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.

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.