Mark 6:6-13

The Missionary Activity of the Twelve. Wellhausen is sceptical as to the historic worth of this paragraph, as also of the section on the appointment of the Twelve. But Mk.'s view, that the disciples were not sent out to evangelize until they had been with Jesus some time (cf. Mark 3:14), is probable, as is also his view that their evangelistic activities ended when Jesus Himself withdrew from Galilee. He is clearly convinced that this missionary work of the Twelve was a real event which influenced the course of the history. Apparently it drew Herod's attention to Jesus (Mark 6:14), and the return of the Twelve initiates a new development in the life of Jesus, viz. His wish for retirement (Mark 6:30 points back to Mark 6:12). The directions themselves, as Loisy contends, read like a summary of a longer speech. Mk. may well be dependent on Q or some earlier record at this point. According to Mk., Jesus permitted the use of staff and sandals, which is forbidden in Mt. and Lk. The wallet, the use of which is forbidden, may be the religious beggar's collecting-bag. The disciples are not to imitate the wandering heathen priest who collects offerings for his shrine (Deissmann, New Light on the New Testament, p. 42f.). The directions reflect the actual practice of the earliest Christian missionaries (with Mark 6:11 cf. Acts 13:51; Acts 18:6). The anointing with oil (James 5:14) is not mentioned elsewhere in the gospels. It is not traced back to the command or practice of Jesus. On the general character of this missionary preaching, Montefiore (i. 150) notes that apostolic poverty was a new thing in Judaism.

Mark 6:8. Mg. brass may be adopted almost in our slang sense of the word; Mk. uses a vulgar term for money.