Online Resource Library
Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadBob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - Mark 6:6 - 6:13
(Show All Books | Show All Chapters)
This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mar_6:6-13
6bAnd He was going around the villages teaching. 7And He summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits; 8and He instructed them that they should take nothing for their journey, except a mere staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belt— 9but to wear sandals; and He added, "Do not put on two tunics." 10And He said to them, "Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave town. 11Any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake the dust off the soles of your feet for a testimony against them." 12They went out and preached that men should repent. 13And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.
Mar_6:7 "began to send them out in pairs" This word may reflect a specific mission and not a universal charge.
▣ "in pairs" This may refer to the two witnesses needed to confirm a matter (cf. Deu_19:15). It may even be the sociological aspect of courage in numbers. These two witnesses faced a hostile spiritual and cultural world.
▣ "and gave them authority over the unclean spirits" The parallel in Luk_9:1 adds "and to heal diseases." The parallel in Mat_10:8 adds "heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons." All of these acts are OT Messianic signs, signs of God's care, signs of God's power and His future kingdom. See Special Topic at Mar_1:25.
Jesus' power and authority can be delegated to His followers. Surely there is an intensity shared between the Twelve and Jesus that cannot be duplicated, but God's power is available to His church. Where is the power in our day? It seems that these power signs are used to confirm the gospel message and give credence to the gospel preacher. This is still true today. However, in cultures where the gospel message has taken root, then believers must walk by faith, not by sight; trust in God, not demand miracles (cf. Joh_4:48). Miracles are not the answer to faith problems! It is also very possible that the judgment of God on a lukewarm church is the perception of success, but the reality of ineffectiveness.
Signs and miracles as well as demonic and angelic activity increased in Jesus' and the Apostles' day. This spiritual activity is surely present in every age, but intensified at Jesus' first coming and will intensify again as His second coming draws near.
I rejoice in the manifestations of signs of God's love and power (i.e., the gifts are still active), but I trust in gospel truths, not the presence or absence of physical confirmations. Miracles and signs can be counterfeit (cf. Mat_24:24; 2Th_2:9; Rev_13:13; Rev_16:14; Rev_19:20). Believers must not demand confirmation! Childlike faith is spiritually superior to supernatural signs and wonders.
Mar_6:8 "He instructed them that they should take nothing for their journey, except a mere staff" The Synoptic Gospels all record this, but in slightly different ways. Mat_10:9-11 implies "do not purchase another walking stick." Luk_9:3 is similar to Mat_10:10, but omits the phrase "do not acquire" of Mat_10:9. All travelers carried a staff for protection. The point of these statements is that these missionaries must depend totally on God's provision (both physically and spiritually) and not their own.
For a full discussion of the discrepancies between Matthew, Mark, and Luke concerning what the disciples are to take and not take on their mission trip see Hard Sayings of the Bible, pp. 422-24.
▣ "bag" This is possibly a knapsack.
▣ "money in their belt" This possibly means a money belt.
Mar_6:9 "'Do not put on two tunics'" This refers to an outer cloak which was also used as a covering for sleeping. This means do not take extra clothes (i.e., do not try to prepare for every contingency).
Mar_6:10 "'stay there until you leave'" They were not to look for better and better accommodations. The first place that by faith opens their home was the place to stay.
Mar_6:11 "Any place that does not receive you or listen to you" "Any place" could refer to a city or a synagogue. This is literally the term "receives," but with the implication of welcome.
▣ "shake the dust off the soles of your feet for a testimony against them" This involves a visual symbol of impending judgment and separation (cf. Act_13:51; and a similar act in Act_18:6). This was a regular Jewish custom when re-entering Judah from Samaria.
▣ There is an additional sentence in Mar_6:11, NKJV, "Assuredly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city." It is found in manuscript A and many later Greek minuscule manuscripts. It is not original to Mark, but seems to be an assimilation from Mat_10:15.
Mar_6:12 "they. . .preached that men should repent" Repentance is crucial for a faith relationship with God (cf. Mat_3:2; Mat_4:17; Mar_1:15; Mar_6:12; Luk_13:3; Luk_13:5; Act_2:38; Act_3:19; Act_20:21). The term in Hebrew meant a change of actions, while in Greek it meant a change of mind. Repentance is a willingness to change from one's self-centered existence to a life informed and directed by God. It calls for a turning from the priority and bondage of the self. Basically it is a new attitude, a new world view, a new master. Repentance is God's will for every human being, made in His image (cf. Eze_18:21; Eze_18:23; Eze_18:32; Luk_13:1-5; and 2Pe_3:9).
The NT passage that best reflects the different Greek terms for repentance is 2Co_7:8-12
1. lupe, "grief" or "sorrow" Mar_6:8 (twice), 9 (thrice), 10 (twice), 11
2. metamelomai, "after care," Mar_6:8 (twice), 9
3. metanoeô, "repent," "after mind," Mar_6:9-10
The contrast is false repentance [metamelomai], cf. Judas, Mat_27:3 and Esau, Heb_12:16-17 vs. true repentance [metanoeô].
True repentance is theologically linked to
1. Jesus' preaching of the conditions of the New Covenant (cf. Mat_4:17; Mar_1:15; Luk_13:3; Luk_13:5)
2. the apostolic sermons in Acts (i.e., the kerygma, cf. Act_3:16; Act_3:19; Act_20:21)
3. God's sovereign gift (cf. Act_5:31; Act_11:18 and 2Ti_2:25)
4. perishing (cf. 2Pe_3:9). Repentance is not optional
See hyperlink at Mar_1:4 d.
Mar_6:13 "casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people" Notice the NT makes a distinction between illness and demon possession. See note at Mar_1:25 c.
▣ "anointing them with oil" Oil was used in different senses: (1) as medicine (cf. Jas_5:14); (2) as a symbol of the Holy Spirit, especially in the OT of kings, priests, and prophets; and (3) as a psychological aid to recognize God's presence. Jesus used several different types of physical aids in healing.
hyperlink