Mark 6

Expanded Bible

Jesus Goes to His Hometown^(A)

6 Jesus left there and went to his hometown [^CNazareth; Matt. 2:23; Luke 2:39], and his ·followers [disciples] went with him. ² On the Sabbath day he ·taught [^Lbegan to teach] in the synagogue. Many people heard him and were ·amazed [astonished], saying, “Where did this man get these ·teachings [^Lthings]? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? And where did he get the power to do ·miracles [^Lsuch mighty works done by his hands]? ³ ·He is just [^LIsn’t this…?] the carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph [^CGreek: Joses], Judas, and Simon. ·And his sisters are [^LAre not his sisters…?] here with us.” So the people were ·upset with [offended by] Jesus.

⁴ Jesus said to them, “A prophet is ·honored everywhere [not dishonored] except in his hometown and with his own ·people [relatives; kin] and in his own ·home [household].” ⁵ So Jesus was not able to work any miracles there except to heal a few sick people by ·putting [laying] his hands on them. ⁶ He ·was amazed [wondered; marveled] ·at how many people had no faith [because of their unbelief].

Jesus Commissions the Twelve Apostles^(B)

Then Jesus went [around] to other villages in that area and taught. ⁷ He called ·his twelve followers [^Lthe Twelve] together and ·got ready [began] to send them out two by two and gave them authority over ·evil [defiling; ^Lunclean] spirits. ⁸ This is what Jesus ·commanded [ordered; instructed] them: “Take nothing for your ·trip [journey; way] except a ·walking stick [staff]. Take no bread, no ·bag [traveler’s bag; or beggar’s purse], and no money in your ·pockets [money belts]. ⁹ Wear sandals, but ·take only the clothes you are wearing [do not wear/pack two tunics]. ¹⁰ When you enter a house, stay there until you leave ·that town [that area]. ¹¹ If the people in a certain place refuse to welcome you or listen to you, leave that place. Shake its dust off your feet [^Ca sign of rejection and coming judgment] as a ·warning to [testimony against] them.”^[a]

¹² So ·the followers [^Lthey] went out and preached that people should ·change their hearts and lives [turn from sin; repent]. ¹³ They ·forced [drove; cast] many demons out and ·put olive oil on [anointed with oil] many sick people and healed them.

How John the Baptist Was Killed^(C)

¹⁴ King Herod [^CAntipas; a son of Herod the Great; Luke 3:1] heard about Jesus, because he was now well known. Some people said,^[b] “He is John the Baptist, who has risen from the dead. That is why ·he can work these miracles [^Lmiraculous powers are at work in him].”

¹⁵ Others said, “He is Elijah [^Ca great OT prophet (1 Kin. 17), who was expected to return in the end times (Mal. 4:5)].”

Other people said, “Jesus is a prophet, like the prophets who lived long ago.”

¹⁶ When Herod heard this, he said, “I killed John by cutting off his head. Now he has risen from the dead!”

¹⁷ Herod himself had ·ordered [sent] his soldiers to arrest John and ·put [bound; chained] him in prison ·in order to please [^Lbecause of] his wife, Herodias. She had been the wife of Philip, Herod’s brother, but then Herod had married her. ¹⁸ John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to ·be married to [have] your brother’s wife.” ¹⁹ So Herodias ·hated [had a grudge against] John and wanted to kill him. But she couldn’t, ²⁰ because Herod was afraid of John and protected him. He knew John was a ·good [righteous] and holy man. Also, though John’s preaching always ·bothered [disturbed; puzzled; perplexed] him, he enjoyed listening to John.

²¹ Then the ·perfect [opportune] time came for Herodias to cause John’s death. On Herod’s birthday, he gave a ·dinner party [banquet] for ·the most important government leaders [his nobles/high officials], the commanders of his army, and ·the most important people [leaders] in Galilee. ²² When the daughter of Herodias^[c] came in and danced, she pleased Herod and the people eating with him.

So King Herod said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I will give it to you.” ²³ He ·promised [swore/vowed to] her, “Anything you ask for I will give to you—up to half of my kingdom.”

²⁴ The girl went [out] to her mother and asked, “What should I ask for?”

Her mother answered, “Ask for the head of John the Baptist.”

²⁵ At once the girl ·went back [hurried back in] to the king and said to him, “I want [you to give me] the head of John the Baptist right now on a platter.”

²⁶ Although the king was very ·sad [sorry; grieved; distressed], he had made a promise, and his dinner guests had heard it. So he did not want to refuse what she asked. ²⁷ Immediately the king sent ·a soldier [an executioner] to bring John’s head. The ·soldier [executioner] went and cut off John’s head in the prison ²⁸ and brought it back on a platter. He gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. ²⁹ When John’s ·followers [disciples] heard this, they came and got John’s ·body [corpse] and put it in a tomb.

More than Five Thousand Fed^(D)

³⁰ The apostles gathered around Jesus and told him about all the things they had done and taught. ³¹ Crowds of people were coming and going so that Jesus and his ·followers [disciples] did not even have time to eat. He said to them, “Come away by yourselves, and we will go to a ·lonely [isolated; deserted] place to get some rest.”

³² So they went in a boat by themselves to a ·lonely [isolated; deserted] place. ³³ But many people saw them leave and recognized them. So from all the towns they ran to the place where Jesus was going, and they got there before him. ³⁴ When he ·arrived [landed; came ashore], he saw a great crowd waiting. He ·felt sorry [had compassion] for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began to teach them many things.

³⁵ When it was late in the day, his ·followers [disciples] came to him and said, “·No one lives in this place [This is a remote/deserted place], and it is already very late. ³⁶ Send the people away so they can go to the countryside and towns around here to buy themselves something to eat.”

³⁷ But Jesus answered, “You give them something to eat.”

They said to him, ·“We would all have to work a month to earn enough money to buy that much bread!” [^L“Should we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?”]

³⁸ Jesus asked them, “How many loaves of bread do you have? Go and see.”

When they found out, they said, “Five loaves and two fish.”

³⁹ Then Jesus ·told [commanded; ordered] ·his followers [^Lthem] to have the people sit [recline; ^Cthe posture for a banquet or dinner party; 2:15] in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰ So they sat in groups of hundreds and fifties. ⁴¹ Jesus took the five loaves and two fish and, looking up to heaven, he ·thanked God for [blessed] the food. He ·divided [broke] the bread and gave it to his ·followers [disciples] for them to give to the people. Then he divided the two fish among them all. ⁴² All the people ate and were satisfied. ⁴³ ·The followers [^LThey] filled twelve baskets with the leftover pieces of bread and fish. ⁴⁴ There were five thousand men who ate.

Jesus Walks on the Water^(E)

⁴⁵ Immediately Jesus ·told [compelled; made] his ·followers [disciples] to get into the boat and go ahead of him to Bethsaida [^Ca town on the northern shore of Lake Galilee, east of the Jordan River] across the lake. He stayed there to ·send the people home [dismiss the crowd]. ⁴⁶ After ·sending them away [saying goodbye], he went into the hills to pray.

⁴⁷ That night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and Jesus was alone on the land. ⁴⁸ He saw his ·followers [disciples] struggling hard to row the boat, because the wind was blowing against them. ·Between three and six o’clock in the morning [^LAt about the fourth watch of the night], Jesus came to them, walking on the water, and he ·wanted [intended; was about] to ·walk past [pass by] the boat. ⁴⁹ But when they saw him walking on the ·water [lake; sea], they thought he was a ghost and cried out. ⁵⁰ They all saw him and were afraid. But ·quickly [immediately] Jesus spoke to them and said, “Have courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.” ⁵¹ Then he got into the boat with them, and the wind ·became calm [ceased; stopped]. They were greatly amazed. ⁵² [For] They did not understand ·about the miracle of the five loaves [the significance of the loaves; ^Labout the loaves], because their ·minds were closed [hearts were hardened/stubborn/dull].

⁵³ When they had crossed the lake, they came to shore at Gennesaret [^Ceither the plain on the northwestern shore of the lake, or a town in that region] and tied the boat there. ⁵⁴ When they got out of the boat, people immediately recognized Jesus. ⁵⁵ They ran everywhere in that ·area [region] and began to bring sick people on ·mats [cots] wherever they heard he was. ⁵⁶ And everywhere he went—into towns, cities, or countryside—the people brought the sick to the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch just the ·edge [fringe; tassels] of his coat, and all who touched it were healed.