Mark 6

A Prophet Without Honor

1Jesus left there and went to his hometown of Nazareth. His disciples came with him. 2On the Sabbath day, he began to teach in the synagogue. Many who heard him were amazed.

“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given to him? What are these remarkable miracles that he’s doing? Isn’t this the carpenter? 3Isn’t he Mary’s son? Isn’t he the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon? And aren’t his sisters here with us?” They didn’t think he really was who he seemed to be.

4Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” 5He couldn’t do any miracles there except place his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6He was amazed at their lack of faith.

Jesus Sends Out the 12 Disciples

Then Jesus went around from village to village teaching. 7He called for the 12 disciples and began to send them out two by two, giving them authority to drive out evil spirits.

8“Take only a walking stick for your trip,” he told them. “Don’t bring bread or a pack, and don’t carry any money in your belts. 9You can wear sandals, but don’t bring extra clothes. 10When you’re invited into a house, stay there until you leave town. 11If the people of any place don’t welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet as a witness against them.”

12They went out and preached that people should turn away from their sins. 13They drove out many demons, and they poured olive oil on many sick people and healed them.

John the Baptist Is Killed

14King Herod heard about this because Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying, “He’s John the Baptist, raised from the dead! That’s why he has the power to do miracles.”

15Others said, “He’s Elijah!”

Still others claimed, “He’s a prophet, like those of long ago.”

16But when Herod heard this, he said, “I had John’s head cut off, but now he has been raised from the dead!”

17It was Herod himself who’d given the orders to arrest John. He had him tied up and put in prison because of Herodias, the woman who had been the wife of his brother Philip, but who was now married to him. 18John had been saying to Herod, “The Law of Moses doesn’t permit you to be married to your brother’s wife.” 19Herodias had a grudge against John because he said that, and she wanted to kill him. But she wasn’t able to, 20because Herod was afraid of John and kept him safe. Herod knew John was a holy man who did what was right. When he listened to him, he always felt uncomfortable, but he still liked to hear John speak.

21Herodias got her opportunity when Herod gave a banquet on his birthday. He invited his high officials, his military commanders, and the most important leaders of Galilee. 22The daughter of Herodias came in and danced for Herod and his dinner guests, and they were all very pleased.

The king told the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” 23He made this promise in front of everyone. “I’ll give you anything you ask for,” he insisted, “even up to half of my kingdom.”

24She went out to her mother and said, “What should I ask for?”

She answered, “The head of John the Baptist.”

25The girl hurried back to the king and said, “I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist on a platter, right now.”

26The king was very upset. But because he’d made a promise in front of all his dinner guests, he didn’t want to say no to the girl. 27So right away he sent a man out with orders to bring John’s head. The man went to the prison and cut John’s head off, 28and then he brought it back on a platter. He gave it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. 29When John’s disciples heard about this, they came and took his body and placed it in a tomb.

Jesus Feeds Five Thousand

30The apostles gathered around Jesus and told him everything they’d done and taught. 31So many people were coming and going around them that they didn’t even have a chance to eat. So Jesus told them, “I want you to come with me to a quiet place where you can get some rest.”

32So they headed off by themselves in a boat to a quiet place. 33But many people saw them leaving and recognized who they were. People ran from all the towns to where they were heading, and they got there ahead of them. 34When Jesus came ashore, he found a large crowd. He felt deep concern for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began to teach them many things.

35Later in the day his disciples came to him and said, “We’re in the middle of nowhere, and it’s already very late. 36Send the people away so they can go to the nearby countryside and villages and buy something to eat.”

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

They said to him, “That would cost more than half a year’s wages! Should we go and spend that much on bread so we can feed them?”

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

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

39Then Jesus asked them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40So everyone sat down in groups of 100 or 50. 41Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish, and he looked up to heaven and gave thanks. Then he broke the loaves into pieces and gave them to his disciples to pass around to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. 42Everyone had as much to eat as they needed. 43And afterwards, the disciples picked up 12 full baskets of leftover pieces of bread and fish. 44Just counting the men, about 5,000 people were fed.

Jesus Walks on the Water

45Jesus made his disciples get right into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida while he said goodbye to the crowd. 46Once the crowd was gone, he went up on a mountainside to pray.

47Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the Sea of Galilee, and Jesus was still on land by himself. 48He saw the disciples pulling hard on the oars, because the wind was blowing against them. Shortly before dawn, he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, but when 49they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They screamed, 50because they all saw him and were terrified.

But right away Jesus told them, “Don’t worry, it’s me! Don’t be afraid.” 51When he climbed into the boat with them, the wind died down. They were completely amazed, 52because they hadn’t realized the meaning of what had just happened with the loaves. Instead, their hearts were hardened.

53They went across the lake and landed at Gennesaret, and there they tied up the boat. 54As soon as Jesus got out with his disciples, the people recognized him. 55They ran through that whole area to get those who were sick, and they carried them on mats to wherever they heard he was. 56He went into the villages, the towns, and the countryside, and everywhere he went, people brought the sick to the marketplaces. Those who were sick begged him to let them touch just a tassel on his clothes, and anyone who did so was healed.

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