53 When they had crossed the lake, they came to shore at Gennesaret and tied the boat there. 54 When they got out of the boat, people immediately recognized Jesus. 55 They ran everywhere in that area and began to bring sick people on mats wherever they heard he was. 56 And everywhere he went—into towns, cities, or countryside—the people brought the sick to the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch just the edge of his coat, and all who touched it were healed. ~ Mark 6:53-56
Today, we come to our conclusion of our study of Mark 6. In this chapter we have seen the Lord Jesus heal the sick, feed the multitudes, teach the people, and, rescue the disciples from a storm.
In v.53 of today's passage we read, "When they had crossed the lake, they came to shore at Gennesaret and tied the boat there."
The Lord Jesus and His disciples came ashore at Gennesaret, which is not that far from where they started that day at Bethsaida. Gennesaret, located on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, was a fertile, flattened farming area. The area was analogous of the people there, full of faith. There, we are given today another contrast. It is a contrast between faith in the people who lived there and the fear that was in the disciples.
In v.54-55 of today's passage we read, "54 When they got out of the boat, people immediately recognized Jesus. 55 They ran everywhere in that area and began to bring sick people on mats wherever they heard he was."
The people of Gennesaret immediately recognized the Lord Jesus when He arrived, and they were quick to show their faith by bringing the sick to the Lord Jesus for Him to heal them.
In contrast, the disciples struggled during the storm, even though they cast out demons and healed the sick, they couldn't feed the people. I find it comforting that Jesus never gave up on His disciples. I find it comforting that He never gives up on me, for often I find their lack of faith to be my story.
When the Lord Jesus doesn’t work in our lives the way we want, we must remember He’s doing something more than we can see with our eyes. He is always working to reveal Himself to us more than anything else. This is what this life is really all about: Learning to believe more in Him and thus be defined by Him.
In the middle of the night, in the middle of the sea, in the middle of the storm, when the winds of the world are pushing against us, we must be vigilant to look for Him to give us a glimpse of Himself. When we come to His word, we must be bent on seeing Him with our hearts.
God's word is like a pane of glass designed to enable us to look through and see Him. When we see Him and touch Him with our hearts, we will be healed of our myopic approach to life that so often causes us to live distant from Him.
In v.56 of today's passage we read, "And everywhere he went—into towns, cities, or countryside—the people brought the sick to the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch just the edge of his coat, and all who touched it were healed."
Judaism held that men should wear on their robes four tassels or corners. They called it the hem of the garment, literally the tassels of the robe. And so, from this and other Scriptures we know the Lord Jesus, like any male adult Jew, would have worn that kind of a robe with those kind of tassels that marked Him as someone under the covenant.
Again, we read at the end of v.56, "They begged him to let them touch just the edge of his coat, and all who touched it were healed."
The story of the woman with the flow of blood for twelve years must have reached the people there in Gennesaret because the people there followed the example of that woman who had spent all her money in order to find healing. Of course, that didn't happen until she met the Lord Jesus. Here, in today's passage, "all who touched it were healed."
I often wonder about those who have experienced His grace in this way. I wonder, did the physical healing lead them to spiritual healing? Did the physical meals lead them to recognize the Lord Jesus as the bread of life? This was and is the point to the miracles of the Lord Jesus. His ultimate goal in our lives is that we enter into a personal relationship with Him where, on a daily basis, we are learning to look for Him with our hearts. And, when we see His heart for us, we grow in our adoration of Him. We also grow in our trust in Him, even though He might cause or allow difficult moments to come into our lives.
