Chapter Six

1–6. The rejection of Christ by His fellow citizens – the inhabitants of Nazareth. – 7–13. The sending of the apostles to preach. – 14–16. The people’s and Herod Antipas’s opinion of Christ. – 17–29. The execution of John the Baptist by Herod. – 30–33. The return of the apostles from their journey. – 34–44. The feeding of five thousand people in a desert place. – 45–52. Christ’s stilling of the storm on the sea. – 53–56. Christ’s miracles in the land of Gennesaret.

Mark 6:1. From there He went out and came to His own country; His disciples followed Him. In vv. 1–7 the evangelist Mark tells of Christ’s stay in Nazareth after He had performed the miracle of raising Jairus’s daughter (Mark 5:43). From the account of the evangelist Matthew one can see that this visit took place after Christ had finished His teaching in parables which He offered to the people by the sea (Matt 13:53-58). According to the evangelist Luke, this event fell, as it seems, at the beginning of Christ’s emergence as a Teacher in Galilee (Luke 4:16-30). Yet the evangelist Matthew relates this event to the same period of Christ’s activity as Mark does, as can be concluded from the subsequent narratives contained in the Gospel of Matthew (Matt 14; Mark 6:14 and following). As for the evangelist Luke, he evidently does not strictly follow the chronological order, placing the account of Christ’s visit to Nazareth at the beginning of His activity in Galilee: he himself has indications of this (see comments to Luke 4:16). Therefore there is no need (as, for example, Knabenbauer supposes) to assume two separate occasions when Christ preached in Nazareth. “Came to His own country” (cf. Mark 1:9). This does not deny Christ’s birth in Bethlehem, but denotes only that the place of residence of Christ’s earthly ancestors was indeed Nazareth (“his own country” – the city where the fathers, the ancestors, lived). Only the evangelist Mark notes that in this journey the disciples were with Christ: Christ was going to Nazareth not in order to see His relatives, but to preach, at which His disciples were to be present. In general the evangelist Mark pays great attention to how the disciples of Christ were being prepared by Him for their future activity...

Mark 6:2. When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and many of those who heard Him were astonished, saying: Where did He get this? What wisdom has been given to Him, and how such miracles are performed by His hands? Christ appeared as a Teacher in Nazareth only on the Sabbath; before that His fellow citizens apparently did not express a desire to hear Him. Even having heard His teaching and learned of His miracles, Christ’s fellow citizens, according to the observation of the evangelist Mark, recognize in Him only an instrument of some higher power: Wisdom was “given to him” by someone, and miracles are performed “by His hands,” that is, through Him, not by Him Himself (cf. Matt 13:54).

Mark 6:3. Is not He the carpenter, the son of Mary, brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us? And they took offense at Him. The evangelist Mark relates that His fellow citizens called Christ a “carpenter,” but not “the son of a carpenter,” as in the Gospel of Matthew. Yet there is no contradiction, for it was customary among the Hebrews for a father to teach his son his own craft, so that Christ, of course, was taught the carpenter’s trade. It is true that Origen says that “nowhere in the Gospels accepted by the Church is Christ called a carpenter” (“Against Celsus,” VI, 36), but other ancient Church writers know this tradition as reported in the Gospel. Origen probably had a copy of the Gospel of Mark that had already been corrected according to the Gospel of Matthew. “Brother of James”... (see Matt 1:25). (See Matt 13:55-56).

Mark 6:4. Jesus said to them: A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and among his own relatives and in his own house. (See Matt 13:57). It might seem strange that Christ spoke about His rejection in Nazareth. Had He not just recently (Mark 5:17) been rejected also by the inhabitants of the land of the Gergesenes? But there Christ appeared as a stranger, a completely unknown person, while here in Nazareth, word of His miracles had already preceded Him. Therefore the rejection by the Nazarenes was a more offensive fact for Him than the rejection by the Gergesenes.

Mark 6:5. And He could not perform any miracle there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. Of course Christ did not lose the power to perform miracles, but this power, as shown by the healing of the woman with the issue of blood (Mark 5:34), was manifested only where it met with faith from a human being (St. Gregory the Theologian, Blessed Theophylact). And here too Christ healed several sick people, apparently those who believed in Him – only these miracles were not particularly striking.

Mark 6:6. And He marveled at their unbelief. Then He went about through the neighboring villages and taught. “And He marveled...” Blessed Augustine does not wish to admit that Christ actually felt astonishment, as this seems to him incompatible with His omniscience (On the Morals of the Manicheans I, 8, 14), but Thomas Aquinas resolves this difficulty by pointing out that Christ repeatedly learned about something from reports of others. So in the present case Christ could have been told about the unbelief which the Nazarenes manifested toward Him in private household conversations, and on this account Christ expressed His astonishment. “Then He went about through the neighboring villages...” Rejected by His fellow citizens, Christ continues His preaching in the circle (round about) of villages or towns to which Nazareth belonged, or else this expression can be understood as meaning that He makes a circular journey through these towns, returning to the seashore. During this journey He sends the apostles out to preach.

Mark 6:7. And He called to Him the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. Through v. 14 the narrative concerns the sending of the apostles to preach (cf. Matt 9:35-10:1 and following; Matt 11:1; Luke 9:1-6). The evangelist Mark compared with Matthew reports only some of the instructions given at that time by Christ to the apostles. “Began to send them out.” Some commentators (for example, Lagrange) consider the expression “began” a simple Aramaism having here, as in other places (v. 2), no real significance. But from the viewpoint of the evangelist Mark, who repeatedly showed that the Lord gradually prepared the apostles for their ministry, this expression should have had real meaning. The evangelist wanted to say that the Lord recognized His disciples as already sufficiently prepared to come forward as independent preachers in Galilee. They are now already helpers of Christ in this work of preaching. The Lord wants them now to go themselves throughout Galilee, to convince themselves through their own experience of the difficulty of the task, and gradually to discover for themselves what they are still lacking. However, they received the right to preach only the necessity of repentance (v. 12). “Two by two.” The apostles were therefore to go in six different directions. The fact that the apostles journeyed in pairs was useful in that they were absolutely reliable witnesses in each place from the standpoint of Jewish law (Deut 19:15). They could render mutual help in case of illness or some misfortune. The evangelist Mark does not mention the prohibition to preach to the gentiles (cf. Matt 10:5), for he wrote his Gospel precisely for Christians from among the gentiles and did not wish to sadden their Christian joy with a reminder of this prohibition which Christ Himself later revoked (Matt 28:19).

Mark 6:8. And He charged them to take nothing on their journey except a staff: no bag, no bread, no money in their belt, Mark 6:9. but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. According to the account of the Gospel of Mark, the Lord allows the apostles to take with them a “staff,” but according to the Gospel of Matthew He forbids it (Matt 10:10, and likewise according to the Gospel of Luke). How are we to reconcile these accounts of the evangelists? Christ generally inspired in the apostles trust in God’s Providence, and tradition could preserve this instruction in two forms: in the form in which Mark gives it, which excludes any supplies for the journey but allows a “staff” simply as a support for climbing mountain paths, and in the form which we find in Matthew and Luke, where “staff” is understood as a means of defense against attacks to which the apostles might be subjected during their journey: a staff as a weapon would not testify to their trust in Providence... Similarly, if the evangelist Matthew says that the Lord forbade the apostles to take spare sandals on their journey, he does not contradict Mark, who reports that Christ commanded the apostles to wear simple sandals. Matthew evidently has in mind “extra” sandals, but there is no mention of them in Mark, who, like Matthew, has in mind only one pair of sandals which the apostles had on their feet.

Mark 6:10. And He said to them: Wherever you enter a house, remain in it until you leave that place. Mark 6:11. And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them. Truly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town. (See Matt 10:11-15).

Mark 6:12. So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent; The apostles for now preached only repentance as the condition for entering the Kingdom of God, but did not yet proclaim the Kingdom of God itself.

Mark 6:13. and cast out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them. The casting out of demons is set forth by the evangelist Mark as the first work of the apostles (Mark 1:34) and is distinguished from the healing of the sick. The anointing with oil, both in ancient times and even now in the East, has a medicinal significance (something like an antiseptic measure). But the apostles, as is evident from the context of the discussion in this section, used oil rather as a symbol of the healing action which they wanted to accomplish over one or another sick person. A similar action was performed by Christ Himself on the blind man, anointing his eyes with mud (John 9:6). By using oil, the apostles, so to speak, disposed the sick toward faith that they could help them, and then they performed the healing – of course, when this was according to the will of Providence. This custom existed later in the Church (Jas 5:14), and from this comes the use of oil in the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick, the anointing.

Mark 6:14. King Herod heard about Jesus, for His name became known; and he said: John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and for this reason these powers are at work in him. (Cf. Matt 14:1-3). The evangelist Mark calls Herod a “king” according to popular usage. Yet Herod was only a tetrarch. “His name became known.” It is quite probable that Herod heard about Jesus from John the Baptist, or perhaps rumors about Christ reached him when the apostles went out to preach.

Mark 6:15. Others said, “He is Elijah.” And others said, “He is a prophet, or like one of the prophets. (See Matt 11:14).

Mark 6:16. But when Herod heard of it, he said: “It is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised. Mark 6:17. For Herod himself had sent and seized John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her. Mark 6:18. For John had said to Herod: It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife. Mark 6:19. And Herodias harbored a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him; but she could not, Mark 6:20. for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and kept him safe. When he heard him, he was much perplexed; and yet he heard him gladly. The narrative that begins in this verse concerning the execution of John the Baptist is in general similar to what is told by the evangelist Matthew (Matt 14:3-12). Yet in the Gospel of Mark there are certain peculiarities. For instance, in v. 19 he mentions the hatred which Herodias harbored toward John, while in v. 20 he relates that Herod himself respected John for his righteousness and even consulted with him. This latter account is an addition to what the evangelist Matthew says, who mentions only Herod’s desire to get rid of John, who condemned him and refrained from acting only from fear of the people (Matt 14:5). From this we can conclude that Herod showed a duality in his attitude toward John: sometimes he wanted to kill him under the influence of irritation, and then, having calmed down, he listened to his advice, unless it concerned his relationship with Herodias.

Mark 6:21. But an opportune day came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military commanders, and the leaders of Galilee; Military commanders – military leaders in Herod’s army. Leaders (the first ones) – noble people.

Mark 6:22. the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, and she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said to the girl: Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you. Mark 6:23. And he swore to her: Whatever you ask of me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom. Mark 6:24. She went out and said to her mother, What shall I ask? And her mother said, The head of John the Baptist. Mark 6:25. And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying: I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter. Mark 6:26. The king was exceedingly sorry; but because of his oaths and his guests he did not wish to refuse her. Mark 6:27. Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded him to bring John’s head. Mark 6:28. He went and beheaded him in the prison, and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. Mark 6:29. When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb. The executioner (v. 27, spekulator – a Latin word). This name was given to the royal bodyguards who surrounded the king at his outings and during banquets (cf. Suetonius, “The Lives of the Twelve Caesars”: Claudius, XXXV). They also carried out the king’s orders regarding the execution of persons sentenced to death by the king himself.

Mark 6:30. The apostles gathered around Jesus and told Him all that they had done and taught. Mark 6:31. He said to them: Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while. For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. Mark 6:32. And they went away in the boat by themselves to a deserted place. Mark 6:33. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. After the return of the apostles from their journey, Christ proposed to them to rest alone in a deserted place, for here in Capernaum, the crowd did not give them opportunity for such rest. The apostles went with Christ in a boat (v. 33; Luke 9:10), not accompanied by other boats with the crowd, but soon the people learned where they had gone, and followed them to this deserted place.

Mark 6:34. As Jesus went ashore, He saw a great crowd, and He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things. Mark 6:35. When it grew late, His disciples came to Him and said: This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; – Mark 6:36. send them away so that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy something for themselves to eat, for they have nothing to eat. Mark 6:37. But He answered them: You give them something to eat. They said to Him: Are we to go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread, and give it to them to eat? Mark 6:38. He said to them: How many loaves do you have? Go and see. When they found out, they said: Five, and two fish. Mark 6:39. Then He ordered them to get all the people to sit down in groups on the green grass. Mark 6:40. So they sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties. Mark 6:41. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before the people; and He divided the two fish among them all. Mark 6:42. And all of them ate and were satisfied. Mark 6:43. And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. Mark 6:44. Those who had eaten the loaves numbered about five thousand men. Concerning the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand with five loaves, see Matt 14:14-21. The evangelist Mark adds that Christ, having compassion on the people who were like sheep without a shepherd (cf. Matt 9:36), taught the crowd many things here (v. 34). He also specifies the sum which the apostles thought possible to spend on buying bread for the people (200 denarii – about 40 rubles, equivalent to the cost of 800 grams of silver), and notes that Christ ordered the people to “sit down” “on the green grass” – the time was spring, before Passover (cf. John 6:2) – “in groups” (v. 39).

Mark 6:45. Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He dismissed the crowd. Mark 6:46. After saying farewell to them, He went up on the mountain to pray. Mark 6:47. When evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and He was alone on the land. Mark 6:48. When He saw that they were straining at the oars against an adverse wind, He came toward them early in the morning, walking on the sea. He intended to pass by them, Mark 6:49. but when they saw Him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out; Mark 6:50. for they all saw Him and were terrified. But immediately He spoke with them and said to them: Take courage; it is I; do not be afraid. Mark 6:51. Then He got into the boat with them and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, Mark 6:52. for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened. Concerning the miracle of the stilling of the storm, see Matt 14:22-33. The evangelist Mark notes that the Lord compelled His disciples to set sail ahead of Him in the direction of Bethsaida (v. 45). Some suppose that there were two cities by this name: Bethsaida Julias on the eastern side of the sea, where the feeding of the five thousand took place, and Bethsaida to the west – the native city of the apostles Andrew and Peter (Bp. Michael). But this supposition cannot be accepted. Archeological research has not discovered any other Bethsaida besides the one that was located on the northeast side of the Sea of Tiberias (Mark 8:22). It is better, therefore, to accept the translation (of Volenberg): “compelled him to go on ahead to the other side, toward Bethsaida,” that is, “lying on the opposite side from Bethsaida,” about which the disciples were at that time with Christ. Thus the disciples set out in the boat, while the Lord apparently intended to go along the seashore, crossing the Jordan that separated Him from the place to which He directed His disciples. “For they did not understand about the loaves, because their hearts were hardened” (v. 52). This statement of the evangelist seems to stand in direct contradiction with the fact that they had earlier come forward as preachers in the name of Christ (v. 30), and especially with the testimony of the evangelist John that the disciples believed in Christ at the very time of their calling (John 1:41). But we must distinguish between believing Christ to be the Messiah and the ability to be guided everywhere and in all dangers by this belief or conviction. We constantly observe that Christians who in ordinary times and in ordinary circumstances acknowledge Christ’s power often waver in faith and hope in Him in great dangers. Thus also the apostles, under the influence of fear, forgot all the previous manifestations of Christ’s saving power, and, like ordinary people, could not overcome in themselves astonishment at a new miracle of Christ, His very entering into their boat caused the wind to cease.

Mark 6:53. When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. Mark 6:54. When they got out of the boat, the people at once recognized Him, Mark 6:55. and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard He was. Mark 6:56. Wherever He went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged Him that they might touch even the fringe of His cloak; and all who touched it were healed. Concerning the miracles performed by Christ in the land of Gennesaret, see Matt 14:34-36.