Chapter # 6 Paragraph # 1 Study # 1
June 8, 2021
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
(232)
1901 ASV
6:1 And he went out from thence; and he cometh into his own country; and his disciples follow him.
6:2 And when the sabbath was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, Whence hath this man these things? and, What is the wisdom that is given unto this man, and [what mean] such mighty works wrought by his hands?
6:3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James, and Joses, and Judas, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended in him.
6:4 And Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.
6:5 And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.
6:6 And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages teaching.
- I. The Big Picture.
- A. The paragraph break ought to have come at the middle of 6:6 where the last words are "their unbelief" [literally "the unbelief of them"].
- B. This record falls on the heels of the intertwined stories of "faith" and its results.
- C. This record is focused upon "unbelief" and its results.
- D. This record concludes the entire section that actually began in 3:13 where the record of Jesus' "purpose" for the "making" of The Twelve was revealed: "...that they would be with Him and that He [could] send them out to preach and to have authority to cast out the demons..." (NASB). It is in the next paragraph that He "...began to send them out ... and gave them authority over the unclean spirits..." (6:7, NASB).
- II. The Details.
- A. "And He went away from there and He is coming into His 'fatherland'...".
- 1. The Aorist, "He went away" is immediately followed by a Present, "...He is coming...".
- a. The verb translated "went out" is very common in Mark, being used in 37 texts of his record, and is also found in 210 texts of the New Testament. It has at least this significance: in 1:38 Jesus says "...that I may preach...for that is what I came [the word under consideration] for". Jesus' "preaching" is linked to 3:14 where it is revealed that He intends to "send The Twelve forth" to "preach". His "purpose" (from 1:38) is going to become His disciples' "purpose" and does in 6:7.
- 1) It is significant that Jesus trained "twelve" out of all who "believed" to be His representatives.
- 2) It needs to be understood that the "Church" which Christ set out to "build" (Matthew 16:18) has a particular character in which each individual is given a task and ability so that the whole can be "built up" (Ephesians 4:12 and 4:16) according to His "purpose" (Romans 8:18). Under the thesis of this character, the members of The Church do not all have the same task and function (as is popularly proclaimed so that we are all "tasked" to be "like" some particular one the proclaimer uses to call us all to the same function). The universal goal is that revealed in the Ephesian text above; the particular function is the Lord's own business (1 Corinthians 12:11). We need to be done with calling all to be "soul winners", or "missionaries", or "prayer warriors", or ... (whatever the "caller" particularly "likes"). Instead, we need to call all men to purity of conscience and commitment to Colossians 3:23: "whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not unto men".
- b. The verb translated "He is coming" is another Present Tense in historical narrative where the Aorist Tense is typically used because the record is "past history". Mark used this particular verb in 83 texts out of 599 texts of the entire New Testament. It is a very commonly used word. Its use in the Present Tense in historical narrative signals "focused attention as though one was seeing (in his mind) the events being recorded as though he was actually there, watching the events as they were happening.
- 2. The use of the word translated "country" (ASV) is altered by the NASB to "hometown". The word is notable for the paucity of its use in the New Testament (only in 8 texts).
- a. Seven of the eight uses in the New Testament are found in parallel passages where the same issues are being addressed. The eighth use is in Hebrews 11:14 where it is used to indicate that those who have embraced The Faith made it plain that they were looking for such a thing in the scenario of Eternity. The contrast is obvious: in Time's "fatherland"/"country"/"hometown", the "prophet" has no honor; but, in Eternity's "fatherland"/"country"/"hometown", there is "glory (for the spirit), honor (for the soul), and immortality (for the body)" (Romans 2:7) which are summarized as the experience of "Eternal Life" in that verse and, as the elements of Eternal Life", refers to the very essence of "the Promise which He promised us" (1 John 2:25).
- b. At issue in this record is that not only did Jesus find no "honor"/"Life" in His earthly time's "fatherland"/"country"/"hometown", neither did the inhabitants thereof who maintained their unbelief.
- B. "...and His disciples are following Him".
- 1. These are characterized as "disciples", a term applied to many, on occasion, and to The Twelve on occasion.
- 2. There is no clear identification in this text/context to let us know whether Mark meant The Twelve, or whether there were many.
- 3. The "point" is that all "disciples" need to understand that "unbelief" is unacceptable to God.