Mark 6

(1) Jesus’s Hometown Doubted Him

Jesus left and went to His hometown with His apprentices. When the Sabbath came, He started teaching at the church. A lot of people who heard Him were astonished, saying things like,

“Where did this guy get these things from? Why has He been given so much wisdom? What’s up with these powerful miracles He does? Isn’t He Mary’s son—the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? Don’t his sisters live here with us?”

But they got so hung up on those things, that they missed the point. So Jesus told them, 

“A prophet is honored everywhere except in his hometown, in his own family, and in his own household.”

He couldn’t do any miracles there except for placing His hands on a few sick people and healing them. He was baffled by how little confidence they had in Him as He went around the villages teaching. 

(7) Apprentices Go Out in Pairs

He gathered the twelve, gave them authority over contaminating spirits, and sent them out in pairs. He instructed them not to take anything on their journey—no food, no backpack, and no money—just the shoes on their feet. He added,

“Don’t even wear a second shirt!

“And when you go to someone’s house, stay there until you leave that town. If there’s ever a place that doesn’t take you in or listen to you, just move on to the next place. Wipe that town’s dirt off the bottom of your shoes as evidence against them.”

So the twelve went out and encouraged lots of people to change their way of thinking. They kicked out lots of demons and smeared oil on lots of sick people [which was a way of putting God's mark on them] and healed them. 

(14) Speculations About Jesus

Jesus was becoming so well known that even King Herod heard about what was going on. People were saying,

“John the baptism enthusiast came back from the dead! That’s why Jesus is able to these miracles!”

Others were saying,

“He’s Elijah!” Or “He’s a prophet like the ones from the old days!”

When Herod heard about everything, he said,

“John, the guy I beheaded, came back to life!”

(17) How Herod Killed John

Herod had arrested John and threw him in prison for doing something he didn’t like: Herod’s brother Philip was married to Herodias, but then Herod married her, so John had been calling him out, saying,

“It’s not right for you to be with your brother‘s wife!”

So Herodias held a grudge against John and wanted to kill him, but Herod didn’t let her, because he was scared of John. He knew John was an upright man who was set apart for God, so he kept him safe. And whenever Herod heard John speak, he was always intrigued and enjoyed listening to him.

But then Herod’s birthday came, and he threw a big dinner party with his noblemen, military commanders, and all the prominent men in Galilee. At one point during the party, Herodias’s daughter came in and danced, which Herod and his guests all loved. So the king told her,

“I wanna give you something—ask for whatever you want, and it’s yours!”

He swore,

“I’ll give you whatever you want—even up to half of my kingdom!”

So she went to her mom and asked,

“What should I tell him?”

And her mom answered,

“Tell him to give you the head of John the Baptist.”

So she ran in and told the king,

“I want you to give me John the Baptist’s head on a platter right away!”

It made Herod sad to follow through with that, but he had sworn in front of all his dinner guests, and didn’t push back on it. So the king sent an executioner right away with orders to bring back John the Baptist’s head. The executioner went away and had John beheaded in prison then brought back his head on a platter. He gave it to the girl who then gave it to her mom. When John’s apprentices heard the news, they showed up, took his body, and gave him a proper burial.

(30) Jesus and Apprentices go on a Retreat

When Jesus’s apprentices came back from being sent out, they told Him about all the things they had done and taught people. Then Jesus told them, 

“Come on, let’s go someplace quiet where we can get some rest for a while.”

The reason He said that was because there were so many people coming and going that they didn’t even have time to eat. So they got a boat and went to a quiet place all by themselves.

(33) Jesus Feeds 5,000

But as they were sailing, people saw them and recognized them, so they ran on foot and beat them to the place they were going. 

When Jesus stepped out of the boat, He looked at the giant crowd and felt bad for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So He started teaching them all kinds of things. But when it started getting really late, Jesus’s apprentices came to him and said,

“We’re out in the middle of nowhere and it’s getting late! Send the crowd home so they can go to the surrounding towns and get themselves some food.”

But Jesus told them,

“You should give them something to eat.”

They replied,

“Do you seriously want us to go into town and spend 7 months worth of wages on food so we can give them something to eat?”

Jesus said,

“How much food do you guys have? Go check.”

After checking they told Him,

“Five loaves of bread and two fish.”

Then Jesus told the crowd to get into groups and sit down on the grass. So everyone sat down in groups of 50–100. Then Jesus took the food, looked up toward heaven, and blessed it. He started tearing off pieces of bread and giving them to His apprentices to pass out to people. He also divided up the fish between everyone. Everyone ate until they were full. They even picked up 12 baskets of left leftovers after 5,000 men had eaten. 

(45) Jesus Sends Apprentices Across the Sea

Then Jesus had his disciples get in the boat and start going back across the sea to Bethsaida while He sent the crowds home. After saying goodbye to His apprentices, He went to the mountain to talk with God. 

(47) Jesus Walks on Water

By evening, the boat had made it to the middle of the sea while Jesus was alone on the land. He could see them struggling as they rowed against the wind. But sometime between 3–6am, He went out there, walking on the sea, intending to stroll right past them. When they saw Him walking on the water, they thought it was a ghost and screamed. They were terrified, but He told them,

“Don’t be scared—it’s Me! Don’t worry!” 

Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped. They were all completely astonished because their perspective hadn't shifted at all from the episode with the food—their hearts were calloused.

(53) Jesus Heals Many

When they reached the other side, they made landfall at Gennesaret. When they got out of the boat, the locals instantly recognized Jesus and started running around the entire region bringing their sick people to Him on stretchers. Wherever He went—village, city, or countryside—everyone was laying sick people in the streets, begging Jesus just to let them touch the fringe of His clothing. And whoever touched it was cured.