Mark 6
COMMENTARY:
: 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joss, and of Judah, and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at HIM. (4624 “offended” [skandalozo] means cause to sin, to be or become filled with disgust or revulsion for someone, cease believing, fall into sin, take offence, to give up his faith, or to cause to stumble.)
DEVOTION: People tend to judge us by our history. People tend to judge us by the way we dress. People tend to judge us by our family. People tend to judge us by our education. To be honest some people look at you and make a judgment that will never change no matter what happens the rest of the time they know you. It is hard to imagine that even the Son of God was judged the same way.
HE entered into the temple to teach and they could only say that HE was a carpenter. HE had no formal education that they knew about. HE was just someone in town that made things out of wood.
They were offended that that a carpenter would think that HE could teach them something. They were too educated to listen to HIM. They were of a higher social status then HIM. HE was a blue collar worker and they were white collar.
This is true today. Many times people listen to someone in a suit better than they listen to someone in blue jeans. If someone has a doctorate they need to be listened to closer than someone who just has a high school education. Our society is like the one that Jesus grew up in.
The truth is that the LORD can use the simple to confound the wise. HE can use those whose hearts are right with HIM much better than HE can use those who think they don’t need HIM.
CHALLENGE: Don’t let people put you down because you are a follower of Jesus. The Holy Spirit will give you just the right words to say when they need to be said as you depend on HIM.
: 6 And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching. (2296 “marveled” [thaumazo] means to wonder, wonder at, or to be had in admiration.)
DEVOTION: Jesus returned to Nazareth. On the Sabbath day HE entered the Synagogue to teach. When HE taught the people were astonished. They didn’t understand how HE could teach so well not going to study under the scholars of the day. They didn’t understand how HE could perform miracles. They were confused. They knew HE grew up in the carpenter shop with Joseph and HIS family. They knew the other children of Mary and Joseph. They were offended that HE taught them. They were in shock. They were angry.
The LORD had returned to the city where he grew up to perform miracles. The people just looked at him and wondered where he was coming from. He was one who grew up and had his mother and brothers and sisters right there in their city. They had watched HIM for thirty years. Who did he think he was? The reaction that Jesus had to their unbelief was wonder.
They couldn’t understand what was doing on, so they rejected HIM. Because of their rejection, HE didn’t do HIS wonderful works in their city. HE only laid hands a few sick people and healed them.
HE moved on to other places and it is thought that HE never returned to Nazareth again. HE shook the dust off HIS feet when HE left that city.
HE didn’t seem to understand how people could refuse to let him work in their midst. HE told the disciples that they were to go out two by two and witness in different locations. IF the people in one location refused to hear them, they were to wipe the dust off their feet as a sign that that city was going to have a greater judgment than Sodom and Gomorrah. Nazareth seemed to fall in that category.
The disciples latter in the chapter were said to have hard hearts. They had seen all his miracles. They had seen the feeding of the five thousand and still didn’t understand who he was. Even the disciples had things to learn about belief. The LORD continued to teach them new things and they were willing to learn.
We can see the LORD working in our lives and still be hard hearted in our relationship to him. We can sometimes even seem to not believe HE can possibly change our circumstances. We could be accused of unbelief at times in our churches and in our personal lives.
Do we truly trust HIM to do great things in our lives? Can HE still do the impossible? Can HE feed, clothe and provide for our needs? Are we depending on ourselves or HIM? Is HE wondering in heaven now at our present state? Do we have a testimony of how the LORD has been working in our lives?
CHALLENGE: IF the LORD is working in your life, please share a testimony. Send it to me and I will share it with others. People need to hear how the LORD is working in our present age.
: 12 And they went out, and preached that men should repent. (3340 “repent” [metanoeo] means have a change of heart, to reconsider, turn from one’s sins, change one’s ways, or to think differently.)
DEVOTION: The disciples had been with Jesus for a short time now. They had listened to HIS preaching and teaching. They had observed HIS healing of those who were sick. They had observed how HE dealt with those who didn’t want to listen to HIM message.
Now HE was sending them out on their first outreach of the community. HE gave them special instructions. HE gave them the message they were to preach. HE gave them the power to work miracles. They were going to be able to cast out fallen angels who possessed people. They were going to be able to anoint people who were sick with oil. James said that this is the way the LORD worked when he wrote his letter to the church.
Jesus sent an instructor to every believer to help them do the things that HE did. We are to realize the power we have through the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We are to be reaching our community with the message of the LORD. We are to show them the power of the gospel through our ability to deal with whatever comes our way in the strength and power of the LORD.
CHALLENGE: We truly have the power through Christ who gives us strength!!! He gave it to the disciples and HE gives it to us. Do you believe it???
: 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. (2119 “leisure” [eukaireo] means spend time, have convenient time, to give one’s time to a thing, to have opportunity, to have time, or have a good time.)
DEVOTION: We have many good instructors in the Word of God teaching us that we have to have a time of separation to be alone with the LORD. We tend to keep ourselves too busy with life.
The disciples had be extra busy serving the LORD and HE invited them to go into a solitary place to get away from it all. On this occasion it didn’t work for them as once they got out of the boat there was a great crowd waiting for them.
Jesus taught them and fed them and then sent them away. Before HE sent the crowd away HE sent the disciples away on the boat for the other side of the lake.
After HE sent the crowd away HE went up into the mountain to pray. HE knew where HIS energy came from. HE wanted to communicate with HIS Father concerning what was going to happen next.
When HE was done praying, which was about three in the morning, HE walked on the water to get to the other side. HE was seen of the disciples who thought HE was a ghost and they were afraid. HE doesn’t want any of HIS disciples to be afraid.
We need to take time to be alone with the LORD often. We sometimes need to go to a cabin or a motel and have a time of prayer and fasting to ask the LORD what HE wants us to do next for HIM.
Very few pastors take this time to be alone with the LORD. Very few pastors take a sabbatical from their ministries to recharge their batteries because many church members don’t see the need for it. The problem is if the pastor is weak the congregation will be weak.
Jesus knew the disciples needed time away from ministry. We should realize it too. We should neither rust out for the LORD, nor burn out for the LORD. There is a balance that the LORD wants us to find in our life. Help your spiritual leader to find this balance.
CHALLENGE: Make sure your spiritual leader faces the fact that he needs a time to spend time alone with the LORD. Give him that time!
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