Hardheaded, Hardhearted Disciples (Mark 6)

Scripture reading – Mark 6

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* Please note that words and phrases in brackets are the author’s amplification.

The term “Synoptic Gospels” has become familiar as we continue our study of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). You will notice in our Scripture reading a parallel to our prior study of Matthew 13. For instance, we have seen Jesus rejected by the people of Nazareth, His hometown (Matthew 13:53-54). The same event and rejection are recorded in Mark 6:1-6.

Matthew and Mark recorded the tragic outcome of Christ’s visit to Nazareth. Though His neighbors were astonished by His teaching and had heard of the “mighty works…wrought by His hands,” they still rejected Him (Mark 6:2). They knew Him as “the carpenter, the son of Mary,” and knew His brothers and sisters (Mark 6:3). Tragically, because the people of Nazareth did not believe, Jesus “could there do no mighty work” (Mark 6:5).

(Notice also that Mark 6:3 refutes the false doctrine of Mary’s perpetual virginity, espoused by the Roman Catholic Church. Mary was the virgin mother of Jesus, conceived by the Holy Ghost (Luke 1:34-35); however, she and Joseph had sons and daughters after our Lord’s birth, as Mark 6:3 indicates.)

A second parallel event in today’s Scripture reading is Jesus sending out the Twelve as apostles (Mark 6:7-12; Luke 9:1-5; Matthew 10:1-14). A third parallel event recorded in the Synoptics is Herod’s beheading of John the Baptist (Mark 6:14-29; Luke 9:7-9; Matthew 14:1-12). 

The news of the Baptist’s fate and the disciples’ return with reports of their ministries in the cities and villages of Galilee prompted Jesus to seek a quieter place in the desert (Mark 6:30-32). So, “they departed into a desert place by ship privately” (Mark 6:32). Yet the people followed them along the seashore until they reached the place where He and the disciples had anchored (Mark 6:33-34; Luke 9:10-11; Matthew 14:13-14). 

Hardheaded, Hardhearted Disciples (Mark 6:35-52; Luke 9:12-17)

Two events in today’s study have captured children’s imaginations for two millennia: “The Feeding of the 5,000” (Mark 6:35-44; Luke 9:12-17; Matthew 14:15-21) and Jesus’s “Walking on the Water,” in which He saved His disciples caught in a great storm (Mark 6:45-52; the same event is recorded in Matthew 14:22-33).

I invite you to ponder the miracle of “The Feeding of the 5,000” (with only two fish and five loaves) and then consider why Jesus sent His disciples into a great storm afterward, one in which they feared for their lives. I believe He did so because He knew their hearts and that His disciples “considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened” (Mark 6:52). They were spiritually blind. They had missed the significance of the feeding of the 5,000, even though that miracle likewise demonstrated Jesus’ divine, creative power. Only when they saw Jesus walking on the troubled waters of the Sea of Galilee did they worship Him and confess, “Of a truth thou art the Son of God” (Matthew 14:33).

Closing thoughts –

Perhaps you are in a storm of doubt, disappointment, sickness, or sorrow. Are trials overwhelming you? As the storm served God’s purpose in the disciples’ lives, so too did the Savior’s words bring calm when He said, “Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid,” and the “wind ceased” (Mark 6:50-51).

Lesson — The extremity of your need is the window of opportunity to look to the LORD, hear His words, “Be not afraid,” and find comfort and strength in His assurances. Remember, “As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him” (Psalm 18:30).

Closing thoughts –

Despite the undeniable transformation in the man’s life, the people of the Gadarenes begged Jesus to “depart out of their coasts” (Mark 5:17). They would neither embrace Him as LORD nor welcome Him into their homes or country. Jesus, knowing the man could go where He Himself would be unwelcome, commanded him, “Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee” (Mark 5:19).

The change in the demon-possessed man’s life was undeniable evidence of his salvation.

Romans 12:1-2 – “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. ²And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Copyright © 2026 – Travis D. Smith 

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