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The Gospel of Mark
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BIBLE STUDY MARK 3:1-35 REVIEW: In chapter 2 Jesus begins to encounter opposition to his ministry – first from the Pharisees’ scribes, and then later from the Pharisees themselves. Mark has five consecutive stories of opposition to Jesus – four of them in chapter 2 and the fifth being the first part of chapter 3. The first story of opposition to Jesus came when the scribes questioned his authority to tell a paralytic that his sins were forgiven – because they believed that only GOD could do that. Jesus showed that he indeed did have God’s authority to forgive sins by then completely healing the paralytic. The second story of opposition came when Jesus ate “with tax collectors and sinners.” This illustrates a basic difference in understanding what religion is about. The scribes and Pharisees believed that the purpose of religion was to keep the “righteous” people safe and separated from “sinners”. Jesus, however, understood the purpose of religion – his ministry – to bring healing and wholeness to those who were excluded and who were in need. The third story of opposition came when John’s disciples and the Pharisees asked Jesus why his disciples did not fast. Fasting was held to be one of the three major acts of Jewish piety (the other two are prayer and almsgiving). In reply, Jesus told them that his ministry was one of joy – like when the bridegroom is with them at a wedding. Jesus also tells two parables to illustrate that the good news of God’s kingdom is not to be enclosed or trapped in old forms of piety (a message that we also need to understand and heed today!). Finally, the fourth story of opposition is when the Pharisees complain about his disciples doing “work” on the Sabbath by plucking heads of grain. The “violation” may seem obscure, but the heart of their position is that Jesus does not have authority to teach among the people of Israel if he and his disciples do not scrupulously observe the Law. Jesus, however, makes the point that the purpose of the Sabbath (and by implication the rest of the Law as well) is to ensure the well-being of humankind - and NOT to make people slaves to ritual requirements! CHAPTER 3:1-6 “Healing on the Sabbath” “Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. They watched him to see whether he would cure him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come forward.” Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. He looked around them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.” This is the second Sabbath controversy and the fifth overall in Mark’s series that began in chapter two. Mark writes that “they watched him…so that they might accuse him.” In other words, the Pharisees had already made up their minds that anything Jesus might say or do was probably wrong. They were now looking for any possible evidence to support their opinion. QUESTION: Do we sometimes do this? Sometimes, we all probably “profile” persons – persons we know, persons in society, politics, etc. – and are inclined to assume the worst about them. We all would do well to remember and practice Luther’s explanation of the eighth commandment: “We are to fear and love God so that we do not betray, slander, or lie about our neighbor, but defend him, speak well of him, and explain his actions in the kindest way.” The Pharisee’s problem with Jesus involved whether “work” could be done on the Sabbath. As they understood it, any “work” that was not absolutely necessary in order to save life should not be done on the Sabbath, but should be postponed until later. Healing a man’s withered hand certainly did not fall into the category of immediate necessity” – Jesus certainly could have waited until the next day to do this. Jesus, however, does not shy away from the controversy. He asks the Pharisees to consider the basic meaning of the Sabbath – that it is meant to provide for peoples’ well-being and NOT to be a hindrance to helping people in need. Mark (as he does throughout his gospel) then stresses Jesus’ emotion – his anger and grief at their hardness of heart – their being more concerned for ritual requirements than for the needs of people. After Jesus heals the man, Mark states that the Pharisees “went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.” The Herodians are probably supporters of Herod Antipas who ruled Galilee during the ministry of Jesus. They were “secularists”, who paid little if any attention to religious rituals. Normally, the Pharisees would have nothing to do with them. The fact that the Pharisees would seek them out as allies illustrates the depth of their hatred towards Jesus. The Pharisees’ response to Jesus’ healing also is very “ironic” in that Jesus was “doing good” and even “saving life” on the Sabbath, while they in turn wanted to “do harm” and perhaps even “to kill”. In other words the Pharisees – who supposedly scrupulously observed the Sabbath – were actually violating its central meaning and purpose! CHAPTER 3:7-12 “Transitional Markan Summary: Healings Beside the Sea” “Jesus departed with his disciples to the sea, and a great multitude from Galilee followed him; hearing all that he was doing, they came to him in great numbers from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and the region around Tyre and Sidon. He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him; for he had cured many, so that all who had diseases pressed upon him to touch him. Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, “You are the Son of God!” But he sternly ordered them not to make him known.” The main purpose of this narrative is to provide a transition between the first and second subsections of the gospel. It summarizes the result of Jesus’ ministry up to this point – that people “in great numbers” were now coming to Jesus from many different areas because they were “hearing all that he was doing”. (Note: Mark rather conspicuously omits mentioning the regions of Samaria and The Decapolis – which apparently had an especially negative reputation among the Jews of his day.) The narrative shows Jesus’ popularity, but it also has a note of tragedy as well. Apparently, all these people came for healing – for their physical needs – rather than to hear Jesus’ proclamation of the good news of God’s kingdom. They even pressed upon Jesus to touch him without even asking. Finally, Mark makes a subtle but clear theological point by showing that the unclean spirits recognize who Jesus is – the Son of God – and that even they worship Jesus! Jesus orders them “not to make him known” (another example of the so-called “messianic secret” motif common in Mark’s gospel) - because Jesus realizes that people at this point would have a wrong understanding of who the Son of God was. Jesus was not a messiah of nationalism and power as most people of his day were looking for, but a messiah of loving and even sacrificial service. CHAPTER 3:13-19 “Jesus Chooses the Twelve Apostles” “He went up the mountain and called to him those whom he wanted, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, and to have authority to cast out demons. So he appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is Sons of Thunder); and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.” Just as Mark presented the call of disciples (1:16-20) as the initial act in the first phase of Jesus’ ministry, now the second phase (3:7-6:6a) begins with the appointment of the Twelve. The list of the Twelve is presented here in Mark’s gospel, as well as in Matthew 10:1-4; Luke 6:12-16; and Acts 1:13. As Daniel Harrington and John Donahue state in their commentary on The Gospel of Mark, though there is some variation in order, every list begins with Simon (Peter) and the same four are mentioned first: Peter, Andrew, James, and John. There are minor variations among the final eight, but Judas is always last. This variation and constancy show that a group of “the Twelve” is very likely an early institution in the Church (1 Cor. 15:5), probably rooted in the ministry of the historical Jesus. At the same time the lack of information about the majority of the Twelve and their relative lack of importance as individuals in the New Testament suggests that, as an institution in early Christianity, it may have died out in a relatively short time. The Gospel of John, although aware of the existence of the Twelve (Jn. 6:67, 70, 71; 20:24), contains no list of the Twelve or narrative about their choice. Be that as it may, the significance of this passage is not so much the list of names of those who Jesus appointed but rather why he appointed them. He appointed them “to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message (the word “apostles” literally means “those who are sent”) and to have authority to cast out demons.”
CHAPTER 3:20-30 “The Beelzebul Controversy” NOTE: This section shows Jesus in conflict from two fronts – from members of his own family, and from the scribes. “Then he went home; and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, “He has gone out of his mind.” Mark, much more so than the other gospels, shows that Jesus was misunderstood and even opposed by members of his own family. According to William Barclay in his Daily Study Bible commentary, Jesus by his actions had made it clear that the three laws by which people tend to organize their lives meant nothing to him.
Jesus’ family went out to restrain him, for they felt that he was taking unacceptable risks in not playing it safe and in not paying attention to what others were saying or thinking about him. It is often true that opposition for our doing the right thing comes from those who are closest to us, because of their concern for us. “And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.” And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered. Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin” – for they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.” Here is another example of Jesus’ enemies putting the worst possible construction on what he is doing. Instead of simply rejoicing and giving praise to God that Jesus is casting out demons, they say that he is in league with evil! Jesus has no difficulty in exploding their argument. As he says, “a kingdom divided against itself” and “a house divided against itself” cannot stand. Harrington and Donahue in their commentary on The Gospel of Mark note that Jesus’ sayings here would also fit events familiar to both Jesus’ hearers and Mark’s readers. Both the kingdom and household of Herod the Great were divided after his death in 4 B.C. and “came to an end.” They would also have been aware that internal divisions among the Jews were largely responsible for the Romans taking control of Palestine in 63 B.C. Jesus rather is one who is overcoming the “strong man” Satan and is “plundering his house” by freeing people from his possession. Finally, Jesus talks about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit as being an unforgivable or eternal sin. What he is referring to is the hardness of heart shown by the scribes when they attribute God’s work of healing being done by Jesus to demonic power. Since they had already made up their minds about Jesus being allied with Beelzebul, they would not repent and believe (even though the evidence was right before them!) that he was doing God’s work! CHAPTER 3:31-35 “The True Family of Jesus” “Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you.” And he replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” As the Interpreter’s Bible commentary states, Jesus’ words in this passage were not the light words of a man indifferent to family relationships – the Gospels give evidence that Jesus was deeply devoted to his family. Nevertheless, the supreme claim of the will of God transcends the restraining claims of the family. William Barclay also states in his Daily Study Bible commentary that true kinship among people is not so much based on blood relationships as it is upon common experience, common interest, common obedience, and common goals. These things, rather than blood ties, are what truly bring and keep people together as a “family”! Mark’s original readers could probably well identify with this passage. As many of them were being persecuted for their faith, it is very likely that many of their friends and closest relatives were encouraging them to renounce Christianity in order to be safe. But as Jesus makes clear here, nothing is ever more important than doing God’s will! And the Christians whom Mark was writing to understood that their most important relationships were the ones which they had with each other through Jesus Christ. -------------------- George R. Karres, Pella Lutheran Church 418 W. Main Street Sidney, MT 59270
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