Mark 6 Study Notes

6:1 Jesus’s hometown was Nazareth (see note at 1:9-11).

6:2 The words he began to teach assume Jesus was invited to do so. Unlike Luke (Lk 4:16-21), Mark did not focus on the content of Jesus’s teaching. In Galilee Jesus regularly taught (Mk 1:21-22,39) or performed miracles (1:23-28,39; 3:1-6) in the synagogues. After his rejection at Nazareth, there is no record of Jesus entering a synagogue again. Synagogues are mentioned again only in Mark as places of hypocrisy and persecution (12:39; 13:9). As was true in Capernaum (1:22), people in Nazareth were astonished by Jesus’s teaching.

6:3 Isn’t this the carpenter? The parallel in Mt 13:55 reads, “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son?” Luke 4:22 has, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” A carpenter (Gk tekton) was a craftsman in wood and stone. Son of Mary may hint at Jesus’s supposed illegitimacy or indicate that Joseph had died (no mention is made of him in v. 4 or elsewhere in Mark, but see Jn 6:42). This is the only time Jesus’s mother is mentioned by name in Mark. Jesus’s brother James later became leader of the Jerusalem church and was killed on orders from the high priest in AD 62 (Josephus, Ant., 20.9.1). He authored the book of James. Judas probably was the author of the book of Jude. Joses (“Joseph”) and Simon are not named again in the NT (but see Jn 2:12; 7:5; Ac 1:14; 1Co 9:5). Jesus’s sisters are not named, but the plural indicates he had more than one.

6:4 Jesus used this self-applied proverb elsewhere (Jn 4:44). In Mark’s version (cp. parallels in Mt 13:57; Lk 4:24) Jesus named three settings where a prophet is dishonored—in his hometown, among his relatives (referring to 3:20-21,31-35), and in his household.

6:5-6a Matthew treats he was not able not as a statement about limitations of power but as a statement of fact (“he did not do,” Mt 13:58). The reason was the people’s unbelief. Previously they were astonished at Jesus (v. 2). In an ironic twist, Mark alone ended the narrative (cp. Lk 4:25-30) with Jesus being amazed at them. What amazed him was their lack of faith. The people of Nazareth did not refer to Jesus by name but only as “this man,” a sign of contempt.

6:6b This is the third time Jesus went on a preaching circuit in Galilee (1:14,39).

6:7 He summoned the Twelve recalls 3:13. To send them out recalls 3:14. Authority over unclean spirits recalls 3:15. In pairs reflects common-sense wisdom (Ec 4:9-10) and was Jesus’s usual practice (Mk 11:1; 14:13; Lk 10:1), which was followed in the early church (Ac 8:14; 9:38; 11:30; 12:25; 13:2; 15:39-40). The practice ensured companionship and mutual support, and it fulfilled the OT requirement of two witnesses (Dt 17:6; 19:15; 2Co 13:1). “The Twelve” are called “apostles” after they returned (Mk 6:30).

6:8-9 According to Mark, the disciples were to take a staff . . . belts . . . sandals . . . shirt. These were the same items God told the Israelites to take on their departure from Egypt (Ex 12:11). Matthew’s and Luke’s accounts prohibit the walking stick (Mt 10:10; Lk 9:3) and Matthew forbids sandals (Mt 10:10; cp. Lk 10:4). According to Mark, they were not to take bread, a traveling bag . . . money, or an extra shirt.

6:10-11 The disciples were to stay in one home until they left a given town and not look for better lodging. If they were not welcomed, they were to shake the dust off their feet. Jesus elaborated more on this when he sent out the seventy-two (Lk 10:10-11), and it was the practice of the earliest missionaries (Ac 13:51; cp. Ac 18:6). As a testimony against them can be rendered “as a witness to them,” signifying a call to repentance (cp. 1:44; 13:9).

6:12-13 That people should repent was the content of their preaching, modeling the messages of John the Baptist (1:4) and Jesus (1:15). The ministry of the Twelve is summarized as preaching and teaching (6:30), exorcism, and healing. Anointing sick people with oil is mentioned here, in a parable in Lk 10:34, and in Jms 5:14.

6:14-15 The story of Herod Antipas, Herodias, and John is similar to that of Ahab, Jezebel, and Elijah in 1Kg 21. In fact, Elijah’s name is closely tied to this story (Mk 6:15). King Herod was Herod Antipas (born 20 BC), a son of Herod the Great. He ruled Galilee and Perea from 4 BC to AD 39. Jesus had become well known because of his circuit preaching and the mission of the Twelve. The three opinions about Jesus’s identity (that he was John the Baptist . . . Elijah, or a prophet) are given again in 8:28 as reflections of popular opinion.

6:16-17 Herod’s belief that Jesus was John the Baptist resurrected prompted him to reflect fearfully on the one he had beheaded (see Josephus, Ant., 18.5.2). John was imprisoned (1:14) on account of Herodias. Herodias was formerly married to Herod’s half-brother, Herod Philip, and had a daughter with him named Salome. Herod Antipas convinced Herodias to leave Philip and marry him instead. To clear the way, Herod Antipas had to divorce his own wife.

6:18 John the Baptist repeatedly condemned this marriage as not lawful (Lv 18:16; 20:21).

6:19-20 These verses contrast Herodias’s and Herod Antipas’s conflicting opinions about John the Baptist. Herodias held a grudge . . . wanted to kill him, and asked for a way to do so. Anti-pas, on the other hand, feared John and protected him, and considered him a righteous and holy man.

6:21 It is ironic that wicked Herod’s birthday became the death day for righteous John.

6:22 Mark does not name Salome, but the Jewish historian Josephus does (Josephus, Ant., 18.5.4). Girl (vv. 22,28) is the same word Jesus used of the twelve-year-old in 5:41. Danced and pleased do not necessarily carry a nuance of sensuousness, though it is possible.

6:23 Herod’s oath recalls King Ahasuerus’s words to Esther (Est 5:3,6; 7:2). Since Antipas was only a deputy of Rome, the promise was a hyperbolic figure of speech, not a literal promise (cp. 1Kg 13:8).

6:24-25 From this point the story moves quickly to conclusion. Note the double reference to immediately (vv. 25,27) and the words hurried and at once in v. 25. Salome was a pawn in her mother’s hands.

6:26-28 Herod was deeply distressed. The only other time Mark uses this word concerns Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane (14:33).

6:30-31 Mark refers to the Twelve as the apostles only here and in 3:14 when they were appointed. Reported to him all that they had done and taught refers to the mission of vv. 7-13. A remote place recalls 1:3-5,12-13,35,45 and provides the ideal setting for the miracle that echoes the provision of bread in the wilderness. They did not even have time to eat recalls 3:20 and prepares the way for the story that follows.

6:32 Mark does not name the remote place (cp. Lk 9:10). In Mark this was Jesus’s third journey by boat (4:35-5:1,21-22).

6:33-34 The word for compassion refers to intestinal organs, which were thought to be the seat of the emotions. The word is only used of Jesus in the NT (see note at 1:40-45). Jesus saw the people as leaderless and needy (like sheep without a shepherd). In fulfillment of Is 40:11, Jesus cared for his flock.

6:35-44 The feeding of the five thousand is the only miracle recorded in all four Gospels (Mt 14:13-21; Lk 9:10-17; Jn 6:1-15).

6:35-36 The words this place is deserted mark the third mention of the remoteness of the place (vv. 31-32,35). After pointing out it was late, the disciples commanded Jesus to send them away.

6:37 Jesus responded with a command of his own. You is emphatic. Obviously the disciples did not have two hundred denarii (a denarius was a day’s wage). In fact they had just returned from a mission on which they had taken no bread or money (v. 8). Feeding this many people was a big challenge. (Cp. Moses’s wilderness situation in Ex 16:1-35; Nm 11:13,22; and Elijah’s in 2Kg 4:42-44.)

6:38 The disciples focused on what they lacked, but Jesus focused on what they had—five . . . loaves and two fish. The loaves were probably small, round, flat barley biscuits; the fish were probably dried.

6:39-40 Matthew (14:19) and John (6:10) mention the grass on which the people sat, but only Mark says it was green, indicating springtime.

6:41 Looking up to heaven was a position of prayer (cp. 7:34). The Gospel writers did not record Jesus’s prayer, but the traditional Jewish blessing over bread would have been appropriate: “Blessed art Thou, Lord our God, King of the world, who bringeth forth bread from the earth.”

6:42 The verb was satisfied is used of fattening animals. Thus Jesus provided abundance, not just sustenance.

6:43 The twelve baskets matches the number of apostles and tribes of Israel. The word for “baskets” denotes large, heavy containers.

6:44 A total of five thousand men were fed. Mark’s word (Gk) andres (“males”) is gender specific. Matthew adds “besides women and children” (Mt 14:21) which mean that considerably more than five thousand people were fed.

6:45 The word immediately is characteristic. Made is a strong verb that carries the sense of “compelled.” Mark did not say why Jesus rushed his disciples away, but Jn 6:14-15 indicates that the people wanted to make him king.

6:46 After he said good-bye to them refers to the disciples. For the second time in Mark, Jesus went off by himself to pray.

6:47 Well into the night apparently refers to a time quite late since v. 48 refers to “very early in the morning.”

6:48 The phrases straining at the oars and the wind was against them do not picture the same situation as 4:35-41 when Jesus calmed wind and sea. Very early in the morning (lit “around the fourth watch of the night”) reflects the Roman method of dividing the night into four watches. The fourth was from 3:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. Walking on the sea is meant literally and is verbally parallel to “on the land” (v. 47).

6:49 The disciples thought Jesus was a ghost (Gk phantasma), which expresses the idea of illusion.

6:50 Jesus reassured the disciples with two commands: Have courage and don’t be afraid. The words it is I are literally “I am” (Gk Ego Eimi), the divine name of God in Ex 3:14 (cp. Is 41:4; 43:10-11; 48:12). Jesus did what God alone could do and used God’s name to identify himself.

6:51 In 4:35-41 the wind ceased when Jesus commanded it to stop; here it stopped when he got into the boat . . . Astounded was the usual reaction to Jesus’s power (cp. 1:22,27; 2:12; 5:15,20,42).

6:52 Mark diagnosed a twofold problem: the disciples had not understood and their hearts were hardened. Hard hearts (spiritual insensitivity) characterized the Pharisees at the synagogue in Capernaum (3:5).

6:53-56 This is Mark’s third summary of Jesus’s ministry (cp. 1:35-39; 3:7-12).

6:53 Gennesaret was a fertile plain on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee between Capernaum and Tiberius.

6:54 The people immediately recognized Jesus. This contrasts with the disciples, who had failed to recognize him (v. 49).

6:55 The mats on which the sick were carried were the same type used by the paralytic (2:2-12).

6:56 Villages, towns, and country sum up the entire region of Galilee. Marketplaces (Gk agora) were the busiest centers of local life. The statement that the sick . . . begged Jesus to heal them recalls the man with skin disease (1:40), the demoniac (5:10,12,17-18), and the synagogue ruler (5:23) where the same word is used. Their desire to touch just the end of his robe recalls the desire of the bleeding woman (5:28).