New Testament · Gospel

Mark 6:13

Rejected and Relentless

They also drove out many demons and healed many of the sick, anointing them with oil. Mark 6:13 · Berean Standard Bible
What It Means

Mark 6:13, in plain English

They also drove out many demons and healed many sick people by anointing them with oil. The power Jesus gave them actually worked.

Why it's here

Imagine how the disciples felt — they were doing the things they'd only seen Jesus do. It confirmed that the authority he shared with them was real.

Who's speaking

Mark describes the miraculous results of the disciples' first mission.

Where it sits in the story

The mission was a success. Demons fled, sick people were healed. The disciples discovered that Jesus' authority wasn't just for Jesus — he shared it generously with those he sent.

A Closer Look

The scholarly reading

The disciples also performed exorcisms and healings, anointing the sick 'with oil' (elaio). Oil anointing for healing was common in Jewish practice (Isa 1:6; James 5:14) and served as both a medical remedy and a symbol of the Spirit's power.

Language and setting

The dual ministry of exorcism and healing mirrors Jesus' own ministry pattern. Oil anointing is unique to Mark's account of this mission and became a continuing practice in the early church (James 5:14).

Voice

Mark describes the miraculous results of the disciples' mission.

Significance

The disciples' mission bears remarkable fruit: demons are driven out and the sick are healed through anointing with oil. Jesus' authority flows effectively through his commissioned agents.

In context

Mark 6:11–15

11If anyone will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that place, as a testimony against them.”

12So they set out and preached that the people should repent.

13They also drove out many demons and healed many of the sick, anointing them with oil.

14Now King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known, and people were saying, “John the Baptist has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”

15Others were saying, “He is Elijah,” and still others, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.”

Read all of Mark 6 — His hometown dismisses him, a king beheads his cousin, and the crowds won't stop coming. Jesus feeds five thousand anyway.

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