Mark 6:31,32

Mark 6:31,32 And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. And they departed into a desert place by ship privately. Even Jesus got tired! He was God in the flesh, but He was in the flesh. So Jesus and His disciples all departed to a desert place to rest and rest and relax. But I am sure that while they were there, they had many discussions. John said in John 21:25 that if all of the words were written that Jesus said, all of the books in the world could not contain them. What a privilege it was for the disciples to listen to the words of Jesus! And what a privilege it is for us to read the Words of Jesus! So what Jesus and the disciples did was good advice for us to do: Take time off. Take a break  and listen to Jesus.

Mark 6:18-28

Mark 6:18-28 For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife. Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not: For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly. And ... Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee; And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist. And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother. It seems like the life of John the Baptist was cut short. But actually John did the work that God had for him to do, and then he went home to be with the God Whom he served. John was the bold preacher who told everyone to repent and to prepare for the coming Messiah. And when the Messiah was come, John's ministry was finished. Oh, he continued to preach and attracted disciples who followed him, but Jesus quickly became the focus of everyone. And that was the way that God planned it to be. And John was OK with that. He said in John 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease. We all have our time here on earth, but the focus should be on Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Jesus was first in John's life. Is Jesus first in your life?

Mark 6:1-5

Mark 6:1-5 And he went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his disciples follow him. And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. Jesus did many, many mighty works – but not in Nazareth. Not in His hometown. It seems that everyone remembered Him as little boy Jesus, or teenager Jesus. Some of the old women probably remembered changing His diapers when he was little. They probably pinched His cheeks. But Jesus got no respect in Nazareth. They saw Him as the son of the carpenter, not as the Son of God. Too bad ... for them! Jesus could do many wonderful things, but He was hampered by their lack of faith. And I hope that’s not true of us. I hope that by our lack of faith doesn’t hamper what Jesus could do. I hope we have more faith than the friends and family of Jesus!

Mark 5:35,36,38-42

Mark 5:35,36,38-42 While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue's house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further? As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe. And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly. And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying. And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment. It was too late to help Jairus’ daughter. Or so it was, everyone thought. But not Jesus. He knew that he could help, even if the little girl was dead! And when Jesus and Jairus got to the ruler’s house, the funeral wailing had already started. The little girl was dead and everyone was sobbing and wringing their hands. But Jesus said, “What is all of this crying and carrying on about? The girl isn’t dead; she’s only sleeping!” And they laughed Jesus to scorn! One minute the people were crying for the little girl and the next minute they were mocking and laughing at Jesus! They were crazy! But when Jesus had put them out, He spoke to the little girl just like she was alive. And suddenly, she was! He spoke kindly to her, as if He were awaking her from sleeping. She opened her eyes, looked up at Jesus’ kind eyes, and sat up in bed. I just know Jairus and his wife rushed over and smothered her with kisses and hugs. That’s what parents do when their little daughter, who was dead, sits up alive! And when Jesus and Jairus and his wife AND the little girl walked out of the bedroom, you could have heard a pin drop it was so quiet! Everyone was astonished. There was no mourning; no crying; not even mocking or laughing at Jesus. Nothing but total silence. No one could believe their eyes! They knew that the little girl was dead. They saw her take her last breath and then grow cold. But here she was! She was walking around! She was alive! And all because of Jesus! He was a great miracle-worker! He was a great prophet! And was it true? Were the rumors true? Could He be the promised Messiah? Well today they believed! Their eyes and the little girl told them that Jesus Christ had the power over death! He truly was the Son of God!

Mark 5:25-27,29-34

Mark 5:25-27,29-34 And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes? And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing. But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague. Jesus and Jairus were in a hurry. But on the way, Jesus had to stop and take care of a matter. Jesus knew that something had happened, and He just had to find out what it was. The disciples could believe that Jesus was asking, “Who touched me?” There were people crowding all around! Any one of a dozen people had touched Jesus in the last minute alone! But Jesus just knew that goodness had gone out of Him and He wanted to investigate. Jesus didn’t listen to the disciples protests, nor did he worry about Jairus in a hurry. Jesus stopped and looked around and said a second time, “Who touched me?” And the little lady who was healed came forward to face Jesus. She was afraid, but still told Jesus what had happened. And Jesus just smiled and said, “Go in peace. Your faith has made you whole.” And she did.