Study of Mark Chapters 1-5

MARK

A Gospel to Grow On

By

A Christian Servant

Tony Smith

Copyright 2014 by John Anthony Smith
All Rights Reserved

INTRODUCTION

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, 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 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.

All Scriptures are from the New King James Version (Public Domain) of the Holy Bible unless otherwise noted.

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 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 then 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 then, 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 hair. This was new to the Israelites of that time. A visual lesson for everyone. His was considered an unusual lifestyle.

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, 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 also 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 Jesus the Christ. 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 us 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.

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. 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. This action teaches us a very important lesson; if Jesus knew the need to and value of prayer how much more should we. Christ knew He could not live without ongoing communication with God and was never, never too busy to take the time to pray.

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. 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 did offer them the touch and love from the Lord they needed?

(Note: Some of the conditions called leprosy were highly contagious while some were not always the terrible, disfiguring disease we know of today as Hansen’s Disease. In this case, we do not know what kind of disease the man had. What we do know is the condition was serious enough he came to Jesus for help and Jesus healed him.)

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.