Jesus confirms His Messiahship through His ministry of miracles. John the Baptist’s life and death.
Mark 6: Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
1 He went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him.
2 And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, "Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands?
3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him.
4 And Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honour, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household."
5 And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them.
6 And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went about among the villages teaching.
Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles
7 And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.
8 He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff---no bread, no bag, no money in their belts---
9 but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics.
10 And he said to them, "Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there.
11 And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them."
12 So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent.
13 And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.
The Death of John the Baptist
14 King Herod heard of it, for Jesus' name had become known. Some said, "John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him."
15 But others said, "He is Elijah." And others said, "He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old."
16 But when Herod heard of it, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised."
17 For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because he had married her.
18 For John had been saying to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."
19 And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not,
20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.
21 But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee.
22 For when Herodias's daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, "Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you."
23 And he vowed to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom."
24 And she went out and said to her mother, "For what should I ask?" And she said, "The head of John the Baptist."
25 And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter."
26 And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her.
27 And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head. He went and beheaded him in the prison
28 and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother.
29 When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
30 The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught.
31 And he said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while." For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.
32 And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves.
33 Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them.
34 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.
35 And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, "This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late.
36 Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat."
37 But he answered them, "You give them something to eat." And they said to him, "Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?"
38 And he said to them, "How many loaves do you have? Go and see." And when they had found out, they said, "Five, and two fish."
39 Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass.
40 So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties.
41 And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all.
42 And they all ate and were satisfied.
43 And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish.
44 And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.
Jesus Walks on the Water
45 Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.
46 And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray.
47 And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land.
48 And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them,
49 but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out,
50 for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid."
51 And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded,
52 for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.
Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret
53 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore.
54 And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him
55 and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was.
56 And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.
Things to think about…
1. Mark 6:1-6 strikes a real chord with me and my wife Fiona. We are the only Christians in our family. Both our parents and siblings are not Christians. Christ had no honour in His home-town or even with His family due to unbelief. They in fact took offense at Him. He marvelled at their unbelief and couldn’t do many miracles there, vss 5,6. Unbelief and the spirit of atheism is very blinding to the supernatural. Pray for it to be lifted, not only off the families that you are praying for, but also off the country of Australia in general.
2. Have a look at Mark 6:7-13. The twelve are sent out to proclaim the gospel and cast out demons. Judas was obviously part of this group. We know how it ends for him. Remember it is not how you start the race or even how you run, but how you finish. Encourage someone today to put measures of accountability and encouragement in place so that they finish well.
3. The beheading of John the Baptist is one of the saddest and most grotesque passages of scripture, Mark 6:14-28. Imagine giving a twelve year old girl (or there abouts) a bloodied head and then her passing it onto her mother as part of spiteful revenge. John the Baptist was in prison, but this was not enough for a vengeful woman who could not tolerate John’s preaching on the sanctity of marriage. John was a constant reminder of her adultery – her first husband Philip was still alive and the marriage to his brother Herod was a betrayal of her first marriage. Hatred against a godly message is common, but it shows its true demonic nature when an innocent party is murdered. Pray for Christians who are being murdered today for their faith.
4. The story of the loaves and fishes is a constant reminder of the miraculous provision and abundance of our God, Mark 6:36-44. May our Lord continue to provide for you from His storehouse throughout this year. But look at how the next part of the narrative is joined – Jesus walking on the water is joined to the story. Have a read of Mark 6:52 again. Why is this verse linked with the passage of the loaves? Jesus controls everything, he can walk on water and create bread because He is the true Bread from heaven. The disciples were yet to fully appreciate this. They would understand soon enough – after the resurrection.
5. Imagine how tired both Jesus and the disciples would have been at this point, Mark 6:47-56. It was a huge day of ministry, and they were already tired. Another storm whips up, this time Jesus isn’t in the boat, but watching from the shore. He comes to them on the water, and they are confused and tired. Constant ministry is draining, this is where it is important to remember to minister in Christ’s strength and not our own, as well as take seasons of rest to be restored. May you know His strength in this season of rest throughout this year of ministry.
6. Even after they have a time of rest, although you could be forgiven in thinking that they didn’t get any due to a restless night in a boat, they continue in serving others. Mark 55, 56 says “And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was”. Jesus and the disciples who local heroes and so had no time for themselves. While we are in this life and in this body, as Christians we are called to die to self and honour Christ in all things. At the same time keeping a healthy mind and body is essential. We are of no use to anybody if we are exhausted physically or mentally. What seasons are you taking on a daily, weekly and yearly basis to restore and be refreshed to continue to serve effectively?
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Sermon:-“The arrival and return of Jesus” – reading Zech 9:9-17
a. What prophesies of Christ have been fulfilled in this reading with respect to the arrival of Jesus? Can you think of others mentioned on Sunday that are found elsewhere.
b. Just as the arrival of Jesus was multifaceted so was/Will be His return. A notable first part of His return was His resurrection. There are a number of others mention in the last few chapters of the book of Zechariah Eg Zech 11:16, 17, Zech 13:1, 2; Zech 14:4; Zech 14:9. Discuss.
c. What is the point and relevance for us that these prophesies have been or will be fulfilled?
Prayer Points
1. That the contacts made over Easter and the Family Fun Day will be maintained and that strong connections and discussions may draw people to Christ.
2. Been a big term for our teachers pray Rosie and our teachers get a good rest over these next 2 weeks.
3. Pray for Chuwar Youth and Jarrod’s ministry. Pray as he meets with youth at Westside, this week as well as the growing young adults ministry.
4. How you can serve in ministry this year.
5. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. Quite a few visitors on Sunday – Pray this continues and they get involved in the life of the church.
2. Young adults ministry is growing – keep praying as Jarrod develops this ministry.
3. Kids@Church and Youth ministries are a great blessing. Pray for Rosie and Jarrod as they start out for term 2.
4. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Chuwar Youth and Kids@Church start back this week.
2. Mother’s Day High Tea. Sat 10am Church. Speaker and pampering, 13th May RSVP Suzanne 1/5/2023. Ph:- 0418 889 683.
3. Remember to check your duty rosters for term 2.
4. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
5. Tune in again this week on our youtube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for April...
Q. 7. In how many persons does this one God exist? A. In three persons.
