When
they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret, and moored to the shore. When they had come out of the boat, immediately the people recognized him, and ran around that whole region, and began to bring those who were sick, on their mats, to where they heard he was. Wherever he entered, into villages, or into cities, or into the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch just the fringe of his garment; and as many as touched him were made well.
Mark 6:53-56
Mark 6 [47.] When evening had come, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and he was alone on the land. Seeing them distressed in rowing, for the wind was contrary to them, about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea, and he would have passed by them, but they, when they saw him walking on the sea, supposed that it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw him, and were troubled. But he immediately spoke with them, and said to them, “Cheer up! It is I! Don’t be afraid.” He got into the boat with them; and the wind ceased, and they were very amazed among themselves, and marveled; for they hadn’t understood about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.
Mark 6 [53.] When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret, and moored to the shore. When they had come out of the boat, immediately the people recognized him, and ran around that whole region, and began to bring those who were sick, on their mats, to where they heard he was. Wherever he entered, into villages, or into cities, or into the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch just the fringe of his garment; and as many as touched him were made well.
Mark 7 [1.] Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered together to him, having come from Jerusalem. Now when they saw some of his disciples eating bread with defiled, that is unwashed, hands, they found fault. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews, don’t eat unless they wash their hands and forearms, holding to the tradition of the elders. They don’t eat when they come from the marketplace unless they bathe themselves, and there are many other things, which they have received to hold to: washings of cups, pitchers, bronze vessels, and couches.) The Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why don’t your disciples walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with unwashed hands?”
Meaning:
Mark 6 ends with a summary of Jesus’ healing ministry. After the night on the lake, when Jesus came to his disciples walking on the sea and calmed the wind (Mark 6:47-50), the boat came to shore at Gennesaret. As soon as Jesus stepped out, he was recognised, and the whole region was set in motion. These verses paint a picture of desperate need meeting overflowing grace: villages, towns and farms bringing their sick to the marketplaces, and everyone who touched even the fringe of his garment being made well.
- Landing at Gennesaret
Jesus had sent the disciples toward Bethsaida (Mark 6:45-46), but after the night’s struggle against the wind they came to land at Gennesaret. Gennesaret was a small, very fertile plain on the north-western shore of the Sea of Galilee, between Capernaum and Magdala. The Jewish historian Josephus praised its rich soil, its walnut, palm, fig and olive trees, and its year-round harvests. The lake itself was sometimes called the lake of Gennesaret after this plain. It was a well-populated farming district, and news of Jesus’ arrival spread fast.
- Ran around that whole region
“Immediately the people recognized him, and ran around that whole region.” Jesus had been in this area before; his fame had spread since the early days in Capernaum, when “All the city was gathered together at the door” (Mark 1:29-34). The people did not wait for Jesus to come to them. They ran, carried their sick on mats (simple sleeping pallets) and followed reports of where he was. Their urgency contrasts sharply with the hardened hearts of the disciples, who “hadn’t understood about the loaves” (Mark 6:51-52).
- Laid in the marketplaces
“Wherever he entered, into villages, or into cities, or into the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces.” The marketplace was the open centre of a town, where everyone passed through. By placing the sick there, people made sure Jesus could not miss them. It was a public display of need and of faith. Jesus did not turn them away. He “was moved with compassion” for crowds who were “like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36), and here that compassion is shown in healing. Mark places this scene just before a dispute with Pharisees from Jerusalem, who would not eat after coming from the marketplace without washing (Mark 7:1-5). They feared being defiled by the marketplace; Jesus brought cleansing and wholeness into the middle of it.
- Touching the fringe of his garment
The sick “begged him that they might touch just the fringe of his garment.” The fringe, or tassel, was the blue-corded fringe that God commanded Israelites to wear on the corners of their garments as a reminder of his commandments (Numbers 15:38-39). Jesus, as a faithful Jew, wore them. The people had probably heard how a woman with a long illness was healed by touching his clothes (Mark 5:27-29), and earlier Mark noted that the sick “pressed on him that they might touch him” (Mark 3:10). Some readers have also connected the fringe with Malachi’s promise that “the sun of righteousness” would arise “with healing in its wings” (Malachi 4:2), since the Hebrew word for wings can also mean the corners of a garment. The power was not in the cloth, but in the Lord who wore it.
The Significance of Mark 6:53-56
- Bring others to Jesus
Many of the sick could not walk; others carried them. Believers today can bring friends, family and neighbours to Jesus in prayer and by introducing them to him.
- Faith reaches out
The people asked only to touch the fringe of his garment, a small act of humble faith. God honours even small faith that reaches out to Jesus. He is still the one “who heals all your diseases” (Psalm 103:3).
- The same Jesus today
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). The compassion that healed in Gennesaret is the same compassion that welcomes all who come to him now.
Cross-References:
Numbers 15:38: "Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them that they should make themselves fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put on the fringe of each border a cord of blue…" The fringe that the sick longed to touch.
Mark 5:27-28: "having heard the things concerning Jesus, came up behind him in the crowd, and touched his clothes. For she said, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be made well.”" An earlier healing through touching Jesus’ clothes.
Malachi 4:2: "But to you who fear my name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in its wings." The promised healing of the coming day of God.
Hebrews 13:8: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." The healer of Gennesaret has not changed.
Conclusion: When the boat landed at Gennesaret, people across the region recognised Jesus and brought their sick on mats to wherever he went, laying them in the marketplaces and begging to touch even the fringe of his garment. All who touched him were made well. The passage closes Mark 6 with a picture of Jesus’ boundless compassion and power, and it invites believers to bring their own needs, and those of others, to the same Lord with simple, reaching faith.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible