NT: Mark 6:5-6 Commentary

First off, let me say that reading the NIV is enjoyable.  My NT teacher at BYU suggested this to us students.  I bought my NIV Bible at the BYU Bookstore.  It has been a tremendous help in studying the OT and NT.

Now I'm using it to read through the Gospels.  I'm first covering Mark, then I'll read Matthew and Luke together and then John.

So tonight, I came accross Mark 6:5-6 and it stunned me a bit.

It reads: "And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.

"And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching."

Jesus could not heal everyone because of the people's lack of faith.  Faith of the healee (if that's a word) is vital.

Dallin H. Oaks said this in his talk  “Healing the Sick,” Ensign, May 2010, 47–50

"Faith is essential for healing by the powers of heaven. The Book of Mormon even teaches that “if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them” ( Ether 12:12). 10 [See also 1 Nephi 7:12; Doctrine and Covenants 35:9] In a notable talk on administering to the sick, President Spencer W. Kimball said: “The need of faith is often underestimated. The ill one and the family often seem to depend wholly on the power of the priesthood and the gift of healing that they hope the administering brethren may have, whereas the greater responsibility is with him who is blessed. … The major element is the faith of the individual when that person is conscious and accountable. ‘Thy faith hath made thee whole’ [ Matthew 9:22] was repeated so often by the Master that it almost became a chorus.” 11 [“President Kimball Speaks Out on Administration to the Sick,” Tambuli, Aug. 1982, 36–37; New Era, Oct. 1981, 47]"

Also, as I was reading tonight about this passage as well as the passage where Jesus heals Jairus' daughter, this thought and question popped into my head: I imagined what it would have been like to hear of a man travelling the countryside healing all the sick.  Then I wondered what I would ask of this man - Jesus - if I were to cross his paths.  After pondering it a few moments, I would think I'd ask for stronger faith.