Mark 6

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

1 Jesus left there and went back to His hometown, and His disciples followed Him.

2 When the Sabbath came, He started teaching in the synagogue. A lot of people listening were shocked, saying, “Where did He get all this, What kind of wisdom is this, How is He doing these miracles,

3 Is not this the carpenter, Mary’s son, the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon, Are not His sisters here with us,” And they took offense at Him.

4 Jesus said, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his hometown, among his own people, and in his own house.”

5 He could not do many miracles there, except lay hands on a few sick people and heal them.

6 And He was amazed at their unbelief. Then He went around teaching from village to village.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve

7 He called the twelve and started sending them out two by two, giving them authority over unclean spirits.

8 He told them, “Do not take anything for the road except a staff, no bread, no bag, no money in your belt.

9 Wear sandals, but do not take extra clothes.”

10 He said, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that place.

11 If any place does not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet as a warning against them.”

12 So they went out preaching that people should repent.

13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

The Death of John the Baptist

14 King Herod heard about Jesus, because His name had become well known. Some were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, that is why these powers are working in Him.”

15 Others said, “He is Elijah.” Still others said, “He is a prophet, like one of the old prophets.”

16 But when Herod heard it, he said, “John, the one I had beheaded, has been raised.”

17 Herod himself had ordered John to be arrested and chained in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her.

18 John had been telling Herod straight, “It is not right for you to have your brother’s wife.”

19 So Herodias held a grudge against him and wanted him dead, but she could not,

20 because Herod feared John, knowing he was a righteous and holy man, so he kept him safe. When he heard John, he was confused, but he still liked listening to him.

21 Then the right moment came. On his birthday, Herod gave a banquet for his officials, military commanders, and leading men of Galilee.

22 Herodias’ daughter came in and danced, and it pleased Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want, and I will give it to you.”

23 He even swore, “Whatever you ask, I will give it to you, up to half my kingdom.”

24 She went out and asked her mother, “What should I ask for?” Her mother said, “The head of John the Baptist.”

25 Right away, she rushed back to the king and said, “I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist on a platter, right now.”

26 The king was deeply troubled, but because of his oath and the guests, he did not want to refuse her.

27 So he sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in prison,

28 brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother.

29 When John’s disciples heard about it, they came, took his body, and laid it in a tomb.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

30 The apostles came back to Jesus and told Him everything they had done and taught.

31 He said to them, “Come with Me somewhere quiet and get some rest,” because there were so many people coming and going that they did not even have time to eat.

32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a secluded place.

33 But many saw them leaving and recognized them, and people ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them.

34 When Jesus stepped out, He saw a large crowd and had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So He started teaching them many things.

35 By this time it was getting late, so His disciples came to Him and said, “This place is remote, and it is already late.

36 Send them away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”

37 But He answered, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “Should we go spend a ton of money on bread and feed all these people?”

38 He said, “How many loaves do you have, Go check.” They came back and said, “Five, and two fish.”

39 He told them to have everyone sit down in groups on the green grass.

40 So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties.

41 He took the five loaves and the two fish, looked up to heaven, blessed it, broke the bread, and kept giving it to the disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all.

42 Everyone ate and was satisfied.

43 They picked up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and fish.

44 About five thousand men had eaten.

Jesus Walks on Water

45 Right after that, He made His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to Bethsaida, while He dismissed the crowd.

46 After He said goodbye, He went up on a mountain to pray.

47 When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and He was alone on land.

48 He saw them struggling, rowing hard because the wind was against them. Late in the night, He came to them, walking on the sea, and was about to pass by them.

49 But when they saw Him walking on the water, they thought it was a ghost and cried out,

50 because they all saw Him and were terrified. Right away He spoke to them: “Take courage. It is Me. Do not be afraid.”

51 Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped. They were completely amazed,

52 because they still did not understand about the loaves, their hearts were hardened.

Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret

53 When they crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there.

54 As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Him.

55 They ran through the whole region, carrying the sick on mats to wherever they heard He was.

56 Wherever He went, villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged Him just to let them touch the edge of His cloak. And everyone who touched Him was healed.