Глава 6

1–6. Non-recognition of Christ by His fellow citizens - the residents of Nazareth. – 7–13. The letter of the apostles to preach. – 14–16. Judgment of the people and Herod Antipas about Christ. – 17–29. The killing of John the Baptist by Herod. – 30–33. The return of the apostles from the journey. – 34–44. Feeding five thousand people in a desert place. – 45–52. Christ's taming of the storm at sea. – 53–56. Miracles of Christ in the land of Gennesaret. Mark 6:1. He left from there and came to His fatherland; His disciples followed Him. Until verse 7, the Evangelist Mark tells the story of Christ’s stay in Nazareth after He performed the miracle of resurrecting Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5:43). From the narrative of the Evangelist Matthew it is clear that this visit took place after Christ finished His teaching in parables, which He offered to the people by the sea (Matthew 13:53–58). According to the Evangelist Luke, this event apparently falls at the beginning of Christ’s appearance as a Teacher in Galilee (Luke 4:16–30). But nevertheless, the Evangelist Matthew attributes this event to the same period of Christ’s activity to which Mark, as can be concluded from the following stories contained in the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 14; Mark 6:14 et seq.). As for the Evangelist Luke, he obviously does not adhere to a strictly chronological order, placing the story of Christ’s visit to Nazareth at the beginning of His activity in Galilee: he himself has hints about this (see comments on Luke 4:16). Therefore, there is no need (as Knabenbauer suggests, for example) to allow Christ to preach twice in Nazareth. “He came to his own country” (cf. Mark 1:9, 24). This does not deny the birth of Christ in Bethlehem, but only indicates that the place of residence of Christ’s closest ancestors according to the flesh was Nazareth (“fatherland” - the city where the fathers and ancestors lived). One evangelist Mark notes that His disciples were also with Christ on this journey: Christ went to Nazareth not to see His relatives, but to preach, at which His disciples were supposed to be present. Evangelist Mark generally pays great attention to how Christ’s disciples were prepared by Him for future activities... Mark 6:2. When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and many who heard said in amazement: Where did He get this from? What kind of wisdom was given to Him, and how are such miracles performed by His hands? Christ appeared as a Teacher in Nazareth only on Saturday, before His fellow citizens, obviously, did not express a desire to listen to Him. Even having heard His teaching and become aware of His miracles, Christ’s fellow citizens, according to the remark of the Evangelist Mark, recognize in Him only an instrument of some higher power: “Someone gave him Wisdom,” and only miracles are done “by His hands,” i.e. through Him, and not by Himself (cf. Matt. 13:54). Mark 6:3. Isn't He the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, Josiah, Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here, between us? And they were offended because of Him. Evangelist Mark reports that fellow citizens called Christ “the carpenter,” and not “the son of the carpenter,” as in the Gospel of Matthew. But there is no contradiction here, because it was the custom among the Jews for a father to teach his son his skill, so Christ, of course, was trained in carpentry. True, Origen says that “nowhere in the Gospels accepted by the Church is Christ called a carpenter” (“Against Celsus,” VI, 36), but other ancient church writers know this tradition as reported in the Gospel. Origen probably had at hand a copy of the Gospel of Mark, already corrected from the Gospel of Matthew. "Brother of James" ... (see Matt. 1:25). Mark 6:4. Jesus said to them: A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and among his relatives and in his own house. It may seem strange that Christ spoke about His rejection in Nazareth. Did not the inhabitants of the country of Gergesin also reject Him recently (Mark 5:17)? But there Christ appeared as a stranger, completely unknown, and here, in Nazareth, He was already preceded by rumors about His miracles. Therefore, His rejection by the Nazarenes was a more offensive fact for Him than His rejection by the Gergesians. Mark 6:5. And he could not perform any miracle there, only laying his hands on a few sick people and healing them. Of course, Christ did not lose the power to work miracles, but this power, as shown by the healing of the bleeding woman (Mark 5:34), manifested itself only where it met faith from a person (St. Gregory the Theologian, Blessed Theophylact). However, here too Christ healed several sick people, who obviously believed in Him, but these miracles were not particularly amazing. Mark 6:6. And he marveled at their unbelief; then he walked around the surrounding villages and taught. “And he marveled” ... Blessed Augustine does not want to admit that Christ really felt surprise; this, in his opinion, is not in accordance with His omniscience (On the Being of Archpriest Man. I, 8, 14), but Thomas Aquinas resolves this bewilderment by pointing out that there were numerous cases when Christ learned about something from the messages of others. So in the present case, Christ could have been informed about the unbelief that the Nazarenes showed towards Him in private conversations at home, and on this occasion Christ expressed His surprise. “Then he walked through the surrounding villages” ... Rejected by His fellow citizens, Christ continues to preach in a circle (κύκλῳ) of villages or towns, to which Nazareth belonged, or - this expression can be understood this way - He makes a circular tour of these towns, returning to the seaside shore. During this journey, He sends apostles to preach. Mark 6:7. And having called twelve, he began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits. Until the 14th verse we are talking about the sending of the apostles to preach (cf. Matt. 9:35–10: 1, 5 et seq.; Matt. 11:1; Luke 9:1–6). The Evangelist Mark, in comparison with Matthew, reports only a few of the instructions given by Christ to the apostles. "Started sending". Some interpreters (for example, Lagrange) consider the expression “beginnings” to be mere Aramaism, which here, as elsewhere (verse 2), has no real meaning. But from the point of view of the Evangelist Mark, who repeatedly made it clear that the Lord was gradually preparing the apostles for their ministry, this expression should have had a real meaning. The evangelist wanted to say by this that the Lord recognized His disciples as already sufficiently prepared to act as independent preachers in Galilee. They are now Christ’s helpers in this work of preaching. The Lord wants them to now walk around Galilee themselves, to be convinced by their own experience of the difficulty of the matter and gradually to find out for themselves what they still lack. However, they received the right to preach only the need for repentance (verse 12). "Two at a time." The apostles, therefore, had to go in six different directions. The journey of the apostles in twos was useful in that they were in each place completely reliable witnesses from the point of view of Jewish law (Deut. 19:15). They could help each other in case of illness or any misfortune. Evangelist Mark does not mention the prohibition against preaching to pagans (cf. Matt. 10:5), since he wrote his Gospel specifically for pagan Christians and did not want to darken their Christian joy by reminding them of this prohibition, which was later abolished by Christ Himself (Matthew 28:19). Mark 6:8. And he commanded them not to take anything for the journey except one staff: no bag, no bread, no copper in their belts, Mark 6:9. but to put on simple shoes and not wear two clothes. According to the Gospel of Mark, the Lord allows the apostles to take a “staff” with them, but according to the Gospel of Matthew, He forbids it (Matthew 10:10, also according to the Gospel of Luke). How can these evangelical messages be reconciled? Christ generally inspired the apostles with confidence in the Providence of God, and tradition could preserve this instruction under two forms: the form in which it is given in Mark and which excludes any supplies for the journey, but allows the “staff” simply as a support when climbing mountain paths, and the form that we find in Matthew and Luke, where the “staff” is understood as a weapon of defense against attacks to which the apostles could be subjected during their journey: a staff as a weapon would not testify to their trust in Providence... Likewise, if the Evangelist Matthew says that the Lord forbade the apostles to take shoes on the road, then he does not contradict Mark, who reports that Christ commanded the apostles to put on simple shoes. Matthew obviously refers to “spare” sandals, but there is no mention of them in Mark, who, like Matthew, refers to only the one pair of sandals that the apostles wore on their feet. Mark 6:10. And he said to them: If you enter a house anywhere, stay in it until you leave that place. Mark 6:11. And if anyone will not receive you and will not listen to you, then when you leave there, shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them. Truly I say to you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that city. Mark 6:12. They went and preached repentance; The apostles so far preached only repentance as a condition for entering the Kingdom of God, and did not yet proclaim the Kingdom of God itself. Mark 6:13. They cast out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them. The casting out of demons is presented by the Evangelist Mark as the first work of the apostles (Mark 1:34) and differs from the healing of the sick. Anointing with oil, both in ancient times and still in the East, has a medicinal value (something like an antiseptic measure). But the apostles, as can be seen from the context of the speech in this section, used oil rather as a symbol of the healing action that they wanted to perform on one or another sick person. Christ Himself performed a similar action on the blind man, anointing his eyes with mud (John 9:6). By using the oil, the apostles, so to speak, encouraged the sick to believe that they could help them, and then performed healings - of course, when it was the will of Providence. This custom subsequently existed in the Church (James 5:14), and this is where the use of oil during the Sacrament of Anointing and Anointing comes from. Mark 6:14. King Herod, having heard about Jesus - for His name had become known - said: It is John the Baptist who has risen from the dead, and therefore miracles are done by him. Evangelist Mark calls Herod “king” according to popular usage. Herod was only a tetrarch. “His name has become known.” It is very likely that Herod heard about Jesus from John the Baptist, or perhaps he heard rumors about Christ when the apostles went to preach. Mark 6:15. Others said: This is Elijah. And others said: this is a prophet, or like one of the prophets. (See Matthew 11:14, 16:14, 17:10). Mark 6:16. When Herod heard it, he said, “This is John, whom I beheaded; he rose from the dead. Mark 6:17. For this Herod sent and took John and put him in prison for Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her. Mark 6:18. For John said to Herod: You must not have your brother’s wife. Mark 6:19. Herodias, angry at him, wanted to kill him; but she couldn't. Mark 6:20. For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and took care of him; I did a lot by obeying him, and listened to him with pleasure. The story of the death of John the Baptist, which begins in this verse, is generally similar to what was said by the Evangelist Matthew (Matthew 14:3-12). But still, there are some peculiarities in the Gospel of Mark. Thus, in verse 19 he mentions the malice that Herodias had towards John, and in verse 20 he reports that Herod himself respected John for his righteousness and even consulted with him. This last message is an addition to what was said by the evangelist Matthew, who mentions only Herod’s desire to get rid of John, who denounced him and was restrained only by fear of the people (Matthew 14:5). From here we can conclude about the duality that Herod showed in relation to John: he either wanted to kill him under the influence of irritation, or, having calmed down, listened to his advice, unless they concerned his attitude towards Herodias. Mark 6:21. An opportune day came when Herod, on the occasion of his birthday, gave a feast to his nobles, the captains of thousands and the elders of Galilee - Commanders of a Thousand - military commanders in the army of Herod. Elders (οἱ πρῶτοι) are noble people. Mark 6:22. the daughter of Herodias came in, danced and pleased Herod and those who were reclining with him. The king said to the girl: ask me what you want, and I will give it to you. Mark 6:23. And he swore to her: whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you, even up to half of my kingdom. Mark 6:24. She went out and asked her mother: what to ask? She answered: the heads of John the Baptist. Mark 6:25. And she immediately went with haste to the king and asked, saying: I want you to give me now the head of John the Baptist on a platter. Mark 6:26. The king was saddened, but for the sake of the oath and those reclining with him, he did not want to refuse her. Mark 6:27. And immediately, sending a squire, the king ordered his head to be brought. Mark 6:28. He went and cut off his head in prison, and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the maiden, and the maiden gave it to her mother. Mark 6:29. When his disciples heard it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb. Armiger (verse 27, spekulator is a Latin word). This was the name of the royal bodyguards who surrounded the king on his exits and during feasts (cf. Suetonius “The Life of the Twelve Caesars”: Claudius, XXXV). They also carried out the royal orders regarding the execution of persons condemned by the king himself. Mark 6:30. And the Apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him everything, both what they had done and what they had taught. Mark 6:31. He said to them: go alone to a deserted place and rest a little. For there were many coming and going, so that they had no time to eat. Mark 6:32. And they went to a deserted place in a boat alone. Mark 6:33. The people saw them depart, and many recognized them. And they ran there on foot from all the cities, and warned them, and gathered to Him. Upon the return of the apostles from their journey, Christ invites them to rest alone in a deserted place; here, in Capernaum, the people did not give them the opportunity for such rest. The apostles, together with Christ (verse 33; Luke 9:10) set off on a boat, not accompanied by other boats with people, but soon the people found out where they had gone and followed them to this deserted place. Mark 6:34. Jesus went out and saw a multitude of people and had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and began to teach them a lot. Mark 6:35. And as much time had passed, His disciples, approaching Him, said: “This is a deserted place, and there is already a lot of time,” Mark 6:36. let them go so that they can go to the surrounding villages and villages and buy themselves bread, for they have nothing to eat. Mark 6:37. He answered and said to them, “Give them something to eat.” And they said to Him: Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat? Mark 6:38. But He asked them: How many loaves do you have? go and have a look. When they found out, they said: five loaves and two fish. Mark 6:39. Then he ordered them to seat everyone in sections on the green grass. Mark 6:40. And they sat down in rows, hundreds and fifty. Mark 6:41. He took the five loaves and two fish, looking up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to distribute to them; and he divided the two fish among everyone. Mark 6:42. And they all ate and were filled. Mark 6:43. And they collected twelve full baskets of pieces of bread and the remains of fish. Mark 6:44. There were about five thousand men who ate the loaves. For the miracle of feeding five thousand with five loaves, see Matthew 14:14–21. Evangelist Mark adds that Christ, having compassion on the people who were like sheep without shepherds (cf. Matt. 9:36), taught the people here a lot (verse 34). He also determines the amount that the apostles considered possible to spend on buying bread for the people (200 denarii - about 40 rubles, which corresponds to the cost of 800 g of silver), and notes that Christ ordered the people to be “seated on green grass” - it was spring time, before Easter (cf. John 6:2) - “in sections” (verse 39). Mark 6:45. And immediately He compelled His disciples to get into the boat and go forward to the other side to Bethsaida, while He sent the people away. Mark 6:46. And, having dismissed them, he went up the mountain to pray. Mark 6:47. In the evening the boat was in the middle of the sea, and He was alone on earth. Mark 6:48. And I saw them in distress on the voyage, because the wind was against them; About the fourth watch of the night he approached them, walking on the sea, and wanted to pass them. Mark 6:49. When they saw Him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out. Mark 6:50. For everyone saw Him and were afraid. And immediately he spoke to them and said to them, “Be of good cheer; It's me, don't be afraid. Mark 6:51. And he entered the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were exceedingly amazed at themselves and marveled, Mark 6:52. for they did not understand the miracle of the loaves, because their hearts were hardened. For the miracle of calming the storm, see Matthew 14:22–33. Evangelist Mark notes that the Lord forced his disciples to sail ahead of Him towards Bethsaida (verse 45). Some suggest that there were two cities with that name: Bethsaida Yulia on the eastern side of the sea, where the feeding of the five thousand took place, and western Bethsaida, the hometown of the apostles Andrew and Peter (Bishop Michael). But we cannot agree with such an assumption. Archaeological research has not discovered any other Bethsaida other than the one that was located on the northeastern side of the Sea of ​​Tiberias (Mark 8:22). It is therefore better to accept the translation (Wolenberg): “forced: to sail forward to the other side - to the place that overlooks Bethsaida,” i.e. “lies on the opposite side of Bethsaida,” near which the disciples were currently with Christ. Thus, the disciples set off in a boat, and the Lord, apparently, intended to walk along the seashore, wading through the Jordan, which separated Him from the place where He sent His disciples. “They did not understand the miracle of the loaves, because their hearts were hardened” (verse 52). This statement of the evangelist appears to be in direct contradiction with the fact that they had previously acted as preachers on behalf of Christ (verse 30), and especially with the testimony of the evangelist John that the disciples believed in Christ even at their very calling (John 1:41, 49, 2:11). But one must distinguish between the recognition of Christ as the Messiah and the ability to be guided by this recognition or conviction everywhere and in all dangers. We constantly observe that Christians, who in ordinary times and under ordinary circumstances recognize the power of Christ, waver in their faith and hope in Him at great danger. So the apostles, under the influence of fear, forgot about all the previous manifestations of the saving power of Christ and, like ordinary people, could not overcome their surprise at the new miracle of Christ, whose very entry into their boat caused the wind to subside. Mark 6:53. And having crossed over, they arrived in the land of Gennesaret and landed on the shore. Mark 6:54. When they got out of the boat, immediately the inhabitants, recognizing Him, Mark 6:55. They ran around the entire area and began to bring the sick on their beds to where He was heard to be. Mark 6:56. And wherever He came, whether in villages, in cities, or in villages, they laid the sick in open places and asked Him to touch even the hem of His garment; and those who touched Him were healed. For the miracles performed by Christ in the land of Gennesaret, see Matthew 14:34–36. You might be interested in: