MARK 6

Questions to consider:

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

• Why did the people like Jesus?
• Why did the people not like Jesus?  “took offense”?
• Was it because he was “a carpenter” or “the local carpenter”?
• Were they “blind”?
• Were they blind because “they already knew”?
• Why did Jesus “marvel”?
• What does it mean?  (astonished, astounded, amazed, surprised, dumbfounded)?
• How can this happen to Jesus?
• Does he not know ahead of time?
• How is it possible that Jesus “could do no mighty work there”?
• Was Jesus really “unable”?
• In what sense is the belief of the people necessary to Jesus’ doing miracles?
• What did Jesus do with his own marveling and their unbelief?
• How did he manage just “to get on with it”?
• Why are some people jealous of other ministries?

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles

• What principles of ministry are outlined here?
• What do they mean?
• Why are they successful?
• Were the disciples able to do more than Jesus did?
• Obviously our own disciples (students) can do more than we do, is this the case with Jesus? Why?

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

• Why is there so much hurrying?
• What is the importance of alone-ness?  (see poem by William Blake below at the end of the post)
• Why does this observation produce compassion rather than irritation or being overwhelmed?
• Why does Jesus tell the disciples: “You give them something to eat”?
• When do we “use our own resources” and when do we “encourage people to stand on their own two feet”?
• When does God’s “super-abundance” show itself?  And, when not?

Jesus Walks on the Water

• Why do the disciples change their attitude after their previous successes?
• Who hardened their hearts?
• What does it mean to hardened hearts?
• How do they respond when Jesus days “It is I”?
• What does “I am” mean?
• How is “I am” used in the Old testament and in the New Testament?

Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret

Why is this different from Jesus’ experience in his hometown, at the beginning of the chapter?

Thought:  “I am” refers to the very nature of God and also that of God in Christ.  It presents Jesus as God and as man; as able to communicate in the ordinary and as able to communicate in the transcendent.  It represents immediate personal presence and divine reality and power!  [Note: Also have  a look at Exodus 3 and John 18 for the use of “I am.”]

TLT