Mark – Study Three
Responding to Jesus
Imagine. If a stranger came up to you and asked you to follow him, what would you do?
What would your response be if someone said they could heal AIDS or cancer?
In the last study, we saw Mark’s introduction to Jesus and what he was on about on earth. This week, we see the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry and as we follow Him, we see an increasing tension between what Jesus wanted and what others wanted and expected Him to do.
Read Mark 1:14-3:6
- What are the highlights of the passage?
- Jesus announces repentance because the KOG is near
- Jesus calls his first disciples- Simon, Andrew, James and John.
- Jesus heals the sick
- Jesus heals the paralysed man
- Jesus breaking the rules!- eating with sinners, stealing grain, healing a lame man
- Who are the people in the passage? How do they respond to Jesus?
IN my mind, there are 2 sorts of people that Jesus encounters in the passage we have just read- those which accept his teachings, and those which don’t.
Section 1 - Mark 1:14-45
- What is Jesus' objective?
At the heart of Jesus’ ministry, His objective is described in 1:15- ‘the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!’
A simple enough statement, but to understand it we need to unpack 3 concepts:
· Kingdom of God- For me, it was difficult to think of Jesus’ promise of eternal salvation in terms of a kingdom. But in truth, this is an accurate description of what is on offer- not so much a kingdom established by physical boundaries on earth, but a kingdom whose dominion/existence will know no end, whose community is ruled by a king/authority whose love, protection and blessings are forever and eternal.
· Repentance- The necessity for Jesus to call us to repentance is highlighted (just as John the Baptist did) throughout the latter part of the passage. For the Jews, the need to hear Jesus’ call to repentance was due to their misplaced belief that complying with the rules of the OT (‘the law’) would restore their relationship with God. As we will see, their devotion to their rules caused them reject the only true path to repentance on offer by Jesus.
Not to single out the Jews, is there something we (I!) need to repent of? Is there something I’ve been placing my faith in substitute of God?
· The Good News- the proclamation that Jesus has come to save humanity. As we will see in the tax collector story, it is a proclamation held out to all people.
Despite informing the reader of Jesus’ objective at the beginning of the passage, we can see there are major obstacles in the way of Jesus getting His message are. These primarily seem to be a distraction by the miracles Jesus as the sole purpose of His coming, or an unwillingness to let go of the OT law.
- What do the crowds think is His objective? How is this shown?
To the majority of people, Jesus is no more than the sum of his actions- a healer of illness and a person who gives orders to demons. This should be evident through the description of the people, of what the responded to- the crowds would gather after an instance of casting out demons (v28), or healing (v33-37).
Before we go further, we should realise that their response is likely to also be our first reaction, no? Do we not also respond only to the blessings that we can verify, and ignore the gifts God dispenses in more subtle manners?
And yet, for all their showmanship, we must remember that Jesus’ ministry was to usher in the KoG- a gift whose blessings are ultimately not those realised in this life, but the one to come.
Section 2 - Mark 2:1-3:6
- Why did the Pharisees act in the way that they did?
Under Judaism, salvation could only be earned through participation in the sacrifice system and the observance of Jewish law. Quite obviously as Jesus reveals however (3:1-6), adherence to the rules is not only foolish (2:27-28), but perpetuates evil by relieving people of their duty to lover their neighbour.
In some ways, this there are 2 answers to this question- the reason why the Pharisees acted the way they did was because they adhered to their rules. The other reason is that their sin compelled (as it is in the business of doing) them to reject Jesus as God.
- Is there anything unholy about what Jesus is doing? Why/why not? What is he doing, then?
In contrast to the Pharisee’s stifling adherence to rules, Jesus breaks the rules on 3 separate occasions:
· Eating with the tax collectors- Because of their employment by the Roman government and their propensity to abuse their position, tax collectors were accorded the same social status as a gentile slave. Anyone who came into contact with them would have to be cleansed- Jesus not only speaks to them, but has an entire meal.
· Exempting his disciples from fasting- According to Jewish tradition, fasting was an integral part of cleansing and being made right before God- in addition to the Day of Atonement, ‘good’ Jews were supposed to fast 2 times a week.
· Healing people/gathering wheat of the Sabbath- The Sabbath was a day set aside in Jewish tradition for the exclusive ‘worship’ of God. Work was not permitted on the Sabbath, in any form.
While all 3 instances point to the same message, the theme of Judaism constituting nothing more than a broken system of rules and regulations is more heavily brought out in the fasting and working on healing on the Sabbath. Jesus’ comments in response to the Pharisees disapproval regarding the lack of fasting by Jesus’ disciples is perhaps the most profound. By using the imagery of the wineskin and old garment, Jesus makes clear that the promise of the KoG that only He can bring is fundamentally and completely incompatible with the old ways of Judaism. In fact, the story of Jesus healing on the Sabbath only goes to point out how the Pharisee’s illogical adherence to the rules would have seen fit to prolong the crippled man’s suffering.
So what does this say about Jesus’ actions?- That they are different, superior and effective of change actively discouraged by the old system. How’s that for a definition of holy?
So how does this relate to his ministry?
It was not Jesus’ message in 1:15 that brought the crowds to him, but the miraculous events of healing and casting out demons. In John’s gospel their status (the miracles) is made clear- they are mere signs of the ultimate promise which Jesus brings. If Jesus’ ministry was limited to the instances of healing which he performed during his earthly life, how could He possibly maintain a relevance and meaning for all of humanity? But we know that Jesus’ ultimate expression of love was to make open to everyone the promise of belong to the KoG.
Application:
- Jesus' divine authority is clearly shown and yet the people respond to Him differently. How will you respond to Jesus this week?
- How should we respond to Jesus once we know that He has so much authority?
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