Mark 7:31-37-- Speech Renewed

"Say 'Ahh'"

Again He went out from the region of Tyre, and came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, within the region of Decapolis. They brought to Him one who was deaf and spoke with difficulty, and they implored Him to lay His hand on him. Jesus took him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers into his ears, and after spitting, He touched his tongue with the saliva; and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He said to him, "Ephphatha!" that is, "Be opened!" And his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was removed, and he began speaking plainly. And He gave them orders not to tell anyone; but the more He ordered them, the more widely they continued to proclaim it. They were utterly astonished, saying, "He has done all things well; He makes even the deaf to hear and the mute to speak."

This is one of two sufferers of deafness and muteness in Mark’s gospel. Again, Jesus wants privacy to keep people from knowing how much of God’s authority he can wield.  He sighs before he heals him—which is elsewhere an indication of displeasure or exasperation (Mark 8:12).  He speaks a command in Aramaic and uses saliva to heal him. Jesus sometimes uses his saliva as a healing agent in his miracles (Mark 8:23; John 9:6). It is an amazing miracle, as the response from the crowd shows.  The crowds opinion is very broad—that Jesus does nothing wrong, everything he does is good.  This is comparable to God’s work, which is all good (Genesis 1:31). 

We may not do everything well.  Frankly, Jesus called all fathers "evil" (Luke 11:13), so at least guys are in trouble in the morality department. Some like to think that everything we do is evil, but I think the Bible gives freedom to say that some of our actions are right and some are wrong.  Sometimes we have good intentions and sometimes not so good.  Sometimes our intentions are so mixed we don't even know. 

And that goes for our speech as well.  James said that our tongue is a fire lit by hell.  That's pretty strong.  At the very least, though, we can say that our speech is at times wrong-headed.  Sometimes we say just the wrong thing at the wrong time in the wrong way.  Sometimes it's more than sometimes.  Perhaps the mute guy had the right idea?

If Jesus can take a man of silence and give him speech-- that even without asking-- surely he can take our wrong-headed speech and turn it into good.  All things that Jesus does is good, and he is in the healing and transformation business.  He can take our tongue spurred by an evil heart and turn it into something good.  He can take that which destroys and transform it into construction.  He can take a conflict-maker and transform it into a peace maker.  

And since we CAN ask for it, we should.  If we need our mouth to express wisdom, all we have to do is ask for it, and we will receive. 

Mark 7:24-30-- Jesus the Racist

Jesus got up and went away from there to the region of Tyre. And when He had entered a house, He wanted no one to know of it; yet He could not escape notice. But after hearing of Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at His feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, of the Syrophoenician race—a Canaanite. And she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. And He was saying to her, "Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." But she answered and said to Him, "Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children's crumbs." And He said to her, "Because of this answer go; the demon has gone out of your daughter." And going back to her home, she found the child lying on the bed, the demon having left.

Although we occasionally see Jesus evaluating whether he should do a miracle or not (Mark 9:20-24; 10:51), and see a time when he is unable to do miracles (Mark 6:5) this is the only case in which Jesus refuses to use his authority to help another.  We see in Matthew that the possibility of refusing is there (Matt. 7:6; 10:5, 14), and has probably been used before.  Jesus refuses to help this woman for good reasons.  She is a Canaanite, a race that God had declared doomed to destruction, not salvation (Deuteronomy 7:1-2; Judges 2:1-3).  And so having some Canaanites be demonized would be their normal state, for they are under perpetual judgement.  At first Jesus ignored her.  When she refused to be ignored, then Jesus insulted her.  Instead of walking away, she accepted the insult and built upon it in order to gain the deliverance of God.  Jesus recognized then that this woman—although a Canaanite—was a woman of faith in Yahweh.  This faith was displayed by her persistence (Mark 10:46-52; Luke 18:1-8) and her extreme humility (Matthew 8:5-10; Luke 18:9-14).  Everyone, even those whom God declared to be forever separated from his people, will be accepted by God if they have faith, for example Rahab and Ruth, both in the genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:2-5; James 2:25-26).

The prejudice of Jesus is deeply disturbing.  It is natural for a first century Jew to have this opinion of a Canaanite, but Jesus?  Well, we thought better of him. His attitude in this paragraph is simply racism.  There is no question about it.  He is judging this woman on her genetic heritage.  

On the other hand... he came all the way to Tyre, where there are few Jews and a lot of Gentiles, and certainly a number of Canaanites.  He was not planning on personally ministering to Gentiles, although he did on occasion.  Why did he come to Tyre?  He was in hiding... but why Tyre?  Because he needed to meet someone there?  Because the disciples needed to learn a lesson?

However Jesus starts out, his conclusion is amazing.  Because this woman who was cursed of God by her birth, Jesus declared her to be a saint of God, one chosen to be worthy of the blessing of the faithful.  This transformation happened in an instant.  How?  By demonstrating her faith.

She did not declare her faith by stating a doctrinal statement.  Or even saying any conventional prayer or liturgical flourish.  Rather, she just cleverly accepted an insult that was given to her by Jesus.  What did this show?  First of all, it showed her absolute faith in Jesus.  Not only that he could do the miracle she was requesting, but that his evaluation of her was correct.  She so trusted him, that his insult was accepted and her humiliation was complete.

And humiliation is the perfect demonstration of faith.

She provides an introduction to Jesus' teaching about the cross and his own demonstration of faith.  The greatest demonstration of faith is the acceptance of humiliation.  This is not self-deprecation, nor is it false humility.  Rather, it is accepting an authority's lowering of your status.  More about this later.  It is enough to know that to have faith is also to accept deep humility.  If we reject all humiliation, then there is a question whether we have the faith of Jesus at all. 

Mark 7:14-23-- Blessed are the Pure in Heart

After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear." When he had left the crowd and entered the house, His disciples questioned Him about the parable. And He said to them, "Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated into the toilet, making all foods clean?” And He was saying, "That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man."

Jesus is concluding the discussion that he has had with the scribes and Pharisees concerning the traditions of men and the commandments of God.  He offers a mystery to the crowds—as was his normal mode (see Mark 4:11-12).  He summarizes his understanding of purity—the outside coming in does not defile, but the inside coming out.  The disciples understood this no better than the crowds.  Jesus seemed surprised and upset at the disciples lack of understanding.  He expected them to understand better than the crowds, even though he did not explain.  This attitude to the disciples is found elsewhere, and it increases throughout the book of Mark, until it reaches a climax in 8:17-21.  

Purity laws in Judaism—whether in the law of Moses or in the traditions of the elders—all have to do with what one touches or eats.  Jesus had already spoken above about the washing of hands and how it is unnecessary to obey God’s commands (Mark 7:5-7).  Indirectly, he spoke to the issue of the impurity of a person because of what one touched, implying that just because you might have touched something unclean, that did not defile the person before God.  Here he speaks more directly on the issue of eating that which is impure.  

Jesus said that the food one eats just passes through one, so it cannot make one unclean.  The food is clean, not because it is excrement (for human excrement is considered impure—Deuteronomy 23:12-14; Ezekiel 4:12-15), but because is passed all the way through the body, without effecting the central part of the soul—the heart.  Jesus is saying that it is not what one touches or what one eats that is significant, but the intent with which they do so.  Thus sin does not initiate from outside, but from inside a person—with thoughts, intents and desires  And it is acting on evil thoughts or intentions which separates one from God—which makes one defiled.  

At the end of this section, Jesus gives a list of sins that are offensive to God and will separate one from him.  Vice lists are common in the New Testament (e.g. Romans 1:29-31; I Corinthians 6:9-10; Revelation 21:8) and have many things in common.  The vice lists that Jesus uses in other places are based on the ten commandments (e.g. Mark 10:19), but this one is more comprehensive, listing sins that are not only in the ten commandments (thefts, murders, adulteries, coveting) as well as others, all of which are described in the books of Moses  (Evil intent-- Exodus 10:10; Slander— Genesis 27:35; Leviticus 19:16; Sensuality-- II Peter 2:7 [referring to the men of Sodom]; Evil eye—Genesis 34:2; Blasphemies—Leviticus 24:11-16; Prideful/defiant-- Numbers 15:30; Foolishness— Deut 22:21).  They are describing the acts of those who are not to be allowed to remain among God’s people—which is the purpose of all the vice lists.

"Cleanliness is next to godliness" is a cliche, which has been assumed untrue by many, but assumed true by many of our actions.  It is amazing how we in middle class society see people as morally or spiritually unclean because they have a hard time cleaning their body.  If a person enters a church smelling funny or visibly dirty, then they sit in the back, or are given "dirty"looks.  If a person has lice or scabies, it is assumed that they didn't clean enough, even though studies show that isn't true.  

In our age, being dirty is associated with being of a lower class, which is associated with being unspiritual or even immoral.  The homeless and the mentally ill are considered to need "evangelism", although they are in no less need of it than the middle or upper classes.  This is less because of the lack of cleanliness itself than because of the assumption that people who struggle to eat must have spiritual problems, although Jesus said that his family would be people who have problems finding enough to eat or drink or clothes or who are in prison.

Jesus is saying that we need to stop looking at the outward appearance, the physical actions of people, but instead look at the intent of one's heart.  So often we see "rule breakers" or even law-breakers as the problem in our society, when it is really those who break love.  Those who follow love and grace are often those who are breakers of policies and rules because human need cannot fit into a rule.

And men's evil cannot be ruled- or lawed-away, either.  Evil exists in the most pristine of churches, because it travels in the hearts of people, where it cannot be seen.  We cannot be rid of other's evil.  All we can do is examine ourselves, and discover our own evil.  And it is only God who can rid us of it.

Mark 7:9-13-- Set Aside for God

He was also saying to them, "You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition. For Moses said, 'HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER'; and, 'HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER, IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH'; but you say, 'If a man says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is Corban (that is to say, given to God),' you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother; thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that."

While Jesus seems to be speaking of the same subject as the last paragraph, the subject is actually slightly different.  In v. 12, Jesus said that the scribes and Pharisees “neglect” to do God’s commands, but they focus on human tradition or law.  In this paragraph, Jesus is giving an example of how the Pharisees actually disobey God’s command in preference to human law.  Jesus uses as his example the fifth command out of the ten—“honor your father and mother” (Exodus 20:12) and supports it with a command denying evil speech against one’s parents (Exodus 21:17).  The tradition the Pharisees were proposing on the surface seems to have nothing to do with these two commands.  They were saying that one may make a vow to the Lord to dedicate the resources one would normally use to provide for one’s parents in their old age, and to give it to God’s use (possibly the temple).  The word corban is a Hebrew word which means “gift”—in other words, even though someone is using it, it has been set aside for God, and thus cannot be used for one’s parents.  

Jesus, however, sees that the honor of one’s parents is done precisely by caring for them when they are no longer able to care for themselves.  And since the law says that to speak evil to one’s parents is a crime worthy of death, then anyone speaking to their parents of how they will not be caring for them is speaking an evil and thus is worthy of the death penalty.  But this is the very thing the tradition is telling them to do—to dishonor parents by not caring for them and to speak evil to them by telling them how you are going to dishonor them.  Jesus is using this as one example of how the scribes and Pharisees twist Scripture on it’s head to tell people to do exactly what the Scriptures tell people not to do.  Thus, Jesus concludes, the Pharisees are not interested in obeying God at all.  They are only interested in keeping men’s traditions.

As deeply committed religious people, we know instinctively that God is more important than our families.  After all, Jesus said, "Whoever does not hate his father and mother, sister and brother, wife and children and even his own life, cannot be my disciple."  (Luke 14:26)  Our commitment to God should me more than our commitment to our families.  Our commitment to God should be more than our commitment to our fellow church member, the poor or our closest friends.  Always keep God first.

This is true.  And it is not true.  Both.

Because what we often fail to remember is that our commitment to God includes our commitment to our family.  Our commitment to our brother or sister in Christ.  Our commitment to the poor.  Even our commitment to our enemy.  We may feel that associating with a certain family member is a compromise of our faith.  But if our faith is to love, then perhaps it is keeping our faith.  Certainly holding onto our anger and bitterness isn't a real part of our spiritual life.

John takes this principle even more severely: "If someone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen." (1 John 4:20) If we fail to care for our family, our poor, our needy, our friends, then we don't have the commitment to God that we think we have.

Jesus says that the bottom line is to always care for our needy, whether they be our parents or our children or our poor neighbors.  If we don't, then we really aren't obeying God at all, no matter what else we are doing.

So what did Jesus mean about the "hating" of family?  Well, our family will tell us that if we really loved them we had to share in their prejudices and hatreds and practices that God doesn't want us to participate in, or else we "hate" them and everything they stand for.  Let's face it, most of our families have things they stand for that we should hate, whether a political ideal or a commitment to money or a certain destructive lifestyle.  Those we should separate from.

But always love.  Always care.  Always meet need.  Because that's what God has called us to. 

Mark 7:1-8-- Wash Your Hands!

The Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered around Him when they had come from Jerusalem, and had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with impure hands, that is, unwashed. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders; and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots.) The Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, "Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?" And He said to them, "Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: 'THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.' Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men."

The fact that some Pharisees and scribes were coming from Jerusalem was significant, for it showed that Jesus was gaining official notice from some of the leaders in Jerusalem.  Not the high priest, but some of the education facilities were paying attention to his teaching.  

As others have done in the past, these officials attack Jesus through the actions of his disciples, which seems unorthodox.  Three things can be seen from this—that first, Jesus followed the orthodox practice (in this case, washing his hands) or else they would have complained about his practice specifically; second, that the disciples were unschooled and clueless about the finer points of the law; and third, that in not correcting his disciples, Jesus didn’t care whether they followed the orthodoxy of his day or not.  Even though Jesus himself practiced proper orthodox actions, he did not insist that his disciples do the same.  

It is well documented that the Pharisees were very concerned with keeping things ritually clean.  Hand washing—as well as the washing of the outside of pots—was considered very significant for keeping all things acceptable before God.  While this may seem ridiculous in modern eyes, the modern focus on cleansing things with an eye to controlling germs would be equally ridiculous in the first century.  But what the Pharisees were most concerned about in the washing of hands is that it is the passed down opinion that God is concerned with this action. 

Jesus’ rebuttal to the Pharisee’s complaint makes it clear that the washing of hands is really unimportant.  That they are focusing on the law invented by men, but not as concerned about obeying the actual commands of God.  Because of this focus, he applies to them a prophecy of Isaiah (29:13) which speaks of false obedience.  Jesus is saying that the scribes are giving the appearance of obeying God, but in reality doing nothing like that.  For this reason, he calls them “hypocrites”—which in Greek literally means “those less than able to discern” and could be translated "actors" or “pretenders.”  Those who seem to do one thing, but in reality is doing another.

We all have traditions that are essential to our spiritual life.  Perhaps it is listening to worship music, perhaps it is reading a particular translation, perhaps it is attending a certain church, maybe it is meditating in a forest. Maybe it is reading the psalms. Maybe it is attending a certain AA meeting. These traditions are good for us, and often they are healthy for our spirit.  

Some of our traditions are so close to our heart that we cannot imagine living without them.  In fact, we wonder how others live without these habits, they are so close to the heart of our spiritual health. We might even claim that they can't be spiritually healthy without our traditions or practices.

We're wrong.  Jesus is just setting us straight on that.

As important as our traditions are, that doesn't mean that someone else isn't just as spiritually healthy without them.  And if we look at someone else's traditions and say, "That's not godly," we're probably wrong.  The great thing about God is that he scattered many different traditions to meet the spiritual needs of many different people.  What seems offensive to us may be essential to another person.  What is at the heart of our spiritual life may be death to another person, as hard it is to believe.

This is not to say that there aren't some practices that are better than others, or that some practices are spiritually deadly.  But we are so attune to our culture and habits that it is probably better to stop and seriously consider before we judge another person's practice, or insist that they take part in ours.

Mark 6:53-56-- Busy Jesus

When they had crossed over they came to land at Gennesaret, and moored to the shore. When they got out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, and ran about that whole country and began to carry here and there on their pallets those who were sick, to the place they heard He was. Wherever He entered villages, or cities, or countryside, they were laying the sick in the market places, and imploring Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak; and as many as touched it were being cured.

This is the final summary statement of Jesus’ ministry in Mark.  The other ones were found in Mark 1:32-34 and Mark 3:7-12.  Jesus’ popularity was now huge in Galilee.  Crowds of people mobbed him, all bringing their sick or demonized for him to heal.  Many were bringing their sick on planks of wood (such as the young paralytic in chapter 2), so there were groups of people carrying the sick to wherever Jesus was.  Jesus traveled all over—not just ministering in towns, but also ministering to people as he traveled the countryside.  They would all plead with him to be healed, but if someone touched him and he didn’t know it (such as the woman in chapter 5), they were healed anyway.

I read this and all I can think of is this scene in Jesus Christ Superstar:

Jesus, so crazy busy, he doesn't have room to breathe.  He doesn't have any self to give anymore, but still they demand more.  He tried to rest with his disciples, and ended up with a multitude to serve.  Then he tried to get by himself, but had to save his disciples out of a storm.  Now, guess what?  He goes back into the fray. 

I've had days that felt like that.  I so desperately want a Sabbath, but there is no Sabbath in sight.  I wonder what Jesus did in those circumstances.  

Mark 6:45-52-- Crazy Jesus

Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side to Bethsaida, while He Himself was sending the crowd away. After bidding them farewell, He left for the mountain to pray. When it was evening, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and He was alone on the land. Seeing them straining at the oars, for the wind was against them, at about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea; and He intended to pass by them. But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed that it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were terrified. But immediately He spoke with them and said to them, "Take courage; it is I, do not be afraid." Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped; and they were utterly astonished, for they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but their heart was hardened.

After feeding the five thousand and teaching all of them, Jesus decided that it was time for him to get a little rest (that neither he nor the disciples got previously).  So he sent the disciples in the boat across the lake, and then he send the crowd away to go home.  Then Jesus was by himself, praying, asking the Father and listening to the Father.  

It happens, at times, on the Sea of Galilee (or, called the Lake of Genessearet) that strong storms come suddenly.  The disciples came against one of those storms.  In the text it says that the “wind” was against them—meaning the power of the wind.  Rather than pay attention to Jesus’ lesson earlier against the storm—where he showed them that all they needed to do was to command the winds to be silent (Mark 4:37-40)—they were working with their oars, trying to battle the wind in a puny human way.  Jesus was determined to help them, so he used his authority over the power of the water and walked on it to the boat.  At first the disciples were frightened, thinking it was a spirit coming to attack them.  But he commanded them not to be afraid.  As he entered the boat, the wind stopped at his authority.  

Mark then makes a comment on the disciples.  They were supposed to have learned about the authority that Jesus gave them—from him calming the storm, him sending them out to cast out evil spirit, from them distributing the impossible food.  They were supposed to learn that the authority he had to draw on God’s power of provision and protection over against any spirit doing them harm.  But they did not understand.  The term “heart was hardened” is used a number of times in the Old Testament (Exodus 7:13-14; Exodus 9:12; Deuteronomy 2:30; II Chronicles 36:13).  It means to lack understanding in a stubborn, rebellious way.  Sometimes the Lord can harden someone’s heart, but more often than not, they do it to themselves.  In this case, the disciples refused to believe that they had received the same authority that Jesus had.  That they could command the wind and water to obey.  That they could cause the loaves to multiply.  Because the same power that God displayed in the Scripture, that was the power in Jesus and that was the authority Jesus had given them.  Because they refused to pay attention to what Jesus was teaching them, they lacked understanding.

To live the Christian life, the main thing is to just pay attention to Jesus.

When I say "Christian" I don't mean being a good person in society, like being a proper husband or wife.  Because Jesus wasn't that kind of person himself.  He wasn't a very good son (he didn't take care of his mother), he wasn't a very good husband (without a wife), he wasn't a good provider (he quit his job).  

Jesus was a revolutionary and a charismatic.  He saw the world differently than other people, and so reacted differently to situations.  He used his words to make reality change.  He asserted his God-given authority.  He stepped into situations that most of us would have thought to be impossible.

If we would have seen the disciples in trouble in the middle of the lake, we might have done the "good Christian" thing and pray for them.  Maybe we would have prayed "with power" (which would have meant firmly and loudly), but we would have stayed on shore.  Only Jesus saw that the disciples needed more than a distant prayer, they needed his presence, and so he walked out to them.  On the sea.

Jesus doesn't ask for much.  He isn't asking us to do anything he wouldn't do.  But he is asking us to live out radical love like he did.  And if we step out in that love, he promises to help us fulfill it.  

If we pay attention to Jesus' love, we will do, says Jesus, even crazier things than he did.  Cool.

Mark 6:33-44-- Cliff Jumping for Beginners

The people saw them going, and many recognized them and ran there together on foot from all the cities, and got there ahead of them. When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things. When it was already quite late, His disciples came to Him and said, "This place is desolate and it is already quite late; send them away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat." But He answered them, "You give them something to eat!" And they said to Him, "Shall we go and spend two hundred denarii on bread and give them something to eat?" And He said to them, "How many loaves do you have? Go look!" And when they found out, they said, "Five, and two fish." And He commanded them all to sit down by groups on the green grass. They sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food and broke the loaves and He kept giving them to the disciples to set before them; and He divided up the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up twelve full baskets of the broken pieces, and also of the fish. There were five thousand men who ate the loaves.

Although the best intentions were there to get the apostles some rest, the reality was that it was not possible.  The people who desired healing and teaching from God were so desperate that they walked around a huge lake and arrived on the shore before the boat did.  Jesus saw that they were like “sheep without a shepherd.”  The term “shepherd” is used frequently in the OT to describe kings or elders, who provides guidance for the people (II Samuel 5:2; Ezekiel 34:2; Zechariah 11:15-17).  The term “sheep without a shepherd” is used frequently to describe a situation in Israel where they have no human leadership, or when the leadership is evil and ignores the needs of the people (Numbers 27:17; I Kings 22:17; Isaiah 44:28;Ezekiel 34:5; Zechariah 10:2).  Because the times the gospels use this term only when Jesus was looking at a crowd in Galilee, it isn’t certain whether the leaderless people were only in Galilee or meaning all the followers of Yahweh around the world.  It might make sense that it is in reference specifically to those in Galilee, after seeing Herod's weak leadership in the last chapter.  Jesus’ response to their lack of leadership is to teach them God’s word, so they could understand what God really desired of them. 

After a while, the people needed to eat, so the disciples told Jesus to send them away.  Jesus, sensing a teachable moment, gave them an impossible task—to feed a multitude.  They saw the task as ridiculous, and told him so.  When he sent them out to find food, they brought back a scanty amount, as if to say, “There is no point talking about this—just send them away like we suggested!”  Jesus, though, took the scanty amount of food they had brought to him and gave it to all the people.  Not only did everyone eat their fill, but there were twelve baskets of leftovers—one for each apostle who denied that it could be done.  The disciples saw the situation like a math problem—5000 men does not equal five loaves of bread.  Jesus saw the situation differently—he saw the multitudes of the Children of Israel, hungry in the wilderness, listening to the command of God, just like in Exodus 16-20.  In that situation, everyone was hungry and they could see no human way to provide food.  But God provided bread from heaven, and everyone was filled.  Jesus wasn’t giving a new miracle, he was only providing an opportunity for God to do what he had done before.

Faith isn't like jumping off a cliff.  It's like jumping off a cliff with a bungee cord strapped to your back after your friend already did it and came back fine.

It's still crazy.  It's still extreme.  It still requires a lot of cojones. But we know that acts of faith aren't technically crazy because others have had the same experience and came out okay.

Jesus could tell the disciples to feed the multitudes because the multitudes in the wilderness of Exodus were fed.  That was enough for him.  It wasn't enough for the disciples.  They were from Missouri.  They had to see it or they wouldn't believe it.

Okay, so Jesus showed them.  Now they were ready to do it themselves.  Or so it would seem

Frankly, faith asks us to do things that just don't make sense, and no matter how many people we see doing it, it still doesn't make any sense (for some).  Forgiving someone who did you wrong is just too much for some people.  Selling your possessions and giving too the poor just seems to radical a step.  Loving your enemies is seen as insane by most people.  We can see people doing this.  Jesus did.  So did the Amish.  So did the saints.  So did many people.  But we say "They're special.  They can get away with it.  I'm not the same as them."

The Bible makes it clear.  A saint is just a normal person plus faith to do what Jesus did.  To be successful like Jesus just requires faith.  

Mark 6:30-32: Apostles Resting

The apostles gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught. And He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while." For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. They went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves.

In Mark this is the only time the term “apostles” are used.  Usually Mark uses the term “disciples”.  The other gospels, especially Luke, and Acts use the term “apostle” exclusively for the twelve that Jesus chose and sent out.  However, the early church used the term “apostle” more broadly to be any officially chosen person who was sent by Jesus to deliver a message.  The term “apostle” literally means “sent one” and was sometimes used for official messengers who had a particular message to give to a group of people.  The twelve whom Jesus had sent all came back and reported to Jesus.  After Jesus had heard of their work, in obedience to the instructions that he gave in Mark 6:7-13, then he determined that it was time for them to rest from their labor.  The ministry was still surrounding them, requiring their attention, but they left it to have a time of rest.

There are a number of recommendations that ministry leaders rest.  There are retreats to help leaders rest and places of rest.  Many ministries have budgets to allow their leaders to rest.  However, many leaders don't get the rest they need.  Partly because the ministry never ends. There is no clear time to take a rest.  Certainly, as we will see, Jesus and the disciples didn't get the rest they needed because the ministry followed them.

But it is just as likely that leaders don't see rest as necessary.  That their presence is more important than their absence.  Not only do we have Jesus' example to show us how necessary rest is, but we have the Father's.  Think about it: If the Lord of heaven and earth, the omnipotent One, the God of gods decides that he needs to take a day off after six days of work, then we should follow that pattern as well.  We don't want to make ourselves out to be better than God, do we?

Mark 6:17-29: A Government that Creates Martyrs

For Herod himself had sent and had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her. For John had been saying to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death and could not do so; for Herod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed; but he used to enjoy listening to him. A strategic day came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his lords and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee; and when the daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests; and the king said to the girl, "Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you." And he swore to her, "Whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you; up to half of my kingdom." And she went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask for?" And she said, "The head of John the Baptist." Immediately she came in a hurry to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter." And although the king was very sorry, yet because of his oaths and because of his dinner guests, he was unwilling to refuse her. Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded him to bring back his head. And he went and had him beheaded in the prison, and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about this, they came and took away his body and laid it in a tomb.

Mark backtracks in his chronology of Jesus’ life to explain what happened to John the Baptist in order that we might understand why Herod responded the way he did.  John was preaching repentance, and he also publicly preached that Herod the king should repent as well.  Herod, although claiming to obey the law of Moses, broke the Mosaic law of incest by marrying his brother’s wife while his brother was still alive.  Herod, actually being more influenced by Roman law than Jewish, didn’t see a problem with it until John pointed it out.  Herod’s wife—who felt personally attacked by John—demanded that Herod put John in jail, and she looked for an opportunity to kill John.  Herod was particularly pleased by a dance his step-daughter offered him.  Herod was so excited by this that he offered her anything she wanted.  Herod’s wife took advantage of this offer in order to kill John.  Herod at this point was in a quandary.  He knew that to kill a prophet of God was displeasing to God.  But if he broke his promise, he would be shamed before all the people he wanted to honor him as a just king.  So he allowed John to be killed in order to have a good reputation.  In the parable of the soils, Herod’s wife would be the unbelieving soil, Herod would be the soil that gave up under pressure from others (persecution) and John would be the soil that remained faithful to the end, even through persecution.  John here is the forerunner to Jesus not only in message, but also in his manner of death at the hand of government officials.

The most difficult kind of official is not the hard-headed, determined leader.  At least we know their ideals, their goals and can speak to them.  The most dangerous official is the weak leader, who is led by his passions, his whims and his concerns with what others think of him.  A weak leader isn't a person who can't control those under him, but who cannot control himself.

All throughout the Bible, it is clear that weak, undetermined leaders are one of the major problems of society at large.  Ahab was one of those leaders, being led by the paganism of his wife.  Mind you, outright evil leaders are no better, but a weak leader can be among the worst of leaders.  A weak leader can determine something and then change his mind a few minutes later.  A weak leader can have varying moods, where those under him have to carefully walk around him lest he strike out at them.  Most difficult is that a weak leader will punish those under him for his own issues.  Any problem he has he considers to be the problem of those under him.

Any of us can be this weak leader.  A weak leader can be a government leader, but he could also be a pastor, a father, a mother, a social worker, a boss, a pet owner.  How we respond to those under us is how we ourselves will be judged.  Jesus' solution to this is simple: Be strong in love.  His example is leadership is determine to benefit those under him, no matter what it costs himself.  The opposite of Herod is Jesus.  As leaders we can serve ourselves, or serve those under us.  

Mark 6:14-16-- A Big Question

And King Herod heard of it, for His name had become well known; and people were saying, "John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him." But others were saying, "He is Elijah." And others were saying, "He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old." But when Herod heard of it, he kept saying, "John, whom I beheaded, has risen!"

The Herod during Jesus’ ministry was different than the Herod that tried to kill Jesus when he was an infant.  This Herod ruled primarily over Galilee, but did not rule over Samaria or Judea, which was ruled by an appointed Roman governor.  But Herod was seen to be a kind of “Judean King”, in that he was religiously dedicated to Yahweh.  Herod was concerned about Jesus, because of rumors that Jesus was simply John the Baptist risen from the dead (we will see why in the next section).  But the rumors of who Jesus was at this point were varied.  Most people connected him with a prophet of some sort—either Elijah returning (as Malachi said he would—Malachi 4:5-6), or John the Baptist (which made sense, since Jesus spoke of repentance, like John) or a type of prophet not seen for a long time.  But there was no general consensus about who Jesus was.

Some want to lessen Jesus' identity, as if it weren't important.  But for Jesus it was, and for all who knew of him.  This is why Jesus kept it such a mystery-- because what a person thought of him makes a big difference. 

If Jesus is a criminal, then he should be punished.

If Jesus is God, then he should be worshiped.

If Jesus is a prophet, then he should be listened to.

If Jesus is a teacher, then his opinion should be weighed.

If Jesus is a King, then he deserves fealty.

And who we are is partly determined by who we think Jesus is. 

Mark 6:7-13-- Sending Out Imitators

And He summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits; and He instructed them that they should take nothing for their journey, except a mere staff— no bread, no bag, no money in their belt-- but to wear sandals; and He added, "Do not put on two tunics." And He said to them, "Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave town. Any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake the dust off the soles of your feet for a testimony against them." They went out and preached that men should repent. And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.

Jesus’ disciples were not just people who wanted to hear what Jesus had to say, they were people that recognized that Jesus had an appointment by God to do something.  Most of them probably understood his appointment to be that of a prophet or an authoritative teacher or having ability to command some of the spirit world.  Because it was recognized that Jesus had authority, he could also grant that authority to others who were under him.  It is like the secretary of the boss telling someone they are fired with the boss’ authority.  The secretary could only do that if the boss had given authority.  Even so, Jesus here appoints the twelve to do work in Jesus’ name—meaning, with his authorization.  Specifically, he gave them authority to teach and to exile evil spirits that were judging people.  

In doing this work, he gives them specific instructions.  They are to take nothing extra, just the basic things they need to travel a short ways—a staff, a single tunic and sandals.  But they are not to take anything that would provide them with sustenance on their journey, such as food or money or a bag to carry provisions in.  Rather, they are to depend on particular people who accept them when they speak their message.  Those who accept them will welcome them in their home and provide for them.  But if no one does this, or if they ignore what was said, then that town as a group was rejecting not just the disciple, but the message of the kingdom.  If that was the case, then the disciples would shake the dust off of their feet to show that they had no connection with the town.  This would be a “testimony” or a court eyewitness against them before God.

So the disciples replicated the ministry of Jesus in this way—they taught the same message he did, and exiled demons and healed people just as Jesus did.  One thing they did differently than Jesus was anointing with oil.  To put oil on something in a religious sense was to consecrate it, or to cleanse it from impurities.  But it also could be used to show that one was living a normal life again—as people in Jesus’ day used oil like we would use makeup or deodorant, it was put on to make them a part of everyday life again, and not in perpetual sorrow.

The disciples understood that Jesus wasn't just someone to believe in, or to be listened to.  Jesus was someone to copy, to imitate.  So many of us today are so stuck on having the freedom to do as we please, to fit into society, to make ends meet, to raise our family properly in our own culture that we fail to realize that the first and only call of the Christian is to be Christ-like. 

It is not enough for us to believe, we must live.

It is not enough for us to speak Christian, we must be Jesus.

It is not enough for us to listen to the Bible, we must breath God's spirit.

It is not enough for us to pray, we must be the answers to our prayers.

It is not enough for us to receive love, we must give love.

We can say that we are unable to do this.  That it is too difficult a task, too much for any human.  And it is true.  Even Jesus found that being Jesus was too arduous a task.  But Jesus didn't do it himself.  He depended on the power of God, and did only what God had given him the power to do.  Jesus is not asking any more from us.  

Yes, Jesus commands us to lay hands on people and heal them.  But it is not our power, but God's that heal.

Jesus commands us to preach the kingdom of God.  But it is not our words, but his we use.

Yes, Jesus commands us to travel with nothing but clothes.  But we are dependent not on our provision, but God's.

This is why the life of Jesus requires faith.  Because we cannot see what we rely on.