In chapter three Mark we learned that Jesus’ family was struggling to make sense of his ministry. In today’s reading we learn that most of Jesus’ hometown still sees Jesus as the carpenter’s son, not the Messiah. I am glad Mark gives us the names of some of Jesus’ siblings; especially James, because it prepares us for the rest of the story. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:7 that after his resurrection Jesus appeared to James. We learn in the Book of Acts that James becomes a leader of the church and he writes the Book of James, the 20th book in the New Testament. Jesus has taught us about planting seeds and giving the seed time to grow. James is example of Jesus’ teaching in Mark 4:8, “Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
I think Mark wants us to see more than just Jesus’ family and friends having difficulty accepting that a small town boy has been chosen by God to announce the coming Kingdom of God. As we have seen in the previous chapters, Jesus’ proclamations were revolutionary. To accept Jesus as the Messiah, to give your allegiance to God’s Kingdom, could put you in harm’s way. Mark reveals that danger by describing the martyrdom of John the Baptist.
Mark knew the church was being persecuted and through the telling of John’s death he encourages the church to remain faithful. Perhaps the most courageous and enduring witness of the church comes when even the executioner can say of the martyred, “he was a good and holy man.”
What word or phrase in these verses
attracts your attention?
Reflect on that word or phrase.
What insights come to you?
How does this passage touch your life today?
30-Oct-11 Mark 6:30-56
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