Church Fathers Commentary Mark 3:6-12

"And the Pharisees went out, and straightway with the Herodians took counsel against him, how they might destroy him. And Jesus with his disciples withdrew to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed; and from Judaea, and from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea, and beyond the Jordan, and about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, hearing what great things he did, came unto him. And he spake to his disciples, that a little boat should wait on him because of the crowd, lest they should throng him: for he had healed many; insomuch that as many as had plagues pressed upon him that they might touch him. And the unclean spirits, whensoever they beheld him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God. And he charged them much that they should not make him known." — Mark 3:6-12 (ASV)

The Venerable Bede: The Pharisees, considering it a crime that the diseased hand was restored to health at the Lord's word, agreed to use our Savior's words as a pretext.¹

Therefore, it is said, And the Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.

It is as if every one of them did not do greater things on the Sabbath day, such as carrying food, offering a cup, and whatever else is necessary for meals. Nor could He, who only had to speak for it to be done, be convicted of laboring on the Sabbath.

Theophylact of Ohrid: The soldiers of King Herod are called Herodians because a new heresy had sprung up asserting that Herod was the Christ. The prophecy of Jacob indicated that Christ would come when the rulers from Judah had ceased. Therefore, because no Jewish princes remained in Herod's time and he, a foreigner, was the sole ruler, some thought he was the Christ and started this heresy. These Herodians, then, joined with the Pharisees in trying to kill Christ.

The Venerable Bede: Alternatively, he calls the Herodians the servants of Herod the Tetrarch. On account of the hatred their lord had for John, they also pursued the Savior, whom John preached, with treachery and hate.

The text continues, But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea. He fled from their treachery because the hour of His Passion had not yet come, and no place outside of Jerusalem was suitable for His suffering. By this, He also gave an example to His disciples that when they suffer persecution in one city, they should flee to another.

Theophylact of Ohrid: At the same time, He departs again so that by leaving the ungrateful, He might do good to many more, for many followed Him, and He healed them.

For the text continues, And a great multitude from Galilee... and so on. Syrians and Sidonians, who were foreigners, received benefits from Christ, yet His own kindred, the Jews, persecuted Him. This shows that there is no benefit in family relationship if there is no corresponding similarity in goodness.

The Venerable Bede: The foreigners followed Him because they saw His powerful works and wanted to hear His teaching. The Jews, however, drawn only by reports of His power, came in a vast multitude to hear Him and to beg for His healing aid.

Therefore, the text continues, And He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him...

Theophylact of Ohrid: Consider, then, how He hid His glory. He asked for a small boat to prevent the crowd from crushing Him, so that by getting into it, He might remain unharmed.

It follows, As many as had scourges... By "scourges," he means diseases, for God disciplines us as a father does his children.

The Venerable Bede: Therefore, both groups fell down before the Lord: those who had the plagues of bodily diseases and those who were tormented by unclean spirits. The sick did this simply with the intention of obtaining health. The demoniacs, however—or rather, the demons within them—did so because, overcome by a fear of God, they were compelled not only to fall down before Him but also to praise His majesty.

Therefore, the text continues, And they cried out, saying, "You are the Son of God."

Here we must marvel at the blindness of the Arians. After the glory of His resurrection, they deny the Son of God, whom the demons confess to be the Son of God even while He is still clothed in human flesh.

The text continues, And He strictly charged them that they should not make Him known.

For God said to the sinner, Why do you preach my laws? (Psalm 50:16). A sinner is forbidden to preach the Lord, so that no one listening to his preaching will follow him into error. For the devil is an evil master who always mixes false things with true, so that the appearance of truth may conceal the testimony of deceit.

But not only demons, but also those healed by Christ and even the Apostles, were ordered to be silent about Him before the Passion. This was to prevent the preaching of His divine majesty from delaying the plan of His suffering. Allegorically, by leaving the synagogue and then withdrawing to the sea, the Lord prefigured the salvation of the Gentiles. He graciously chose to come to them through their faith after leaving the Jews on account of their treachery.

For the nations, driven about on various divergent paths of error, are appropriately compared to the unstable sea.ⁱ

Again, a great crowd from various provinces followed Him, because He has kindly received many nations who came to Him through the preaching of the Apostles. The ship waiting for the Lord on the sea is the Church, gathered from among the nations. He enters it to prevent the crowd from thronging Him, because, fleeing from the troubled minds of carnal people, He delights to come to those who despise the glory of this world and to dwell within them.

Furthermore, there is a difference between thronging the Lord and touching Him. People throng Him when, by carnal thoughts and deeds, they disturb the peace in which truth dwells. But a person touches Him who, by faith and love, has received Him into his heart. This is why those who touched Him are said to have been saved.

Theophylact of Ohrid: On a moral level, the Herodians—that is, people who love the lusts of the flesh—wish to slay Christ, for the name Herod means "of skin."ⁱ But those who leave their country—that is, a carnal way of life—follow Christ, and their plagues are healed, meaning the sins that wound their conscience are forgiven. In this analogy, Jesus represents our reason, which commands that our vessel—our body—should serve Him, so that the troubles of worldly affairs do not overwhelm our reason.

1. in Marc., 1, 15