Mark 6

Mark 6 starts with Jesus in His hometown of Nazareth. He went to teach in the synagogue and it says many who heard Him were astonished - but not in a good way. They questioned Jesus with skepticism. It says that Jesus "could not perform any miracles there." This reminds me of the times when Jesus told people that their prayers would be answered according to their faith, or their faith has made them well. These people had no faith, and so could not receive anything from Jesus.

One other tidbit in this section is the list of Jesus's brothers and sisters. They were half-brothers and sisters, but there are two names that should stand out to us immediately. Judas (a.k.a. Jude) and James - the authors of the books named after them in the New Testament.

Then we get a brief account of Jesus sending out the Twelve to preach repentance, heal, and cast out demons.

Then we get a flashback scene where Herod thinks Jesus is John the Baptist risen from the dead, and the flashback is of the time when Herod had John the Baptist beheaded.

Then we see people - with faith - that followed Jesus out to the middle of nowhere to hear Him teach, and He multiplied the fish and the bread without anyone even asking Him to. Compared to the people of Nazareth, the people in the wilderness must have had great faith because they ended up with 12 baskets of leftovers. When we walk with God in faith He will do things that we would never even expect, and not just the bare minimum, but in abundance.

Now the disciples were obedient, but it says that they did not understand about the loaves and their hearts were hardened (v52). They were caught in a storm, so Jesus walked on water to get to them. They thought He was a ghost, but Jesus told them not to be afraid. When He got in the boat the storm died down. It's almost as if the storm was a reflection of their thoughts about Jesus. They didn't understand what was going on and it caused turmoil in them. I can imagine them trying to wrap their heads around what they witnessed, but their hearts were hardened so they were probably arguing, or trying explain it away. Then Jesus showed them a miracle they could not mistake as anything but divine power - standing in front of them on the waters of a storm-tossed sea. Then they finally got it.

And after that wherever Jesus went people recognized Him and came to Him for healing.