Mark 6:1-6-- Seeing God At Work

Jesus went out from there and came into His hometown; and His disciples followed Him. When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, "Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?" And they took offense at Him. Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household." And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He wondered at their lack of faith. And He was going around the villages teaching.

Jesus then travels to his hometown, Nazareth, which is a small community in the middle of Galilee. He does the same actions there as he did in other places—taught in the synagogue, and healed the sick. Nevertheless, the response was different. Jesus was seen as too common, and his waving about of authority was strange to those whom he had grown up with—it was as if they didn’t even recognize him. In their response, we get more information about Jesus’ pre-ministry life than anywhere else in Mark. He is called “son of Mary”, not by his father’s name, which probably indicate that he was considered illegitimate—not worthy of his father’s name. It is said that he has four brothers who are all named, and sisters who are not. They say that he was a skilled worker, probably a carpenter, but possibly also a maker of bricks, or other skilled labor. But they used their knowledge of his past to indicate that he could not have the authority he seemed to have. They felt that he could not be commanding spirits or be having such wisdom, because they knew how he was raised and who raised him. Jesus’ teaching fell on deaf ears—like the soil by the path. Jesus’ commentary was a general commentary on prophets being unable to be seen as anything special in one’s home—the contempt for the familiar. Mark’s commentary on the event is that their faith prevented Jesus from fully displaying his authority over their illnesses—most of them didn’t recognize his authority, and so they didn’t ask for it.

Why is a prophet not accepted in his own hometown? First of all, because everyone there knows your weaknesses-- or thinks they know them. They all assumed that Jesus was an illegitimate child. They called him "bastard" every time they named him by his mother Mary. Secondly, he is too familiar, and familiarity breeds contempt-- at least if someone is trying to say that they are more important than you. "Jesus, you aren't really important. You're one of us!"

The real problem is that when God is working in our lives we often can't see Him because the tools are too familiar. The important thing about a miracle is its uniqueness, the strangeness of it. But Jesus wasn't unique at all, and often the miracles in our lives are so common we don't even notice them.

The proper response to God's salvation is gratitude. But we can't show our gratitude if we never see the work done.

The Woman Touching Jesus

This is one of the oldest portraits of Jesus. Note how his appearance is different than we usually see: Curly, short hair, young face, no beard.

And note how he glances back-- he is in motion, in the midst of noticing the woman who is touching him. He looks back with compassion, as if his first response was welcome and love. This is a wonderful early piece of art about Jesus.

Mark 5:21-43-- The Fear of Death Rules Our Minds

When Jesus had crossed over again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around Him; and so He stayed by the seashore. One of the synagogue officials named Jairus came up, and on seeing Him, fell at His feet and implored Him earnestly, saying, "My little daughter is at the point of death; please come and lay Your hands on her, so that she will get well and live." And He went off with him; and a large crowd was following Him and pressing in on Him.

A woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse-- after hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak. For she thought, "If I just touch His garments, I will get well." Immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. Immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that the power proceeding from Him had gone forth, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My garments?" And His disciples said to Him, "You see the crowd pressing in on You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'" And He looked around to see the woman who had done this. But the woman fearing and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has saved you; go in peace and be healed of your affliction."

While He was still speaking, they came from the house of the synagogue official, saying, "Your daughter has died; why trouble the Teacher anymore?" But Jesus, overhearing what was being spoken, said to the synagogue official, "Do not be afraid any longer, only have faith." And He allowed no one to accompany Him, except Peter and James and John the brother of James. They came to the house of the synagogue official; and He saw a commotion, and people loudly weeping and wailing. And entering in, He said to them, "Why make a commotion and weep? The child has not died, but is asleep." They began laughing at Him. But putting them all out, He took along the child's father and mother and His own companions, and entered the room where the child was. Taking the child by the hand, He said to her, "Talitha kum!" (which translated means, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!"). Immediately the girl got up and began to walk, for she was twelve years old. And immediately they were completely astounded. And He gave them strict orders that no one should know about this, and He said that something should be given her to eat.

Jairus implored Jesus, falling at Jesus’ feet, which recognized Jesus’ authority over him. He then humbly requested that Jesus heal his daughter, who was sick at home. So Jesus agreed to follow him home.

On the way was a woman who had suffered with bleeding for many years. Beside the physical infirmity, the bleeding also made the woman a social outcast, in which she could not be married, nor could she be touched by anyone. She was as outcast as a leper. Instead of approaching Jesus and making public her shame, she decided to just touch Jesus, and that would be enough to heal her. And it was as she believed—even as those who endured in Jesus’ word would be multiplied in the story of the soils. Jesus, though, felt that the Spirit’s power/authority he used had left him. Not wanting the healing to be a secret, he stopped and asked who touched him. The disciple’s response showed their ignorance of what he was speaking. Then the woman, thinking she was really in trouble, but unable to hide admitted what she did. Although she expected rebuke, Jesus did nothing of the kind. Jesus instead recognized her faith—her recognition that Jesus had the power of God, and her desperation that caused her to access that power impolitely. Jesus often recognized improper behavior as faith (Mark 10:46-52).

Before they were on their way to Jairus’ house again, one of Jairus’ companions came to Jairus and announced to him that his daughter had died, as Jesus was coming to heal. His limited faith was indicated when he said that there was no point to bother “the teacher” anymore—Jesus could heal the sick, but he could do nothing about the dead. This would make sense in the world system of the ancient Near East—a person who was sick was being attacked by an evil spirit in is world. Once a person was dead, then they crossed over to the realm of the dead, and no one returned once they crossed over. Jesus, however, recommended faith to Jairus, not fear. Fear, in this context, would be recognition that nothing could be done to help his daughter. Faith would be recognition that Jesus could still revive his daughter.

Jesus then limited the witnesses to the event that was about to happen. Many have seen him heal the sick, but if they saw him raise the dead, they would realize that God had given him full authority over even the realm of the dead—and he was not ready to announce this authority. So Jesus sent everyone away except for his closest disciples who, he felt, were ready to see his full power. When Jesus saw the many at Jairus’ house mourning, he made a mysterious statement—that the girl was not in the realm of the dead, but simply asleep. Their mocking of him made sense, for he had not seen the girl and did not recognize that she was fully dead, but (like the soil near the path), they had no faith in seeing the truth in what he said. Perhaps Jesus was saying that she had not arrived in the realm of the dead, so she was under the authority of the powers of this realm, and so possible to revive. Nevertheless, Jesus went to the room where the girl lay and commanded her to arise. Mark has the words in Aramaic first, and then a Greek translation. The Greek word used could mean to get out of bed, to be healed, or to be raised from the dead. So there is some vagueness—did Jesus raise her from the dead, or did he just “wake her up” from her illness? Nevertheless, this is a deeper healing than a simple rebuke to an illness.

Mark continues to show us Jesus' power. First, Jesus is more powerful than the Spirit of the Sea. Then he is more powerful than thousands of demons. Now, Jesus is not only more powerful than a long-term illness, but He is more powerful than Death!

We still have difficulty imagining that Jesus is more powerful than Death. Death, in our minds, is more powerful than God-- or at least we trust that it is more predictable than God. When someone is dead, they don't come back. We all know that.

Yet, Jesus' whole teaching is based on one premise: that God can and will resurrect the dead. Death is not an ultimate end, but it is a temporary state. If this is so, then God can resurrect the dead anytime.

A magnificent movie is called Ordet (1955-- check it out!) about a family full of religious people, all of whom have one struggle or another. One member is crazy, another is doubting, another is judgmental. Yet we see that if they just were able to believe in the basic premise of Jesus' belief-- that we will be resurrected from the dead-- then our struggles and separations and doubts and hungers and desires seem very small and unimportant.

The next time we fret about anything, let's compare it to an eternity of living with God in love and a community of justice. As important as it seemed to us at the time, if we set aside our fear of death, then we honestly have nothing to be afraid of.

Mark 5:1-20-- Nothing is Too Difficult

They came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes. When He got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him, and he had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain; because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. Constantly, night and day, he was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains, and gashing himself with stones. Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him; and shouting with a loud voice, he said, "What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!" For He had been saying to him, "Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!" And He was asking him, "What is your name?" And he said to Him, "My name is Legion; for we are many." And he began to implore Him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now there was a large herd of swine feeding nearby on the mountain. The demons implored Him, saying, "Send us into the swine so that we may enter them." Jesus gave them permission. And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand of them; and they were drowned in the sea. Their herdsmen ran away and reported it in the city and in the country. And the people came to see what it was that had happened. They came to Jesus and observed the man who had been demonized sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the "legion"; and they became frightened. Those who had seen it described to them how it had happened to the demon-possessed man, and all about the swine. And they began to implore Him to leave their region. As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demonized was imploring Him that he might accompany Him. And He did not let him, but He said to him, "Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you." And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.


The region of the Gerasenes was in the country of Decapolis (“ten cities”), which was literally made up of ten Greek cities, mostly inhabited by non-worshippers of Yahweh. The first person Jesus meets there who is a worshipper of Yahweh is attacked by an unclean spirit. Jesus is rebuking the spirit, but unsuccessfully until he finds that it was not just one spirit, but a whole crowd of them. A “legion” is a garrison of soldiers of three to six thousand, but could also just mean a very large crowd. The spirits approached Jesus first, giving him the honor of a ruler—bowing before him and calling him the slave of the Most High God, which is an exalted rank. They recognize they Jesus has the authority to command them to go wherever he wants, and so they request that he send them, the unclean spirits, into unclean animals, pigs (Deuteronomy 14:8). Jesus agrees, and so they depart from the man into the crowd of pigs, which then go mad and run over a cliff. The man is no longer mentally ill. The inhabitants of the region—especially the ones who owned the pigs—were not impressed, however, and they asked Jesus to leave their area. Jesus, seeing that he was dealing with non-believers in Yahweh, agreed. The man wanted to depart with him. In only this place, however, Jesus commands the man to not follow him. Rather, he told him to stay in his own town and to give honor to Yahweh in the region, which was greatly lacking in the word of Yahweh. The man went further than Jesus’ command—he traveled through the whole larger region and spoke of Yahweh’s greatness in his life.

In the story just before, Jesus has shown his authority over a very powerful spirit-- the spirit of the Sea. Here, Jesus shows that his single authority can overcome literally thousands of spirits. Jesus is trying to show his disciples not just how powerful He is, but what kind of power he is granting to them.

There is no limit to God's power, nothing is too big. Isaiah 40 claims, "If you put all the governments of the world together, compared to God all their power amount to nothing-- they are the dust on a scale that you need not brush off to get an accurate measurement."

If we are dependent on God's power, we lack nothing except our own faith and obedience.

Mark 4: 35-41-- A Paltry Storm

On that day, when evening came, He said to them, "Let us go over to the other side." Leaving the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?" And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Hush, be still!" And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. And He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?" They became very much afraid and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?"


In ancient times, the sea was not just a body of water, nor was the wind just moving air. They were realms of authority that was ultimately controlled by the Most High God, Yahweh, but these realms were controlled by other spirit-beings that were powerful and frighteningly dangerous. The sea was controlled by a huge spirit-monster called Yom, who in turn was under the authority of a spirit-dragon called Leviathan. Both Yom and Leviathan were destroyers of humans, barely kept under check by Yahweh, the Most High God. The winds were instruments of judgement as well, controlled by angelic spirit-beings who are appointed to destroy the earth and humanity. (Exodus 14:21-22; Isaiah 27:1; Isaiah 59:19; Jeremiah 5:22; Amos 9:6)

Thus, when the winds and sea rose up against the boat, the disciples did not see it as a force of nature—they understood the storm as spiritual warfare attacking them. They were not afraid of wind and water, they were afraid of the spirits and monsters that were attacking them. Jesus also saw the storm as being spiritual powers attacking them. But he saw this as just one large exorcism. He rebuked the wind, just as he would rebuke an unclean spirit. He told the sea to shut up just like he told an unclean spirit to be quiet (Mark 1:25). The disciples felt that because the spirits of the sea and the wind were so much more important that Jesus could not command them. Their faith was lacking because they did not understand that Jesus has authority, no matter what the size of the situation or the authority of the spirits. If Jesus has authority in what is small, then he has authority in what is big. Yet the disciples were still amazed that Jesus had so much authority. They felt that casting out personal demons is one thing, but to know that Jesus has authority over the great spirits of the world is almost unbelievable.

Jesus did not rebuke his disciples for giving the spirit world too much power. He didn't tell them, "Don't you know that it's just sea and waves? All you have to do is figure out the rhythms of the waves and winds and we'll make it through." Instead, Jesus rebuked the disciples for not giving the spirit world more power than they realized.

The disciples could see the power of the Sea, but they couldn't look past it to see the Creator of the Sea. God's power is so mighty, so magnificent that a paltry lake is nothing to him. And if God's power can overcome a lake, certainly He can overcome a government, a bank, a parent or a grumpy official. Why do we fear such paltry things as armies and guns and finances? God owns all of that, and if we remain on God' side, doing His work, then what need we be fearful of anything?

Instead, as Jesus said, let's have faith and entrust ourselves to God's power, God's guidance, God's wisdom. Let nothing stand in our way.

The Birds of the Air Rest In His Shade

 

In The Light Of His Word

 

Lamps shouldn't be hidden...

Mark 4:30-34 Long Live the Emperor!

And He said, "How shall we picture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is smaller than all the seeds that are upon the soil, yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and forms large branches; so that THE BIRDS OF THE AIR can NEST UNDER ITS SHADE." With many such parables He was speaking the word to them, so far as they were able to hear it; and He did not speak to them without a parable; but He was explaining everything privately to His own disciples.


Jesus again emphasizes how the kingdom of God begins as something small and insignificant—the teaching of God’s word to a few people that seem to have no political significance at all. And yet the kingdom of God becomes so politically significant that the great nations of the world are in submission to the kingdom—this is the meaning of Jesus’ quote of Ezekiel 17:22-24 (See also Ezekiel 31:1-13). This is to speak to those who understand Jesus’ purpose to be political, but his methodology doesn’t seem to increase his political significance. He is saying that his actions are political, and that the entire political world will one day rest under his small school.

A comment is made at the end of the parables section to say that Jesus always used parables when he taught and yet most people didn’t understand them. As seen above, this is what Jesus wanted—most people were not worthy to understand the parables. But if they listened carefully then they could hear the explanations that Jesus gave to his disciples and then the truth would be known. Daniel 12

Justice will not be accomplished until all of the world is under God's rule. We can make compromises through this or that government, but nothing will be finally accomplished until the world is under God's law of love and under God's direct supervision through the person of Jesus.

Maybe that's not the kind of Jesus you believe in. Maybe you believe in a meek Jesus, who will gently lead the world to His ways. That the Jesus we have now, certainly. But in the end, if we want to see the whole world acting in love, we have to have them led by strong leadership. And Jesus saw himself as that strong leader.

Mark 4:26-29- I Want It All, I Want It Now

And He was saying, "The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows— how, he himself does not know. The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."

The coming of God’s promises to the earth was thought by many Jewish schools to be quick, immediate and world changing. There were other groups of Yahwists (worshipers of Yahweh) called Zealots who believed that it is the Yahwists who would enact the kingdom coming by their own violent, revolutionary action. In this parable, Jesus speaks against both of these misconceptions of the kingdom of God. He compares the coming of God’s nation to be like the planting of a seed. First of all, the seed grows gradually, not immediately. Secondly, the one who plants the seed does not know how it grows—he doesn’t do it himself, but is passive in the process of it growing. But once it is full grown, the man who planted the seed takes possession of the fruit of it, even though he had little to do with the growing of it. Even so, the kingdom of God begins with the teaching of God’s word, and people over a long time listen to it and accept it and join God’s kingdom. And no one except God knows how the kingdom grows or how it grows. But those who participate in the teaching of the word will take possession of the kingdom when it is finished. Joel 4:13

The hardest thing in the world is to wait for justice. When you are living in an unjust situation for years, all you want to do is to change it immediately. God promises justice, but he doesn't promise it quickly. I am not saying that we need to wait for the government to grant justice, because people have been waiting thousands of years to have a just government. But if we attempt to force justice ourselves, even if we succeed, all we do is to force on others a different form of injustice.

The most powerful tool for justice is prayer. Prayer requires patience, but it does the job. And through prayer the greatest changes the world has ever known have been accomplished.

Mark 4:24-25-- The Art of Listening

And He was saying to them, "Look at what you listen. By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides. For whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him."

Jesus had just concluded his previous statement with “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” He builds here on that statement, warning his disciples to take great care with how they listen. The spoken gospel is precious—within it is eternal life or eternal death, depending on how one responds to it. If one listens to the gospel carelessly, then they will find that they do not have the stamina to respond to Satan and persecutions and personal concerns in a gospel-ish manner. Only those who take the gospel seriously will gain the life and kingdom the gospel promises. In this context, Jesus’ statement of measure means, “Whatever you get out of the gospel, that’s what you’ll get in the next age.” If we take the gospel lightly, even what little we have gained will be taken from us. But if we receive the whole gospel and obey it, then we will gain more than we can imagine.

Listening is an art, not something that happens naturally. It is easy to half-heartedly listen to someone, and we can repeat what they say but not know the import of it. This is more so with Jesus. Many people repeat what Jesus says, use His words to justify what they are already doing and explain away that which doesn't make sense to them. But if we do not listen carefully to Jesus, focus on what HE meant, not what we mean by what he says, then we have nothing. We have nothing from Jesus, nothing from God, nothing from God's word.

How do we know that we have really listened to Jesus? The main focus of Jesus' teaching is one word: Repent. This means changing our actions, doing something differently with our lives. If Jesus' words do not stir us to change our lives, then we haven't really listened. Maybe we have appreciated Jesus, and maybe we have granted intellectual agreement with some of what he said. But unless His words infect our hearts and thus change our lives, we haven't really listened. Jesus becomes no better than our grandmother telling us a story we've heard a thousand times before.

Mark 4:21-23-- What We Do Is What We Believe

And He was saying to them, "A lamp is not brought to be put under a basket, is it, or under a bed? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand? For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Jesus is talking about the nature of hidden things. All hidden things, Jesus says, will be revealed in the end—eventually, every secret will be revealed. In the context of the parable he just explained, Jesus is talking about the nature of people’s faith in the teaching of Jesus. No matter what they say, people’s real faith is hidden until it is tested. In the parable, people’s statements of faith in the gospel is tested by trials and by the concerns of this world, and then their true faith is revealed. And so Jesus says that it is the nature of a person’s faith in the gospel to be revealed—if a person really believes in the gospel, they should display it in their actions, or else their true unbelief will be revealed in the end. This is confirmed by the other contexts that this passage is found (Matthew 5:15; Luke 8:16; Luke 11:33). Jesus concludes the statement with an injunction to listen carefully.

People talk about their faith being a "personal thing", kept in one's heart until revealed by God. The fact is, every action we do shows what we really believe. If we think that our beliefs and our actions are contrary, in all honesty, they are not. Our actions show our true faith. Our speech sometimes can describe what goes on in our heads, but we have a harder time expressing our belief than we do living it out.

Mark 4:13-21- Responses to the Gospel

And then there's the soil the sower forgot to water...

And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them. In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."

Jesus now explains what the parable of the sower means. The context of the parable is one who is giving God’s word, to anyone and everyone. Jesus then uses the different soils to explain people’s different reactions to God’s word—specifically the word that God’s kingdom is coming to take the place of the current authorities of God’s kingdom.

The first response is one who hears God’s word, but rejects it immediately. Jesus explains that it is because Satan takes away from these the truth of God’s word. The second response is one who receives the word and immediately accepts it. However, because of the word—either through obedience to it or through proclaiming it—they are rejected and hated by those around them, and so they do not continue to obey it or proclaim it, and thus they fail to endure in the word. The third response is that of those who also accept the word as true and obey it and proclaim it, but they also want the comforts and wealth of this world. This causes them to compromise their stand with the message of revolution, and so they too do not endure in the word. The final response is that of those who hear the word, totally accept it and remain with it through the sacrifices and difficulties that the word requires. Such people continually obey the word and proclaim it, causing it to increase.

Jesus is speaking first to those whom he is training to be evangelists. He is telling them to not expect most people to follow or even listen to their message. In this story, only one fourth of the people listening actually follow through and fulfill the message of the kingdom.

It's frustrating to share the word of God.  So many people don't listen, or only listen hardheartedly.  In a sense, Jesus is getting us ready for that frustration.  Just like when God spoke to Jeremiah or Ezekiel and he told them, "I'll give you messages, but no one will pay attention to them."  That's a tough ministry.  Is it better to tell the truth that no one listens to or to tell a half-truth that everyone appreciates?  Hmmmm....

But Jesus is also speaking to those who are listening. He is saying that the requirements of hearing His word, in order to receive the blessing, is not simply to understand. Or even believe. The basic requirement is that one follows through. Belief is simply the first step, then one has to be consistent with Jesus' word-- through the temptations of a "normal" life and through the difficulties of people mocking you for following Jesus. If we aren't faithful with Jesus' word, then we haven't finished the process of faith.

Soils

 

Mark 4:10-12-- We Just Don't Get It

As soon as He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables. And He was saying to them, "To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables, so that WHILE SEEING, THEY MAY SEE AND NOT PERCEIVE, AND WHILE HEARING, THEY MAY HEAR AND NOT UNDERSTAND, OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT RETURN AND BE FORGIVEN."

Jesus’ disciples ask Jesus independently from the crowds about his teaching. Jesus says that he speaks in parables so that the majority of people could not understand them. He uses complex parables, so that only the disciples can understand them. Jesus only wants his teaching to be understood by those who are submitting to him. This is a result of the general rejection of the miracles he does—so only those who submit to God’s work can receive God’s truth, even though everyone hears the teaching. If they heard, they would be forgiven. Jesus then responds in amazement that the disciples didn’t already understand the parable. Perhaps this is because he expected the Spirit of God to explain it to them.

Jesus only teaches in confusion in order to separate those who believe in Him from those who do not. It is an act of faith and trust in Jesus that the stories not only make sense, but that Jesus is willing to give a straightforward interpretation.

It is a sign of a lack of faith in interpreters that they attempt to understand the parables apart from Jesus' explanation. They may not like Jesus' explanation, but it is the only one that really makes sense. So, rather than use our own imagination to understand the parables, we should instead examine what Jesus said about them.

Funny, how it keeps having to do with focusing on Jesus.

Mark 4:1-9-- Parable of the Soils

He began to teach again by the sea. And such a very large crowd gathered to Him that He got into a boat in the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land. And He was teaching them many things in parables, and was saying to them in His teaching, "Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow; as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil. And after the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold." And He was saying, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."


This is the beginning of a most important section of Mark, where Jesus’ teaching is clearly stated. The situation is that a large crowd is assembled and so Jesus teaches from a boat. Jesus’ manner of teaching is to teach in parable form, with this parable being the central one. It was not understood by the crowd, or by the disciples. The reason for parables is spoken in the next section, and the meaning of this parable is explained in verses 13-20.

Jesus was not afraid to give teachings that could not be understood. But we must remember that he did it as a judgment, not as a teaching technique. If we want to actually encourage people to get closer to God, then we should speak God's message clearly.

Mark 3:31-35- Jesus' Family

Then His mother and His brothers arrived, and standing outside they sent word to Him and called Him. A crowd was sitting around Him, and they said to Him, "Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are outside looking for You." Answering them, He said, "Who are My mother and My brothers?" Looking about at those who were sitting around Him, He said, "Behold My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother."


Earlier, two groups called Jesus “crazy”. The first group was “his own”, which was probably his family. Jesus’ family—his mother and brothers—are here to speak to him. Possibly, they wanted to take him home and keep him there (for this is how families dealt with family members who were insane). One way or the other, though, they had the authority to tell him to come out of whatever he was doing and to speak to them. Jesus, however, refused. He claimed that his true family are those who hear the word of God and do it. Here, he spoke specifically of his disciples who were listening to him. Thus, Jesus was communicating to his family, “You do not have the authority to call me out. Listen and do what I say, and then you will be my true family.” Jesus was not denying that his mother and brothers were his true family—but he was saying that only his disciples are his true family.

It is interesting to note that Jesus did not say that those who "believed" in him were his true family. Rather, those who did God's will. Not who tried to do God's will. Not who intended to do it. But actually did it.

This means that those who enact the will of God are Jesus' true family. Others may be seekers or hopers or longing for Jesus' family. But only those who do God's will are really the sisters and brothers of Jesus.

This does not mean perfection. This is why Jesus highly recommends repentance and confession of sin. But it does mean recognizing sin for what it is and doing all we can to get rid of it, as we will see.

Strong Man's House

 

Mark 3:23-29- Unforgivable

And He called them to Himself and began speaking to them in parables, "How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. If Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but he is finished! But no one can enter the strong man's house and plunder his property unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house. Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin "—because they were saying, "He has an unclean spirit."

The accusation by the scribes from Jerusalem is the most serious one, and so Jesus deals with that one first in this longest speech in Mark thus far. It is serious both in its intensity and in its implications. To call Jesus a servant of “Beelzebul” or Satan is to imply that his work seems good, but is fundamentally working toward the detriment of God’s people. This is worse than what his family said, who was implying that it was a personal family problem that they would try to deal with—the scribes are saying that Jesus is destroying society itself. But also, because they were officials from Jerusalem, what they say has legal implications as well. They have the right to arrest him and charge him with evil done. This statement isn’t just a personal opinion, it is an official “government” report.

Jesus has a number of responses to this accusation, denying this “report”. His first response to the scribes is that Satan is a ruler of a kingdom and it makes no sense for a kingdom to battle itself. If Jesus was a servant of Satan, then how could he cast out demons, which is an act of war against the kingdom of Satan? Instead Jesus says, it is an act of an opposing warrior to tie up a warrior and to take his possessions—not the act of an ally. Jesus here is the one taking the person’s goods (the soul being attacked) and Satan and his demons is the “strong man”. “Strong man” is a title for a powerful warrior. Then Jesus says that the accusation the scribes make is a serious one. When a clear act of God is seen—releasing someone from judgement and the power of Satan by authority alone—and that act is said to be an act of Satan, then it is an act of blasphemy that cannot be forgiven.

Can we accidentally commit the unforgivable sin? If the sin in question is strictly calling Jesus filled with Satan, then perhaps we can't. But if the unforgivable sin is something broader, something that looks at God's good, powerful work of forgiveness and mercy and declares it evil... then maybe. But it seems that the unforgivable sin is really the sin of Pharaoh of old-- he hardened his heart against God's good work and His good command, and so God hardened his heart more. One can't be forgiven of declaring the Holy Spirit's work evil because God hardens that person's heart so that they never repent.

Ever meet someone who is so bitter against a Christian group, or a good person that no matter what you say to prove to them otherwise, they can't hear you? Those who reject God's obvious work are those who cannot repent. Perhaps someone else will be able to speak to them, but if you can't communicate, it's better to pray for God's mercy on them instead.

Mark 3:20-22- Loony Toony

And He came home, and the crowd gathered again, to such an extent that they could not even eat a meal. When His own people heard of this, they went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, "He has lost His senses." The scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, "He is possessed by Beelzebul," and "He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons."


Jesus returned to Capernum, where he was staying at Peter’s home (which is now called Jesus’ own home). He is teaching again, but he is rejected because of what he is saying and doing by two groups. The first group is called “his own”. This is usually used to designate one’s family, or in this case it might indicate some of Jesus’ disciples. The second group is the educated scribes, an official group that has come from the council in Jerusalem to see for themselves what they had heard rumors about. It is significant that a group came from Jerusalem, because it meant that it represented Jewish “orthodoxy” in that time, possibly appointed by the Sanhedrin—the ruling council of Judeans. Both groups, in their own way, call Jesus “crazy.” The first say that he is (in Greek) “lost control of himself”. The scribes say that his miracles are done by the power of “Beelzebul” a title for an idol that they use for Satan. This means that his teaching and his ministry was rejected both by his own people, and by an official group of religious leaders.

Most people consider being called "crazy" a bad thing. For Christians, however, being considered crazy or dangerous simply because of words we speak, is a way of being like Jesus.

Mark 3:13-19: Apostles

And He went up on the mountain and summoned those whom He Himself wanted, and they came to Him. And He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach, and to have authority to cast out the demons. And He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom He gave the name Peter), and James, the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James (to them He gave the name Boanerges, which means, "Sons of Thunder "); and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot; and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.

Jesus appointed twelve apostles. The term “apostle” literally means “one who is sent” and it designates one who is an official representative of an authority. Kings sent out apostles, or “heralds” to give people official news. The ruling council of the Jews also sent out apostles to communicate to all the synagogues in the world any official news or decisions. Jesus chose twelve of them because each one represented the twelve tribes of Israel—to preach to them and to rule over them (Matthew 10:5; 19:28).

The church rarely understands how important the apostles are to us. We are not just disciples of Jesus, but disciples of the apostles. It is the apostles who communicate to us the truth about Jesus, who interpret Jesus for us. We are as submissive to them as we are to Jesus.

The problem comes in when we play one apostle against another. Yes, it is possible for apostles to disagree, but we must not accept one apostle's teaching as more true than another. Rather, they are all under Jesus, and we must accept them all. This is why we have four gospels which sometimes disagree. This is why we have epistles by different writers who look at the life and teaching of Jesus differently. We do not need to accept the teaching of those who are not apostles, but apostolic teaching should be accepted and analyzed to understand where they do agree. The agreement of the apostles is the closest we will come to Jesus' original life and teaching.

Mark 3:7-12-- Jesus' Work and Humility

Jesus withdrew to the sea with His disciples; and a great multitude from Galilee followed; and also from Judea, and from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and beyond the Jordan, and the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon, a great number of people heard of all that He was doing and came to Him. And He told His disciples that a boat should stand ready for Him because of the crowd, so that they would not crowd Him; for He had healed many, with the result that all those who had afflictions pressed around Him in order to touch Him. Whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they would fall down before Him and shout, "You are the Son of God!" And He earnestly warned them not to tell who He was.

This is a summary of Jesus’ ministry, as stated already. Many people from different places are coming to gain healing from him and to learn his teaching. Although these people are coming from such a variety of places—some of which are Gentile regions— they are religiously all Jews, committed to the covenant of Moses. The crowds made it difficult for Jesus to teach, and so he sometimes taught from a boat, or just sailed away to escape the large crowds. Again, the spirits who were attacking people because of their sins were trying to expose Jesus, but Jesus wanted his identity well-known in the spirit world to be kept quiet on earth.

Jesus wanted his identity to be kept secret because he was told by God that he was the Son of God in a secret manner. He had no right to announce boldly who the Father said who He was until the Father told him to. He acted like He was the Son of God, the Messiah. He acted like the healing king supporting the poor wherever he want. And some recognized his actions for what they were. But he remained quiet and asked others to do the same.

Even so, we need to remain silent about our gifts and the things God has told us. We can tell a select few, but we must not proclaim that which is told privately to us. If it is told privately, then it is to remain private. This is a part of our humility, a part of our submission to God.

Mark 3:1-6: Working on the Sabbath

He entered again into a synagogue; and a man was there whose hand was withered. They were watching Him to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. He said to the man with the withered hand, "Get up and come forward!" And He said to them, "Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill?" But they kept silent. After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately began conspiring with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

As was his usual practice, Jesus is prepared to teach in a synagogue, and there is a man who needs to be healed. The Pharisees were ready to accuse him of breaking the Sabbath, because he was about to do his usual “work”—healing the sick, which allows him to be fed. They saw Jesus’ ministry as a “job” that he needed to cease on the Sabbath day. Jesus challenged them, showing that he saw his ministry as simply doing good to whoever as had need, and that the Sabbath day was a day to do good, even as any other day of the week is. Their silence in response to his question was a challenge right back to Jesus. Jesus was furious, then and called the man in front of everyone there, and healed him openly, in defiance of the Pharisee’s tradition.

The Pharisees were extremely upset and began making plans to destroy Jesus. Why? Because, first of all, he made it clear that he opposed their political agenda to have all of Israel live out a strict Sabbath. Secondly, Jesus showed himself to be in rebellion against their laws of the Sabbath—and breaking that law was punishable by death (Exodus 31:15). Thirdly, Jesus was popular, and getting more popular all the time, and so he might be a political rival against the Pharisees, at least in Galilee.

The Herodians were servants of the house of Herod, who was interested in retaining their political control over Jewish territory, especially Galilee. Jesus was already a threat to Herod, because his message of the kingdom was in opposition to all current rulers of God’s people—including the Herods.


Most people consider the Sabbath to be a matter of not working. To get some rest, to offer balance in life. Jesus, however isn't interested in a balanced life, and He sees the Sabbath differently. The Sabbath is to cease working for oneself, but it is not to stop working for others. In fact, Jesus says, the Sabbath is specifically a good time to work for others.

Therefore, rather than taking Sunday (or Saturday, as that is truly the Sabbath, the seventh day) as a day to go to church and to watch football, the followers of Jesus will see this as a day to volunteer to do good for those in need. The Sabbath isn't for resting, but for doing good.

Note on other thing, please. Jesus defines "doing good" or love here by opposing it to their opposites. To do harm to someone is the opposite of doing good. And to do good is the same as saving a life, the opposite of which is to kill. Thus, love cannot be included in doing harm or by killing. So when Jesus says to love our enemies, we cannot love and kill. We cannot love and harm. When we decide what to do with our enemies, we must remember that harming them is not Jesus' way. If we claim it is, then we only do harm to ourselves.

Mark 2:23-28- Love is Greater Than Law

And it happened that He was passing through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples began to make their way along while picking the heads of grain. The Pharisees were saying to Him, "Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?" And He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions became hungry; how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the consecrated bread, which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests, and he also gave it to those who were with him?" Jesus said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."


The Sabbath was a custom established by Moses in the Ten Commandments for all of God’s people to take the seventh day of the week (today called Saturday) and to cease from work. The types of work rejected for the Sabbath was: working for one’s provision (Numbers 15:32-36); gathering food (Exodus 16:22-30); or cooking food (Exodus 35:3). This was to be proof to the people that God would provide food according to his power—and they would eat abundantly, even though they were reducing their work by a seventh.

However, on the Sabbath, one would still care for children and animals (Matthew 12:11), and the priests would still do their regular business (Matthew 12:5). But the Pharisees and other groups had a list of laws that they wanted all Jews to follow to obey the Sabbath “properly”—beyond the written command. Some of the laws were that one could only walk about a mile on the Sabbath, and one had to limit how much one did for oneself or others.

The disciples were technically violating the Sabbath, because they were gathering food from the fields. But their manner of ministry and following Jesus often meant that they were unable to prepare for the Sabbath ahead of time. Thus, if they followed all the commands and traditions of the Sabbath, they would go hungry every Sabbath. But Jesus gave lenience to the disciples on this point. He used the example of David, who ate food that was traditionally not allowed for him to eat, because he was on a mission and was hungry. Even so, Jesus indicates, the disciples may break this technical rule because they were on a mission and hungry.

Jesus’ statement in verse 28 is a short poem that indicates that mankind, and especially God’s chosen Human, has the right to determine what is good for mankind in obeying the Sabbath. Notice that Jesus never sets aside Sabbath practice, but he makes it merciful. Nor could the Pharisees accuse Jesus himself of even breaking their tradition.

Love is greater than any law. Should a law stand against love, then, in the eyes of God, that law is illegal. This means that if we side with law instead of love, then we do not side with God. God always stands with love instead of ritual, tradition, executieve or legal force.

Mark 2:18-22- Old Wineskins, New Shiny Bottles

John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and they came and said to Him, "Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" And Jesus said to them, "While the bridegroom is with them, the attendants of the bridegroom cannot fast, can they? So long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day. No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear results. No one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins as well; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins."


Fasting— not eating food for a day or more— was common in Jewish society to indicate that one was mourning a great loss, such as a loved one (e.g. I Samuel 31:11-13). It is done when someone has sinned against the Lord and they want to be saved from judgement (I Samuel 7:3-6; Jonah 3:5-9). And Israel fasts when they ask God for a restoration of their political and moral independence (Nehemiah 1:3-4;Daniel 9:1-3). Fundamentally, one fasts when he or she wants deliverance or salvation from God. For this reason, the ancient Baptists and Pharisees were fasting to see God’s deliverance come upon God’s people. Since Jesus was proclaiming this deliverance, it was a surprise to them that Jesus’ disciples did not fast.

Jesus’ reply is that God’s deliverance was already here, in the person of Jesus. So why should the disciples fast and beg for what is already here? But later, when Jesus is not on earth, then it would be appropriate to fast. Even so, Jesus said, at the time of his ministry it was not appropriate to fast, but now—with Jesus being gone—it is appropriate to fast.

The next metaphor is talking about having new customs for a new situation. Just as fasting isn’t appropriate when God’s deliverance has arrived, even so, there are customs that must be changed because of the new kingdom of God that is arriving.

Religious tradition is only appropriate in certain contexts. We can renew a certain custom and make it seem "meaningful", but unless we truly understand our contemporary context and culture and what that tradition will mean to them, we should not just apply the old customs. Every generation should have new traditions to express the old truths. Even these new traditions should be analyzed to see if they really represent truth, but we "old timers" cannot stop a new custom simply because it is unfamiliar to us, or because it means something different to the culture we came from.

Truth has an outward look that is completely different to every generation. But the truth can be the same.

Mark 2:15-17-- Without the Sick, We're Sick

And it happened that He was reclining at the table in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners were dining with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many of them, and they were following Him. When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they said to His disciples, "Why is He eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners?" And hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not those who are healthy who need a healer, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

Jesus was having a party in his house, and Levi invited all of his friends over—who were all outcasts of Jewish society. Some of them were real sinners, like prostitutes or cheats, while others were considered “sinners” by society at large, such as toll-collectors, even though they did nothing wrong.

The scribes mentioned here are a certain kind of man who was educated by the Pharisees, who had a five-year program to teach people their ways. The Pharisees were a group who wanted certain laws to be passed about how to honor God’s special day and about certain eating habits, so that all Jews would follow their ideas of obeying Moses’ law. In that society, if you invited someone into your house, and then ate with them, you were treating them as an equal and accepting them in your society. Since Jesus was speaking for God, that meant that anyone he was eating with he was accepting them as God’s people as well. The Pharisees were complaining that Jesus was accepting those that Jewish society at large was rejecting.

Jesus’ response shows that he sees himself as a healer—not so much of people’s bodies, but of their relationship with God. So the ones who need to hear Jesus’ teaching about repentance is not those who consider their relationship with God to be fine, but those who know that the relationship is severed. Thus, Jesus’ ministry focused on those who knew that they needed to get right with God and be accepted again—those who needed forgiveness.

Jesus didn't come for the healthy, but the sick. Why, then, do we pride ourselves at having "healthy" churches? Better that our churches be sick and filled with the sick.

Mark 2:13-14 Quitting His Job

And He went out again by the seashore; and all the people were coming to Him, and He was teaching them. As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting in the tax booth, and He said to him, "Follow Me!" And he got up and followed Him.

Levi (in other gospels called Matthew—Matthew 9:9) was called in the same way as the other disciples. He was at his place of work where he was employed by the Romans. Levi was not a major “tax-gatherer”, but only a lowly toll-collector, who collected people’s tolls as they were using a Roman road. Levi was not cheating other people in his tax-gathering, but he was still considered a “sinner” and evil by Jewish society at large. Jesus, though, saw in him the makings of a prophet of God’s kingdom, and so he called him to leave his job and to follow him. Levi didn’t give two weeks notice—he just left. Again, this was unacceptable, but an indication of his faith in Jesus.

Jesus specifically targeted those in unacceptable professions-- tax collectors and prostitutes. Yet if a prostitute walked into our churches, we would immediately judge her. We should be the first people welcoming the felons, the drug dealers, and those who make pornography. We should give them the same opportunity for renewal and repentance that Jesus did. We need more ministries like XXXchurch.

Mark 2:1-12-- Forgiving the Paralytic

When He had come back to Capernaum several days afterward, it was heard that He was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room, not even near the door; and He was speaking the word to them. And they came, bringing to Him a paralytic, carried by four men. Being unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him; and when they had dug an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying. And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven." But some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, "Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming; who can forgive sins but God alone?" Immediately Jesus, aware in His spirit that they were reasoning that way within themselves, said to them, "Why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven'; or to say, 'Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk '? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins "— He said to the paralytic, I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet and go home." And he got up and immediately picked up the pallet and went out in the sight of everyone, so that they were all amazed and were glorifying God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this."

The paralytic, as well, was considered judged by evil spirits because of his sin. Certainly he was not allowed to enter the temple to pray to God there (Leviticus 21:18-20—although this passage is specifically speaking about priests), and he was unable to work, unable to be married—unable to participate in society. But he had friends, or at least people who had pity on him, who decided to work for him. Jesus was teaching in Peter’s house, and it was so crowded, no one could get in. So these men decided to do something outrageous—to tear up Peter’s roof, and lower the handicapped man through. Jesus didn’t rebuke them for their impropriety, but rewarded it instead.

But he didn’t immediately heal the man. Instead he said, “Your sins are forgiven.” To say this, Jesus was recognizing that his handicap came because of evil he did before God, it was an indication that he was exiled from God’s presence, separated from God. But now, Jesus said, because of the outrageous act of faith of his friends, he is accepted back in God’s presence, released from exile.

Scribes were literally, “those who could read and write” in ancient society, and this indicated that they were educated. In this case, they flexed their educated muscles, declaring that Jesus could not say who was forgiven and who was not—only God could. Jesus couldn’t hear what they said, but he knew what they were talking about. So to indicate that God supported Jesus’ words, Jesus healed the man by the power of God. Jesus’ healings were not just about making people better, they mostly indicated that the one healed was not condemned by God, but accepted by him.

The main point of Jesus' ministry was opening doors to people so that they could connect to God. That's what forgiveness really is-- an open relationship. Jesus was more concerned about the paralytic's relationship to God than about his healing. Why? Because his healing could happen in the resurrection, or it could happen now, but if he has no relationship with God, then there is no healing, ever.

But it is just as important for everyone to know that he is right before God as well as for God to allow that relationship to exist. That's why Jesus healed him-- so that the religious leaders had to admit that God is connected to the poor. Even today, the religious leaders deny that the poor and hurting truly have faith. For some reason, they think that only the healed and the rich have a good relationship with God. They seem to have ignored both the gospel and James-- "It is the poor who are rich in faith."

It is our responsibility as religious people to draw people to God. It is also our responsibility to not put blocks in the ways of the poor and hurting to keep them thinking that they are separated from God, when they are not.

Jesus Praying

 

Mark 1:35-38-- Jesus' Prayer Life

In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there. Simon and his companions searched for Him; they found Him, and said to Him, "Everyone is looking for you." He said to them, "Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came for."

Jesus struggled with time to pray alone. He prayed with his disciples, and he showed his devotion to Yahweh by reciting the “Shema” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5) daily. But to be able to listen to the Father and gain strength by praying alone was hard to get. To do this, sometimes he would get up before anyone else, sometimes he would tell everyone to go away, sometimes he would stay up after everyone was asleep. But as often as he could, he sought time with the Father.

After his disciples found him, he told them that staying in Capernum to have a healing ministry was not his purpose. Rather, he needed to travel around to many towns and to teach them about the kingdom of God. There was a sense of urgency about his message that meant that everyone needed to hear this message as quickly as possible.

It is important to have two kinds of prayer-- regular, rote prayer that we might have with others, such as in a worship service, or reciting the Lord's prayer daily. Also we need personal, interactive prayer with the Father, mixed with silence, listening, crying out and adoration.

If we are to be like Jesus, we want to keep ourselves busy enough with serving others that we struggle with finding time for prayer. But we need to keep up the struggle, despite our busyness.

Mark 1:32-34-- Raking in the Crowds

When evening came, after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were demon-possessed. And the whole city had gathered at the door. And He healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who He was.

After casting out of the demon and healing a severely ill woman, Jesus’ ministry is different. Many crowds begin to follow him around, not to hear his teaching, but because he heals and casts out demons. People feel the spiritual oppression that they are under and are clamoring for the freedom that Jesus offers.

Popularity, like authority, is something that should be granted, not sought.

Mark 1:29-31-- Peter's Mother-In-Law

And immediately after they came out of the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon's mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and immediately they spoke to Jesus about her. And He came to her and raised her up, taking her by the hand, and the fever left her, and she waited on them.

Simon—one of the disciples Jesus called "Peter"—lived in Capernum where Jesus was teaching. His mother-in-law was severely ill in bed. Jesus used his authority to have the illness leave her. The language used here is the same as a resurrection—he “raised” her from the bed, as if she were dead. In response, the woman was healthy enough to provide service for Jesus and his disciples by offering them food and lodging. From this point on, Simon’s house is called “his,” or Jesus’, house in Capernum.

This is the only description we have about Peter's mother in law, and it is amazing. She's sick in bed, possibly at death's door, and certainly unable to get up. She is healed by Jesus and without waiting a moment, she offers hospitality to a large group of men who showed up at her house. She reminds me a bit of my grandmother who would get a huge dinner ready for her son's football team in an hour's notice.

If all of our conversions were that way-- healing and then instant service to others.

I wish I knew her name...

Mark 1:22-28-- Confronting The Possessed

They went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and began to teach. They were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, saying, "What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are-- the Holy One of God!" And Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!" Throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice and came out of him. They were all amazed, so that they debated among themselves, saying, "What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him." Immediately the news about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding district of Galilee.

Jesus began his ministry by teaching. In the context of teaching about the kingdom of God—God’s time of coming when he sets free the oppressed—a man comes who is oppressed by an evil spirit. An evil spirit is not necessarily one who is rebellious against God, but one who wants to judge and destroy humans (see I Kings 22:19-23). This spirit wanted to make public to the human world what has only been made known in the spirit world—that Jesus is the chosen one of God. Jesus recognized that the Father did not want this information known to humans, so he told the spirit to be quiet. Then, because of the oppression the spirit caused his human host, Jesus exiled the spirit—cast him out of the region ruled by God. Jesus did this by the power to rule that the Father had given him, and so Jesus was able to just command the spirit. This displayed his authority to all the people watching, although they did not understand what that authority meant.

As disturbed as people who are under demonic control are, Jesus recognized that they are not the enemy. The person needs mercy and deliverance. It is the demonic force that needs confrontation.

We meet people we strongly disagree with often. Sometimes, in a church context, we might confront them, or consider them "evil." In a biblical definition of evil-- doing harm to another-- that might even be true. But the real enemy is not the person who confronts us or does us violence. Rather, the real enemy is the satanic force that has lied to that person. Every person we must treat with love and mercy, doing what we can to help them. Even if they destroy our reputation or even our lives, it is better to face the displeasure of men rather than God.

Calling Fishermen

 

So what did he call them? Musta been something nice for them to drop their nets and follow him...

Mark 1:16-21-- Gathering Students

As He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men." Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. Going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets. Immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away to follow Him.

In the pattern of the prophets, Jesus called others to follow him (I Kings 19:19-21). What he was actually doing is inviting them to join his “school”, where he would teach them his way of life and teaching, which the “students” or disciples would imitate and then live in the same way. It is shown here what someone must sacrifice in order to be a disciple of Jesus—one’s occupation, one’s family, and one’s home. Some passages in the gospels teach this literally—Mark 10:29-30; Luke 14:26-27,33.

Being like Jesus is a part of being His disciple. Sacrificing for Jesus is a pre-requisite to being like Him. Every life change requires a lifestyle sacrifice and a new way of looking at things. Old jobs, old connections to family, all of this must be seen in a new way. This will be seen as a rejection of that which we would leave behind-- be seen as 'hating' one's family or friends. But this is not necessarily true. But to live a new life means complete change and while this doesn't mean that one has to speak rejection, it does mean that we need to no longer participate in that old form of life.

But different people this means different things. For fishermen, it certainly means that they can't be tied to a dock. For my life, it meant living in poverty much of the time. For others it means separating from family, giving up on one's politics or surrendering habits that keeps one from following Jesus.

Jesus Teaching

 

Mark 1:14-15-- Jesus' Call To Believe

Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."

Jesus began his ministry in Galilee, the northern region mostly inhabited by Jews, which used to be the kingdom of Israel. Jesus’ first ministry was to go to synagogues and preach. Mark just gives us a summary, but his teaching could be explained this way: “It is time for God’s promises to his people to be fulfilled. It is time for God’s kingdom to come. But God’s people are not ready. If you want to be a part of God’s people, you need to change your life, repent of your sins and have faith that the promises of God are really going to come to pass. This is the good news, but if you do not accept it and act on it then it will be bad news to you.”

The kingdom of God is the nation that God promised to begin a long time ago, where he would establish a king (called “Messiah”) who would rule God’s people and it would be a hub of an empire that would influence the world. God’s people would have everything they need and be secure. But those who have rebelled against God—evildoers and oppressors of God’s people—would be cast out and have no part of the kingdom.

The "hope" that Jesus calls us to is a hope for God's future, not just any hope at all. The faith he calls us to is a faith in a promise for utopia. Only in the context of judgment, resurrection and a perfect society does Jesus' call, teaching, ministry and death make any sense at all. We must hold onto this future-- not created by democracy or revolution or the latest well-meaning talking head or politician. Rather, this future will only come from God. If we do not trust in this future, that is the basis of Jesus' call, then we should also reject Christianity as a whole, for if we reject what we should believe in, then we reject the whole system.

Mark 1:12-13-- Testing In The Wilderness

Immediately the Spirit impelled Him to go out into the wilderness. And He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels were ministering to Him.

Jesus was directed by the newly given Spirit to go to the wilderness, where evil spirits lived, and be tested by Satan, which is a Hebrew word for “accuser” or “prosecuting attorney”. Satan was trying to test Jesus, on the assumption that he needs to prove that he is worthy to be the Son of God, that was declared in the last paragraph. But the Father assisted Jesus by giving him angels to serve him and assist him throughout the time.  The longer passages in Matthew 4 and Luke 4 are certainly more well known, as they give much more detail.  Mark does, however, add the detail of the wild beasts, a threat in addition to his attack by Satan.

If it was necessary for Jesus to be tested by Satan, to fast and to suffer to be ready to do God's work, then it must be so for us as well. It is a part of human nature-- we cannot function well or in a peaceable way unless we pass through suffering. Only when we learn to love and trust in the midst of suffering will we be able to truly love and trust in the ideal circumstances. Because love and trust can only be truly understood in the context of difficulty.

Jesus' Baptism

 

Mark 1:9-11-- Jesus' Baptism

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him; and a voice came out of the heavens: "You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased."

Here we see God appointing Jesus as the Son of God. The text says that Jesus alone saw the vision, and so it was not public yet. But the vision that was seen communicated that Jesus was anointed by God to be king over God’s people and that he received God’s Spirit as evidence that he was king. The Spirit meant that Jesus could use the power of God. But since this was a private ceremony, Jesus could not announce to others that he was king—even as David couldn’t announce it after he was anointed (I Samuel 16).

Jesus was completely submitted to God-- he didn't make a move forward until the Father directed him. He knew he was the appointed Messiah from this moment forward, and he acted with this power. But never for himself, it was always for others. To be able to accomplish great feats, but to rely completely on God-- would that we could have such conviction!

John the Baptist, Today?

 

Mark 1:2-8-- The Baptist Confession

As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: "Behold, I send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Make ready the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.'" John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist, and his diet was locusts and wild honey. And he was preaching, and saying, "After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the thong of His sandals. I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

John the Baptist was appointed by God to prepare his people for his kingdom, which was coming soon (more about that below). Mark sees John as fulfilling the verse in Isaiah 40:3. Although Isaiah was speaking of himself in the prophecy, it applies clearly to John and his calling, thus he “fulfilled” the prophecy—not in being a one time fulfillment, but in repeating a previous calling correctly. He baptized people to repent from their sins and to be forgiven—so they could be accepted by God and so accepted in the new kingdom that was coming. But he did not focus on himself, but he focused on the one who was to come. Even so, in our lives, we should not focus on ourselves or our desires so much as on the One who called us and uses us to call others to him.

John was an amazing man. He sacrificed much for his message. He saw the people of God as ultimately straying from where God had called them. Not just that they were imperfect, but that as a society they were far from the basic standard of what could be called the "kingdom of God". They were not ruled by God, nor were they living according to God's justice, which included equity for the poor and opportunity for the sinner to come to God. John rejected all the leadership of the people of God, from the council to the kings to the scribes.

The church is in a similar state. The church has rejected the justice and economic system of Jesus, which is based on meeting the needs of those at the bottom of society. The church's leadership is as much about hierarchy and prestige and monetary gains as it is about "ministry". It is time for a complete change, a new opportunity to be in God's kingdom. It is time to know what our goals really are, to establish real justice, instead of relying on the false justice that exists in our society.

Perhaps we all need to be rebaptized into a church that focuses on mercy and justice and the needs of the poor. Perhaps we need to be rejoined to Jesus in a new way. We need to be joined to a community that will do what the world does not, in order to replace it, not just to supplement it. It is time for a new revolution to make a new society.

At the same time, John was a humble man. He knew that he couldn't bring the revival that God demanded. Rather, he was only the one to point the way. He pointed the way starkly, dramatically, but it was up to Jesus alone to start the kingdom that John could only see from afar. Would that we had such humility.

Mark 1:1-- The Basics

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

This is the title of the book of Mark. We call it the “Book of Mark” because second century tradition tells us it was written by John Mark, a disciple of Paul and Barnabas and a scribe for the apostle Peter. Sometimes the book of Mark is called “Peter’s gospel” because it is supposed that Mark dictated the gospel from Peter’s rememberances. Although portions of the book were written from people’s memory, the work has so much literary style, it probably. Recent discussions by Richard Bauckham confirms that the gospel of Mark probably depended a lot on Peter's testimony, as well as other eyewitnesses.

But the title Mark gave his own gospel is this: “The Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus was the name “Y’shua” in Hebrew, what we normally translate “Joshua.” It means “Yahweh is Savior.” “Christ” is a Greek translation of the Hebrew word “Messiah” which literally means “anointed one” and is applied to those whom God selected to hold an office, such as priest or king. “Son of God” can mean different things, depending on the context, but it usually stands for one who has been given authority by God, especially one who rules over another, such as a king. So what Mark wants us to pay attention to is that this book is about Jesus who was appointed by God to rule over God’s people.

What Mark-- we'll call him "Mark" for simplicity's sake-- is writing this book for is to help us make a commitment to Jesus. We need to realize who it is that Jesus says he is, that he is God's chosen king, but also that we need to yield our allegiance to Him as king. To surrender to Jesus' rule is to offer him fealty or "faith". This is not simply belief that he is king. Mark instead is asking us to submit our lives to His life and teachings. If we surrender ourselves fully, then we will obtain all the blessings that God has to offer. This is the promise of Mark. The details of that promise are to come.