THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

Transcription

1 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK Author: Rick James October 28, pages crupress.com

2 1 The Gospel According To Mark

3 COMMENTARY BY: RICK JAMES PUBLISHED BY: CRU PRESS THE PUBLISHING DIVISION OF THE CAMPUS MINISTRY OF CRU CRU 100 LAKE HART DRIVE 2500 ORLANDO, FL BOOK AND COVER DESIGN: RICK JAMES AND MARK ARNOLD SENIOR EDITOR: NEIL DOWNEY MANUSCRIPT EDITOR: KATIE JAMES PROOF EDITOR: JULIA WALLACE TO ORDER GO TO ISBN CRU PRESS ALL RIGHTS RESERVED THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV COPYRIGHT 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 BY BIBLICA, INC. USED BY PERMISSION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED WORLDWIDE. 4

4 Introduction FROM A GROCERY STORE AISLE TO A HOTEL ROOM, YOU CAN FIND A BIBLE ALMOST ANYWHERE. BUT AVAILABILITY DOES NOT MEAN ACCESSIBILITY, AND HERE WE MUST BE HONEST: AS A BOOK, THE BIBLE IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND. TO READ THE BIBLE AND TO UNDERSTAND THE BIBLE ARE TWO VERY DIFFERENT THINGS. THIS BOOK AIMS TO MAKE A SINCERE READING AND INQUIRY OF THE BIBLE AS EASY AS POSSIBLE. TO BEGIN WITH, WE VE NARROWED THE CONTENT TO SIMPLY THE GOSPEL OF MARK, JUST ONE OF THE FOUR GOSPELS AND TWENTY-SEVEN BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. A DIGESTIBLE PORTION, BUT SUFFICIENT TO UNDERSTAND THE MINISTRY AND MESSAGE OF JESUS CHRIST. SIDE NOTES HAVE ALSO BEEN ADDED TO PROVIDE IMPORTANT BACKGROUND INFORMATION: CONTEXT THAT WILL CLEAR UP A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF CONFUSION. AND LAST, AT IMPORTANT JUNCTURES IN THE GOSPEL, SUMMARY EXPLANATIONS WILL SERVE AS GUIDES TO THE MEANING AND DIRECTION OF THE OVERALL NARRATIVE. THE GOAL OF THIS IS NOT SIMPLY TO KNOW THE BIBLE BETTER, BUT TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE PERSON OF CHRIST WHAT HE SAID, WHAT HE DID, AND WHO HE CLAIMED TO BE. WE HOPE THIS APPROACH TO MARK S GOSPEL WILL SERVE YOU TO THAT END. 6

5 About MARK AS THE NAME WOULD INDICATE, THE GOSPEL OF MARK WAS WRITTEN BY JOHN MARK, A TRAVELING AND MISSIONARY COMPANION TO BOTH THE APOSTLES PETER AND PAUL. AS TRAVELING COMPANION TO THE APOSTLE PETER, THE CONTENT OF MARK S GOSPEL IS LARGELY PETER S HISTORICAL ACCOUNT AND SPOKEN MESSAGES. EARLY TESTIMONY TO MARK S AUTHORSHIP COMES DOWN TO US FROM PAPIAS, THE BISHOP OF HIERAPOLIS. WRITING EARLY IN THE SECOND CENTURY, PAPIAS STATES THAT HE RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING SOURCE ACCOUNT OF MARK S GOSPEL DIRECTLY FROM THE APOSTLE JOHN: MARK, WHO BECAME PETER S INTERPRETER, WROTE ACCURATELY, THOUGH NOT IN ORDER, ALL THAT HE REMEMBERED OF THE THINGS SAID OR DONE BY THE LORD. FOR HE HAD NEITHER HEARD THE LORD NOR BEEN ONE OF HIS FOLLOWERS, BUT AFTERWARDS, AS I SAID, HE HAD FOLLOWED PETER, WHO USED TO COMPOSE HIS DISCOURSES WITH A VIEW TO THE NEEDS OF HIS HEARERS, BUT NOT AS THOUGH HE WERE DRAWING UP A CONNECTED ACCOUNT OF THE LORD S SAYING... HE WAS CAREFUL OF THIS ONE THING, TO OMIT NONE OF THE THINGS HE HAD HEARD AND MAKE NO UNTRUE STATEMENTS THEREIN. ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY, WHILE SOME SCHOLARS DATE MARK S GOSPEL AS EARLY AS AD 55 56, THERE SEEMS TO BE STRONGEST SUPPORT FOR MARK S COMPOSITION BEING SHORTLY AFTER THE MARTYRDOM OF PETER, ROUGHLY AD 67. EARLY CHURCH TRADITION LOCATES THE WRITING OF MARK IN ROME. THIS IS CONSISTENT WITH THE EARLY WITNESS THAT PLACES PETER IN ROME TOWARD THE END OF HIS MINISTRY AND WHERE HE WAS MOST CERTAINLY MARTYRED. IT IS GENERALLY AGREED THAT THE MARK WHO ACCOMPANIED BOTH PETER AND PAUL AND COMPOSED THE GOSPEL, IS THE SAME JOHN MARK SITED IN VARIOUS PLACES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. THE BOOK OF ACTS RECORDS HIS PRESENCE ON THE EARLY MISSIONARY JOURNEYS (ACTS 12:12, 25; ACTS 13:5, 13), WHILE BOTH PETER AND PAUL INCLUDE HIM IN THE CLOSING SALUTATIONS OF THEIR EPISTLES. PAUL, FOR EXAMPLE, WRITES TO TIMOTHY, GET MARK AND BRING HIM WITH YOU, BECAUSE HE IS HELPFUL TO ME IN MY MINISTRY (2 TIMOTHY 4:11). THE GOSPEL OF MARK IS A SUCCINCT, UNADORNED ACCOUNT OF THE MINISTRY, SUFFERING, DEATH, AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS. MARK 1:1 READS, THE BEGINNING OF THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD. WHATEVER ELSE WAS OF PASTORAL CONCERN IN COMPOSING THE GOSPEL, MARK CLEARLY SETS THIS FORTH AS HIS THESIS: JESUS IS THE MESSIAH AND THE MESSIAH IS NOT MERELY A MAN, BUT THE SON OF GOD. 11

6 12 13

7 Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased. JOHN THE BAPTIST 1 The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, 13 and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him. THE OBEDIENT SON AS ISRAEL S RESCUER AND REDEEMER, JESUS MUST SUCCEED WHERE ISRAEL FAILED: TRUST AND OBEY, MORE THAN FOUR HUNDRED YEARS BEFORE THE BIRTH OF JESUS, THE PROPHET MALACHI 2 It is written in Isaiah the prophet: WHERE ISRAEL DOUBTED AND REBELLED. AS ISRAEL WAS TESTED IN THE WILDERNESS FOR FORTY YEARS DECLARED TO ISRAEL THAT THE NEXT MAJOR EVENT I will send my messenger ahead of you, 14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news (FAILING DISMALLY), JESUS IS BROUGHT TO THE IN GOD S UNFOLDING PLAN WAS NOT THE COMING OF THE MESSIAH BUT THE HERALD WHO WOULD ANNOUNCE HIM: SEE, I WILL SEND MY MESSENGER, WHO WILL PREPARE who will prepare your way 3 a voice of one calling in the desert, Prepare the way for the Lord, of God. 15 The time has come, he said. The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news! WILDERNESS TO BE TESTED FOR FORTY DAYS: A TEST HE FAITHFULLY ENDURES. JESUS, THEN, STANDS AS ISRAEL S PERFECT REPRESENTATIVE: THE OBEDIENT SERVANT THAT ISRAEL NEVER WAS. THE WAY BEFORE ME. THEN SUDDENLY THE LORD YOU ARE SEEKING WILL COME.... (MALACHI 3:1) make straight paths for him. 16 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17 Come, follow me, Jesus said, JOHN THE BAPTIST IS THIS MESSENGER FORETOLD BY MALACHI AND HIS APPEARANCE IN ISRAEL MEANS THE MESSIAH IS SOON TO FOLLOW. JOHN CALLED THE NATION TO REPENT AND TURN BACK TO GOD IN PREPARATION FOR HIS ARRIVAL. FAST FORWARD MARK WANTS READERS TO PICK UP ON THE DELIBERATE FAST PACE OF HIS NARRATIVE: THE WORD IMMEDIATELY OCCURS 11 TIMES IN THE FIRST CHAPTER ALONE, AND 42 TIMES THROUGHOUT MARK S GOSPEL. THIS FAST 4 And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6 John wore clothing made of camel s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And this was his message: After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. and I will make you fishers of men. 18 At once they left their nets and followed him. 19 When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20 Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him. 21 They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22 The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. 23 Just then COSMIC CONFLICT JESUS MINISTRY WILL INVOLVE CONFLICT ON MANY FRONTS. BUT HERE, AT THE ONSET OF HIS GOSPEL, MARK DRAWS ATTENTION TO THE LARGER COSMIC STRUGGLE: THE UNSEEN EVIL THAT ANIMATED THE SIN, RE- BELLION, AND UNBELIEF OF ISRAEL. JESUS EFFORTLESS DEMONSTRATION OF POWER OVER THE SPIRITUAL AND DEMONIC REALM RAISES QUESTIONS AND RUMORS AROUND GALILEE WHAT SORT OF MAN IS THIS? MOVING PORTRAIT, PICTURES JESUS AS A MAN OF PURPOSE, ON A MISSION, MAKING AN IMPACT, AND ALLUDES TO THE SOVEREIGN DELIBERATENESS OF GOD IN THE PLAN OF REDEMPTION. 9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: You are my a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, 24 What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are the Holy One of God! 14 15

8 25 Be quiet! said Jesus sternly. Come out of him! 26 The evil spirit shook the man 40 A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, If you are willing, violently and came out of him with a shriek. 27 The people were all so amazed that they you can make me clean. 41 Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and LEPROSY IS A CHRONIC DISEASE THAT ATTACKS THE THE RITE OF EXORCISM WHILE CASES OF POSSESSION ARE NOT COMMON, THEY ARE NOT ANOMALIES EITHER. EACH YEAR CHURCH DENOMINATIONS REPORT HUNDREDS, SOMETIMES THOUSANDS OF INCIDENTS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. SUCH CASES CONTINUE TO DEFY STANDARD PSYCHOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION DUE TO THE ATTENDING SYMPTOMS asked each other, What is this? A new teaching and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him. 28 News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee. 29 As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of touched the man. I am willing, he said. Be clean! 42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured. 43 Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 44 See that you don t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them. 45 Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus NERVOUS SYSTEM, CAUSING LIMBS TO TWIST, SKIN TO LESION, AND EXTREMITIES TO ERODE, MAKING IT A PERFECT METAPHOR FOR SIN. AS A NEUROLOGICAL DISEASE, LEPROSY DEADENS THE SENSATION OF PAIN, AS SIN DOES THE CONSCIENCE, LEADING TO EVEN GREATER DAMAGE AND DESTRUCTION TO THE INDIVIDUAL. AND METAPHYSICAL PHENOMENA. THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, FOR EXAMPLE, HAS REQUIRED CANDIDATES TO DISPLAY KNOWLEDGE OF ANCIENT OR DEAD LANGUAGES THEY COULDN T POSSIBLY KNOW BEFORE AN EXORCIST IS ASSIGNED. Simon and Andrew. 30 Simon s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her. 31 So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them. could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere. JESUS IS DEMONSTRATING HIS POWER TO FORGIVE SIN THROUGH HIS POWER TO HEAL LEPROSY. THIS BECOMES CLEAR IN THE HEALING OF THE PARALYTIC THAT IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWS. 32 That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demonpossessed. 33 The whole town gathered at the door, 34 and Jesus healed many who had 2 A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he WHICH IS EASIER TO SAY? IN THE MINISTRY OF JESUS, HIS TEACHING AND various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was. had come home. 2 So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, MIRACLES CARRIED THE SAME MESSAGE, ONE REINFORCING THE OTHER. IN THE CASE OF THE PARALYTIC, JESUS ABILITY TO HEAL THE SOUL (FORGIVE SINS) COULD NOT BE CORROBORATED, BUT HIS ABILITY TO HEAL THE BODY COULD. IN 35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. 36 Simon and his companions went to look they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the HEALING THE PARALYTIC MAN, JESUS VALIDATES HIS CLAIM TO HEAL THE SOUL. for him, 37 and when they found him, they exclaimed: Everyone is looking for you! 38 Jesus replied, Let us go somewhere else to the nearby villages so I can preach paralytic, Son, your sins are forgiven. 6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 Why does this fellow talk like that? He s blaspheming! THROUGHOUT THE GOSPELS, JESUS PERFORMS MANY SUCH MIRACLES THAT DISCLOSE HIS UNIQUE IDENTITY AS THE SON OF GOD. THE there also. That is why I have come. 39 So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons. Who can forgive sins but God alone? 8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, Why are you OBJECTION RAISED, WHO CAN FORGIVE SINS BUT GOD ALONE? SHOWS THAT THIS MESSAGE WAS CLEARLY UNDERSTOOD

9 thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, Your sins are forgiven, come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast. SOURCE OF CONFLICT IN THREE INCIDENTS, PLACED SIDE-BY-SIDE, MARK INTRODUCES THE CONFLICT BETWEEN JESUS AND THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS. THIS CONFLICT WILL ESCALATE THROUGHOUT JESUS MINISTRY AND THE SPARK OF CONTROVERSY WILL INVARIABLY BE THE JEWISH RITUAL LAWS. or to say, Get up, take your mat and walk? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.... He said to the paralytic, 11 I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home. 12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, We have never seen anything like this! 21 No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. 22 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins. NEW WINE, OLD WINESKINS THE PHARISEES WERE ATTEMPTING TO FIT JESUS INTO THEIR EXISTING CATEGORIES AND ESTABLISHED TRADITIONS (OLD WINESKINS). JESUS TOLD THE PARABLE OF THE WINESKINS TO EXPLAIN THAT HIS MINISTRY AND MESSAGE WERE SOMETHING THE TEN COMMANDMENTS WERE AT THE CENTER OF THE LAW OF MOSES. BUT AS THESE TEN COMMANDS WERE APPLIED TO COMMON LIFE IN ISRAEL, THEY YIELDED AN ADDITIONAL 248 RULES AND 365 PROHIBITIONS. 13 Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. 14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector s booth. Follow me, Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him. 23 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees said to him, Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath? 25 He answered, Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26 In the ALTOGETHER NEW. HIS TEACHING COULD NOT BE CONFORMED TO, NOR COMBINED WITH, THEIR TRADITIONS. THEY WOULD HAVE TO ABANDON THEIR WAYS FOR HIS, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND. THE PHARISEES, HOWEVER, WENT BEYOND THESE AND ESTABLISHED SOME FIFTEEN HUNDRED HEDGE LAWS: PERIPHERAL AND PETTY LAWS CONSTRUCTED TO KEEP ONE FROM EVER BREACHING THE REAL LAW. IT WAS THESE MAN-MADE HEDGE LAWS THAT INCITED JESUS, NOT THE LAW OF MOSES. 15 While Jesus was having dinner at Levi s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions. 27 Then he said to them, The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath. ON THE SABBATH HONORING THE SABBATH AS A DAY OF REST IS ONE OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. BUT WHAT CONSTITUTES REST? TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS ESTABLISHED THIRTY- NINE CATEGORIES OF WORK AND FROM THESE THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO ORGANIZE BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIAL; CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER IS BUT ONE OF THEM. THE GOSPEL WRITERS, BEING FROM THE MIDDLE EAST, DID NOT EMPHASIZE THE STRICT SEQUENCING OF EVENTS COMMON TO THE WEST UNLESS THE PRECISE ORDER WAS DEEMED SIGNIFICANT. THUS, MARK S PLACEMENT OF THESE THREE CONFLICT STORIES IN SUCCESSION IS FOR THEMATIC REASONS AND NOT MEANT TO CONVEY A TIME FRAME. MARK WOULD ASSUME THIS TO BE OBVIOUS TO THE READER. collectors, they asked his disciples: Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners? 17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners. 18 Now John s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, How is it that John s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not? 19 Jesus answered, How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. 20 But the time will 3 Another time he went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. 2 Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. 3 Jesus said to the man with the CATEGORIES THOUSANDS OF RULES WERE DERIVED. FOR EXAMPLE, A WOMAN COULD WEAR A HAIR CLIP ON THE SABBATH BUT NOT CARRY ONE, AS CARRYING CONSTITUTED WORK. IN FOCUSING ON THE RULES OF THE LAW, THE HEART OF THE LAW WAS FORGOTTEN TO THE POINT THAT EVEN HEALING A MAN ON THE SABBATH COULD BE REGARDED AS A CRIME

10 shriveled hand, Stand up in front of everyone. 4 Then Jesus asked them, Which is Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot 19 and Judas Iscariot, lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill? But they remained who betrayed him. 20 Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that silent. 5 He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, Stretch out your hand. He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. 6 Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus. he and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21 When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, He is out of his mind. 22 And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, He is possessed by Beelzebub! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons. THE UNPARDONABLE SIN IT IS THE HOLY SPIRIT WHO GIVES DIVINE TESTIMONY (THROUGH CONVICTION AND CONVERSION) THAT JESUS IS THE CHRIST. TO REJECT JESUS IS TO REJECT THE SPIRIT S TESTIMONY ABOUT HIM. IT IS, IN EFFECT, TO CALL GOD A LIAR, WHICH IS BLASPHEMY. 7 Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed. 8 When they heard all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, 23 So Jesus called them and spoke to them in parables: How can Satan drive out Satan? IN THE WISDOM OF GOD, SINS OF THE WORLD ARE FORGIVEN AND ATONED FOR THROUGH CHRIST. THEREFORE, ALL SINS CAN BE FORGIVEN THE CHOOSING OF TWELVE IN FIRST CENTURY JUDAISM, RABBIS TASKED THEIR DISCIPLES WITH THE RESPONSIBILITY TO MEMORIZE, PRESERVE, AND PASS ON THEIR KEY TEACHINGS. JESUS DISCIPLES WERE NO DIFFERENT. THE DISCERNIBLE POETIC STRUCTURE IN JESUS SAYINGS ( THE FIRST SHALL BE LAST... ) WAS TO ENSURE THAT HIS DISCIPLES REMEMBERED AND PASSED ON EXACTLY WHAT HE SAID. JESUS SELECTION OF TWELVE DISCIPLES WAS A DECIDEDLY SYMBOLIC ACT. ISRAEL AS A NATION WAS A COMPOSITE OF TWELVE TRIBES, SO THE CHOOSING OF TWELVE DISCIPLES COMMUNICATED A MESSAGE TO THE EFFECT OF: HERE IS THE TRUE ISRAEL. UNDERSTANDABLY, THIS WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN WELL-RECEIVED BY ISRAEL S LEADERS. Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. 9 Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him. 10 For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him. 11 Whenever the evil spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, You are the Son of God. 12 But he gave them strict orders not to tell who he was. 13 Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. 14 He appointed twelve designating them apostles that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach 15 and to have authority to drive out demons. 16 These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); 17 James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder); 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. 27 In fact, no one can enter a strong man s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house. 28 I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. 29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin. 30 He said this because they were saying, He has an evil spirit. 31 Then Jesus mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you. 33 Who are my mother and my brothers? he asked. 34 Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does God s will is my brother and sister and mother. EXCEPT ONE: THE REJECTION OF CHRIST. THE UNPARDONABLE SIN IS TO REJECT THE PARDON FOR SIN, WHICH IS JESUS CHRIST. JUDAISM WAS BOTH AN ETHNIC IDENTITY AND A RELIGIOUS FAITH. ONE WAS BORN INTO ISRAEL, JEWISH BY BIRTH. IN CONTRAST, JESUS DECLARED THE KINGDOM OF GOD TO BE A COMMUNITY OF FAITH, ENTERED AND POPULATED BY THOSE BELIEVING IN HIM. AS TAUGHT HERE, INCLUSION IN THE KINGDOM IS DETERMINED BY A CHOICE OF THE HEART AND WILL, NOT BY FAMILY, ETHNICITY, OR RELIGIOUS TRADITION

11 13 Then Jesus said to them, Don t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes THE COMING KINGDOM MOST IN ISRAEL BELIEVED THAT THE MESSIAH, THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS (MARK 4:1-4:34) RATHER THAN INTERSPERSE JESUS TEACHING THROUGHOUT THE GOSPEL, MARK PRESENTS THREE OF JESUS PARABLES TOGETHER AS A SAMPLING OF HIS TEACHING. SINCE ALL THREE TEACHINGS ARE PARABLES ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF GOD, IT CAN 4 Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water s edge. 2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3 Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of WHEN HE CAME, WOULD ESTABLISH HIS WORLDWIDE KINGDOM, AND THIS KINGDOM WOULD BE CENTERED IN ISRAEL. THE GIST OF JESUS MESSAGE WAS: I AM THE MESSIAH, I HAVE COME TO USHER IN THE KINGDOM, BUT THE KINGDOM WILL BE FAR DIFFERENT THAN WAS EXPECTED. BE ASSUMED THAT JESUS TYPICALLY TAUGHT IN PARABLES AND THAT THE SUBJECT OF HIS TEACHING WAS THE KINGDOM OF GOD. the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown. THROUGH PARABLES, JESUS WILL EXPLAIN THAT THIS KINGDOM WILL BE A SPIRITUAL ONE; A REVOLUTION WAGED WITHIN THE HUMAN HEART; A CITIZENRY COMPRISED OF EVERY NATIONALITY WHY PARABLES? because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, 21 He said to them, Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, AND INAUGURATED ONE INDIVIDUAL AT A TIME. THE VISIBLE EARTHLY REIGN OF THE MESSIAH, ON THE OTHER HAND, WILL AWAIT FUTURE FULFILLMENT. THE REASON JESUS SPOKE IN PARABLES WAS BECAUSE THE GENRE WAS ITSELF THE MESSAGE. grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times. 9 Then don t you put it on its stand? 22 For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and Jesus said, He who has ears to hear, let him hear. whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. 23 If anyone has ears A PARABLE IS SIMILAR TO A POEM IN THAT BOTH REVEAL TRUTH AND AT THE SAME TIME CONCEAL IT to hear, let him hear. 24 Consider carefully what you hear, he continued. With the FROM THE DISINTERESTED LISTENER. THE MEANING 10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the measure you use, it will be measured to you and even more. 25 Whoever has will be OF A POEM IS ENCRYPTED SO THAT ONLY THOSE WITH A SINCERE DESIRE TO UNDERSTAND OR parables. 11 He told them, The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. EARS TO HEAR, AS JESUS PUTS IT WILL DISCERN ITS MEANING. to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that, 26 He also said, This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the AND, LIKE A PARABLE, THE IDENTITY OF JESUS REMAINED VEILED TO THE UNBELIEVING AND OBSTINATE. JESUS WAS TRUTH IN DISGUISE, TRUTH CONCEALED A PARABLE. they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven! ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts 22 23

12 THE REPEATED MESSAGE SIMILAR TO POLITICAL CAMPAIGNING, ITINERANT the sickle to it, because the harvest has come. MEANING BENEATH MEANING BENEATH MEANING BENEATH MEANING PREACHING MAKES USE OF A BASIC PALETTE OF MESSAGES, SLIGHTLY ALTERED AS THE OCCASION OR AUDIENCE REQUIRES. WE CAN PRESUME THAT JESUS 30 Again he said, What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in WITH IRONY, AS WELL AS SOME SARCASM, GOD S RESPONSE TO ISRAEL IS IN ESSENCE: YOU WAKE UP; I M NOT THE ONE WHO S FALLEN ASLEEP. BUT YOU, ISRAEL, HAVE GAVE VERSIONS OF THE SAME MESSAGE ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS, AND THAT PRESERVED WITHIN THE GOSPELS ARE ESSENTIALLY JESUS STOCK TEACHINGS. the ground. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade. LAPSED INTO SPIRITUAL AND MORAL SLUMBER. AWAKE, AWAKE! RISE UP, O JERUSALEM... AWAKE, AWAKE, O ZION, CLOTHE YOURSELF WITH STRENGTH. THE GOSPEL WRITERS ALSO SUMMARIZE WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN MANY HOURS OF TEACHING IN AN ABBREVIATED MANNER SIMILAR TO NEWS REPORTING. 33 With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. 34 He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he THE STORY OF JESUS CALMING THE STORM ILLUSTRATES THE IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDING JESUS ACTIONS WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. WITHOUT SOME KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES SAY, AND SPECIFICALLY WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT THE COMING MESSIAH, THE MEANING AND (ISAIAH 51:17; 52:1) TO UNDERSTAND THIS CONTEXT IS TO UNDERSTAND THE MEANING OF THE STORY. was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything. SIGNIFICANCE OF JESUS WORDS AND ACTIONS CAN BE LOST, LEAVING ONE TO GLEAN ONLY THE SURFACE MEANING OF THE STORIES. THE STORY OF JESUS CALMING THE THIS IS NOT THE STORY OF JESUS ASLEEP ON THE BOAT: IT IS THE STORY OF THE DISCIPLES ASLEEP ON THE BOAT. THIS IS NOT ABOUT JESUS WAKING UP, BUT THE THE WORKS OF JESUS (MARK 4:35 6:6) IN THIS SECTION, MARK HAS SEWN TOGETHER FOUR MIRACLE STORIES: THE CALMING OF THE SEA; 35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, Let us go over to the other side. 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There STORM IS A CASE IN POINT. OF ALL THE OLD TESTAMENT PROPHETS, MARK S GOSPEL GIVES THE GREATEST ATTENTION TO ISAIAH, PARTICULARLY ISAIAH CHAPTERS 40 60, WHERE THE PROPHET DISCIPLES AWAKENING TO FAITH. THEY HAVE BEEN OBLIVIOUS TO THE TRUE NATURE AND IDENTITY OF THEIR TEACHER, BUT THIS MIRACLE HAS ROUSED THEM FROM THEIR SLEEP (SPIRITUAL UNAWARENESS) AND BY THE END OF THE DRAMA THEY ARE SEEING JESUS ANEW, AS MEN AWAKENED FROM A DREAM: AND THEY WERE FILLED THE DELIVERANCE OF THE DEMONIAC; THE HEALING OF THE UNCLEAN WOMAN; AND THE RAISING OF were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over GOES INTO CONSIDERABLE DETAIL CONCERNING ISRAEL S FUTURE DELIVERER. WITH GREAT FEAR AND SAID TO ONE ANOTHER, WHO THEN IS THIS, THAT EVEN THE WIND AND THE SEA OBEY HIM? (MARK 4:41). THE YOUNG GIRL. THIS SWATCH OF MIRACLES HAS THE INTENT OF SHOWING THE ABSOLUTE AUTHORITY OF THE SON OF MAN. HERE, JESUS the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, Teacher, don t you care if we drown? 39 He IT IS WITHIN THIS CONTEXT THAT IN ISAIAH, CHAPTER 51, THE NATION OF ISRAEL CRIES OUT TO GOD FROM THEIR DISSOLUTE STATE AND ACCUSE HIM OF HAVING FALLEN ASLEEP: THE EQUATING OF JESUS WITH THE GOD OF ISRAEL IN ISAIAH 51 52, IS A JAW- DROPPING DISCLOSURE OF HIS TRUE IDENTITY. DEMONSTRATES HIS SOVEREIGN POWER OVER THE MOST ELEMENTAL OF DESTRUCTIVE FORCES: EVIL, NATURE, SICKNESS, AND DEATH. got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, Quiet! Be still! Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. 40 He said to his disciples, Why are you so afraid? AWAKE, AWAKE! CLOTHE YOURSELF WITH STRENGTH, O ARM OF THE LORD, AWAKE, AS IN DAYS GONE BY, AS IN GENERATIONS OLD. Do you still have no faith? 41 They were terrified and asked each other, Who is this? (ISAIAH 51:9) Even the wind and the waves obey him! 24 25