January 31, 2014: Mark Chapter 5

 The Gospel According to Mark Chapter 5

Wednesday, February 13, 2008 

General Comment: Immediately - to use one of Mark's favorite words, we notice that Mark's original of the first story is almost three times longer than Matthew's. Matthew has moved the scene from Gerasa, 37 miles inland, to Gadara which has territory near the seacoast. Matthew has doubled the number of demon possessed men and has taken out most of the verses describing the man and his conversation with Jesus. Therefore, we do not get the sense of this man's fear, agony and feeling of sheer helplessness and the despondency of being in the grip of so many demons. If this were a novel, we would call that character development.

Jesus and his disciples are in Gentile territory near the southeast shore of the Sea of Galilee. Gerasa was one of the 10 cities of the Decapolis (deca = 10; polis = city), settled mostly by Greeks but under Roman control. The Roman Tenth Legion, whose Standard symbol was the boar (wild male swine), was stationed in this area.  A typical Legion would be 6,000 men at arms plus cavalry and auxiliaries. The designation as Legion can also be used for a battalion of 2048 soldiers, a number close to the 2,000 swine in this story. The name of the city, Gerasa, is from the word meaning "to banish" which was used to describe the exorcism of demons.

Mark Chapter 5:1-20 The Gerasene Demoniac [MT 8:28-34]

Imagine being with Jesus and his disciples as they leave the boat and make their way to Gerasa. You are in Gentile territory; there will be the occasional Roman patrol from the Tenth Legion on the road; Greek traders and their wagons will be hauling goods to and from the shore. You will be eyed suspiciously as a foreigner from the other side of the sea. As you approach the city there will be cemeteries outside the city on either side of the road. Large tombs are cut into the rock, some of them with open fronts, high enough to walk into and stand erect. As you pass by one of the cemeteries, you hear loud howling like a wounded dog. You don't want to look at the cemetery, afraid that its uncleanness will send its evil air toward you. But the sound is so frightening yet pitiful that you have to look. There he is, coming toward you, this hideous looking man with a face twisted, mouth drooling, his body bruised, wrists and ankles showing the cuts from the remnants of chains and shackles. 

The mad man sees Jesus and runs toward him as if to leap upon him like a lion on its prey. But he stops just short of Jesus who is standing still with his eyes intently fixed upon this spectacle whose humanity has been stripped from him by what gnawed on his soul. The man bows before Jesus and in a barely understandable voice screams out Jesus name. Whatever evil holds him senses something, some holy presence in Jesus. He calls him Son of the Most High God, as if he were the son of the god Zeus. The man is overcome with the fear of his own destruction.  He begs Jesus not to torment him, as if he could possibly be any more tormented than he is.

Jesus commands the demon to come out of the man. He asks him his name. It is Legion, as if he can feel the oppression and hear the shouting of an entire Legion of occupiers within his screaming mind. The man's lips move but the demons' collective voice begs Jesus not to send them away from their familiar haunts. Send them to that herd of swine on the hillside, they beg. Jesus did as they wished and so this collective force, born of all the many tentacles of crushing hopelessness, fear, depression and the sense of worthlessness that can assail the human psyche, flees the man. The chaos that once reigned finds its own ruin in the chaos of the sea.

The man has been made whole. Townspeople come from the towns and villages to see him. He is washed, clothed, sitting quietly and in his own right mind. No inner voices. No self mutilation. No thrashing about. Quiet. The people are afraid of Jesus. What manner of god is this, they wonder. Is he an evil power that has destroyed a lesser evil? In their fear of the unknown they beg Jesus to leave and to take all his friends with him. Jesus does not stay where he is not wanted. He returns to the shore, followed by the man who asks him if he may go with him. He has made a discovery in his wholeness. His mind had been torn to shreds by the demonic experience. Now his mind is whole once more and with the first chance he has to make a clear decision it is to follow this man from across the sea who has put him back together again. But Jesus sees a better possibility and tells him to go to his house, to his family and to his friends. Let them see what  God has done for him and what mercy God has shown him. And the man does this and more, proclaiming throughout the Gentile Decapolis what Jesus has done for him.

A man once riddled with more internal anguish than we can imagine, is made whole, reconciled with family and friends. In his pain, he did not run from Jesus. With hope from outside himself, he came to him. When life itself had failed him, he found this one who just might hold life in his hand. He came to Jesus and Jesus gave him life, a new life that could not keep quiet what God had wrought this day.

Mark Chapter 5:21-43 Jarius' Daughter and a Woman's Faith  [MT 9:18-26]

When Jesus reached the western shore the crowd was waiting for him. The crowd parted as if someone important was passing through. It was Jarius', one of the rulers of the Synagogue and he was important. Jarius knelt before Jesus begging him to come with him to his home where his little daughter lay near death. If only Jesus will come, place his hands on her, she will be well. Jarius has seen it happen. Even in his own Synagogue, he had stood apart from the antagonism of the Pharisees and marveled at what he saw. He knew it was possible. His faith told him so.

Jesus was back from a long journey. He was worn out and needed rest. But how do you deny a man's faith and say no to the life of a little girl? He cannot. He will not. Jesus left the crowd and walked with Jarius toward his home. On the way, with the crowd he thought he had left behind following them, a woman reached out and pulled on the edge of his robe. It was enough of a tug that Jesus turned around and asked who had pulled on his robe, and why. He had developed a keen sense of the moment during his travels. Sometimes small things had big meanings and he had learned to pay attention to whatever sign was there to see. The disciples were in a hurry to reach Jarius' home. There was a little girl waiting there for Jesus. The woman had been ill with a hemorrhage that just wouldn't stop and she had become ritually unclean as a result. She should be at home, away from everyone else. She had suffered for twelve years now, and no matter how much money she spent no one could help her. She had heard about Jesus and thought to herself that if she could touch his robe, that would  surely be enough, and it was. But now she had been discovered and with fear she came to Jesus and admitted to him what she had done and why she had done it. With the kindest of compassion and respect, he addressed her as daughter - for she, too, was a daughter of Abraham, and he told her to go in peace for her faith had made her well.

In the midst of all this Jarius was told by some friends who had been with his daughter that she had died, that Jesus was no longer needed. Jesus heard them talking but ignored them, quietly telling Jarius not to be afraid, but to let the faith that had brought him thus far guide him further. At Jarius' home Jesus sees the commotion. He tells them that the girl has not died. She is only sleeping, and he then put everyone outside. With Jarius and his wife he took Peter, James and John (the pillars of the church as Paul called them) and went into the little girls room. She was just asleep he had said to the crowd. Jesus took the girl by the hand and spoke to her. "Little girl, to you I say, arise. Rise up." The girl, who we now know is twelve years old - born in the year when the woman with the hemorrhage became ill, got up and walked around.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________  Mark has given us three stories. A mentally ill Gentile, freed from the forces that are destroying him, is restored to his family and friends and becomes a follower of Jesus and proclaimer of the Good News among the Gentiles. A woman who has been sick for twelve years, stricken by a disease that has shut her off from family and neighbors alike because she is ritually unclean is healed and restored to her family and community. A twelve year girl is believed to be dead - the greatest  of all separations from a loving family, but Jesus speaks to her and she rises from her  bed, walks and has something to eat. For Mark there is no debate about the miraculous. There is no rationalization about psychosomatic illnesses or comas. There is Jesus, and there is restoration. This is the theme of the Kingdom of God, when all things will be made right, and all people will be made whole. The man of Gerasa, the woman with the hemorrhage, the little girl at death's door or beyond, are images of the future when God's awaited Reign begins. They are the promises to a suffering Christian community.

By the time Mark's Gospel is finished they will have lost more members to the savagery of the Roman State than we can consider. These stories, these recollections and others like them, were the seeds of hope. They would be so for generations to come. And if they are still so in our own time then Mark has served us well. Who does not need hope? Who does not need a sense of a better future, if not for one's self but for the generations to come? What stories will we leave to our children and grandchildren that will give them hope in the struggles that they will surely face?

January 30, 2014: Mark Chapter 4

The Gospel According to Mark Chapter 4

Originally posted Tuesday, February 12, 2008

General Comment: As we read this chapter we should remember that this Gospel was written in the midst of great social and religious storms. The war between Israel and Rome was nearing a bloody conclusion. Since the time of Claudius who expelled many Christians from the city and Nero, who put the blame for the great fire of Rome on them, Christians had suffered violent persecution from the Roman State, Synagogue Jews and the common people alike. We are aware from the Roman historian, Tacitus, that Claudius expelled Christians and Jews (he did not know the difference) because of a riot instigated by "...one named Chrestus." Suetonius writes of the death of many Christians in the arena and in Nero's palace gardens where they were used as human torches.  Mark's use of the storm imagery and Jesus' power to overcome the storm would be an effective image to bring encouragement to his storm-tossed community.

Mark Chapter 4:1-9 The Parable of the Sower  [MT 13:1-9]

Matthew has copied Mark almost word for word with no new material added or important wording deleted. As we read these parables, keep in mind that they all relate to the Kingdom (Reign) of God by making a comparison that seems odd to the hearing.  By the time the Gospels were written (John  has no Parables as such), most parables had been changed from a single meaning to an allegory to make it easier to remember. Allegories also serve the purpose of providing more teaching and preaching points of understanding. The parable of the sower probably had a single point - the surprising yield that can come from preaching the word to all kinds of people, including the Gentiles. An allegory allows each element (type of soil, birds, heat, etc.) to be used as a separate line of preaching. When you read this parable you should be able to locate at least five themes for preaching.

The passage opens by telling us about the size of the crowd. Before this the crowds were large. Here Mark uses a superlative adjective which is translated as "the biggest crowd yet." By doing so he conveys that increasing numbers of people are coming out to hear Jesus. The crowd will be made up of all sorts of people, and they will become part of the parable as receivers of the word of Jesus' teaching. Not all will respond favorably. Many will not "hear" or "see," in a spiritual sense. But enough will and these are the ones who will participate in the Kingdom.

Jesus begins the parable with the words, "Listen, look!" as an indication of how important this is. It is something to be heeded as well as visualized. Both senses are necessary to learn the parable's meaning. 

It might seem unusual that the seed is sown in places not suitable for planting. This reflects the ancient way of planting in which the seed is scattered and then the ground is plowed in hopes of a reasonably good harvest overall. The unexpected result of up to the hundredfold yield is, as is the abundance of the coming Kingdom, a mystery of God's hidden involvement in the world. The notion of such fruitfulness is frequently used in the Old Testament as an image of the new age to come (Hos. 2:21-22; Joel 2:22; Amos 9:13; Zech. 8:12).

Mark Chapter 4:10-20 The Purpose of Parables [MT 13:10-17]

Matthew has used all of Mark's passage and cited the text from Isaiah 6:9-10, thereby softening the harsh conclusion one must reach at Mark's verse 12. The entire difficulty hinges on the first word of that verse, "hina," translated as "in order that." The disciples have  been given the mystery of the Kingdom of God in the parables (although they still need help in understanding them). For those "outside" the circle of disciples, who have not been given the mystery of the Kingdom of God, Jesus uses parables "in order that"they do not perceive, understand and therefore turn and be forgiven. In Isaiah and therefore Matthew, it is the people who do not wish to see or hear what God has to say. In Mark, God has willed it.

What do we make of this idea that God wills that some will not understand, turn and be saved? Three points may provide something of an answer: First, in vs. 3:8 it is apparent that some people do understand the parables. Some do turn back to God, thirty, sixty and a hundred fold. Second, community persecution, the puzzling, unexpected rejection of the Gospel, the imminent destruction of the Temple and much of Jerusalem, have created for Mark a "Last Days" mentality. He is drawing a clear and present dividing line between those who are "inside" the coming Kingdom of God and those who are "outside." Third, the Old Testament is very clear regarding a time to come when the sentiment of Isa. 6:9 will be reversed. See particularly Isa. 29:18, 24; 32:3-4; 35:5. Mark clearly believes that God has temporarily clouded the minds of some, but others do believe, and in the end, even the spiritually blind and deaf will see and hear and "The minds of the rash will have good judgment." We will see as well that Mark will have more to say about the use of parables.

Mark Chapter 4:21-25 A Lamp Under a Basket or a Bed

Matthew has used  parts of this passage in several locations, most prominently in MT 5:14-15, following Jesus' call for disciples to be the light of the world. Mark vss. 21-22 contain two proverbs which he uses light as a symbol of the Gospel. Even though there may be persecution which will cause some to hide their belief and spiritual blindness and deafness, the Gospel cannot be hidden. As a basket or a bed would be set afire by a lamp placed under them, so the Gospel will be revealed as it was meant to be - placed on the lampstand where it can be seen and heard by all. To some extent this revelation of the Gospel which cannot be hidden and remain secret points back to vss. 11 and 12, to the ultimate understanding of parables as lamps placed on a lamp stand. They will be seen and finally understood.

vss. 24-25 also contain two proverbs. Although they may have originally referred to generosity, in Mark's context they have to do with one's faith or Gospel-belief. The more we share our faith with others the more of it we receive - remember the  line in Matthew's parable of the Talents (MT 25:21), "...you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things..." The servant who buried his one silver talent had that talent taken away and he was left with nothing. This may not be too far removed from our own experience with spiritual disciplines (and any other kind of discipline). The more we practice a skill the more of it we have. The less we practice it, whatever we had is lost (For those interested in spiritual disciplines I recommend reading books by Richard J. Foster, especially Celebration of Discipline: The Path To Spiritual Growth).

We have little clarity when the subject of how to share our faith with others arises. We know we should be doing so, but we don't seem to have a sense of how that gets done. For the most part we think the preacher ought to be doing this. Well, he does, every Sunday and in other settings. Jesus said we - that's you and me, are lights to the nations. Of course we do a lot of that by proxy, through the larger United Methodist Church. But that's not personal, is it? How do we, personally, share our faith? How do we, personally, share what it means to our lives to be part of a worshipping, serving community of believers? How do we tell someone the ways in which being a Christian has changed our lives? We need to learn the ropes of this personal sharing ministry. I think it needs to be sooner than later.

Mark Chapter 4:30-34 Two Parables About Seeds [MT 13:31-32 The Mustard Seed]

Mark appropriately follows his prior references to parables with two more parables. Both refer to the final manifestation of God's approaching Kingdom. The first is not used by Matthew. In both parables the Kingdom of God into which all those who respond to the Gospel with belief (faith) will enter, appears as an event of mystery. It is like the sprouting of wheat or the growth of a large tree from a tiny seed. The growth in both cases is understood to have  been brought about by God. This demonstrates the Gospel's God/human relationship. Mark says, we plant, God gives the growth. We share our faith and the results belong to God. This can also be seen as an allusion to vss. 24-25, the measure we give will be the measure we get.

In the Parable of the Mustard Seed the "birds of heaven" may be symbolic of the Gentile nations as in Ezekiel  and especially Zech. 2:11 where all the nations of the earth will be gathered to the God of Israel. This has the far reaching implication of a universal inclusion of all peoples within God's Kingdom.

Mark Chapter 4:33-34 The Use of Parables [MT 13:34-35]

We might read this small passage with some degree of relief. Matthew has used this passage with a needed elaboration from Ps. 78:2-3, which suggests the use of parables for revealing the mysteries of old to newer generations. In Mark, Jesus uses only parables to speak to the crowds while explaining everything to his disciples.  it seems some hearers are able to understand the parables, while others do not or cannot.

Mark 4:35-41 Jesus Stills the Storm [MT 8:23-27]

Matthew has made no substantive changes to Mark's passage. Matthew tends to soften the words of the disciples and make any criticism of their faith less harsh. In this passage the disciples sound as if they are in a panic. As the boat is being swamped by waves and in danger of capsizing, Jesus is asleep in the stern, under the boat's rear platform. The disciples wake him and rhetorically ask if he cares that they are all about to drown. Jesus does awake, rebukes the wind, and asks the disciples, "Why are you cowardly? Have you no faith?" Matthew tones this down, having the disciples call out, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" He changes Mark's "Have you no faith?" to "...you of little faith."

Mark emphasizes the nature of this storm as a supernatural event. He uses the word "great" three times: A Great storm (vs. 37), a Great calm (vs. 39), and a Great fear (vs. 41). Such a life-threatening storm would be understood as demonic in nature. The text in the Greek reads, "...he rebuked the wind and spoke to the lake and he said, 'Be still. Be silenced.' and the wind died down and there was a great calm." In the end the disciples are filled with a great fear (awe in the presence of the divine), wondering who is this whose power overcomes the power of the demonic. It is one thing to cast out a demon through exorcism. It is another to quell the massive force of the demonic in nature.

If we look closely we will see a remarkable resemblance to the story of Jonah.

Both are journeying by boat to Gentile territory - Nineveh and the Decapolis

At stake is delivering God's message to the Gentiles

A massive storm arises

Jesus and Jonah both are asleep during the storm

The disciples and the sailors are very afraid

The water is calmed by the action of Jesus and God

The disciples and sailors respond in awe

Comparing the narrative in both stories we see common uses of words and phrases. It is apparent that Mark has used the Jonah story as his framework. Whereas God calms the sea for Jonah, Jesus calms the sea for the disciples. In the next chapter we will see the fruit of Jesus' journey among the Gentile Gerasenes.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Notes

In 1968 a fishing boat was excavated intact from the Sea of Galilee, not too far from the shore. It was carbon-dated to the first Century. The boat would have been similar to that used by Peter and Andrew as well as by James and John. It was 26 1/2 feet long, 7 1/2 feet wide and 4 1/2 feet high. The front and rear would have been decked. In the stern, where Mark says Jesus slept, there was a large platform on which the helmsman steered the boat. There was space under the platform for a person to lie down. The cushion could have been collected sand bags used for ballast.

January 29, 2014: Mark Chapter 3

The Gospel According to Mark Chapter 3

Originally posted Monday, February 11, 2008

General Comment: As with all writers in the New Testament, Mark sees two worlds at war with each other. From his Gentile perspective, Rome and the Roman Empire are part of the Kingdom or Reign of Satan, the Prince of the Air. Mark's community is part of the Kingdom or Reign of God. As we see in this chapter there are others who are part of the Kingdom of evil. We encounter them among those who condemn Jesus' act of forgiving the sins of a paralytic; for eating with Tax collectors and sinners; for healing a man's withered arm on the Sabbath; and for allowing his disciples to pick heads of grain on the Sabbath.  In each case, Jesus' adversaries demonstrate how far removed they are from the God of mercy, compassion and justice and how little they understand the God revealed in Jesus, the God who always demands such good works, no matter what day of the week it is. 

Mark Chapter 3:1-6 Man With A Withered Hand  [MT 12:9-14]

 In both Matthew and Mark it is obvious that the Pharisees are intent on finding Jesus committing some infraction of the Sabbath law. In Matthew they directly ask Jesus if is lawful to cure (heal) on the Sabbath, where in Mark they are watching Jesus to see how he will react to the presence of the man with a withered hand. Curing a person who was not in danger of dying any time soon was considered to be work. This would be against the Sabbath Law and technically would be punishable by death. Rabbinical writings on the Sabbath practices indicate, however, that efforts were to be made to give a much lighter punishment unless the violation involved something much more egregious, such as blasphemy.

In Mark, the man is sitting on a bench and Jesus tells him to "stand up in the middle [of the room]." He asks the Pharisees a legal question as to the appropriateness of doing good and restoring a life, or doing evil and destroying it. They know the answer but they remain silent. They cannot reasonably argue with Jesus' interpretation of Sabbath Law that healing does, in fact restore a life that would otherwise be so marginalized because of the man's useless hand. His life would be as good as destroyed by the abject poverty in which he has  been and would continue to live. A healing would, therefore be "good." The Pharisees are humiliated in front of the congregation by Jesus' and his superior application of the Law.

The Pharisees have gathered around Jesus and the man standing in the middle of the Synagogue. Mark writes that Jesus looked around - at all of them, with anger and was "deeply grieved" at their  hardness of heart. Here there is an interesting analogy between the Pharisees and Egypt's Pharaoh (the archetypical enemy of Israel) whose hardness of heart was both God's doing and Pharaoh's free will. Jesus is angry with the Pharisees' sinful hardness of heart which prevents them from feeling compassion or acting mercifully; but he also feels grief for them because they are so afflicted that it is as if they can will nothing else.

Not only has Jesus humiliated the Pharisees, he now totally obliterates their expectation that Jesus is about to break the law by healing the man. Read carefully Jesus' next action and consider that work requires the use of one's hands. Jesus does not touch the man! He tells him to stretch out his hand and the healing occurs coincident with his doing so. Jesus has not done any work on the Sabbath.

The Pharisees are livid. They storm out of the Synagogue and conspire with the Herodians to find a way to destroy Jesus. We should note that in Jesus' time the Herodians (part of the offspring of Herod the Great of MT 2:1-12) would have had no relationship at all with the Pharisees. Herod and his immediate offspring were considered to be half-breed Jews and generally despised by the ritually sensitive Pharisees. On the other hand, this may serve as an object lesson. The Pharisees may have been willing to ignore their own values by consorting with the detested Herodians to be rid of a common enemy.  "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

Mark Chapter 3:7-12 The Multitude

There is no exact use of this passage as a whole in Matthew. He has most of the verses scattered in several places. We are used to reading about the crowds that gather wherever Jesus goes, his healing of many, and here again Jesus' "stern warning" that the demons that recognize him and shout out his divine name are not to make him known.

Mark 3:13-19 The Appointment of the Twelve  [MT 10:1-15]

Note in verse 13 that Jesus goes up "the" mountain and not "a" mountain. The definite article draws attention to early Christian parallels between Moses and Jesus as the new Moses. Moses goes up Mount Sinai with a number of Priests and Elders (leaders) to establish the twelve tribes of Israel (Exod. 24:1-4). Jesus goes up the mountain with a number of disciples and out of a larger group chooses The Twelve. The disciple list is the same as in Matthew, the only difference being that Matthew has corrected the placement of Andrew as the brother of Simon Peter.

Many good manuscripts do not have the phrase, "...whom he also named apostles..." and it is most likely not in the original. The office of Apostle is associated with the later developing church. In any case the chosen disciples are commissioned to be with him, to be sent out to proclaim the message (the Good News that the Reign of God is at hand) and to have authority over demons. Matthew has added a well developed Mission statement for the disciples as a prelude to sending them out to the towns and villages.

Mark Chapter 3:19b-30  Beel'zebul or God [MT 12:22-32]

Matthew has no parallel for the brief introductory verses 19b-22. For Mark they serve as an introduction to a larger section on whose power is at play in the casting out of demons, a passage also in Matthew.

Jesus has come down the mountain after appointing and commissioning the twelve and returned home to Capernaum. The crowds were so oppressive no one has been able to "eat bread." Jesus' family "went out" to seize him" apparently because they received reports about the large crowds creating something of an uproar of confusion as people sought Jesus' healing. This scene was somehow attributed to Jesus having become insane, an affliction considered to be caused by demon possession (see John 10:20). It would be the family's responsibility to quickly take charge of any family member who was "standing outside himself" in order to avoid the shame that might come to them. Matthew has omitted this part of the passage to avoid creating any negative impressions of the family or Jesus. In Mark's situation, Christians were often called mad or insane because of their refusal to honor the Emperor as divine, or to worship at pagan temples.

Beel'zebul does not appear in Scripture as a synonym for Satan. The closest to it is in 1 Kings 1:3, Baal'zebub (lord of the flies), the Canaanite god of Ekron. There are other variations of Beel'zebul found in the Book of Jubilees and elsewhere linked to demons.

Note Jesus' first word in verse 28. "Truly." The Hebrew translated into Greek is "Amen." In the Old Testament and other Jewish writings Amen always follows what has been said, as a means of confirmation of it's truthfulness. The word is uniquely used by Jesus in the beginning of what he says which speaks to Jesus' sense of his own extraordinary authority to speak for God in matters related to God's coming Reign. At times Jesus will use the double "Amen, Amen." It is a fault of modern translations that a less revealing word as "truly" is used in its place.

Matthew has used much of Mark's report of Jesus' response to the Scribes' accusatory claim that it is because of this demon that Jesus is empowered to cast out demons. It is an illogical conclusion torn to shreds by Jesus reasoned response. Mark's parenthetical addition in verse 30 identifies the root of the unforgivable sin against the Holy Spirit specifically within the Scribe's assigning Jesus' power to Satan. In Mark's view it is this egregious rejection of God's own saving work, the beginning of the Reign of God in the new age to come, that is unforgivably credited to Beel'zebul, the Prince of Demons rather than to Jesus. The Scribes who see the demonic in Jesus are themselves part of Satan's Kingdom, unable to see God at work before their very eyes. No matter what Jesus does or says, they cannot "see" God's hand in any of it.

On occasion someone might wonder if one has committed the unforgivable sin. I would suggest that the very concern of that possibility is itself the clearest proof that one has not. For Mark, the Scribes cannot imagine that they could be wrong.

Mark Chapter 3:31-35 Jesus' True Family [MT 12:46-50]

Although it is not significantly part of this passage, it is of interest to many that Jesus was the first born child of a large family, with four brothers (James, Joseph, Judas and Simon and at least two sisters). James, his oldest brother, will become the leader of the earliest church community with its base being in Jerusalem. Two of his brothers will be arrested by the Roman authorities but released when they were deemed of little importance. His father, Joseph is mentioned by others but only in reference to identifying Jesus as his son. The evidence of the New Testament that Joseph had died before Jesus began his ministry is widely accepted. 

Jesus' family (mother, four brothers and two sisters) that "went out to restrain him" have arrived and are at the door asking for him. After being told of their presence and wish to see him, Jesus responds by speaking of those who are gathered in a circle around him. That his family has come to restrain him means they believe he is "beside himself," insane. It is not by accident or without a deeper meaning of the words that Mark writes that his biological family  was "standing outside." Because they thought he was insane, they are standing outside of the new family Jesus has created, a family made up of those who have heard, believed and are doing the will of God. However, it would be an "over interpretation" if we concluded that Jesus rejected his own family, for we will read in a later chapter of his visit to his home in Nazareth.

In the early church it was common for members to call each other brother and sister. This usage derives from this passage. In the persecution that Mark's community faced, one's true family often was the church because the biological family may have rejected children or even parents that became Christians. We still use the terms in the modern church, but with little emphasis on the application of the words to real life, a significant fault of modern Christianity including the United Methodist Church. What would a congregation and Sunday classes look like were we to see those sitting around us as our brothers and sisters? How many persons are removed from the roles of churches simply because they "disappear?" If any of us were to suddenly stop coming to worship or class, would we actually be missed? Jesus', in his parable of the one lost sheep expresses the joy of heaven itself when that sheep is found. If God can so rejoice, can we not?

January 28, 2014: Mark Chapter 2

The Gospel According to Mark Chapter 2

Originally posted Friday, February 8, 2008

General Comment: Please note that we have added the Matthew location for each of Mark's passages. It may be of help to look at both of the passages and compare them to see how Matthew uses and/or alters Mark's version. Changes were made to correct Mark's errors, to clarify scenes, and to adapt the material to the situations and evangelistic ministry of Matthew's community. You will note that the tone of debate and level of disputes between Jesus and the religious leadership are stronger and more acrimonious than in Mark. Although there was persecution of Mark's community, it was not of the same type or intensity as for Matthew's.

Mark Chapter 2:1-12 Healing a Paralytic  Man [MT 9:2-8]

By comparing the original story in Mark with Matthew notice how Matthew has shortened it to center on the conflict with the Pharisees. In Mark's more developed version we find Jesus at home in Capernaum with part of the crowd in the house and the rest spilling out into the courtyard. Jesus is "speaking the word to them," the word being the good news of the Reign of God being at hand. Outside four men carrying a paralyzed man on a makeshift stretcher approach the house. There are so many people crowding at the door that they cannot bring their friend inside to be healed by Jesus. In a move that Jesus will count as an amazing display of faith, the men find some netting lines, climb the outside ladder to the roof, remove a portion of the reed-thatch clay roofing and slowly let the man down to the floor on the mat supported by the lines. Seeing that the men had overcome two obstacles to their desire to help their friend, the crowd and the roof, Jesus says to the man, "Son, your sins are forgiven." He does so not because of anything the man said but because of the faith of his friends who overcame the obstacles, believing Jesus could help him.

The Scribes who were present consider such an action as blasphemy, where blasphemy means saying or doing anything that lessens the status of God's power or character in the eyes of others. "Who can forgive sins but the One God," they say among themselves (Ps. 130:4; Isa. 43:25; 44:22). Notice the term "the One God." The Scribes are thinking of the great Israelite Creed, the Shema of Deut. 6:4, "Hear, O Israel the Lord; the Lord our God is One." It is this sovereignty of God that they hear being challenged by Jesus who presumes upon God's authority by forgiving the man's sins.

Jesus proceeds to demonstrate that he does indeed have authority, God's authority, to forgive sins. The man has been lying on his mat without moving. Jesus tells him to stand up, pick up his mat and go home, which the man promptly does to the amazement of the crowd, and no doubt the sullenly silent Scribes. In Jewish thought of Jesus time there was a causal relationship between sin and sickness (Ps. 107:17-18; Deut. 28:27ff). That relationship was always seen in light of the connection between forgiveness and healing. In the early Church this latter connection had already been made in the rite of baptism (and the Eucharist), an understanding inherited from Judaism. Since Jesus was understood to be present in a persons baptism and in the Eucharist, it was an easy step to believe that Jesus could forgive sins.

However we understand the Biblical connections, we can appreciate the power of forgiveness as an agent of healing and reconciliation. We humans are a sensitive lot. We are easily offended and hurt. We tend to wear our hurt like a badge and we are quick to polish it in front of others. Worn long enough it can make us ill. Wouldn't we feel better, relieved in mind and soul, if we had enough trust in ourselves to overcome obstacles of our own making and forgive the offender? There are those times in my life when I wish someone would come along and say to me, "Stand up, take up your mat and go home."

Mark Chapter 2:13-17 Jesus Calls Levi  [MT 9:9-13]

In Matthew's version Levi is called Matthew. Even though Mark introduces Levi as the son of Alphaeus, he does not show up in Mark's list of the twelve disciples. A James, son of Alphaeus, does along with a Matthew. Levi does not reappear in Mark after this cameo role. Since Matthew is also a Toll Collector and is mentioned among the twelve in Mark, Matthew and Luke while Levi is not, we might conclude that Levi and Matthew are the same person and that the name change took place to avoid the Jewish criticism associated with having a disciple who was a descendent of a member of the Levitical Priesthood (the Tribe of Levi made up that Priesthood). There are a number of variations on this theme and none of them bear the stamp of history.

Note that Matthew copies this passage almost word for word. In Jesus' reaction to the Pharisees criticism that he eats with tax collectors and sinners, Matthew adds 9:13, "Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'"  

Mark Chapter 2:18-22 A Question About Fasting [MT 9:14-17]

There is no important difference between the Markan and Matthean versions of this story. In verse 18 Mark mentions the "disciples of the Pharisees." Matthew removes this since Pharisees were a religious party in which a person had membership, not individuals who would attract disciples. Hillel and Shammai (a contemporary of Jesus) have  been called Pharisees because they founded two great schools of Torah interpretation. They would be better known as Sages or Holy Men, unassociated with any religious party.

Mark Chapter 2:23-28 Lord of the Sabbath [MT 12:1-8]

Matthew generally follows Mark's wording. He removes the name of the High Priest, Abiathar. His father, Ahimelech, was the High Priest (1 Sam. 21:1-6). Matthew adds the comment that the Priests of the Temple work on the Sabbath, and something (the Reign of God) greater than the Temple is involved in Jesus' work. Both Matthew and Mark mention that David's companions shared in the eating of the altar bread. According to 1 Sam. 21 the companions were not with David nor did they share the bread. David told the High priest he wanted the bread for himself and his companions but that was his way of getting all five loaves for himself. In later Jewish and early Christian literature there was a tendency to "smooth out" David's many flaws.

Jesus' closing comment that the Sabbath was made for humanity and not humanity for the Sabbath, reflects the understanding of Gen. 2:1-3. It is not because humanity was created before the Sabbath, but that Sabbath is a gift from God to humanity.

January 27, 2014: Mark Chapter 1

The Gospel According to Mark Chapter 1

Originally posted Thursday, February 7, 2008

General Comment: As we read through Mark's Gospel we will notice that much of the material repeats what we read in the Matthew chapters. The reason for this similarity is that Matthew (and Luke) had a copy of Mark of which Matthew used approximately 80% in his own writing. Matthew adapted the material for his own community's interests and situation. You will notice great differences in style and the absence of large sections such as the genealogy, birth narrative and Sermon on the Mount. Mark's Gospel is much shorter and reading it gives the impression of a fast paced movement from Galilee to Jerusalem. One of Mark's favorite words is "immediately." He uses this word 41 times (out of 51 in the entire NT). The word implies that divinely directed events are about to happen. Other major differences include the presence of only three parables, a rougher treatment of the disciples, the absence of a birth story and any resurrection scenes.

 

Mark is the oldest of the four Gospels and much of his material is from earlier sources than the other Gospels. It was written in its final form just before the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. However there are hints to the nearness of that event.  The Writer is most likely a Gentile, not an eyewitness, who has limited contact with Jewish customs. The community of the Gospel is generally considered to be overwhelmingly Gentile. It was most probably located in Rome, and had experienced recent persecution.  The material is a compilation of the preaching, teaching and prophecies of early evangelists, missionaries and Christian prophets.

 

Mark Chapter 1:18 John the Baptist. [MT 3:1-12]

 

In the introduction verse we become aware of the purpose of Mark's Gospel. It is the beginning of The Good News about Jesus Christ. The Good News is the message of the return of the victorious army. One might interpret its use here as an opening statement reporting the victory already being won by the appearance of Jesus, and the Gospel being the report of the victory.

 

The use of Jesus Christ does not necessarily imply an emphasis on Jesus as the Messiah. By the time of Paul's major epistles Christ had become a surname. Unlike Matthew, Mark's audience was essentially all Gentile, and the concept of a Jewish Messiah would have been lost on them. As you read Mark you may note that the idea of Jesus being the Messiah is minimalized to the degree that some writers see it as Mark's Messianic secret. The preferred title for Jesus, and one Gentiles could relate to is Son of God. Gentiles were used to the concept of a deified Emperor and the gods as divine men with certain powers. "Son of God" appears in the first verse of some translations, but is not part of the oldest manuscripts and was more likely added by later Christian copyists who edited originals to emphasize Jesus' divinity.

 

In verse 2 and 3 Mark uses a combination of the Mal. 3:1 reference to Elijah ("See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me...") and Isa. 40:3 ("A voice cries: 'In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God."). Mark uses the Greek Old Testament for his citations. Both refer to the appearance of John the Baptizer. That John is in the wilderness is a reference to the 40 year wilderness experience of the Israelites. The wilderness carries symbolic importance as the place of waiting for salvation and deliverance (see Exod. 30:3). The angel is a messenger as is John in the wilderness, offering baptism). John's baptism is specifically one requiring repentance (confessing sin and turning toward God) which then leads to God's forgiveness of one's sins. Note in Mark, John refers to the "...one who is more powerful than I...) who will baptize with (in) the Holy Spirit. Matthew adds "and fire" to emphasize the idea of purification. John's clothing represents the traditional garb of a prophet (2 Kings 1:8also referring to Elijah).  

 

Mark Chapter 1:9-13 Jesus' Baptism and Temptation [MT 3:13-4:11]

 

The baptism would have been by immersion since purification involved the whole person, as with a bath. Most of the paintings of this scene show John pouring water out of a large shell onto Jesus' head. These are representations of the Middle ages when Baptism had already become the pouring of water (sprinkling) on the head.

 

In the description of Jesus coming up out of the water, Matthew reads, "...suddenly the heavens were opened..' Mark's original, patterned on Isa. 64:1,reads, "the heavens were torn apart..." In this more dramatic depiction, Mark has given a subtle suggestion regarding Jesus' relationship with God and thereby, God's new relationship with humankind. We are no longer separated from God by the restrictions of the Heavens as distant and unapproachable. Now, through Jesus, a new relationship is possible, one mediated by Jesus' presence among us. This is Mark's version of Emmanuel, God with us and John's Word made flesh. It is on this foundation that Jesus was understood as God's Son. "You are my Son, the beloved, this day I have begotten you" (Ps. 2:7). With the words from God and the descent of the Spirit, Jesus becomes the divine Son of God.

 

The same gentle Spirit that is present in baptism now "casts him out" into the wilderness, the place of testing. Look back at MT 4:1-11 for Matthew's version. Matthew's added material is from a separate source called "Q," also used by Luke. John has no temptation story.

 

Mark Chapter 1:14-15 The Galilean Ministry Begins [MT 4:12-17]

 

We do not know how long Jesus stayed with John and participated in the ministry of baptism. It is very apparent in the Gospel record that Jesus' ministry and message will become quite different than John's. In any case, Mark gives us a brief view of the content  of that message in vs.14-15. "The time is fulfilled." Everything that has come before, the words of Scripture regarding God's future deliverance of Israel, are now fulfilled in Jesus' appearing, and the promised Reign of God has come near. To be prepared for that Reign, that Kingdom, Jesus invites his listeners (and readers) to turn toward God in repentance (change one's world view) and to believe in the good news of God (v. 14). Now the good news represents the nearness of God's Reign, and so the need for repentance.

 

Mark Chapter 1:16-20 The First Disciples [MT 4:18-22]

 

Matthew has used all of Mark's text. See MT 4:18-22. Of interest is the act of calling disciples. The Rabbis did not call disciples. Those who wished to study under a Rabbi sought one out. Rabbis would have a number of disciples, depending on how well quoted they were.  Famous Rabbis such as Hillel and Shammai had many disciples and their decisions on Torah have been extensively recorded in the Mishnah. The first disciples were fishermen on the Sea of Galilee (actually an inland lake). From this saying the use of the fish as a symbol of Christian identification was derived. Also, one Greek word for Fish is Ichthus, which is an acronym for Jesus (I) Christ (CH) God's (TH) Son (US). 

 

Mark Chapter 1:21-34 An Exorcism and Healings [MT 4:23-25; 8:14-17]

 

Jesus begins his ministry in Capernaum the home of the first disciples. Attending the Synagogue, he is invited to teach and the audience is amazed because he taught "as one having authority," which means he did not quote as precedent the interpretations of other teachers. His teaching was authentically his. In this Synagogue Jesus' first healing is an exorcism of a demon possessed man. The demon (an unclean spirit) knows who Jesus is. With a sharp rebuke the demon comes out of the man. The Sabbath audience is not only amazed at his teaching, they now see a demonstration of another type of authority, over the unclean spirits that obey him. Later on this obedience to Jesus' command by demons will be a cause of Pharisaic opposition.

 

"At sundown" (the day ended at sundown and the next day began) Jesus is in Peter's home. Jesus' fame has already become the talk of the town. After healing Peter's Mother-in-Law he spends the evening tending to the needs of the sick and demon possessed. As with the demon in the Synagogue who knew who Jesus was, he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. In both cases, Mark sets up what we mentioned while reading Matthew. There are two Kingdoms locked in a cosmic battle. The demons -  of the Kingdom of Satan, easily recognize that Jesus'  power is derived from the Kingdom of God. One spiritual being recognizes another.

 

What has been described by some scholars as the "Messianic Secret" arises from these examples. There was a strand of Jewish Messianic thinking that referred to the Hidden Messiah. There is also the consideration that Jesus did not wish to be labeled with a title he had no intention of owning, at least not without reshaping its nationalistic understanding.

 

Mark Chapter 1:35-39 A Preaching Tour

 

This is a defining text for understanding Jesus' approach to his ministry. Jesus has left the house well before sunrise (very dark) so that he could pray alone without the distractions that would surely occur. As the sun rose the crowds did gather around Peter's house and the disciples began to search for Jesus. This event shows the disciples' lack of understanding of Jesus' plan for carrying out God's mandate, to spread the good news of the Kingdom that has come near. The disciples see Jesus in the Pharisaic style of residing in one place and having everyone seek him. Jesus understands that God's people are widespread, and if he is to do what he has been called to do  he must go where they are, and so must his disciples. He is not setting up a franchise operation in Capernaum for God, inc. As the disciples' mission is stated by the resurrected Jesus in Matthew, his work, their work is to go to all the nations of the world.

 

Mark Chapter 1:40-45 Jesus Cleanses a Leper [MT8:1-4]

 

Matthew uses this story but leaves out two parts. First, in Mark v.43 Jesus "sternly" warns the man not to tell anything to anyone, but to go show the priest and make a thank offering. Matthew tends to soften Jesus' words when they seem out of place. However, it seems reasonable that Jesus would want the man to be inspected and released by the priest as soon  as possible so that he could reclaim his place within the community.

 

Second, Matthew omits the last part related to the Leper ignoring Jesus' warning and telling everyone he met, resulting in even more fame spread about, and more crowds seeking him out. One could hardly chastise the leper who has now been made clean. I can see him running down the road shouting, "Look at me! Look at me!."

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1) The source "Q" (stands for Quelle, German for source) was an early collection of Jesus' sayings which is used by Matthew and Luke.

January 26, 2014: Matthew Chapter 28

The Gospel According to Matthew Chapter 28

Originally posted on Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Matthew Chapter 28:1-20  Resurrection Day

As the death of Jesus called forth signs and wonders so does his rising from death. Earthquakes, bright lights, and angels with messages are part of the ancient language of the end of the old age and the beginning of the new. For Matthew the cross marks the point of crossing. Jesus has crossed over from the physical realm of humanity to the spiritual realm of God. From now on Jesus will be the Christ of faith, spiritually present to all who believe. He will be with the church empowering its mission and message, its hope and its future. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come.

Mary Magdalene and another Mary become the first to believe and to be proclaimers of the risen Christ. They are the first Apostles, so fitting in a Gospel that honors the role of women in forwarding God's work in the world. Even in their fear they are the first to encounter in their spirits a living Christ whose continuing presence cannot be held hostage by death. The disciples will listen to these women. They will travel to Galilee, to home. They will hear of their new commission to baptize and make disciples in all nations, among all peoples. Throughout the rest of their lives they will know with a certainty that defys logic, that there is one who walks with them, that one who will say to them over and over, in the hidden voice of the heart, "Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

Resurrection is how we speak of the inward recognition of the ongoing spiritual presence of Christ in the world, continuing to do the work of God through the Church. The discussion of a physical versus spiritual resurrection speaks more to the concerns we have about our own existence beyond the grave. It is not the subject of the Gospel. For Matthew the resurrection of Jesus serves first as a vindication of Jesus' ministry and his message of the Kingdom of God as already beginning yet still to be fulfilled. For Matthew, Jesus, now the exalted Christ of faith, is the Son of Man who will return to judge humanity. For Matthew resurrection releases the spirit of Christ into the Church and empowers its missionary enterprise.

For some the language may be strange. We struggle to find our own words. How can we appropriate a first century world view and make it our own? Perhaps we need to ask why we count ourselves among those who make up the Christian community in which we now worship and serve. Why are we here? This is not the Rotary or Kiwanis. This place has drawn us to be a part of something we sense to be bigger than we are. This place speaks to something in our spirit. We want to be open to a God we cannot comprehend. We want to sense that what we do here has meaning beyond our limited perspective. So we listen to the language of yesterday and it speaks of the man, Jesus, who died and that somehow there were those who experienced  his presence as still available, still teaching, still calling people like us to follow him, to do for the world what God sent him to do. Maybe that's it! Maybe the resurrection experience is our recognition of a subtle and living presence that speaks to us in Word and Table and coaxes us to know what it means to do God's works of justice, mercy and compassion, where we are, now. Maybe we really do want to have something happen within our soul that is so compelling that we cannot help but let our heart overflow in kindness. Resurrection. That which is Christ intersecting with that longing within us to bring that Kingdom, that Reign of God just one step closer to reality. Resurrection. Jeus says, "Follow me."

Almost 2000 yeas ago a band of men and women experienced something that changed them, that moved them to live and act in a way that would cost many their families and their  lives. They were willing to move and to act in a dangerous world that rejected them. They did it because a Galilean carpenter walked their way and invited them to walk with him. He captured their imagination and opened up life's possibilities as agents of God in a Godless world. Did they do any good? Did they make a difference? Was it all worth it? Well, here we are, this Wednesday, February 6th, in the year 2008, and we are reading about them, and about the Jesus who called them. I guess we really do understand Resurrection.

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Notes

1) I have used Palestine/Palestinian a number of times while writing these chapter commentaries. While the first thought that might come to our minds is the modern usage of the term as a place where Palestinians live, its meaning in Biblical references is not the same. Palestine (Latin Palestina) describes the Roman province roughly within the borders of ancient Israel. The word itself is a Latin translation of the Greek word Palaistine from the Hebrew Pelesheth or Philistia, Land of the Philistines.

2) The story of the discipes coming in the night to steal Jesus' body was spread among both Jews and Gentiles. During the first several centuries, before Christianity became the religion of the Empire under Constantine, that story was a favorite way to refute the claims of Christian teaching that they served a risen Christ.

3) The belief in a general resurrection of the dead on a day of judgment was a relatively new idea in Judaism. Its first unambiguous appearance is in the Book of Daniel, written near 164-67 BCE during the Hellenistic Syrian oppression of Israel. By Jesus' time it was taught by the Pharisees and the Essenes but rejected by the Sadducees. In the Roman Oppression and grinding poverty of Jesus' time, such a belief offered hope for a new age in which the oppressor would be vanquished, and an age of abundance would dawn.