I’ve just published the next part of the Learn to read the Bible series on Mark’s Gospel. This week we are looking at Mark 6:1-6, where Jesus goes back to his home town.
For those who are coming to this new, the idea behind this series is not for me to simply explain everything to you, but rather to give you things to think about yourself. This is about training you to read the Bible for yourself, rather than just giving you all the answers!
See this page if you’d like a few pointers for how to use these videos. Don’t forget to pray!
You can read the passage online here (although I’d suggest it’s better in a physical Bible). You may also want to have a pen and paper handy to jot down notes and things you want to look into more.
Key Points from Mark 6:1-6
- In verse 1, we are told that Jesus is back in his home town. This comes up again in the passage, so we should pay attention to it.
- Jesus goes to teach in the synagogue on the Sabbath, and the people are amazed. But unlike the time we’ve seen this before (Mark 1:22), the people don’t accept Jesus because they know him and his family.
- It’s still the same today: people find it difficult to relate when someone changes. This is especially true when someone becomes a Christian. Can you think of any examples in your own life, or people you know of?
- It also says something important about how we relate to Jesus. We need to see him as more than just a human being, and see him as the Son of God.
- Why do you think Jesus couldn’t do many miracles, because of the people’s lack of faith? Was it because Jesus didn’t have the power? Or is it because the people didn’t believe in Jesus – and so his miracles couldn’t demonstrate who he really was? (Does that say something about Jesus’ miracles?)
- The question is – do we see Jesus rightly, as the Son of God? Is there something preventing us from seeing who he is? – Maybe pray for ourselves and our friends and family, to come to see who Jesus really is.
Take a few moments to re-read the passage, think, and pray.
Looking for more?
You can see the rest of the videos in this series on the this page. If you’d like a more focussed series teaching the Christian faith, check out the teaching programme.
You might also want to see the previous episode in the series on Mark 5:21-43.