Mark 6:7-13

Rachel Workman: Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. ⁷ Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits.

⁸ These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. ⁹ Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. ¹⁰ Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. ¹¹ And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” I love how simple Christ puts this. If they will listen then preach. If they don't then leave and shake the dust off your feet. Not once did Christ say to hate on anyone.

¹² They went out and preached that people should repent. ¹³ They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

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John Burnett:  ⁷ Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits.  Jesus gave the disciples power over demons.  I don’t believe He does this today because His word doesn’t give that authority to anyone today.  If someone is claiming to have power of demons, it is because they are working with the demons.  Not sure who is the trainer or who is the dog.

⁸ These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. ⁹ Wear sandals but not an extra shirt.¹⁰ Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. ¹¹ And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”

¹² They went out and preached that people should repent. ¹³ They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.  Here is another reference of repentance needing to take place in conjunction with believing in Jesus Christ.

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Tomorrow's reading for Mark 6:14-29

¹⁴ King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying,^[b] “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
¹⁵ Others said, “He is Elijah.”
And still others claimed, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago.”
¹⁶ But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!”
¹⁷ For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married. ¹⁸ For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” ¹⁹ So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, ²⁰ because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled^[c]; yet he liked to listen to him.
²¹ Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. ²² When the daughter of^[d] Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests.
The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” ²³ And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”
²⁴ She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?”
“The head of John the Baptist,” she answered.
²⁵ At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
²⁶ The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. ²⁷ So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, ²⁸ and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. ²⁹ On hearing of this, John’s disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

Mark 6:1-6

Rachel Workman: 6 Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. ² When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.
“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? ³ Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph,^[a] Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. It's easy so sit here on this side of the resurrection and judge people for this reaction. But honestly put yourself in their shoes. Although they did have prophecy on their side all they could see was Jesus the boy they've watched grow up who was Mary and Joseph's son. They would see nothing extraordinary about him. He was common born to a common family.
⁴ Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” ⁵ He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. ⁶ He was amazed at their lack of faith. He couldn't do any miracles there because they people lacked faith. Sounds a lot like me at times.

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John Burnett:  6 Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples.² When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.

“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing?³ Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph,^[a] Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.  The people in His hometown knew Him as a local carpenter so when He goes global as the Son of Man they do not honor Him.

⁴ Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” ⁵ He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. ⁶ He was amazed at their lack of faith.  The power of the gospel is activated by our faith in Jesus Christ and saves us from our sins.  The people of His own town did not have faith in Him thus He did not perform any miracles because faith was required for healing, just as faith is required for healing of our sin condition.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve

Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village.

I am so thankful Rachel for your faithfulness to lead our reading group.  It has been a blessing to me knowing I have coworkers and likeminded friends who enjoy reading and reflecting on God’s word.  

Most importantly, I am thankful that Jesus Christ died on the cross and was resurrected on the third day to pay my consequences for my sins.  This gift of salvation is the greatest gift ever given and with all of the chaos going on around the world, as adopted sons and daughters of God the Father, we have a future and a hope.  It is my hope that you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and remember the most important thing we have to be thankful for, our salvation through Jesus Christ.

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Pat Bell: It is hard to remember that Jesus understood all of the disbelief he had to endure, and yet continues to try to teach us. His scope is so much larger than what we know. 

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Monday's reading for Mark 7-13

Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. ⁷ Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits.
⁸ These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. ⁹ Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. ¹⁰ Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. ¹¹ And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”
¹² They went out and preached that people should repent. ¹³ They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.