JCSLK #36 Jesus Man of Miracles Text: Mark 6

 

JCSLK #36 Jesus, Man of Miracles

Text: Mark 6

Introduction

Living in 2025 we take the stories, the events and even the amazing miracles of Christ, very much for granted. We know them as a part of our culture and believe them to be true but not something we have experienced personally They are far, far removed from us in our everyday lives, but it wasn't that way for these people. It is no wonder that thousands of people would travel for miles and days just to see Him. And if you had a sick friend or family member what wouldn't you do to see a man who could truly perform miracles.

The Man of Miracles Makes a Last Visit to Nazareth. Mark 6:1–6 (NCPB) 1 And he went out from thence, and came into his own country, and his disciples follow him.

This will be Jesus’ final visit to His hometown. He probably traveled there from Capernaum after the woman was healed by touching the hem of his garment and Jarius’ daughter was returned to life. Two incredible miracles, two mighty works, but it won’t happen that way in Nazareth. The last time Jesus visited Nazareth, they tried to kill him by pushing him off a cliff. This time they just refuse to believe who he truly is, the Messiah, the Son of God, the Savior of the World.)

Vs. 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? 3 Is not this the carpenter, (MT – the carpenter’s son) the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?’

There are four brothers, and at least two sisters named Mark and Matthew. Yet the Catholic church says Mary had no other children, she remained a virgin and was sinless.

Vs. 4 And they were offended at him. 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’. 5 And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.

How did their unbelief prevent Jesus from great miracles? They did not believe and so unlike the woman in chapter 5, or Jarius who did believe and came to Jesus, these people stayed away. Why would you go to someone you had no faith in? They did not come to Jesus and so Jesus could not do mighty feats like rising a dead child back to life. The fake faith-healers of today want to say their lack of faith, limited Jesus’ power. Only a fool or a fake with an agenda would dare say such a thing, there is no limit to the power of the Son of God and man in his impotence cannot limit God in his omnipotence. But here in Nazareth, healing like grace meant coming to Jesus and they did not come.

6 And he marvelled because of their unbelief.

Jesus is often in amazement while on the earth at faith, both great faith like the Centurion’s or no faith, like these in Nazareth. I wonder if He were here today with us what kind of amazement He would experience as He considered us, right here in these seats, listening to the word of God, believing or refusing to believe.

The Man of Miracles Sends the Twelve Mark 6:7–13 (NCPB) And he went round about the villages, teaching. 7 And he calleth unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two, and gave them power over unclean spirits, 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: 9 but be shod with sandals: and not put on two coats. 10 And he said unto them, ‘In what place soever ye enter into a house, there abide till ye depart from that place. 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 Gomorrah in the day of judgement, than for that city.’ 12 And they went out, and preached that men should repent. 13 And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.

This is the third Galilean Tour for Jesus and the Apostles. Mark gives us one verse that tells us that Jesus went to the villages teaching, but Matthew gives us almost 3 chapters from Matthew 9:35- 11:1 of this event and the preparation of the apostles before they were sent out. After the tour with Jesus, He then sends out the twelve, two by two on their own. These verses the Commission of the Twelve.

There are several other commissions in the New Testament. In Luke 10 we have the commission of the 70, we are not told all their names, just that there were 70 others. The commission we are familiar with is our commission in Matthew 28:18-20, this is the commission to the church during the interadvent age, the church age or the age of grace. In the commission to the 12 they were given power over sickness, and demons. The commission of the 70 also had that authority, but it is not, not, not in the Great Commission, our commission. In fact the Lord specifically canceled the other commissions in Luke 22:35-36 And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing. 36 Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.

Our commission is to make disciples, baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and to teach them all that Jesus taught. No demon casting, no healing, no promise of complete miraculous protection.

Today many fake prophets and hoaxster healers say, “Well that’s not the way I read my Bible.” That’s because you read your Bible wrong. You read the words, but you wrongly interpret the passage. You neglect context, word meaning and history. The Bible may be as fresh as a newspaper but it cannot be read like a newspaper. It is the Word of God, three different languages 1500 years to write, written on three continents, written by over 60 authors and it consists of 10s of thousands words. It is God’s Word, His revelation of Himself and salvation, it is the only book of eternity, and you dishonor it and God who wrote it when you do not take the time, to understand it as it was written. Without the proper interpretation you will always come to an improper application. Today most preachers start with the application and don’t even bother with the interpretation. Shame on us all.

That’s my rant for the week. So now we can proceed.

The Man of Miracles is Magnified and Misidentified - Mark 6:14–29 (NCPB) 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 show forth themselves in him. 15 Others said, ‘That it is Elias’. And others said, ‘That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets’. 16 But when Herod heard thereof, he said, ‘It is John, whom I beheaded, he is risen from the dead’. 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. 18 For John had said unto Herod, ‘It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife’.

The fame of Jesus and the apostles was at its peak here at the end of the 2nd year of Popularity. As a result of that magnification of Jesus’ fame, Herod hears and due to his shame, guilt and fear at the death of John the Baptist, he imagines the worst thing that could happen, John the Baptist risen from the dead and come for revenge.

Herod had great reason to fear according to the Jewish historian Josephus. John was a very popular preacher and accepted as a prophet of God. His death angered the people of Herod’s own kingdom almost to the point of rebellion. Herod’s former father-in-law was Aretas, the King of Arabia, and he was so incensed that Herod had dumped his daughter and set up house with Herod’s own sister-in-law, who was also his grandniece that he attacked destroyed Herod’s army and would have killed Herod but for the intervention of a Roman legion. Many of Herod’s own people joined the army of Aretas because of their anger at John’s murder and Herod’s sin.

Not let me say something about John and Herod, preacher and politics.  Lots of preachers today say, “Don’t get involved in politics. We are only supposed to preach the Gospel.” Really? Well, don’t tell John the Baptist that. He rebuked king Herod for adultery and incest. Also, don’t tell Elijah that,  he rebuked King Ahab and Queen Jezebel for murder and theft. Nor tell Elisha who rebuked several kings for all manner of sins. Listen, you can’t preach the Gospel of repentance and faith if you make exceptions for the sins of Kings, rulers and in this day and age especially politicians. Repent means nothing if they aren’t told they are sinners and politicians today revel in their sin the way Herod reveled in his! Was that another rant? Wow, what’s gotten in to me? Ranting and raving like a circuit riding preacher during the Great Awakening.

I wish we had time to deal with John the Baptist’s death, it was a noble and important event in the Gospels, in history itself, but that will have to be for another series of sermons perhaps on John the Baptist.

Faith Lesson One

Jesus can do anything but only if we believe and come to Him.

Listen to Jesus talking to the city of Jerusalem, the same words could be said to Nazareth. Luke 13:34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!

The same words could be said of any nation, city, people or individual. How often the Lord has sought to gather us under His wings of love, salvation and grace but we would not.

The apostles return, they are filled with stories of what happened when they were out on their own and they are also tired and in need of rest. The most fatigued a preacher can be during any day of the week is right after he preaches his heart out on Sunday morning. The older you get the more emotional labor you expend, not because of your age but because you realize how many more times will I get to tell people about the Lord? So you pour more of yourself into the message, the invitation, the hope of response and then you find a place to go and collapse for a while.

Jesus knows this. He has experienced this many times before to an even greater degree of fatigue, so much so that even a life-threatening storm on the Sea of Galilee couldn’t rouse him from the sleep of utter exhaustion.  So, when He sees this in his apostles…

The Man of Miracles Provides - Mark 6:30–44

30 And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught. 31 And he said unto them, ‘Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while’. For there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. 32 And they departed into a desert place by ship privately. 33 And the people saw them departing, and many knew him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them, and came together unto him. 34 And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things. 35 And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, ‘This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed. 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.’ 37 He answered and said unto them, ‘Give ye them to eat’. And they say unto him, ‘Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat?’ 38 He saith unto them, ‘How many loaves have ye? go and see’. And when they knew, they say, ‘Five, and two fishes’. 39 And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass. 40 And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties. 41 And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all. 42 And they did all eat, and were filled. 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes. 44 And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men.

A Miracle Meal

The apostles return and Jesus seeing their exhaustion tells them, “Let us get away for a while.” This is one of seven retreats recorded in the Gospels. I once heard a preacher who said, “Satan never takes a vacation so why should I?” Years later when I studied the life of Christ, I wanted to go back and ask him, “Whose example were you following Satan’s or Jesus? Because Jesus physically came apart with the disciples before they mentally came apart. Take time to find and enter the Lord’s rest no matter who you are as a child of God.

They climb into a ship and set sail to a little fishing town called Bethesda, not the same Bethsaida where Phillip, Andrew and Peter lived, but a town with the same name, probably Bethsaida Julia in the precinct of Herod Phillip the man whose wife was stolen by his half-brother Herod Antipas. (Think things are complicated and sinful these days? When it comes to Roman politics you ain’t seen nothing yet.) Bethsaida means the house of fish and would have been a common enough name for a fishing village. This one is off the beaten track and so Jesus and the apostle went to try and rest there.

No rest was to be found because “the people saw them depart” They marked the direction of the ship and then went along the shore until the arrived before the Lord could disembark. When He arrives, He is greeting by a massive throng of people. Mark 5 marks the height of Jesus’ popularity. He is being followed by thousands and thousands of people. Everywhere he tries to go they are there waiting for Him. At every stop along the shore, every village along the way, every synagogue he preaches at, there are more and more people. They bring the blind, the sick, the mangled and maimed to Jesus. He is a real man of miracles. Some also come to learn, some come to find hope, and some come to plan his death, but they all keep coming no matter how much Jesus and His own needed rest, the people need Jesus and they will not let Him get away.

Matthew says, “Matthew 14:13-14 when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities.” As the original crowd moved along the shore they would move through the villages along the Sea of Galilee and they would spread the word about Jesus, who had cast out a legion of demons, who had healed a woman just by the touch of his garment, that He had brought a dead 12 year old girl back to life!

Jesus gets out of the ship, and He sees the enormous crowd and instead of saying, “Get back in the ship. Let’s keep going. We’ve got to rest and eat.” Instead, the Gospels record, “He is moved with compassion toward them.’ The word compassion is σπλαγχνίζομαι, splagchnizomai, and it means to have the bowels yearn. Jesus was moved from the core of His being, this is the Bible idea of bowels of mercy. This was not just an emotion, not just a feeling it was a yearning, a deep desire that moved Him to act, it compelled Him, and it determined what He would do next.

He was moved with compassion because this vast multitude of people were lost without a shepherd. They didn’t have direction, a purpose or even a hope because they had no one to care for and protect them.

Jesus hasn’t eaten, the disciples haven’t eaten but instead of preparing a meal Jesus prepares a sermon. He begins to “teach them many things.” Matthew also tells us that He also healed their sick.

Finally, the day is far spent and his disciples say, “Mark 6:35-36 This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed: 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.”

This is a big problem. There may have been upwards of 15,000 people who have travelled miles and perhaps walked through the previous night to find and be with Jesus. Now it is time to eat, and the disciples have the right idea, send them away and let them get some food. That is logical, that is practical, that is correct from our viewpoint had we been there. But Jesus says, “Give ye them to eat. You feed them.”

In John’s account of this miracle meal he brings out some details not found in the other accounts, probably because John was standing close to Jesus and hears when he asks Phillip, John 6:5-7 Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? 6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.

200 pennyworth of bread is about 8 months wages for a laborer in this time. In our time that would be about $13,000. That’s a lot of bread and that wouldn’t even been enough to do more than just give them more than a taste. Jesus tells them to go and see what food they can find and come back and they tell him “we found 5 loaves and 2 fishes.” John again add more detail and tells us that Andrew, who was a close friend to Phillip, was the one who returned with the scouting report. He says, John 6:8-9 9 “There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?”

We know nothing about this lad, he may have come from one of the villages to see the Messiah. Some think he was with the disciples on the ships when they landed, a son of one of the other disciples. Like the woman who was healed in Capernaum, he is unknown to us, but not to Jesus and not to eternity. So many unknown characters in the Bible will be well known and famous when we all get to heaven, don’t you think. Can you imagine sitting around the banquet table of heaven and you find out that the person you are sitting next to is that lad who gave Jesus his entire lunch that day. Can you imagine getting to talk to the woman who touched his garment, or the man who had the demons cast out, or the shepherds who came on the night he was born. Won’t it take eternity just to hear all those stories firsthand? And won’t it be wonderful to listen as their voices fill with emotion and their eyes with wonder when they tell us what it was like being with Jesus? Makes me think that you and I better get busy for Jesus or we’re going to be very quiet at that banquet table in heaven.

Jesus tells the multitude to sit in ranks of hundreds and fifties, this is how we know there were 5000 men, not counting the families of those men. Jesus then takes the loaves and Marks says, “Mark 6:41 he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all.

The loaves are small, flat and round more like pita bread or a fat tortilla. They are probably barley loaves, which was the grain and bread for the poor. The fish are probably salted or pickled and you would put the two together and eat them, kind of like a sardine on pita bread, or better a “Sea of Galilee fish taco” minus everything that you would put in a taco to make it taste good. It was not much of a meal but 5 loaves and two fish would be enough for a young boy. It was nothing to this vast crowd of hungry needy people.

Jesus takes this meager meal looks to heaven and blesses the meal. It may have been this prayer. “Blessed art thou, Jehovah our God, King of the world, Who causes to come forth bread from the earth.” It was a familiar blessing given by the Jewish patriarch at family meals. After Jesus blesses the bread and fish he gives distributes it to the Apostles and they distribute to the 15,000.

The miracle meal concludes in Mark 6:42-44 And they did all eat, and were filled. 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes. 44 And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men.

They took up 12 baskets full of the leftovers. I don’t have to tell you why there were 12 do I? One for Matthew, one for John, one for James, one for Thomas, one each for Andrew, Peter and Phillip. Even Judas the betrayer had a basket of miracles that he had to carry. They all had proof in their hands of Jesus the man of miracles.

Faith Lesson Two

Is very simple, Jesus is the great provider. He can and will meet our every need.

We worry about everything in this world, but Jesus is not concerned about the magnitude of our problem instead He is concerned about the modicum of our faith.

Matthew 6:30-32 O ye of little faith? 31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

He is the great provider Matthew 7:7-8 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

If Jesus could feed 15,000 with 5 tortillas and 2 sardines, He can surely meet our needs as a church and as individual believers. How will He do it? I don’t know any more than the apostles knew that day facing a hungry crowd with so very little. But He did it then, He has always done it in my life an I believe without hesitation that He will do it for you today.   

Here is our transition verse. Mark 6:45 And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people.

The Man of Miracles Protects - Mark 6:46–52 

46 And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray. 47 And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land. 48 And he saw them toiling in rowing (for the wind was contrary unto them): and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them. 49 But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out: 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’. 51 And he went up unto them into the ship, and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered. 52 For they considered not the miracle of the loaves, for their heart was hardened.

John 6:15–21 (NCPB) 15 When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone. 

Matthew 14:28  And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.

 A Miracle Walk

This is such a familiar story. Mark tells us that Jesus straightway sent them back over the Sea to another Bethsaida. John adds that He did this because the people in the fervor of their patriotism and the filling of their stomach said, “Truly this is the Messiah. Let us take and by force make Him King of Israel!”.

Jesus as he prays by himself upon the mountain can see the disciples toiling to get across the lake. Toiling is from a verb meaning to torment or distress, they aren’t just laboring they are in trouble. John adds that they were three or four miles out by this time, it had taken them eight or nine hours to row only halfway across the lake. He then comes to them in the fourth watch of the night which lasted from three to six in the morning.

 It appeared that He was not walking directly toward the boat but rather than directly come at the boat, He moving by it giving them time to see Him. The apostles do see Jesus but think He is a spirit. This is not the normal Greek word for spirit, pneuma, but the word phantasma, a phantom, a spectre, some form of an apparition. And they are afraid. Matthew adds the story of Peter in faith walking to Jesus, then in fear falling before Jesus and finally in hope reaches out to grasp Jesus’ hand. Now that is another sermon for another Sunday

Once Jesus enters the ship, John tells us the wind immediately ceased and they were transported to shore, three miracles in the course of a few minutes. The result of all of these miracles to them is once again amazement, ἐξίστημι existēmi, literally to put out of ones wits, astound. They can’t believe what has just happened.

They were afraid and amazed that Jesus could walk on the water and still another storm. This after they had seen him calm the storm when He was in the boat asleep, cast out the demons, heal the woman, raise the dead, heal all the sick, blind, maimed and mute. And just a few hours earlier they had seen Jesus multiply the loaves and the fishes and feed 15,000 people. Mark says they didn’t think of that, all they could grasp was their fear, both at the storm and at what they thought was a evil spirit coming to destroy them, instead of an Omnipotent Savior coming to deliver them

Mark tells us why because their heart was hardened.  After all these miracles the disciples struggle with their hard, human hearts to fully grasp who Jesus truly is and what Jesus truly can do.  

Faith Lesson Three

Jesus is always amazing but be aware of  a hard heart.

Do you believe Jesus did all these things? Of course you do. Do you believe Jesus can do all things? Of course you do. Do you believe Jesus can deliver you from your financial problems, your marriage problems, you health problems, from your fears, doubts and worries. In theological theory yes I do, but when it comes to toiling across a sea of real life problems, my life problems I often can’t recognize Jesus coming to save me in my distress.

The apostle saw it all but they still didn’t fully understand the immensity of who Jesus was. He was the Messiah, but He was also the Son of man and the Son of God. He was God in the flesh walking out upon the sea he had created at the beginning of time.

No storm could stop Him coming to the ship, no legion of demons could stay when He told them to go. No disease could continue after He touched it, and no sin can be greater than His grace. For you and me there is no problem, no want, no need, that He cannot meet and overcome.

This may be the hardest Faith Lesson of all, not letting my hard heart keep me from fully trusting in Jesus, my creator, Savior, Lord and King

Conclusion: The Man of Miracles Heals - Mark 6:53–56 

53 And when they had passed over, they came into the land of Gennesaret, and drew to the shore. 54 And when they were come out of the ship, straightway they knew him, 55 and ran through that whole region round about, and began to carry about in beds those that were sick, where they heard he was. 56 And whithersoever he entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought him that they might touch if it were but the border of his garment: and as many as touched him were made whole.

It seems to me that these last few verses are here to make us realize just how great the Lord is. He lands at Gennesaret instead of Bethsaida, blown off course but not out of the Lord’s will or power. The people know him. They run to him wherever he is at carrying their sick in beds like the man let down through the roof in Mark 2. And anywhere, everywhere, whitersover he went they laid their sick in the street and asked him to just pass by and let them touch his garments, just like the woman in Capernaum. And yes the same faith in Jesus brought healing. They were made whole.

Here is Faith Lesson Four

When God’s Word is read, and the Gospel preached Jesus is walking by and it is up to each one of us to reach out and, in faith, touch Him. Don’t let a hard heart keep you from fully experiencing the grace, the wonder and the power of Jesus.

Reach out and be made whole. Your broken heart mended, your broken spirit healed, your broken relationship with the Father restored never to be broken again.