisdom and grace of His character and ministry, and to regard circumstances at which the superficial and carnal may take offence.
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By going thither —
I. HE GRATIFIED A HUMAN YEARNING.
II. HE ILLUSTRATED AFRESH AN OLD AND FAMILIAR EXPERIENCE.
1. He was one of many, yet by Himself even in this.
2. One of the greatest of griefs to a pious spirit, to be hindered from doing good and conferring benefit.
3. A greater humiliation than His human birth, because a moral one consciously experienced.
III. HE EXHIBITED DIVINE MERCY.
1. Past offences were forgiven.
2. Although conscious of restriction because of their unbelief and indifference, He still persisted in His works of mercy.
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I. INDIFFERENCE TO CHRIST SOMETIMES ARISES FROM FAMILIARITY WITH HIS SURROUNDINGS. Beware of that familiarity with sacred things which deadens spiritual sensibility.
II. CONTEMPT FOR CHRIST SOMETIMES SPRINGS FROM ASSOCIATION WITH HIS FRIENDS.
III. THE REJECTION OF CHRIST BRINGS ABOUT A WITHDRAWAL OF HIS INFLUENCE — "He could not," etc. His power was omnipotent, but, it conditioned itself, as infinite power always does in this world; and by this limitation it was not lessened, but was glorified as moral and spiritual power. If faith, the ethical condition, be absent, we bind the Saviour's hands, and He cannot do for us what He would. He does not wish to leave us, but He must; old impressions become feebler, the once sensitive heart waxes dull.
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I. THE WONDERS IN EVERYDAY LIFE. Growth of knowledge and experience; change of circumstances, etc.
II. THE JEALOUSY OF HOME-GROWN GREATNESS. Tyranny of custom. Beware of egotism, shutting out from light and beauty, divinity and blessedness.
III. THE MOST INVINCIBLE OBSTACLE IS THE WILL OF MAN. Against stupidity even the gods fight in vain! When the business of the kingdom seems at a standstill, ask whether the cause be not want of wish, will, prayer.
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I. HOW THIS IS DONE.
1. By attributing Divine effects to secondary causes,
2. Absence of faith and spiritual sympathy.
3. By being offended at the mystery of His humiliation, either in Himself or in His followers.
II. WHAT IT PRODUCES.
1. Unsatisfied indecision.
2. Hardening of heart.
3. The doubter's own loss.
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People
Elias,
Elijah,
Herod,
Herodias,
James,
Jesus,
John,
Joseph,
Joses,
Judas,
Jude,
Mary,
Philip,
SimonPlaces
Bethsaida,
Galilee,
Genneseret,
Jerusalem,
Nazareth,
Sea of GalileeTopics
Anointed, Anointing, Cast, Casting, Cured, Demons, Devils, Evil, Expelled, Healed, Healing, Ill, Infirm, Invalids, Oil, Sick, SpiritsOutline
1. Jesus is a prophet without honor in his own country.7. He gives the twelve power over unclean spirits.14. Various opinions of Jesus.16. John the Baptist is imprisoned, beheaded, and buried.30. The apostles return from preaching.34. The miracle of five loaves and two fishes.45. Jesus walks on the sea;53. and heals all who touch him.Dictionary of Bible Themes
Mark 6:13 1416 miracles, nature of
2012 Christ, authority
4135 demons, Christ's authority over
4160 driving out
4488 oil
5405 medicine
7304 anointing
Mark 6:1-56
5357 journey
Mark 6:7-13
4512 staff
7631 Twelve, calling of
Library
January 6 Evening
The apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things they had done.--MARK 6:30. There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.--The Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.--Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. When ye shall have done …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily PathSeptember 4. "Come Ye Yourselves Apart" (Mark vi. 31).
"Come ye yourselves apart" (Mark vi. 31). One of the greatest hindrances to spirituality is the lack of waiting upon God. You cannot go through twenty-four hours with two or three breaths of air, in the morning, as you sip your coffee. But you must live in the atmosphere, and you must breathe it all day long. Christians do not wait upon God enough. It needs hours and hours daily of spiritual communion with the Holy Spirit to keep your vitality healthful and full. Every moment should find you breathing …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth
January 8. "It is I, be not Afraid" (Mark vi. 50).
"It is I, be not afraid" (Mark vi. 50). Someone tells of a little child with some big story of sorrow upon its little heart, flying to its mother's arms for comfort, and intending to tell her the story of its trouble; but as that mother presses it to her bosom and pours out her love, it soon becomes so occupied with her and the sweetness of her affection that it forgets to tell its story, and in a little while even the memory of the trouble is forgotten. It has just been loved away, and she has taken …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth
Herod --A Startled Conscience
'But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead.'--Mark vi. 16. The character of this Herod, surnamed Antipas, is a sufficiently common and a sufficiently despicable one. He was the very type of an Eastern despot, exactly like some of those half-independent Rajahs, whose dominions march with ours in India; capricious, crafty, as the epithet which Christ applied to him, 'That fox!' shows; cruel, as the story of the murder of John the Baptist proves; sensuous …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
The Master Rejected: the Servants Sent Forth
'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 …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
The Martyrdom of John
'For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife: for he had married her. 18. For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife. 19. Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not: 20. For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly. 21. And when …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
The World's Bread
'And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told Him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught. 31. And He said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. 32. And they departed into a desert place by ship privately. 33. And the people saw them departing, and many knew Him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them, and came together …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
Christ Thwarted
'And He could there do no mighty work, save that He laid His hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And He marvelled because of their unbelief.'--Mark vi. 5,6. It is possible to live too near a man to see him. Familiarity with the small details blinds most people to the essential greatness of any life. So these fellow-villagers of Jesus in Nazareth knew Him too well to know Him rightly as they talked Him over; they recognised His wisdom and His mighty works; but all the impression that these …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
On Attending the Church Service
"The sin of the young men was very great." 1 Sam. 2:17. 1. The corruption, not only of the heathen world, but likewise of them that were called Christians, has been matter of sorrow and lamentation to pious men, almost from the time of the apostles. And hence, as early as the second century, within a hundred years of St. John's removal from the earth, men who were afraid of being partakers of other men's sins, thought it their duty to separate from them. Hence, in every age many have retired from …
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions
The Epistle of Saint Jude.
V. 1, 2. Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ, but a brother of James, to those that are called to be holy in God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, mercy unto you and peace and love be multiplied. This Epistle is ascribed to the holy Apostle, St. Jude, brother of the two Apostles, James the Less and Simon, by the sister of the mother of Christ, who is called Mary (wife) of James or Cleopas, as we read in Mark vi. But this Epistle cannot be looked upon as being that of one who was truly an Apostle, …
Martin Luther—The Epistles of St. Peter and St. Jude Preached and Explained
The First Sayings of Jesus --His Ideas of a Divine Father and of a Pure Religion --First Disciples.
Joseph died before his son had taken any public part. Mary remained, in a manner, the head of the family, and this explains why her son, when it was wished to distinguish him from others of the same name, was most frequently called the "son of Mary."[1] It seems that having, by the death of her husband, been left friendless at Nazareth, she withdrew to Cana,[2] from which she may have come originally. Cana[3] was a little town at from two to two and a half hours' journey from Nazareth, at the foot …
Ernest Renan—The Life of Jesus
The Chronology
45. The length of the public ministry of Jesus was one of the earliest questions which arose in the study of the four gospels. In the second and third centuries it was not uncommon to find the answer in the passage from Isaiah (lxi. 1, 2), which Jesus declared was fulfilled in himself. "The acceptable year of the Lord" was taken to indicate that the ministry covered little more than a year. The fact that the first three gospels mention but one Passover (that at the end), and but one journey to Jerusalem, …
Rush Rhees—The Life of Jesus of Nazareth
The Friend of Men 223 in Nothing Does the Contrast Between Jesus and John the Baptist Appear More Clearly than in their Attitude Towards Common Social
I The Friend of Men 223. In nothing does the contrast between Jesus and John the Baptist appear more clearly than in their attitude towards common social life. John had his training and did his work apart from the homes of men. The wilderness was his chosen and fit scene of labor. From this solitude he sent forth his summons and warning to his people. They who sought him for fuller teaching went after him and found him where he was. They then returned to their homes and their work, leaving the prophet …
Rush Rhees—The Life of Jesus of Nazareth
Twelve Baskets Full of Fragments Gathered from the Miracle of Christ Feeding the Multitude.
1.--MAN NEEDS HELP. "They have nothing to eat." (Mark vi. 36.) 2.--GOD IS BETTER THAN GOOD MEN. "Send them away," said the disciples. (Mark vi. 36.) "They need not depart," the Lord replied. (Matt. xiv. 16.) 3.--MINISTERS SHOULD ALWAYS BE ON THE LOOK-OUT FOR THE CHILDREN, THEY GIVE HELP AS WELL AS TROUBLE. Andrew said, "There is a lad here." (John vi. 9.) 4.--YOUTH CAN GIVE TO JESUS WHAT NO ONE ELSE POSSESSES. "There is a lad here which hath five barley loaves." (John vi. 9.) 5.--UNBELIEF …
Thomas Champness—Broken Bread
The Historical Books. 1 the New Testament...
CHAPTER XXIX. THE HISTORICAL BOOKS. 1. The New Testament, like the Old, is not an abstract system of doctrines and duties, but a record of facts involving doctrines and duties of the highest import. This record does not constitute an independent history, complete in itself, and to be explained in its own light. It is rather the necessary sequel to the record of the Old Testament. It interprets the Old Testament, and is itself interpreted by it. The two constitute together an organic whole, and can …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible
The Right to Privacy
"There were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat."--Mark 6:31 "But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them."--Matthew 9:36 I had just come back from a strenuous month in the country. Mr. and Mrs. Sprightly, the young married couple who were in charge of the mission station, and I were relaxing around the tea table. I told about the work I had been doing, and answered interested questions. Finally the talk drifted into lighter channels, and …
Mabel Williamson—Have We No Rights?
Set at Liberty.
(MARK VI. 27.) "Hush my soul, and vain regrets be stilled; Now rest in Him who is the complement Of whatsoe'er transcends our mortal doom, Of baffled hope and unfulfilled intent; In the clear vision and aspect of whom All longings and all hopes shall be fulfilled." ARCHBISHOP TRENCH. The Genesis of a Great Crime--The Strength of Evil Influences--An Accomplice of Satan--The Triumph of Hate--The Baptist Beheaded--A Place of Repentance The evangelist Mark tells us, in the twenty-first verse of this …
F. B. Meyer—John the Baptist
The King's Courts
(MARK VI.) "The number of thine own complete, Sum up and make an end; Sift clean the chaff, and house the wheat; And then, O Lord, descend. "Descend, and solve by that descent This mystery of life; Where good and ill, together blent, Wage an undying strife." J. H. N. Under Royal Surveillance--"It is not Lawful."--The Revenge of Herodias--The Upbraidings of Conscience--Devotion to Truth--"A Sin unto Death." Our story brings us next to speak of the Baptist's relations with Herod Antipas, son of the …
F. B. Meyer—John the Baptist
Rejected in his Own Country
"And He went out from thence; and He cometh into His own country; and His disciples follow Him." MARK 6:1-6 (R.V.) WE have seen how St. Mark, to bring out more vividly the connection between four mighty signs, their ideal completeness as a whole, and that mastery over nature and the spiritual world which they reveal, grouped them resolutely together, excluding even significant incidents which would break in upon their sequence. Bearing this in mind, how profoundly instructive it is that our Evangelist …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark
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