Mark 6:52-56 - Healing many

6:52

Mark puts the reason for their amazement down to their not having understood the five loaves and fishes incident. He also says their heart was hardened. So there are a few points to note here. The first is that the implication is that they should not have been amazed or surprised. If they had appreciated who Jesus was then these things would have been “normal”. In one sense, God doing miracles, or things working out in our lives in ways that go beyond normal should be a “normal” part of the Christian life. Of course, we take this in silly ways, in ways that are not supported by Scripture, but the Christian life is meant to be a supernatural life. Then although they had seen the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand, they had not understood it. Seeing, even receiving, a miracle and appreciating a miracle are two very different things. Finally, their hearts were still hardened, even though they had now been with the Son of God for some time.

6:53,54

The region of Gennesaret was a densely populated area. We see that Jesus spent times among the crowds, seeking out the crowds, and also times of solitude, seeking out solitude. Not surprisingly, as soon as the boat had landed many people came out to meet them.

6:55,56

It was Jesus’ healing ministry that attracted most of the people, for they brought all the sick people that they could to Him. There were lot of them and they wanted them to touch even the fringe of His garment, believing they would be healed. And they were indeed healed.