Rejected by His Hometown! Ordinary Men Do Miracles! A Grudge Leads to Murder. Thousands Fed from a Sack lunch. He Walks on Water! Entire Town Healed by a Touch! These are the headlines from chapter 6.
The People of Nazareth Refuse to Believe / 6:1-6
6:1 After the previous incidents in Capernaum, where Jesus healed the bleeding woman and brought a dead girl back to life, Jesus returned with his disciples to Nazareth (1:9, 24), about twenty miles southwest of Capernaum.
Jesus had been born in Bethlehem, but raised in Nazareth (Matthew 2:19-23; Luke 2:39-40). This was not the first time he had spoken and taught in Nazareth; Luke 4:14-30 describes a visit when the people there had tried to kill him, but Jesus had walked away unharmed. This trip to Nazareth, recorded in Mark, is significant. The people of Nazareth were about to receive a second chance to believe; unfortunately, they again refused.
6:2 Synagogue services were conducted by lay people under the leadership of one or more synagogue “rulers” or leaders. For example, Jairus, the man whose daughter Jesus brought back to life, was a synagogue ruler (see 5:22). It was common for a visiting rabbi to be asked to speak in the local synagogue. Jesus, a well-known and popular speaker, had no trouble gaining an opportunity to teach in the synagogue on the Sabbath. As often happened when Jesus spoke, many who heard him were astonished (see also 1:22; 7:37; 10:26; 11:18) by his wisdom and his miracles.
6:3 Jesus was teaching effectively and wisely, but the people of his hometown saw him as only the carpenter whose family they also knew well. “He’s no better than we are—he’s just a common laborer,” they said. Jesus was almost thirty years old before he began his public teaching ministry. For the years prior to that, he had been at home, learning the trade of carpentry from his father and probably helping to support himself and the family.
When the townspeople called him the son of Mary, it may have been a derogatory remark. While it may have been true that Joseph was already dead, in any normal situation Jesus would still have been called “son of Joseph.” But Jesus was conceived prior to Joseph and Mary’s wedding (while they were engaged, Matthew 1:18), and perhaps the townspeople had always regarded Jesus as not even being Joseph’s son. Such was the stigma Mary continued to carry, even when Jesus was almost thirty years old. Apparently people saw Mary as less than honorable. Mary’s obedience to God in carrying his blessed Son had changed the course of her life (Luke 1:26-38).
The listing of the brothers (probably some of whom had come earlier to try to take Jesus by force in 3:21, 31) indicates that the people knew the family well. Apparently they were all ordinary people and Jesus had experienced an ordinary childhood. So for Jesus to claim to be someone special (especially with what they considered his less than honorable beginnings) caused them to be deeply offended by his words. So they refused to believe in him.
Jesus’ brother James later became a believer, a leader in the Jerusalem church (Acts 15:13; Galatians 2:9) and the author of the book of James. Judas may have been Jude, author of the book of Jude. Nothing else is known of the other brothers and sisters.
6:4 Jesus used a common proverb found in rabbinic literature. It is significant that Jesus applied the word prophet to himself. The word refers not to one who foretells future events (although that may be part of a prophet’s ministry), but to one who speaks God’s message. Jesus was not the first prophet to be rejected in his own hometown. Jeremiah experienced rejection in his hometown, even by members of his own family (Jeremiah 12:5-6). Jesus also experienced rejection by his relatives. His family thought he had gone crazy (3:21) and most of them didn’t believe until after his resurrection (John 7:5; Acts 1:14).
6:5-6 That Jesus couldn’t do any mighty miracles in Nazareth does not mean a restriction on his power. Rather, Jesus could have done greater miracles in Nazareth, but he chose not to because of the people’s unbelief—unbelief which amazed him. Jesus’ mighty works were meant to further the Kingdom of God, not to try to convince a group of stubborn people who had already thoroughly rejected him. To do miracles would be of no value because the people did not accept his message or believe that he was from God. Apparently even in Nazareth, a few sick people, humbled by their need, did come to Jesus for healing. And Jesus, always compassionate, healed them.
Jesus left his hometown and went out from village to village. He visited all the villages in the environs of Nazareth. This sentence gives us a transition from Jesus’ leaving Nazareth to preparing his disciples to continue his itinerant ministry.
Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Disciples / 6:7-13
When Jesus gave his disciples their first commission, he included directions about conduct and content. Even while Jesus was still with the disciples, he helped them to discover what it would be like to function without him. Mark already mentioned two other mission circuits that Jesus traveled (1:14, 39), indicating that at least some of the disciples had experience in itinerant ministry. For these Galilean towns, the disciples’ visit may have provided another opportunity for exposure to the gospel.
6:7 The twelve disciples had been trained in both the teaching they should give and the reception they could expect. It was time for them to do their “student teaching.” Jesus could only travel so far and do so much. This sending out of six groups of disciples geographically multiplied his efforts (Jesus would later send out seventy-two others, also in pairs, see Luke 10:1-2). Jesus gave his disciples responsibility and authority to act as his representatives in both teaching and power. Jesus sent them out to witness. They also were given authority to cast out evil spirits. Matthew included the ability to cure disease and sickness (Matthew 10:1). This authority and power authenticated their message.
6:8-9 While these instructions—no food, no traveler’s bag, no money—seem at first to be contrary to normal travel plans, they simply reveal the urgency of the task and its temporary nature. The disciples were sent out and then expected to return to Jesus with a full report. This was a training mission, and they were to leave immediately and travel light, taking along only minimal supplies. They were to depend on God and on the people to whom they were sent (6:10). Jesus allowed only the minimum: a walking stick and sandals. They were not even allowed to carry a bag because it was common for beggars to use such bags to solicit money. The disciples were not to be beggars, but were to live off the support of those who welcomed their message.
6:10 That a pair of disciples would be a guest in only one home meant that they had found a “worthy man” (Matthew 10:11)—a believer—and would either request or be invited to lodge in that person’s home. By staying only in that home, they would not offend their hosts by even appearing to look for “better” lodging in a home that was more comfortable or socially prominent. To remain in one home would not be a burden for the host because the disciples’ stay in each community would be short.
In a nutshell, Jesus instructed the disciples to depend on others while they went from town to town preaching the gospel. Their purpose was to blanket the area with Jesus’ message, and by traveling light they could move quickly. Their dependence on others had other good effects: (1) It clearly showed that the Messiah had not come to offer wealth to his followers; (2) it forced the disciples to rely on God’s power and not on their own provision; and (3) it involved the villagers and made them more eager to hear the message. Staying in homes was an excellent approach for the disciples’ short-term mission; it was not intended, however, to be a permanent way of life for them. Yet the faith and simplicity that this way of life portrayed would serve them well in the future.
6:11 The disciples should also expect rejection, such as Jesus had faced in the Ten Towns (5:17) and in Nazareth (6:3). So Jesus further instructed that if any place did not welcome them (that is, take them in and offer hospitality) or listen to them, then they should shake off its dust from their feet as they left.
Shaking off dust that accumulated on one’s sandals showed contempt for an area and its people, as well as the determination not to have any further involvement with them. Pious Jews shook dust from their feet after passing through Gentile cities or territory to show their separation from Gentile influences and practices. When the disciples shook the dust from their feet after leaving a Jewish town, it would be a vivid sign that they wished to remain separate from people who had rejected Jesus and his message.
Shaking off the dust of a place, Jesus said, would be a sign that the disciples had abandoned that village to its fate (see also 1:44). The act showed the people that the disciples had discharged their duty, had nothing further to say, and would leave the people to answer to God. By this statement, Jesus made it clear that the listeners were responsible for what they did with the gospel. The disciples were not to blame if the message was rejected, as long as they had faithfully and carefully presented it. Likewise, we are not responsible when others reject Christ’s message of salvation, but we do have the responsibility to share the gospel clearly and faithfully.
6:12-13 The disciples went out as Jesus’ representatives, continuing his message (1:14-15) and preaching that people should turn from their sins. The disciples not only brought the message of the gospel; they called for action in the form of repentance and belief. The gospel can only be life-changing if people allow it to change their lives. The change, for sinful humans, can begin only with turning from sin.
Jesus gave his disciples authority to cast out demons (3:15), as well as the power to heal the sick. Casting out demons extended Jesus’ personal ministry, which was to confront Satan’s power and destroy it. As the disciples went throughout Galilee, they would be announcing the arrival of the Kingdom of God through their preaching and healing.
Of all the Gospel writers, Mark alone included the words anointing them with olive oil in writing of the disciples’ healing ministry. This “oil” was used often at that time as treatment (both internally and externally) for many illnesses. Medicines were few in these days, and olive oil had proven to have exceptional qualities.
Herod Kills John the Baptist / 6:14-29
6:14 The expanded ministry of the gospel by the disciples brought Jesus to the attention of King Herod Antipas, ruler over the territories of Galilee and Perea. John the Baptist had been arrested just prior to Jesus beginning his public ministry (1:14). The arrest marked the end of John’s public ministry. He was imprisoned for some time prior to his death (see Matthew 11:2-6). At this point, the reader is to understand that John the Baptist had died at Herod’s hands. (Mark will record the story in detail.)
The people, still trying to figure out where Jesus’ miraculous powers came from, thought he was John the Baptist who had come back to life. Oddly enough, John had done no miracles; he had simply preached and prepared the way for Jesus. Among those who thought Jesus was John the Baptist was Herod himself (6:16). While Herod had succeeded in silencing John, he had not succeeded in silencing his own guilty conscience.
6:15 Others believed that Jesus was the ancient prophet Elijah, the great prophet who did not die but was taken to heaven in a chariot of fire (2 Kings 2:1-11). They applied the prophecy of Elijah’s return in Malachi 4:5 to Jesus. (Later Jesus explained to his disciples that John had fulfilled Malachi’s prophecy, see Mark 9:13.) Still others believed that Jesus was simply a prophet, someone in the tradition of Moses, Isaiah, or Jeremiah.
It was so difficult for the people to accept Jesus as the Son of God that they tried to come up with other solutions—most of which sound quite unbelievable to us. Very few found the correct answer, as Peter did (Luke 9:20). Many people today still cannot accept Jesus as the fully human yet fully divine Son of God, and they look for alternate explanations—a great prophet, a radical political leader, a self-deceived rabble-rouser. None of these explanations can account for Jesus’ miracles or, especially, for his glorious resurrection; so these realities have to be rationalized. In the end, the attempts to explain away Jesus are far more difficult to believe than the truth.
6:16-17 Upon hearing about Jesus, Herod was certain that John, whom he had beheaded, had come back from the dead.
Mark explained how John’s death came about. Herod, empowered by Rome over the region of Galilee, had simply sent soldiers to arrest and imprison John. The Jewish historian Josephus pinpointed this prison as Machaerus, a fortress (combination palace and prison) near the barren northeastern shore of the Dead Sea in the region of Moab. Herod did this as a favor to Herodias. She was Herod’s brother Philip’s wife. John the Baptist condemned Herod and Herodias for living immorally (6:18). Rebuking a tyrannical Roman official who could imprison and execute him was extremely dangerous, yet that is what John did.
6:18 John’s denunciation of the marriage of Galilee’s leader had been public as well as private. John had explained the obvious to Herod: It was against the law for Herod to be married to his brother’s wife (not to mention that she was also his half niece). Leviticus 18:16 and 20:21 describe the laws that Herod was breaking. Herod was partly Jewish, and whether or not he cared about the Jewish law, he did care about a revolt against him by the Jews. John’s public denunciation of the incest and adultery of Herod and Herodias was too much for them to bear, especially Herodias, whose anger turned to hatred.
6:19-20 Herodias was enraged. The word usage indicates that she never let up for one moment, but was waiting for her opportunity to have John killed in revenge. But Herod respected John, knowing that he was a good and holy man. So he protected John from Herodias’s murderous intentions by locking him in prison. Perhaps he hoped that stopping John’s public speaking would end the problem and quiet Herodias. Herod had little backbone. While he greatly respected John and liked to listen to him, he also kept John imprisoned for the sake of his evil wife and his incestuous and adulterous marriage. Herod was an evil man, so when he listened to John, he was disturbed.
6:21 That Herod had imprisoned John the Baptist was not enough for the angry Herodias. She continued to nurse her grudge against John for speaking publicly about her sins. Then on Herod Antipas’s birthday, her chance finally came. Whenever we harbor guilt and hatred in our heart, Satan is busy creating opportunities for greater evil to happen. Herod gave a party for many notable men from governmental, military, and civil strata in Galilee. He hoped to entertain them, impress them, and win their respect and admiration by this elaborate party.
6:22-23 The daughter was a young woman in her middle teens. She performed a dance for Herod and his roomful of male (and probably drunken) dinner guests. She greatly pleased them all, so the king offered her anything she wanted. Herod continued to flaunt his power, desiring in this promise to show his ability to provide anything the girl might ask. Then he added that this gift could be up to half his kingdom. Herod and all his notables in the banquet hall knew that Herod had no kingdom to give. Herod’s power came from Rome. Herod used a saying that revealed the scope of his offer but was not meant to be taken literally. But the young girl understood that she could ask for practically anything and receive it.
6:24-25 Any young woman might be prepared with a thousand possible suggestions to an offer such as Herod’s, but the girl left the banquet hall to confer with her mother. Then she returned triumphantly with the gruesome request for the head of John the Baptist. Herodias wanted John killed and the gruesome proof of his death brought to the palace. Herod had no way out; John’s death was sealed.
6:26-28 When the girl grandly gave her request to Herod in the hearing of all the important officials, Herod suddenly realized what he had done and was very sorry. Herod had made a promise (6:23). Such words were considered irrevocable. To break his oath would show his important guests that Herod was not a man of his word. So, out of regard for his reputation in front of the guests, Herod decided to show his power and authority by immediately fulfilling the girl’s request. He sent an executioner to behead John and bring the grisly trophy back to the girl, who took it to her mother. Herodias had satisfied her lust for revenge.
Herod fulfilled his oath and saved face before his guests. But he had been shown up by his wife and was left with great fear over what he had done in killing a holy man. Herod’s guilt could not be assuaged. So, when Jesus came upon the scene, he thought that John had come back to life (6:16).
6:29 John the Baptist apparently still had disciples (see Acts 19:1-5), even though many had left him to follow Jesus (John 1:35-37). When they heard that John had been beheaded, they came and buried him. They wanted to give their leader an honorable burial instead of having his body disposed of by the guards in the prison. Matthew added that after burying the body, “they told Jesus” (Matthew 14:12).
Jesus Feeds Five Thousand / 6:30-44
6:30 The word “apostle” means “one sent” as a messenger, authorized agent, or missionary. The word became an accepted title for Jesus’ twelve disciples after his death and resurrection (Acts 1:25-26; Ephesians 2:20). Mark deliberately used the word because the apostles had completed their teaching mission (6:7-13) and So were official “sent ones.”
The pairs returned to Capernaum and reported to Jesus. This marked the first time the disciples had gone out on their own, so quite naturally, they were full of excitement upon their return. Jesus listened to their stories and answered their questions.
Perhaps it would be a great corrective for our furtive and sometimes foolish activities if we adopted the same practice of reporting our work to the Lord in prayer. We could ask him to sort out the wheat from the chaff, the important from the trivial. By so doing, we could seek his guidance for future activity.
6:31-32 Capernaum had never proven to be a place where Jesus and his disciples could find solitude. Indeed, so many people were coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat. Jesus knew that his disciples were weary, so he kindly suggested that they all go away and rest. So they left by boat for a quieter spot. Luke tells us that they went to Bethsaida (Luke 9:10), probably landing at a solitary harbor apart from the city, or else they went on foot into the hills.
6:33 Popularity and recognition have their own pitfalls. The disciples, now almost as well known as Jesus after their preaching mission, were seen and recognized along with Jesus, and the crowds would not let them get away. Either the people somehow heard where the boat was headed, or perhaps the boat sailed not quite out of sight along the horizon so that the people could follow it. In any case, a crowd met them as they landed.
6:34 As they drew near to shore, no doubt the disciples realized that their time alone on the boat was all the rest time they would have. A vast crowd waited on the shore, some having walked for miles in order to be there when Jesus and the disciples arrived. This would provide another lesson for the disciples. Far from feeling impatience and frustration toward these needy people, Jesus had compassion on them. He knew these people were as pitiful as sheep without a shepherd. Sheep are easily scattered and lost; without a shepherd they are in grave danger. The people needed a true Shepherd who could teach them what they needed to know and keep them from straying from God. While Jesus had hoped to be alone with the disciples for a time of rest, he did not send away this needy crowd. He had compassion for the people and took it upon himself to meet their needs.
6:35-37 Jesus had been teaching the people until late in the afternoon (after 3:00 p.m.). Sunset was approaching, and the disciples wondered what Jesus planned to do with this crowd that had come far from their homes to be with them. The place where Jesus had been teaching was desolate, far from any town or village. The disciples thought Jesus would be wise to let the people go before it got dark in order for them to find food and lodging for the night. So they brought their suggestion to Jesus: “Send the crowds away.” No doubt, the disciples also hoped to soon get the rest they had anticipated when they had set out on this journey (6:31). Jesus’ answer both astounded and exasperated them: “You feed them.” The disciples summed up the situation and found it hopeless—“It would take a small fortune to buy food for all this crowd!” So what did Jesus mean, and why would he ask them to do something so obviously impossible?
6:38 In reply to their question about going and spending an extravagant amount of money on bread, Jesus told them first to check out their resources. John records that the five loaves (round barley cakes) and two fish they found were from the lunch of a young boy (John 6:9). Apparently, in their hurry, no one else in the crowd had thought to bring along food to eat, or they were unwilling to share it. The young boy offered his lunch to the disciples (specifically to Andrew, see John 6:8), but again the disciples could see only the impossibility of the situation.
6:39-40 Jesus did not answer the disciples, but set about organizing the people to sit down in groups. The men were probably separated from the women and children for the meal according to Jewish custom. So the people sat in groups of fifty or a hundred. In this wilderness, the Good Shepherd was about to feed his sheep (6:34).
6:41 Jesus, acting as the host of the soon-to-be banquet, took the five loaves and two fish, looked up to heaven, thanked God beforehand for the provision he was about to give, and then broke the loaves. As Jesus broke the loaves, the miracle occurred. The verbs in this verse are in different tenses in the Greek. The word breaking is in the aorist, implying an instantaneous act. The word giving is in the imperfect, implying a continuous act. So the miracle occurred in Jesus’ hands. He broke the bread and then kept on giving it to his disciples to then give to the people. The same thing happened with the fish. The disciples acted as waiters to the groups of hungry people seated on the grass, taking bread and fish, distributing it, and then returning to Jesus to get more. They continued to serve the crowd until everyone had had enough to eat (6:42).
The God who multiplied the bread was authenticating Jesus as his Son and portraying the Kingdom. Just as God provided manna to the Hebrews in the wilderness (Exodus 16), multiplied oil and meal for Elijah and the widow at Zarephath (1 Kings 17:7-16) and for Elisha (2 Kings 4:1-7), he was providing bread for the people on this day.
6:42-44 The five loaves and two fish multiplied so that they all ate as much as they wanted. Even the leftovers were more than they had begun with. The disciples picked up twelve baskets with the broken pieces of food. As if to cap off the record of this miracle, Mark added that five thousand men had eaten from those five loaves! If the readers weren’t impressed already, now they should be astounded. The Greek word for men is andres meaning not “people,” but “male individuals.” Therefore, there were five thousand men in addition to the women and children. The total number of people Jesus fed could have been over ten thousand.
Jesus did what the disciples thought was impossible. He multiplied five loaves and two fish to feed over five thousand people. What he was originally given seemed insufficient, but in his hands it became more than enough. While we may feel that our contribution to Jesus is meager, he can use and multiply whatever we give him, whether it is talent, time, or treasure. When we give our resources to Jesus, they are multiplied.
Jesus Walks on Water / 6:45-52
6:45 As soon as the crowd had been fed and the disciples had picked up the scraps, Jesus immediately got his disciples and the crowd moving. His sudden desire to dismiss the crowd and send the disciples off in their boat is explained in John’s Gospel. Upon seeing the miracle of multiplied loaves and fish, the people “were ready to take [Jesus] by force and make him king,” so Jesus “went higher into the hills alone” (John 6:15 ). Jesus’ Kingdom would not be an earthly one, and he didn’t want the enthusiasm of the crowd to deter him or his disciples from fulfilling their true mission. Before the crowd could become an unruly mob, Jesus made his disciples get back into the boat and return to Bethsaida while Jesus sent the people home.
6:46 Jesus then went up into the hills by himself to pray. During his ministry on earth, Jesus was in constant prayer with the Father—he may often have gone off alone to pray, so his desire to do so may not have surprised the disciples who left in the boat as instructed. Jesus had just left a crowd that wanted to make him their king. Popularity was a temptation in itself, for it could threaten to turn Jesus away from his mission—death on the cross to accomplish salvation. Jesus, in his humanity, may have continued to face the temptation to turn away from the difficult path and take the easier one. He constantly sought strength from God. Going into the wilderness, alone with the Father, helped Jesus focus on his task and gain strength for what he had to do.
6:47 The disciples had left sometime before sunset, so by the time evening came, they were well out in the lake. The disciples often fished during the night, so sailing out into the night was not unusual. However, a storm blew in (see Matthew 14:24; John 6:18). Once again (as in 4:35-39), Jesus had sent them out to sea, when they were already bone tired, right into a storm. At least previously Jesus had been in the boat with them. This time, he was alone on land, and the disciples were left to fend for themselves.
6:48-50 The disciples took down the sails and tried to keep control of the boat by strenuous rowing. For the entire night they fought the storm.
As Jesus prayed on the mountainside, he saw the disciples in serious trouble. Jesus came to them, walking on the water. While some might try to explain away this miracle by saying Jesus was simply on the shore, Mark clearly states that Jesus walked on the water. Not only that, but he had walked a great distance. John records that the disciples had gone three or four miles by the time Jesus came to them (John 6:19).
Much confusion surrounds the phrase, he started to go past them. While the text sounds like Jesus meant to walk on by and leave the disciples to their fate, obviously that was not the case because he did help them. Interpretations on the meaning of this phrase include: (1) Jesus “meant to pass beside” them as in providing a divine manifestation so to reveal to them his divine presence; (2) Jesus “was about to pass by” as he waited for the disciples to see him and call out to him for help; (3) the phrase was written from the disciples’ standpoint (from Peter’s eyewitness account) that, when they saw Jesus, it appeared to them that his intention was to “pass by them”; (4) the phrase means Jesus “intended to pass their way,” that is, to go to them, which is exactly what he did. When they all saw Jesus walking on the water, the disciples thought he was a ghost; so they screamed in terror. Once again, Jesus was doing the unexpected, the impossible, and they were terrified.
Jesus called out to the disciples over the storm, telling them not to be afraid. The literal reading for “I am here” is “I am”; it is the same as saying “the I AM is here” or “I, Yahweh, am here” (see Exodus 3:14; Isaiah 41:4; 43:10; 52:6). Jesus, the “I AM,” came with unexpected help and encouragement during the disciples’ time of desperate need.
6:51-52 Jesus then climbed into the boat with the disciples. Then, as had occurred once before when the disciples had been tossed about by a storm at sea, the wind stopped (see also 4:39). Jesus had revealed to them his complete mastery over nature.
The disciples had seen Jesus perform numerous healings, calm a raging sea, multiply food to feed over five thousand people, and walk to them on the water. Their responses to the last miracle had been fear and then amazement. While they had seen the miracles, they still didn’t understand them. They had seen the loaves multiplied, but they didn’t realize who Jesus was and what he could do. Mark explained that their hearts were hard. This was not merely misunderstanding; it was a hard-hearted refusal to believe (the word is used elsewhere only when describing unbelievers, see 3:5; 10:5). But why wouldn’t the disciples believe? Perhaps they simply couldn’t bring themselves to consider that this human being was actually God’s Son. Or maybe they thought that if and when the Messiah really did come, he wouldn’t choose them for followers. The disciples needed a good healthy dose of faith in order to be able to see and understand what their Master, the Messiah, so beautifully and amazingly continued to teach them.
Jesus Heals All Who Touch Him / 6:53-56
6:55 The storm had blown the disciples off course, and they did not land at Bethsaida as planned (6:45). They arrived at Gennesaret, a small fertile plain located on the west side of the Sea of Galilee as well as the name of a small town there. Capernaum (from where they had sailed that morning, 6:32) sat at the northern edge of this plain. Jesus was well known in the region of Galilee, and his presence always created great excitement. Immediately upon getting out of the boat, people recognized Jesus, and a flurry of activity began. There still would be no rest for the weary. The news of Jesus’ arrival spread like wildfire through the area. As Jesus moved through the region, people began carrying sick people to him so that he might heal them.
People may seek Jesus to learn valuable lessons from his life or to find relief from pain. But we miss Jesus’ whole message if we look to him for help only in this life, rather than for his eternal plan for us. Only when we understand the real Jesus Christ can we appreciate how he can truly change our lives.
6:56 In a day when medicines and medical help were few and limited, sickness was rampant and constant. As Jesus walked through Galilee, people laid the sick in the market plazas. Perhaps the story had spread of the woman in Capernaum who had been healed by touching Jesus’ cloak (5:27-29), for now the people begged to touch the fringe of his robe. No one missed out on Jesus’ loving compassion—all who touched it were healed.
Tomorrow we’ll look at chapter 7. I am praying that you will continue to GROW in Christ.
Darrell
For more about The Ridge Fellowship go to www.RidgeFellowship.com
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