Mark 6:54-56 - Exposition

Straightaway the people knew him . Some, no doubt, had known him before, he was now the general object of interest and attraction wherever he went. They began to carry about on their beds ( ἐπὶ τοῖς κραββάτοις ) those that were sick, where they heard he was . The original is very expressive ( ὅπου ἤκουον ὅτι ἐκεῖ ἐστι where they heard , He is there. But the best authorities omit ἐκεῖ . Villages, or cities, or fields (Greek, ἀγρούς ); literally, country , where the pursuits of agriculture would be going on. They laid the sick in the streets (Greek, ἐν ταῖς ἀγοραῖς )—literally, market-places ; the proper rendering— that they might touch if it were but the border of his garment . The border ( κράσπεδον ) means the" fringe" or "hem;" the garment was the outer robe worn over the tunic. And as many as touched him were made whole ( ὅσοι ἂν ἤψαντο αὐτοῦ ἐσώζοντο ); ΄αρκ might mean either "him" or "it," that is, "the border of his garment." But the difference is of little importance; for it was faith in those who touched which brought the healing virtue to the sick, whether they touched the Saviour himself or only his clothes.

HomilETICS