MARK

                                                                            MARK

 

A Gospel to Grow On

 

By

 

Tony Smith

A Christian Servant

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION to MARK

 

This study is primarily an inductive study. (An inductive study is defined as the attempt to use information about a specific situation to draw a conclusion. Three steps used are observation {what does it say?}, interpretation {what does it mean?}, and application {what does it mean for my life?}.) The foundation of this study is the Bible, the Word of God and supersedes all other material, printed or other. The only requirement for this study is to use your Bible and your brain. Use of commentaries, studies of Mark, etc., is encouraged, the more input the better. I have used a number of commentaries, translations of the Bible, suggestions from the adult Sunday School classes at a number of churches and Bible studies, Rev. Don Muncie, Dr. John D. Garr, friends, and my own thoughts and ideas as the Spirit led. I have not referenced the commentaries I used within the content. (I have included a bibliography at the end.) This is due to the fact that this study is designed as a mixing of ideas and viewpoints with the common end of better serving the Lord in our daily lives. I look forward to having fun learning together.

 

Scholars believe Mark’s Gospel was written between 50 AD and 70 AD and was written to prove that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah. Mark presents a striking image of Jesus the Christ. The Gospel of Mark illustrates who Jesus is as a person. The ministry of Jesus is revealed with vibrant detail and His message is presented more through His actions than through His words. The Gospel of Mark reveals Jesus the Servant. Jesus reveals who He is through what He does. He explains His mission and message through His actions. Mark chronicles Jesus on the move.

 

Mark emphasizes the works of Jesus and presents Jesus as a man and as a servant of action. Mark quoted from the Old Testament only once indicating Mark probably did not write his gospel for a primarily Jewish audience. Mark wrote his gospel for Gentile readers who were not familiar with the Hebraic (Old Testament) Scriptures. Mark explained Jewish customs for his readers, which they otherwise would not have understood, also indicating Mark wrote his gospel for Gentile readers.

 

Unless otherwise noted. all Scriptures are from the New American Standard Bible version (Public Domain) of the Holy Bible.

 

 

 

MARK 01

 

vs. 01 – 13

Mark’s opening is a statement of the divinity of Christ. It is a seemingly simple statement but one with great depth and meaning. As a witness to both Christ and what he is about to say concerning John the Baptist, Mark quotes Malachi 3:1 and Isaiah 40:3. After Mark quotes the prophets he does not go into any long theological arguments to prove either their calling or the divinity of Christ. Mark takes for granted the accuracy of the prophets and the fact they were being fulfilled through John the Baptist and Jesus. John was the messenger of the Messiah and Jesus is the Messiah, Savior.

 

Inherent within the opening is the orderliness and foresight of God, the legitimacy of the prophets, the Hebraic Scriptures, the divinity of Christ and the corporate and individual responsibility of man to God. If John the Baptist is the messenger, then Jesus must be the Christ. Mark provides enough information to prove that John the Baptist did come in accordance with the prophecies and that fact validates his calling. Through the Scriptures this, among many other happenings, validates Jesus as the Savior.

 

John is something both old and new. He is a prophet like the prophets of old in Israeli history, but not seen in Israel for many, many years. He came from the desert where he lived a very austere life and had an unusual lifestyle, even to the people of that time. John came with the same Spirit and power as Elijah. (Matthew 11:14; Mark 10-14) Elijah was a hairy man thus John wore clothes made of camel hair. This was new to the Israelites of that time. A visual lesson for everyone.

 

Because of his message and lifestyle John was recognized by the people as a messenger from God. It is a bit surprising that John required the confession of sins, repentance, water baptism (by total immersion) and restitution. (Matthew 3:8; Mark 1:4; Luke 3:7-14) This was a new thing. While the Jews had ritual cleansing before entering the Temple or taking part in religious ceremonies and when converting to Judaism, John’s type of water baptism in the river with confession and repentance was new. This type of water baptism was reserved for Gentile converts. Jews did not consider themselves to be unclean. The Jewish people did use pools to make themselves ritually clean but did not consider this activity the same as the baptism for the Gentiles.

 

John was aware of his mission in life.  His mission was not that of the Messiah but rather the messenger of the Messiah. John never let the people forget that being baptized in water was not enough, there must be a change of heart. There was a second message here that observing ritual, such as ritual cleansing, also was not enough. There must be a change of heart. (Notice baptism of Holy Spirit is something separate from and greater than water baptism.)

 

John also never forgot, or let the people forget, that next to the Christ he was nothing.  Now if John, who had sold out his whole life to God, was nothing, who are we (or they) to think we are better than Christ. John testified to the divinity, power and work of Christ and the Holy Spirit.

 

After John and his work are introduced, Mark takes us directly to Jesus and the beginnings of His ministry. Jesus’ ministry begins with an act of obedience followed immediately by a time of testing. This sets the stage for the entire Gospel of Mark. Mark’s gospel is one of the obedience of Jesus to God and His actions taken because of that obedience. Jesus presents Himself to John to be baptized. John has been proclaiming how he is not worthy to untie the sandals (the most menial job of the lowest slave) of the Messiah and here is that same Messiah waiting to be baptized by Him. Nowhere do we find that Jesus confessed, or needed to confess, any sins before baptism, rather Jesus did it in obedience to God, to fulfill all righteousness and the Scriptures. (Matt. 3:15)

 

After Jesus was baptized there was immediate spiritual and physical evidence that He is the Son of God. The dove and the voice of God witnessed of Jesus. Heaven was torn open. This is the first act of obedience in Jesus’ ministry and the term “torn” indicates the first time that direct access to heaven is provided through Christ. This is completed at the death of Christ when the veil in the Holiest of Holies was torn in two {Mark 16:38} and later when Jesus arose from the dead.  {Matthew 27:50-53}) In addition, immediately after the baptism, Jesus was driven into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tested. He spent 40 days among the wild beasts with no food or companionship, being tempted, physically, emotionally, psychologically and spiritually by Satan. This is similar to Moses being on the mountain forty days and Israel wandering in the desert for forty years.

 

Mark does not say much about the time Jesus spent in the wilderness, but we can be sure it was extremely difficult. Some people like to think of this as a psychological and spiritual testing and not an actual physical testing. The other gospels make it quite clear this was physical, emotional, spiritual and psychological testing. Christ was severely tested in every way possible a person could be tested, and that over a period of forty days. 

 

Being the Son of God was Jesus capable of being tempted? Could Jesus have failed the test? If we, as adopted sons, go through trials and temptations should we think Jesus had it any easier? Hebrews 2:18 and 4:15 answer this question. Jesus could be tempted and could have failed the test, given in to the temptation as did Adam and Eve. Jesus chose not to give into temptation. Jesus chose to obey God. It is important to understand that Jesus could be and was tempted in all things just as man is tempted but I believe the temptation for Him went beyond how man is tempted. As Adam failed Jesus did not fail, thus he could be considered the second man Adam (as Paul called Him).

 

How are we tempted in our lives? Are the temptations physical, psychological, emotional or spiritual, or a combination of these? Is temptation in our time different from temptation in the time of Christ? Is spiritual temptation less prevalent or do we choose to call it by a different name? Is the root of all temptation the same? If so, what is it?

 

James 1:14-15 makes it clear every person is tempted when s/he is drawn away of their own lust and enticed to sin. The temptations of Christ came not from His inner lusts and desires but rather from His taking on our inner lusts and desires. Christ was tempted and tested in all the ways we are tempted and tested. He had to wrestle with the same lusts, jealousies, desires and failings as we do but, in every case, He overcame the temptation.

 

What is important is being obedient to God. Just as Jesus was obedient, tested and victorious, so can we be also. The problem is not in being tested and tempted, but in how we handle it. Do we put our trust in God and gain the victory, or do we trust someone or something else and meet defeat?

 

vs. 14 – 20

Mark now jumps to the calling of the disciples. Mark is interested in Christ, who He is and what He does. The things leading up to the Ministry of Jesus seemed to have little interest to Mark, except as they directly concern Jesus and His ministry. At this point, John the Baptist is in prison. Why he is there and when the incarceration happened is not explained by Mark. To discover the we will need to read Luke 3:18-20.

 

One work has closed, and another has opened. John is out of the picture, the person preparing for the Messiah is no longer necessary or appropriate. Jesus comes preaching a new message that is the next progression from John’s message. The coming of Jesus means the Kingdom of God is very near them in His person. Jesus has now started proclaiming the good news that the acceptable day of God is here. The day of salvation through Him. Along with the good news is a call to action, to believe and repent. Jesus always requires the same things of all those who believe. There is no difference of mission, just a difference in jobs. We are all called to change the world by introducing people to Christ. By positioning these two together (the Good News and Repent/Believe) Jesus is stating that being born a Jew (or a particular denomination or group) is not enough. Righteousness does not come by birth, but by faith. Belonging to a church does not confer salvation if the individual has not believed in Jesus as the Christ and repented of their sins. (Romans 4:9-17)

 

Notice that Jesus requires the same things of all who believe, repent/believe and then action based on the disciple’s repentance and belief. There is no difference in what Jesus required then and now. By placing these together, the Gospel, repent/believe and action (follow Him) Jesus makes it very clear that being born a Jew or membership in a particular nation, group, church, synagogue, etc. is not enough. Salvation does not come by birth of membership but by faith in Jesus the Christ as savior. 

 

Mark states very briefly that four fishermen were called, left their boats, and followed Jesus. Mark does not go into who or what those men were leaving behind. We may not consider being a fisherman difficult to leave but to these men it was their life. James and John left their father’s business (and perhaps their families) to follow Jesus. One possible reason for Mark’s brevity here is that Peter was the major source of his information. Peter may have felt their calling was either too personal a matter, or they were not important enough compared to their calling, to spend much time repeating. The important point is the men gave up everything to follow Jesus.            

 

It is probable the men Jesus called already knew or were familiar with Him. The area in which they lived and worked was not so large or so greatly populated that He would have been unknown. The difference between the preaching of Jesus and the others at that time was the immediacy and power of His message. Jesus did not come promising some unrealistic, future only, message. He came with a message that was realistic and required action, starting immediately. (Matthew 9:37-38; Luke 10:1-4; John 4:35-36)

 

Jesus came preaching that the time has now come, believers should not wait for some future, perhaps more convenient, time. Jesus did not ask the twelve men about their formal education. Jesus did not question how they made a living. Jesus did not bring up their past of those called nor did He ask for an explanation or justification of their past actions. Jesus simply called these men to follow Him in changing the world. Jesus is calling us in the same manner to the same action.

 

The men Jesus called were not the intellectual, political or religious leaders, but rather the open, honest, common men. This is not to say the learned or leadership could not or would not believe, but rather that Jesus’ criteria was not theirs and is not ours. Jesus judges by the heart of a person, not their socio-economic-political status. (Matthew 23:23-32; John 5:30; John 7:24)  

 

vs. 21 - 28

Now that the preliminaries are over, Mark starts looking at the works of Jesus. In this first instance, Jesus is in the Synagogue on the Sabbath, reading and teaching from the Scriptures. This is the first-time Mark records the people's reaction to the teachings of Jesus, Mark noted “they were amazed." It would do well to look at why they were amazed. The people were very familiar with the teachings of the Scribes. The Scribes used and quoted precedent extensively. They were trained to have and speak very few independent thoughts. Jesus read from the scripture and expounded on them with authority. He did not preface everything with the thoughts of another, probably long dead, teacher. Jesus read the Word and taught that it meant what it said. God could be trusted, and His word is for everyone, not just a chosen few. (John 3:16-17)

 

The next thing Mark reports is a person possessed by a demon recognizes Jesus as the Son of God. The fact the demon recognized Jesus should come has no surprise since Jesus had just defeated its boss in the wilderness. The people clearly saw the incident but seemed to miss what the impure spirit said about who Jesus truly is. Why? In our day, belief in demons has greatly diminished. Present day man has declared belief in demons to be something that passed with “primitive" man. We now believe in depression, hysteria, angst, psychological illness, etc. While these are real diseases and problems, so is demon possession.  Whatever the man’s problems, Jesus delivered him. Jesus did not perform an exorcism. Jesus did not put the man into years of therapy or a strait jacket. Jesus, with authority, simply delivered the man. This is what the people found so amazing. This is what people still find so amazing. The Word of God has authority. Those who believe and receive the Word of God still have that authority through the Holy Spirit.

 

The casting out of the demon quickly spread the name and teachings of Jesus throughout the area. Let a miracle happen in our day and the same thing happens. If a miracle happens in our day, there will be many scoffers and unbelievers. There will be those who say people who believe in miracles are mentally unbalanced. However, the miracle happened, and the word will spread quickly.

 

vs. 29 - 31

After Jesus was done teaching in the Synagogue, He did what many of us do after church. He went to a friend's house for dinner and to visit. Why this visit is so different are the happenings in the Synagogue. Think of how the two brothers (Simon and Andrew) must have felt. Here is the person they choose to follow and put their trust in teaching with an uncommon amount of authority. He then proved that authority was real by casting out a demon. This would-be reason enough to make the men wonder.

 

Now, as they get to Simon and Andrew’s house, the brothers tell Jesus Simon’s mother-in-law is sick with a fever. Jesus heals the mother-in-law and she is immediately able to serve them. Once she is healed, she serves the Lord. This is an important lesson. We are created to serve God. We are at our happiest and most fulfilled when we are serving the Lord.

 

The two events, the casting out of the demon and the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law, are interesting in their juxta positioning in Mark’s Gospel. The casting out of the demon was in a very public setting and dramatically affected many people. The healing of the mother-in-law was in a very private setting with only a few people involved. The two happenings so close together seem to indicate that Christ was showing his teaching, power, and authority is for everyone at any time. His ministry was not to amaze the general populace but rather to bring healing, peace, grace and comfort to all, regardless of circumstance. It is also evident that Jesus knew when a problem was caused by demon and when it was illness. Some theologians like to say that people were not possessed by demons but were ill with epilepsy, etc. Jesus knew the difference and acted accordingly. He healed those who needed healing and delivered those who needed delivering from demons.

 

As we read how Jesus cast out the demon and healed Simon’s mother-in-law, we quickly notice a similarity between them. In both cases, He did not make a big show of the whole thing with chants, rituals, etc., but simply spoke with the authority and the miracles were completed. This reminds of us of Elijah and others who did not make a big show of asking God but rather just asked with faith knowing God would answer. I am sure the manner in which these miracles were accomplished was not lost on the disciples or those surrounding Jesus.

 

Unlike many of the men in that time who were proclaiming themselves as the Messiah (there were about 60 men so doing), Jesus came with real authority. He came with a constancy of action that did not depend on extraneous trappings or ritual. Jesus came with real power in the Spirit that was devoid of any favoritism and impossible to deny. To Jesus, a miracle was not a means of increasing His prestige and celebrity. To help was not a laborious and disagreeable duty. He helped because He is supremely interested in all who need His help. Being one with the Father, Jesus is loving and caring in thought and action. It is part of His nature.

 

The reaction of Simon’s mother-in-law is also interesting. After Jesus healed her, she immediately got up and prepared a meal. She used her recovered health for renewed service. The reaction of the disciples was also interesting. Although they had not been with Jesus long, they were already beginning to take their cares and problems to Him. This is the beginning of their instruction for later service. Jesus was showing them, by very practical means, the power of the Word and Faith. We would also do well to notice that belief in Jesus and becoming His disciple did not necessarily mean the repudiation of human relationships. Simon’s (Peter’s) wife seems to have accompanied him on at least some of his later missionary journeys, as did the wives of other disciples. (1 Corinthians 9:5)

 

vs. 32 - 34

The next major event was the people started to bring the sick and possessed to Jesus for healing and deliverance. Jesus healed all who were sick and cast out the demons from all who were possessed. Again, as in the synagogue, He did not allow the demons to speak and reveal who He is. Belief must come from faith in God, not the witness of an evil spirit. Jesus was providing a practical lesson on the Power of God and His authority and Kingship over all things. The people were seeing a visual example of faith and spiritual matters. This would help people to understand and accept His teachings.

 

It is important to understand that Jesus and many of the people knew the difference between sickness and demon possession. Modern science and thought is that many sicknesses were considered demon possession. This passage proves that Jesus certainly knew the difference and acted accordingly. He healed the sick and cast demons out of the demon possessed.

 

vs. 35 – 45

The term “solitary place” or lonely place may not give us a good idea of the kind of places He went to at that time. Israel was not densely or even moderately populated from end to end. There were many places that were wilderness. Places with little to no population, few to no comforts and difficult to travel to and stay. People went to great lengths, including danger from wild beasts, bandits, etc. to seek out Jesus. He was and is that important.

 

After all the people had left and the business of the day was done Jesus and His disciples finally had a chance to rest. While everyone was sleeping, Jesus went to a place by Himself to communicate with God the Father. Christ knew He could not live without ongoing communication with God and was never, never too busy to take the time to pray. This action teaches us a very important lesson; if Jesus knew the need to and value of prayer how much more should we.

 

Jesus went off to pray quite often. He spent time with the Father. Every time, after His time spent in prayer, He worked. This is a lesson for us. If Jesus saw prayer, communication with God, as important so should we. Simon and the others followed Jesus and told Him everyone was looking for Him. Simon and the others seem to be focused on the present and the needs and circumstances of the present, much like Martha was later. Jesus KNEW the importance of prayer and knew He could not work effectively without communication with God. Only after Jesus prayed did He work. Work was important but prayer was more important and a critical foundation to the work.

 

The time Jesus spent communicating with God is what gave Him the strength to continue, especially later when the going became much harder. Prayer is two-way communication with God, we both talk and LISTEN. We should listen more than talk. All too often we think of, and practice, prayer as talking to God. We do not think of God as responding or talking WITH us. Jesus had a two-way communication with God, just as did Adam, Moses, Peter, John, Paul and others and so should we.

 

This may take some time, effort and practice on our part, after all, we have been told for most of our lives that God does not talk with us. God does, He is there, and He is not silent, we just quit listening. Satan has been feeding us a lie for years. Anyone who says God talks with them is looked on with some suspicion and not to associate with them. It is time to stop listening to Satan and have the unbelievable blessing of truly communicating with God.

 

After the disciples found Jesus, He started on an extended preaching tour in the synagogues throughout Galilee. The Scriptures give no idea how long the tour took, it could have been weeks or months. Jesus continued preaching, healing, casting out demons and communicating with the Father.

 

There are four pairs of things Jesus never separated, He never separated words and actions, soul and body, earth and heaven, faith and actions. People, on the other hand, separate these most of the time. Far too often we say the right words, but we do not have the actions to show our true commitment. We divorce our body and souls thinking what we do with our bodies does not affect our souls even though the soul lives forever, but the body does not. We tend to be, so earth bound in our thinking we give little to no thought to heaven and hell. We will spend eternity in one of the two. Finally, we say we have faith but do nothing to show that faith. We say we have faith but are concerned about what others will think when we act on that faith and work to bring others to Christ, the foundation of our faith.

 

Sometime during Jesus’ travels and preaching a man with leprosy appeared. True leprosy manifests itself in three different forms, all of which are incurable. Along with leprosy are other skin diseases which are not leprosy but at times get lumped in with leprosy. When we consider the Hebraic Scriptures, we see God gave the Israelites a way to identify the difference. The people and the priests were well acquainted with the disease and knew the man’s disease was incurable.

 

Mark says Jesus “was filled with compassion.” Jesus was emotional about this man, his disease and the distress he was under because of it. A person with leprosy would become horribly disfigured. They would be cut off from society, including family, friends and the synagogue. They would be unable to earn a living and would be completely dependent on charity from a society they could no longer enter. The stress level would be incredible as would the despair and despondency. The man was an outcast and anywhere he went he had to announce he was unclean effectively keeping away any who might show him love.

 

The leper was willing to risk everything for his healing. There was the definite possibility he could be stoned for talking to someone while he was unclean. If he was not stoned, he might well be cast out of the town, the source of charity, his livelihood. By faith, the leper asked Jesus to heal him. Jesus was filled with compassion. He saw the faith of the man. He felt the despair, despondency, stress and emotional hurt that filled the man. Jesus also saw what sin had done to His creation and was angry. Angry not at the man, but at what sin had done to His beautiful creation. Jesus instantly healed his leprosy.

 

When the man asked Jesus to heal him, he made a very important statement. The leper said, “If you will.” Jesus’ answer was “I am willing." This answer shows the man knew Jesus had the power. It also indicates the man and Jesus knew it was His choice to heal. Jesus touched the man. A person with leprosy was considered unclean and was not to be touched. Jesus did not consider the man unclean but rather in need of a touch from God. How many times have we seen someone we considered unclean by our standards and offered them the touch and love from the Lord they needed?

 

After Jesus healed the man, he told him to do as the Law required and present himself to the priest and offer a sacrifice. This is important. It is a very strong confirmation that Jesus did not come to reject or replace the law but to fulfill and perfect the law. It also indicates the man had true leprosy not just a minor or curable skin condition. Jesus instructed the former leper to tell no one about how he was healed. Contrary to this, the man went and told everyone he saw. The most obvious question is why Jesus did not want the man to tell anyone? Perhaps Jesus did not want to be followed just because He healed people. The message that Jesus was bringing was so very much more than healing alone. The healing was a result of that message; the message was not a result of the healing. Due to the leper telling everyone about his healing Jesus could no longer go into the cities to preach. The number of people following Jesus waiting to see a miracle created a crowd too large for the available space.

 

We tend to act the same as people have always acted; we put our priorities and emphasis in the wrong place. There is nothing wrong with healing or any other good thing from God, but healing does not save a person. Healing can lead to salvation but only acceptance of Christ as personal savior will save a person from an eternity without God. Healing is a part of the Ministry of Christians, but so are love, peace, miracles, forgiveness, etc.

 

MARK 2

vs. 1 – 12

The section we are about to study tells of the first confrontation Jesus had with the religious leaders. Up until now, Jesus and His followers have enjoyed success and an amount of respect among both the people and the leaders. Jesus has been healing and performing other miracles while preaching and teaching the Word of God. Nothing Jesus has said has threatened the leadership, this is about to change. Jesus is about to become more than an itinerant preacher, a backwoods oddity, He is now going to start challenging the entire religious system.

 

The confrontation happened in Capernaum, the home of Jesus and the disciples. Life in Palestine at that time was very public. In the morning, the door of the house was opened and anyone who wished might come in to visit. In the humbler houses, as this probably was, the door opens directly on into the street. In no time at all a crowd could gather and fill the house. Mark tells us the house is so full of people wanting to see and hear Jesus the walls are about to burst. There is no room left. Into this scene come four men carrying a bed with their friend, a paralytic lying on it. Their purpose is to bring their friend to Jesus for healing. Finding the house full, the men arrive at a novel solution to their problem, they removed part of the roof.

 

The man’s friends went to great lengths to get to Jesus. They had the faith that He could heal, and they loved their friend and knew Jesus could heal him. To what length are we willing to go for our family and friends to be healed physically and spiritually? Is our love for Christ and our friends great enough to risk embarrassment and hard work to see them saved and healed?

 

The actual removing of the roof was probably easier than it sounds. In those days, roofs were built by lying flat beams, about three feet apart, from wall to wall. The space between the beams was tightly packed with brushwood and clay. An outside stair led to the roof. Although it would have involved some work, it would not be difficult for the men to carry their friend up the stairs to the roof, dismantle part of the roof and lower him down to Jesus. The paralyzed man was lowered to Jesus with the intent being for Jesus to heal him. Christ sees the faith of both the paralytic and his friends and instead of telling the man he was healed, Jesus tells him "Son, your sins are forgiven."

 

This may seem like an unusual answer to a plea for healing, but to the Jews sickness and sinning were bound inextricably together. The argument went that if a man was suffering, he must have sinned. Most books that I have read call this belief a mark of primitive peoples. If this is so, then our present society must be primitive since our actions confirm that we also act this way. How many times do we avoid a person who is sick or handicapped, feeling that their illness somehow puts them in a lower social position than us? Is this not the same as the Jews saying the suffering was caused by sin, thus pronouncing the sick person as somehow socially inferior to the rest of society? Jesus recognized that sin can cause sickness. Jesus also made a difference between sickness and demon possession. Jesus also knew forgiveness of sin is much more important than physical healing. Spiritual healing is much more important than physical healing.

 

Our individual reactions to those sick or infirm among us reveal a lot about us as individuals and as a society. This is especially true of our reaction to those who are not family or friends. The interesting thing to note is that many times illness can be caused by suppressed guilt, real or imagined. The society we live in today considers sin and true moral guilt as nonexistent, a tool of under-educated or unscrupulous fanatics who want to control others through fear. Unfortunately, many persons suffer serious illnesses that are a direct result of suppressed true moral guilt for imaginary but strongly desired sins as well as for actual sins. Often people receive healing after confessing their guilt and making restitution. Jesus, in the case of this paralytic, recognized the man's inward condition was more important than his physical illness. The man's friends could see only the outward condition, Jesus saw the heart. He saw true moral guilt and its effect.

 

Jesus, as he saw the faith of the man and his friends, responded to that faith. "Child, your sins are forgiven." Imagine how the man must have felt. His paralyzed condition was no longer of primary importance. His sins are forgiven! He knew they are forgiven! He was a child of God, he had assurance he was a child of God. Neither the paralytic nor his friend's questioned Jesus’ authority to forgive.

 

Representatives of the religious leaders of the time were present and were not at all happy. Only God could forgive sins. Who was this Jesus to forgive sins? Did He think He was equal to God? In their minds, Jesus was not even equal to them! What schools did He graduate from? What are His credentials? What Jesus had done was shocking to them. For any man to claim he could forgive sins was an insult to God, it was blasphemy and punishable by stoning.

 

Now Jesus was aware of their thoughts and where those thoughts would lead. He decided not to put the issue off but to meet them on their own ground. Since the Jews believed that sin and sickness were linked together, Jesus asked them why they were thinking these things. Which is easier to say to the man, '”your sins are forgiven” or to say “get up, take your mat and walk”? Jesus has now met the challenge. Jesus was, in effect, telling them: You say that I have no right to forgive sins. You hold as a matter of belief that if this man is ill then he must be a sinner and cannot be cured until his sins are forgiven. Very well then what about this? Jesus then healed the man.

 

The experts in the law had a problem. Based on their own stated beliefs, the man could not be cured unless he was first forgiven. The man was obviously cured therefore he must be forgiven. Jesus’ claim to be able to forgive sin must be true. This probably baffled the experts and left them extremely frustrated. Here was something they must deal with to maintain a faith consistent with their paradigm. We must not think all the priests and experts cared only for their own welfare. There were many sincere men among them. These were men who were concerned for both the faith and the nation of Israel. Jesus presented them with a problem they did not know how to handle.

 

The teachers of the law missed the point Jesus made. They were thinking Jesus was taking too much on Himself by forgiving sins. That was God’s job alone. Jesus is in fact telling them He is God and can forgive sins. His proof is the healing of the man.

 

Jesus has left a bit of a problem for scholars in our time also. Just what did He mean when he said: “Child your sins are forgiven.”? There are three ways we can interpret what Jesus said. First, we could take it to mean that Jesus was conveying God’s forgiveness to the man. An example of this is David and Nathan. After David had sinned and had humbly confessed his sin Nathan said, “The Lord also has put away your sin and you shall not die.” (2 Samuel 12:1 – 13). Nathan did not forgive David’s sin but only conveyed the forgiveness of God

 

Second, we could take it that Jesus was acting as God’s representative. An analogy of this would be a power of attorney which one person may give it another. A Power of Attorney gives a person absolute disposal of the initiator’s goods and property (as specified in the Power of Attorney). We could take it to mean that this is what God did with Jesus. God allocated to Jesus His powers and privileges, and the word Jesus spoke is none other than the Word of God.

 

Third, in the life of Jesus we see clearly displayed the attitude of God to men. It was not an attitude of stern, severe, austere justice. Nor is it an attitude of continual demand. God’s attitude was and is one of perfect love, of a yearning for His creation to turn their hearts to Him that He might forgive them and keep them in His love forever. Jesus, the Son of God, had that same love as a part of Him and He also had the power and authority to forgive sins.

 

There is one more issue to be examined, the four friends. These friends had the faith to take the man to Jesus. They had the faith to take him to the rooftop and cut a hole. They had the faith to let the man down through the hole to Jesus. The paralyzed man certainly could not have done these things himself. In fact, we do not know what his reactions were to the actions of his friends. We do know that when Jesus saw their faith, He said the man’s sins were forgiven. That tells us Jesus saw the faith of the entire group, not just the paralyzed man.

 

The one clear fact that comes out of this passage is the split between Jesus and the religious leaders. With this instance of forgiveness and healing, Jesus has set the wheels in motion for His eventual crucifixion. Jesus knew this. The time was not yet politically appropriate to seize Jesus. The people would riot if Jesus was taken now, but the leaders could wait. Actually, they had no choice but to wait. God’s plan was not yet accomplished.

 

vs. 13 – 17

Now after Jesus healed the paralytic He began to teach as He walked along the seashore. The authorities were more troubled by the power and authority in Jesus that were made evident than they were by the actual healing. The people praised God for His working, but the leaders were not pleased and felt threatened. Jesus was a teacher that challenged their tradition and theology and might possibly cause a riot. Not only had Jesus challenged them He did so very successfully. The leaders were put in an untenable situation for which they had no response.

 

As Jesus walked and talked, He saw Levi (generally accepted as Matthew) collecting taxes. Jesus called to Levi and invited him to become a disciple. It is interesting to note that Jesus called Levi. Jesus did not call any of the people who witnessed the healing, just this tax collector at his place of work. What did Jesus see in Levi?

 

Levi’s response to Jesus was to immediately get up, leave his job and money, and follow. Levi may have given up the most of all the disciples, at least materially. He gave up a lucrative job to which he could never return. The rest of the disciples could always go back to fishing if things didn’t work. Levi’s job, once left, was gone forever. Levi took a chance on being accepted by the companions of Jesus even though he collected the taxes for Herod and the hated Romans. The Jews did not associate with a tax collector. Jesus did. Levi was a man who staked everything on Christ, and he chose correctly.

 

Levi could look the world in the face knowing he had made the correct decision. He obtained a far greater job than the one he left, a job that was much more satisfying. (To Levi was left the task of writing the first book of the teachings of Jesus.) Levi received justification with God and reconciliation with his fellow man. Rather than being a hated tax collector, he was now an integral part of Jesus’ disciples

 

The calling of Levi reminds us that Jesus was never off duty. When other people might not notice those around them, Jesus is attuned to the spiritual condition of everyone. Jesus did not measure a person by the same yardstick everyone else used. Jesus looks into a person’s heart and soul and centers His judgment on what He sees there. Jesus does not judge based on the prejudices or traditions of society or culture. Jesus sees what a person can be, not just what they are on the outside.

 

One of the first things Levi did was to invite his new friends and Jesus to dinner. This must have been a shock to the disciples, especially when Jesus accepted. Proper Jews just did not eat with tax collectors and their friends. Many of Levi’s friends, referred to as sinners by many Jews, were at the dinner. This term is not to place them in the same class as thieves, adulterers, murderers, etc. The term sinner as used by the scribes and Pharisees was defined as anyone who broke any of the many rules and regulations of the traditional Law. Using this definition, a person who did not wash their hands the correct number of times in the prescribed manner was just as much a sinner as the person who stole. Not surprisingly, the Scribes and Pharisees did not see themselves as sinners.

 

The teachers of the law were more interested in form and format than they were substance. Jesus was interested in people. All people need Jesus, but the teachers of the law did not feel they did, they were above all that.

 

The unspoken implication of their words was, if Jesus really was the messenger of God, why did He not know the type of people who were with Him. Either Jesus was a liar and not God’s messenger, or He was totally unaware of what was traditionally and religiously proper. Perhaps Jesus just did not care about the Jews’ special place before God. This appears to be another trap for Jesus. Jesus has just left the Jewish leaders speechless, much to the delight of the common people, and they were looking for ways to denigrate Jesus and His message.

 

Jesus’ answer was to let them know He knew exactly what He was doing. The people Jesus was dining with knew and admitted their fallen state. The teachers were either not aware of their own fallen state or would not admit it. This being the case, Jesus could not help them. To have no sense of need is to erect a barrier between God, Jesus and ourselves. Jesus did not do any of this with a condemning attitude, but rather with much love. Jesus was seeking to get the love and mercy of God through to them. Jesus knew the leadership needed His message just as much as man in the street. Jesus would not have jeopardized even one person coming to Him.

 

vs. 18-22

The next complaint the Pharisees had with Jesus was the matter of fasting. Under Jewish law there was one day of fasting each year required of all the Jews. The Pharisees were performing extra duty as far as fasting was concerned. considering the problems, he was having with Herod there was good reason for the disciples of John to be fasting. The Pharisees did not have the same issues. Often the Pharisees fasted in order that others would see how “holy” they were.

 

By bringing the disciples of John into their question (accusation), the Pharisees probably hoped to garner the sympathy of the people. They may also have hoped that, by association, they would portray themselves in a better light. More than likely, they also hoped to corner Jesus and force Him to bow to their rules. Jesus’ answer to the Pharisees immediately accomplished two things: it separated the Pharisees from the disciples of John, and it separated their rules and regulations of the Scribes and Pharisees from the Laws of God.

 

The reference to the wedding feast is not very well understood in our day. During the time of Jesus, life was difficult at best. After a Jewish wedding feast, the couple did not go off on a honeymoon, they stayed home. There was an extended period of about a week during which open house was kept and there was continual feasting. The best friends of the bride and groom were invited to this feasting to share in the joy and celebration. These guests were called the Children of the Bride Chamber. This feasting time was considered so important that there was a Rabbinic ruling stating that all persons in attendance on the bridegroom are relieved of all religions services which would lessen their joy. Jesus likened His disciples to these Children of the Bride Chamber. The implied statement here is that even if this were the one required day of fasting per year, Jesus’ disciples would be within their rights not to fast since they were in attendance to the bridegroom. The answer also separated the Pharisees from the disciples of John. The disciples of John were fasting due to the already gathering problems with Herod. The Pharisees had no such reason. Comparing their fasting to the fasting of John’s disciples was comparing apples and oranges.

 

The second part of Christ’s answer directly addresses the man-made laws of the Jewish leaders as opposed to the laws of God. The law of God was for the welfare of the people. The rules of the Scribes and the Pharisees laid harsh and unfair burdens on the people. God’s law is intended to establish a relationship between Himself and His people. The law of the Scribes and Pharisees tended to separate God from the people, as well as providing false honor for the leadership.

 

Jesus does allude to a time when He will not be with His disciples. When that happens, they will have cause to fast. This statement establishes that He knew what He was doing and the consequences. This serves to further point out the differences between God’s point of view and that of the Jewish leaders. God was and is merciful and just. Many of the Jewish leaders were not.

 

As a further illustration of what He meant, Jesus uses the analogy of new and old garments and wine skins. Just as using a new piece of cloth to patch old garments or putting new wine into an old wine skin is foolish, so is expecting His disciples to carry on the old legalistic traditions when something new and much better has come. The Word of God made flesh is now here. Notice Jesus never did away with the Law of God, just the traditions and legalisms of man that tried to supplant the Law of God.

 

Now Jesus was coming with a new message. The message He brought was, in a very practical sense, different than that which was in place. No longer can the leaders tell the people that their salvation is dependent on doing what the leaders required. Each person would have to make their own decision about accepting the salvation of God. A number of churches have returned to the idea that the rules of the church take primacy over the teachings and salvation of Jesus. Many times, people are more than willing to allow the church to set the rules. Thinking that following the rules of a church removes their responsibility to Jesus and His message is a serious error. At the judgement, God will not ask how well a person followed the rules of a church, but rather did they accept Jesus the Christ as their salvation, and did they follow His teachings. Those leaders who insist that the rules of their church or organization have primacy over the teachings of Jesus are no different than the Jewish leaders in the time of Jesus. Those are the leaders strongly censured for teaching that their traditions were more important than the laws of God.

 

vs. 23-27

Jesus has already answered the Pharisees concerning the eating habits of Him and His disciples. The Pharisees now start finding fault with other actions of the disciples. The problem this time was the practice of the disciples picking seed from a field, shelling and eating it on the Sabbath. Now the eating of the seed was not really the problem, the picking and shelling of it on the Sabbath was the problem. Under the Jewish law these acts were defined as work and, as such, could not be performed on the Sabbath.

 

According to Jewish law work was classified under 39 different headings. Four of these headings were reaping, winnowing, threshing and preparing a meal. The disciples managed to break all four of these regulations. The original commandment said to remember the Sabbath day and keep it Holy. The Jewish Rabbis added the rest of the rules defining what they thought was holy. The attitude of the Jewish leaders seems to be that God’s Law was not good enough and they must improve it. Jesus was determined to let them know that it was God’s Law, not their regulations and traditions that is important.

 

If we think about this, the situation is almost ludicrous. A person may eat a meal and not break the law. If they had to perform any preparation for that meal, it was breaking the law could be punishable by death.  The means, if you were starving to death and picked and shelled seed to eat and live, you could be stoned to death for picking and shelling the seed. This may sound trivial to us, but it was deadly serious to the Jews.

 

This passage confronts us with the same essential truths with which Jesus confronted Scribes and Pharisees. The worship of Yahweh does not consist of rules and regulations. People forget that love, forgiveness, service and mercy are at the heart of worshipping God. The Jewish leadership replaced or expanded God’s law with a set of man-made rules and regulations. When this happens their relationship with God and God’s creation declines. The only rules that are relevant are God’s. Jesus has already tried to make the leaders see that God established the law for a purpose and that purpose was for the people’s good. There is no need to add to God’s law, in fact, adding to God’s law is arrogant. We are only to obey what God put in place. The appropriate use for sacred things is to use them to worship God and help others. The reference to David and the shew bread was an effort by Jesus to make the Pharisees see and understand this. If a person dies because a bit of bread is too “holy” to be eaten, what good comes from that? It is the attitude of the heart that counts and not just the obeying of some man-made rules. Verse 27 makes clear what God had in mind when He set down His commandments. The commandments were and are for our good not God’s. God has nothing to gain from the commandments, we do. 

 

Isaac Asimov wrote a series of stories about the Black Widow Society. The stories all concern a group of men who met on a weekly basis to discuss the world in general and to solve mysteries in particular (when they had any to solve). Many times, one of the members would bring a guest with the understanding that the guest could be questioned about anything and everything. The first question asked of any guest was “What is your justification for existence?” As Christians, our justification for existence is to love the Lord and to serve Him. That includes leading others to Him, to become mature in the Lord and help are others do likewise. This is a part of what Jesus was trying to get through to the Jews. Their purpose for existence was to love and serve God, not obey some set of man-made rules. If we truly seek to love and serve God, there is no need or place for any extra rules.

 

“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” is a very important comment from Jesus. This should have turned their thinking completely around. The teachers of the law saw the commandments only as something man is subservient to. Man was made to obey the commandments. Jesus turns this around and shows the commandments were made to help man. Since the intent of the commandments was to help man, Jesus [the Son of Man] is lord of them, including the Sabbath.

 

MARK 3

vs. 3: 1-6

After Jesus had this latest run in with the Jewish leaders where He tried to get them to understand God’s purposes and priorities He seems to have gone on the offensive. Up until this time, Jesus has been answering the Pharisees’ questions about His actions. Jesus did not seem to be making it a point of questioning their motives. This time was different.

 

The setting is Jesus is in a synagogue with the usual group of watchdogs (Sanhedrin delegation) and so is a man with a withered hand. The Pharisees see this as a wonderful opportunity to discredit Jesus or, if possible, to get Him into serious trouble. The man with the withered hand appears to be an excuse for the Pharisees to create a problem. The Scripture does not say that the man asked to be healed, but rather that the Pharisees pushed the issue. It is important to note that the Pharisees did not have the best interests of either the man or the congregation in mind. Their primary motive seems to be the chance to cause problems for Jesus. Jesus was quite aware of this and did not shrink away from the battle. Jesus takes the opportunity to make an important point and to teach an important lesson.

 

Jesus told the man with the withered hand to stand up in front of everyone. No one would miss either the man’s condition, the actions of Jesus or the actions of the Pharisees. Having done this, Jesus asks what seems to be a simple question: “Which is lawful on the Sabbath, to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” The question becomes a sticky problem since the man was in no danger of dying and, according to their rules, could not be helped. To heal the man would seem to be a good thing but since their rules forbid healing on the Sabbath, either their rules were wrong or to heal was wrong. To say that healing the man was evil was ridiculous and the rules and motives of the delegation was put in an illogical and untenable situation.

 

The Jewish leader’s delegation said nothing. They would look foolish no matter what they answered. At this point, Jesus became angry and distressed. (Often the words “Jesus became angry and distressed” are read but not truly considered. Jesus being angry and distressed is not the same as the average person being angry and distressed. Here is the Son of God, the Creator, being angry and distressed with His creation. This is a terrible thing, especially for those who caused the anger and distress.) Not only were the leaders leading the people astray, but if their pride would suffer, they would not even stand up for their own convictions. Pride is what caused Satan to sin. Here were the leaders of God’s chosen people full of the exact same sin that broke God’s heart in the first place. Beyond all of this, they refused to be intellectually, spiritually or morally honest. The men were bound and determined to go their own way ignoring the requirements of God and to take everyone else with them.

 

Jesus now performs a very deliberate act; He heals the man in the synagogue on the Sabbath. We cannot mistake this act for anything other than what it was, a direct challenge to the Jewish leadership. This was also a direct challenge to Satan and his hold on the people through impractical, burdensome and impossible rules. The glove is thrown down. Either Jesus or the Jewish leaders and Satan will win.

 

There is no compromise. Jesus will not be frightened off or overawed by either Satan or the Sanhedrin. This is a fight between Jesus and Satan. Unfortunately, it appears many of the Jewish leaders are on the side of Satan.

 

Now that the challenge is made the Pharisees begin to do the (for them) unthinkable, they begin to work with the Herodians to develop a plot to kill Jesus. What makes this so ironic is that these same men would declare anyone else who dealt with the Herodians unclean. They would do so even if it were to save a life. Now the Pharisees are more than ready to deal with the Herodians in-order-to take a life. They show once again that, in their minds, their rules and desires far outweigh those of God.

 

The leaders could not get away from their doctrine of the Sabbath. Notice I said, “their doctrine” not God’s doctrine. The Sabbath was to be kept Holy, but they put so many regulations on what they defined as Holy that it made the Sabbath stressful and very difficult to keep, not what God intended. Jesus takes this opportunity to redefine Holy. The teachers missed the point and the love involved. They decided to kill Jesus, a definite violation of the Law

 

vs. 7 – 12

After Jesus directly challenged the Sanhedrin delegation, He again withdrew from the public eye. Jesus went with His disciples to the lake. This act tells us much about Jesus. When we compare this with the delegation from the Sanhedrin going to the Herodians, we can clearly see the very different purpose of each group. Jesus went to get closer to God and seek His will. The delegation went to the earthly authorities to have Jesus killed thereby ignoring God’s will and commandments.

 

Jesus was not interested in the praise of men. He was also not interested in becoming an earthly king or starting a rebellion. Jesus was interested in leading people to God. Although Mark does not say this, it would seem Jesus left the public places for few reasons. One reason was to let the people cool down. Another was to spend time instructing His disciples, helping them to understand the meaning and import of what had happened. The most important reason was to spend time communicating with God.

 

This was not God’s time for Jesus to reveal Himself. At this point, the crowds were primarily interested in someone to physically lead them to freedom from the hated Romans. We must remember that the disciples of Jesus were the normal, run-of-the-mill Israelites of that day. They had the same hopes, fears, dreams, troubles, etc. as everyone else. There was one big difference between the disciples and the rest of the population, the disciples were called to a higher purpose. They had to put their nationalistic feelings aside and work for God’s plan and purpose to be fulfilled. This meant that they had to work for the salvation of all people (including Romans), not just the Jews.

 

Most of the Jewish leadership were primarily interested in their own safety, comfort and position. They did not care for the spiritual or physical well-being of the God’s people as long as they and their families were well taken care of. The fate of one person probably did not concern them very much. Jesus, however, did concern them. He burst the bubble of their pride and reminded them of their responsibility to God for their fellow man. He is a danger to their maintaining their (and their family’s) position and wealth. Up to this point, the actions of Jesus have not yet directly challenged their political authority or leadership. He has however made them look foolish and wounded their pride.

 

As Jesus left for the lake with his disciples the crowds followed. This is the first we hear of people from other areas listening to and following Jesus. The different localities mentioned takes in all the land area God originally gave to the twelve tribes. This fact leads me to suppose God was trying to show the Jews that Jesus came to reunite the tribes under their true savior. Unfortunately, the Israeli leadership did not want to be united under the true Messiah. They wanted to keep the political and spiritual control over the people.

 

Jesus gave instructions that a boat be available in case the crowds became too large for Him to work effectively. This was necessary due to the number of sick people trying to reach Jesus for healing. In addition to the sick, there were the possessed who were also reaching out to Jesus. Jesus has come to heal but, more importantly, He came to instruct mankind in the ways of God. He came to lead people into a right relationship with God.

 

The possessed were a special kind of problem. They let everyone within earshot know Jesus is the Savior. Since it was not yet time for Jesus to reveal Himself, He would always stop them from speaking. An interesting thing to note about this is the people at that time did not understand the term “Son of God” the same as we understand it today. In that time, the term meant someone who was so close to God no other words could express the relationship. We understand his term to meet Jesus is a very part of God. I believe Satan understood it the same way we do today, therefore that is how the possessed would have used it.

 

The doctrine of the Trinity and the theology surrounding it had not yet been developed. It would have scandalized the Hebrews (in fact, it still does). One of the reasons the Jews had, and still have, trouble accepting Jesus is that He affirmed that He is truly the Son of God.  He is the very Word made flesh, both man and God. Even though the prophecies made this concept clear, and many times God alluded to His Word made flesh (Matthew 1:18; Matthew 8:28-29; Luke 1:26-38; Luke 3:21-22), the people never really understood it in that context.

 

Part of the problem was that many of the pagan religions have stories of their gods becoming flesh. The Hebrews steered well clear of this concept. They did not consider the possibility that Satan had been working ahead of time to make the fact of Jesus to be perceived as just another myth. They failed to realize or admit that Jesus did what no one before or since has done, resurrected from the dead.

 

Again, the impure spirits know who Jesus is. The self-proclaimed pure, the Jewish leaders, did not.

 

vs.13 – 19

Jesus has now come to an important point in His ministry. He has started to preach and to teach a specific message. He has directly challenged the leadership and He has a large following. The leadership is against Him, to the point where they are plotting His murder. It is time for Jesus to train others to carry on after He has gone back to the Father.

 

At some point, Jesus went into a secluded place with several His disciples. There He appointed twelve of them to be apostles. It is assumed that more than twelve persons went with Jesus. Who the others were and what were their later works is not described? The charge given to these men at this time was simple and straightforward, they were to preach the Good News and drive out demons.

 

The reason Jesus chose twelve men to be apostles has been argued by many scholars, but the answer seems simple. God told Moses to see that he made things according to the pattern shown to him on the mountain. (Exodus 25: 40). This is repeated in Hebrews 8:5. If we look at what Moses was shown in the mountain two things are immediately apparent, the tabernacle and the candlestick. We will confine our present discussion to the makeup of the candlestick.

 

The candlestick that burned in the Tabernacle consisted of a base of twelve stones, seven candle stems with those seven candle stems having a total of 72 knobs and flowers on them. If we consider the Zechariah 4: 1-14 we see this same candlestick being supplied olive oil from two olive trees. Romans 11: 1-24 shows one of these trees was the Israelites and one the Gentiles. This, in conjunction with Hebrews 8:5, leads us to believe that God intends to maintain the same method of salvation and organization throughout history for both Jews and Gentiles.

 

The twelve apostles therefore would be like the twelve foundation stones for the candlestick and the twelve princes of the twelve tribes of Israel. The Christian church is built upon the doctrine set by Christ and preached by the original twelve apostles (Ephesians 2:20). The twelve apostles received their doctrine from Christ. As an aside, nowhere in the scriptures does it say the gift or ministry of apostle died out with the original twelve. Rather, the gifts and callings of God are without repentance. (Malachi 3:6; Romans 11:29; Hebrews 13:8; James 1:17) We will discuss other parts of this candlestick as they occur later in Mark’s gospel.

 

Jesus called these men for two purposes: the first was to be with Him and learn, the second was to send them out to the people. In order to equip them for their task He gave them two things; first He gave them a message, and second, He gave them power. Just as Jesus called the early disciples for a purpose and then equipped them for that purpose, so He does with us. There is no difference between us and the early disciples. As they had different gifts that were to be used to build a church, so have we. We cannot say the early disciples were in a better position or better people, they were not. If anything, we, having history behind us, are in a better position to serve more completely than were they. (John 14:12; James 5: 17-18.)

 

Note the continuity between what Moses did and what Jesus did. Moses had the 12 leaders of the 12 tribes of Israel. Jesus had the 12 apostles. If we look at the Menorah, we see there were 12 foundation stones holding the 7 candles. God’s plan is consistent, does not change {Hebrews 13:8} and is seen visually as well as spiritually.

 

vs. 20-21

Once again Jesus was in a house when a very large crowd gathered. The number of people was so great and the demands so pressing that Jesus cannot even take time for Himself. Into this came his family wanting to remove him from the situation for His own good.

 

From this situation, we can see a number of things very clearly. The people were starving for the Word of God and would go to any length to be fed. It brings to mind baby birds with their mouths constantly opened and crying for food. The chicks do not really know anything except they are hungry and must be fed. Jesus knew this was the condition of the people and was willing to feed them as often as He could and as much of the Word as they could hold. By their actions, it can be assumed the leadership did not approve. They wanted to decide when, what and how much to give the people. Unfortunately, the people were dying spiritually because of the decisions of the leaders.

 

 

vs 22-30

The teachers of the Law now claim that Jesus operates under the direction and spirit of Satan, the Prince of Demons. The timing of this may have been a way to give credence to the family’s charge that Jesus was mentally incompetent, if not insane. The plan backfired. Once again, Jesus sees right through their scheme and calls the men what they are, liars and self-serving. Before Jesus details the enormity of their sin, He proves just how ridiculous are their accusations and logic.

 

The example Jesus uses is simple in the extreme. An organization that is fighting within itself cannot survive. A family that is fighting within itself cannot survive as a family. It is obvious that everything Jesus did was designed to combat Satan in every way. If Jesus is working by the spirit of Satan, He would be fighting Himself and could not survive. Jesus does not say their accusations are foolish and irrational, rather He says the teachers are not using good sense, even the simplest person can see the fault in their logic.

 

Jesus then uses the very common idea of stealing from a strong person, strength being either political, spiritual for physical. Before you can steal from them, you must first render the strong person harmless, then you can take their possessions. Every action of Jesus served to bind Satan and relieve Satan of what he considered his possessions, the souls of people. 

 

Jesus now makes known the condition of His accusers. The summation is in verse 29; “but whoever blasphemies against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; that person is guilty of eternal sin.” This verse has given many people much trouble over the centuries. To blasphemy the Holy Spirit you must knowingly attribute the works of the Holy Spirit to Satan. Your attitude and spirit had to be so hardened against God He can no longer reach you at all. This is a case of the person turning completely away from God and working only for their own ends. Going back to the verses we were just looking at; this appears to be what the Pharisees were doing.

 

Jesus knew their thoughts and comments and addressed them head on. Jesus did not shy away from the accusations but used them to do more teaching about God, the Holy Spirit and Himself. Jesus brings up a point that has bothered, confused and concerned people over the ages: the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. What is it? How might people do it? Matthew answers that question in his next remark. “He said this because they were saying, “He has an impure spirit.” They were attributing the spirit in Jesus, the Holy Spirit to a demonic, Satanic spirit. They were saying the most Holy, pure, loving, powerful God was Satan. This is a terrible thing, attributing the works of the Holy Spirit, part of God to the being trying to destroy everything God does and is. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is a purposeful act. It is an act done with intention. It is an act to denigrate God the father, Son and Holy Spirit.

 

The reason this is the unpardonable sin is that the individual would never even think of asking for forgiveness. They truly would not understand why they should ask for forgiveness. Where there is no repentance, there can be no forgiveness. These men had put themselves in that position. They had no idea that what they were doing was wrong on that level. It was not a matter of their refusing to accept Jesus, but rather their knowledgeable refusal of any of the good things of God and, in fact, giving Satan credit for the Holy works of God.

 

These people were erecting a wall between them and God, separating them from God and sending a clear message they were not interested in God.

 

POPULARITY AND AUTHORITY

vs 31-35

At this point, Jesus’ family arrives to take Him away. The family sent someone through the crowd to tell Jesus they were there. Although the family may not have realized how they were being used by the Jewish leaders Jesus saw through it immediately. Jesus effectively stopped their plans by His response. By defining His family as those who believe in and follow Him, Jesus put Himself totally in the hands of God and out of the hands of His earthly family. The final easy way of escape for Jesus was now gone. There was absolutely no turning back. Jesus has, in the eyes of society, thrown away both security and safety and proven Himself indifferent to the judgement of society.

 

We can also see that pressure must have been put on the family of Jesus. This is the first mention of His family interfering in His work and it comes only after His challenging the leadership. This whole scenario could not have been pleasant for the family. The family decided to do what families have done since time immemorial, pronounce Jesus mentally incompetent, take Him by force and lock Him away. This would protect them, get the authorities away from them, keep Jesus from causing more trouble (in the eyes of the Jewish leaders) and keep Him from possibly being harmed or killed. This answer would have set well with the authorities as well. They would have gotten Jesus out of the way with no one blaming them. After all, the family took this action. They could say they liked Jesus but always thought there was something not quite right about Him. There would be no blood on their hands and the Status Quo would continue with barely a ripple.

 

As the popularity of Jesus increased, the harassment of the authorities also increased. Being popular and right is no guarantee of universal acceptance. In the next chapter of Mark, Jesus starts to teach what it takes to be a disciple. His popularity starts to decrease as people realize being a disciple is not always easy or popular. Jesus was not the nationalistic, revolutionary leader many were looking for. What Jesus was and is, is much more necessary and important. Jesus came with authority. He did not come to be popular nor did He come to be the savior of a small nation, but rather to be the Savior of the world. The paradigm of people was much too narrow.

 

Here Jesus puts to rest the idea of the Mother of God. Mary was his mother and He honored her as such. She was a godly woman who bore Him. That did not make her infallible or occupying a special place. She could be in error, as she was here. Jesus makes it very, very clear that all who believe in and worship Him are part of his family and no one person is more special than another.

 

MARK 4

vs. 1- 9

Once again Jesus is teaching by the lake side. These outdoor sermons will become the rule since the Sanhedrin is barring Jesus from speaking in the synagogues. In order to protect Himself and to assure everyone could hear, Jesus got into a boat and from the boat spoke to the people on the shore.

 

The use of parables was a time-honored method used by many Jewish teachers. Jesus differed from other teachers in how He used of parables. Jesus based His parables on was happening at the moment, the parable made a point about what was happening in relation to God and His eternal lasting truths. The Jewish leadership appear to have considered Jesus’ extensive use of parables as aimed at them and resented it. Jesus’ use of parables removed the leader’s masks and showed them for what they really were.

 

Parables are intended to make an abstract idea concrete, make the listener think and to make an immediate impact. To do this the parable must be both rooted in those things familiar to the listeners and it must hold their interest. Parables are not really meant to be held on to a close study for hidden meanings, although the parables of Jesus stand up to close study very well. The parables of Jesus also require a decision from the listener. Are the listeners going to accept the truth carried in the parable and thereby have their life changed, or will they ignore it? A decision is required and making no decision is the same as making the worst possible decision of rejecting the truth.

 

The first parable in the Mark relates is about the scattering of the seed. Considering what has recently happened to Jesus this is a very appropriate parable. The circumstances are as follows, Jesus has been rejected by many of the Jewish leaders and He can no longer speak freely in the synagogues. Despite this, large numbers of people are following Him, but some are already turning back to their old lifestyle. Jesus is very popular with the masses, but He is very aware this is temporary. The cares of the world and fear of the leadership will pull many believers away. Many of the listeners may be confused or concerned about how the leader’s (who are highly trained and almost paranoid about obeying the law) can be as far from God as Jesus says. It is within this context Jesus tells the parable

 

Jesus phrases his truth in terms everyone, including the Pharisees, can understand. A farmer is planting crops for his living. If the yield was plentiful the year would be much more comfortable. If the yield was not plentiful the farmer could be reduced to begging or even slavery.

 

The farmer knew that all seeds have the potential for growth Whether it grows or not depends on where it lands. The parable immediately told the people that God’s Word always has the potential for growth. Whether it grows or not depends on the listener. This is the truth that flashes across a person’s mind when hearing this parable. Now, what would the listeners do with the information? This parable also made clear how the leaders could miss God’s message while they could get it. When we take this parable apart, we can see Jesus was starting to make it clear that not all of those who now followed Him would continue to follow Him.

 

vs. 10 - 20

In verse ten we come to a difficult part of the passage. This verse is difficult for two reasons. Why did the disciples ask about the parable, and, what did Jesus mean by his answer? Mark does not say exactly what the disciples asked about the parable, but we can infer from Jesus’ answer that they did not understand the meaning of the parable. (Given that using parables was a very familiar teaching method their use would not have surprised the disciples.) Jesus’ first reply was to ask the disciples if they did not understand the parable. Jesus’ next statement implies that this parable is a simple one to understand and if they could not understand this parable how they can be able to understand the weightier parables and matters of the Spirit. This passage seems to imply the twelve were not yet listening with minds attuned to the Holy Spirit. The disciples have direct access to the Word of God (meaning Jesus). They were with Him much of the time, knew His actions and Jesus had explained to them much of His thinking.

 

Most of the people did not have the advantage the twelve had and therefore understanding the truth Jesus brought was more difficult. Using parables was a familiar method and Jesus chose this method to help the people understand God’s truths. There seems to be a gentle chiding of the disciples in this passage. With a direct access to Jesus why do they not understand even this simple parable? Jesus requires His disciples to think. They had to mature in the Faith faster than the other followers. Soon they would be going out without His physical presence and they had need to be equipped and ready quickly.

 

Far from to hiding the truth, the parables were meant to make the truth clear. A parable sneaks up on a person. A person hears a parable about a subject and only later realizes they received a great truth and, as a result of the parable, understand it much more fully. This is where the parables of Jesus excel. They make the immediate truth known but also, upon further study, reveal even more truth.

 

Jesus in, verse twelve, was quoting Isaiah 6: 9-10. The passage in Isaiah make it very clear God was disappointed in His people. They heard what was said but made no real effort to understand the message God was sending. They could see but did not perceive (truly see) the message from God in what they were seeing. Since the people made no effort or interest to truly hear, understand and see, God would let them go their own way. Since they were not inclined to serve God, God would allow them to serve false gods and become more and more insensitive to His Word. There is a strong possibility we have put a little more liberal interpretation on the words of this passage than Jesus may have intended. Could Jesus have been speaking with some feelings of disappointment? Could His tone of voice have been saying that, try as He might to make things clear, these people still do not understand. Despite all He did, it was as if they were deaf, dumb and blind, truly oblivious to the truth and God’s message of great joy, love and that the Savior, Jesus, had come.

 

This seems to be the case with the disciples, so why not the case with most of the listeners. This could have been the way Jesus showed His longing for, and loving frustration with, the people. If we read this and hear many regrets born of love instead of bitter exasperation, the passage will sound quite different. The second part of Jesus’ answer explains the parable itself. The details would have been very real to the people listening. There are three types of ground where seed would fall.

 

The parable first deals with the hard ground by the side of the road. This ground was hard packed by the constant traffic between towns. Seed would not even be able to start in this ground. There are some people whose hearts are so hard the Word of God has no opportunity to enter and bring them to saving grace. This is due to the hearer’s lack of interest and the wall of apathy they have built between them and God. It can also be due to their busy lives with so much going from one event to another that they have no time to truly listen to God.

 

Second was the rocky ground found in many parts of Israel. This ground consisted of a layer of limestone. Seed falling on this ground would take root and grow well for a short period of time. Then, due to the shallowness of the soil and root, it would die if anything but ideal conditions existed. Many believers are like that. It is easy to start walking in something when you are on top of the world, but let reality move in and, if the faith that causes the growth is not founded on Christ, it is difficult to impossible to maintain.

 

Third is the seed that has fallen on good, fertile, deep soil. As a sun beats down, the storms come in and the wind howls, that plant will continue to grow. So, it is with the person whose faith is deeply rooted in Christ. No matter what comes that faith will sustain them until the end.

 

The Jewish leaders who heard this parable understood that it, at least partially, addressed them and their spiritual condition. They are also sure Jesus did not consider them to be good ground. What they considered themselves to be did not matter. The last message this parable delivers is, even though only part of the seeds grew to maturity, there was still a very large harvest. God’s word will never return void. This is also a message to the leaders that no matter what they did, God’s Word would rule, not man’s words nor Satan’s.

 

vs. 21-25

These five verses appear to have been inserted here without any real common thread or structure. This is not unusual in the Gospel of Mark. This is also not unusual in the way early biographies were written. There appears to be three main points in these verses. All of these things are repeated in the other gospels, but Mark is the only one that brings them together. It is thought that Mark is repeating what he and others had heard Jesus say many times.

 

A lamp on a stand. Once again Christ is using a simple word picture to instruct the people how to live their faith consistently and unashamedly. Two things are apparent from this parable. The first is truth is meant to be seen, not concealed. The believer who is rooted in the soil has the means to stand against all adversity and should do so. The second is their belief should be very visible. This visibility can lead to ridicule, ostracism and even death. All the things must not deter the Christian from letting the light of God’s Love be a bright beacon to a dark world.

 

The important thing to remember is that no matter what is said about or against a person, if they elect to live for Christ to the best of their ability and whole heart, the Truth they bring will always win. Truth can only be suppressed for a time. It always comes back to haunt the suppressor. It would also do well to remember that if we are tempted to, or are living, a lie, it is very difficult to continue to do so when our lives are open. All things will be revealed in the presence of God.

 

Jesus tells the people to listen to everything they hear. To hear only and not to act is irresponsible. This means acting in a positive way to both true and untrue teachings or statements. How can we act in a positive way to a lie or false teaching? The most obvious way is to by the power of God and living a Godly life, showing the lie or false teaching for what it is and thus protect other people. This implies three things must be present; one is intellectual honesty, two a willingness to learn and three, a close communication with God. God does not want us to be closed-minded. He does want us to be Godly minded.

 

The second part of the saying is a corollary to the first. Once we have learned truth that truth must be shared. It does the world no good to keep the things to ourselves. We find that without sharing, our capacity for further learning and growth are diminished. The reasons for not sharing may be many, but the ones that spring immediately to mind are an over inflated sense of one’s self worth, pride, misplaced humility, and fear. None of these reasons are adequate or acceptable for not sharing.

 

Humans are not created to live alone. We are social, interactive creations. Social interaction is the only way we really learn and grow to maturity, mentally, physically and spiritually. Many of the motivational seminars stress sharing what you have learned. They also stress we must listen to responses to learn more. Even the basic principles of finance tell us if we do not put our money into circulation, it does not increase. It is the same with knowledge, faith and love. The more we share the more we get, ad infinitum.

 

Verse 25 sounds similar to part of the Lord’s Prayer. If we have mercy, we will get mercy. If we forgive, we will be forgiven. This verse goes a bit farther and tells us that the amount of forgiveness we evidence, that same amount will be given to us. As Christ told Peter we must forgive seventy times seven, that is, forgive all, without end.

 

vs. 26-29

There are two types of people in the world. One type sees a tree planted outside their house and suddenly, five years later, notices it again and says look how fast that tree has grown. The second type sits and watches the rings form. There is one thing both types have in common, neither can do anything to make the tree grow.

 

 That is done by God. This is the same analogy used by Jesus to show God’s Kingdom is going to come, no matter what. Some people will be busily going about their lives and the Kingdom will come suddenly upon them. Others will watch the prophesies being fulfilled and the kingdom coming. When Jesus visited Mary and Martha, Martha hurried about getting the meal ready, etc. While Martha did this Mary sat and listened to Jesus. When Martha complained about Mary not helping Jesus said Mary hady6- made the right choice. The word of God is more important than being a good hostess.  

 

This also gives us some knowledge about God’s kingdom. The growth of nature is slow. Some people see it happening, some see it only after much growth is taken place. The growth of God’s kingdom seems slow to us who are watching it but, if we stop watching the rings form and come back five years later, we’d be amazed at the growth. There is certainty of God’s plan and kingdom. His plan will be successful, and He will have a harvest. The actions of man or Satan cannot stop that. The only option man has is to serve either God or Satan. Man cannot serve both and must serve one or the other. This is not a popular view since people’s pride tells them they serve no one but being popular or unpopular does not make a thing more factual or less factual. It is a fact that we serve either God or Satan. Thinking we serve neither but only ourselves means we are serving Satan.

 

The sower and the seed is a visual lesson that all the audience would understand. The people of that day would see farmers scattering their seed by hand, caring for it and watching it grow. As science progressed machines do the scattering, but the seed is still scattered. The seed grows regardless if the farmer is awake or asleep. It grows until the time of harvest a time man does not determine but is determined by what God set in motion. As the farmer scatters the seed so God has scattered His believers throughout the earth. Those believers witness of Christ to those around them. Some believe while others do not. The number of believers increases until it is time to harvest them, call them all home. The juxtaposition of the parable of the sower, the lamp on the hill and this parable is important. Jesus has transmitted a lot of information about what God is doing and how He is doing it.

 

The Word of God is scattered and falls on different types of people and personalities. The seed of belief, once scattered, grows based on the soil (people) involved. Those who believe are like a lamp on a hill, they draw others to Christ so they can be saved if they so choose. The number of believers increases until the time of harvest regardless of what the world does.

 

vs. 30-34

Continuing to explain the Kingdom of God to the people Jesus compares it to a mustard seed. The mustard seed is a tiny seed, barely worthy of notice. Despite its initial size, the mustard seed grows into the largest of bushes, almost a tree. There is a Scripture that says, “For who hath despised the day of small things?” (Zec. 3:10) Jesus is telling everyone not to make final judgments based on initial, apparent, information. The judgment may well not be correct. What may seem small faith can yield great results.

 

Mark now has a comment on Jesus’ method of teaching. Jesus is now using parables exclusively to teach. This is not to say He never spoke unless He spoke in a parable. This does lead us to believe Jesus explains the truth He brought via the parable. Mark also lets us know that Jesus spent time with the disciples instructing them on a personal level.

 

vs. 35-41

Mark again emphasizes the human side of Jesus. Mark’s statement that they took Jesus just as He was, implies that Jesus was extremely tired and worn out. He made the trip to the other side of the lake without preparing Himself for the night. Being so weary, Jesus went immediately to sleep in the boat, probably in the spot reserved for honored guests. The disciples, being experienced fishermen, were doing the sailing when the storm came.

 

There is a school of thought that this was a minor storm and that the disciples overreacted. Those adhering to this theory also think that Jesus was rebuking the disciples and not the storm. This argument breaks down at two points. First, the disciples were experienced fishermen. They spent considerable time on that particular lake and knew the difference between a life-threatening situation and a minor storm. The reaction of the disciples demonstrates this was a very dangerous situation. The second point where the argument breaks down is the reply of Jesus. “Quiet be still” is the same answer He gave to the demonic spirit in Mark 1:25. This shows Jesus was addressing the storm and not the disciples. This also demonstrates Jesus, as the creator had authority over the weather.

                                                                                              

It is a sad commentary on the disciples that they approached Jesus accusingly. After the disciples saw Jesus’ many acts and had sat under His teaching their attitude was that Jesus did not care about them. Even though they were so close to Jesus, the disciples had much to learn about faith.

 

People have not changed. As soon as life gets a bit difficult God is accused of not caring about His creation. How many times is our faith adversely affected if God does not answer our prayers the way we want them answered instead of according to His will. Before we judge the disciples too harshly, we need to look at ourselves.

 

The other noticeable reaction of the disciples comes after Jesus rebukes the storm and gently chides them for their lack of faith. The disciples are amazed. This seems to indicate they were not yet fully aware of who Jesus really is. Being the Son of God, Jesus would of course have to authority over the earth. More than likely the disciples understood the term Son of God as the rest of Israel did, that is, a person with an especially close relationship with God. They were beginning to understand that Jesus is the actual Son of God.

 

Finally, after Jesus tells us about how God works, He shows His authority to explain these things to us by calming the storm. Jesus is part of God and the world was created through Him. He has let us be privy to amazing things here if we but pay attention.

 

MARK 5

vs. 5:1-20

Impure means the spirit was totally the opposite of God who is totally Holy and Pure. This spirit was totally unholy and impure

 

After Jesus rebuked the storm, He and His disciples landed at a rather secluded spot among the tombs. Since this was not the normal place to dock, it is possible the storm blew the ship off course and to that place. Another possibility is that Jesus intended to land here in order to deal with the demon-possessed man. Regardless of the reason for landing at that place it was, this is one of the most dramatic of the demon possession cases related in the Bible.

 

This incident probably happened before nightfall. It is certain the area was not considered safe, especially at night. The surrounding land was full of limestone caves which were used as burial places by the local inhabitants. It was avoided as much as possible. Added to this was a madman, screaming, raving, squalid and bloody from cutting himself. This was not considered one of Israel’s top tourist spots.

 

Into this comes Jesus and His group of disciples. The disciples have just had the wits frightened out of them by a storm in which they thought they were going to die. Now they get to land in a graveyard with a certified lunatic for company. The demon possessed man stars running towards Jesus screaming. The disciples have got to be saying, oh no here we go again. We need to remember everything that had been happening to them was not their everyday life. Up until Jesus, they had led normal lives. That has all changed.

 

We are not told what drove the man to madness. Whatever it was it had a severe impact on his mental, physical and spiritual well-being. It is also possible that the choices the man made in his life to this point allowed demons to totally possess him. From what Mark says this seems to be the case. Whatever happened, the man was beyond all human help or psychology, but not beyond help of Jesus.

 

The man in question had been living among the tombs for quite some time. He was obviously well known to the locals as an extremely dangerous man and they were all very wary of him. In order to control this person and make the area reasonably safe, the local residents had tried to capture and restrain him with chains. This did not work; he simply broke the chains.

 

Physical strength, power and the world’s methods do not work on impure, evil spirits. Only Christ has the power to overcome Satan and his demons

 

We do not know if this man had seen or heard of Jesus before this time. Considering his circumstances, it is doubtful. We do know from Mark that the demon spirits possessing him recognized Jesus and pleaded with Him not send them to Hell. This casting out was handled somewhat differently than others we have read about so far. Instead of simply commanding the demons to be silent and leave the person, Jesus gives them permission to go into a herd of pigs. Why Jesus does this here and nowhere else is not explained. (Perhaps Jesus wanted to make a visual point showing how serious demon possession is and that it is real, not just a false belief of a “primitive” people and society.)  What is evident is it that the pigs, after being possessed by the demons, kill themselves. This plainly shows that without the mercy of protection of God from Satan we would all be destroyed.

 

The evil spirits knew who Jesus is and immediately recognized His power and authority. Note that the spirit begged Jesus. It did not even try to argue. It knew Jesus had all power and authority.

 

Think about how terrible hell must be if the spirits preferred to go into the pigs instead of hell

 

After Jesus healed the demon possessed man, and the pigs killed themselves, the attitude of the locals revealed itself. They wanted Jesus out of there… NOW! They did not care that the man was healed and in his right mind. The people did not even care about the pigs very much. (It does appear however that they cared more about their financial loss from the pigs than they did about the delivered man.) They did care about having the daily routine disturbed. They did care about having to face the responsibility that comes with being faced with the reality of Jesus. They wanted their little world left alone. They considered their comfort in their piece of the world more important than the message and actions of the Savior, the Son of God.

 

Why did they ask Jesus to leave? Were they afraid? Were they concerned about their livelihood, pig farming? We are not told but they missed an opportunity to be with and learn from Jesus.

 

Jesus now does something unusual. Instead of telling the man to keep quiet, Jesus told him to stay in the area and tell everyone what happened. The reason for this could be due to the area in which this took place, the Decapolis. In this case Jesus wanted to man to tell everyone what Jesus did for him. Why this time? Could it have something to do with the location?

 

The Decapolis was the name given to the ten cities where this event took place. The cities were essentially Greek in nature and were quite proud of that fact. Since this was the case, Jesus had few concerns about the people trying to rebel against the Romans and to try to make Him a king. Another reason for publishing the story was this would prepare the way for the disciples to spread the gospel in that area at some future, but near, date. Another possibility arises from the fact the area was Greek in nature. The Greeks prided themselves on being philosophers and logical. This healing of the man in the tombs was something they could not explain away by their logic or philosophy. Jesus left them with two choices; either accept that God is real, and Jesus was His Son or simply ignore or dismiss the events as a lie. Given the number of witnesses it would be difficult to ignore or call it a lie. Since they refused to believe Jesus and could not accept what did not fit into their paradigms, the locals chose to ignore it and, when pressed, call the event a lie and all of the witnesses liars. This seems very much like the attitude of unbelievers in the past, present and future. If people admit the facts, then they are face-to-face with their responsibility to make a decision and take action. By ignoring the facts or calling them a lie people think they escape the requirement to make a decision. That is not the case. The reality is a decision has been made and the decision is to reject God’s salvation through His Son, Jesus the Christ.

 

vs. 21-43

Sometime later (Mark does not say how long) Peter and the disciples cross back over the lake. Again, a large crowd of people is waiting for them. This time a man named Jairus is also waiting with for them. Jairus was a ruler of the synagogue and a power in the community. The request of Jarius was unusual for someone in his position. He wanted Jesus to come to his house and heal his daughter, who was on the verge of death. The fact Jairus would be willing to put his position and place in the culture on the line indicates his desperation and his faith in Jesus. Jairus fell at the feet of Jesus pleading for his daughter.

 

Before we continue let us look at what this act could cost Jarius. At that time, Jesus was effectively barred from speaking in most of the synagogues, and orthodox rulers would view his actions with suspicion. Not only was Jesus unwelcome, but also His followers and anyone else who asked Jesus for help or were helped by Jesus were looked at with suspicion. Any synagogue ruler that had the temerity to go to Jesus for any reason could be ostracized and lose their position in the synagogue and society.

 

For love of his daughter Jarius is willing to take the chance and accept the probable cost. Jesus was his last hope. Here was his only hope of saving his daughter’s life. Jesus, as He always did, said yes. Jesus did not remind Jarius of the enmity between Himself and the rulers. Jesus mentioned none of it, He simply loved Jarius and his family.

 

As Jesus started on his way to the home of Jarius the large crowd impeded their progress. The crowds drove Jarius to distraction since time was of the essence. His daughter was close to death and unless Jesus got there soon it would be too late.

 

Imagine the scene. Jesus is walking toward the house with Jarius. Jarius is trying to hurry Jesus along and keep the crowds from slowing them down. The disciples were talking among themselves about the circumstance and why Jesus was helping Jarius. The crowd is trying to get to Jesus and touch Him, not necessarily for healing but in hopes that some of His popularity and fame would rub off on them. Into this scene comes one special woman needing a very special touch.

 

This lady was chronically ill with a hemorrhage which neither the doctors nor the priests could cure. This condition made the woman ritually unclean. She could not worship God or fellowship with friends and family until the condition was healed. She knew Jesus was going to help the ruler’s daughter who was so close to death. In her mind that was much more important than her condition. If she can just get close enough to touch the fringe of His garment, she knew God would heal her and no one need be disturbed on her account.

 

When the woman touched Jesus’ garment He immediately stopped and ask who it was the touched Him. This seemed like a strange question to the disciples, there were scores of people around. Jesus knew this was a special touch, this was a touch of faith. The woman, afraid of what she had done, and realizing Jesus knew what had happened, approached Him with fear. Here was this important man and she had taken up His time. Worse yet, being unclean she had touched a rabbi. What would happen to her? What would Jesus do? Had she made Jesus too late to heal the little girl?

 

The woman’s faith healed her. Here we two distinct parts of the society represented, the synagogue leader and the average woman. Both came to Jesus for healing. Both had needs only Jesus could address.

 

Despite all the people pressing on Jesus He knew that someone had the faith in Him for healing. Jesus could FEEL that power had gone out of Him. He was completely in touch with Himself always.

 

Two things happened here. The woman was afraid of the power of Jesus and His reaction to her presumption. The second thing was the love for the woman Jesus showed. He immediately let her know all was ok and her faith in Him healed her. She was not only healed but freed from her suffering.

 

Jesus calmed the woman’s fears by extending His love. He was making a statement to her but directed to all those around them. “Your faith has made you whole.” I am sure there were those in the crowd that needed healing as much as the woman, but only she is mentioned. The name of Jesus is not magic, and neither is Jesus. Jesus is the Son of God and faith in Him is what heals, not just mentioning His name.

 

During this episode, what was worrying Jarius happened, his daughter died. In the eyes of the messenger bringing the awful news nothing more could be done. Jesus had healed terrible illnesses and cast out evil spirits, but no one could bring back the dead. (Elijah had done so but that seems to have been forgotten. (1 Kings 17:18-24)) Jesus knew the power of faith and what it could accomplish. The fact that the woman illness cost precious time resulting in Jarius’ daughter’s death was not the end, certainly not where Jesus is concerned.

 

There has been a lot of after-the-fact discussion among theologians and others about whether the girl was dead or just in a coma. The people in those days knew when a person was dead. The girl was dead and Jesus, according to the professional mourners, was too late. Both Mark and Luke record the professional mourners laughing at Jesus when He came to the house and said the girl was just asleep. They knew she was dead. It was their business to know.

 

These were professional mourners. They were very familiar with death and knew when a person was dead. There was no fooling them. When Jesus said the child was asleep, they thought He was completely wrong. They KNEW she was dead and laughed in derision at Jesus.

 

Now Jairus is told his daughter is dead. Jesus tells Jairus not to be afraid. Do not fear death. No not be afraid of what seems to be. Jesus also tells him to believe, have faith. Believe in what? Have faith in what. Believe and have faith in God the Father and Jesus. The woman healed of the bleeding had faith and Jesus is telling Jairus to have the same faith, the same belief

 

When Jesus enters the house, He took only the child’s parents, Peter, James and John with Him to the girl’s room. Why only those three? As we look at subsequent happenings, especially after the death and resurrect of Jesus, they had special tasks to perform the mourners, as was the custom, were crying quite loudly when Jesus told them the girl was not dead but only sleeping. Since the child is truly physically dead His statement is hard to understand. The solution seems to be in the typical Jewish understanding of death.

 

The Jewish morning customs were designed to stress the desolation and final separation that death brought. There was one group of Jews that did not believe in the resurrection. At best, a dead person was separated from their loved ones and that separation was final. The God of the Jews and Jesus’ time was looked upon more as a harsh judge than as a loving father. The concept of an afterlife with God, with that life being more real than the life they were living now, was not understood by most people of that time. It is not really understood by the people of our day and time either.

 

After Jesus put everyone out, He took His three disciples and the child’s parents and went into her room. The fact that the child had her own room tells us the parents were quite wealthy. The phrase used here is “Talitha koum.” This is “maid arise,” an Aramaic term. The inclusion of this term in Mark’s gospel is most unusual in that the Gospels are written in Greek. More than likely the whole scene made such an impression on the disciples that it was reported to Mark exactly as they heard it. They did not translate it into Greek.

 

The girl immediately stood up and walked around. She was not only alive but completely well. Jesus again instructs the principles to tell no one. These instructions would seem to be a bit hard to follow considering the mourners knew what had happened. Human nature being what it is the mourners and other third parties would not be willing to say they had made a mistake or that a miracle took place.

 

Jesus brought the little girl back to life. She was dead and Jesus brought her back from the dead. The parents and disciples were astonished the girl was now alive. Her coming back to life was not a surprise to Jesus. He created us and holds life in His hands. As soon as the girl comes back to life and is walking around Jesus said something very practical, feed her.

 

MARK 6

vs. 1-6

After the acts of faith and the resultant miracles Jesus now goes into His own neighborhood. This was not just a friendly visit to friends and family; Jesus came as a Rabbi. A great and well-known teacher. Jesus came attended by His disciples. We are now about to witness the other side of the authority of belief. This is the results of unbelief.

 

The first-place Jesus went was into the synagogue to teach. Instead of the awe and wonder with which His teaching was usually greeted, the people here treated Him with contempt. They were offended with and by Him. Who was this man to tell them how to live? This was only Jesus the carpenter, the son of Mary and Joseph. Why, it was even rumored that Mary was pregnant with Jesus before she and Joseph were married. Jesus is an illegitimate son. How could He tell them how to live a holy life when He certainly was conceived in sin and born in iniquity.

 

Jesus was one of them. ‘He grew up in our midst. He was a craftsman. A man of the common people. He had no more formal schooling in theology the rest of them. We know all His family. What gives Him the idea He can teach us?

 

Now, whether the events are written in chronological order or not makes no difference. What is important is the juxta positioning of these events. In the previous events, we see the faith of the people being the conduit for forgiveness. Here we see the exact opposite taking place. Because the people allowed physical circumstances to blind them, there was no faith evident and therefore no miracles would take place. The lesson seems to be in that, to a much greater extent than we might care to admit, we are responsible for the abundance or lack of God’s working in our life. We can either help or hinder the work of Christ both in our lives and the lives of others.

 

This is a common theme throughout history, the better we think we know someone the less we accept their calling from God. These people knew Jesus and His family. They watched Him grow up. This familiarity superseded the message He brought and proves His life had. We have the same problem now. We are so familiar with the story of Jesus we let that get in the way of our listening the message He brings or the prophesy and works He had which proved the message.

 

vs. 7-13

There is a direct relationship between the original 12 apostles and the 12 leaders of the 12 tribes of Israel. In both cases, they are charged with leading, instructing caring for God’s people.

 

Now we see the first actions of the disciples without Jesus physically there with them holding their hands. The disciples have seen how faith and the lack of faith influences people’s lives. They have seen the power of the living God firsthand in action under the teaching of the Son of God. Now is the time for them to experience His power and authority even when they are not physically with Jesus. This is an important learning experience not only for the twelve but for all believers throughout time. The spiritual, theological and how to live for God education Jesus is providing is not just for the twelve or the disciples with Him at that time, it is for all believers. Jesus knew He would soon go back to the Father and the believers must live as Christians without His physical presence. This would not be easy and the twelve must have practice before Jesus left so He could coach them and encourage them when they returned from their travels. Reading Jesus’ instructions to the twelve and what happened during and after their travels through Israel also coaches and encourages all who became believers after Jesus ascended back to the Father.

 

Jesus sends His disciples out in twos with some very specific instructions and powers. This was very important. Just because the disciples were not with Jesus did not mean Satan would not bother them. More than likely Satan would bother them even more and, if possible, cause them physical harm. This was not just a walk around the countryside, this was a serious and deadly battle. Jesus knew this and so did Satan. The disciples would learn just how serious is this battle.

 

The specific instructions seem a bit odd to us since they concerned how to dress for the trip. Jews normally wore five articles of clothing. One piece of dress mentioned was the bag. The bag may be one of two types. It may be either an ordinary travelers’ bag, used to carry provisions enough to last for a day or two, or it may have been a collecting bag such as that used by the temple priests and their followers to carry contributions. The usage here seems to be the collecting bag in that Jesus is instructing His disciples not to carry provisions for the trip but rather to have faith and trust in God for their supplies.

 

In our time, we may not understand the amount of faith this would take. In the traveler’s bag were taken provisions for one day’s journey. The provisions were not just whatever was available, but rather food prepared in a kosher manner. The traveler would be assured of having enough of the properly prepared food available. They would not have to chance meeting Gentiles who would not have kosher food. Trusting by faith for the right food was a huge step for the orthodox Jew. This does not seem to be the type of bag they took.

 

In addition to the bag was the chiton (tunic) the innermost garment; a himation, or outer garment; a girdle which was worn over the chiton and himation; and a head dress.

 

In the east, hospitality was a serious duty. It was not the responsibility of a stranger to find a place to stay. It was the responsibility of the village to offer a place to stay. Jesus told His disciples that if hospitality was not forthcoming, they were to shake the dust of that place off their feet. The reason for doing this goes back to Rabbinic law. The law states that the dust of the gentile country was unclean.  If a person entered Palestine from another country, they must shake every particle of the unclean dust from their feet before entering Palestine. Jesus was saying if a village would not offer hospitality to the disciples or listen to their message, they were unclean in God’s eyes. This is the same as Gentiles being unclean in the eyes of the Jews and a very serious matter indeed.

 

In verses 12 and 13 a lot is left unsaid. We do not know what experiences the disciples had, good or bad. We do not know if they met with much hostility. We do not know how Satan, the people or the priests reacted to their preaching. We also do not know what Jesus did during this time. Verse 13 does tell us briefly that demons were cast out and people were healed, but no specifics are given. It is possible that if Peter is the basis for Mark’s gospel, he may have felt it was not important. All the power and praise belong to God.

 

What does come across very clearly is the message they preached. That message was repent! The people, especially their leaders, were probably not happy about this turn of events. They not only have Jesus telling them to repent and clean up their act, but now there are the twelve disciples saying the same thing. What really grated on the leadership was that these twelve were not learned men, such as themselves. Did they not know Herod had John in prison at least in part for the same message? Did they not have any fear of the power of the leadership or respect for their position? Repent? Only gentiles needed to repent not Jews and certainly not men of their stature and position.

 

The Jews also knew repentance is not a passing, sentimental, emotion. They understood repentance as a complete changing of one’s life and lifestyle. Repentance is a complete revolution in a person’s life, a complete turning around. The Jews saw no reason that they needed to repent. Even if they did need to repent, these rude, common men were not the ones to tell them. Unfortunately, the same persons saying they had no need to repent also felt they had no need of God’s mercy. God’s mercy was part of the message brought by the disciples. God is merciful. The two, repentance and mercy, go hand in hand. It is hard to repent if a person feels they have no need of God or if God is not merciful. There is no reason to repent if God is not merciful. If God were not merciful, then repentance would do no good because God would require punishment regardless of any repentance. For those who feel they have no need to repent, or that God is not merciful, why repent since their eternity has already been decided.

 

The Jews also knew that repentance was no passing, sentimental emotion. They knew repentance is a complete revolution in a person’s life, a complete turning around. Many Jews did not see the need to repent, after all, they were God’s chosen people. Even if they did see a need these rude, unlearned, non-degreed, country preacher were not the ones to tell them what they needed. Unfortunately, those people who felt they had no need to repent did not think they needed God’s mercy. These two attitudes go hand-in-hand. It is hard to repent if a person does not think they need God’s mercy. This attitude and thinking determines their eternity.

 

This is the same thinking that leads to the doctrine of Purgatory in the Roman Catholic Church. Purgatory is based on the idea that the sins of some people are more worthy of greater punishment than others. Spending time in purgatory supposedly expiates the sin with the amount of time spent in purgatory depending on the severity and amount of sin. The result is almost everyone ends up in heaven at some point, except for (possibly) the very, very worst (i.e. Judas Iscariot).

 

In an odd and somewhat subtle way, the doctrine of purgatory is the same as man working out his salvation based on his works. If purgatory is a real place there would be no need for Christ. God could just send everyone to purgatory for various amounts of time and then welcome them into heaven. A final problem with the doctrine of purgatory is a misunderstanding of eternity. Purgatory assumes a passage of time, a set amount of time for punishment. Eternity is the absence of time. It is not that eternity is a long, long, long length of time (billions upon billions of years) but rather the absence of time altogether. This concept is very difficult for humans to grasp.

 

vs. 14-15

It seems Herod had a very guilty conscience about killing John.

 

Jesus has come to the attention of Herod. This is not to say that Herod had not heard of Jesus before, but now that the disciples have started preaching the number of people being reached with the teachings of Jesus has dramatically increased. Jesus is now becoming influential in the society and cannot be ignored. Herod inquired who Jesus really is. Based on His actions and works the rulers could not believe He was a simple craftsman from Galilee. They also would not believe He was the Son of God. Herod was given three different answers. Each of these answers reveals much about the person giving the answer.

 

The first answer was that Jesus is John the Baptist, risen from the dead. This answer seems to reveal a guilty conscience. This answer also explains the miracles without giving credence to Jesus being the promised Messiah. The problem for the people saying this is, if Jesus was John risen, why were they still not listening to and acting upon the message of repentance He brought? They were still condemned by their own words and actions.

 

The second explanation was Jesus is the prophet Elijah. This reveals the nationalistic beliefs of those giving this answer. The prophecies stated that before the Messiah came, Elijah would first come and prepare His way. Since the people expected the Messiah to be a conquering king, which Jesus did not appear to be, but Jesus certainly had miraculous works, then Jesus must be Elijah. This seemed to cover all the bases very nicely. They could safely categorize Jesus while still leaving the door open for a conquering king. They could tell the people it was safe not to take everything Jesus said literally. It appears we still do the same thing today. Little has changed.

 

The third response was that Jesus was a prophet. The people who were more than a little aware of the fact that it was over 300 years since the last prophet in Israel. Think of the time span here, the United States is quite a bit less than 300 years old. The Jews were waiting for another prophet longer than the U.S. has been a country. The people responding in this way were hungry for the Word of God. These persons may not have been altogether right about their judgment of Jesus, but they were on the right track.

 

Herod chose to believe the first answer. He believed that Jesus was John the Baptist risen from the dead. This was the response of a guilty conscience. Herod knew he had imprisoned and executed John unjustly. Herod was afraid of the punishment he knew he would receive for his actions. His response also reveals that he was already being punished for his acts by his own conscience. 

 

vs. 16-29

Herod’s relationship with John started when John called for Herod to repent of his adulterous marriage to Herodias. Herodias was also his sister-in-law. Herodias did not like being called what she truly was, an adulteress, in public. She probably thought that, due to her social position, she was above all of that. Along came John, who was only interested in the truth, not a person’s social position or self-image. John also told the truth, no matter what cost. This is not to say John was not a loving, caring individual. His actions show he was more loving than the great majority of his peers or us. John was trying to convince Herod and Herodias to repent and to be saved from eternal damnation. John loved so much he did not concern himself about other’s opinions of him or possible earthly punishment. John was only interested in bringing people into a right relationship with God.

 

Now Herodias was waiting for a chance to have John killed and to shut him up forever. It was not enough that he was in prison, he could still talk. His mere existence offended her. What was the life of one man to her, her comfort was a much greater importance than his life. After what must have seemed like a lifetime of waiting Herodias finally found her opportunity.

 

The event was a grand banquet Herod was giving for his birthday. To this banquet, he invited the ruling men of Galilee. Herodias was ready. As the night wore on Herod and his guests are drinking more and being less careful of their words and actions. Into this scene Herodias sends her daughter Salome (she was not Herod’s daughter). Salome danced for Herod and his guests. We can only imagine the type of dance she did, but at best it would be extremely suggestive. Herod was pleased enough with her dance to promise her anything, up to one half of his kingdom. At the urging of Herodias, she asked for the head of John on a platter.

 

This story tells us much about all the players. Herod was an impulsive person and very concerned about his public image. He reveals himself as lacking the courage to stand up for his convictions, especially where his image and pride were concerned. He would seem to be a lustful man. This is indicated by his relationship with Herodias and his reaction to the dance of Salome.

 

Herodias is revealed as a spiteful, vengeful, manipulative woman. I have no doubt that she planned the dance of Salome and timed it so Herod would be in no position to refuse her request. She knew this was the way to get him to remove John. Nothing else had succeeded. Herodias did not care if her actions were wrong. She just did not want her actions to be shown for what they were, especially in public. Her good name was important to her, even if it was not true. John had the temerity to do call her actions what they were and must, for the sake of her pride, be killed.

 

John stands in front of us as a personality in direct opposition to Herod and Herodias. Where Herod was weak, John was strong. Where Herod allowed his actions to be dictated by the opinion others had of him, John followed the Word of God, no matter what others thought. Where Herod and Herodias put a great deal of emphasis on appearance, John put the emphasis on the truth. Where Herodias was vindictive and dissimilating, John was honest, loving and straightforward.

 

Salome is an enigma. I have a tendency to feel sorry for her. Being raised in the environment she was, she started life with a great deficit. Regardless of her circumstances or her environment, she still had the opportunities to stand for the truth. Unfortunately, she did not do so.

 

Herod knew he was wrong to marry his brother’s wife; John was right in condemning it and Herod was wrong in killing John for his wife’s sake and his lust over Salome. If we look at the circumstances of John’s death, we see manipulation, lust and revenge. Herodias knew Herod’s weakness and used her daughter Salome to bring out Herod’s lust and manipulate him into killing John. An important point is that Herod cared more for his reputation than he did John’s life. His pride dictated that he kill John rather than lose a bit of reputation in front of his guests. Pride goes before a fall and that is true in Herod’s case. We see this same pride in operation when he helped have Jesus crucified.

 

vs. 30 – 34

The disciples returned from their evangelism trip and have much to share with Jesus and each other. They decide to leave the crowd so they can discuss their trip and set out walking around the lake. The lake is about four miles across at this point. To reach the opposite shore by land is about a ten-mile walk. If the wind is against a boat, then a person in good shape could walk around the lake before the boat could row across. Jesus and the disciples took a boat across, but the people walked and arrived before Jesus and the disciples.

 

Jesus said the disciples landed and, instead of finding solitude, found the crowd waiting for them on shore. The disciples were not pleased. They are getting a little tired of the people always imposing on their time with Jesus. They had much to tell Him and much to learn.

 

Jesus recognized the need of the people for spiritual leadership. The people were sheep that needed a shepherd. Just as a sheep without a shepherd cannot find a way to the pasture, so the Jews were not able to find God’s rest. Just as a sheep without a shepherd has no defense against its enemies, so the Jews could not defend themselves against Satan.

 

Just as the Jews were, so are we without Jesus. We wander about the world lost, hungry and in extreme danger. Our only protection is Jesus. Our feeding comes only from Jesus, and only Jesus knows the path that will lead us to God’s eternal rest.

 

vs. 35 – 44

It is now late and time for dinner. The disciples, being the practical fellows they were, suggested that Jesus dismiss the crowd and send them out to buy their food. Much to the surprise of the disciples, Jesus told them to feed the crowd. Now the disciples were not rich men, nor did they carry extra food. They certainly did not have enough food or money to buy food to feed 5,000 men plus women and children. The obvious question was; where was: Where were they going to get the food?

 

The 12 apostles were telling Jesus what happened on their trips, but the crowd of people was so great proper reporting or even eating was impossible. In order to have time to talk, reflect, eat and rest Jesus instructed the disciples to come with Him to a quiet place. The crowds saw them go, knew where they were going and ran to be there ahead of Jesus and the disciples. The people were starving for the Word of God. This is very much like our day. The people were willing to go to great lengths to hear the true teaching of the Word of God. Once again, the needs of the people took priority over the comfort and convenience of Jesus. This was always the case. Since it was late the disciples asked Jesus to send the people away so the people could eat. Jesus had other ideas.

 

The fact that the disciples were absolutely dumbfounded by the instructions of Jesus is shown by their reply. They ask if they were to spend six month’s wages to buy food for the crowd. The disciples knew this was impossible, they did not have that much money and Jesus knew it. They did not think about the fact that the same person who healed the people and raised others from the dead could also provide for their daily, more mundane, needs. They did not put together that this same Jesus who provided for them in their recent journey could and would provide for the sustenance of the crowd. This is a very practical matter. Jesus knew the people needed spiritual nourishment, but they also needed physical nourishment. Jesus created us and knows our every need. Jesus is there for all who called on Him.

 

Instead of sending the people away Jesus instructs the disciples to feed the crowd. The disciples looked at the size of the crowd then looked at Jesus and stated the obvious, from a human perspective, it would more than have a year’s wages to feed all the people. Jesus again took another direction, He asked what food they had at that time. The amount was miniscule compared to the number of people. Five loaves and two fishes. The disciples were seeing the physical reality and knew there was not enough food. Jesus saw the spiritual reality and knew there was enough food since He was in it.

 

Jesus had everyone sit down and eat. There was more than enough food. Jesus is the Bread of Life. His body was broken for us and His death and resurrection are for everyone who will believe regardless of the number. The fish was how many made their living and was a staple in their diet. By giving the fish to the people Jesus was showing He was the staple of their spiritual and physical being. He is the supplier of their and our needs. (See Matthew10:29-31; Luke 12:6-7; Matthew 6:28; Luke 12:27)

 

There are quite a few things to see in this story. First, the miracle made the biggest impression on the disciples. This is the only miracle that is repeated in all four gospels. The telling of the miracles again bears all the earmarks of a reporting of an eyewitness account of the facts. The mention of the green grass is a detail the writer was seeing as he was replaying the event in his mind. The detail of the green grass also gives us an idea of when in the year this happened. For the grass to be green the miracle had to happen in the late spring.

 

Notice the people sat down in sections. Again, the storyteller is seeing the actual events replayed in his mind. The word used for sections is the Greek word used for rows of vegetables. The teller is seeing the people sitting there like a beautiful garden of vegetables ready to be harvested, but this was a harvest of souls. Another detail that indicates the teller is remembering exactly what occurred.

 

The next thing to notice is the reactions of the various parties in the event. The disciples were tired and concerned for the people. The disciples thought Jesus should send the people away so they could eat. The disciples did not consider using what was at hand, the was just not enough to go around. Jesus knew better. Jesus knew the resources available were enough with God’s blessing. This is a lesson the disciples, and we, had to learn.

 

A note here about memory and relating events. In our time, we write events down as they happen. There is little need to remember exactly what happens since we can always refer to the written page. This is not the case in ancient cultures. The use of writing to document events was not universal. People were trained to write and most often wrote events and data required by the king. Paleo Hebrew was one of the earliest written languages but even then, recording events was not common. Since writing was not in common, universal use people trained their minds from an early age to remember facts and report them accurately and honestly. (A note: Paleo-Hebrew was not derived from Egyptian hieroglyphics.)

 

The numbers given here are important. In Mark 8:4-21 Jesus makes very clear the numbers are important. The number five occurs in the Bible when speaking of the gifts of the ministry. There are five distinct gifts or types of ministry. These ministries are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers and are to slay sin and bring the saints to the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:10-15). In 1 Samuel 17:40-50 we can see a similarity when David slew Goliath. David did not use the weapons of man (armor, spear, sword, etc.) but rather put his faith in God and used the tool of a shepherd, a sling. The scriptures tell us David chose five smooth stones out of a brook, put them in his bag and went to meet Goliath. Goliath put his faith in pagan gods and cursed the one true God. David chose one stone from the bag and, in the name of the one true God, killed Goliath. No one stone was specifically mentioned. It could be any one of the five stones he gathered. Just as David chose one of the five stones so any one of the five gifts of the ministry can, through Christ, slay sin.

 

The number two denotes the two peoples God recognizes, Jews and Gentiles. The gifts of God are for believers regardless if they are Jew or Gentile. When a Gentile believes in and accepts Christ as their savior, they become a spiritual Jew, one of the family of God. John 17:20-21 and Romans 11:17-24 makes this very clear.

 

There were twelve baskets full of the leftovers. This is after everyone had eaten their fill. The number of baskets of leftovers is amazing by itself, but the number twelve has significance. There were twelve tribes of Israel. The twelve princes over the tribes were responsible for their welfare and to lead them where God directed. Jesus had twelve original apostles who took His teachings and Word to the world. They are responsible for the welfare and leading of spiritual Israel, all those, Jew or Gentile, who believe in Christ.

 

Finally, there were the number fed, five thousand men. The number five appears yet again but greatly increased. There is no limit to the love, grace, power or ability of Jesus to take care of His people.

 

This is only my opinion and a theory, but it fits in well with the Scriptures. There is a continuity of thought and actions between the law and prophets and Christ. There is no break in thinking, logic or actions and the law and prophets are being fulfilled, just as Jesus said He came to do. Matthew 5:17.

 

vs. 45 – 52

After Jesus had fed the 5,000, the disciples went on ahead while Jesus dismissed the crowd. The thinking of many theologians is Jesus did this to keep the nationalistic fervor of the crowd from infecting the disciples. The people were ready to proclaim Jesus king and the disciples may well have fallen in with them. To prevent this, Jesus dispersed the crowd Himself after the disciples left. There is no way to prove or disprove this notion. There are many reasons Jesus may have sent the disciples ahead. If the reason was important us to know it would have been included in the Gospels.

 

After feeding the 5000, Jesus spends some time alone with God. Jesus had many things to pray about. The orthodox Jews were hostile to Him. The secular and religious rulers were hostile to Him. Herod Antipas was both afraid and suspicious of Him. The nationalists wanted to make Jesus a secular king. Much of the time the crowds wanted to see miracles instead of learning of God. Remembering that Jesus was and is both God and man, this was a heavy burden and He needed time with God in order to carry it.

 

After praying, Jesus goes to the lake with the intention of meeting His disciples on the other side. Due to the weather, the disciples had only reached midway across the lake. Jesus saw the disciples rowing very hard against the wind and getting nowhere fast. About the fourth watch of the night (approximately three 3:00 AM to 6:00 AM) Jesus starts to walk across the lake. As He is almost past the boat full of disciples, they see Him and are very frightened. They think they are seeing a ghost.

 

Jesus put their fears to rest and got into the boat with them. As soon as He did the wind that was against them died down and once again, the disciples were amazed. After all that had happened the disciples still do not really understand who Jesus is. Jesus did not just happen ago by the boat by chance or just felt like taking a walk on the water. Jesus did not just happen to see his friends having a hard time and stopped to help them. Jesus was making a point to both them and us. After we have struggled all we can, as the disciples had, and gotten nowhere, then we need to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. This is the same message God gave to Moses while the Hebrews were leaving Egypt. “Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. ¹⁴ The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still." Exodus 14:13 (NIV)

 

The disciples did not see the continuity of God’s actions in dealing with His people. They and we tend to forget the past and want to work things out ourselves. They did not yet understand that Jesus came to fulfill the law and the prophets. He did not come to fulfill the ritual of the traditions of the Scribes and Pharisees. Jesus saw these as two entirely different things and was only interested in God’s word, not the ruler’s laws. The disciples did not yet fully understand Jesus is the creator of everything and as such has power over everything. They had selective memory, just as we do. Jesus had to instruct them and make them fit to be messengers of His Word, just as He does us.

 

vs. 53 – 56

Jesus was now so well known that wherever He went crowds gathered. As we read this passage, we see very clearly that the crowds were looking for healing and other miracles, perhaps not to hear the message Jesus brought. In this circumstance, there is no indication the people were hungry for the Word of God as much as they wanted what Jesus could do for them at that moment. This should not surprise us. The people’s emphasis on their immediate physical needs is not necessarily inappropriate. When a person is in constant pain or suffering, it is quite difficult to focus on anything other than the immediate physical problem. Those who brought their sick loved ones for healing did so out of love for the person ill and faith that Jesus could heal them. Jesus knowing that once the person was healed, they, as well as their loved ones would be able to listen to and focus on the message He brought. James addresses this in James 2:15 – 17  “If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,  And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding you give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works is dead, being alone.” (KJV) What we do not know is how many returned or stayed to hear the message, become believers. Some were healed then went their way and never returned to Jesus.

 

MARK 7

vs. 1 - 5

Jesus is now very well known. The people follow Him whenever and wherever He goes. The miracles He performs are talked about all over Israel. His off-and-on verbal battles with the Scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees and priests have the ignited the crowds. Everyone has heard of Him and even a ruler of the synagogue has gone to Jesus for help. The religious leaders have had enough. Now it is to time to send in their best people. Far from being the simple rural preacher they thought Jesus was, He has outwitted them at every turn. Now the leaders have imported the best minds in Jerusalem and have brought them in to make Jesus look foolish.

This is a battle to the finish, a battle the Jewish leaders intend to win, and they do not think that it will be difficult. A mentality such as the Jewish leadership had cannot abide the thought of others thinking for themselves, making their own decisions or being responsible for their own actions. For the leaders to allow people to make their own decisions would be to admit they were not the ones in control. They were truly responsible for their decisions as well as the decisions they made for God’s people. This being the case, they had to silence Jesus. He brought them face to face with their greatest fear, their responsibility to God.

 

The first salvo in this battle is fired by the ‘experts’ from Jerusalem. They have just seen Jesus’ disciples eating without going through all the ritualistic washing. In their mind this is terrible. This makes them unclean. Does the Rabbi Jesus not know enough about the law to know His disciples have become unclean? By using this method of attack, the leaders thought they could accomplish a few things. First, they hope to cause the people to question Jesus’ knowledge of the law and the prophets. How could a man who did not even know what was required in the way of ritual washing possibly know about the deep things of God? Second, they want to establish in the people’s mind that tradition and ritual were all important. In the minds of the leaders there could be no true worship of God without keeping the rituals and traditions. They thought this despite quite a few places where God, through the prophets, says something quite different. (1 Samuel 15:22; Hosea 6:6; Psalm 40:6; Matthew 9:13)   

 

Third, they want to ensure the people to see them, not Jesus, in a favorable light as the true authority on all religious and daily living matters. After all, they were looking out for the people’s welfare. The leaders saw themselves as the true guardians of the law and tradition of the Israelites, not this unsophisticated Galilean, Jesus. Finally, they wanted everything to be neat and orderly. Every facet of life should be ordered and structured according to their rules. The Scribes wanted no area left where they might be required to make a decision and thereby be responsible for their actions. This appears to be a control issue with the Jewish leadership. They wanted to control the lives of the people and not allow the people to be true worshipers of the one true God. This thinking is ongoing up through the present time. Many leaders of churches put extra requirements on salvation. Accepting salvation through the blood of Christ is not enough for them, conformance to certain rules and requirements is also needed. The thinking is, if a person accepts Jesus then they will conform to the rules of that group. If they do not conform, then they must not have truly been saved. Scripture is very clear that the ONLY requirement to be saved is to accept the blood of Christ as the payment for our sins. There are works that will naturally follow, faith in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit but they are because the person has been saved and wants to do these works because they love the Lord. It is similar to a couple being in love. They do things because they love each other. They do not do them because they must, but because of the love they have for each other. Now there is a caution here. If one of the couple constantly does things to hurt the other person, acts in an unloving way, is adulterous, etc. they are showing they do not truly love the other person.

 

Perhaps a short clarification of how the Jews felt about the law is in order here. Originally the law was defined as first, the Ten Commandments and second, the first five books of the Old Testament (Pentateuch). Now, the Pentateuch does contain quite a few rules and regulations, but where questions arise, the Ten Commandments provide a series of guidelines that man is to follow. How a person interprets and follows these guidelines says much about the person. Somewhere in the fourth and fifth century BC, a group arose who felt the moral guidelines were not enough. They felt they must define what God really meant. (This would seem to be analogous to saying God does not really know how to communicate and requires our assistance. A very dangerous notion indeed.) These legalists came to be known as the Scribes.

 

The scribes wanted the laws broken down, torn apart for any hidden meanings and amplified into thousands of component parts. The supposed purpose was to assure that no one in Israel would unwittingly break any of God’s laws. They had spent quite a lot of time studying the law. They were the ones initially burdened with the necessity of this being done. They were probably the only ones how who saw a need for all of this to be done. The question is, was this what God really intended? Did God error and now man must correct God’s error? In reality God did not error and the original Scribes, well intentioned as they might have been, made the Laws of God to no effect by their meddling and institution of traditions. (1 Samuel 15:22; Hosea 6:6; Psalm 40:6; Matthew 9:13)

 

Over time, thousands of rules and regulations started to make their appearance. Well, things being what they were with the masses being so busy trying not to starve to death and the Scribes in positions of power God’s Law was dissected and thousands of rules and regulations started to make their appearance (micro-managing at its worst). With existence being marginal at the time the people had other things to think about (like surviving) and these rules were just accepted by the people and became part of their tradition. Church “tradition” still intrudes when it comes to the worship of God. Tradition can be useful but far too often results in following them takes precedence over worshipping God. Each group has their liturgy and traditions which they feel is more “right” than other groups. What is accepted liturgy and tradition in one group can be considered anathema in another. This tends to fragment God’s people and make them less focused on serving God, more focused on complying with man-made tradition/rules and less effective as God’s people. This is counter to God’s intention. (John 13:34-35; John 17:20-23; Ephesians 1:9; Ephesians 4:1-7

 

The problem about man made laws and traditions are the difficulties in many cases what exactly are the laws and traditions and to pin down their basis for existence. The Scribes were good at identifying each and every law and tradition. The oral traditions did not stay the same as originally described, and there were so many of them that only the Scribes had enough time to learn them all and certainly to break them into the many component laws and traditions the Scribes felt were necessary. As a result, the people were much worse off than before the many laws and traditions were put in place. They now must comply with a set of traditions and rules that only a small group of people knew in their entirety.

 

To the Scribes, Pharisees and priests the rules and regulations were the essence of religion. Their religion was not in a personal relationship with God. God was perceived as a judge, not as a loving Father. They thought true religion lay in the absolute following of each rule and regulation of the oral law. To follow them was to please God, not to follow them was spiritual and perhaps physical death. 

 

vs. 6 – 8

The stage has now been set. The Scribes do not see any way out for Jesus. Either He admits He and His disciples are wrong and should have performed the ritual washing, in which case the people lose confidence in Him, or Jesus claims He is right, in which case the Scribes can say He is breaking the law and therefore cannot be a true rabbi. Either way it would seem Jesus can only lose.

 

Jesus chooses the second of the two options, but in doing so does not fall into their trap. Instead of just telling the Scribes they are wrong, Jesus quotes Isaiah (29:13) where it is very clear tradition does not replace the laws of God. This puts the Scribes at an immediate disadvantage. They are no longer arguing with Jesus, they are now arguing with one of the prophets they claim to be supporting.

 

By quoting Isaiah Jesus is also showing the scribes do not know the law as well as they think they do and are telling the people they do. Jesus has struck at the very heart of the Scribe’s and Pharisee’s teachings. He has said that traditions are useless without God. He has also made it clear that their traditions are not only without God, but many times are replacing the true worship of God. He makes the point that their foundation for the rules they established is built on a faulty, illogical and very incomplete understanding of God and God’s Word.

 

The specific incident related here proves just how far apart the leaders and Jesus were. The Scribes based their definition of unclean on the external circumstances of a person. Jesus based unclean on what was happening inside a person. Based on the definition of the Scribes, not complying with God’s law did not necessarily make a person unclean but disobeying their rules and their definition of God’s law did.

 

We must understand that the Scribes saw no difference between their rules and God’s law in either importance or validity. This in itself is a major problem and by doing this they have set themselves as equal to God. This is not a good idea. In verse 8, Jesus completes His direct answer to their question. He tells them they have totally missed the point. Not only are they not obeying God’s law, but by their stubborn insistence on their rules, they are causing others to disobey God’s law.

 

vs. 9 – 13

In a manner that would assure neither the Scribes, Pharisees nor the crowds would mistake His meaning, Jesus used a frequent tradition to explain His point. First, Jesus lets them know what is coming, almost as if daring them to give Him an adequate answer. His very words indicate contempt for their actions, actions of which they appear to be proud, actions that circumvent God’s rules for the leader’s comfort and convenience. These words of Jesus point out that by the leader’s use of rules they negated the Law of God. The example Jesus uses is the dedication of material wealth to the Temple. This is an act that would be familiar to most in the crowd.

 

To start out His argument Jesus refers to the commandment to honor your father and mother (Exodus 20:12). Jesus then relates the penalty for cursing your father or mother, DEATH! (Exodus 21:17). This is straight from the Ten Commandments and is very straightforward. Jesus says they had found a way to circumvent the commandment. A person can publicly state that anything that could have been used to care for the parent in their later years is korban, a gift to the temple. The circumvention comes when it came time for the gift is to be given to the temple. When that time came only a small symbolic gift must be made (often 10% of the total pledged). Meanwhile, the person making the gift no longer is required to use any of their wealth to care for the parents (the wealth now “belongs” to the Temple) and they still get the use of the money for themselves later. The other way to make this happen was to wait until just before the giver died and then turn the gift over to the temple.

 

The second part of Jesus’ statement defines what, under the law which they claim to love so much, should carry the punishment of death. Now Jesus shows the Scribes to be wrong. He has in fact called them hypocrites and has shown by their own words they deserved death. 

 

vs. 14 – 23

Jesus calls the crowd to Him and starts directly teaching them. Jesus was not just putting on a show for the amusement of the people, He was making a very, very serious point. The Scribes and Pharisees were wrong in their emphasis on tradition and oral law. Jesus was not trying to embarrass them but to teach God’s Word. Personal ego trips had no place in Jesus’ plan or teachings.

 

The teaching was very simple, just a few sentences, but the point was very clear. Do not worry about things that do not affect your relationship with God and holiness. Do worry about keeping your heart right with God and you will be holy. Do not be concerned if you speak to a Gentile. That does not make you unclean. Do not concerned if some dirt from a Gentile country is still in your shoes as you enter Israel, dirt is just dirt and is always present. In short, if your heart is right with God, you are clean. Do be concerned if you avoid food that is considered unclean and keep all of the rituals yet do not love your neighbors. Jesus’ comments are a further clarification of Isaiah and other prophets.

 

Despite the apparent simplicity of Jesus’ point, the disciples missed it. After the crowd disbursed and Jesus and His disciples were alone, the disciples asked Jesus what He meant. At this point, Jesus does seem to get a bit disappointed and frustrated with the disciples’ lack of understanding. Remember, this was all totally new to the disciples. They had been raised with the traditions and rituals and have a hard time conceiving of anything else. Jesus had just gone to a battle with the scribes and was probably tired, exasperated and possibly dejected at how far from the truth were the people. As mentioned earlier, Mark is the only Gospel that lets us see the human side of Jesus. The side of Jesus’ that could get tired, lonely, frustrated, disappointed and all the other things humans get.

 

Jesus now explains His teaching to disciples in the simplest terms possible. By defining unclean as that which comes out of a person instead of what goes into a person, Jesus has just declared all foods, people and creation to be clean.” (All food is utilitarian, it is eaten, used and the remainder passes through the body and out.) No longer could those who followed Jesus refuse to deal with certain groups because they were not Jews and therefore unclean. Now all things have been declared clean by Jesus. (What defiles a person is what is in their hearts. How they think. Their philosophy. How they live.)

 

This is also a reinforcement of Jesus’ comments about traditions and rituals. It is not the traditions and rituals that make a person clean but rather the state of their heart toward God and His creation. As we look at Acts, we see that the message still had not gotten through to some of the disciples for quite some time after the resurrection.

 

vs. 24 – 30

Now, as if to prove the point, Mark relates the story of the Gentile woman with faith in the Lord. Jesus was in the area of Tyre, in Gentile territory. Jesus has just illuminated the difference between what makes a person clean and unclean. Jesus made it quite clear that all people were clean because they were created by God and not unclean because they were not Hebrew. Now He has gone into Gentile territory. This area should have been a part of Israel since it was part of the land originally promised by God. The problem was that the tribes that were to have been conquered were not, therefore it stayed in the control of the Phoenicians already there. This is where Jesus met the woman.

 

Even here, in this Gentile area, Jesus cannot keep His presence a secret. The woman heard He was in the area and searched until she found Him. In some ways, the story of this woman and the story of Jarius are very similar, and very opposite. Both had daughters who need healing, and both have faith to come to Jesus regardless of the consequences. Jarius was a ruler of the synagogue and this woman was a Gentile. She would have been unclean in the eyes of Jarius. They both needed Jesus’ healing touch. They would have been a lot closer in their faith, hearts and thinking than they would have imagined.

 

Jesus’ responds to the woman differently than he did Jarius. In the case of Jarius, Jesus started on His way to the house to heal the girl. In this case, Jesus reminds the woman He was sent to the Jews and not the. This seems to be a little odd considering what He said about clean and unclean. A possibility is that Jesus is trying to emphasize to the disciples there really is no difference between Jew and Gentile when it comes to the capacity to have faith. Another possibility is that Jesus was staying true to His main mission of offering salvation to the Jews, the chosen people, first. That was His focus and He wanted to make sure everyone knew that. It might also be that Jesus was combining these. He sent a very clear message that His priority was to the Jews first but, as subsequent events show, faith was more important than nationality.

 

(A note is in order here. God chose Abraham and his descendants to teach the rest of the world about God and His Word. Jesus, being part of the Trinity was continuing what was started with Abraham. Jesus was teaching the Hebrews so they could then teach His Word to the rest of the world. Again, God is consistent in what He does. God does not change.)

 

After Jesus responded the woman did not give up. She replied that there is enough of God’s grace for both the Jews and non-Jews. Even though only a tiny bit was left over, that was more than enough. She was right. Because of her faith, Jesus healed her daughter. This woman understood the grace of God. She sought after God in a way that was different from the Jewish rulers. She understood a loving, gracious God who did not judge by race or nationality.

 

Before leaving this passage, it is important to understand just what it was Jesus and the woman were saying. In those days’ dogs were not the well behaved animals they are at this time. To call someone a dog was to insult that person. The Jews considered all Gentiles as lower than dogs. This is a fact that did not escape or please the Gentiles. The words Jesus used here was not the term used for the wild dogs of the streets, rather it is the term used for the lap dogs that were in fact pets. This took much of the sting out of the words while still keeping the point.

 

Notice that Jesus did not say that the Gentiles would not have anything, but only that children must come first. This is consistent with the prophecy that the Messiah must come first to the house of Israel. The woman understood this to some extent but was willing to accept whatever God had for her, no matter how big or small. Here was a faith and understanding Jesus seldom found in Israel.

 

vs. 31 – 37

Mark now provides another proof of Jesus’ teachings on clean and unclean. Remember that the scriptures say out of the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. (Deut. 17:16; Matthew 18:16) Mark is adhering to this requirement.

 

The people of the region obviously were acquainted with Jesus since they brought the man to Jesus for healing. The man was deaf and had a distinct speech impediment. Jesus took the man some distance from the crowd. Mark does not say why Jesus did this, but it may very well have been out of consideration for the man. God’s work is not intended to be a sideshow, Jesus’ work is very serious. After Jesus had the man alone, He demonstrated what He was going to do. The man was deaf and dumb, so visual communication had to be used. Jesus spit and touched the man’s tongue and put His fingers in the man’s ears. The man was healed. In the days of Jesus, spit was considered to have healing properties. Whether or not Jesus agreed with this is immaterial, the deaf man would have immediately understood what Jesus was doing.

 

After this healing, Jesus commands the crowd to tell no one what happened. Again, He was ignored. The fact that Jesus gave this instruction this time shows His fame was spreading far and wide. Along with His fame came increased resistance from the leaders. The crowds and resistance from the leaders made working difficult.

 

Mark has been dealing with man-made versus God made rules and requirements. The difference between the two is critically important. Jesus came to free people from man’s law and to teach them God’s law. Things are not any different in our day than they were in the days Jesus was physically on the earth. Just as the Jews had the Pharisees make the rules that they thought were appropriate to live by, so we have the same today. We look to various ministers, teachers, churches to give us a set of rules to live by. A set of rules that we think will get us to heaven if we follow them. These legalisms are not confined to any particular denomination or theological school of thought or conservative/liberal schools, rather they cut across denominational and theological lines. Before we buy into someone’s rules and regulations, we examine them in the light of God’s Word. See how they hold up. If a rule is in accordance with the Scripture, follow it.

 

No matter how we live, whether by our relationship with God or try to live by the relationship of another person to God, we are still responsible for how we live our life. Each person answers to God for their life. We do not answer for the life of any other person. (There is, of course, the exception of our leading another person into sin. In that case, we are responsible for leading them into sin and they are responsible for making the decision to sin.)

 

MARK 8

vs. 1 – 10

This incident happened on the far side of the Sea of Galilee in the district of Decapolis. This is the same area where Jesus healed the man with the legion of demons. It may be possible that some of this crowd was there at that healing. They wanted to know more about Jesus.

 

There are some similarities and some differences between this story and the previous feeding of a large group presented in Mark 6. One of the differences is the word for basket, it is different in the two stories. In Mark 6:44 the word used is kophinos. This is a basket used to carry food. This basket is narrow at the top and wider at the bottom. It is similar to a water pot. The word used here is sphuris. This type of basket is much larger. It is the kind of basket they use to let Paul down the wall of Damascus, and it describes the type of basket used by Gentiles. If we look at the two stories side by side, it is possible to make the point that Jesus was showing the coming of the salvation and spiritual feeding to the Jews first and then to the Gentiles. This might also be connected to the early and latter rains as well in the story of Job.

 

Once again, the people listening to Jesus had been with Him quite some time (three days) with nothing to eat. As with the 5,000 Jesus instructs His disciples to feed them and again there would seem there was not enough food available. Jesus, as always, was concerned for the people, their physical as well as spiritual welfare. We are told that some came from a far distance indicating the popularity of Jesus due to His teachings, grace and miracles.

 

The first question the disciples had was: Where will we get enough food here in the middle of nowhere? Jesus replied by asking what was available. In this case seven loaves and a few small fish. Jesus blessed the food and had the disciples distribute it to the people. Everyone ate their fill. None went hungry. After everyone was finished eating the leftovers filled seven baskets.

 

There are lessons to be learned here. The number of loaves was seven along with a few small fish. Jesus said He is the bread of Life and anyone who partakes of Him shall never go hungry. This is a physical, visual example of what He said. Jesus also said to take no thought of what we shall eat or how we shall dress, God provides. (Matthew 6:25-31; Luke 12:22-29)

 

As with the feeding of the 5,000 the numbers here are significant. Often the numbers are read without much thought except for their size. In Mark 8:18-21 Jesus makes it very clear the numbers are important, they have meaning, they tell us about God and what He is doing. In this case, we have 4,000 people who ate. When Jesus fed the 5,000 the Bible is specific it was 5,000 men. Here it is not specific to men but just people. There is also significance to the 4,000. The number four usually refers to the four corners of the earth, in-other-words all the earth. The fact the number is not specific to men also indicates all the earth, not just men. Jesus is the Bread of Life for all people.

 

The number seven is mentioned twice. There were seven loaves and seven baskets of leftovers were collected. We are not told how many fish there were other than there were not many. The Bible tells us seven baskets of broken pieces were left over and collected. Seven always denotes perfection. Jesus is the perfect food. The fact the number seven occurs twice and all the earth included by the 4,000 can lead us to conclude Jesus came for the Jew and the Gentile. He is Lord of and spiritual sustenance for of all people, not just some.

 

vs. 11 – 13

As we have noted previously, the tendency of that time and culture was for the Jews to be looking for a Messiah who would be the king to deliver them from the Romans. This would require the Messiah do great signs and wonders. This expectation arose from the historical and cultural background of the prophets. Also, this is the only way the Israelites could perceive the Roman Empire being overcome. It is also important to note that there were quite a few false Messiahs spreading their message (usually involving overthrowing the Romans) about the same time as Jesus was preaching. These false messiahs always promised signs, wonders and miracles and the people expected these signs and wonders. Jesus came with a much different message. Because of the many false prophets, the Temple leadership had their group of “experts” question everyone calling themselves the messiah. Until Jesus this group of experts were able to show the false messiahs for what they were….false. When it came to Jesus the experts could not make Him look foolish or un-knowledgeable about the Scriptures and law. Jesus is the real Messiah.

 

The people, especially the leadership, demanded the signs but really did not want to hear the rest of the message. Jesus cut through their demands for a sign. Wanting to see signs was not because they wanted to see the hand of God working but wanted to be entertained and, in some cases, have a better quality of life. They were in fact blind to the message God was sending. They missed the point of the miracles and signs that Jesus brought.

 

vs. 14 – 21

¹⁴The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. ¹⁵“Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.” ¹⁶They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.” ¹⁷Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? ¹⁸Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? ¹⁹When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” “Twelve,” they replied. ²⁰“And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” They answered, seven.” ²¹He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

 

The disciples and Jesus once again entered a boat and crossed the water. The disciples had forgotten to bring bread with them and had only one loaf in the boat. We can see again how the disciples were thinking. We get a good look at their mind set. Jesus uses their concern about bread to teach them and make a strong point concerning priorities and recognizing God’s working in the world. We (like the disciples) need to connect this occurrence with the feeding of the 4,000.

 

The disciples keep discussing the fact they did not have any bread. Jesus warns them to beware of the evil influence of the Pharisees. All the disciples could think about was their lack of food. Jesus cuts through their thinking about bodily needs and bluntly asked why they keep talking about having no bread. He brings them face to face with the reality of what has just happened. He asks them if they understand. After all that has happened, do they still not see, hear or understand the message and priorities.

 

There are a number of points in this passage that are very important. One of these is the idea of leaven. If we translate the passage literally, Jesus is saying “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” The Jews used the word leaven in much in the same way as we would use the term original sin. The term was used to signify the taint of human nature, the corrupting leaven which keeps man from doing the will of God. Jesus was telling the disciples not to allow the words and actions of the Pharisees and Herod, or anyone else, to keep them from doing God’s will. Do not become what the Pharisees and Herod have become. Jesus may be warning the disciples not to be overly concerned with material things. Remember they had their attention focused on the fact they failed to bring food with them. This is immediately after Jesus used a very small amount of food to feed 4,000 people with many leftovers. The disciples did not understand. They were still concerned about only having one loaf of bread and were not recognizing God would supply their needs.

 

This brings us to the second important part of this passage, the amount of food left over. Jesus made a point of asking how much food He started with and the amount remaining. Jesus noted that he broke five loaves and gave them to the 5,000 (Mark 6). He then asked how many baskets of broken pieces were left. The disciples answered twelve. He brings them to the most recent feeding of a large group and asks when he broke the seven loaves among the 4,000, how many baskets of broken pieces work left. The answer was seven. He then asked them if they still did not understand.

 

Jesus made a point of the number of loaves He used in each of the miracles. He ties the two miracles together. The point of the number of loaves available, as well as the number of baskets left over, is often ignored or glossed over by many commentators. Given the emphasis Jesus placed on these, it is not appropriate to ignore this information. We can see definite parallels with these numbers and numbers provided in the Old and New Testaments. In Mark 6 there were five loaves given to five thousand people with twelve baskets left over. If we go to David and Goliath, we can see David took five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his sack. David then took one of those stones and used it to slay Goliath. (1 Samuel 17:37 – 50) In Ephesians we see there are five gifts of the ministry. (Ephesians 4:11 – 13) Combining these two stories we can make the analogy that the five stones represent the five gifts of the ministry and any one of them can be used to overcome (slay) sin. There were twelve baskets of food left over after everyone had eaten their fill. There are twelve tribes of Israel and Jesus had twelve apostles. The numbers here are very consistent with what God had shown Moses in the mountain as well as what God had been doing throughout history. The twelve apostles are to feed the people of God. He was telling the apostles their job responsibilities but being very clear that the tools and abilities came from God.

 

In this case, there were seven loaves divided among 4,000 people. There were seven baskets left over. If we look at the candlestick throughout the Scriptures, we see seven flames, seventy-two knobs and flowers and a base of twelve stones. If we go to Zachariah 4: 3 – 6 we are given a clear picture of a candlestick with seven flames fed by two olive trees. One of those olive trees represents the Hebrews (tame olive tree). The other olive tree represents the Gentiles (wild olive tree). (Romans 11:17 – 21) When we go to Revelations 11:4 we see this same candlestick with the seven spirits before God’s throne. Jesus is showing very clearly that the seven spirits are for both the Hebrews and the Gentiles. This is consistent with the point made previously about the baskets. The point is that Jesus came for everyone not just the Jews. The point also is made that God is very consistent. What has been will be in the future. (“⁸Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8)

 

vs. 22 – 26

Blindness has always been a huge problem in the Middle East. There are reasons this is the case. One of those reasons is the constant glare of the sun. This was aggravated by diet and lack of knowledge about hygiene and cleanliness. We can see much the same now with people in the very poor sections of the world. With the great number of flies and insects going from person to person spreading disease the lack of hygiene and cleanliness exacerbated the problem.

 

Again, we see the immediate help from Jesus. Jesus takes the man away from the crowd to heal him. The man had been blind from birth and the sudden sensory impact would be overwhelming. This is a clear sign that Jesus cared about and is sensitive to the little things that affect His creation. Jesus also used methods that were familiar to the person. Jesus made the man feel comfortable with what was happening. The people in that day believed in the healing powers of spittle. Jesus spat into the man’s eyes and then asked him if he saw anything. The man said he saw but did not see clearly. This is a healing that happened in stages. It is the only miracle that we see that happened gradually. Perhaps the lesson here is that we learn of God’s truth in stages and not all at once. To learn all at one time would overwhelm us.  Salvation happens when we accept Christ as our savior. Once we accept Christ as our Savior, we learn over time, line upon line and precept upon precept.

 

vs. 27 – 30

Jesus and the disciples are now at the northern most city to which Jesus traveled. This city is Caesarea Philippi. While the group was on the road, Jesus asked His disciples the same question Herod asked in Mark 6:14-15. Who is Jesus? The disciples gave the same answers as those answering Herod. Some say John, some say Elijah and others say a prophet. Jesus now gets to the heart of the matter. His question now is: Who do you disciples say that I am?

 

With this question, Jesus has required an answer that will force the disciples to take a stand. No longer can they waver in their opinion of just who He is or what is His work. No longer can they hide behind thinking Jesus is just an above average rabbi. Now is the time they become responsible for the revelation they have been given and the work to which they have been called. This is their watershed moment. Peter answer for all of them and said you are the Christ. We look at Peter making the statement and forget all the disciples assented to his answer.

 

This statement of fact on Peter’s part is a much more difficult statement for him to make than we might think. Throughout Jewish history the Jews have been waiting for the coming of the Messiah, the Christ. Initially the expectation was that the Messiah would be a direct descendant of David, would overthrow the yoke of their conquerors, would free Israel and restore the kingdom. As time went on, with the dispersing of the ten tribes and the other two tribes taken into captivity, this interpretation faded. Now the Hebrews realized it would have to be a direct intervention of God to achieve their dream.

 

A study of the Old Testament reveals the expectations and feelings of the Jews about the Messiah. The Old Testament also provides the prophecies at the time of Christ and how they were interpreted. The idea of the Messiah as a conquering hero from the lineage of David never totally disappeared. Other beliefs were held as well. The Jews believed that before the Messiah came there would be a time of terrible tribulation. Every bond of physical and moral order would be broken. Into this chaos would come a person with the same spirit as Elijah. This person would be the herald of the Christ. His purpose was to bring order out of the chaos. After Elijah appeared and then would come the Messiah. The nations of the world would align themselves against the Messiah and, as a result, be destroyed. After this would come the restoration of Jerusalem and the return of the Jews in Diaspora. Israel would become the center of the world and a new age of peace would follow. (This is much like the Book of Revelation. It appears they had the right idea but the wrong time.)

 

These were the ideas that the typical Jew held at the time of Jesus the Christ. It had become part of their culture and national identity. These were the ideas that the disciples held when Jesus asked this question. This popular concept was violent, nationalistic and pitiless. It was very much in line with their view of God as a just but austere judge. These ideas are not very different from the ideas many hold in *the present. Jesus had a very different purpose. He had a different viewpoint and work. His love was not limited to only one people or nation but rather extended to all creation, Jew and Gentile.

 

To the disciples recognizing Jesus as the Christ when many things they had had been taught were diametrically opposed to what Jesus was teaching evidenced the Spirit of God at work in their lives. The area where this took place was at one time a great center of Baal worship. Here we have twelve relatively uneducated (compared to the intelligentsia of the time) men confessing the Messiah in a place where pagan rituals and worship and often taken place. I do not believe this was accidental. Jesus asked them this question, in this place, as a direct confrontation with and message to Satan. The disciples were going to carry the message of Jesus the Christ throughout all the world. Their confession in that place clearly shows Jesus was in charge and Satan could not win.

 

Before we leave this passage, we must consider the idea of the Messiah, His work. And the expectations of the Jews. As stated previously, the Jews expected a conquering, judgmental Messiah. Many Christians today believe the same thing. The question is, are we wrong just as the Jews were wrong? To answer this question, we need to review a few scriptures, some of which the Jews, and we, ignore.

 

Jesus is speaking in the synagogue and chooses the passage of the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 61:1-2). As we read the passage, we notice Jesus stopped short of completing it. Jesus ended it with “to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” After he finished reading, Jesus states “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Jesus seems to be dividing Isaiah’s prophecy into two parts: the acceptable day of the Lord and the day of the vengeance of God. The second thing Jesus did was to state He was fulfilling the acceptable day of the Lord. That left the day of vengeance for His later coming.

 

Isaiah eleven is a prophecy that reveals some of the characteristics of the Messiah. The first portion describes the wisdom, justice, faithfulness and righteousness of the Messiah. Isaiah also describe the reign of peace the Messiah will bring. The second portion of the chapter describes how the Messiah will bring all nations under His leadership. The wicked nations shall be destroyed, and the Jews will come back to Jerusalem. The Jews chose to remember and believe the parts they wanted to believe, much the same as we do. They remembered the earthly kingdom of the Messiah. They forgot His righteousness justice and mercy.

 

Based on what we have just read it seems the Jews had good reason for expecting a Messiah of conquest (and destruction). As already mentioned, they remembered the prophecies, at least the ones they wanted to remember. Isaiah the 53rd chapter paints a somewhat different picture of the Messiah that what the Jews expected.  Isaiah 53: 1-12 describes a Messiah who was beaten and badly used by the people. The primary concern of the Messiah described was saving, not destroying, the peoples of the earth. Far from being a vengeful conqueror, the Messiah of the prophesies of Isaiah and others was to suffer all kinds of humiliation for the sake of His creation. This was not at all in keeping with the images the Jews had of the Messiah. (Isaiah chapter 53 is no longer read in the Jewish synagogues. It has become known as the forbidden chapter.)

 

Now we must ask how this all fits together. Here we have two very different portraits of the same person. Two very different works are described. Which is correct? Are both, or neither correct? The answer is in the prophesies of Isaiah and Zechariah and the words of Jesus. All are accurate. The first work Jesus came to do was that of saving a dying creation left without any hope, except for the promise of the Messiah. Jesus tried to tell the Jewish leadership that His job at that time was not bringing destruction. That work would come later. At that time, the time for salvation would be over and all the nations who fought against Jerusalem would be destroyed.

 

When Peter made his confession, he was speaking for all of the disciples. Jesus told them, as He had told many others, not to tell anyone who He truly was. Once again, the reason seems to be for the protection of the disciples, and so Jesus could finish His work. If the disciple told people who Jesus really was, there were a number of things could happen. The disciples and Jesus could be held by the Jewish leaders for blasphemy. They could also be killed, as was Stephen later. In addition, Jesus would be swamped by those expecting a nationalistic Messiah while others would turn away. Jesus could (and probably would) be relegated to the ranks of just another prophet, or perhaps even a false prophet. The leadership would have no need to arrest Him, no one would be listening anyway. Even some of Jesus’ followers might try to make Him an earthly king. Timing was critical and Jesus knew how to do it.

 

The difference between Peter’s confession and Herod’s confession concerning Jesus easily points to the great difference between the two men, their beliefs, paradigms and priorities. Herod had a guilty conscience and thought only of himself. His confession that Jesus was John the Baptist returned to life shows a self-oriented, unrepentant but guilt laden person. Peter’s confession is that of a person who is in touch with God and is seeking to recognize and do God’s Will regardless of the cost. When they recognized Jesus as the Messiah, the disciples gave up their cultural prejudices, nationalism and much of what they had been taught from earliest childhood. They knew Jesus had not, at that time, come as a conquering Messiah to wipe out the Gentiles and deliver the Jews. They all knew they would not receive an earthy kingdom. None of this mattered. What did matter was that Jesus is the Messiah and they loved Him more than life itself. 

 

vs.31 – 33

After Peter’s confession, Jesus begins to emphasize the theology of the suffering servant. The disciples are not quite ready for this being taught so forcefully. In fact, Peter, who just publicly recognized Jesus as the Christ now starts to rebuke Jesus. This can lead us to wonder if Peter truly understood Jesus’ mission in their hearts or just in their heads.

 

As Jesus is talking about His death and resurrection Peter cannot abide the idea of Jesus dying and tries to stop Jesus. Here was the man who Jesus had just blessed being told to get out of His sight (Matthew 16:17-28). What could have caused this about face in such a brief time? One moment Peter is blessed because he is led by God and the next moment he is rebuked because he is led by Satan. Peter was repeating what Satan said to Jesus in the wilderness. Satan told Jesus He had enough power to avoid the crucifixion. ‘Jesus, you do not have to die this horrible death. You do not have to be shamed by hanging naked on cross. You are the Son of God.  God will protect you.’ These are things Jesus had been hearing from Satan. Jesus is also human, and no human wants to die a slow, painful death to prove a point. Jesus knew what He was doing what was required by God to save the world. Jesus certainly did not need one of his closest followers repeating Satan’s words, regardless of how well intentioned the disciple’s words might be.

 

This immediate painful rebuke was good for Peter and the other disciples. This proved to them that they were never safe from Satan and his tricks unless they were always totally abiding in the Spirit of God. An interesting note here is the failure of Mark to repeat the blessing found in Matthew. The rebuke here is much stronger than in the other Gospels. If we accept that the greatest amount of input to Mark’s Gospel came from Peter this is not surprising. Peter would have remembered the rebuke and he would not allow the same situation take place again. Peter would not have wanted people to put him on a higher level than any of the other disciples. Peter would not have emphasized the blessing. Peter knew exactly what the blessing was intended to mean and simply did the job Jesus gave him to do without fanfare or self-promotion. We do not fully understand what Jesus meant by the blessing therefore we make either too much or too little of the blessing and the work that followed.

 

vs. 34 – 38

Jesus has finished teaching the disciples and now calls the crowd to Him to teach them. Jesus continues teaching about the suffering servant. The interesting thing here is Jesus’ continuing this line of teaching with the crowd. The disciples had trouble enough with this thinking, what would the general public think and say to such an unpopular teaching? What would the leaders say? For years the leaders had kept the people controlled with dreams of the Messiah throwing off the yoke of oppression someday, sometime…always in the future. Jesus was saying that He is the Messiah but their ‘someday’ dream of a conquering Messiah was certainly not now, and possibly not for a long time. What Jesus did with His teaching was to bring the people into reality and truth. Reality and truth were things the leadership did not seem to be well acquainted with, or able to accept when it was directly in front of them.

 

As we consider this action of Jesus it would seem to play right into the plans of the leadership to discredit and to silence Him. Instead, His actions made the people consider what they were taught and to judge if it matched the Word of God. This same thing happened 1,400 years later with the Reformation. In both cases the truth, no matter how difficult to accept, must prevail.

 

Jesus was totally honest concerning what those who followed Him could expect. Having no real experience with crucifixion we cannot imagine the brutality of the process. In addition to the intense physical suffering there was the total humiliation crucifixion brought. Part of that humiliation was being forced to carry part of the cross to the place of execution. That humiliation extended to the family and friends of the person being crucified. Jesus was saying his followers could expect the same humiliation from the world, as well as possible death for their beliefs.

 

As Jesus says all of this, He puts it into perspective. He compares the short time we have on earth with eternity. This theme of comparing our time of physical life as compared to eternity is repeated throughout the New Testament. We humans have a difficult time understanding the concept of eternity. We have trouble when someone makes fun of us for our beliefs or our jobs are threatened. If we had to give up our comfortable lifestyles or friends for the sake of Jesus, we might have a difficult time. We seldom consider or talk about giving up our lives for the Gospel. Jesus tells us that difficulties in this life that come because we believe in Him mean nothing when compared to eternity with Him.

 

Being concerned only about ego, status, etc. was not always the case with born-again Christians. The early church had all things in common. They shared their worldly possessions. This was the perfect example of communal living, and it worked well. The reason it worked was that everyone involved had first given absolutely everything to Jesus. This included their lives, possessions and loved ones. The leadership of the early church was totally committed to doing God’s will. They had no question of God answering prayer and leading His people, they all knew He did.  It was an everyday occurrence. This possible because the people had faith in God, the Holy Spirit and Jesus the Christ.

 

The communal living the early church practiced was not a short-term thing. It lasted many years. The abuses we have witnessed with this type of living does not make it wrong. The missing ingredient is usually commitment, first to God and second to each other. We must put others first and ourselves second. Preferring others before ourselves is difficult, especially for those in leadership or power positions. The teachings of Jesus show us that a strong commitment to Him and each other is not only necessary, it is required.

 

MARK 9

vs. 01

¹And He said to them, “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.”

 

This is very difficult to understand. If we interpret this verse to mean particular individuals listening would live until Jesus physically returned, the prophecy would be false. None of the people lived long enough to see Jesus come to the world again. Jesus did not prophesy falsely therefore this initial interpretation must be incorrect. Jesus also did not make a “what if” statement so this is a cold statement of fact.

 

This statement of Jesus was fulfilled in at least one case. The Apostle John, known as the Revelator, while on the island of Patmos saw that second coming of Jesus in a vision.  John says that he was in the spirit on the Lord’s Day. This is not Sunday, as we define the Lord’s Day, this was the Day of the Lord; the day the Lord returned. The second coming of Christ is seen throughout the Old and New testaments. The apostle Paul also alludes to this in 2 Corinthians 12: 1-5. Many theologians think Paul was speaking about himself. If Paul was speaking of himself the structure of the passage makes little sense and makes Paul both a liar and his reasoning illogical. He was most certainly neither. He also would not have said “whether the person was in the spirit or out of the spirit I do not know.” If Paul was referring to Himself he would know if he was in the spirit or not.  These things are not at all consistent with what we know of Paul. A careful consideration of Paul’s comments lead to the conclusion Paul was referring to the Apostle John.

 

The most important thing to see in this passage is the absolute knowledge of Christ that He is coming back! There was any is no question about coming events. This fact can also be tied to Luke 4:18-19 and Isaiah 61: 1-2. As mentioned earlier the second coming will not be as pleasant for the world as was the first.

 

vs. 2 – 13

⁹As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. ¹⁰They kept the matter to themselves, discussing what “rising from the dead” meant. ¹¹And they asked Him, “Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?” ¹²Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah does come first, and restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected? ¹³But I tell you, Elijah has come, and they have done to him everything they wished, just as it is written about him.”

 

Christ goes to a mountain with Peter, James and John. These three appear to have a specific work and responsibility the other disciples do not have, and Jesus is taking care to mentor them. This event happened approximately a week after the events at Caesarea Phillipi. Mark says it was six days after and Luke says about eight days after. There is really no disagreement. They are both giving about a week after the previous events and quite often the Jews were not a specific about time as are we. Unless it was important (as in the crucifixion and resurrection) close is good enough.

 

The name of the mountain where this happened is not provided. There are two generally accepted possibilities. One possibility is Mount Tabor and the second possibility is Mount Horeb. The problem with the Mount Tabor location is that Mount Tabor is south of Galilee and Caesarea Phillipi is north. Mount Tabor is only about 1000 feet high and does not seem to fit the description. Mount Horeb is north of Galilee and is approximately 9,200 feet high. This fits the description much better and provides much more solitude.

 

The transfiguration shows a connection to earlier Hebrew culture and history. To the Hebrews the presence of God is connected to a cloud. This can be seen in the Exodus and the writings of the prophets. The cloud coming down would be a very clear sign to any Israelite that God was present. It would take them to the time they were led out of bondage in Egypt. This is a visual confirmation that Jesus is leading us out of spiritual bondage.

 

The events on the mountain were a confirmation to both Jesus and the disciples. Jesus had a lot of work to complete and much of it would be emotionally, spiritually and physically brutally painful.  Jesus received direct confirmation from God that He was doing God's will.

 

The transfiguration sent the same message to those disciples with Jesus. They were witnesses to the transfiguration and heard the Voice of God affirming His love for Jesus, relationship to Jesus and confirmation of Jesus' work. According to the Law every word was to be corroborated by two or three witnesses. The witnesses are to testify to what they have seen and heard. James, John and Peter could testify firsthand. They did not need to carry a second-hand message.

 

This message was critical for the disciples. Jesus had just told them He must die. This went contrary to all that they had been taught about the Messiah. They were making a huge emotional and spiritual adjustment and investment. The transfiguration affirmed to them that their decision to follow Jesus was the correct one. John, Peter and James would be able to be witnesses of the event to the other disciples and the world.

 

The reaction of Peter was to offer to build three shelters for Jesus, Elijah and Moses. Peter and the other disciples were very frightened. Peter's immediate reaction to stress was to talk. I think many of us can relate to him.

 

God does not rebuke Peter or the others. God simply comes in a cloud and affirms that Jesus is His Son, God loves Him, and the disciples need to listen to Jesus. This it is a tremendous thing.  By His words, God is not only affirming and confirming Jesus, He is telling the disciples He cares and loves them. God has taken the time to encourage and instruct the disciples. The one true God of all creation has taken the time to insert Himself into the everyday lives of these people. It is a tremendous thing that God has done, and a tremendous message God has sent to all of us. God cares about us. God is not just far off looking down on us and not communicating. God cares about us and loves us enough to communicate with us. God does not leave us to wander helplessly wondering if we are going in the right direction. If we listen God will guide us, instruct and let us know how much He loves us.

 

As they are coming down from the mountain, Jesus tells the three they must not tell anyone what they had seen or what had happened. The assumption can be made that this includes telling the other disciples. Why Jesus did not want the other nine disciples told about what had happened is not revealed. In-so-far as telling the people, Jesus knew the people wanted an earthly style king and, if they knew what happened on the mountain, they might try to make Jesus king by force.

 

The disciples wanted to know why the experts in the Law said that Elijah must come before the Messiah came. Remembering that Jesus had often proved the experts in the Law to be wrong, the disciples might now be unsure of anything said by that group. Jesus affirmed that in this case the experts in the Law were correct, Elijah must come first. At this point the disciples may be confused. They had just seen Jesus transfigured and they had seen Him with Elijah and Moses. They heard God speaking to them affirming His love for Jesus and them. There is no doubt that Jesus is the Messiah, but when did Elijah come and who was he? They have not seen Elijah, but Jesus just confirmed that Elijah must (and had) come before Jesus.

 

Jesus gives a two-part answer to their question. In the first part, He first tells them that Elijah must come and put all things in order. This is future tense and refers to the second coming of Christ. Jesus then tells them that Elijah has already come, and the authorities did to him as they wished. Jesus was referring to John the Baptist. John wore a hairy coat and lived on locusts and honey. These physical attributes John took on emulated the prophet Elijah. John’s message was to prepare the way of the Lord. By his message and acting out physically that he was Elijah, John was showing the Messiah was coming very soon. Many people missed the message. It is the same in the present times.

 

This passage is easier to understand if we return to Jesus’ reading of Isaiah in the synagogue. We must remember that Jesus read only part of the prophesy concerning Him. He stopped after he read about the “acceptable day of the Lord.” At this point, Jesus and the world are in the acceptable day of the Lord.

 

The phrase “does come first” indicates a future appearance of Elijah. The second part of the sentence “and restores all things” is sometimes overlooked but is critical to understanding the passage. Then Jesus asks why it is written that the Son of Man must suffer and be rejected. In accordance with the words of the prophesies and Jesus, Elijah will come again before the second coming of Jesus to put everything in order. Acts 3:21 is a strong indicator that this is how the early church (including the Apostles) interpreted these words of Jesus.

 

Jesus then tells them that Elijah has already come, and the authorities did to him as they wished. Jesus was referring to John the Baptist. John wore a hairy coat and lived on locusts and honey. These physical attributes John took on emulated the prophet Elijah. John’s message was to prepare the way of the Lord. John the Baptist did not come to restore, nor did he restore. It is very clear that John came preparing the way for Jesus to preach salvation and to be the perfect sacrifice for us.  This being the case, John could not be the Elijah who was to come. By his message and acting out physically that he was Elijah, John was showing the Messiah was coming very soon and ushering in the acceptable day of the Lord. Many people missed the message. It is the same in the present times.

 

Returning to the first part of Jesus’ statement there will Elijah will come before Christ returns. This return will usher in the day of God’s judgement. This Elijah will restore all things to what God originally intended. The mistake of thinking the physical person Elijah will return must not be made. As we look at John the Baptist, we can see a person who had the same Spirit, power, dedication, mission and message as Elijah. The same will be true of the second Elijah.

 

vs. 14 – 18

After the experience on the mountain the disciples were immediately brought face to face with the needs and pressures of everyday life. This came as a shock. They just left the most unusual manifestation of God they (and most others) had ever experienced. From that experience, they immediately walk into an argument between their fellow disciples and the lawyers.

 

The circumstances of the incident were a young boy suffering from what appears to be demon possession. The disciples we unable to heal the boy, and the lawyers who were waiting for a chance to denigrate Jesus and his followers. This was the scene that greeted the three disciples.

 

This passage reveals two important aspects of Jesus. First, He was ready to face both the cross and everyday problems. Second, Jesus could easily move between having a direct conversation with God the Father and the trials and joys of everyday living. The reason is Jesus put no boundaries on God’s place in His life. Jesus lived with God in His life always. Therefore, He had no problem communicating with God always and in all circumstances. This is a lesson to the disciples and us. If we are willing, God is with us both in the place of prayer and our common lives. Our everyday life should be a place of prayer.

 

Jesus had the world to save, past, present and future and yet He could, and would, take the time to help a single individual. Jesus is never so busy with the things He had to do or the importance of His message that He could not help one person at a time. Helping His creation is the core of His message. Many times, we get so involved with taking the message to the masses we forget the masses are made up of the individuals. Nothing is more important than the message of God’s Love that we carry, and that message is for individuals.

 

The crowd recognized the love and concern Jesus had for them as individuals and responded by running to greet Him. It is entirely possible Jesus’ appearance was quite different than usual. In Exodus 33 and 34 we are told that the face of Moses shone to such an extent that the Israelites were afraid to approach him. This change was from Moses seeing the back of God, not God’s face. Jesus had just been transfigured and had spoken to Elijah and Moses. In addition, the voice of God had confirmed Jesus was His Son. As the face of Moses shone for a period of time after seeing the back of God it is not illogical to conclude Jesus looked different after His mountain experience. This conclusion is supported by the people’s reaction: ¹⁵As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.”  There was something different in His appearance that caused the people to be overwhelmed with wonder.

 

One interesting note in this story is the inability of the disciples to heal this boy. Remember, they had recently made an evangelistic circuit of the countryside and were amazed at how people were healed and the delivered through their ministries. Now they cannot heal a very sick and possessed boy. What happened?

 

vs. 19 – 24

Jesus had just come down from the meeting with God, Elijah and Moses. He had faced the cross and came to terms with it. Jesus knew what was going to happen in detail and was willing to face it because of His Father’s and His love for man. Now Jesus comes directly into a bad situation. For the father the scene is one of great despair. Jesus’ disciples were not able to heal the lad. The lawyers were using the situation to try and discredit both Jesus and the disciples. The boy’s father was in great anxiety and the boy was still suffering. The human side of Jesus comes out strongly here as well as the divine side. How long must Jesus bear this immaturity in His creation? When will they ever grow up? But the child needs the touch of Jesus and that is paramount to Jesus. He tells the child’s father to bring the child.

 

The demon spirit that had taken hold of the child immediately recognizes Jesus and sends the boy into convulsions. As the boy is in the convulsions, the father explains to Jesus this is normal for his son. This is not, as some have claimed, a case of epilepsy. The demon spirit seems to want to make the child suffer as much as possible, without destroying him. The reason the spirit may not have wanted the child to die was it did not want to lose its home, the boy’s body.

 

The combination of the inability of the disciples to heal the child, the badgering of the lawyers, and the arguments have perhaps caused the father to doubt the faith that brought him to Jesus. The father asked Jesus to help his son, if He can. Jesus addresses this statement of the father before healing the child. The ability of Jesus to heal the boy was never in question. Jesus knew He would heal the child. There was a question of the father having faith for the healing. The father and the boy needed healing. Jesus healed the spirit and faith of the father first and, after the father’s faith was restored, Jesus healed the child.

 

This order of healing teaches a few lessons. We are, to some extent, responsible for own spiritual and physical health. We are responsible to have faith and to come to God in belief, asking for the healing. Our faith is to be placed in God and Christ, not in the persons who are the servants and may be the conduit of the healing or other work. Members of the organized church must remember Christ is our Savior, Lord and leader. We must surrender ourselves to Christ and not to an organization. Our justification for existence is to bring people to Christ and to fill their need through Christ.

 

vs. 25 – 29

Jesus was not in the middle of the crowds when He healed the boy. The disciples and lawyers were probably a short distance away from the main body of the crowd. As the crowd saw Jesus talking with the lawyers, the disciples and the boy’s father they decided to find out what was happening. Possibly they wanted to hear a debate between Jesus and the Jewish leaders. Another possibility is they truly wanted to see the boy (a familiar figure to them) healed.

 

Jesus, concerned that the boy and his father would be a spectacle for the crowd, immediately healed the boy. The child, after a final shriek and convulsion, fell and was very still. The crowd thought he was dead. He was not. Jesus takes the child by his hand, lifts him up and the child stood. This passage once more shows how deeply Jesus cares deeply about each individual. He not only cares about our physical health but is sensitive to our emotional, mental and spiritual health. Jesus healed the child in a way that did not make him or his father a public spectacle. After the healing, Jesus helped the lad to stand. The love of Jesus for His creation extends from the largest to the smallest joy, needs, concerns troubles, etc. Jesus is always with us…if we want Him to be with us. It is our decision.

 

After the healing and the disciples were alone with Jesus, they asked Him why they could not cast out the spirit inhabiting the lad. Jesus told them this kind of spirit could only come out through prayer. In effect, Christ was telling them they did not stay in close enough communion with God. They, as we, are given the power through the Spirit but were not praying, communicating with God, to maintain spiritual strength and power. There are many instances in the Gospels where Jesus went off alone to pray. Jesus knew the importance of constant communication with God, including time set aside for prayer without distractions from the world.

 

By not maintaining communion with God a Christian can lose many things. Two things that can be lost are perspective and vision. Without a strong communion with God people may well think that their own abilities and goodness have made things happen. All good things come through the spirit of God, we are His instruments, losing our perspective and vision opens us up to the entry of pride and Satan. There is also a tendency to misplace priorities. Emphasis may be placed on the gift or the person who has the gift instead of the giver. The operation of the gift may be placed ahead of the wisdom God provides in knowing when, where and how to use which gift. One of the twelve spiritual gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12 is wisdom. Wisdom can be defined as knowing when, where and how to use the gifts and knowledge we have been given. Knowing that comes through the Holy Spirit.

 

The gift will be lost if we do not keep in communion with God. Our ability to use the gift(s) will decrease. The less frequent the communication and communion the further away from God we move and the more the power through the Holy Spirit weakens. This is not to say that gift has been taken away but only that the Holy Spirit has been ignored or dismissed with the result that the power behind the gift is diminished or totally absent.

 

vs. 30 – 32

This passage marks a milestone in the life of Jesus and the disciples. Jesus is leaving the northern area and moving toward Jerusalem and the crucifixion. Jesus’ statement should be read this in mind. Jesus knew what was going to happen. His disciples did not.

 

This is not the first-time Jesus talks about His impending death and resurrection, but the disciples still did not understand. This was all new to them and they did not quite realize Jesus, the Messiah, must be sacrificed to save mankind. Old teachings die hard and the teachers of the law had been teaching that the Messiah was coming as a conquering hero, not as a suffering servant. This time the disciples kept their questions to themselves. They were very reluctant to ask Jesus any questions about His comments. This could result from Jesus’ earlier rebuke of Peter. Instead, they started discussing the future, specifically their place in that future.

 

vs. 33 – 37

After the disciples reached their destination, they had a rude shock. Jesus asked them what they had been arguing about on the trip. The argument may have been an extension of the discussion about Jesus’ death. The disciples’ discussion appears to have degenerated into an argument about who was going to have the greatest position in Jesus’ kingdom. The disciples continued thinking in earthly terms and concepts. It is sad that this was the core of the conversation as Jesus was on his way to the cross. It is just as sad as many conversations between born again Christians striving for perceived “power” position in church

 

Before judging the disciples too harshly, we should examine our own lives. The Apostles were not doing anything different than Christians and churches have done since then. The only difference is subsequent Christians have the benefit of the Apostles experience. Having that knowledge carries greater responsibility.

 

Jesus addresses the ambition of the disciples then and present-day disciples. The first thing He did was to sit down. When a rabbi taught his disciples, or was making a pronouncement, he sat. This was an indication the teaching was very important. Jesus was about to teach His disciples a great truth and did not want this point missed or misunderstood. After Jesus sat down, he called His disciples to Him and taught them. His teaching was; the person who wants to be first must be willing to be last. Only by serving could a person truly lead. Only by putting others first could a person expect to be followed. Human logic, wisdom and traditional teaching would tell us this does not make sense. How can a person be a leader if they put others first? How can power be accumulated by being a servant? Jesus took the wisdom of the world and turned it on its head.

 

Jesus did not condemn ambition, just the misuse of it. Being a Christian takes a strong person, one willing to walk against the world. The important point is our strength lay in Christ and God, and the work of bringing people to God. Our strength does not come by our own actions.

 

After Jesus sat and talked to the disciples, He brought a small child to Him. This tells us that Jesus and the disciples were not alone during this teaching. Jesus had the child stand with the disciples and Him. The scriptures tell us Jesus took the child in His arms and held him. Jesus let the child know he was loved and protected. Jesus is saying that a person who is dependent on God is the person closest to God. As the disciples welcome, care for, love and become like the truly God-dependent person, they welcome Christ and through Christ, God. 

 

vs. 38 – 40

At first the transition from what has just happened to this verse seems to be a bit odd. There seems to be a break in the action from verse 37 to verse 38, with verse 38 starting at a different place and/or time. Upon closer examination, we can see it all fits together.

 

Jesus has just finished teaching the disciples about His and God’s priorities. Jesus has not condemned ambition but has condemned a self-serving ambition. John seems to have understood, at least partly, the point Jesus was making. John now comes and informs Jesus he and other disciples have stopped a person outside their group from using Jesus’ name to cast out demons.

 

John was probably thinking that this was not only the right thing to do but might also have acknowledgement from Jesus for a job well done. He was wrong. John confused a person being outside their group with a person being an outsider to Christ. This mistake is made all too many times by many Christians. Jesus corrected John’s thinking.

 

In Jesus’ time a common way to exorcise demons was to use the name of a more powerful spirit to command the demon spirit to leave the person. The spirit being cast out was supposed to be powerless to resist. There were men who made their living casting out demons. John felt he and the others had done the right thing by stopping the man. After all, he was not part of Jesus’ disciples and so his motives were, at best, suspect.

 

The disciples’ error was in making a decision based on what they thought was happening, not on the state of the person’s heart and spirit. The first lesson this passage is teaching is, do not always believe what our senses and/or intellect tell us. Our senses are conditioned by our environment and prejudices and are not always accurate. Our intellect often bases judgments on our individual paradigms (what we have seen, experienced and felt) and is often incomplete at best, therefore our judgments may not be accurate or appropriate. See and hear with spiritual eyes and ears. Get the complete picture and then the judge according to the Spirit.

 

A very good Old Testament example of this is Second Kings 6:15-17. In this passage, the king has decided to have Elisha killed. To this end, he sent an army to the city of Dothan to capture Elisha. The army circled the city at night and expected to take Elisha in the morning. When the morning came the first person out of Elisha’s household was his servant. The servant saw the army of he immediately went back in to tell Elisha the bad news.

 

Awakening to an army surrounding the place you are at is not normally the way a person expects to start the day. Elijah’s servant was understandably concerned, but especially since he saw he and Elijah were the only ones opposing the enemy. The odds were not on their side. Elijah was not perturbed. He let his servant know that the number of people in the army protecting him was far greater than the number in the army sent to capture him. This confused the servant since he saw no one except himself and Elisha.

 

Now Elisha did something a bit unusual. Elijah prayed that his servant’s eyes might be opened to see the army protecting them. Elijah did not pray that the army might appear but that his servant’s spiritual eyes would be opened to see all of reality (not just the physical part of reality). The servant’s eyes were opened and then he saw the complete reality that was present all the time. Prior to that he was only seeing the physical reality, which is only part of the complete picture.

 

The man casting out demons may not have been a part of the disciples group, but he obviously had a grasp of who Jesus was and the power Jesus had. The person’s heart was probably right with God, even if his actions and methods were not what the disciples expected.

 

The second lesson this passage teaches us is tolerance. Jesus puts the prejudice and arrogance of both the disciples and ourselves away and requires us to be tolerant of those that truly believe in Him but might worship Him differently. Jesus allows and encourages people to think for themselves and speak for themselves. It is a human characteristic to try to fit everyone into our individual mold. We somehow think less of the person who is giving their all to Christ but in a manner other than what we expect.

 

How many times have we seen someone preaching on the street or handing out tracts and felt embarrassed? How many times have we felt they did not have the decorum a Christian should have? We should in fact be embarrassed, but only by our own reactions. Each person must do the work of God gives them to do in the manner God tells them to do it.

 

Now I am firmly convinced Jesus did not expect us to just accept anyone and everyone that hangs a sign around their necks saying, “I am a Christian” as a born-again brother or sister in Christ. The scriptures are clear He intended for us to see and judge by the Spirit. (1 John 4:1) I also believe Jesus intended for us to love those who never accept Him. What to do about Christ is each person’s choice. It is the Christian’s job to love and to light the path, not to judge and condemn

 

vs. 41 – 48

Jesus emphasizes that any help given to a person because the person is a believer in Christ it will not be forgotten, nor will their reward be forgotten. Jesus is not speaking only of the great things we do, but also the small, perhaps unnoticed, acts of kindness. The words of Christ do not differentiate between believer or nonbeliever. The important thing is that it is done in done name of Christ, that is, giving the help is prompted by the Holy Spirit. This would seem to assume the person performing the act is a believer, but Christ is not making that distinction. It may also seem odd that a person not yet a believer can still be motivated by the workings of the Holy Spirit. Such a person may become a believer in the future. We do not always know at what point they are in their decision concerning Christ. God does know.

 

Just as showing a kindness has its reward, causing a person to sin also has a reward. The millstone mentioned in this verse is the kind of millstone used to weight a person down to drown him. This was a common punishment in that time. There was no way a condemned person could avoid drowning after having a mill stone fixed to them and they were thrown into the water. This is the very strong point Jesus is making.  There is absolutely no way a person who causes another to sin can escape their punishment, except by truly repenting of the act and asking for forgiveness. This is especially true for those who lead children into sin.

 

Jesus is very stern and to the point about what He is teaching. He is deadly serious. Not only does a person’s physical, temporal life depend on understanding this teaching, but their spiritual, eternal life also depends on their understanding this teaching.

 

The teaching here shows a direct relationship between a man reaping and sowing.  The Jews, and we, often view God as a hard, stern taskmaster. God is often viewed as sitting in judgment on us, imposing His sentence with no regard for mercy, justice, extenuating circumstances or sympathy.  The fact is we judge ourselves based on the actions of our lives. God affirms that judgement. The person who causes another to sin not only shows a lack of love for others but also a lack of love for themselves and God. They have broken God’s heart in their own case and are breaking God’s heart again by destroying others. The Gospels provide numerous places where Jesus takes the Scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees to task for leading others away from God.

 

This is so serious that Christ tells the disciples and others present they should cut off a part of their body if this would keep them from sin. I believe Jesus said this to make a point, but it is in fact truly that important. To the Jews, deliberately destroying a part of the body, the temple of God, would be sin. Jesus is saying that this is preferable to losing eternal life. One problem is many times the sin originates in our minds and hearts. It is not possible to cut either of those out of our bodies. This is why a person must give and commit every part of their life, spirit and physical being to Christ. Only by doing this can a person cut off all parts of them from sin. 

 

This passage also refutes the arguments that there is no Hell. There is no place of punishment. That, if there is a Hell, it is only temporary and God would not send us to a place like Hell, at least not for eternity. Jesus is very clear concerning Hell. Hell exists and is a place of punishment. Hell is permanent, more permanent than we understand and very, very real. The biggest misunderstanding is that God alone makes the decision to send us there. As already noted, their lives, actions and failure or refusal to accept Jesus the Christ as Savior, people ask to be sent to Hell. God gives us every opportunity to avoid the punishment. We insist on being given the punishment.

 

Hell is a form of the words hin and nom. The Valley of Hinnom (present day Wadi er-Rababi) was a ravine outside of Jerusalem with an evil past. Hinnom was the valley used for idol worship and passing their children through the fire (a part of Baal worship). People (including Ahaz) burned their own sons as sacrifice to false gods. Josiah declared the valley to be unclean because of the practices carried on there and because the people refused to go to Jerusalem to worship at the appointed feast times and place designated by God. The area was used as a refuse heap for Jerusalem.

 

This was as close as Jesus could come to describing the place of punishment where sinners would go. This picture is not as bad as the reality. Humans are not capable of truly envisioning hell. This is becaue hell was not made for man but rather for Satan and his followers. Man chooses to spend eternity in hell.

 

vs. 49 – 50

To understand what these verses are saying the listener or reader must know what salt and fire have in common; they both purify. Metals are purified with fire.  The dross is separated from the metal and can be removed leaving only the purified metal. Salt purifies and preserves meat. Meat that is unsalted quickly spoils, especially in hot environments.

 

In verse 49 Jesus is stating everyone will (not might) be purified from the dross in their lives. The Word of God is a purifying fire. God, through the Holy Spirit, shows us what we need to bring under subjection to Him. It is up to us to take, or not take, action on what the Holy Spirit reveals.

 

As well as purifying, the Word preserves believers for Christ. A little bit of salt goes a long way. We are to be the salt of the earth. If a believer loses their purification and starts to turn vile, how can that believer be a help to others? Purity and preservation are maintained through Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Word and the fellowship of believers. We maintain our peace and our very existence through Christ.

 

MARK 10

vs. 01 -12

After Jesus taught the people about hell being purified and serving God, the Pharisees questioned Him. Once again, they seem to have totally missed the message of Jesus’ teaching. They spent their time and intellect looking for ways to trap Jesus and denigrate His message. This has not changed through the centuries. Many people today (many falsely saying they are being objective) approach the message of Jesus with the same attitude.

 

The question this time had to do with divorce. There are number of reasons this subject may have been raised. It may be an honest question.  The Jews were having a very difficult time with this problem and there were two different schools of thought on how to deal with it. This may have been an attempt to discredit Jesus. Jesus had already broached the subject once (Matthew 5: 31) and the Pharisees may have hoped He would contradict Himself. This may have been an attempt to have Jesus contradict the Mosaic Law in which case the Pharisees can say He did not know the Law or what Moses said. The question may have been an attempt to cost Jesus the support of the public. Once more they were attempting to put Jesus in an untenable position.

 

The Pharisees may have hoped Jesus could shed some light on how to address divorce, a serious sociological problem they were having. God puts a high price on chastity and the marital commitment. God’s concern and emphasis is evident in the Ten Commandments and the Law of Moses. In reality the leaders found what they thought were ways to circumvent God’s Law. A man could put his wife away for almost any reason, whereas the wife had very few reasons for which she could divorce the husband. Even if a wife did have acceptable reason(s) to divorce the husband, she was required to ask the husband to divorce her. The woman had few rights and could not divorce the husband.

 

The problem came with the interpretation of Deuteronomy 24: “when a man takes a wife and marries her, if she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some and indecency in her,…” How should the word indecency be defined?

 

The school of Shammai interpreted Deuteronomy 24 to mean adultery only. Nothing else qualified as indecency. The school of Hillel defined indecency as broadly as possible. His definition could even include a wife spoiling a dish of food. One rabbi went so far to include if a man found another woman who was prettier, a better cook, or a better housekeeper than his wife (if only in his eyes), then that was considered indecency and the wife could be divorced.

 

The intent of Hillel and other similar schools of thought appear to be using semantics to avoid complying with God’s Law. The result was that women had few rights (although more than other cultures extant at the time) and men felt they could safely ignore God’s commands concerning the marriage commitment.

 

Jesus’ answer was to quote from Genesis 2: 27 and 2: 24. By quoting from Genesis Jesus references God, a higher authority than Moses. Jesus is not taking the side of the School of Hillel. Jesus puts this in the strongest terms. No person is to separate what God has joined. That is not man’s privilege or decision. This of course did not sit well with those wanting to violate their marital commitment.

 

By his answer, Jesus also addresses the possibility of the Pharisees trying to show He blasphemed. Jesus did disagree with what Moses allowed but did so in a way that was not arguable and maintained the reputation of Moses and his relationship with God. By saying Moses allowed divorce because of the hardness of the Hebrew’s hearts Jesus was placing the responsibility for the situation squarely on the people and their leaders. Jesus also recognizes the great love Moses had for the people and the love that God has for all people.

 

Jesus also addressed this question in Matthew 5:31. At that time, Jesus had stated that any man who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to commit adultery. Anyone who marries a woman so divorced also commits adultery. This statement in Mark does not contradict His statements here. The act of marital unfaithfulness automatically violates and abrogates the marriage vows.

 

Why did Jesus only speak of the husband divorcing the wife and not the wife divorcing the husband? Some of the more ardent people in the women’s movements have used these passages to try to say Jesus was a male chauvinist. This is certainly not the case and the answer appears to be quite simple. In the society, Jesus was addressing the men were the only ones with any real right of divorce. Whether Jesus agreed with the situation or not, He addressed reality. The fact this question comes up that all proves God intended for all persons, male and female, to respect each other and to honor their commitments to each other.

 

The Pharisees were probably also hoping for Jesus’ answer, whatever it may be, to erode some of His public support. This was probably accomplished. People do not like it when brought face to face with their moral and societal responsibilities, so those in Jesus’ time, Jewish or Gentile, felt the same. This has not changed over the centuries. Many are the excuses for taking the easy way out instead of praying and working through the problem. This is not to say we are not forgiven when we fail. It is to say we are not to make a failure a way of life, or a viable option.

 

A very important thing to remember here is that Jesus is speaking to God’s chosen people. The Jews, just as Christians now, were to be operating on a higher moral plane than other nations or belief systems. Jesus did not condemn the people; He did condemn their practices. Jesus did not say they could not, or would not, be forgiven. Jesus is instructing them in God’s Word and how to live holy lives.

 

vs. 13 – 16

Some theologians think that this incident was put in this spot because it is a logical progression after speaking of marriage. There could be other reasons for its inclusion here. First and foremost is the writer reported actions and what was said in chronological order. Jesus was teaching how a person must live to enter heaven. Jesus and the disciples had just left a group of people looking for excuses to do their will instead of their Father’s, God’s, will. A great deal of their time was spent devising ways to avoid to their responsibilities to God and God’s people. Now there is a group of children coming in simplicity and honesty to be blessed by Jesus. The chasm between these two scenarios is staggering.

 

When reading this passage, we may think poorly of the disciples, after all they were keeping the children from Jesus. Before we judge the situation too quickly we need to remember that Jesus has had a very difficult and tiring time. Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem and death. His spirit is heavy. The disciples have recognized His heaviness of spirit and were possibly trying to keep Jesus from being overburdened. Their motives may have been fine, although their actions misplaced.

 

Jesus becomes indignant. Again, we have one of those moments so common in Mark where the human side of Jesus is evident. Let the children come to Jesus. Why were the disciples stopping the children? They may be small and powerless but, next to God, so are we. The children were all the things the Pharisees and many adults were not. The children were humble, obedient, trusting and forgiving. All necessary to share in God’s kingdom.

 

vs. 17 – 27

The scene opens with a man running to Jesus. The man throws himself at Jesus’ feet and asks how to obtain eternal life. This is unusual, but his addressing Jesus by the title “good teacher” was even more unusual. This was a greeting normally used by the Greeks (there were areas of Israel that were very Hellenistic), not the Jews. The man may have been trying to flatter Jesus or he may have been more familiar with the Greek tradition. We cannot know what was in the man’s heart.

 

Jesus quickly cuts through the man’s words to his motives and actions and asked why the man called Jesus good. Asking this question leads to thinking the man was Jewish since no Jew honestly and sincerely called another man good, only God is good. This strong feeling of the Jews finds expression with David who said, “Behold I was shaped in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceived me.” (Psalm 51:5) With one question Jesus causes the man to question his motives and the justification he is about to make for himself.

 

After Jesus asks his initial question, He instructs the man in what the law requires. At this time in history the law was what justified the Jews, Jesus had not yet died and resurrected. The man said he kept all the requirements of the Law since he was very young. He felt justified under the law. If he was as knowledgeable in the law as he claimed, he would have remembered what David said and he would not have called Jesus good nor would he feel he was justified under the law. Yet the man’s heart was honest, and he truly wanted to inherit eternal life.

 

Jesus saw the man’s heart and spirit and loved him. This man had the opportunity to enter into a special relationship with God and Jesus. Jesus told the man what he needed to do to have that special relationship, but the man had to be willing to take action. The man had been keeping the letter of the law but not necessarily the spirit of the law. He not only had to keep from doing wrong he must also do what was right. His faith and belief could not consist of a passive keeping from sin but must include proactive love to God’s creation.

 

After Jesus told the man he must give up what he put between him and God, the man left. The man was, in effect, saying his wealth was his god. The man’s greatest barrier between him and God was his wealth. Each person may have a different barrier. Jesus brought to the front the young rich man’s choice; his wealth or Jesus.

 

Jesus now makes a statement that shocks the disciples and the crowds. He says it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle and for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. (There was a gate in the walls of Jerusalem named the Needles Eye. At sundown, all the gates to the city were closed, except the Needles Eye. This gate was only large enough for a person to pass through. It was not large enough for a camel or other beast of burden to pass through. The gate allowed people to enter the city for shelter but did not allow camels to enter. Many theologians believe this gate is what Jesus was referring to when He used the term eye of the needle.)

 

Jews were taught to believe that prosperity was a sign of a man in good standing with God. Jesus was turning that completely around by saying riches could keep you from God. Jesus never said being rich was sin He just makes us to understand we cannot let our wealth come between us and God. Wealth is a gift and a responsibly. It is not for selfish use but must be used to accomplish God’s will.

 

What is wrong with wealth? There are two potential problems with wealth. Material possessions tend to keep a person’s mind on the things of the world and not the things of God. If a person’s main interest is material goods, that person will normally think of everything in terms of price and not in terms of true value. Jesus’ was not saying a rich man could not enter the kingdom of God, just that it would be difficult for the wealthy person to have his priorities in line with God’s will. God will not keep a wealthy person out, the person themselves may well not be listening for God or will choose not to hear God’s voice calling. It is a matter of where the mind and heart are focused. With God, all things are possible.

 

vs. 28 – 31

Peter, with his usual forthright approach, now asked what will be the disciples’ reward for all they have given up. The answer falls into three parts. First Jesus tells the disciples that no one ever gives up anything for God without getting it back multiplied a hundredfold. Second, Jesus let the disciples know there will be persecution. Third, Jesus added a warning that people focusing on being first will find they are last. This emphasizes that a person’s focus and the state of their heart is critical.

 

This is a continuation of the incident with the wealthy man. His attitude concerning his wealth and self-worth was inappropriate. He was putting wealth and self between him and God with the result that wealth and self became his god. In the same way, a disciple could put a high value on their works and self-worth and neglect the things and people of God. As this condition continues the believer would move ever further away from the Holy Spirit and God’s will. They would in effect become the last among the disciples.

 

vs.32 – 34

After Peter’s question to Jesus concerning what reward will receive for following Him Jesus gives them more information concerning what is to come. The mind-set of Jesus is in direct contrast to that of the disciples. While the disciples were concerned about their reward, Jesus is thinking only of the Father’s Will and the saving of mankind.

 

The scene here shows Jesus’ strong sense of purpose and a fear of the unknown and unfamiliar among the disciples. Jesus and the disciples are about to go into Jerusalem, the stronghold of His enemies. Up until now Jesus has been in the Caesarea of Phillipi area. He has now turned irrevocably toward Jerusalem and His crucifixion. All this is on the minds of the disciples. What will happen to Jesus?  What will happen to them?

 

The passage gives us quite a bit of information about Jesus and the disciples. The aloneness of Jesus is plainly seen. Jesus is walking down the road ahead of his disciples, alone. Despite Jesus being a very social person, He had work to perform which no one else could do or even truly understand. The disciples were reluctant to join Him. Jesus had just taught them a lesson on motives and service. Now He was going into Jerusalem to give the ultimate service from a motive of true love. Jesus knew it was time to fulfill His mission in accordance with the Word of God. It was His decision and His alone. The disciples’ only input would have been to try to stop Him.

 

The courage of both Jesus and the disciples is also very clear. This is the third-time Jesus has mentioned His death and the circumstances surrounding it. Now more information is given to the disciples, and it is even more grim. Jesus knows the approaching events and continues to follow God’s Will. The attitudes of the disciples are love, faith and courage. They do not see the coming events clearly; they only know what Jesus has told them. They choose to follow Him, even to their own death.

 

The compelling power of God’s word is made clear here. The disciples continue to follow Jesus despite their confusion. As Peter said and the disciples are convinced, Jesus has the words of eternal life. Where else could they go? The disciples wanted to understand all that was happening, but they did not have to totally understand to have faith and choose to follow.

 

vs. 35 – 45

This story is presented a bit differently in Matthew 20: 20-23. In Matthew, the mother of James and John makes the request. Matthew may have felt it was unseemly for the disciples to have asked the question, so he changed the incident slightly to show James and John in a better light. Mark, having Peter’s input, may have looked at this from the perspective of the individual who asked Jesus is not material, the request was really coming from James and John. There is also the possibility the mother encouraged them to ask the question, or they put their mother up to asking it. Regardless of which is accepted as the more reliable retelling of this incident the point is the same. At least two of the disciples were looking at position, not servanthood.

 

This incident reveals much about the people involved. The incident reveals that not only did James and John fail to grasp the teachings of Jesus about the last being first. They also seem to be somewhat unaware of, or insensitive to, Jesus’ feelings and state of mind at this time. (Remember, this is the same John that was known as the disciple Jesus loved.) Jesus had been telling them how He would be tortured and killed. Now these two disciples asked if they would receive the two highest positions in Jesus’ kingdom.

 

Insensitive as James and John were, as much as they missed the point of Jesus’ teachings, they still had faith that Jesus would be victorious. Jesus shows their personal ambition was inappropriate and misplaced but wanting to do the absolute best they could was not. Jesus spells out two conditions that are ground rules for all His disciples.

 

Jesus asks, “can you drink that cup I drink….” It was the custom at royal banquets for the King to hand the cup to his guests. The cup was a symbol of the life and experiences of the person to which it belonged. Jesus is asking if they were willing and able to go through the things He must. He continued and asked “…and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” The Greek baptize means to dip. It is a past participle and means submerged. The past participle is regularly used to mean submerged in any experience. The use of the term here has nothing to do with a water baptism but rather with a total immersion in the person and experience of Jesus Christ.

 

The disciples said they could drink from His cup. Jesus verified that they would suffer as He was about to and would be totally submerged in His experiences, but it was God the Father’s decision who received what position, not Jesus. Jesus did not say that neither James nor John would receive a position, only that it was not His decision to make.

 

After Jesus answered James’ and John’s request the other disciples became indignant with the brothers. This is like the pot calling the kettle black. It is doubtful if the thoughts of the other disciples were different than those of the brothers. Once again there is the possibility of a division within the twelve, a division based on personal agendas. Jesus immediately defuses the situation by teaching the disciples what being a servant is all about. Being a servant/leader in the Kingdom of God requires behavior, goals and motives that are diametrically opposed to those of the world. This included the actions of the disciples and all Christians within their groups. The purpose of being a Christian is not what service can believer extract, but rather what service can the believer give.

 

Jesus uses Himself as an example. With all His power, Jesus was willing to give Himself to, and for, all mankind. The term Jesus uses for a ransom for many has been theologized in great detail. Theories of atonement have been erected around what is in fact a statement of love and calling. One theory held that Jesus’ life was paid as a ransom to Satan, who then discovered he had bitten off more than he could chew. This is an unusual (and unfortunate) thought; that God had to buy off Satan. The implication is that God could not overcome Satan and therefore must buy him off. That implies that God and Satan are equal. If we accept that God had to resort to blackmailing Satan that would mean Satan is more powerful than God. This is absolutely not the case and is another case of Satan’s pride trying to make him equal to God.

 

A second theory is one that Gregory of Nyssa conceived. His idea was that God played a trick on Satan. The idea being that Satan somehow believed that by killing Jesus he could derail the plan of God. Once again this implies Satan was somehow equal to or better than God and God had to resort to trickery. This is not defensible Biblically or logically. Another view holds that God was not tricking Satan but rather Satan, due to his pride and egocentric personality, seriously thought he could derail God’s plan by killing Jesus. This view is much different than Gregory’s theory. In Gregory’s theory, the implication is God needed to trick Satan to redeem man. In the second there is no trickery by God. Satan’s pride leads him to try to destroy Jesus to derail God’s plan. The same pride that caused and causes Satan to rebel against God causes Satan to cause his own eternal exile from God and damnation.

 

A third theory from Gregory the Great was the idea that the incarnation was the divine strategy to catch the great deceiver. Christ was the bait. When the bait was dangled before Satan, he swallowed it and so was overcome forever. Peter the Lombard brings these ideas to their most bizarre conclusion. He said the cross was a mouse trap to catch the devil, baited with the blood of Christ.

 

These theories are interesting, but a simple reading of this passage makes it plain that Jesus is stating a fact and nothing else. Man’s rebellion against God was/is so great that only by the shedding of totally innocent blood could the slate be wiped clean. The only truly innocent blood was that of the Son of God. Satan had no choice, he did what he did out of hatred for God, all God’s creation and his own pride. Jesus did what He did out of love for God and love for God’s creation. Jesus had a choice and chose love. Satan had a choice and chose hate. Jesus’ statement was meant as an example of selfless love, the same kind the disciples were to have for each other and all of creation.

 

vs. 46 – 52

As Jesus and the disciples were walking toward Jerusalem they came to Jericho. Jericho was about 15 miles from Jerusalem and was where many the Temple priests had their homes. The law required all males twelve years of age and older, and living within 15 miles of Jerusalem, to attend the annual feast days at Jerusalem. Jesus was traveling to Jerusalem with a large crowd of persons also going there for the feast.

 

As the crowd was leaving the city a blind man (Bartimaeus) heard that Jesus was in the crowd and started calling to Him. Several people told the man to be quiet. The blind man ignored everyone and called even more loudly. Jesus instructed the man to be brought to him. The blind man was so eager to be healed that he ran to Jesus. Jesus asked Bartimaeus one simple question. What does he want? The answer is also simple; he wants to be able to see. Jesus’ immediate response to Bartimaeus’ is that his faith has healed him. Bartimaeus is healed and follows Jesus.

 

This incident relates a commonality in all the miracles related in the scriptures; persistence. Persistence comes with faith. Bartimaeus would not give up. He did not let decorum, society, peer pressure or what others felt was unseemly, stop him from calling out to Jesus. Bartimaeus’ response to Jesus calling for him was immediate. When Jesus called Bartimaeus came running. He came at the convenience of Jesus and the calling of Jesus, not at his own convenience. He knew exactly what he wanted. There was no ambivalence about his request. He wanted his sight. Bartimaeus had faith.  Even if his concept of Jesus was incomplete, he had faith and believed. The faith he had in Christ more than made up for his own incomplete understanding. He also had gratitude. Bartimaeus did not turn away after his healing. He followed Jesus. He finished with joy and loyalty.

 

MARK 11

vs. 1 – 11

Jesus has now come to the last part of His journey. It has been 3 ½ years since Jesus started His ministry. Now this part of His work is near completion. This was not Jesus’ first trip to Jerusalem. The first three Gospels can give the idea that this may have been the first and only trip. The Gospel of John often mentions Jesus in Jerusalem. There is no disagreement between the Gospels. They are also written in the form that the ancients used for biographies. Each writer told what was important to them. To get a balanced view all of the gospels must be read.

 

Since Jesus was in and out of Jerusalem much more than once He probably made many contacts. Going to Jerusalem was not a quick decision on the part of Jesus. He knew what He was going to do and what was going to happen. The disciples located and took the colt as instructed then returned to Jesus.

 

As we look at the incident of the colt, we see Jesus using a time-honored method to get His message across. If the people would not be moved by words, use actions. This action was a deliberate act of Jesus to proclaim He was the Messiah bringing salvation. We must not misunderstand the message Jesus was sending by His actions. He was bringing spiritual peace and salvation.

 

In order to understand Jesus’ message in relation to the law, prophets and prophesy, we need to go to the Zechariah 9: 9-13. Zachariah prophesies of the King coming gently and riding on a donkey. This is telling of a king of peace. A king bringing forgiveness and healing to the land comes on an ass. This is not a king of war for a king of war comes on a horse. When we look at the Book of Revelation, we see the heavenly beings that bring plagues and war riding on horses. This passage in Mark fits together with the passage in Isaiah 53, Isaiah 61, Isaiah 11, and John 4:18-19. In each the King of Peace came first, after that comes the King of the Judgment of God. Jesus was using the eastern custom of the King who came in peace riding on an ass. The king who came riding on a horse came in war. The people did not truly understand or want to accept the message Jesus was bringing. They wanted a conquering Messiah, despite what the prophets said would happen. As they had been for generations the people were thinking in terms of conquest.

 

The shout hosanna is presently misunderstood to mean praise. Hosanna is a simple translation of the Hebrew word "Hoshiya na!" meaning for "Save, please!" This word occurs in second Psalms 118:25. Over the centuries the phrase hoshiya na stopped being a cry for help. Instead it became a shout of hope and exultation. It used to mean, "Save, please!" But gradually it came to mean, "Salvation! Salvation! Salvation has come.” The people shouting Hosanna to Jesus were crying out to God to save His people. The people were crying for a physical salvation from their enemies, not necessarily a spiritual salvation.

 

After Jesus passed through the crowds He went to the temple. The passage states that since it was late, Jesus went out of the temple and proceeded to Bethany. He knew this was the last peaceful time he would see in the Temple until He returns at the end time. From this point forward events would move quickly to their conclusion. Many thoughts had to be running through His mind. What thoughts must He have had about this people He wanted to do so much for yet would call for His crucifixion? What were His thoughts of the coming torture and crucifixion?

 

vs. 12 – 26

As Jesus and the disciples were going to the temple Jesus was hungry and seeing a fig tree went to find out if it was bearing fruit. Arriving at the tree Jesus saw it had no fruit and cursed it. After cursing the tree, Jesus continued to the temple.

 

This story presents many difficulties. Why did Jesus curse a tree because it did not bear fruit out of season? The whole action seems unreasonable and totally unlike Jesus. It seems to commentators Jesus was using His miraculous powers for his own sake; something He never did. Some commentators say this event never happened and, to prove the divinity of Jesus, was added later by the writer of the Gospel. Other commentators think that Jesus was looking for green figs; unripe figs that were very unpleasant and never eaten. Others provide no explanation at all. The writer of Mark is too careful in what he is writing to include an obvious fabrication. There is no need to include the story if it never happened. The story must be interpreted within the context of the entire passage, what was happening at the time and the message Jesus brought.  

 

Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem when He came to a fig tree. The tree was on the road indicating it was wild with no owner therefore anyone who was hungry should be able to eat the figs to satisfy their hunger. When Jesus came to the tree that appeared to have figs it was bare. The tree just looked good but could not satisfy anyone’s hunger. The fact that figs were not yet in season does not bear on the fact that the tree appeared to be fruitful but was not. People living outside of the Middle East are not as familiar with fig trees as are the residents. There can be two harvests of figs.

“The miracle of our Lord (Mt 21:18-20; Mk 11:12,13,10,21) which occurred in the Passover season, about April, will be understood (as far as the natural phenomena are concerned) by the account given above of the fruiting of the fig-tree, as repeatedly observed by the present writer in the neighborhood of Jerusalem. When the young leaves are newly appearing, in April, every fig-tree which is going to bear fruit at all will have some taksh ("immature figs") upon it, even though "the time of figs" (Mk 11:13 the King James Version), i.e. of ordinary edible figs--either early or late crop--"was not yet." This taksh is not only eaten today, but it is sure evidence, even when it falls, that the tree bearing it is not barren.” (Net Bible)

 

Jesus cursing the tree was neither a random act nor an act to prove His power. He had no need to do either. The fig tree appeared as if it would have immature (but edible) figs (taksh). It did not. Because the tree had no taksh it was a sure sign there would be no edible figs at the fruit bearing time for regular figs. The fig tree was a representation of Israel, at least their leadership. They looked like they would be fruitful but were not. Perhaps worse, their lack of spiritual fruit indicates they will be barren in the future. Jesus cursing the fig tree was acknowledgement of the reality that the tree would not be bearing fruit at the appointed time. What is different is the fig tree withered and dies overnight instead of the period of time it would normally take. Jesus was making a statement about Israel, much as Hosea did many, many years earlier.    

“¹⁰ "When I found Israel, it was like finding grapes in the desert; when I saw your fathers, it was like seeing the early fruit on the fig tree. But when they came to Baal Peor, they consecrated themselves to that shameful idol and became as vile as the thing they loved.”  Hos 9:10 NIV

Jesus was on His way to be crucified by the efforts of those very leaders who were unfruitful, did not follow the Word of God and served the false gods of money, power, position, etc. As the fig tree withered

 

After Jesus reached Jerusalem and the temple area, He immediately begins to drive out the moneychangers. Mark makes this sound rather abrupt but the activities taking place in the Temple had been going on for many years. For years Jesus has seen this same buying and selling and the Temple administration and animal sellers taking advantage of the worshippers.  Here is the house of God, a place all people should be able to come and worship; a place to cast off the cares of the world and take refuge in the God’s love. The Temple was intended as a place people could come to worship and praise God. Now the Temple has become a place God’s people were being robbed by those to whom the Temple of God was only a way to make money.

 

The method of robbery was as follows: in order to fulfill the law of sacrifice a person must bring a dove. A dove bought outside the temple cost the normal working man approximately a day’s wages. The priest had to rule on the acceptability of the sacrifice. The dove purchased outside the temple was almost always found to have a blemish. This forced the worshipers to buy the sacrificial dove inside the temple where they were more costly. The profit went to the person running the scam with a part of the excess profits to the High Priest.

 

The second method of robbery came with the paying of the temple tax. This tax was equal to about two day’s wages per year per worshiper. The tax had to be paid in a particular kind of coinage, the shekel of the sanctuary. In order to obtain this sanctuary shekel a person had to go to a moneychanger in order to change their everyday money into the sanctuary shekels. If the worshipper had the exact amount of change, the transaction cost a person about 1/3 of a day’s wage. If the person did not have the exact change, which was most often the case, the transaction cost approximately 2/3 of the day’s wage. The profit went to the person who ran the scam, and the High Priest.

 

Jesus was not at all happy with the arrangement and showed his displeasure in the time-honored method of using a visual lesson; He whipped the moneychangers and animal sellers out of the Temple. This action did not sit well with the Temple rulers. Jesus was preaching and teaching a personal relationship with God. If Jesus kept doing this the high priests would not be able to control the people or retain their positions and profits. This elevated the problem of Jesus to their number one priority. Jesus was not taking issue with the temple tax or sacrifice as such. Jesus was taking issue with the inflated costs charged unnecessarily in order to make money for the high priest and his minions.

 

When Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the Temple area, He saw those making a profit from the worship of God and drove them out of the Temple. At the end of the day Jesus and the disciples went out of the city and again passed by the fig tree. This time the tree was completely withered, fruitless and useless. Some theologians claim the tree could not have been completely withered but rather the process had only started. The Bible states the tree was “withered from the roots.” This was unusual enough the disciples immediately saw what happened and Peter commented on the fact it was withered and the extent of the withering. It is interesting Peter said it was withered from its roots. The tree was withered from the base, its foundation, up, much like the Temple hierarchy.

 

Now we come back to the fig tree. If we look back at what has just happened in the Temple, the story makes sense. First, Jesus went to the fig tree to find food. The tree was in leaf, it looked good, Jesus was hungry. The tree was there to sustain life and Jesus rightly expected it to do so. The Temple priesthood were like the fig tree. They looked good. The people were hungry. The temple and priests were there to feed them. It was right for the people to expect spiritual nourishment. Just as Jesus was disappointed with the fruitless fig tree so the people were disappointed with the men serving God in the temple. Just as the tree withered and looked as useless for nourishment as it truly was, so the Temple priesthood would look as useless for providing spiritual nourishment as they truly were. Again, we must remember not all priests were part of the corrupt system.

 

There is another way to look at this story of the fig tree. In 2 Timothy 4:1 - 2 Paul tells Timothy to preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, renew and encourage with great patience and careful instruction. We humans like to judge what we feel is the appropriate time for particular actions (especially another person’s actions). Often, we hear someone say, or we ourselves say, not to do a certain thing, it is just not the right time. Our timing is not necessarily God’s timing. What we consider to be out of order or out of season may be just the right time in God’s mind. The decision is God’s, not ours. Our job is to listen to and obey the Holy Spirit.

 

The phrase about removing mountains was a common Jewish phrase. It was a vivid expression for removing difficulties and obstacles. If we have faith, sincere prayer to God will bring a solution to any problem. Having this kind of faith involves being willing to take everything to God in prayer and then the willingness to accept God’s answer.

 

The prayer of faith must be one of expectation. (Hebrews 11:1) We must truly believe that God will answer the prayer. Far too often our prayers are a formality, something we do without really thinking about content. We are taught to pray, but not to expect an answer. This leads to problems: one is not listening for an answer and therefore not hearing it. The second is when God provides the answer, we ignore Him and say it is due to circumstances or a coincidence. Why pray if an answer is not expected? Why talk with God without expecting a reply? To do so is wasting everyone’s time. Part of the reason we do not expect or listen/look for an answer is; if a person states God answered their prayer (especially audibly) that person is looked on with some suspicion about their mental state. We have broken the lines of communication with God. God loves us and want to communicate but often we keep the communication to a one-way communication only….us talking to God, not with God. Once more this is Satan tricking and encouraging us to not believe God and not have faith in God’s Word. The problem lies with us believing Satan and not God.

 

The prayer of faith must be one of love and charity. Far too often we forget that an intercessory prayer is often the most direct method to see the answer to our problems. It is a spiritual rule that we never see ourselves clearly until our attention is first fixed on God and our prayers for someone else. This cannot be a bitter, mean spirited or self-centered prayer of condemnation or envy. It must be prayed lovingly and honestly for another’s total physical and spiritual well-being. Notice this does not say to pray only for another Christian but rather all of God’s Creation.

 

vs. 27 – 33

As Jesus was walking in the temple a delegation from the Sanhedrin approached him. These men had probably witnessed Jesus clear the temple and posed what appeared to be a reasonable question. “By what authority do you do these things?” Who told Jesus He could disturb their way of life, making a living and worship? This question was asked not only because of what Jesus had just done but was also directed toward His actions since starting public ministry.

 

The delegation that approached Jesus appeared to be reasonable men asking a reasonable question. After all, they were not the ones who whipped people out of the Temple. Jesus read their hearts. He knew what motivated the question. Jesus cut through appearances and went to the heart of the matter.

 

Before we look at Jesus’ answer, we need to look at the motivation of the question. The delegation started out with the assumption they were the experts and, by virtue of their positions in society, permitted to judge Jesus. They were never in doubt about their motives or relationship to the religious authorities of the day. They were to protect the law from teachers like Jesus. God would never give any person the authority to create a disturbance in the temple, certainly not without first getting their permission. The intent of the delegation was to convince the people that Jesus was guilty of something, anything from being anti-government to blasphemy, and to remove Him before He caused more harm. To be fair we must recognize that the Israeli leaders were not just worried about their positions they were also concerned about the reaction of the Roman authorities. The last thing they wanted was a riot during Passover. Their concern came from their misunderstanding of the mission and message of Jesus.

 

Jesus, knowing their intentions, used a time-honored Jewish strategy and answered their question with a question. Jesus asked if John’s baptism was from heaven or from man. This put the delegation in a predicament worse than that in which they had tried to put Jesus. If they answered from God, Jesus could point to the fact that John recognized Him as the Messiah, therefore His authority came from God and why did the leaders not believe. If they answered the baptism of John came from man, then they may well have a riot on their hands. The people strongly believed John was a prophet, with the added distinction of being a recent martyr.  The delegation, not wanting to cause problems, can only answer that they did not know. By answering this way, they immediately abdicated any authority to compel an answer from Jesus. They admitted they were either ignorant of God’s workings, or that they did not have enough strength of their convictions to stand by them. In either case the initiative was lost and Jesus, by stating He would not answer them, was declaring the delegation from the Temple priests would not admit to the truth even if they did recognize it.

 

The passage does not condemn taking up offerings in church. At no time did Jesus condemn what the law required as far as the temple tax and sacrifice. What Jesus did condemn was the priesthood misusing the law for personal gain. Offerings must never be made a condition of attendance or forcing worshipers to give to the church instead of to God. Once again it is the intent, the state of the heart, that is important.

 

MARK 12

vs. 1 – 12

Although Jesus refuses to answer the delegation directly He does answer them indirectly by means of a parable. The parable is a familiar story to the people. By using the parable, Jesus brings to light the leaders’ motives for wanting Him killed. This is also a clear statement by Jesus that He is the Messiah. Jesus makes the statement in a way that the Jewish leaders cannot bring Him up on charges of heresy.

 

Analyzing the parable, we see the owner of the vineyard is God. The vineyard is the people of Israel. The tenants taking care of the vineyard are the spiritual leadership of Israel. The owner has provided everything a vineyard could possibly need to be prosperous. The servants that the owners sent are the prophets. The son referred to is the Messiah. In using this parable Jesus is sending the message that He is the son spoken of in the parable, therefore He is the Messiah.

 

The parable tells many things about God, Jesus and man. It tells us about the generosity of God.  The vineyard was state of the art for the time.  Everything that man could want to ensure an abundance of fruit was there. There is a direct relationship between this parable and the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2: 8 - 15. It also tells of the trust of God. The owner of the vineyard left and allowed the farmers to be in charge. The owner had faith in the farmers.  That faith and trust was violated. The reaction of the owner of the vineyard shows the patience of God.  The owner gave the renters many chances to pay, they turned away all of them. Here we see the love of God.  Even after the servants were killed, the owner sent his own son to make an accounting of the farmers. The owner still had faith in and love for the renters.  The son was also killed by the farmers. Eventually the owner’s patience ran out and now we see the justice and judgment of God.  After killing of the son, the patience of the owner ran out. He had the renters killed, which is what their actions show they were looking for from the owner.

 

Jesus was clear that He was the son, not a servant. There is a great difference between the two that was not missed by the leaders. Jesus has removed Himself from the succession of the prophets. Jesus is different.  Jesus is the last word, the final chance, for the leaders to return to God what is God’s. This parable also makes it quite clear Jesus knew he would be killed. This parable told the leaders He knew their plans and was ready to die, but they would have to accept the consequences for murdering Him. Jesus knew His would be the ultimate victory. Jesus knew that death is not the end of existence.

 

This parable also indicates the Jewish leaders thought the owner (God) was dead. This has a parallel in our time with the God is dead movement of the nineteen sixties and seventies (and continuing but in a more subtle manner). The farmers mistook love and patience for an inability to act or the death of the owner. If a person fails to accept the responsibility that comes with privilege, then both responsibility and privilege passes to another.

 

Jesus closes a parable with a quote from Psalm 118:22–23 (²² The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; ²³ the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. NIV). The Pharisees believe this Psalm was referring to the nation Israel. Jesus was saying their concept was shallow.  The rejection referred to Him, the Son of God. They rejected Him as being useless and unfit, yet He was and is the capstone of God’s complete plan of redemption for the world. The Israelites may not see it at this time but eventually they would. (A capstone is a finishing stone of a structure, the crowning achievement, point, element, or event. In the case of an arch the capstone is at the very top and holds the structure together and keeps it from falling down.)

 

The final verse of this passage tells us the leadership knew exactly what Jesus was saying. Once again, the leadership was afraid to do anything about Jesus. They were much more concerned about their positions than in defending what they consider to be the pure law of God.

 

vs. 13 – 17

After Jesus told the parable of the vineyard a group was sent from the Pharisees to try, once more, to trap Him. It can be easily imagined that after the delegation was made to look foolish by the parable, they decided to find a way to get Jesus into trouble with either the Roman authorities or the people. When the plan had been decided the best teachers and leaders, excluding the very top leaders (in an effort to avoid giving Jesus too much to legitimacy they did not want to become personally involved until the end), went to trap Jesus. By staying away from the controversy directly the top leaders can claim objectivity, even if they were anything but objective. (This is a well-used management tool for difficult problems. Always have a higher authority for middle management cite as a reference for their authority.) The “problem” of Jesus was elevated, and this delegation was a higher level of management than that which was sent earlier.  

 

An interesting side note is the cooperation of the Pharisees and the Herodians. The Pharisees were very concerned with obeying the Law, at least as they saw it. Their focus was on the minutia and not on the purpose of the Law. They were usually very nationalistic in a religious way. (They saw the Nation of Israel and the worship of God as inextricably bound together). The Herodians were primarily a political group that supported the rule of Herod and Rome. The religious focus of Israel was not a priority for them. Quite often the Herodians were in agreement with the Sadducees. (The Sadducees did not believe in resurrection.) The Pharisees and Herodians (and Sadducees) were bitter enemies and their cooperation here emphasizes the urgency both groups felt to remove Jesus.

 

The plan was to force Jesus to say that either the Romans were legitimate rulers, in which case He would lose all standing with the people, or, the Romans were not legitimate rulers in which case He would be arrested by the Romans and put to death for treason. These were the only two possible answers the leaders’ thought were possible. Either answer would result in Jesus being silenced and no longer a danger to them. From a strictly human point of view this was a good plan.  Their plan would seem to put them (the leaders) in a position where they could not lose.

 

The trap was baited with flattery by the delegation. The delegation addressed Jesus as a teacher and publicly recognized His integrity. They noted that Jesus was not swayed by position, power, popularity, etc. He looked at the heart of the individual and their motivation for their actions and words. The words of the delegation were designed for the audience, to demonstrate to the people they, the leaders, were really looking out for the people’s best interest. After the flattery the delegation asked Jesus a question that, on its face, seemed simple, honest and straightforward. “Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? ¹⁵Should we pay, or shouldn't we?" The question was a cleverly designed a trap with no way out, or so the leaders thought. Since the leaders did not recognize Jesus as the Son of God, they felt they were intellectually His superiors and could trap Him.

 

Before looking at the answer Jesus gave it is in order to look at the taxes involved. First, there was the ground tax. This consisted of 1/10 of all grain and 1/5 of all wine and food produced. Second was the income tax which amounted to one percent of a man’s income. Third was the poll tax. The poll tax amounted to one day’s pay per person per year. The Jews were not happy about paying these taxes.

 

Jesus sees through the delegation’s dissembling, dismisses the group’s attempts at flattery and answers their question in a way totally unexpected manner. First, He asked why they were trying to trap Him; so much for the surprise factor. Next Jesus asked to see a coin. After Jesus was given a coin, He then asked them whose picture was on the coin. Jesus then trapped them in their own trap. The delegation answered their own question by stating that Caesar's picture was on the coin. Jesus then told them the obvious, give to Caesar what belongs to him and give to God what belongs to God.

 

In order to have a clear understanding of just what was being said here we need to understand coins were viewed at that time. Coinage was a sign of legitimate power. When a person assumed leadership one of the first things they did was to mint coins with their image. A ruler’s control was measured by the area over which his coinage was considered valid currency. There is also the view that sense that because the coin had the ruler’s image on them they were, at least in some way, the ruler’s personal property.

 

With all of this being understood by the people of those times, in effect Jesus was saying; you rulers use the coins of Tiberius as legal tender, they have his image on them, so to your way of thinking they belong to him anyway, so give Tiberius what is already his. Jesus is telling them to admit the political and economic realities of the situation.

 

Jesus also tells them to give to God what already belongs to God’s. Recognize the reality of the spiritual world. Do not close out the reality of God just because you cannot readily perceive Him with the five physical senses and think He does not see what is happening. The leaders recognized the image of Tiberius on the coin but did not recognize the image of God on Jesus. or on mankind generally. The religious leaders of God’s chosen nation were more familiar with the temporal than they were of the spiritual things of the Holy, Eternal, Loving God. By his answer, Jesus really gave more legitimacy to the paying of taxes than what the leaders were taking from the people in the Temple. They are (grudgingly) giving Caesar what was his, but they were not giving God what was God’s and were effectively stealing from God’s people and God. There is a point at which the laws of the state and God can come in conflict. At this point of conflict, the Law of God holds precedence. The Law of God is eternal. The law of the state is temporal.

 

The very well laid plans of the leaders were in shambles. Jesus saw through their trap and answered both the question and made their hypocrisy evident to all. The wisdom and insight of Jesus amazed everyone.

 

vs. 18 – 27

After the question about taxes the Sadducees came asking a question concerning marriage after death. Since the Sadducees did not believe in resurrection this appears to be another attempt to trap Jesus. The question was based on the Jewish custom of a man marrying his brother’s childless widow in order that there would be children born. Any children born from that union would be considered the brother’s children and inherit the brother’s estate. The Sadducees went through a long, complicated story about seven brothers, the first brother died with his wife childless. The important part of the question is at the very end. The complicated story about the seven brothers was simply an attempt to muddy the waters and make question unanswerable. This question was different from the tax question in that it does not attempt to trap the person of Jesus but does attempt to disparage His doctrine.

 

What makes this interesting is the question was based on the idea that the resurrection is real, an idea which the Sadducees rejected. This makes their attempt to trap Jesus and their arrogant attitude painfully obvious, at least to Jesus. They did not directly question the doctrine of the resurrection but framed their question in such a way as to make fun of the idea of a resurrection. This is an approach taken by many who try to disprove the Holy Bible, the Trinity, etc. Quite often instead of openly stating their position they use an intellectual approach to try to hold the Bible, God, etc. up to ridicule. This is the approach the Sadducees took.   The Sadducees did not think Jesus would have an adequate answer and would show His inadequacy while supporting their position that there was/is no resurrection. As with the question about taxes Jesus’ response comes from a direction the Sadducees did not expect.

 

Jesus takes the initiative and very bluntly tells them they do not know (understand) the Scriptures or the power of God. These were the leaders of the people, the hierarchy of the Temple, one of the groups that claimed they knew and understand the Scriptures and God much better than the general population.  To this august group (at least by position and in their own minds) Jesus tells them, in front of the crowd, that they have no knowledge of the meaning of the Scripture or the power of God. Jesus then explains that once a person dies and is resurrected, they are like the angels, they are spiritual beings and there is no marriage.

 

Immediately after Jesus tells them they do not know what they are talking about, He verifies there is a resurrection. By saying this Jesus is telling them their entire theology, the basis of their belief system, is wrong. Jesus then validates there is a resurrection by referring to Moses and God’s words to Moses. His reference to God’s words to Moses indicate the Sadducees are in error. Jesus then tells them very bluntly they are in error. In fact, Jesus tells them they are badly mistaken. This is not a minor error but a serious error that can cause many problems for them and those they teach.

 

vs. 28 – 34

Jesus and the Temple priests were not operating in a vacuum. There was a large audience listening to every word they said and watching every action they took. The Pharisees and Sadducees wanted the audience. Their intention was to make Jesus look like He did not know the law or what He was talking about. Things did not work out as they planned.  Instead of making Jesus look foolish they made themselves look foolish.

 

Among the audience was a teacher of the law. He also had a question for Jesus, but his attitude was entirely different than that of the Temple priests. Knowing the teacher was not trying to trap Him but rather asked an honest question, Jesus answered the teacher’s question in detail. The question was not aimed at separating the commandments into two categories, which should be obeyed, and which can be ignored. All of the 10 Commandments come from God and are to be obeyed. The question is really aimed at determining which of the commandments (if any) is the basis of the other commandments. Jesus set the priorities of the 10 Commandments and the Law.  

 

Jesus answered that the one commandment that is the basis for all of the others, the most important, is “the Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”  This is very clear. First, we must know and believe that there is only one God. We must love God with all our heart and all of our being. There can be nothing else we love more than God. In this statement Jesus covers the emotions, intelligence, soul and physical being. Every part, every molecule of our beings must love God. If we do that there is no room for anything but God and His commandments. ³¹The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."  The teacher did not ask about the second most important commandment, but Jesus volunteered the information. These two commandments are inextricably bound together. It is impossible to love God and hate people.  

 

 “¹²So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”  (Matthew 7: 12 NIV) Many people quote this passage but few consider it in a proactive manner. We should not wait to see how others treat us to determine how we will treat them. We are to treat others with Christian love and behavior (action) at all times, including when we first meet and regardless of how others treat us. Everyone wants to be treated with love, respect and value, therefore that is how we must always treat others. This is a reinforcement of Matthew 5:38 – 42 and Luke 6:29. In both of these scriptures Jesus tells us if a person hits us on one cheek to turn the cheek.  

 

^“44But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? ⁴⁷And if you greet only your  brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? ⁴⁸Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” {Matthew 5: 44 – 48  NIV)

 

It is important to note that this passage Matthew ends with the instruction to “be perfect.” This was not a suggestion or a recommendation but a direct instruction to be perfect as the Heavenly Father is perfect. Quite often people quote this verse and then immediately put a disclaimer that no one can be perfect. This is not what Jesus states. Either we are wrong, or Jesus is wrong. Since Jesus is not wrong that means that those who say we cannot be perfect are wrong. In order to understand this scripture, we need to read verses 44 through 47 carefully and understand the context within which the statement was made. Jesus was instructing us to love one another. Not to love just those who are family or friends but those we do not know, the unlovely, those we do not like, those who cheat and steal from us, the poor, the rich, in short, everyone. Jesus’ instruction to be perfect has love at its core, its heart. The perfect is perfect in love, as is our Heavenly Father. How a person eats, looks, etc. does not have anything to do with being perfect. Operating in love, the love that flows from God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit has everything to do with being perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect.

 

vs. 35 – 44

After Jesus answered the questions of the Scribes, Sadducees and Pharisees He asks a question. We are not told if the question was addressed to any particular group or person. Since the listeners contained all three groups plus the common citizen the question may have been designed to show the teachers of the law were not able to answer His question. Jesus points out that the teachers of the law say that the Christ is the son of David. He questions how the teachers can say this based on David’s own words. Jesus makes it very clear that David was speaking as inspired by the Holy Spirit. This is very important because Jesus makes it clear that David’s words came from the Holy Spirit and by saying this Jesus is affirming the Trinity.

 

Jesus then shows that David called Christ his Lord. Now the question Jesus raises is: How can Christ be the son of David if David calls Him Lord. The term Lord indicates one in authority over the person addressing them as Lord. If Christ is simply the son of David, why would David call him Lord? The teachers of the law did not have an answer. Since the teachers of the law claimed to have full understanding of the law and held themselves in high esteem compared to the unlearned common citizen, not being able to answer Jesus delighted the other listeners. At last, here was a person more knowledgeable in the law than the teachers of the Law, and this person would be considered common and unlearned by those same teachers.

 

³⁸As He taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, ³⁹and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. ⁴⁰They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”

 

Jesus was teaching a group that contained Scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, priests, common citizens and other teachers. Jesus has already addressed the Scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees, He now addresses the teachers of the law. Jesus told the people to be careful of the teachers of the law. He specifically warns of their attitudes and their reason for, and approach to, being teachers. Everything Jesus describes about the teachers present an egocentric attitude. The teachers were proud of their positions and made sure others knew how important they were. They made sure they looked and acted pious in public. How they acted in private wan another manner. Jesus lets them know that their true motives, actions and thoughts are known to God. Because they did not teach or act in love, their outward actions would mean nothing to God, and they would be punished. Their punishment would be even greater because they claimed to represent God but did not act in accordance with God’s love.

 

⁴¹Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. ⁴²But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. ⁴³Calling his disciples to Him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you; this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. ⁴⁴They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

 

This scene is an interesting contrast to Jesus’ comments concerning teachers of the law. Jesus was watching people putting their offerings into the temple treasury. The rich people put in large amounts of money while a widow with very little money put in a very small amount of money. The purpose of Jesus was not to compare one person’s offering to another but rather to make a point about a person’s heart and attitude about giving. The woman had very little money but still gave. The amount she gave was far more as a percentage than those who had great wealth. She gave everything she had for food, shelter, etc.  

 

Mark 13

The thirteenth chapter of Mark talks about things to come. It is one of the more difficult chapters in Mark. The thirteenth chapter of Mark concentrates on the second coming of Christ. This chapter must be read with an understanding of the Jewish faith and the Old Testament. The Jews knew they were the chosen people. They knew they were chosen and protected by God, not by man. They had come to the realization that their place as the chosen people could only come by God’s intervention. That time of God’s intervention was and is known as the Day of the Lord. This does not mean it is a twenty-four-hour time period, but a period of time known as the Day of the Lord.

 

The thirteenth chapter of Mark is very similar to Matthew 24 and Luke 21. Although they are similar, they may document two different times Jesus talked about what was going to happen. In Luke, the place and time is given as in the temple when Jesus looked up and saw the rich men putting money into the treasury. (Luke 20:1 and Luke 21:1) Both Matthew and Mark are quite specific that Jesus went out of the temple to the Mount of Olives and sat looking on the temple complex.

 

There is also the possibility that the Matthew and Mark (who used Peter as a source) put more emphasis on the place than did Luke. It is also possible that the conversation started in the temple and, after the questions were asked, continued on the Mount of Olives. Whether Matthew and Mark are documenting the same event as Luke is not as important as the message, which is essentially the same. If these three accounts are for two different events, then the fact the content is the same verifies the consistency of Jesus’ message. Jesus never wavered from His message.

 

Many theologians and believers look at Mark 13 from three perspectives. Some look at this chapter and feel the prophecies referred to the Romans and what they did to the temple and the Jews. The second group feels that this chapter and its prophecies refer to the last days when Christ comes again. There is a third group that combines these two. They believe that there was an immediate partial fulfillment of the prophecies by the Romans. They also believe that the prophecies refer to the second coming of Christ. This section of commentary is written from this third point of view.

 

vs. 1 – 2

Before looking at this section it is good to review what went before the disciples made these comments concerning the temple. Jesus had been in the Temple teaching and answering the questions of the teachers of the Law. He brought to light and answered the intellectual traps the Pharisees, Sadducees and Herodians laid for Him. Jesus also warned the disciple about the teaching of these groups and, finally, made the point that giving from the heart is much more important than the amount given. After all of this, as they were leaving the Temple, the disciples look at the building and talk about the magnificence of the temple building. There is an emphasis on looking at what man had made in had accomplished and on the beauty, not on the reason for and purpose of, the Temple. The disciples’ comments seem to indicate they missed the purpose of Jesus’ teachings in the temple. Jesus now reinforces His teachings. He tells them that not one stone of the temple they are so in awe of will be left on another. This is very difficult for the disciples to comprehend. The same problem is evident throughout history, including our time. Man builds massive and often beautiful structures that reach far into the sky and think they will last forever. Over enough time everything deteriorates. Scientists have found that, given enough time, even gold and diamonds deteriorate and are corrupted. Jesus makes it very clear that only what God does lasts forever. The Temple building was not of primary importance, the reason for the temple, the worship of God was. The disciples needed to learn this lesson. It would be critical in their future work.

 

vs. 3 – 13

Jesus now goes to the Mount of Olives. From this vantage point Jesus was able to look down on the complete temple complex. Peter, James John and Andrew are with Jesus and they have some questions they want to ask Him in private. They want to know when all the things Jesus has been talking about will happen. Like most people, they desired a timetable, something they could work to. It is difficult for us to walk by faith, believing in what we cannot see physically. Jesus did not give them a timetable but again gives them a warning. He wants them to be very careful that no one deceives them. He warns them that many people will come in His name claiming they are the Christ, or they are the one that the believers must follow. Their rules for salvation are what must be followed and try to convince people that it takes more than belief and faith in the salvation of Christ. They will deceive many. Jesus also notes that when you hear of wars and rumors of warns not to be alarmed, these things will happen, but the end has not yet come. He states that states that nation will fight against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be natural disasters such as earthquakes and famines, but this is not the end, it is the beginning of the end. These show that the end is beginning but has not yet happened. It is a warning of what is to come so the believer will not be unprepared.

 

Jesus again warns them they must be on guard. True believers will be brought before judges, councils, churches, etc. to answer for their faith. Throughout history believers have had to constantly stand for their faith. The end will be no different. Christ also noted that the gospel must be preached to all nations first. That is not to say all the nations will believe, just that the Gospel must be preached to all nations before the end will happen. No one will have the excuse they did not hear the Gospel or have the opportunity to repent and accept Jesus as Savior.

 

Along with the warning, Jesus gives a promise. That promise being the Holy Spirit will tell us how to answer when we are brought before judges, councils, churches, etc. to give an answer for our hope and faith. That, despite being taken before various authorities, despite being beaten, harassed, lied about and badly used, the Spirit will always be with us. Jesus tells the disciples not to worry ahead of their appearance before authorities. The reason would seem to be worrying can be the result of less faith and, perhaps more importantly, takes time and energy that could be better used spreading the Gospel. There is also the tremendous emotional toll worry can take, a toll that can wear a person down and limit their effectiveness.

 

Jesus is very clear in His description of what will happen. He clearly states that believing in Him by standing up for Him will result in being ostracized by the majority of society. Almost everyone would turn against true Christians and even families would be torn apart.

 

Christians in our time tend to look for ways to get along with the world as a whole. We tend to judge the motives of other peoples, religions, and organizations from a Christian perspective. We tend to think the world operates from a spirit of love. This is not the case. The world likes to use the word love, but actually operates from a spirit of hate and chaos, from the spirit of Satan. In Mark 13 Jesus spends a lot of time clarifying that truly believing in and living for Him will cause us to be hated by the world. Verse 13 is critical. We need to remember this verse if we feel the world does not love us. ¹³All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. (NIV) It is a bitter pill to swallow, but if we truly preach, teach and live in accordance with the teachings of Christ, the world will not like us. This is seen throughout history.

 

Before closing this section, a few comments about the deceivers and heresies are in order. Heresies can (sometimes) come from people with a good intent but wanting to fit the scriptures to their particular paradigms and beliefs. Often, they take a section of the scriptures and build a theology around that one section instead of taking the scriptures as a whole. The scriptures do not disagree with each other. Paul told Timothy all Scripture is good for teaching, edifying, reproof etc. ¹⁶All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16 – 17 (NIV) One of the more prevalent heresies is that the law has been abolished. The Law has been fulfilled in the sacrifice of Christ. There is a great difference between these two perspectives. Some people state there is nothing left but grace and whatever we do is forgiven. In a certain sense this is correct. The problem is this heresy concludes that we could go on sinning because the more we sin the more opportunity there is for God’s Grace to work. This makes grace an excuse for sin. This is in direct contradiction to many Scriptures. John, in his gospel and the letters makes it very clear this is not the case. Jesus said to more than one person to “go, and sin no more.” (John 5:14; John 8:11)

 

Another heresy that is still quite common is a disbelief in the Trinity. This heresy believes that there were three separate and independent manifestations of God. The first manifestation was that of God as seen in the Old Testament. The next manifestation is that of Jesus. Once Jesus came then there was, according to the believers in this heresy, no more God the Father. The third manifestation is that of the Holy Spirit. Once Jesus died and rose again then that manifestation was done (completed) and the Holy Spirit became the final manifestation. This heresy is totally inconsistent with the Scriptures.

 

Not considered on the level of a heresy, but certainly not in accordance with the Gospels or letters, is the belief that the gifts of the Spirit and gifts of the ministry died with the original apostles. The scriptures are very clear that the gifts are given without any intention of being removed. Scriptures are very clear that the gifts were never taken away nor will they be taken away. (Romans 11:29 “²⁹for God's gifts and his call are irrevocable.” ). The gifts and callings of God are immutable and unalterable. Mankind may choose not to use the gifts and callings but that is mankind’s choice and not a result of God’s removing them.

 

Christ is consistently very clear that we must look at all of the Word of God. Christ did not come to abolish but to fulfill the law. Christ also made it very clear that He exists from the beginning and for all time with the Father and the Holy Spirit. The term “from the beginning” means from before the universes were created. The Trinity is a mystery. We do not understand. It is a matter of faith. Mankind will never understand the ways of God. We are not intended to understand all of the ways of God. We can search out, we can set forth theories, we can praise, but in the end, there must be faith. Faith is built on searching out, praying about, and continuously looking into the full Word of God; Old and New Testaments. Be careful of organizations that try to produce a religion which will suit people and be popular or attractive. Do not separate yourself from Christian fellowship. The fellowship of other Christians helps us to avoid the trap of just listening to ourselves and thinking we know everything. We must be careful not to become fixed on just one part of God’s Word. Finally, remember that Christianity is a matter of faith. Be careful of organizations claiming to be Christian yet try to replace Faith by intellectually based reasoning and ignoring or denigrating the Holy Bible.  

 

vs 14 – 27

It is important to remember this entire section is about Jesus speaking privately to a few of His disciples. Sometimes this important fact is missed and can cause the reader to misinterpret the context of Jesus’ words. He tells them how to recognize that the end of days are upon us. Although Jesus is talking to only a few of His disciples, His words indicate He is looking at a future time. Jesus does not tell them the day or the hour but does tell them what to look for as signs that the end is near, this is entirely consistent with other scriptures. (Matthew 24:43)

 

Jesus foretells the fall of Jerusalem. His warning was that people should leave the city in order to save themselves. What actually happened was people went into the city and were destroyed by the Romans. This is very similar to what happened in the time of Jeremiah, the prophet. In that case Jeremiah warned the people to leave the city and they would live but if they stayed, they would die when Babylon captured the city. This is also a message for the end time. Jesus is not talking only about the fall of Jerusalem. The reader must look at all of the scriptures, including what Jesus previously said. When Jesus talks about the Abomination of Desolation He is referring back to the book of Daniel. This happened, at least in part, with the fall of Jerusalem. It becomes quite clear in verses 20 through 27 that Jesus is also talking about the end time.

 

Based on lessons from history and what happened to the Jews and Jerusalem what appears to be places of safety may not be at all safe. Verse 20 tells us that unless God shortens the days of affliction no person would be saved. For the sake of the true believers in Christ, God will shorten those days. It is obvious from His descriptions and verses 19 through 27 that Jesus is looking in time at happenings far beyond the fall of Jerusalem. What happened at Jerusalem was horrific but was no worse than that which happened to other cities at the time. What was different was that it happened to Jerusalem, the   Holy City of God and the location of the Temple of God. What happens at the end of days will be far, far more severe than anything in all of man’s history to that point.

 

Jesus also warns us about people falsely claiming to be the savior. At the time of Jesus there were a number of people who claimed to be the savior. (That fact was one of the reasons the Jewish leadership had a group of scholars available to ask questions of those claiming to be the Messiah.) Jesus is quite clear that these people are not to be believed. False saviors and false prophets will arise at the end time. There will be miracles and wonders and unusual things the false prophets can and will do. These will be evident enough that even those who say miracles, signs and wonders stopped with the early church will be forced to take note and change their stance. The purpose of these false saviors and prophets is to deceive people, including Christians if possible, in order to keep them from being saved through the true Christ- Jesus.

 

Christ lets us know that He has warned us all of these things. The abomination that makes desolation must appear. This is referring to the vision given to Daniel. Once again there seems to be two fulfillments of the prophesy in Daniel. One has already come, and one is still to come. Some theologians think this prophesy was fulfilled once and for all time by Antiochus when he desecrated the altar in the Temple. This position is not consistent with the scriptures in either Mark or Daniel. Both places make it very clear that this prophecy is for the end times. In Daniel the messenger tells Daniel that the prophecy is for the far future, the end of time, and is to be sealed until then. (Daniel 8:26)

 

vs. 28 – 37

Jesus tells us to be watchful. He uses the fig tree as a lesson. We know by looking at the different plants and trees which season is coming. If we look at a tree and see its branches look tender and it is putting out leaves then we know summer is near. If we pay close attention to the scriptures, we will also know what spiritual season is coming. Jesus seems to have a double prophecy here. He is speaking about things that are coming to pass immediately (in their present time) as well as things that will happen in the future just before and during His return.

 

Some theologians contend that when Jesus said these things were to happen with “this generation” (meaning the generation alive at that time) Jesus was in error. Jesus was not in error. The things He spoke about happened within the generation that was alive at that time. Other theologians contend that it must be for His (meaning Jesus’) generation only since Jesus said no man, not even the angels or the Son, knows the day and the hour except the Father. These theologians feel that Jesus would know the day and the hour of His return.

 

In the first instance, these things did come to pass. Within 30 to 40 years the Romans had destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple. Jesus was not in error and the generation that co-existed with Him did not pass away before the prophecies were fulfilled in their sight. Second, people tend to misread and misunderstand (or misinterpret) the scriptures. Jesus is very clear that there are some things the Father keeps to Himself. At the time Jesus spoke these words He knew neither the date nor the hour. Jesus is also very clear that we can know the times and the seasons. Just as we can see what is coming in nature so we can see what is coming in the Spiritual world, that is the point of using the fig tree example. We are to be careful to keep our house, meaning our lives, in order. We must be careful to look at prophecy and scripture in order to be aware of the seasons. Where we are in prophesy. A fundamental part of being aware of the season we are in and the season we are coming to is to be knowledgeable in the full Gospel. For the early church their scriptures are what we know as the Old Testament.

 

We must be very careful of those who claim they have worked out the exact day and/or hour of Jesus’ return. We must be just as careful of those who say we cannot know the times or seasons. Based on the words of Jesus, both of those are in error. We cannot know the day or the hour, but it is incumbent upon us to be aware of the seasons. We can see it is coming if we know the scriptures.

 

Mark 14

vs. 01 – 02

The final days of Jesus’ time on earth are approaching. The first two verses of this chapter tell the thinking of the Jewish leadership. It is very clear they wanted Jesus dead. Since it was a requirement that every Jew within fifteen miles of Jerusalem must attend the feast, they knew that Jesus would be in Jerusalem during the feast of Passover. Because the leaders were concerned the people would riot, they did not want to take any action during the actual feast. The leadership was much more concerned with their position and Roman reaction than they were the Word of God.

 

The Passover is one of the three required feasts for the Jew. The Passover was significant due to its spiritual, historical and agricultural significance. Of the three, the spiritual significance was the most important. The Passover commemorated the deliverance of Israel from Egypt. God sent ten plagues upon Egypt in order to free the Israelites from bondage. In each case Pharaoh promised to let the Israelites go but then a reneged on his promise. The final plague was the death of the first born of every person cattle and sheep in Egypt, except for the Israelites.

 

In order to be safe from the death angel, God instructed the Israelites to sacrifice a lamb, the very best of the flock. They were to gather outside the house, take the blood and put it on the door posts and the lentil above the door. Once that was done the family was to go through the blood on the doorway and lentil, into the house and eat the lamb. With the lamb, they were to eat bread without leaven. When the death angel was the blood on the door posts and lentil the angel would pass over the house and the first born would not die. (Exodus 12)

 

The Passover was very important to the Jews. There were many preparations before the Passover. Passover’s meaning was explained and emphasized in the synagogues and its lessons taught daily in the schools. Nothing concerning the Passover was left to chance. No one would come in unprepared. In that day it was common to bury people beside the roads. If any pilgrim to the feast touched one of these wayside tombs they would have been in contact with a dead body. This would make them unclean and therefore unable to take part in the Passover. In order to keep this from happening, the tombs were whitewashed so they would be very visible, and the pilgrims could avoid them.

 

The number of pilgrims that might be in attendance during the Passover could be very large (some sources state three million or more). The potential for trouble with this large crowd was one of the reasons for the concern of the leadership. During the Passover emotions ran very high. This was especially true when the Jews were under the control of the Romans. The Romans were an occupying force and the Jews felt that they were in bondage to the Romans, which in fact they were. The Israelites were looking for a Messiah to deliver them, but they were looking for an earthly king, not a spiritual Messiah to deliver them from spiritual bondage. The Jewish authorities knew arresting Jesus could very well cause a riot. The people knew of the miracles Jesus performed and many people considered Him the Messiah. Arresting Jesus could start a riot resulting in the Romans putting it down by much bloodshed.

 

vs. 03 – 11

There could be a few reasons why the woman broke the flask and poured the entire contents on the head of Jesus. It was the custom in that time that if a glass was used by a distinguished guest it was a broken so that it would never be touched by the hands of a lesser person. More importantly, it was the custom to anoint the bodies of the dead. When this was done, the vessel used for the anointing ointment or perfume was broken and the pieces placed with the body in the tomb. Jesus’ comment that she did this for His burial indicates the latter was the case.

 

The first thought that seems to have occurred to more than one guest was that this was a waste of the money to buy the ointment. The ointment might have been sold for a large sum of money with the money given to the poor. They did what people usually do, they started talking about the woman in a negative manner. The King James Version says there were some at the meal who felt this way. We often single out Judas and think he is the only person who felt this way. That is not what the scriptures say, but Judas is the only person who betrayed Jesus.

 

Jesus tells everyone to leave the woman alone. Why were they giving her trouble? He makes it very clear she had done a good thing to Him. He now puts everyone’s priorities in order. They were saying that the ointment could have been sold for a lot of money and the money given to the poor. Jesus reminds them that there will always be poor people. They can and should help the poor at all times, but they will not always have Jesus physically with them.

 

There is now no question that Jesus knows He will be killed, and He does not intend to stop it. Jesus has always said He came as Savior for all of mankind, not just as a deliverer for the Jews. His words and actions this night confirmed His words. Judas, one of the twelve, now goes to the chief priests and proposes to betray Jesus. The motives behind Judas’ action are not clear. The disciples said (after the fact) that Judas was a thief and was embezzling money from their common purse. Theologians (especially in the present time) look for reasons that would justify Judas’ actions. In reality there is no possible justification. Like Pharaoh, Judas prepared himself for the role he played and suffered the consequences

 

Why did the other disciples not prevent Judas from going to the chief priest and betraying Jesus? The reason they did nothing was they did not know what he was doing. They probably assumed he was taking care of an errand for Jesus. Often the Scripture passage where Jesus said “the one who dips their bread with, he is the one who will betray me” is interpreted to mean all of the disciples heard what Jesus said. A careful reading of this passage will show that only John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, who repeated Jesus’ answer to Peter, heard what Jesus said. We may now ask why John and Peter did not stop Judas. Again, they may have not understood what Judas was doing, they just may not have had any idea how to react, or perhaps they did understand this was to fulfill prophecy.

 

Jesus knows He is going to the cross. He knows He will die in a most painful and the degrading manner. He is confident, He is in control. He recognizes what must be done. This is possible because Jesus knows He is doing God’s Will and God is in control.

 

vs. 12 – 16

Now we come to the feast of Passover. This was the first day of unleavened bread, the time when the Passover lamb was killed. Jesus’ disciples asked Him where they should go to prepare and eat the Passover. Jesus told two of the disciples they were to go into the city and meet a man carrying a vessel of water; they were to follow him. In the culture a man carrying water is in itself unusual. Normally women, not men, would be bearing water, therefore this man would stand out from the crowds. Jesus told the disciples that wherever the man went they were to follow and speak to the head of the house where he entered. They were to say to the head of the house that the Master asked where is the guest chamber where He, Jesus, could eat the Passover with His disciples. The man would show them a large upper room furnished and ready for the Passover supper. The two disciples were to make things ready for Jesus and the rest of the disciples.

 

What is sometimes missed in this passage is that Jesus had everything planned and ready. He knew exactly who the two disciples were to speak with and where the Passover supper would take place. This should not surprise us. Jesus would ensure things were ready. This fact was not missed by the disciples. Jesus did not leave things until the last minute. He had arranged everything from the very beginning through the very end.

 

The Passover was eaten by the family. There have been questions about why Jesus ate the Passover with His disciples. Why were the disciples not with their families and Jesus with his family? The point that is missed is that the disciples were in fact the family of Jesus. Jesus made the point many times that those who believe in Him were His family. This is a continuation of His teaching on that subject. Jesus did eat the Passover supper with His family. He ate with those who believed in Him.

 

There has also been some question as to the exact time Jesus ate this supper. Some theologians say this could not be the actual Passover supper but was a supper the day before that the Jesus and the disciples counted as a Passover supper. This is in clear contradiction to the scriptures. The gospels clearly state that Jesus and his disciples ate the Passover supper. When we look at this we must remember that the Jewish day started with an evening. An evening and a morning is one day. This is in agreement with Genesis and current practice in Israel. We must also remember there were two types of Sabbath to the Jews. The usual Sabbath was the seventh day of the week. There was also a second type of Sabbath. This Sabbath was considered a high holy day and may or may not occur on the seventh day of the week. This would be one of the feasts specified by God to be held each year. We can find these in the books of the Leviticus and Deuteronomy When we look at the events that happened during this period of time we must remember that both a high holy day Sabbath and a regular seventh day Sabbath are involved and they are not the same day.

 

Once the disciples were shown the upper room, they were to make ready for Jesus and the other disciples. This involves some preparation. First came to the ceremonial search for leaven. Before the Passover every least little bit of leaven had to be removed from the house. This was because the first Passover was eaten with unleavened bread. There was no time to wait for leaven to make the bread rise. God commanded that the Passover would always be celebrated with unleavened bread. There is also a spiritual lesson here. As the Jews carefully searched for and removed all leaven from their physical house so the believer must search out and, through the Holy Spirit, remove all sin from their spiritual house.

 

After the search for the leaven, on the afternoon before the Passover evening, came the sacrifice of the Passover lamb. Each family was to kill their own Lamb. In accordance with the commandment of God and the original Passover, the people took the blood of the slain lamb and put it on the door posts and above the door (the lentil). After putting the blood of the lamb on the door posts and lentil, everyone went into the place where they would eat the Passover. This resulted in the people passing through the blood and their first born would be passed over by the death angel.

 

There were specified actions and items that the disciples would need to prepare for the Passover meal. There was the lamb. There was the unleavened bread. These included a bowl of saltwater. There was a collection of bitter herbs. There was a paste mixture of apple’s, dates, pomegranates and nuts. There were also four cups of wine. All of these symbolized things that happened during the exodus from Egypt. The blood was to remind them of how they and their households had been protected when the death angel passed over Egypt. The unleavened bread reminded them of the bread they had eaten in haste when they escaped from slavery in Egypt. The bowl of saltwater was to remind them of the tears they had shed in Egypt and of the parting of the waters of the Red Sea. The bitter herbs were to remind them of their slavery in Egypt. The paste was to remind them of the bricks they were forced to make in Egypt and the four cups of wine were drunk during different stages of the meal to remind them of the four promises in Exodus 6.

 

vs. 17 – 21

Jesus and the disciples now go in to eat the Passover meal. It was the custom in the time of Jesus to eat in a reclining position. During the meal Jesus states that one of them will betray Him. Some of the disciples ask Jesus if it is them. Jesus answers that one of the twelve who dips his bread with Jesus is the person. There is some question concerning whether Jesus said this to the entire group of twelve, or just to one of the disciples. If we go to the Gospel of John (Chapter 13, vs. 21 – 26) we get more detail and the distinct impression that this was said to one disciple only. There was a disciple leaning on the breast of Jesus. This was the disciple Jesus loved. Simon Peter asked that disciple to ask Jesus who it was that would betray Him. Jesus answered to the disciple whom he loved, who then told Peter. When we look closely at the scriptures, we see the disciple whom Jesus loved was the Apostle John. The answer of Jesus gave was not necessarily intended for or heard by all of the disciples.

 

His next comments clearly show Jesus knew exactly what was happening and what was going to happen. He recognized that His death and resurrection were to be exactly as foretold in the prophecies. This included His betrayal. Jesus also stated that it was better for the person who would betray Him if that person not been born. The betrayal would happen as foretold and Judas was the person who prepared himself to be the betrayer. Jesus gave Judas every chance to change his mind including His comments at the Passover supper. Judas, as the rest of humanity, are without excuse.

 

We look at Judas and think what a terrible thing he did to betray Jesus. We must remember there are people in our time as well as all throughout history who have betrayed Jesus. Judas was not the last person to betray Christ. What Jesus said about Judas is also true of others who betray Jesus or put Him to open shame, it is better for them if they had not been born.

 

It would be good to look at some of the possibilities as to why Judas betrayed Christ. There have been a number of theories set forth as to why Judas betrayed Christ. There is the theory that Judas was a zealot and really thought he was fulfilling God’s Will. The thinking is that Judas wanted to force Christ to destroy the Roman occupiers and return Israel to its former glory. This theory has been used to try to justify the actions of Judas. The argument proposes Judas’ heart was in the right place although his actions were wrong. This is nonsense, illogical and certainly not in accordance with the facts. The actions of Judas show that he thought he was the person to determine what should happen, not God.  The betrayal of Christ by Judas clearly shows Judas felt he knew better than God or the Son of God what actions should occur and when. This is the same problem Satan had and has. It is a pride in self. Satan was proud and allowed that pride to stand between him and God. Satan felt in his heart that he knew best, not God. This same attitude and pride were in Judas. This pride is what caused Judas to betray Jesus. He may very well have felt he was doing the right thing. But that is only because he was not listening to God nor was his heart prepared to receive God’s Word. We must be careful we do not allow pride to come between us and God. Pride is egocentric and selfish; therefore it is not loving.

 

vs. 22 – 26

In order to understand what was happening here we must first know the sequential steps of the Passover meal. First, was the cup of the Kiddush. Kiddush means sanctification, separation, to be made Holy. Drinking the cup of the Kiddush separated this meal from all other meals. Second, was the firsthand washing. This was done by the person who was to celebrate the feast. The hand washing was performed three times. Third, a piece of parsley or lettuce was dipped in the bowl of saltwater and eaten. The parsley was symbolic of the hyssop used to put blood on the door posts and lintel. The salt was symbolic of the tears shed in Egypt and the water of the Red Sea.  Fourth, was the breaking of bread. On the table were three circles of unleavened bread. The middle circle was taken and broken and (at this point) only a small portion eaten. The bread was symbolic of the bread of affliction that the Israelites ate in Egypt. It was broken to remind those celebrating the Passover that slaves never had the whole loaf, but only bits and pieces.

 

Fifth, was the relating of the story of the Passover, of deliverance. The youngest person present had to ask what made this day different from all other days. Why was all of this being done? In reply the head of the house would tell the whole story of Israel through the great deliverance that came at Passover. In this instance, the questions would (probably) have been asked by John and the reply given by Jesus. The Passover is far more than ritual, it is a commemoration of the deliverance of the people of God by God.

 

Sixth, Psalms 113 and 114 were sung. These are the Hallel, the praise of God. Seventh, the second cup was drunk. This was the cup of Haggadah, the cup of explanation or proclaiming. Eighth, all of those present now washed their hands in preparation for the meal. Ninth, a grace was said. Tenth, bitter herbs were placed between the two circles of unleavened bread, they were dipped in the Charosheth and eaten. This was known as the sop and was a reminder of the slavery in Egypt and the work the Israelites were compelled to do while slaves. Eleventh was the meal. The entire lamb must be eaten without anything remaining. Anything that remained must be destroyed and not used for any other (common) meal. The twelfth, step was to wash the hands again. Next, (the thirteenth step) was the eating of the remainder of the unleavened bread.

 

The fourteenth, step was a prayer of thanksgiving. This prayer included a petition for the prophet Elijah to herald the Messiah. A third cup was now drunk. This was the cup of Thanksgiving. Step 15 was the reading of the second part of the Hallel, Psalms 115 through 118. The fourth cup was drunk and Psalm 136 (the great Hallel) was sung. Step 16 was the saying of two short prayers.

 

vs. 27 – 31

After the Psalm was sung, Jesus and the disciples (minus Judas) went to the Mount of Olives. Jesus knew what was about to happen and told the disciples they would all fall away from him. He said this based on a scripture with which they were all familiar. Peter immediately tells Jesus he will not fall away, all of the others may fall away but he, Peter, will not. Jesus tells Peter that before the cock crows twice he will deny Jesus three times. Peter insists (as did the others) that this will not happen. They will not deny Jesus.

 

As we look at this passage, we are immediately struck by the fact that Jesus absolutely knew what was to happen. Jesus knew He would die, be resurrected and go ahead of the disciples to Galilee. There was nothing for which Jesus was not prepared. It is a tremendous thing that knowing all that would happen, He had the love for us and courage to stay the course. He operated from a position of love, obedience and humility before God.

 

Peter is adamant in saying he will not deny Christ. This is consistent with Peter’s personality and is truly how he felt at the time. One problem is that he compares himself and his future actions to those of the other disciples. By saying the others may fall away but he will never fall away, Peter is placing himself above the other disciples. He is saying he is stronger, better than the other disciples. Peter may not have intended this meaning but that is the reality of his comments. Peter allowed pride to take over. He allowed his pride to make a rash and unloving statement. Jesus lets Peter know all humans, including Peter, are fallible. We all have our moments of weakness. Notice Jesus did not condemn either Peter of the other disciples but merely stated what would happen. Jesus knows we will be weak at times, but He understands, and His forgiveness is there waiting for when we repent.

 

We must recognize that Peter’s heart was in the right place. He truly loved Jesus (as did the other disciples) and could not conceive of denying Jesus. It can be better to have a bit of wildfire rather than no fire at all.

 

vs. 32 – 42

Now we come to a passage that is very difficult for Christians to read. In this passage we are looking at the very private and personal agony of Jesus. Jesus and his disciples came to Gethsemane and Jesus asked his disciples to sit while He went with Peter, James and John. He took Peter James and John with him and Jesus began to be in great distress. His mind was very troubled. He knew what was coming, His spirit and soul were in agony. He asks his three disciples to stay and watch while He went on a short distance and prayed. His prayer is heart wrenching. He prayed as we often pray. He asked God if it was possible that what was about to happen might not happen. He recognized God the Father could take away what was to happen. Jesus knew all things are possible with God. Jesus is looking at a terrible, agonizing death, humiliation, falling away of his friends, and ridicule by the Jews and their leadership. Jesus was very familiar with the agony of the cross. He was also familiar with the humiliation of the cross. Knowing this, Jesus still knew it was not what He wanted but what God wanted that was to be done. 

 

This passage makes a number of things clear. Jesus did not want to die. Jesus was a young man at this time, He was 33.5 years old. He knew there was much work left to be done. He submitted to the Will of God. Abba means father in Aramaic. The term abba is important in this passage. Jesus was not submitting to an uncaring God who was somewhere out there and not really concerned about the affairs of men. Jesus was submitting to God the Father. Even in this terrible time when this sacrifice had to be made, God is still Father. God cares deeply about each of us. John Wesley recognized this fact quite clearly. He noted that God, being the creator of everything, is truly concerned about everything. God is concerned about each individual person and part of His creation. That concern is the concern of love. God loves us. Jesus loves us. Because Jesus loves us, He was willing to put Himself second to the Will of God so that we could be saved.

 

Jesus came back from praying and found the three disciples asleep. He asked Peter, Simon are you sleeping? Could you not stay awake for one hour? Watch and pray unless you enter into some testing time, some temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Jesus was deeply disappointed at His closest disciples could not stay awake while He prayed. His comments to Peter were a small rebuke and a warning. Jesus used it as a teaching moment for both Peter and us. We must be watchful and pray in order to recognize and avoid the traps of Satan. In this case, it is especially important given the previous comments of Jesus that all of the disciples would fall away.

 

Once more Jesus left and went and prayed. He asked God if what He was about to go through could be taken away. Again, Jesus submitted His will to the Will of God. When Jesus returned, He again found the three disciples sleeping. We can guess Jesus woke them spoke to them about their sleeping. This is based on the scriptures’ comment that “they did not know how to answer Him.” Jesus left to pray one more time. When he came back the disciples were once again asleep. At this point Jesus told them they had rested enough the time had come. He was now to be betrayed into the hand of sinners. Judas the betrayer arrives with soldiers and Jesus goes to meet him. Again, Jesus is in total control.

 

There is a warning here for us also. Again, we must be watchful and in prayer lest Satan trick us. Our spirit can be quite willing to do all that is required, but our flesh is weak and can cause us to be spiritually asleep at times. We must be careful that this does not happen.

 

vs. 43 – 52

Jesus did not even complete what he was saying about the betrayer coming when Judas made his appearance. Judas came with a crowd of people with weapons (swords and clubs). They came from the chief priests, elders, and experts in the law. This was really a mob, a well-armed mob with the express intent of illegally arresting Jesus. Judas told the mob that the person and he kissed was the person they were to arrest. The mob knew quite well who Jesus was. They would recognize Him by sight, but Judas felt that they needed a definite sign so, in the confusion, they would not arrest the wrong person. (This may have pleased the chief priest and mob since they thought they could use Judas to wash their hands of guilt.) Judas chose a most ill-conceived sign to betray Jesus, a kiss. It was customary to greet a rabbi with a kiss. It showed respect and affection for a lofty teacher. The word used when Judas came and kissed Jesus to kiss as a lover kisses their beloved. Judas not only used a kiss as a sign but used a lover’s kiss. This is the most horrific part of this story and the action had to have been led by Satan as a sign of his disdain and hatred of Jesus.

 

Mark here tells a story that is not in the other Gospels. He tells the story about a young man who followed Jesus and became caught up in the events in the garden. The young man was covered only by a single linen garment. This is unusual in itself. Most people would go out dressed in more than just a linen garment. When the guards came to seize Jesus, they also tried to seize the young man. The young man escaped from their grasp and ran away naked. The guards were left with only his linen garment. The story was important enough to Mark for him to include it in his writings. The young man has never been positively identified, but many think it may have been Mark himself.

 

vs. 53 – 65

Now that the Temple Guards had Jesus in custody the Jewish religious/political leaders wanted to move quickly to assure His death. The Sanhedrin met (in unusual session that was not in accordance with Jewish law) in order to question Jesus and to look for some evidence they could use to put Him to death. They came up against a major problem. Although they had many witnesses none of the witnesses could agree on what Jesus said or did that, under Jewish religious law, deserved death. The reason for this was quite simple they were not telling the truth. This frustrated the High Priest and hid minions to no end. He led the Sanhedrin in breaking its own rules in order to kill Jesus and now even his hand-picked and coached “witnesses” could not provide a cause.  The High Priest finally asked Jesus to answer to what were obviously false charges. The High Priest wanted Jesus to condemn Himself.

 

The High Priest asked the one question that could provide him with a reason to condemn Jesus. The question he asked was a leading question, a type of question Jewish law forbid. No question might be asked that, by answering, might cause the accused to self-incriminate. The High Priest asked if Jesus was the Anointed One. Jesus answered that He was and that all of them would see Him sitting on the right hand of God. This was enough to cause the High Priest to rip his outer garments and declare Jesus had spoken blasphemy.

 

It is very interesting that the Jews were looking for the Messiah during the feast of Tabernacles. During this feast they built small rooftop sheds, facing east, looking for the coming of the Messiah. The Feast of Tabernacles gained more importance after the destruction of the First Temple.

“In the period following the destruction of the First Temple (586 B.C.E.), the frail and humble sukkah came to symbolize our national homeland and the Sanctuary which was laid waste. Since the destruction of the Second Temple (70 C.E.), our longing had deepened for the reestablishment of the Temple and national sovereignty. We are now celebrating our national sovereignty - Medinat Yisrael” (The state of Israel)

 

In that day will I raise up the tabernacle (sukkah) of David that is fallen down and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old. (Amos 9:11) Amos foresaw the coming of the Messiah and in the In the Grace said after meals during the Intermediate Days of the Festival, celebrants pray: "May the All Merciful One raise up for us the fallen tabernacle of David." Much of the feast deals with the coming of the Messiah as well as thanking God for the harvest. It is interesting that the feast thanking God for the harvest is the same feast where they looked for the Messiah. Jesus told those in the Temple that He was the living water. Jesus is the source of spiritual food and drink.

 

 Now Jesus, the eagerly and earnestly expected Messiah, has come and the Hebrews rejected Him. They rejected Jesus because He was not what they were expecting. Jesus’ agenda was not what they wanted. The Jews wanted a physical deliverance more than they wanted (or thought they needed) a spiritual deliverance. Jesus was not interested in political agendas or helping anyone gain power, He was interested in delivering His creation from Satan. The agenda of the Jews was much too small, narrow and self-serving.

 

There has been much written and discussed concerning the trial of Jesus. It has been argued that the Sanhedrin would not (or could not) have met in secret as described. The logic is that for them to do so would violate all of their rules. We can simply look around at the political machinations of any time-period (including the present day) to see that this type of thing happens quite often. It would not be difficult for the High Priest to arrange a special meeting of the Sanhedrin to deal with an emergency. (It would also not be difficult to ensure only those who supported his position to be told about the meeting.) The fact they were going against their own law would be justified in their minds by the urgency of the situation. They were very afraid concerned that Jesus would cause the Romans to take away their positions of power. They were also concerned that the Romans would destroy Jerusalem and persecute those believing in Judaism wherever they may reside. Their crucifixion of Jesus did not stop these from happening approximately 70 years later.

 

Throughout His arrest and trial, Jesus showed great confidence and courage. Jesus knew His mission and purpose. He knew His commission from God. Knowing His calling gave Him the confidence and courage to stand before the judges and answer as to His work and belief. Jesus promises the Holy Spirit will give us this same courage and confidence when we stand to answer for our belief and calling in God.

 

vs. 66 – 72

Now comes the well know story of Peter denying Jesus. Peter had been with Jesus in the garden at the arrest. Peter followed Jesus and stayed in the courtyard. Peter probably gained admittance via the Apostle John; whose family was well acquainted with the High Priest (John 18:15 – 16). It was a chilly night and Peter sat at the fire with his cloak around Him. As Peter sat there, he was recognized and pointed out as a follower of Jesus. Peter denied the allegations, but he did not leave the courtyard. The fact he came to the courtyard at all after cutting the ear of a servant of the High Priest shows great courage. That he stayed in the courtyard after being recognized shows more courage than many people would exhibit. As Peter sat there, he was recognized again and pointed out. Again, he denied knowing Jesus. The third time he was recognized he vehemently denied knowing Jesus and even called curses down on himself if he was lying. As soon as he said these things the cock crowed. Peter, realizing what he had done completely broke down.

 

Peter showed greater courage than would many people in his circumstance. He also gave way to stress and fear resulting in denying Jesus. Peter showed human weakness under very stressful circumstances and finally, he showed great love when he realized what he had done to his Lord and friend. There was great love shown by Jesus in his forgiving Peter. Jesus knows His creation. Jesus had already forgiven Peter. Jesus does the same for us.

 

Mark 15

vs. 01 – 05

Mark now moves to that morning. The chief priests now consulted with the elders, scribes and the entire council. This is an interesting statement and leads to the conclusion that the original meeting of the Sanhedrin may not have included all of the members. Could it be that the Chief Priest held an initial, closed door meeting, with the attendees being handpicked people he knew would vote in the manner he ordered? If this was the case, then the morning meeting of the Sanhedrin was a formality for show. The chief priest already had the votes needed to sentence Jesus to death. The arrest and humiliation of Jesus had already begun, and His fate already decided. The purpose of the full Sanhedrin meeting was to approve what was already done. There is some thought that this second meeting of the Sanhedrin did not include all of its members, thus assuring the Chief Priest would have a majority in attendance to condemn Jesus.

 

The Sanhedrin could have overruled the chief priest, they chose not to do so. Jesus was already arrested and tried. He had already been beaten severely. The High Priest had already declared Jesus had blasphemed. The Sanhedrin did not have the courage to stand up to the High Priest for an innocent person.

 

It is probable they did not take Jesus into the Sanhedrin bound. The Chief Priest would have wanted it to appear the Law being followed and would have removed Jesus’ bindings before bringing Him into the Sanhedrin. They now bind Jesus again so He can be taken to Pilate. The Jews did not have the authority to execute anyone and handing Jesus over to Pilate was necessary for the High Priest to have Jesus killed. The Romans kept execution authority for themselves.

 

The accusation the High Priest brought to Pilate was different than the accusation given to the Sanhedrin. Here, Jesus was accused of stating He was the King of the Jews. This would amount to treason against the Roman Empire; a crime punishable by death. In the case of treason, the death was by crucifixion. Pilate asks Jesus if He is the King of the Jews. Jesus’ only answer was that Pilate said so. Jesus neither confirmed nor denied the question. At this point, the Chief Priest’s handpicked group starts to level many different charges against Jesus. It is very possible the High Priest would not have been present. He would want to appear to be impartial. He would not want to be seen as leading the charge against Jesus. He wanted to people to think Jesus brought this on Himself and the Chief Priest was powerless to stop the proceedings. After all, Jesus had committed blasphemy and treason. Jesus had said He was the Son of Man. The problem (Jesus) was now in the hands of the Romans and to answer for His words and actions.

 

After the priests accused Jesus of crimes, Pilate asked Jesus again if He had no answer. Jesus did not reply. This was not the reaction Pilate expected. Pilate expected Jesus to put on a defense or at least a plea for His life. Jesus did neither. Pilate knew that the only accusation that mattered to Rome, and therefore him, was that of treason. Pilate also knew Jesus was aware of the punishment for treason. To present neither a defense nor plea for life was unheard of. Jesus had control of His fate, neither Pilate nor the priests. It is possible Pilate recognized this, at least more so than the Jewish leadership.

 

vs. 06 – 15

Every year, before Passover, a prisoner was released. The prisoner released would be one the people requested. The crowd asked Pilate to do as was his custom and release a prisoner. This Passover there was a prisoner named Barabbas waiting for punishment. We know very little about Barabbas other than what this short passage tells us. He was in prison for insurrection. He was one of a number of prisoners accused of murder resulting from their insurrection.

 

Pilate tried to take advantage of this custom to release Jesus. Pilate knew that Jesus was being accused out of envy, not because He had done wrong. The Jewish leaders stirred up the crowd to ask for Barabbas. The more Pilate tried to reason with the crowd and release Jesus the more the crowd shouted to release Barabbas. Pilate turns the decision over to the crowd. He asked them what he should do with Jesus, the one they called the King of the Jews. Pilate recognized the great difference between the welcome Jesus received when He entered Jerusalem a few days earlier and His reception now. The answer of the crowd was to crucify Jesus.

 

Their actions make character traits of the main players stand out very clearly, especially when compared to Jesus. That the Jewish leadership turned Jesus over to Pilate because of envy was clear, even to Pilate. There is the real possibility that the Jewish leadership feared Jesus. Although they accused Jesus of blasphemy, they knew who He truly is. The Jewish leaders and people condemned themselves, Jesus did not need to condemn them. This is true for all of humankind. We know our God and our Savior. When we reject Him, we condemn ourselves and try to rid ourselves of that guilt by blaming others, including God.

 

The actions of Pilate show cowardice and lack of confidence. He knew Jesus was innocent but was willing to crucify Him to keep the peace and, perhaps most importantly to him, his position of power. He also tried to remove the guilt for crucifying an innocent person from himself by placing that guilt on the crowd. The crowd also showed a lack of courage and confidence. They were all too willing to do what the Chief Priests instructed. It is thought that Pilate was also trying to move up in the Roman government and any trouble in Israel could easily keep that from happening. Allowing Jesus to be crucified did not help, Pilate was later recalled to Rome and his professional plans were stopped.

 

As already stated very little is known about Barabbas. He is a minor player in this drama and seems to be almost beside the point. If we read the Scriptures with more attention and, most importantly, prayer we begin to see some surprising facts. Jesus was accused of treason, insurrection. Barabbas was truly guilty of treason, insurrection. Jesus healed people and raised other from death back to life. Barrabas had in fact murdered people during the insurrection. Here we have the juxtaposition of a truly innocent man (Jesus) who did nothing but good for the Jews next to a truly guilty man who had done great harm to the Jews. The guilty person is set free and lives because the innocent person took his place. The choice given the Jews was the Son of God or the son of an earthly father (bar = son, abbas = father). Given how Jesus has arranged everything else this cannot be a coincidence and again sends the very consistent message of the Passover, the innocent Lamb is slain for the redeeming of the guilty.

 

All these actions stand out very clearly as the opposite of the actions of Jesus. The character traits exhibited by the chief priests, Pilate and the crowd were weakness, cowardice and a disregard for God’s Word. The actions of Jesus showed strength, courage, confidence and a commitment to do God’s will. The reason for the difference is in whom they served. Jesus was serving and following the directions of God. The chief priests, Pilate and the crowd were following Satan and his directions. Our world does not like to see things in black and white, but many times things are black and white. I am sure Pilate would have put a gray area of keeping the peace, the chief priests that it was better for one man to suffer and the crowds that they were just following their religious leaders. All of this can be distilled down to the question of who did each serve. Again, Jesus served God. The chief priests, Pilate and the crowd did not.

 

Pilate released Barrabas and sent Jesus to be severely flogged and crucified.

 

vs. 16 – 20

After Jesus was condemned to the cross He was turned over to the guards. He was rejected by the Jews, turned over to the Gentiles with a strong recommendation of crucifixion and was sentenced to the cross by the Gentiles. Jesus’ creation and people had turned away from Him. Now He was turned over to the guards as the cross was made ready.

 

The guards mocked Jesus. They abused Him physically, mentally and emotionally to amuse themselves. The crown of thorns would have been extremely painful. The sharp, thick thorns would have cut deeply into His scalp and face. The striking with a staff was a severe beating by veteran soldiers with thick pieces of wood. This, along with the crown of thorns would have contributed to blood loss, muscle bone and tissue damage and resulting physical weakness. The robe the soldiers put on Jesus to mock Him would have adhered to the blood covering Jesus. The action of taking it off would have caused great pain and the bleeding to restart.

 

The mocking may have been the most hurtful, at least emotionally. Here is the Son of God, the Creator and Ruler of the universe being mocked by His creation. This would have been an emotional pain far beyond what we endure. Jesus was taking on all of the sins of humanity while being mocked by that same humanity. It is now time for Jesus to carry His cross, the instrument of His death, to the place where He would be crucified.

 

vs. 21 – 32

The crucifixion happened at the third hour, approximately 9:00 am. Crucifixion was carried out as a ritual. The condemned was placed in a hollow square of four soldiers. At the front was a soldier carrying a board with the crime of the accused written on it. This board was affixed to the cross at the execution. This was not a short walk. The Romans used the longest route possible to reach Golgotha. They wanted to make the point to as many people as possible that anyone resisting Rome would meet the same fate. The road to Golgotha was long and winding.

 

Jesus had been beaten, tortured, abused and taunted. He would have had severe blood loss which would have weakened Him. He would have been required to carry the cross piece of the cross to the place of execution. This would be a heavy piece of rough-cut lumber. It was heavy and strong enough to support the weight of a man. This cross piece would have opened up the partially clotted wounds on Jesus’ back. In His weakened condition, the cross was too much for Jesus to carry.

 

The Romans occupied Jerusalem. As a conquering army, the soldiers were allowed to stop any citizen at any time and force them to carry a load or do other work. If a load was to be carried, the rule was the citizen could only carry it for one mile. At the end of that mile, the citizen could put the load down and the soldier would find another person to carry it.

 

A man named Simon was in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. He was not expecting anything unusual to happen. He saw the procession of Jesus and the guards and probably stopped to watch. Then he was forced to carry the cross of a condemned man. Being tapped on the shoulder was not the way he wanted to start the celebration of deliverance. Being from a foreign country Simon possibly did not know about Jesus. If he did know about Jesus, it would have been through conflicting rumors. What he did know was that Jesus was a condemned criminal and now he, Simon, had to carry the man’s cross.

 

When we read this section, we notice Simon is introduced as the father of Alexander and Rufus. This suggests that both of these gentlemen were known to the early Christian church. Could it be that Simon became a Christian? In Romans 16:13 Paul mentions Rufus and his mother. Could this be the same Rufus mentioned by Paul as being “eminent in the Lord”? We do not know for sure, but this passage suggests that Simon and his family accepted Jesus as their Savior.

 

Jesus finally came to the place of execution. Golgotha, the Place of the Skull. Jesus was offered wine mixed with myrrh by a group of women who came to every crucifixion to offer the condemned person this drugged wine to ease their pain. Jesus refused to take the wine. Jesus would have been placed on the cross piece and nails placed through either His hands or wrists. The crime would have been nailed above His head. The crossbeam, with Jesus on it, would then be hoisted onto the upright and laced into the socket prepared for it. This would be very painful. The nails through the flesh, the hoisting onto the upright and the shock of setting the crossbeam into place would be agonizing. The cross would not have been any higher than absolutely necessary. The point was to punish the criminal, not to cause work for the soldiers. This would have place Jesus slightly above the onlookers.

 

Jesus was crucified between two criminals. Here was the Son of God put to death between two criminals. They were guilty. He was not. This is a repeat of the message sent by the release of Barabbas. The soldiers divided the clothes of Jesus. The outer robe was one piece and dividing would have destroyed it. The soldiers rolled dice for it. Here is Jesus, dying on the cross, watching the soldiers playing dice for His clothes. His only earthly possessions were being divided and gambled away.

 

Part of the pain was the verbal abuse hurled on the condemned. This was especially true for Jesus. The main verbal abuse from the Jewish leaders was a challenge to Jesus to come down from the cross. They said if He could save others, He should be able to save Himself. They totally missed the purpose of Jesus. Jesus was not there to come down from the cross, but to conquer the cross. Jesus, by choice, stayed on the cross.

 

vs. 33 – 41

The sixth hour would be 12:00 pm and the ninth hour 3:00 pm. During this time the entire land was in darkness. There are a few possibilities. The darkness could have been a physical darkness in the middle of the day. This would signify something of tremendous importance happened and would get the attention of everyone. The darkness could have been a spiritual darkness as all of the sins of all of humanity throughout all the past, present and future were taken on by Jesus as He sacrificed His life as the Passover Lamb. More likely the darkness was both with the actual darkness being the visual manifestation of the spiritual darkness of humanity.

 

At the end of the three hours of darkness Jesus cries out to God in physical, spiritual and emotional anguish asking why God had forsaken Him. We must remember Jesus had just taken on all the sins of all humanity for all times. God, being totally Holy, cannot abide sin and Jesus, being without sin, had our sins on Him therefore Jesus no longer felt God’s presence. Despite knowing what God was doing Jesus still suffered as a man and as the Son of God and cried out for God.

 

Misunderstanding the words of Jesus, some of those watching thought He was crying out for Elijah. Ever true to form some of the people again waited for Jesus to ‘prove’ Himself by Elijah coming and taking Him off the cross. Immediately after Jesus cried out to God He made a loud cry and took His last breath. Was last cry of Jesus one of anguish, as when he asked God why God had forsaken Him, or an exultant cry of victory?

 

As soon as Jesus died the Curtain in the temple that separated the Holiest of Holies from the rest of the temple was torn in half. The Holiest of Holies was not to be entered or seen by anyone except the High Priest. God instructed the curtain to be installed in order to keep others out of the Holiest of Holies. This was for the people’s sake since anyone entering the Holiest of Holies and coming into the presence of God other than the High Priest, at the appointed times, would die. The curtain being torn in two indicated that, with the sacrifice of Jesus anyone who believed in Christ could enter into God’s Holiest of Holies.

 

The death of Jesus was dramatic. His actions during the trial and on the cross are different than any other crucified person and the physical environment was so unusual that even the hardened centurion recognized Jesus as the Son of God. Once again, we see a visual comparison. This time the comparison is between the Jewish priests and the centurion. The Jewish priests were well versed in the law of God, were waiting and looking for the Messiah h and were considered to be believers. The centurion was a battle-hardened pagan who was brutalized by battle and crucifixions. The Jewish priests should have recognized Jesus as the Son of God and did not. The centurion had no reason to recognize Jesus as the Son of God, yet he did. This is another visual sending of the message of Christ. It may also be a practical application of the first shall be last and the last shall be first.

 

Mark tells us that Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Jesus and James and Salome as well as other women were at the crucifixion. These women had cared for Jesus since the start of His ministry and were with Him at His crucifixion. With the exception of John, we are not told if any of the apostles were at the crucifixion. (John 19:25 – 30) They may have been there and just not mentioned or it may have been too dangerous for them to be at the crucifixion.    

 

vs. 42 – 47

It is important to understand that this the day before the Passover Sabbath, not the usual 6:00pm Friday to 6:00pm weekly Saturday Sabbath. This is critical to understanding when Jesus was laid in the tomb and when He rose from the dead.  We must also keep in mind that the Jews had a habit of combining one day with part of another day and call it one day. This makes fixing the exact timing of crucifixion and resurrection problematic. In Matthew 12:39 – 40 ³⁹He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. ⁴⁰For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. NIV) Jesus makes it plain that the sign that He is the Son of God.

 

Jesus has been crucified and died. Joseph of Arimathea goes to Pilate and asks to be allowed to take possession of the body of Jesus. This was an extremely courageous thing to do. Joseph was a member of the Jewish Council and to openly ask for the body of Christ was to put his career and perhaps life in jeopardy. When Joseph asked for Jesus’ body Pilate was surprised that He was already dead. The majority of the time the person crucified would last many hours and sometimes days before finally dying. The quickness (from Pilate’s perspective) of Jesus’ death was unusual enough that Pilate verified it with the Centurion in charge of the crucifixion. Once verified, Pilate gave Jesus’ body to Joseph.

 

Once Joseph has the body of Jesus, he purchased linen cloth and wrapped the body of Jesus before laying the body in the tomb Joseph had built for himself. Due to the time frame between the death of Jesus and the start of Passover the followers of Jesus were not able to prepare His body for burial. The linen wrapping was the only preparation made before placing Him in the tomb. The tomb Joseph had prepared for himself and now was used by Jesus had a very large stone used as a door. The stone was large enough that it would take a number of people to move it. This stone was intended to keep grave robbers out and was intentionally made very difficult to move.

 

The three women followed Joseph in order to see where Jesus was laid with the intention of coming back after the weekly Sabbath to anoint His body for death.

 

MARK 16

vs. 01

¹When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body.

 

Here we have Mary Magdalene (some think she was the sister of Lazarus), Mary the mother of Jesus and James as well as Salome going to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus. She was (as were the others) fully convinced He was dead. Since Jesus had been crucified and taken down from the cross late in the day there was no time to anoint the body before entombment, as would normally be done. The three women were coming to anoint Jesus’ body after-the-fact.

 

vs. 02 - 03

Due to the changes in the Gentile calendars it is impossible to determine the exact day on which Jesus was crucified. This is where the difference between a Holy Day (weekly Sabbath) and High Holy Day (special Sabbath as for the Passover, etc.) becomes important. If we work backward (using the terms and structure of our present week) from the day the women came to the tomb we can arrive at a probable answer.

 

Mark 16:2 tells us ²Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb ³and they asked each other, "Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?" This would be the usual weekly Sabbath, 6:00 pm Friday to 6:00 pm Saturday. This would place to women going to the tomb sometime Sunday morning. In Genesis 1:5 God creates the Earth and when He is complete with each part “ ⁵God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.” (NIV)

 

This theme of an evening and a morning make one 24-hour time period is consistent throughout the creation story. The cycle always goes from darkness to light. First there was chaos and then God brought order out of the chaos. Then there was the darkness of night followed by the light of day. There was the darkness of the time before Christ (lit only by the Hebrews, God’s chosen people) and the salvation through the death and resurrection of Christ. Finally, there is time we are living between the first coming of Christ, the Son of God and the second coming when everything will be restored to God’s original plan.

 

Looking at these two passages together with the crucifixion and resurrection we can conclude the day of Jesus was nailed to the cross. First Jesus was very clear in Matthew 12: 39 to 40 that the sign they were looking for would be Jonah. As Jonah was in the belly of the great fish prepared for him be three days and three nights so Jesus would be three days and nights in the grave. The women came to the tomb early Sunday morning, as soon as they could after the regular Sabbath. If we work backward, we go from 6:00 pm Saturday to 6:00 pm Friday (the weekly Sabbath); the second day would be 6:00 pm Friday to 6:00 pm Thursday; the third day would be 6:00 pm Thursday to 6:00 pm Wednesday. This would fit in very well with the fact that Jesus was crucified at the 6^th hour (12:00 pm) and dies at the 9^th hour (3:00 pm) the day before the High Holy Day of special Sabbath.

 

vs. 04 – 08

Getting back to the ladies at the tomb, as they were walking to the tomb, they were wrestling with the problem of the stone doorway: Who would roll it out of the way for them? When they reached the tomb, they were surprised to see the stone already away and the tomb open. They went into the tomb and, instead of the body of Jesus they saw a young man sitting on the right side of the place where Jesus’ body had been laid. This was quite a shock to the women, and they were understandably alarmed. Where was the body of Jesus? Had someone taken His body? The young man assured them there was no need for alarm. His statement that they were looking for Jesus who was crucified would give the women assurance that he was sent to give them a message. The man then told the three that Jesus had risen; He was no longer in the tomb. He was no longer dead. The facts were irrefutable Jesus was not where they laid Him after His death on the cross.

 

vs. 09 - 13

After three nights and three days Jesus rose from the tomb, just as He said. The first-person Jesus appeared to was Mary Magdalene, a person from whom He had cast out seven demons. Jesus did not appear first to the disciples or Jewish leaders. His choice for His first appearance as the Risen Savior was to a woman, a woman who had been possessed by seven demons when Jesus first met her. In that culture choosing to appear first to a woman would be unusual. In Israel women held a higher status than did women in the rest of the civilized world at that time, but the culture was still one where men, the breadwinners, were considered primary and women secondary. The message appears to be that Jesus does not place any one group of people, gender or individual above another.

 

Mary immediately went to tell the disciples the great news. She went to a group who were weeping and grief stricken due to the death of their leader, rabbi and person they had faith was the Messiah. Mary comes to this group with the great news that Jesus was alive. Even though they had witnessed Jesus perform many and great miracles (including raising some from death, this was something outside of their experience. Death was final with no reprieve, yet this woman was telling them Jesus had appeared to her and He was alive. This was just not believable in their experience and paradigms.

 

Their disbelief was not limited to Mary because Mary was female. Jesus later appeared to two other disciples who were walking. These two are the two Luke described as on their way to Emmaus. These two also reported to the others that Jesus was alive and had appeared to them. They also were not believed.

 

vs. 14 - 20

Now Jesus appears to the remaining eleven apostles. Jesus appears to them while they are eating. This is not just a random or coincidental appearance. Jesus appears while they are eating for a reason. The first thing Jesus does is rebuke the eleven for refusing to believe He was risen. More than once Jesus had said He was the bread of life and the living water. Now when they were partaking of earthly food Jesus, the spiritual food, appears to them.

 

After rebuking the eleven gives them their commission, their life’s work. Their work is to preach the good news of salvation to all of creation. The decision of the listeners is to either believe or not believe, the results of both decisions are made clear. Jesus then was taken bodily up to Heaven and seated at the right hand of God. The apostles no longer and any doubts about who Jesus is or their work. Far from hiding they now preached openly and wherever possible. The truth of their message of salvation was confirmed by the signs and miracles that came with the message.

 

References:

James Kirkpatrick, Sunday School Lesson, 01/04/04, First Presbyterian Church, Johnson City, TN.

Origins of the Word 'Hell' Retrieved May 10, 2009 from

http://www.heavendwellers.com/hd_origins_of_the_word_hell.htm

Bible Study Group, 05/2009, Jonesboro U.M. Church, Jonesborough, TN

HOSANNA Retrieved May 22, 2009 from

http://www.soundofgrace.com/piper83/032783e.htm

NET BIBLE Retrieved September 28, 2009 from

http://net.bible.org/dictionary.php?word=Fig,%20Fig-Tree

http://www.allaboutjesuschrist.org/Gospel-Of-Mark.htm    retrieved 8/8/2014

http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/texts/mark.htm  retrieved 8/8/2014

http://christianity.about.com/od/newtestamentbooks/qt/gospelmarkintro.htm  retrieved multiple times

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09674b.htm  retrieved multiple times

http://www.christianinconnect.com/mark.htm  retrieved multiple times

https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/ransom-for-many/toc/  retrieved multiple times

Bible Study Group, Jonesborough Sr. Center, Jonesborough, TN

Holy Bible, New International Version; King James Version

Naves Topical Bible

Barclays Commentary

 

 

Is there a difference between understanding intellectually that Jesus rose from the dead and believing it in your heart?

What is the difference between the two?

What difference does it make in the actions of our lives?

What is your general reaction to, take on, the Gospel of Mark?