by Gary L. Evans
(revised 7/31/2023)
Mark — Part 7
Mark 6:1-3 And he went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his disciples follow him. 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? 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 were offended at him.
Jesus took His disciples back to Nazareth where He had grown up, and began to teach in the synagogue on the Sabbath Day. The people were amazed at His teaching. But some said, He is only the carpenter’s son and Mary, and we know His brothers, James, Joses, Juda, and Simon. And we know His sisters too. So they were offended by Him.
Mark 6:4 But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.
Then Jesus answered their offense by saying, A teacher does not go without honor except in his own country and birthplace and in his own house.
Mark 6:5-6 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. And he went round about the villages, teaching.
So the people of The Lord’s own hometown rejected Him.
Mark 6:7-9 And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits; And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse: But be shod with sandals; and not put on two coats.
The word “script” is from the Greek word “pay’-rah” which means “a wallet or leather pouch for food.” So this was a shepherd’s bag which was used to carry money and food. Today some people carry a lunch box to work and some children carry one to school. Shepherds would carry a leather bag with a shoulder strap for the same purpose. And when a poor man was on a long journey, it was also used as a begging bag to beg for money or food.
Jesus sent His twelve Disciples on a missionary trip, two by two, and gave them power to cast out devils. And He told them not to take any money or food, not even a shepherd’s bag to beg for food. So the Disciples just took the clothes they were wearing and the sandals on their feet and their staff.
Mark 6:10-11 And he said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.
Then Jesus told them that wherever they went and whatever house they entered, stay in that house until you leave. And if anyone refuses to receive you, nor listen to you, just leave and shake off the dust from your feet as a sign against them.
Mark 6:12-13 And they went out, and preached that men should repent. And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.
So the Disciples went on their missions and preached repentance, and cast out devils, and healed the sick.
Mark 6:14-16 And king Herod heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him. Others said, That it is Elias. And others said, That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets. But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead.
King Herod was concerned, because he believed that Jesus was actually John The Baptist whom he had beheaded, and that he had risen from the dead. But others thought that Jesus was Elijah or The Prophet Moses prophesied about.
Mal 4:5-5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
So before The Day of The Lord, Elijah will return. And The Lord’s Day is The Millennium, The Thousand Year Reign of Jesus Christ on Earth. But John had come “in the spirit of Elijah” and was not Elijah returned.
Deu 18:15 The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;
Moses taught the people that The Lord would raise up a Prophet from among them (their descendants) like Moses, and that they must listen to Him. So Jesus was indeed That Prophet that Moses had taught the people would eventually come.
Mark 6:17-19 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. For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife. Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not:
Herod’s wife, Herodias, hated John The Baptist, because he kept warning Herod that he was transgressing God’s Law because he had taken his brother’s wife and married her. John kept telling Herod to repent.
Mark 6:20 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.
Herod had believed that John was truly an Holy man, and enjoyed listening to him.
Mark 6:21-23 And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee; And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom.
Herod held a grand birthday party for himself and invited all of his government officials. And Herodias sent her daughter (not by Herod) into the party to dance for Herod. And no doubt she was very beautiful when she danced, and naturally Herod was drunk. So he promised to give her anything she asked for, even half of his kingdom. Now that’s pretty drunk if you ask me.
Mark 6:24-25 And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist.
So the girl privately asked her mother what to ask for. And Herodias told her to ask for the head of John The Baptist.
Mark 6:26-28 And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath’s sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother.
And that’s why Herod beheaded John The Baptist.
Mark 6:29 And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb.
John’s disciples came and took his body and placed it in a tomb.
Mark 6:30-32 And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught. 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. And they departed into a desert place by ship privately.
The word “apostles” is from the Greek “ap-os’-tol-os” which means “a delegate; specifically an ambassador of the Gospel; officially a commissioner of Christ (“apostle”), (with miraculous powers).”
The Disciples returned and told Jesus everything that had happened and what they had done. Then Jesus wanted them all to get some rest, because they had not been able even to eat because there were so many people crowding around them. So they went by ship to a wilderness area to rest and to eat.
Mark 6:33 And the people saw them departing, and many knew him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them, and came together unto him.
But the people saw them leave and knowing their favorite place ran ahead of them and got across The Sea of Galilee ahead of Jesus and the Disciples.
Mark 6:34 And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.
And when Jesus saw them, he noted that they were like sheep without a shepherd. So He continued teaching them many things.
Mark 6:35-36 And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed: Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat.
When it became very late, the Disciples told Jesus that it was so late and that they were out in a wilderness area to send the people away so they could go and eat dinner. Because the people had not brought food with them.
Mark 6:37-38 He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat? He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes.
Jesus told His Disciples to feed the people. And they asked Him if they should go buy enough food to feed everybody? Note they had estimated that it would take 200 pennies worth of food to feed them. A penny was a day’s wages in those days. Then Jesus asked them, how many loaves of bread do you have? And they said, five loaves of bread and two fish. That was barely enough for Jesus and the Disciples to have supper, which is why they went there in the first place.
Mark 6:39-40 And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass. And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties.
Jesus told His Disciples to have the people sit down in groups on the grass.
Mark 6:41 And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all.
Then Jesus took the loaves of bread and the fish and blessed them, and broke the loaves and the fish and gave the pieces to His Disciples to distribute to the people.
Mark 6:42-44 And they did all eat, and were filled. And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes. And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men.
So Jesus fed five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish. And the leftovers filled twelve baskets. So they had more food after everyone had eaten than they had to start with. This was a miracle that Jesus did to feed five thousand.
When The Lord commands us to do anything, do not doubt, but obey, knowing that He will empower us and provide everything we will need to accomplish it, even though we do not comprehend how it could be possible.
Mark 6:45-47 And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people. And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray. And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land.
Jesus told His Disciples to take the boat and go back to Bethsaida while He sent the people home. And Jesus went up into a mountain to pray. After the Disciples had rowed into the middle of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus was still alone on the land.
Mark 6:48-50 And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them. But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out: For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.
Jesus noticed that the Disciples were having a lot of trouble rowing because a bad storm had come up. So He came to them walking on the sea. The Disciples were terrified because they believed they were seeing a ghost. Then Jesus said to them, Don’t be afraid, it’s Me.
Mark 6:51-52 And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered. For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.
The Disciples had become afraid because they were not paying attention to Jesus and the miracle He had just done before their eyes. Jesus had commanded them to feed five thousand with five loaves of bread and two fish, and after they completed the task, they had twelve baskets full of leftovers to take back home with them. Jesus did many miracles, and each one was an important teaching lesson for His Disciples to learn.
Then Jesus commanded them to row across the Sea of Galilee to the other side, and He was going to provide them with all they needed to accomplish that task. So when he saw that a storm was threatening them, He just walked over the water to get to the boat to help them.
Jesus is The Lord of Heaven and Earth and will provide us with everything we need to obey Him.
Whosoever has eyes to see and ears to hear, let him hear.
Mark — Part 8
Mark 6:53-56 And when they had passed over, they came into the land of Gennesaret, and drew to the shore. And when they were come out of the ship, straightway they knew him, And ran through that whole region round about, and began to carry about in beds those that were sick, where they heard he was. And whithersoever he entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought him that they might touch if it were but the border of his garment: and as many as touched him were made whole.
After they rowed to the other side of the sea, the people knew them, and everybody in that area came to them with their sick. And in every city Jesus entered, the people brought their sick to Him to be healed.
Mark 7:1-5 Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem. And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault. For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables. Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?
The Pharisees and scribes had a tradition that they taught the people of ceremonial washing of hands before eating, and also of ceremonial washing of cups and pots, etc. But this was just a “religious” ritual which had nothing to do with cleaning soiled hands or dishes. But they had the people washing themselves and their dishes, pots, and pans, over and over all the time. But this ritual was not according to God’s Law, so Jesus and His Disciples did not do it. So those hypocrites accused them of sin.
Mark 7:6-7 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
The word “hypocrites” is from “hoop-ok-ree-tace’” which means “an actor under an assumed character (stage player), that is, (figuratively) a dissembler (‘hypocrite’).” So hypocrites were simply Stage Play Actors, as in the Greek Theater.
Jesus quoted from Isaiah.
Isa 29:13-14 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.
The Lord had said that since the people were hypocritical and instead of studying God’s Law and The Prophets they memorized and adhered to the imaginations of men, that He would perform a miracle by destroying the so-called wisdom of their respected men and would hold back from them the understanding of their true men of Knowledge.
And the very fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophesy was those hypocritical Pharisees and scribes who just pretended to be pious in front of the people, because they didn’t really understand The Scriptures at all, and just made up many little laws and ordinances that the people were required to obey to be “religious”, but they did not teach the people The Word of God.
Mark 7:8-9 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
The scribes and Pharisees taught their traditions and philosophies they made up out of their imaginations which contradicted God’s Laws. They were literally adding to God’s Law with their little laws and in doing so diminished from God’s Law.
Deu 4:2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.
So those hypocrites were transgressing God’s Law by changing it, which is sin.
Mark 7:10-13 For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.
The word “Corban” is from “kor-ban’” which means “votive offering and the offering; a consecrated present (to the Temple fund); by extension (the latter term) the Treasury itself, that is, the room where the contribution boxes stood.” So it was a free will offering to the Temple.
So those hypocrites were teaching that it was more important for the young people to give offerings to the Temple instead of helping their parents. But that contradicted God’s Commandment which says, “Honor your father and mother.” So when parents are in need, it is important that their children help them, and not make an excuse that they had to give their money to the Temple Treasury.
Mark 7:14-16 And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand: There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.
The word “defile” is from “koy-no’-o” which means “to make (or consider) profane (ceremonially).”
Jesus then taught that nothing outside of us that comes into us can make us profane. Instead we are made profane by what comes out of us. And note that this is a teaching for The elect.
And keep in mind the subject, which is what makes us profane? Jesus is not referring to dirt or the touching of an unclean thing, for which The Lord said we should wash with water. But those hypocrites were teaching a ceremonial washing, a repetitive ritual, like sprinkling a little water on a pot or dish each time before using, which is ridiculous but does appear religious.
Mark 7:17-19 And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable. And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him; Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?
The word “meats” simply means “food.” So whatever food we eat goes through our digestive system and is eventually eliminated. And if a little dirt is on the food, that passes right through as well. But that does not make us profane, because it does not enter our heart and mind but into our belly.
Mark 7:20-23 And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
What makes us profane? Evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, theft, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. And all of these things come from within our hearts and minds.
Whosoever has eyes to see and ears to hear, let him hear.