Mark's Gospel: Chapter 6
King Herod heard about Jesus and said that John the Baptist was back from the dead.
Key words
- Carpenter: a person whose job is making and repairing wooden objects and structures
A carpenter rebuilt the house.
- Tolerable: of a quality that is acceptable, although certainly not good
Prisons are barely tolerable.
- Sodom and Gomorrah: Sodom and Gomorrah were cities where rape was thought of as normal
Fire rained from heaven and destroyed them all the day that Lot left Sodom.
- Deserted: If a place is deserted, there are no people in it
Holiday resorts are deserted in the winter.
- Bless: to ask for God's help and protection for someone or something, or to call or make someone or something holy
He blessed the food before passing it around.
Read the article to find the answers
- What power did Jesus give to His apostles?
- What did the apostles preach?
- Why was Jesus moved with compassion?
- Why were the apostles disappointed with themselves?
Jesus returns to His own country
Jesus began to teach in the synagogue on the Sabbath and the people were offended because they thought He was just an ordinary man. They knew His family and that He was a carpenter. He couldn't do many miracles there. He was amazed at their lack of faith and went to the villages to teach.
Jesus gives His twelve apostles power over devils
Jesus sent His apostles out in pairs and told them to travel without bags or money. He told them that if they were not welcomed anywhere, they should leave that place. He explained:
"It will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha on the day of judgment, than for that city."
The apostles preached repentance, cast out many devils, and healed many people.
Jesus feeds 5,000 people
When the apostles returned to Jesus, He told them to rest. They were so busy that they didn't even have time to eat. So they quietly took a boat to a deserted place, but the crowd saw them leaving and recognized Jesus. They hurried to catch up with Him and He was moved with compassion, because they were like lost sheep without a shepherd. He began to teach them many things.
At the end of the day, Jesus's disciples asked Him to send the people away to buy some food because they only had five loaves of bread and two fish. Jesus told them to have the people sit down in groups. He took the five loaves and two fish, looked up to heaven, and blessed them. Then He broke the loaves and gave them to His disciples to give to the people. He also divided the two fish among everyone. Five thousand people ate until they were full. They even collected twelve baskets full of leftover pieces of bread and fish.
Jesus walks on water
Jesus told His disciples to get into the boat and go to another place while He sent the crowd away. After they set sail, He went to pray alone and later that night He walked on the water towards them. They thought He was a ghost and were afraid. He told them not to be afraid, and they became very disappointed with themselves because they didn't believe that He could perform such a miracle, even after they saw Him feed five thousand people with only five loaves and two fish.
When they arrived at the next place, the people there knew immediately that it was Jesus. They ran from every direction and began to carry the sick in beds wherever they heard He was. Wherever He went, they laid the sick in the streets, and begged to be allowed to touch Him. All those who did touch Him were healed.
Discussion questions
- Do you have any questions about any of the vocabulary or grammar in this article?
- Do you know the Bible passage quoted at the top of this article?
- Have you ever been so busy that you didn't have time to eat?
- What do you know about Sodom and Gomorrha?