Opportunities for Outreach

Session 7: Mark 6:7-30

Read Mark 6:7–30.

Watch Francis Chan, “The Gospel of Mark” Video Series Session 6: Mark 6:1–29 (9 minutes)

Discuss

Look closely at Mark 6:7–13, and as you do, look for details that mirror the way Jesus has already shown his disciples how to spread the message of the coming kingdom.

Jesus sends the disciples out two by two on a mission to spread the same message of repentance that John the Baptist did. The word “repent” (metanoeo) means to change your mind or purpose. The disciples were going out to exhort people to change their minds about God and their relationship to him.

What reactions does he prepare his disciples to face while they are out on the road? How are they to respond?

What does Mark 6:7–13 say to modern disciples? How would you incorporate the message of this passage into your faith conversations?

Now take another look at Mark 6:14–29.

What got John in trouble with Herod in the first place? Why, despite the trouble, did Herod keep John around?

What choice does John have in the matter of his life or death? Why does he die?

Most of us won’t face an angry queen or a militant machete because of our faith in Jesus. But the question we have to answer with each moment of our lives is simply, “Would we die for him?”

The cost of discipleship—the price of following Jesus—is everything. Up to and including our very lives. Many over the last two millennia have chosen death over giving up Jesus. Most of us won’t face a choice that drastic, but we are still called to give up our lives for him.

What does dying for Jesus look like for you? Why is it worth the effort?