6:1 And 1 he went out from thence, and came into his own
country; and his disciples follow him.
(1) The faithless world by no means diminishes the virtue of
Christ, but knowingly and willingly it deprives itself of
the efficacy of it being offered unto them.
6:2 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 a mighty
works are wrought by his hands?
(a) The word signifies powers or virtues, by which are meant
those wonderful works that Christ did which showed and
set forth the virtue and power of his Godhead to all the
world; (Mt 7:22).
6:3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of
James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his
b sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.
(b) This word is used after the manner of the Hebrews, who
by brethren and sisters understand all relatives.
6:4 But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without c
honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and
in his own house.
(c) Not only has that honour taken from him which is rightly
due to him, but also has evil spoken of him and his
words are misrepresented.
6:5 And he d could there do no mighty work, save that he laid
his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed [them].
(d) That is, he would not: for we need to have faith if we
are going to receive the works of God.
6:72 And he called [unto him] the twelve, and began to send
them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean
spirits;
(2) The disciples are prepared for that general apostleship by
a special sending forth.
6:83 And commanded them that they should take nothing for
[their] journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no
money in [their] purse:
(3) Faithful pastors should not have their minds set even on
things that are necessary for this life, if they might be a
hindrance unto them, even if it is just a small hindrance.
6:9 But [be] shod with e sandals; and not put on f two
coats.
(e) The word properly signifies women's shoes.
(f) That is they should take no change of garments with
them, so that they might be lighter for this journey
and travel more quickly.
6:10 And he said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into
an house, g there abide till ye depart from that place.
(g) That is, do not change your inns in this short journey.
6:114 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when
ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a
testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be
more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of
judgment, than for that city.
(4) The Lord severely avenges evil done to his servants.
6:13 And they cast out many devils, and h anointed with oil
many that were sick, and healed [them].
(h) This oil was a token and a sign of his marvellous
virtue: and seeing that the gift of healing has stopped
a good while since, the ceremony of anointing which is
yet carried on by some is of no purpose.
6:145 And king Herod heard [of him]; (for his name was spread
abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from
the dead, and therefore mighty i works do shew forth
themselves in him.
(5) The gospel confirms the godly and vexes the wicked.
(i) The word signifies powers, by which is meant the power of
working miracles.
6:15 Others said, That it is Elias. And others said, That it is
a prophet, or as one of k the prophets.
(k) Of the old prophets.
6:16 But when Herod heard [thereof], he said, It is John, whom I
l beheaded: he is risen from the dead.
(l) Commanded to be beheaded.
6:19 Therefore Herodias m had a quarrel against him, and would
have killed him; but she could not:
(m) Sought all means to hurt him.
6:20 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 n gladly.
(n) The tyrant was very well content to hear sentence
pronounced against himself, but the seed fell upon
stony places.
6:22 And when the daughter o 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.
(o) This same Herodias had the daughter by Philip, not
by Herod Antipas, and Josephus called the daughter
Salome.
6:24 And p she went forth, and said unto her mother, What
shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist.
(p) For women did not used to eat with men.
6:27 And immediately the king sent an q executioner, and
commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded
him in the prison,
(q) The word signifies one that bears a short lance, and
the king's guard was so called because they bore short
lances.
6:316 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.
(6) Such as follow Christ will lack nothing, not even in the
wilderness, but they will have an abundance. And how
wicked a thing it is not to look during this temporal life
to the hands of the one who gives everlasting life!
6:37 He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And
they say unto him, r Shall we go and buy s two hundred
pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat?
(r) This is a kind of demand and wondering, with a subtle
mockery, which men commonly use when they begin to get
angry and refuse to do something.
(s) Which is about twenty crowns, which is five pounds.
6:39 And he commanded them to make all sit down by t companies
upon the green grass.
(t) Literally, "by banquets", after the manner of the
Hebrews who have no distributive words; see (Mk 6:7).
Now he calls the rows of the sitters, "banquets".
6:40 And they sat down in u ranks, by hundreds, and by
fifties.
(u) The word signifies the beds in a garden, and it is
literally, "by beds and beds", meaning by this that
they sat down in rows one by another, as beds in a
garden.
6:457 And straightway he constrained his disciples to get
into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto
Bethsaida, while he sent away the people.
(7) The faithful servants of God after their little labour are
subject to a great tempest which Christ, being present in
power although absent in body, moderates in such a way
that he brings them to a happy haven, at such time and by
such means as they did not expect: A graphic image of the
Church tossed to and fro in this world.
6:46 And when he had sent x them away, he departed into a
mountain to pray.
(x) His disciples.
6:51 And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind
ceased: and they were y sore amazed in themselves beyond
measure, and wondered.
(y) They were still so amazed when they knew that it was
no spirit, that they were much more astonished than
they ever were before, when they saw the wind and the
sea obey his commandment.
6:52 For they z considered not [the miracle] of the loaves:
for their heart was hardened.
(z) Either they did not perceive, or had not well
considered that miracle of the five loaves, to the
point that the virtue of Christ was just as strange to
them as if they had not been present at that miracle
which was done just a little before.
6:548 And when they were come out of the ship, straightway
they knew him,
(8) Christ being rejected in his own country, and suddenly
arriving to those who had not looked for him, is received
to their great profit.
6:56 And whithersoever he entered, into villages, or cities, or
country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought
him that they might touch if it were but the border of his
garment: and as many as touched a him were made whole.
