Mark 6:7

Mark 6:7 says. And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits; Jesus called the twelve disciples to Him, and sent them out in pairs.  This means that someone was paired with Judas.  So, I guess the question would be if he started out truly following Jesus and then decided He wasn't doing what he expected, or was he acting all along?  We can never know if a person is sincerely following Jesus if they seem to do everything a Christian should do, and it is not our job to judge anyone else anyway.  Verse eight adds, And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse:  Jesus gave the disciples specific instructions, which basically said don't carry anything with them for the journey but a staff.  They were to take no money or food.  The question now is how many of us would go under these conditions?  They had to strictly rely on God to provide for them through the generosity of those that they met.  Verse nine continues, But be shod with sandals; and not put on two coats.  They were even to go in sandals but without an extra coat.  This was indeed to be living simply and was far from private jets and thousand-dollar hotel rooms.  Verse ten states, And he said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place.  They were told to stay with whoever offered them lodging as long as they remained in that place.  This required continual generosity on the part of the host and a willingness to accept help on the part of the disciples.  To borrow a phrase Bro. Scott Gothard used Sunday, "There could know no shame in their game."  We are sometimes too proud to rely on the help of others even when we are doing what God calls us to do.  Verse eleven adds, 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 Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.  The disciples were also told if the people wouldn't receive them, to leave and shake the dust off their feet when they left.  Like the disciples, we cannot force anyone to listen to us as we share the gospel, so sometimes all we can do is leave.  Of course, as Jesus said then, the people of Sodom and Gomorrah would be better off on judgment day than these people were.  The people in these cities had refused to listen to the gospel of Christ when it was presented to them.  Verse twelve says, And they went out, and preached that men should repent. Verse thirteen adds, And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.  The disciples did as Jesus directed them to do, calling for people to repent, casting out devils and healing people.  As Christians, Jesus still sends us out today to share the gospel with those that we meet.  If we go by faith, we can be just as effective as the disciples were. 

Mark 6:1

Mark 6:1 says, And he went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his disciples follow him.  After Jesus healed the ruler of the synagogue's daughter, He returned to His own country with His disciples.  Verse two adds, 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?  On the sabbath, Jesus began to teach in the synagogue. He was doing what the Heavenly Father would expect Him to do, just as He expects Christians to be in His house learning more about Him today.  Jesus was not an elected leader of the synagogue nor was He highly educated in any formal way that we know of.  We today do not have to be either.  We simply need to rely on the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  The people were astonished at the teachings of Jesus, asking where He got this wisdom from.  They acknowledged that Jesus did mighty works but asked how He was able to do so.  If we see someone teaching with the wisdom of God or doing mighty works in God's name today, our first reaction should not be to question them. Verse three continues, Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him. The people questioned Jesus because they thought they knew who He was.  He was a carpenter, whose brothers and sisters lived there also.  If all we ever know about Jesus is that He was a historical figure Who actually lived but refuse to acknowledge that He is the source of all wisdom as the Son of God, we will remain just as lost as those who knew Him only in earthly terms were then.  Verse four states, 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.  Jesus's neighbors were offended at Him. If we only see Jesus as a man, and not the only begotten Son of God today, we will also be offended, because what He asks us to do will make no sense.  Veres five adds, And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.  Jesus said a prophet was without honor in his own country, among his own kin, and in his own house.  This I believe was because they always thought they knew the Man and couldn't believe He was capable of any great work for God.  No matter how well we may think we know a person, we should never believe that God is not able to do great things through works, though He was able to heal a few sick people. We need to be careful that our attitude towards those who are following God's calling never keeps Him from being able to do great works in our midst. Verse six adds, And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching.  We need to hope that Jesus never marvels at our unbelief. 

Mark 5:35

Mark 5:35 says, While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue's house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further? While Jesus was healing the woman, people came to tell the ruler of the synagogue that his daughter had died.  He had come to Jesus seeking His help, and by all appearances it was too late for Jesus to help him.  We should never reach the point where we believe that Jesus cannot restore us to spiritual life, no matter how long we have been spiritually dead.  Verse thirty-six adds, As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe.  When Jesus heard what the people told the ruler of the synagogue, He told the man to not be afraid, but to only believe in Jesus.  When things seem totally hopeless today, we as followers of Christ need not be afraid, but need to only to put our faith in Jesus.  If you have not put your faith in Jesus as your Savior and Lord, as long as you are alive, there is hope if you do, not matter what the people of the world may say.  Never allow the word of those who do not believe in Jesus Christ to lead you to believe that there is no hope of salvation for you.  Verse thirty-seven continues, And he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James.  Jesus had the man and Peter, James and John to follow Him.  We are not told why Jesus did not have the other disciples come with Him, only that He didn't.  We may not always understand why Jesus calls some people to a certain task and not others, but we need to only be concerned with what we are called to do.  Verse thirty-eight concludes, And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly. When they arrived at the house of the synagogue ruler, the people there were weeping and wailing in distress.  I am not sure if they knew that the man had gone to Jesus for help or not, but they were definitely focused on the situation, and not on Jesus.  As Christians, no matter how bad things may be, we need to keep our focus on Jesus. Verse thirty-nine declares, And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth.  As Jesus arrived to see the man's sick daughter, He met a bunch of mourners.  They were looking at what they saw as the facts, and not at Jesus and His power.  Sometimes, we may be mourning or in despair over a situation because we are focusing on what we see to be the facts instead of on bringing the problem to Jesus.  Some people even use facts about their life to keep them from coming to Jesus for salvation, believing that they are too spiritually dead to ever be revived.  As long as a person has breath and the ability to think it is never too late to come to Jesus for salvation.  Jesus asked them why they were making so much ado, and they told Him that the damsel was dead.  Jesus replied that she was not dead, but was sleeping.  Verse forty adds, And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying.  When Jesus entered the room where the damsel lay, after saying she was only sleeping, they laughed at Him with scorn.  If we focus on what we think we know instead of focusing on Who Jesus is, we may be filled with doubt and basically laugh at what Jesus is telling us.  Jesus put everyone out but the parents. Sometimes, we may need to remove the doubters and scoffers from our midst in order to see God work miracles.  We certainly need to remove scoffing and doubting from our life if we want to see Jesus do miraculous things.  I believe the parents still had hope that Jesus could heal their daughter.  Even if everyone around us loses faith in the power of Jesus Christ, we cannot do so.  Verse forty-one continues, And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise.  Jesus when He came to the daughter said to her, “Arise."  When Jesus comes to us while we are still spiritually dead, He is going to call on us to arise from our spiritual death.  Verse forty-two states, And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment. The damsel, who was twelve years old, arose and walked.  When Jesus calls us to arise by faith in the salvation that He provides, we need to respond by getting up spiritually and walking by His commands.   The people were greatly astonished.  I believe that we should feel a sense of astonishment today anytime a person is saved, or made spiritually alive, by faith in Jesus Christ.  This whole series of events started by a father coming by faith to Jesus to get healing for his daughter.  When we come to Jesus and accept Him as our Savior and Lord, it has an effect not only on us, but on others as well.  Verse forty-three adds, And he charged them straitly that no man should know it; and commanded that something should be given her to eat.  Jesus told them not to tell anyone what had happened, whereas today we have the command to tell everyone.  Just as this happened by one man coming to Jesus by faith, the first step anyone needs to take today to be spiritually healed and have everlasting life is to come to Jesus Christ by faith in Him as their personal Savior and Lord.   

 

Mark 5:25

Mark 5:25 says, And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, Verse twenty-six adds, And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,  If you ever start to think that everything is hopeless, remember this woman.  She had been sick for twelve years and had endured many things at the hands of physicians.  Now, this is not an indictment on physicians, because I know that they can do a lot to help a person, but they cannot cure everything, but God can if we put our faith in Him and He chooses to do so.  We may wonder why God doesn't heal everyone, but we cannot allow the fact that He doesn't to stop us from believing that He has the power to do so or lose our faith in Him.  The woman had spent everything she had on seeking a cure, but only grew worse.  Verse twenty-seven states, When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.  Verse twenty-eight adds, For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. Then, she heard that Jesus was nearby and put her faith in Him into practice.  She didn't even believe that she had to talk to Him personally to be healed, but that she only had to touch Him by faith.  We will never see Jesus face to face in this lifetime, but if we come to Him by faith, we will be healed spiritually.  Verse twenty-nine continues, And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.  When she touched Jesus' garment, she was made whole, not by the act itself but because of her faith in Him. If you would be made spiritually whole today, all you have to do is come to Jesus Christ by faith.  Verse thirty states, And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?  If you ever feel that Jesus is too busy to hear or care about you, remember this woman.  Jesus knew that someone had reached out and touched Him, because the virtue, His healing power I believe, had gone out of Him.  Even in the press of the crowd around Him, Jesus knew someone had reached out to Him and asked who had touched His clothes.  I believe Jesus already knew who but was giving the woman a chance to publicly acknowledge her faith in Him.  Even though Jesus always knows when a person comes to Him for salvation by faith, which is a personal thing, He still expects them to publicly acknowledge their faith in Him.  Verse thirty-one adds, And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?  The disciples once again focused on the crowd instead of on Jesus and the woman.  They basically said with so many people around, how could Jesus expect to know who touched Him.  Even in a crowd, if no one else knows, if a person comes to Jesus by faith, He will always recognize that person individually.  Crowds cannot separate us from Jesus if we come to Him in faith, nor keep Him from knowing who we are individually.  We must do whatever is necessary to get to Him.  Verse thirty-two says, And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.  Verse thirty-three adds, But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. Jesus looked around for the woman, and even though she was afraid, she fell down before Jesus and told Him the truth.  We really have no reason to fear coming to Jesus, but even if we are afraid for whatever reason, we need to simply acknowledge to Him that we are coming by faith to be healed spiritually.  Verse thirty-four continues, And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.  Jesus told the woman that her faith had made her whole.  She really didn't have to touch His garment, but simply needed to profess here faith in Jesus.  There is nothing else that we must do to be saved than to come to Jesus by faith.