Mark 6:14-44

6:14-16 | Herod Antipas had ordered the execution of John the Baptist – even though he personally wanted to spare the prophet’s life – because he had made a public oath to his stepdaughter. When Herod heard of Jesus’ works, his guilty conscience made him wonder if John had risen from the dead.

6:15 | Both then and now, people have differing opinions about who Jesus is. Some in Jesus’ time thought He was fulfilling a prophecy regarding the return of the prophet Elijah (Mal. 4:5). Others saw Him as the Prophet foretold by Moses (Deut. 18:15-19) – a correct interpretation but an incomplete understanding of His identity. Still others thought Jesus as someone like the prophets of old – a remarkable holy man and teacher, but nothing more.

6:19-21 | John condemned Herod’s marriage to Herodias because it went against the Law of Moses. Herod not only allowed John to speak the truth but protected him, even though John’s words “greatly puzzled” the king (according to some ancient manuscripts). John’s confrontations so angered Herodias, however, that she sought an opportune day when she could have the prophet killed.

6:21-26 | Unlike John, Herod had a greater concern for his pride and reputation than for truth and integrity. Believers and unbelievers alike can easily allow peer pressure and public opinion to turn them away from doing what they know in their hearts is right.

6:30-32 | Jesus again displayed His concern for practical matters. His disciples had just returned from a long and exhausting ministry trip, so He instructed them to come aside and rest a while.

6:34 | Despite His own weariness, Jesus ministered to the needy crowds because He saw them as sheep not having a shepherd. This phrase appears repeatedly in the OT; it refers to the fact that the leaders in Israel had abdicated their role as shepherds (1 Kgs. 22:17; Zech. 10:2). Also significant, Jesus’ compassion for the multitudes is expressed in His staying to teach them.

6:37 | The disciples had just returned from a successful ministry trip during which they had been involved in healings and other miracles. But when Jesus told them, You give them something to eat, they were mystified. A denarius was a day’s wages, and the disciples estimated that it would take 200 days’ wages to do so – a sum entirely out of their reach.

6:38 | Often Scripture describes God taking someone’s meager resources and multiplying them miraculously to meet a great need. The story of Elijah and the poor widow is a good example (1 Kgs. 17:8-16). But this miracle was done on a grand scale like nothing seen before.

6:39-42 | By dividing the crowd into smaller groups, Jesus not only aided efficiency but imitated the strategy of Moses, who organized the Sinai generation into similar-sized groups (Ex. 18). In the language Mark uses (taken… blessed… broke), this feeding anticipates the Last Supper, where Jesus will be decisively revealed as Messiah.

6:43-44 | In his typically understated way, Mark simply notes how many leftovers were gathered and how many men (not counting the women and children}) had eaten. He gives few details but records enough information to establish the enormity of the miracle. A number of commentators believe that the leftover baskets represent the tribes of Israel – all to show that Jesus was re-forming a “new Israel” around Himself.