You know the Drill..

Mark – Study Four

Jesus’ words & deeds

Acting it out. Apart from His death on the cross, Jesus is famous for telling parables and doing miracles. Divide into groups of 4 or 5 and act out from memory one of the following:

* the parable of the sower and the different types of ground the seed falls onto

* the parable of the lamp on a stand

* the parable of the growing seed

* the parable of the mustard seed

* Jesus calms the storm

* Jesus sends the demons into the pigs

* Jesus raises Jairus’ daughter

* Jesus heals the bleeding woman

To understand what Jesus’ mission was, we need to look at what He did and what He said. In the last study, we focussed on the reactions that people had towards Jesus. Today, we’ll focus on what Jesus’ words and deeds tell us about Him, His mission and the Kingdom of God. And in response to this, what this means for us as Christians today.

Read Mark 3:7-3:35

1. What do we see Jesus doing here?

• Healing,
• Appoints the 12 apostles,
• Preaches/talks in parables

2. What reactions do people have towards Jesus?

• Crowds who came to see Jesus: They came because of his reputation as a healer. The crowds however miss the point of what Jesus means, which perhaps establishes a reason why Jesus didn’t allow the evil spiritsd to talk out loud- doing so may have enflamed the masses, pushing to solve their problems immediately by means of revolution
• 12 Apostles: It is to these people that Jesus will reveal the meaning of his parables to- but as we will see, their knowledge of who Jesus is (as the Son of God) is not yet complete
• Jesus’ mother and brothers: from their suspicion that their son and sibling has gone loopy, it is unlikely that they realise who they are dealing with
• The teachers of the law: they accuse him of having an evil spirit (v30). It is precisely the opposite which dwells in Jesus, however.

Out of all these reactions, what is obvious is that the identity of who Jesus truly is has yet to be recognised by anyone

Read Mark 4:1-34

1. Jesus tells five parables about the Kingdom of God. What are they?

• Parable of the sower (3-20)
• Lamp on a stand (21-23)
• Parable of the measure (24-25)
• Parable of the growing seed (26-29)
• Parable of the mustard seed (30-34)

In v33, the author of Mark informs his readers that these are only a portion of the parables that Jesus told.

2. Each parable tells us something different about the nature of God’s Kingdom. What do you learn from each?

• Parable of the sower (3-20): We see multiple responses to the message which Jesus brings. Each response it illustrated in a particular way, but it’s obvious from the text that the right way to respond is to accept its promise ant teaching.

- If we do, it produces a crop: what sort of benefits do you think Jesus is talking about here?

• Lamp on a stand (21-23): In this parable, the Word is described like a lamp. There are many associations of Jesus and light (John 1), and we should be conscious of its function in illuminating and making us knowledgeable of our need to repent.

- At the same time, we know that Matthew 6:14-16 equates Christians as the ‘light of the world’: through the use of this imagery, we should accept our responsibility to glorify God with our lives seriously:

• Parable of the measure (24-25): This is a warning for Christians who are limiting the areas of their life Jesus has an impact in. It’s like that saying (must loved by Australian!), ‘you only get out what you put in’. If we are to enjoy all that Christ has to offer, we need to be prepared to give Him our all.
• Parable of the growing seed (26-29): When reading this parable, it should be evident that whether the seed produces a crop is out of the man’s control and knowledge. We are called to have faith that Him to began a good work within you will complete it (Phil 1:6)
• Parable of the mustard seed (30-34): It is not God’s way to work according to logic- His foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, after all (1 Cor 25). So in spite of the humble roots of Christianity found in 12 people of different personalities, of homogenous ethnicity, our promise of the KoG is made to encompass people of every nation.

3. What’s the use of parables? Why did Jesus tell them?

There appears to be 2 purposes to Jesus speaking in parables:

i) In v12, the parables are explained by Jesus to be a means of disguising the meaning of Jesus’ teachings.

ii) In v33 however, we can see that a reason for Jesus talking in parables is to condescend to the level of His audiences, and allow them to understand as much as possible. This was a innovative variation on the normal usage of parables, who were often complex and understandable by rabbis talking to other rabbis.

4. Is Jesus being mean by not explaining His teachings to everyone? (See Mark 4:33)

(I had a really hard time with this question…) We know through v33 that Jesus’ application of parables was to accommodate His audience’s limited understanding about the thing He was talking about. However, the reference in v 12 to Isaiah 6:9-10 is troubling: is the implication that Jesus does not want some people to repent?

I think it is important to keep in mind that there are 2 sorts of responses which are highlighted as Jesus teaches in ch 4. Some people, (the Twelve and the ‘others’ (v12)) desire in earnest to discern the nature of Jesus’s teachings and stay back to listen to what He has to say. Some, like the Pharisees regardless of Jesus’ explanation are determined to oppose Him from the very outset. But what is common to both people is that they heard the same message.

Although it is hard to recognise that God’s judgement will come upon those which do not accept His truth, we need to remember that just as Jesus did so in ch 4, we all have had the same opportunities afforded to us (Romans 2:1-16). Whether or not we choose to accept what Jesus has to say comes down to a decision we all must make- we can either reject Him, or acknowledge Him as our Lord and Saviour. The means by which Jesus chooses to explain this to us may be harsh, but this only makes it easier to distinguish the conclusion we have already reached beforehand (Eph 1:4).

5. In the light of this, what is the significance of the phrase “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear” (4:9, 23)?

The recognition that not everyone will take His message of repentance is well recognised by Jesus. Yet to those who are listening, Jesus is asking them to attempt to understand what He is saying as more than just a teaching (knowledge) or an intellectual puzzle.

Read Mark 4:35-5:43

1. What miracles do we see Jesus doing?

• Jesus calming the storm (v35-41)
• Jesus casting out a demon (1-20)
• Jesus healing the sick woman (21-34)
• Jesus raising the girl form the dead (35-43)

2. Jesus’ miracles show His awesome power and each miracle that Mark chooses to tell us about here shows a different aspect of this power. What does Jesus have power over?

Through these accounts, we can see that Jesus had authority over the physical and spiritual realms. More obliquely, the source of His authority is revealed through these stories: Jesus could only do these things if He truly was (as he said in ch 2) the Son of God.

Application

1. The crowd and the disciples had problems understanding what Jesus taught. Do you sometimes find that it’s difficult to understand what the Bible says? What can you do about it?

2. What do we learn about Jesus’ character? How does this affect the way you relate to Him?

3. What do we learn about the Kingdom of God? What does this mean for us as believers?

4. What is one thing that you will change in your life as a result of this study?