10: Rejection and Misunderstanding (Mark 6:1 – 29)

Despite the manifestation of Jesus' power over death, His townspeople rejected Him, and some thought Him a resurrected John the Baptist.

👉 Read Mark 6:1- 29

Q1. Why did they reject Jesus? (3 – 4)

ANS. They had seen Jesus since He was little. Thus, they refused to accept Jesus’ claim to be the Messiah, which is more than they had known Him through their experience.

Humane familiarity often blocks spiritual eyes. They did not deny Jesus’ power, for they had seen it. But, they didn’t accept Jesus’ gospel, which they could not confirm through experience.

“He was not able to do a miracle there.” The opposite example was the woman of hemorrhage. Jesus said to her, ‘Your faith has made you well’ (5:34). Those statements allude to the fact that the coming of a miracle depends on our faith. 

Why can Jesus not perform miracles if we don’t have faith? Is Jesus’ power limited by our faith? Of course not! However, it is the Father’s will that salvation should come through faith. Know that Jesus didn’t do anything without God’s will. That’s why Jesus didn’t do any miracles when they didn’t believe.

Q2. “If a place will not welcome you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake the (           ) off your feet as a (              ) against them.” So they went out and preached that all should (             ).

ANS: dust, testimony, repent

Shaking the dust off is a symbolic action of rejecting any relationship. They proclaimed the message of repentance, the same as John the Baptist's.

Disciples’ healing was to confirm their message. 

Q3. Why did people think Jesus was John the Baptist, Elijah, or a prophet of the old days? 

ANS. They saw miraculous power. 

People might have initially thought Jesus was a rabbi with extraordinary power. However, succeeding miracles made them question Jesus’ identity, for what he was doing was more than a prophet or a rabbi.

In those days, people thought anyone from the dead would have such miraculous power. Because Jesus performed such miracles, not ordinary ones, they thought Jesus must be one of those figures. John the Baptist was a prophet who died recently. Elijah had raised the dead and was taken up to the sky alive.

Q4. Herod knew that John was a (            ) and holy man. When Herod heard him, he was thoroughly (              ), and yet he (         ) to listen to him.... It was Herod’s birthday party. After her dancing, the (       ) said to her, ‘Whatever you want, and I will give you, upto half (                ).’ As she said, she wanted the head of John, though the king didn’t want to. He let John be beheaded because of his oath and his (           ).

ANS. Righteous, baffled, liked, king, my kingdom, guests

Herod knew John’s message was truthful. But he hesitated to repent. He kept him in prison, meanwhile protecting him from Herodias. He was baffled at his message but liked to listen to him. 

Do you like Jesus’ message but hesitate to resolve to follow Jesus? Your lingering stance could not last long. A particular situation will come when you should decide whether to follow or deny Jesus. 

On Herod’s birthday, Herod’s pride and vanity forced him to do what he didn’t want. He wanted to protect John, but he beheaded him for his reputation. Note the Bible uses the word ‘king’ instead of Herod in verses 22 – 27. 

Herod didn’t repent but beheaded John. Thus, he failed to recognize Jesus, whom John had testified.

Jesus and His gospel were rejected by His acquaintances. If you approach God based on your experiences, your understanding will be limited, and you might reject His words. 

Herod was not totally blind spiritually. He had a mind to discern God’s words. But hesitated to repent. Do you linger around the borderline between the cross and the world? Resolve today. Otherwise, someday, your obsession with the world will force you to reject Jesus.