MARK LESSON 12

     We will begin this lesson in Mark 6:1.

     Mark 6:1 "And he went out from thence, and came into his own
country; and his disciples follow him."

     We see, here, that even though He had not been readily accepted
by His family and friends at Nazareth, Jesus came back here from
time to time to try to minister.  His family, in the flesh, still live
in Nazareth.  Now all of the disciples had joined Jesus, Peter,
James, and John who were present at Jairus' house.

     Mark 6:2 "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?"

     We have mentioned before that whenever Jesus was near a synagogue
on sabbath, He always preached and taught.  Here at Nazareth, all of
the people think of Him as just a man like them, because they saw Him
grow up in the house of Mary and Joseph.  They could not visualize Him as
God manifest in the flesh, because they knew Him too well.  I can see
a little jealousy in the statement "from whence hath this man these
things".  You see, a prophet is without honour in his own home town.
They surely could not believe these miracles they had been hearing
about were done by this fellow they knew so well.

     Mark 6:3 "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."

     Here they were saying, "Who does He think He is?  This is the
carpenter who worked right here with us."  Again, they were saying, how
could Jesus be anyone special?  They knew His family.

     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."

     Not only Jesus had trouble with this, but every minister who ever
lived.  The problem is that the family and friends see you grow up
around them.

     Mark 6:5 "And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid
his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed [them]."  Mark 6:6 "And he
marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the
villages, teaching."

     God will not force Himself upon anyone.  Our free will gets
involved in anything we receive from God.  Nearly every time someone
was healed, Jesus would say, "Your faith has made you whole."  Without
faith, very little healing went on.  He taught in their villages, and
they could take it or leave it.

     Mark 6:7  "And he called [unto him] the twelve, and began to send
them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;"
Mark 6:8 "And commanded them that they should take nothing for [their]
journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in [their]
purse:"  Mark 6:9 "But [be] shod with sandals; and not put on two
coats."

     This was the sending forth of the disciples to minister.  Notice
Jesus sent them by two's.  There is ten times the power with two as
with one. The important strength they needed was power to overcome Satan
and his demons, and we see that Jesus endowed them with power over all
evil spirits.  They were not to carry things with them to live on.
They were to be dressed simply and go by two's.  We read in Matthew
18:19 "Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth
as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them
of my Father which is in heaven."

     Mark 6:10 "And he said unto them, In what place soever ye enter
into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place."  Mark 6:11
"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."

     We see that when the disciples entered into a city, they were to
pick out a family and move into their home and stay there as long as
they were ministering in that city.  If the city did not receive the
good news of the gospel, they were to shake the filth of the city
(dust) off of their feet.  Sodom and Gomorrha were two evil cities
destroyed by the Lord in Genesis because of their homosexual
activities.  We are familiar with the fire and brimstone that fell and
destroyed them.  Any city which rejected Jesus was in for a similar
fate, as we saw in the above verse.

     Mark 6:12 "And they went out, and preached that men should
repent." Mark 6:13 "And they cast out many devils, and anointed with
oil many that were sick, and healed [them]."

     The most important message of any preacher or church is repent.
It is wonderful to be healed and wonderful to be freed of demons; but
if you don't repent and be saved, it is all for naught.  The salvation
for mankind is first and foremost, and then his physical well being.

     Mark 6:14 "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."

     The "Him" here was Jesus, and because Herod had John beheaded, he
believed Jesus was John resurrected.  Herod was afraid of John the
Baptist while he was alive, but he was more afraid now that he felt he
was risen again.  Herodias and Herod were living in adultery in John's
views, and this statement was why they had him beheaded.

     Mark 6:15 "Others said, That it is Elias. And others said, That
it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets."

     This was the answer Peter gave Jesus, when Jesus asked him who
people said that He was.  This Jesus Christ was a man of such unusual
characteristics that everyone was giving their opinion of who He was.
The Jews were looking for Elias, so they thought this might be him.
Some of these very names are the names put on Him today.  Some believe
He was a man, a prophet, a teacher; but Peter had the answer when he
said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God".  Emmanuel - means 
God with us.  God caught up in the body of man.

     Mark 6:16 "But when Herod heard [thereof], he said, It is John,
whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead."

     You see, Herod's conscience had gotten the best of him, and he
just knew this was John who had risen from the grave and was here to
take revenge on him for the terrible death he inflicted on John by
cutting off his head.

     Mark 6:17 "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."  Mark 6:18 "For John had said unto
Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife."  Mark
6:19 "Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have
killed him; but she could not:"  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."

     We can see from this, that Herod had great admiration for John.  He
actually feared John.  Possibly, Herod would have repented and been
converted, had it not been for Herodias.

     Mark 6:21 "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;" Mark 6:22 "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."  Mark 6:23 "And he sware unto her,
Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give [it] thee, unto the half
of my kingdom." Mark 6:24 "And she went forth, and said unto her
mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist."
Mark 6:25 "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." Mark 6:26 "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." Mark 6:27 "And immediately the king
sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went
and beheaded him in the prison," Mark 6:28 "And brought his head in a
charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her
mother."

     It is really not hard to understand why Herod would feel guilty.
Not only did he have John the Baptist killed, but for no reason at
all;  just to save face with his friends.  This Herodias was even more
evil than Herod.  Loose promises can get a person in a terrible
situation, and that was exactly what happened to Herod.  There was no
way to take it back, it was done, and Herod would have to live with his
conscience.  We dealt with this more fully in the 14th chapter of
Matthew.  You may desire to read more about it there.

     Mark 6:29 "And when his disciples heard [of it], they came and
took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb."  Mark 6:30 "And the
apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all
things, both what they had done, and what they had taught."

     These disciples in verse 29 were John the Baptist's disciples that
buried him in a tomb.  Jesus' disciples that He had sent out came back
and reported all the healings, deliverances, and preaching they had
done.  Whether John's death prompted an early return or not, the
Scriptures do not say.  This had to have stirred them up somewhat,
however.



































                          Mark 12 Questions


1.  What was meant by Jesus' own country?
2.  Why did Jesus come back several times to His own land to minister?
3.  When did Jesus begin to teach in the synagogue?
4.  What effect did this have on the local people?
5.  Why did the people of Nazareth treat Him as if He is just a man?
6.  The statement "from whence hath this man these things" showed they
    were what?
7.  In verse 3, who do they call Jesus?
8.  Where is a prophet without honor?
9.  What did their unbelief keep Him from doing?
10. What was the only two things He did?
11. What is involved in everything we receive from God?
12. Who did Jesus send out two by two?
13. What power did Jesus give them?
14. What were they to take with them to live on?
15. Where were they to live?
16. What if the city didn't accept them?
17. What did these disciples preach?
18. What is the most important message for preachers even today?
19. Why had King Herod heard of Him?
20. Who did Herod think Jesus was?
21. Who did most believe Jesus was?
22. Who did Peter say He was?
23. Herod believed John the Baptist had ____________________________
    __________________________    ________________________________
    __________________________.
24. What terrible thing had Herod done to John?
25. If Herod was afraid of John, why did he carry out this hideous
    crime against him?
26. Who came for John the Baptist's body?
27. When Jesus' apostles gathered to Him, what did they report?

                                 Notes