Mark 6:45

Mark 6:45 says, 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. After the feeding of the five thousand, the disciples might have been ready to celebrate and enjoy the praise of the people who were fed.  Sometimes, if we have been a part of a miracle of God, we might think that we somehow should be praised instead of making sure that God gets all the glory.   Jesus told the disciples to get in a boat and cross over to Bethsaida.  There was nothing left for them to do where they were.  We need to be careful that we do not remain where we are simply because of past successes.  We must always rely on God to send us where He wants us.  Verse forty-six adds, And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray.  Jesus was not in the boat with them, but He went alone to the mountain to pray.  We may think of Jesus always being physically with His disciples, but at times we know that He went by Himself to pray.  I believe that it is just as important that we have time alone to pray for God's guidance in our life today.  Verse forty-seven continues, And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land.  Jesus was by himself when evening came, and the disciples were separated from Him physically. Still, they should have been spiritually with Him.  As Christians, we should never be separated from Jesus spiritually.  Verse forty-eight states, 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. Jesus saw the disciples rowing hard against the wind about three in the morning.  They did not have it easy because they were Jesus's disciples but had to face daily hardships which would always be a possibility as they followed Him.  We cannot expect life to always be easy as Christians but instead should always be prepared for hardships in life.  Since Jesus was not physically in the boat with them, they were relying on their own abilities to overcome the wind blowing against them.  As followers of Christ, we should never forget that He is with us always and we need to look to Him for the solution to our problems.  More accurately, the Holy Spirit is always with us after we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Jesus came walking to them on the water and would have passed them by.  If they did not acknowledge Him, Jesus would not help them.  We need to acknowledge Jesus today at all times, but especially in times of trouble, if we expect Him to help us.  Verse forty-nine adds, But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out: The disciples thought Jesus was a spirit, and they did not recognize Him, but called out to Him anyway.  We need to acknowledge Who Jesus is if we are really to look to Him for help. Verse fifty continues, 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.  Jesus talked to the disciples, and said for them be of good cheer, that it was He and for them to be not afraid.  When we acknowledge Jesus, we have no reason to be afraid.  Verse fifty-one says, And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered.  Jesus went to them in the boat, and the wind died.  When Jesus comes to us, He will calm all our storms as long as we put our faith in Him.  Verse fifty-two adds, For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.  The disciples were amazed, because they had already forgotten the miracle of the loaves, because at that time, their hearts were hardened.  We should never be surprised when Jesus, or the Holy Spirit, does something miraculous today.  If we fail to recognize when He is at work in our life, it will be because we have hardened our heart against Him.  For the disciples to receive help from Jesus, they had to call out to Him, even if they did not fully understand everything about Him.  The first step to salvation is to call out to Jesus, even if you do not know everything about His power.  We will never understand everything about Jesus, at least not in this lifetime. 

Mark 6:35

Mark 6:35 says, 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: Late in the day, Jesus was still surrounded by many people in a desert place.  We need that same dedication to hearing the word of God today.  Verse thirty-six adds, 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. The disciples were concerned about feeding the people, and they told Jesus to send them away so that they could buy bread to eat.  They proposed a solution without first checking with Jesus. We should never be more concerned about what it will cost us to help others, nor even about the seeming impossibility of situation, until we ask God for direction first.  Verse thirty-seven continues, 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?  Jesus told them to feed the people, and the disciples asked if they should go and buy a lot of bread for the people.  Our solution to problems today is too often how much is it going to cost us.  Verse thirty-eight states, He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes. Jesus's question to the disciples was basically what did they have to work with.  Before we decide what we cannot do, we should first bring what we have to God and allow Him to use it as He sees fit.  The disciples said they had five loaves and two fish.  This didn't seem like nearly enough to them, but they were forgetting the power of God to provide.  We as followers of Christ sometimes see how little we have instead of how powerful God is.  Verse thirty-nine adds, And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass.  Verse forty continues, And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties.  Jesus had the disciples sit the people down in orderly groups.  No one group was better than the other, and no one was left out.  God does not work unless He is in control of the situation, and we should work to follow His leadership.  Verse forty-one declares, And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, 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.  Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked into heaven, blessed and broke the bread, and did the same with the fish, and had the disciples pass it out.  God provided the increase, and when we rely on Him today, no matter how impossible we may think things look, He will continue to do so.  Verse forty-two adds, And they did all eat, and were filled.  Verse forty-three continues, And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes, Verse forty-four concludes, And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men.   After everyone was filled, there were twelve baskets full of fragments and fish left over, even though about five thousand men had been fed and nothing was wasted.  Jesus will always provide for our needs if we put our faith in Him, but we should never waste what He provides for us.

Mark 6:29

Mark 6:29 says, And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb.  After Herod had John the Baptist beheaded, his disciples heard about it and claimed and buried his body.  They could have been putting themselves in danger by doing this, but they were willing to do so anyway.  We should never allow possible danger to keep us from doing what we know God would have us do.  Verse thirty adds, And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught.  About the time this was happening, Jesus's disciples returned from their preaching and teaching trips that Jesus had sent them on.  He had not sent them away forever, and when God sends us out today, we need to return to Him to be renewed spiritually quite often.  John's disciples were most likely feeling defeated, and Jesus's disciples were very tired, but none of them had given up, and neither should we when we are doing what God calls us to do.  Verse thirty-one continues, 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. Verse thirty-two concludes, And they departed into a desert place by ship privately. Jesus told His disciples to come away from the crowd into a desert place where they could rest for a while.  We need to be careful that we don't get so caught up in ministering to others that we never take time to be renewed spiritually and even physically ourselves.  Verse thirty-three says, 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. The people saw Jesus and His disciples leaving and ran ahead of them to where they were going.  It would be wonderful if people today were so determined to come to Jesus.  Of course, until we come to Him by faith acknowledging that He is the only Savior, then being around others who are following Him does us no good spiritually.  Verse thirty-four adds, 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.  Jesus had compassion on those around Him, comparing them to sheep without a shepherd.  Jesus still has compassion on all lost people today.  Jesus began to teach them many things about what it meant to put their faith in God and follow Him.  We as followers of Christ should be doing teaching others about Him today.

Mark 6:21

Mark 6:21 says, And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee;  A convenient day had come, and Herod made a supper for his officials on his birthday.  Sometimes, what may seem to be a convenient day and a time to celebrate can end up being something terrible if we leave God out of it.  Verse twenty-two adds, And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. Herodias's daughter came and danced for Herod and those with him, and this pleased Herod.  He was looking for earthly pleasures in life as he celebrated his birthday, and the dancing had provided that.  People too often are looking only for earthly pleasure in life and when they find it, they neglect to count what it might ultimately cost them.  Verse twenty-three continues, And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom.  Herod told Herodias's daughter to ask anything she wanted, and he would give it to her, up to half his kingdom.  He made this promise with very little thought as to what it might really cost him.  We need to make sure that we do not make promises that could lead to real problems.  If we are to make a promise to someone else, we should first pray about it and not just act on impulse because something has put us in a good mood at the time.  Verse twenty-four states, And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist.  Verse twenty-five concludes, And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist.  She went to her mother and asked her what she should ask for.  Herod had promised up to half his kingdom, but she still went to her mother for advice.  Though I believe children, even those who are nearly grown, should seek the advice of their parents when making a big decision, the advice they get may not always be in accordance with what God would have them do.  We don't have to look very far in the world today to see many people are giving children horrible advice that will alter the rest of their lives, and this advice is certainly not from God's direction. Herodias told her to ask for the head of John the Baptist on a charger, or serving dish, as we are told in another gospel.  Since John the Baptist had spoken out against her relationship with Herod, she wanted him dead.  We should not be surprised if we speak out against the sins of someone today that they want us dead.  I don't believe that John the Baptist spoke out against them simply to condemn them, but to do as we are told he did when preaching, and that is to call them to repentance. This should be our goal today as well.  Verse twenty-six says, And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. Herod was very sorry, but because of his oath, he was bound by law to do as she asked.  Still, the choice was his.  He could have told her what she asked was more than he was willing to do, even if he had to break his oath.  We may make a promise to someone today, then realize what we promised is not in keeping with God's purpose and laws, and if we do, we have a choice. We can either break the promise or break God's law.  Verse twenty-seven adds, And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison.  Verse twenty-eight continues, And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother.  Herod immediately did as she asked and had John the Baptist beheaded and brought his head to the girl on a charger.  He did not take time to think about what the result of what he was doing would mean.  Herod made the promise, the daughter made the request, but it was Herodias who got what she wanted. Sometimes people are manipulated into doing what someone else wants and receive something that has no value to them in return.  We can also say that we often make decisions without thinking through the cost of that decision.