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Scripture Reading: Mark 6:1-44
We come in this message to 6:1-44. In this section of the Gospel of Mark we have four matters: the Slave-Savior being despised by the Nazarenes (Mark 6:1-6), the sending forth of the twelve to preach (Mark 6:7-13), the martyrdom of the forerunner of the gospel (Mark 6:14-29), and the feeding of the five thousand (Mark 6:30-44).
As we read 6:1-44, it may appear that this section is not impressive concerning the matter of life. It may seem to us that the four incidents recorded here are merely stories. However, we believe that this record is part of the holy Scriptures breathed out by God. Of course, this chapter was written by Mark. Nevertheless, it is an inspired portion of the Word of God. Therefore, we need to look to the Lord for insight in order that we may get into the depths of such a record.
First, in Mark 6:1-6 the Lord was despised and rejected by the Nazarenes. Actually, this rejection did not disturb Him or disappoint Him. Even though He left them because of their rejection of Him, this does not mean that He was disappointed or that He gave them up. The Slave-Savior wanted to do something for the Nazarenes, but they would not open to Him. Mark 6:5 says, “And He could not do any work of power there, except to lay His hands upon a few sick people and heal them.” The unbelief of the Nazarenes kept the Lord from doing many works of power among them.
Instead of being discouraged and disappointed by the rejection of the Nazarenes, the Lord was encouraged. This is proved by the fact that in Mark 6:7-13 He sent out the twelve to do the same thing He was doing. In particular, “He gave them authority over the unclean spirits” (v. 7). The Lord appointed the twelve to do what He was doing.
In 6:14-29 we have the martyrdom of the forerunner of the gospel, John the Baptist. Humanly speaking, this must have been very disappointing. Actually, the Lord Jesus was not disappointed even by the martyrdom of John the Baptist. Following John’s martyrdom, we have the case of the Lord’s feeding and satisfying the five thousand. The rejection of the Jews in His country did not disappoint Him; rather, that rejection encouraged Him to send out His disciples. Likewise, the martyrdom of His forerunner did not disappoint Him; instead, it encouraged Him to feed more people.
In 4:35—5:43 we saw how the kingdom of God meets the need of the human condition. As we pointed out, the situation of human society is portrayed in this section of the Gospel of Mark. Human society, and every individual human being as well, is full of “storms” of rebellion, demons, unclean industry (hog raising), death-sickness, and death. This is the actual situation of mankind. But the Slave-Savior has brought the kingdom to us, and the kingdom is the answer to the condition of fallen man. The kingdom subdues rebellion, the kingdom casts out demons, the kingdom clears up the unclean industry, the kingdom heals the sick, and the kingdom raises the dead. In 4:35—5:43 we see a demonstration of the kingdom of God meeting the needs of human society. What a wonderful picture this is!
In 6:1-44 Mark presents a different picture. In this picture we see rejection, hatred, and martyrdom. No matter how much blessing is brought in by the kingdom and the preaching of the gospel, the world still hates and rejects the Slave-Savior and those who work together with Him. In 6:1-44, therefore, we see the attitude of the worldly people toward the gospel. What shall we do in the face of such an attitude? What should we do when we are despised, rejected, and hated, and when some are even killed? Should we be disappointed? Should we stop preaching the glad tidings and cease from our work for the kingdom? Certainly not! Instead of being disappointed, we should be encouraged by the negative attitude shown by the worldly people toward the gospel.
Immediately after the Lord did the wonderful work of bringing in the blessings of the kingdom, He came to His own country. Mark 6:1 says, “And He went out from there and came into His own country, and His disciples followed Him.” Verses 2 and 3 indicate that He was despised and rejected by the Nazarenes: “And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue; and many hearing were astounded, saying, Where did this man get these things? And what wisdom is given to this man! And such works of power take place through His hands! 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 were stumbled in Him.” Here we see that the Nazarenes knew the Slave-Savior according to the flesh, not according to the Spirit (2 Cor. 5:16). They were blinded by their natural knowledge.
The Lord Jesus then said to them, “A prophet is not dishonored except in his own country and among his relatives and in his own house” (v. 4). This word indicates that probably even some of the Lord’s own household joined in with the others to despise and reject Him.
The word of the blind despisers here may be considered a fulfillment of the prophecy concerning the Slave-Savior in Isaiah 53:2 and 3: “As a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men.” This was to know Him according to the flesh in His humanity, not according to the Spirit in His deity (Rom. 1:4). In His humanity He was a root out of dry ground, a shoot out of the stump of Jesse, and a Branch out of his roots (Isa. 11:1), a Branch unto David (Jer. 23:5; 33:15), the Branch who was a Man and the Servant of Jehovah (Zech. 3:8; 6:12), out of the seed of David according to the flesh (Rom. 1:3). In His deity He was the Branch of Jehovah for beauty and glory (Isa. 4:2), the Son of God marked out in power according to the Spirit (Rom. 1:4).
Only in the Gospel of Mark is the Lord Jesus called a carpenter. Those who rejected Him asked, “Is not this the carpenter?” They used the word “carpenter” in a despising manner. They were astounded by His teaching, by His wisdom, and by His works of power. But they regarded Him as a person of low status. In today’s terms, they might have wondered what qualifications He had, what kind of degree He had.
The word “stumbled” in 6:3 indicates that the Nazarenes rejected the Slave-Savior. Why were they stumbled in Him? They were stumbled in Him because, on the one hand, they heard wonderful words out of His mouth and saw some of His marvelous deeds, and yet, on the other hand, they considered that He did not have a high status or degree. They saw Him as one who was merely a carpenter. Therefore, they were stumbled in Him, and they despised Him.
The principle is the same today. Many Christians care about status or the degrees of others and are eager to look into such things. Some years ago I had a talk with a certain preacher who was promoting himself very much. He asked me how many among us have a doctoral degree. I did not say anything in answer to this question. My silence was an indication that we are not concerned about how many of the church members have a doctoral degree. This man went on to boast of the number of people in his group who had a Ph.D. This is an illustration of the concern of today’s Christians for status and degrees.
Many of those who have a doctoral degree in theology do not have much experience of the living Christ. Neither do they have much of the riches of Christ or the knowledge of the depths of the truths in the Word of God. Their understanding of the Bible, on the contrary, may be very superficial.
In chapter six of the Gospel of Mark we see the Lord Jesus as a carpenter. He did not have a degree or a high status. But He certainly had the riches of the Triune God, and He also knew the depths of the truth in the Scriptures. His hearers were greatly surprised at His knowledge of the Bible.
The record in chapter six should cause us to ask ourselves what we want and what we value. Do we want an advanced degree or a high social status? In the Lord’s recovery we want Jesus, and we want the riches of Christ. Instead of the mere superficial doctrines in the Bible, we want the depths of the divine truths in the Word of God. We would like to follow the Lord Jesus in ministering the riches of the Triune God to people and in presenting to them the depths of the divine truth in the holy Scriptures. This is what we want, and this is what we desire to do.
We should not think that if we have the riches of Christ and the depths of the truth, we shall be welcomed. No, this is not the age when the Lord’s truth is welcomed on earth. On the contrary, this is an age when the Lord and His disciples are despised and rejected.
No one can compare with the Lord Jesus. He had the riches of the Triune God, and He had the depths of the truth. But no matter how rich He was or how much He knew the truth in the holy Scriptures, He was despised and rejected instead of welcomed.
Although the Lord has shown us something of the depths of the divine truth in the Word, we in the Lord’s recovery are not welcomed. Often those who have only a superficial knowledge of biblical truth take the lead to reject us and oppose what we are presenting. Some have gone so far as to make false accusations against us. One of these false accusations is that we are pantheistic, that we believe that everything in the universe is God. Others have accused us of being cultic or heretical. But even though we are falsely accused, despised, and rejected, I am not disappointed. Rather, I am encouraged. When the Lord Jesus was rejected, He sent out the twelve. We believe that the more we are rejected, the more the saints in the Lord’s recovery will go forth to preach the gospel, present the truth, and minister life.
In 6:7-13 we have the sending out of the twelve to preach. According to verse 7, the Lord called the twelve to Him and sent them out two by two. Verses 12 and 13 say, “And they went forth and preached that men should repent; and they cast out many demons, and anointed many sick with oil and healed them.” Here we see that the twelve were sent out to do three things: preach, cast out demons, and anoint the sick and heal them.
As we consider the three things the twelve were sent forth to do, we shall realize that they correspond to the three matters of preaching the gospel, presenting the truth, and ministering life. The first item — preaching the gospel — is clearly the same and does not require further comment here. However, we need to see the connection between the casting out of demons and the presenting of the truth.
Suppose you say to a person, “You are possessed by demons, and I have come to cast out these demons.” If you talk like this, no one will listen to you. In principle, the best way to cast out demons today is to present the truth from the Word of God. If you are talking with an unbeliever, you may present the truth concerning the Person and work of Christ. If you are speaking with a Christian, you may present to him a particular truth concerning the Christian life. For example, you may present the truth of transformation. In presenting this truth, you may say, “Let us read together 2 Corinthians 3:18.” Then read this verse: “We all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting as a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord Spirit.” After reading this verse, you may share a brief word in which you present the truth of transformation. Surely a genuine, seeking Christian will be attracted by the presentation of such a truth.
To present the truth is to cast out demons. Today’s society is filled with demons. These demons can be compared to germs. We need to present the truth as the medication to stop the spread of the “germs” of the demons. We need to present the truth not only of the growth in life and of transformation by life, but even the truth of initial salvation.
I realize that in certain Christian books there is some amount of divine riches. But for the most part these riches have been buried or concealed. Rarely have they been touched by believers. The result is that the general situation among Christians today is spiritual poverty. For instance, many genuine Christians do not know what it means to be transformed. They have never heard the truth concerning transformation. Likewise, many do not know the real significance of sanctification. They have not heard that genuine sanctification has two aspects: the positional aspect and the dispositional aspect. These believers may have only a general understanding of sanctification. They actually do not know what it means to be sanctified.
One example of the poverty with respect to the divine truth is the statement, made by a certain theologian, that Christ is not actually in the believers, but is represented in them by the Holy Spirit. According to this man’s concept, the Holy Spirit is Christ’s representative in the believers. This kind of teaching is far away from the truth of the Scriptures. This is an illustration of how today’s “demons” are prevailing, possessing peoples’ minds and covering their understanding.
What shall we do about such a situation? We need to spread as a medication all the truths the Lord has shown us in His recovery and present these truths as an “antidote” to the demonic germs. We can testify that every truth that the Lord has shown us from the Word is a useful medicine to kill these germs. Now in a proper way we need to go forth to present these biblical truths to others.
As we present the truth to others, we need to be wise. We should not say, “You have many germs, and we have come with the medicine that will kill these germs.” If you speak to others like this, no doubt they will rise up against you.
It may not always be wise for a medical doctor to tell his patient the full diagnosis. Instead of telling others that they have germs, we should simply present the medicine of the truth to them in the form of nourishing spiritual food that they will receive and enjoy. As they take in this healthy food, they will receive the medicine they need to deal with the germs within them.
Let us use the truth concerning sanctification as an illustration. You may say to a fellow believer, “Do you realize that according to the New Testament sanctification has two aspects? In the Bible we have positional sanctification and dispositional sanctification.” If you present the truth concerning sanctification properly, others will be receptive. They may say, “Yes, what you are telling me is true. When I believed in the Lord Jesus, I was sanctified positionally. Now I see that dispositionally I have not been sanctified very much. As far as my disposition is concerned, I am not yet holy; instead, in many aspects I am common.”
Let us all learn to be good “waiters,” those who serve others with the nourishing food of the truth. Let us learn to be skillful in presenting the biblical truths. In today’s situation, the way to cast out demons is to present the truth.
We have seen that all those in the Lord’s recovery should go forth to preach the gospel, present the truth, and minister life. We have seen that to present the truth is to cast out demons. Now we need to go on to see that to minister life to others is equal to anointing the sick with oil and healing them.
Many of our fellow Christians are spiritually sick because of the lack of nourishment. How can we nourish them? The best way to nourish them is to give them a testimony of our experience of Christ. A genuine testimony of our spiritual experience will be the best food.
Our testifying to others is also our anointing of them. The real need today is not the outward laying on of hands, as practiced among many in the charismatic or Pentecostal movement. The need is for us to testify of our experience of Christ. You may testify how you have been saved and captured by the Lord, how the Lord satisfies you, and how you experience and enjoy Him day by day. Through this kind of testimony others will receive a rich anointing. Through this anointing they will be nourished and healed in a spiritual way. Therefore, to minister life to others is to nourish them and anoint them with our testimony.
We all need more experience of the enjoyment of the Lord. Then we need to testify to others of our enjoyment.
To many Christians, the thought of enjoying the Lord may sound strange. Many have never heard that it is possible for the Lord to be enjoyed by us. They may say, “What do you mean that you enjoy the Lord? God is great and mighty. How can we presume to enjoy Him?” Instead of arguing about this, simply give others a testimony of how the Triune God has become your daily enjoyment. Such a testimony will anoint them, nourish them, and feed them.
We all should follow the Lord and the twelve to preach the gospel, cast out demons, and heal the sick. I hope that we all shall go forth to preach, cast out demons by presenting the truth, and anoint and heal others by giving them our testimony. In this way, we shall feed others, anoint them, and minister life to them.
