The Gospel According To MarkSample

Jesus’ Continuing Ministry in the Region of Galilee: Mark 4:35-6:13

Mark’s account of Jesus’ parables is followed by several displays of power in Mark 4:35–5:43. Here, Mark reported that Jesus controlled the weather, cast out demons, healed disease, and raised the dead. In each of these stories, the people were terrified in the face of danger. But after Jesus miraculously rescued them, their terror actually increased, because they didn’t understand who this man of power really was.

Following these displays of power, Mark wrote about the opposition Jesus faced in his hometown of Nazareth in Mark 6:1-6. This narrative reemphasizes that many people strongly opposed Jesus at this stage in his ministry. Even as his gospel spread with power, and the crowds following him increased, the people of his own hometown rejected him and his gospel. 

Finally, the account of Jesus’ ministry in the region of Galilee concludes with the sending of the twelve disciples in Mark 6:7-13. Jesus sent his 12 disciples to preach the gospel of the kingdom and to perform miracles throughout the land of Palestine. But Jesus also made it clear that as the disciples spread the gospel of repentance and faith, people would respond to them in the same way they had responded to him. Some people would accept them, but others would reject them. Jesus consistently taught that the kingdom of God continues to grow despite its opposition.