53 When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there. 54 As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. 55 They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed.
Once again Mark provides a brief summary of a portion of Jesus’ ministry (cf. 1:39, 45; 3:7–12; 6:6). Again, there is a strong emphasis on the crowds and on Jesus’ power to heal.
No sooner had Jesus landed on the other side of the lake than once again he was surrounded by crowds. Just sometimes he must have looked on the crowds with a certain wistfulness, because there was hardly a person in them who had not come to get something out of him. They came to get. They came with their insistent demands. They came—to put it bluntly—to use him. What a difference it would have made if, among these crowds, there had been some few who came to give and not to get. In a way it is natural that we should come to Jesus to get things from him, for there are so many things that he alone can give: but it is always shameful to take everything and to give nothing, and yet it is very characteristic of human nature.
(i) There are those who simply make use of their homes. It is specially so with young people. They regard their homes as being there to cater for their comfort and their convenience. It is there they eat and sleep and get things done for them; but surely home is a place to which we ought to contribute, from which we ought not only to be taking all the time.
(ii) There are those who simply make use of their friends. There are some people from whom we never receive a letter unless they want something from us. There are those who regard other people as existing to help them when they need their help, and to be forgotten when they cannot be made of use.
(iii) There are those who simply make use of the church. They desire the church to baptize their children, marry their young people and bury their dead. They are seldom to be seen there unless they wish some service. It is their unconscious attitude that the church exists to serve them, but that they have no duty whatever towards it.
(iv) There are those who seek simply to make use of God. They never remember him unless they need him. Their only prayers are requests, or even demands, made of God. Someone has put it this way. In American hotels there is a boy called the “bell-hop.” The hotel guest rings the bell and the bell-hop appears; he will fetch anything the guest wishes on demand. Some people regard God as a kind of uersal bell-hop, only to be summoned when something is needed.
If we examine ourselves, we are all, to some extent, guilty of these things. It would rejoice the heart of Jesus if more often we came to him to offer our love, our service, our devotion, and less often to demand from him the help we need.[1]
- 53. The boat did not land at Bethsaida but at Gennesaret (cf. v. 45).
54–55. The description in these verses is quite similar to v. 33. Jesus was a public person known especially for his power to heal. Wherever he was recognized, crowds flocked to him and brought the sick to be healed.
The disciples immediately found themselves back in the thick of the battle. They had no rest. They had spent the entire night rowing and had missed their destination. And if that wasn’t discouraging, the crowd had once again followed Jesus and the disciples along the shore. As dawn broke and the boat anchored, the weary disciples emerged from the boat, already surrounded by the crowd. Their first thought must have been, Oh, no! Not again! Surely, their original hope must have been to dock the boat and to recover from their strenuous physical labor and their emotionally draining experience.
Nevertheless, upon Jesus’ arrival, people ran throughout the area looking for the sick so that He could heal them. Wherever He traveled, people caring for their ill relatives and friends sought Jesus for His healing touch.
Again and again, Mark emphasizes Jesus’ amazing activity and productivity. If He was not the Son of God but merely human, the schedule could have killed Him. He taught the crowds publicly and His disciples privately. He actively healed those brought to Him. He fed a crowd of more than five thousand people. He spent the night in conversation with His Father. In the early hours before dawn, He saw the disciples’ struggle as they tried to row their boat against a contrary wind, and He again calmed the seas. Jesus had already gone for days on end with little or no sleep, and now He and His small band of men were immediately confronted with the demands of the seeking crowd.[2]
6:56 And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed. Jesus had gained widespread reputation as a healer; so the people came in droves for healing. Their attitude was different than those in 6:6 whose lack of faith kept Jesus’ work to a minimum. In a day when medicines and medical help were few and limited, sickness was rampant and constant. As Jesus walked through Galilee, people laid the sick in marketplaces. Perhaps the story had spread of the woman in Capernaum who had been healed by touching Jesus’ cloak. For now the people begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak. Jewish men wore tassels on the hem of their robes, according to God’s command (Deuteronomy 22:12). By Jesus’ day, these tassels were seen as signs of holiness (Matthew 23:5). It was natural that people seeking healing should reach out and touch these. No one missed out on Jesus’ loving compassion, even if they could only touch the fringe of his cloak. Mark records that all who touched it were healed. But as the woman in Capernaum learned, healing came from faith in Jesus’ ability to heal, not from Jesus’ garment (Matthew 9:20–22).
- 56. On Jesus’ healing those who touched him see 3:10 and 5:25–34. These healings may be compared with those of Peter in Acts 5:15 (“people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by”) and Paul in Acts 19:11–12 (“God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them”).[3]
Notes/Applications
How dramatic the scene in which Jesus walked on water toward the disciples. We have seen artistic renderings of this historic event in children’s Bible storybooks, and we read in Matthew’s gospel about Peter’s bold request: “Lord, if it is you, order me to come to you on the water” (Matthew 14:28). What we cannot imagine is the fear piercing these men’s hearts as they saw what appeared to be a ghost approaching them, since no human being could walk on water.
We suppose that we would act differently if thrust into a similar situation, but most likely, we, too, would prove to be just as human as Jesus’ chosen Twelve if He were to appear before us today.
Our world is a frightening place, but the Bible tells us: “3bDon’t lose your courage! Don’t be afraid or alarmed or tremble because of your enemies. 4The Lord your God is going with you. He will fight for you against your enemies and give you victory” (Deuteronomy 2:3–4). We live in a world pockmarked by evil—child abductions, acts of terrorism, random shootings, road rage, and other senseless acts of violence. We long for the assurance the disciples experienced when their hearts trembled. Jesus’ reply to the disciples is the same one He gives us when we are assailed by fears and doubts: “Calm down! It’s me. Don’t be afraid!
Jesus’ Journeys: Chapter Six
- Jesus preached in Nazareth.
- Jesus sent out the Twelve from Capernaum.
- Jesus fed a crowd of more than five thousand near Bethsaida.
- Jesus and His disciples anchored near Gennesaret where Jesus continued preaching and healing throughout Galilee.[4]
[1] William Barclay, ed., The Gospel of Mark, The Daily Study Bible Series (Philadelphia, PA: The Westminster John Knox Press, 1976), 162–163.
[2] Practical Christianity Foundation, Mark: Jesus Christ, Love in Action, The Easy-To-Read Commentary Series (Green Key Books, 2004), 171.
[3] Allen Black, Mark, The College Press Commentary (Joplin, MO: College Press, 1995), Mk 6:1–8:30.
[4] Practical Christianity Foundation, Mark: Jesus Christ, Love in Action, The Easy-To-Read Commentary Series (Green Key Books, 2004), 172–173.
