“And he went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his disciples follow him.
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?
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.
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.
And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.
And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching.
And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;
And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse:
But be shod with sandals; and not put on two coats.
And he said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place.
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.
And they went out, and preached that men should repent.
And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.
And king Herod heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.
Others said, That it is Elias. And others said, That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets.
But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead.
For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias’ sake, his brother Philip’s wife: for he had married her.
For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife.
Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not:
For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.
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;
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.
And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom.
And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist.
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.
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.
And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison,
And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother.
And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb.
And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught.
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.
And they departed into a desert place by ship privately.
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.
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.
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:
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.
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?
He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes.
nd he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass.
And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties.
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.
And they did all eat, and were filled.
And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes.
And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men.” – Mark 6: 1-44 (KJV)
1 Jesus left there and went to his hometown. His disciples followed him. 2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue. Many who heard him were amazed. They asked, “Where did this man learn these things? What is this wisdom that has been given to this man? How is it that miracles such as these are performed by his hands? 3 Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.
4 Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own house.” 5 He could not do any miracles there except to lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 He was amazed at their unbelief. Then he went around the villages teaching.
Jesus Sends Out the Twelve
7 Jesus called the Twelve and began to send them out two by two. He gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8 He instructed them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their money belts. 9 They were to put on sandals but not to wear two coats. 10 He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that area. 11 Any place that will not receive you or listen to you, as you leave there, shake off the dust that is under your feet as a testimony against them.”
12 They went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They also drove out many demons. They anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.
Recalling the Death of John the Baptizer
14 King Herod heard about this because Jesus’ name had become well known. Herod was saying, “John the Baptizer has been raised from the dead! That is why these powers are at work in him.”
15 But others were saying, “He is Elijah.” Still others were saying, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.”
16 When Herod heard this, he said, “This is John, the man I beheaded. He was raised.” 17 For it was Herod who had sent men to arrest John. He had him bound in prison because Herod had married Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. 18 Indeed, John had been telling him, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
19 Herodias held a grudge against John and wanted to put him to death, but she could not, 20 because Herod feared John. He knew that John was a righteous and holy man, so he kept him safe. When Herod listened to John, he was perplexed in many ways, yet he gladly kept listening to him.
21 An opportune day came when it was Herod’s birthday. He gave a banquet for his nobles, the military officers, and the prominent men of Galilee. 22 When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you.” 23 With an oath he promised her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.”
24 She went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?”
Herodias said, “The head of John the Baptizer.”
25 The girl hurried right back to the king and made her request: “I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist on a platter right now.”
26 The king was very sad. But because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27 The king sent an executioner at once and ordered him to bring John’s head. He went, beheaded John in prison, 28 brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother.
29 When John’s disciples heard about this, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
Jesus Feeds More Than Five Thousand
30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all that they had done and taught. 31 He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.” For there were so many people coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat. 32 They went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. 33 But many people saw them leave and knew where they were going. They ran there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. 34 When Jesus stepped out of the boat, he saw a large crowd. His heart went out to them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. He began to teach them many things. 35 It was already late in the day when his disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already very late. 36 Send them away so they can go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”
37 But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.”
They asked him, “Should we go and buy two hundred denarii[a] worth of bread and give them something to eat?”
38 He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go see.”
When they found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.”
39 He directed everyone to sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 They sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41 Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish, looked up to heaven, and blessed the loaves and broke them. Then he kept giving pieces to his disciples to set in front of them. He also divided the two fish among them all. 42 They all ate and were satisfied. 43 Then they picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. 44 There were five thousand men who ate the loaves. – Mark 6:1-44 (EHV)
Footnotes
[a] Mark 6:37 Or two hundred days’ wages. A denarius was worth about one day’s wage.