Mark 6

Mr 6:1-6.

CHRIST

REJECTED AT

NAZARETH.

Mt 13:54-58;

Lu 4:16-30).

See on

Lu 4:16-30.

Mr 6:7-13.

MISSION OF THE

TWELVE

APOSTLES.

Mt 10:1, 5-15;

Lu 9:1-6).

See on

Mt 10:1;

Mt 10:5-15.

Mr 6:14-29.

HEROD

THINKS

JESUS A

RESURRECTION OF THE

MURDERED

BAPTIST--ACCOUNT OF

HIS

DEATH.

Mt 14:1-12;

Lu 9:7-9).

Herod's View of Christ

(Mr 6:14-16).

14. And King Herod--that is, Herod Antipas, one of the three sons of

Herod the Great, and own brother of Archelaus

(Mt 2:22),

who ruled as ethnarch over Galilee and Perea.

heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad); and he said--"unto

his servants"

(Mt 14:2),

his councillors or court ministers.

That John the Baptist was risen from the dead--The murdered prophet

haunted his guilty breast like a specter, and seemed to him alive again

and clothed with unearthly powers, in the person of Jesus.

15. Others said, That it is Elias. And others, That it is a prophet,

or as one of the prophets--(See on

Mt 16:14).

16. But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I

beheaded; he is risen from the dead--"Himself has risen"; as if the

innocence and sanctity of his faithful reprover had not suffered that

he should lie long dead.

Account of the Baptist's Imprisonment and Death

(Mr 6:17-29).

17. For Herod himself had sent forth, and laid hold upon John, and

bound him in prison--in the castle of Machærus, near the southern

extremity of Herod's dominions, and adjoining the Dead Sea

[JOSEPHUS, Antiquities, 18.5,2].

for Herodias' sake--She was the granddaughter of Herod the Great.

his brother Philip's wife--and therefore the niece of both brothers.

This Philip, however, was not the tetrarch of that name mentioned in

Lu 3:1

(see on

Lu 3:1),

but one whose distinctive name was "Herod Philip," another son of Herod

the Great--who was disinherited by his father. Herod Antipas' own wife

was the daughter of Aretas, king of Arabia; but he prevailed on

Herodias, his half-brother Philip's wife, to forsake her husband and

live with him, on condition, says JOSEPHUS

[Antiquities, 18.5,1], that he should put away his own wife.

This involved him afterwards in war with Aretas, who totally defeated

him and destroyed his army, from the effects of which he was never able

to recover himself.

18. For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have

thy brother's wife--Noble fidelity! It was not lawful because

Herod's wife and Herodias' husband were both living; and further,

because the parties were within the forbidden degrees of consanguinity

(see

Le 20:21);

Herodias being the daughter of Aristobulus, the brother of both Herod

and Philip [JOSEPHUS, Antiquities,

18.5,4].

19. Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him--rather, as in the

Margin, "had a grudge against him." Probably she was too proud to

speak to him; still less would she quarrel with him.

and would have killed him; but she could not.

20. For Herod feared John--but, as

BENGEL notes, John feared not Herod.

knowing that he was a just man and an holy--Compare the case of

Elijah with Ahab, after the murder of Naboth

(1Ki 21:20).

and observed him--rather, as in the Margin, "kept" or "saved him";

that is, from the wicked designs of Herodias, who had been watching for

some pretext to get Herod entangled and committed to despatch him.

and when he heard him, he did many things--many good things under the

influence of the Baptist on his conscience.

and heard him gladly--a striking statement this, for which we are

indebted to our graphic Evangelist alone, illustrating the working of

contrary principles in the slaves of passion. But this only shows how

far Herodias must have wrought upon him, as Jezebel upon Ahab, that he

should at length agree to what his awakened conscience kept him long

from executing.

21. And when a convenient day--for the purposes of Herodias.

was come, that Herod--rather, "A convenient day being come, when

Herod."

on his birthday, made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief

estates of Galilee--This graphic minuteness of detail adds much to

the interest of the tragic narrative.

22. And when the daughter of the said Herodias--that is, her

daughter by her proper husband, Herod Philip: Her name was Salome

[JOSEPHUS, Antiquities, 18.5,4].

came in and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him,

the king said unto the damsel--"the girl" (See on

Mr 5:42).

Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee.

23. And he--the king, so called, but only by courtesy (see on

Mr 6:14).

sware unto her Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, unto the half of my

kingdom--Those in whom passion and luxury have destroyed self-command

will in a capricious moment say and do what in their cool moments they

bitterly regret.

24. And she said, The head of John the Baptist--Abandoned women are

more shameless and heartless than men. The Baptist's fidelity marred the

pleasures of Herodias, and this was too good an opportunity of getting

rid of him to let slip.

25. I will that thou give me by and by--rather, "at once."

in a charger--large, flat trencher.

the head of John the Baptist.

26. And the king was exceeding sorry--With his feelings regarding

John, and the truths which so told upon his conscience from that

preacher's lips, and after so often and carefully saving him from his

paramour's rage, it must have been very galling to find himself at

length entrapped by his own rash folly.

yet for his oath's sake--See how men of no principle, but troublesome

conscience, will stick at breaking a rash oath, while yielding to the

commission of the worst crimes!

and for their sakes which sat with him--under the influence of that

false shame, which could not brook being thought to be troubled with

religious or moral scruples. To how many has this proved a fatal snare!

he would not reject her.

27. And immediately the king sent an executioner--one of the guards

in attendance. The word is Roman, denoting one of the Imperial Guard.

and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in

the prison--after, it would seem, more than twelve months'

imprisonment. Blessed martyr! Dark and cheerless was the end reserved

for thee: but now thou hast thy Master's benediction, "Blessed is he

whosoever shall not be offended in Me"

(Mt 11:6),

and hast found the life thou gavest away

(Mt 10:39).

But where are they in whose skirts is found thy blood?

28. And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and

the damsel gave it to her mother--Herodias did not shed the blood of

the stern reprover; she only got it done, and then gloated over it, as

it streamed from the trunkless head.

29. And when his disciples heard of it--that is, the Baptist's own

disciples.

they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb--"and went

and told Jesus"

(Mt 14:12).

If these disciples had, up to this time, stood apart from Him, as

adherents of John

(Mt 11:2),

perhaps they now came to Jesus, not without some secret reflection on

Him for His seeming neglect of their master; but perhaps, too, as

orphans, to cast in their lot henceforth with the Lord's disciples. How

Jesus felt, or what He said, on receiving this intelligence, is not

recorded; but He of whom it was said, as He stood by the grave of His

friend Lazarus, "Jesus wept," was not likely to receive such

intelligence without deep emotion. And one reason why He might not be

unwilling that a small body of John's disciples should cling to him to

the last, might be to provide some attached friends who should do for

his precious body, on a small scale, what was afterwards to be done for

His own.

Mr 6:30-56.

THE

TWELVE ON

THEIR

RETURN,

HAVING

REPORTED THE

SUCCESS OF

THEIR

MISSION,

JESUS

CROSSES THE

SEA OF

GALILEE WITH

THEM,

TEACHES THE

PEOPLE, AND

MIRACULOUSLY

FEEDS

THEM TO THE

NUMBER OF

FIVE

THOUSAND--HE

SENDS

HIS

DISCIPLES BY

SHIP

AGAIN TO THE

WESTERN

SIDE,

WHILE

HE

HIMSELF

RETURNS

AFTERWARDS

WALKING ON THE

SEA--INCIDENTS ON

LANDING.

Mt 14:13-36;

Lu 9:10-17;

Joh 6:1-24).

Here, for the first time, all the four streams of sacred text run

parallel. The occasion and all the circumstances of this grand section

are thus brought before us with a vividness quite remarkable.

Five Thousand Miraculously Fed

(Mr 6:30-44).

30. And the apostles gathered themselves together--probably at

Capernaum, on returning from their mission

(Mr 6:7-13).

and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had

taught--Observe the various reasons He had for crossing to the other

side. First, Matthew

(Mt 14:13)

says, that "when Jesus heard" of the murder of His faithful

forerunner--from those attached disciples of his who had taken up his

body and laid it in a sepulchre (see on

Mr 6:29)

--"He departed by ship into a desert place apart"; either to avoid some

apprehended consequences to Himself, arising from the Baptist's death

(Mt 10:23),

or more probably to be able to indulge in those feelings which that

affecting event had doubtless awakened, and to which the bustle of the

multitude around Him was very unfavorable. Next, since He must have

heard the report of the Twelve with the deepest interest, and probably

with something of the emotion which He experienced on the return of the

Seventy (see on

Lu 10:17-22),

He sought privacy for undisturbed reflection on this begun preaching

and progress of His kingdom. Once more, He was wearied with the

multitude of "comers and goers"--depriving Him even of leisure enough

to take His food--and wanted rest: "Come ye yourselves apart

into a desert place, and rest a while," &c. Under the combined

influence of all these considerations, our Lord sought this change.

32. And they departed into a desert place by ship privately--"over

the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias," says John

(Joh 6:1),

the only one of the Evangelists who so fully describes it; the others

having written when their readers were supposed to know something of

it, while the last wrote for those at a greater distance of time and

place. This "desert place" is more definitely described by Luke

(Lu 9:10)

as "belonging to the city called Bethsaida." This must not be

confounded with the town so called on the western side of the lake (see

on

Mt 11:21).

This town lay on its northeastern side, near where the Jordan empties

itself into it: in Gaulonitis, out of the dominions of Herod Antipas,

and within the dominions of Philip the Tetrarch

(Lu 3:1),

who raised it from a village to a city, and called it Julias, in

honor of Julia, the daughter of Augustus [JOSEPHUS, Antiquities, 18.2,1].

33. And the people--the multitudes.

saw them departing, and many knew him--The true reading would seem to

be: "And many saw them departing, and knew or recognized [them]."

and ran afoot--Here, perhaps, it should be rendered "by land"--running

round by the head of the lake, and taking one of the fords of the river,

so as to meet Jesus, who was crossing with the Twelve by ship.

thither out of all cities, and outwent them--got before them.

and came together unto him--How exceedingly graphic is this! every

touch of it betokening the presence of an eye-witness. John

(Joh 6:3)

says, that "Jesus went up into a mountain"--somewhere in that hilly

range, the green tableland which skirts the eastern side of the

lake.

34. And Jesus, when he came out of the ship--having gone on shore.

saw much people--a great multitude.

and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep

not having a shepherd--At the sight of the multitudes who had followed

Him by land and even got before Him, He was so moved, as was His wont in

such cases, with compassion, because they were like shepherdless sheep,

as to forego both privacy and rest that He might minister to them. Here

we have an important piece of information from the Fourth Evangelist

(Joh 6:4),

"And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh"--rather, "Now the

passover, the feast of the Jews, was nigh." This accounts for the

multitudes that now crowded around Him. They were on their way to keep

that festival at Jerusalem. But Jesus did not go up to this festival,

as John expressly tells us,

(Joh 7:1)

--remaining in Galilee, because the ruling Jews sought to kill Him.

35. And when the day was now far spent--"began to wear away" or

"decline," says Luke

(Lu 9:12).

Matthew

(Mt 14:15)

says, "when it was evening"; and yet he mentions a later evening of the

same day

(Mr 6:23).

This earlier evening began at three P.M.; the

latter began at sunset.

36. Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and

into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to

eat--John tells us

(Joh 6:5, 6)

that "Jesus said to Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may

eat? (And this He said to prove him: for He Himself knew what He would

do)." The subject may have been introduced by some remark of the

disciples; but the precise order and form of what was said by each can

hardly be gathered with precision, nor is it of any importance.

37. He answered and said unto them--"They need not depart"

(Mt 14:10).

Give ye them to eat--doubtless said to prepare them for what was to

follow.

And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of

bread, and give them to eat?--"Philip answered Him, Two hundred

pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them

may take a little"

(Joh 6:7).

38. He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when

they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes--John is more precise and

full: "One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto

Him, There is a lad here which hath five barley loaves and two small

fishes: but what are they among so many?"

(Joh 6:8, 9).

Probably this was the whole stock of provisions then at the command of

the disciples--no more than enough for one meal to them--and entrusted

for the time to this lad. "He said, Bring them hither to me"

(Mt 14:18).

39. And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the

green grass--or "green hay"; the rank grass of those bushy wastes.

For, as John

(Joh 6:10)

notes, "there was much grass in the place."

40. And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties--Doubtless this was to show at a glance the number fed, and to enable all

to witness in an orderly manner this glorious miracle.

41. And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he

looked up to heaven--Thus would the most distant of them see

distinctly what He was doing.

and blessed--John

(Joh 6:11)

says, "And when he had given thanks." The sense is the same. This

thanksgiving for the meal, and benediction of it as the food of

thousands, was the crisis of the miracle.

and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before

them--thus virtually holding forth these men as His future ministers.

and the two fishes divided he among them all.

42. And they did all eat, and were filled--All the four Evangelists

mention this: and John

(Joh 6:11)

adds, "and likewise of the fishes, as much as they would"--to show that

vast as was the multitude, and scanty the provisions, the meal to each

and all of them was a plentiful one. "When they were filled, He said

unto His disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing

be lost"

(Joh 6:12).

This was designed to bring out the whole extent of the miracle.

43. And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the

fishes--"Therefore (says

Joh 6:13),

they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the

fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto

them that had eaten." The article here rendered "baskets" in all the

four narratives was part of the luggage taken by Jews on a journey--to

carry, it is said, both their provisions and hay to sleep on, that they

might not have to depend on Gentiles, and so run the risk of ceremonial

pollution. In this we have a striking corroboration of the truth of the

four narratives. Internal evidence renders it clear, we think, that the

first three Evangelists wrote independently of each other, though the

fourth must have seen all the others. But here, each of the first three

Evangelists uses the same word to express the apparently insignificant

circumstance that the baskets employed to gather up the fragments were

of the kind which even the Roman satirist, JUVENAL, knew by the name of cophinus, while in

both the narratives of the feeding of the Four Thousand the baskets

used are expressly said to have been of the kind called spuris.

(See

Mr 8:19, 20.)

44. And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand

men--"besides women and children"

(Mt 14:21).

Of these, however, there would probably not be many; as only the males

were obliged to go to the approaching festival.

Jesus Recrosses to the Western side of the Lake Walking on the

Sea

(Mr 6:45-56).

One very important particular given by John alone

(Joh 6:15)

introduces this portion: "When Jesus therefore perceived that they

would take Him by force, to make Him a king, He departed again into a

mountain Himself alone."

45. And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship,

and to go to the other side before--Him.

unto Bethsaida--Bethsaida of Galilee

(Joh 12:21).

John

(Joh 6:17)

says they "went over the sea towards Capernaum"--the wind, probably,

occasioning this slight deviation from the direction of Bethsaida.

while he sent away the people--"the multitude." His object in this was

to put an end to the misdirected excitement in His favor

(Joh 6:15),

into which the disciples themselves may have been somewhat drawn. The

word "constrained" implies reluctance on their part, perhaps from

unwillingness to part with their Master and embark at night, leaving

Him alone on the mountain.

46. And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to

pray--thus at length getting that privacy and rest which He had vainly

sought during the earlier part of the day; opportunity also to pour out

His soul in connection with the extraordinary excitement in His favor

that evening--which appears to have marked the zenith of His reputation,

for it began to decline the very next day; and a place whence He might

watch the disciples on the lake, pray for them in their extremity, and

observe the right time for coming to them, in a new manifestation of His

glory, on the sea.

47. And when even was come--the later evening (see on

Mr 6:35).

It had come even when the disciples embarked

(Mt 14:23;

Joh 6:16).

the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land--John

says

(Joh 6:17),

"It was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them." Perhaps they made no

great effort to push across at first, having a lingering hope that

their Master would yet join them, and so allowed the darkness to come

on. "And the sea arose" (adds the beloved disciple,

Joh 6:18),

48. And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto

them--putting forth all their strength to buffet the waves and bear on

against a head wind, but to little effect. He "saw" this from His

mountain top, and through the darkness of the night, for His heart was

all with them: yet would He not go to their relief till His own time

came.

and about the fourth watch of the night--The Jews, who used to

divide the night into three watches, latterly adopted the Roman

division into four watches, as here. So that, at the rate of three

hours to each, the fourth watch, reckoning from six P.M., would be three o'clock in the morning. "So when

they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs"

(Joh 6:19)

--rather more than halfway across. The lake is about seven miles broad

at its widest part. So that in eight or nine hours they had only made

some three and a half miles. By this time, therefore, they must have

been in a state of exhaustion and despondency bordering on despair; and

now at length, having tried them long enough.

he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea--"and draweth nigh unto the

ship"

(Joh 6:19).

and would have passed by them--but only in the sense of

Lu 24:28;

Ge 32:26;

compare

Ge 18:3, 5; 42:7.

49. But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had

been a spirit, and cried out--"for fear"

(Mt 14:26).

He would appear to them at first like a dark moving speck upon the

waters; then as a human figure; but in the dark tempestuous sky, and

not dreaming that it could be their Lord, they take it for a spirit.

Compare

Lu 24:37.

50. For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked

with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: It is I; be not

afraid--There is something in these two little words--given by

Matthew, Mark and John

(Mt 14:27;

Mr 6:50;

Joh 6:20)

--"It is I," which from the mouth that spake it and the circumstances

in which it was uttered, passes the power of language to express. Here

were they in the midst of a raging sea, their little bark the sport of

the elements, and with just enough of light to descry an object on the

waters which only aggravated their fears. But Jesus deems it enough to

dispel all apprehension to let them know that He was there. From

other lips that "I am" would have merely meant that the person speaking

was such a one and not another person. That, surely, would have done

little to calm the fears of men expecting every minute, it may be, to

go to the bottom. But spoken by One who at that moment was "treading

upon the waves of the sea," and was about to hush the raging elements

with His word, what was it but the Voice which cried of old in the ears

of Israel, even from the days of Moses, "I AM";

"I, EVEN I, AM HE!" Compare

Joh 18:5, 6; 8:58.

Now, that Word is "made flesh, and dwells among us," uttering itself

from beside us in dear familiar tones--"It is the Voice of my Beloved!"

How far was this apprehended by these frightened disciples? There was

one, we know, in the boat who outstripped all the rest in susceptibility

to such sublime appeals. It was not the deep-toned writer of the Fourth

Gospel, who, though he lived to soar beyond all the apostles, was as yet

too young for prominence, and all unripe. It was Simon Barjonas. Here

follows a very remarkable and instructive episode, recorded by Matthew

alone:

Peter Ventures to Walk upon the Sea

(Mt 14:28-32).

Mt 14:28:

And Peter answered Him, and said, Lord, If it be Thou, bid me come

unto Thee on the water--not "let me," but "give me the word of

command"--"command," or "order me to come unto Thee upon the

waters."

Mt 14:29:

And He said, Come--Sublime word, issuing from One conscious of

power over the raging element, to bid it serve both Himself and

whomsoever else He pleased!

And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked upon the

water--"waters."

to come to Jesus--"It was a bold spirit," says BISHOP

HALL,

"that could wish it; more bold that could act it--not fearing either

the softness or the roughness of that uncouth passage."

Mt 14:30:

But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid: and beginning

to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me--The wind was as

boisterous before, but Peter "saw" it not, seeing only the power of

Christ, in the lively exercise of faith. Now he "sees" the fury of the

elements, and immediately the power of Christ to bear him up fades

before his view, and this makes him "afraid"--as how could he be

otherwise, without any felt power to keep him up? He then "begins to

sink"; and finally, conscious that his experiment had failed, he casts

himself, in a sort of desperate confidence, upon his "Lord" for

deliverance!

Mt 14:31:

And immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand, and caught him, and

said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou

doubt?--This rebuke was not administered while Peter was sinking, nor till Christ had him by the hand: first reinvigorating

his faith, and then with it enabling him again to walk upon the crested

wave. Useless else had been this loving reproof, which owns the

faith that had ventured on the deep upon the bare word of Christ, but

asks why that distrust which so quickly marred it.

Mt 14:32:

And when they--Jesus and Peter.

were come into the ship, the wind ceased.

51. And he went up unto them into the ship--John

(Joh 6:21)

says, "Then they willingly received him into the ship"--or rather, "Then

were they willing to receive Him" (with reference to their previous

terror); but implying also a glad welcome, their first fears now

converted into wonder and delight. "And immediately," adds the beloved

disciple, "they were at the land whither they went," or "were bound."

This additional miracle, for as such it is manifestly related, is

recorded by the fourth Evangelist alone. As the storm was suddenly

calmed, so the little bark--propelled by the secret power of the Lord of

nature now sailing in it--glided through the now unruffled waters, and,

while they were wrapt in wonder at what had happened, not heeding their

rapid motion, was found at port, to their still further surprise.

"Then are they glad, because at rest

And quiet now they be;

So to the haven He them brings

Which they desired to see."

Matthew

(Mt 14:33)

says, "Then they that were in the ship came [that is, ere they got to

land] and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth Thou art the Son of God."

But our Evangelist is wonderfully striking.

and the wind ceased and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond

measure, and wondered--The Evangelist seems hardly to find language

strong enough to express their astonishment.

52. For they considered not the miracle of the loaves; for their heart

was hardened--What a singular statement! The meaning seems to be that

if they had but "considered [reflected upon] the miracle of the loaves,"

wrought but a few hours before, they would have wondered at nothing which He might do within the whole circle of power and grace.

Incidents on Landing

(Mr 6:53-56).

The details here are given with a rich vividness quite peculiar to this

charming Gospel.

53. And when they had passed over, they came into the land of

Gennesaret--from which the lake sometimes takes its name, stretching

along its western shore. Capernaum was their landing-place

(Joh 6:24, 25).

and drew to the shore--a nautical phrase, nowhere else used in the

New Testament.

54. And when they were come out of the ship, straightway they knew

him--"immediately they recognized Him"; that is, the people did.

55. and began to carry about in beds those that were sick, where they

heard he was--At this period of our Lord's ministry the popular

enthusiasm in His favor was at its height.

56. and besought him that they might touch if it were but the border of

his garment--having heard, no doubt, of what the woman with the issue

of blood experienced on doing so

(Mr 5:25-29),

and perhaps of other unrecorded cases of the same nature.

and as many as touched him--or "it"--the border of His garment.

were made whole--All this they continued to do and to experience

while our Lord was in that region. The time corresponds to that

mentioned

(Joh 7:1),

when He "walked in Galilee," instead of appearing in Jerusalem at the

passover, "because the Jews," that is, the rulers, "sought to

kill Him"--while the people sought to enthrone Him!