Author: David Petts

Talk 20   Mark 7:1-23 Beware of the Pharisees

Welcome to Talk 20 in our series on Mark’s Gospel. Today we’re looking at Mark 7:1-23 where the Pharisees see some of Jesus’ disciples eating food without first giving their hands the ceremonial washing that was required by Jewish tradition. So they ask Jesus about this. Jesus replies by quoting a passage from Isaiah where God says:

These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.

He then adds:

You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.

As an example of this, Jesus points out that they were getting around God’s command to honour your father and mother by a practice known as Corban. Instead of helping their parents when they were in financial need, they would say that whatever money they had was devoted to God, and so they were unable to help them. In doing this they were setting aside the commands of God in order to observe their own traditions!

Jesus then calls the crowd to him and tells them that

Nothing outside a man can make him ‘unclean’ by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him ‘unclean.’

When his disciples ask him to explain what he means by this, he tells them that what we eat or how we eat it can’t make us unclean because it doesn’t go into our heart but into our stomach and then passes out of our body. Mark then adds that

In saying this, Jesus declared all foods “clean.”

Jesus then says that what makes you unclean is what comes out of your heart – things like evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. These are the things that make us unclean.

So what can we learn from all this?

Notice first the continued opposition of the Jewish leaders to Jesus.

The continued opposition of the Jewish leaders to Jesus

They seem to have been against him right from the start. They have challenged his authority to forgive sins, they’ve criticised him for eating with tax-collectors and ‘sinners’, they’ve complained that his disciples have done what is not lawful on the Sabbath, they’ve accused him of being demon-possessed, and they’ve already begun to plot how they can kill him. And now they’re complaining about the behaviour of his disciples again:

Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with ‘unclean’ hands? (v5).

And that was the root cause of their opposition – the tradition of the elders. There’s a clear contrast in this passage between man-made tradition and the commands of God.

The contrast between man-made tradition and the commands of God

Notice the repetition of the word tradition in this passage:

3 …the tradition of the elders.

4 …they observe many other traditions

5 …Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders…?

8 …You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.

9 …You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!

13 …you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down.

What stands out in these verses is that traditions are made by men, not God. They are handed down by men. And there is the danger that in following man-made tradition we may not only let go of the commands of God, but even nullify his word. It can also easily lead to hypocrisy.

The danger of hypocrisy

Look at verses 6-8.

6 He (Jesus) replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “‘These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 7 They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’ 8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.”

The word hypocrite comes from the Greek word hupokrites which means actor. In ancient Greece plays were performed in amphitheatres by actors who wore masks. So a hypocrite is someone who covers up who they really are, pretending to be someone else. This was just what the Pharisees were guilty of, honouring God with their lips, but far from him in their hearts. Their hypocrisy involved insincerity and dishonesty.

As a result, Jesus said that they worshipped God in vain. They were not honouring God by teaching his word, but rules taught by men. They knew what God had said, but they had let go of his commands. In Matthew 23, talking of the Pharisees, Jesus said:

…do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. “Everything they do is done for men to see… (Matthew 23:3-4).

In fact, to get a full understanding of Jesus’ condemnation of the Pharisees, it’s worth reading the whole of Matthew 23, but the verses we’ve just quoted give a clear idea of the nature of hypocrisy. Their motivation for what they did and said was clearly wrong. They did not practice what they preached, and by their nit-picking rules they placed heavy burdens on people’s shoulders and were totally unwilling to lift them. But that brings us to the next key principle we see in today’s passage – the freedom that Jesus has brought us.

The freedom that Jesus has brought us

The legalistic regulations imposed by the traditions of men stands in stark contrast to the liberty that Jesus introduced through his teaching. Notice Mark’s statement in verse 19 that Jesus declared all foods clean! (Compare Peter’s experience on the rooftop at Joppa in Acts 10). What a contrast to the strict food laws imposed by Moses! As we saw in Talk 8, the kingdom of God which Jesus had come to proclaim could not be contained within the framework of Judaism. This is reflected in what Mark says in verse 3: The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing.

Admittedly it had taken some time for the church to break free from the restraints of Judaism, but the Council of Jerusalem (c.48-50AD) was a great step forward towards the freedom that Jesus had so vehemently proclaimed. I have dealt with this subject at some length in my book, The Voice of God, where I point out that the decision made by the church leaders in Acts 15 regarding food was an ad hoc decision motivated by the Holy Spirit to deal with a specific problem facing the church at that time. It was not binding on all Christians for all time. As we have seen, Jesus had already declared all foods to be clean, and this was clearly the understanding of the apostle Paul when he says in Romans 14:17-20:

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men. Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.

The underlying principle in this teaching is love. When a Pharisee who was an expert in the Law asked Jesus, What is the greatest commandment in the Law? Jesus replied:

‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments“(Matthew 22:37-40).

Notice that Jesus says, All the Law and the Prophets. Not just the ceremonial law. All the law. The Ten Commandments are included. And everything taught by the prophets. The entire Old Testament. As Christians we are free from it all! But of course, if we really love God with all our heart and soul and mind, and if we really love our neighbour as ourself, we will not kill or steal or commit adultery etc. The Law was given to show us our sin and our need of a Saviour (Galatians 3:23-25). But now we are free. It was for freedom that Christ has set us free and we are to stand firm in that freedom (Galatians 5:1). As Paul says in Galatians 5:13-14:

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’.

The importance of the heart

In verses 18-23 he says that nothing you eat can make you unclean because it doesn’t go into your heart. It’s what what’s in your heart that makes you unclean. In Matthew 5:27-28 , for example, Jesus warns against adultery in the heart. This is because, as he says here:

…from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’

This list is clearly connected to the Ten Commandments, where theft, murder, adultery, and coveting are strictly forbidden. But whereas the Ten Commandments relate largely to a person’s actions, Jesus is here emphasising the motivation behind those actions and the source from which they spring, the human heart. In Jeremiah 17:9-10 God says:

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds (ESV).

The desires of our hearts influence the thoughts of our minds, and our thoughts determine our actions. But as those who have received Christ as our Saviour, Hebrews 10:19-22 tells us that we have confidence to enter God’s presence because Jesus has made a way for us by dying for us and as a result we can:

draw near to God with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience…

What’s more, Galatians 4:5-6 tells us that we have been redeemed from the law and adopted as God’s children, and God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts. That’s why, rather than giving in to the acts of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21), we are able now to follow the desires of the Spirit allowing the fruit of the Spirit to grow in our lives:

Love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).

How different these qualities are from the attitudes and actions of the Pharisees. From their bad example there is so much we can learn to avoid. Even as Christians we can fall into their ways as even Peter did briefly (Galatians 2:11-13). As those who follow Jesus we should never:

·      Put man-made traditions before the word of God.

·      Find ways of getting around God’s commands to further our own interests.

·      Impose heavy burdens on others by our legalistic rules.

·      Be more concerned with outward appearance than with true holiness.

·      Act like hypocrites, honouring God with our lips, but far from him in our hearts.

And, of course, unlike the Pharisees, we must practise what we preach.

If we don’t want to fall into their ways, we need to examine our hearts.

Talk 19 Mark 6:45-56 Jesus walks on water

Welcome to talk 19 in our series on Mark’s gospel. Today we are looking at Mark 6:45-56 where we read the remarkable story of Jesus walking on water.This story, which takes place just after Jesus had fed the 5000, is a wonderful example of how Jesus continues to challenge and to strengthen the faith of his disciples. In it we see how:

·      The disciples were very slow to learn and to believe.

·      Jesus deliberately challenges their faith.

·      He supernaturally intervenes to bring them safely through the problem they are facing.

The disciples’ slowness to learn and to believe

Jesus was training his disciples to become fishers of men.

The most important part was teaching them to understand exactly who he was – the Son of God. He did this by the things he taught and the miracles he performed.

But the disciples were slow to learn and to believe.

Even after Jesus had risen from the dead he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen (Mark 16:14).

They were amazed when they saw the miracles, but again and again they reveal their lack of faith. Remember the storm on the Sea of Galilee where Jesus asks, Do you still have no faith?

And, in Chapter 8, when the disciples had forgotten to bring any bread with them, Jesus asks:

Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” “Twelve,” they replied. “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” They answered, “Seven.” He said to them, “Do you still not understand?” (Mark 8:17-21).

It seems that Jesus was constantly working

·      to bring his disciples to a deeper understanding of who he was

·      and to develop their faith in God’s love for them

·      and his ability and willingness to meet their needs.

And believe it or not, he’s doing the same for us too.

So let’s look at the passage in more detail,

bearing in mind that Jesus’ aim is to strengthen the faith of his disciples – and our faith too.

Jesus challenges their faith

45 Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.

Notice that Jesus made them get into the boat. The verb can be translated compel.

So he must have had a definite purpose in sending them on ahead of him and putting them at some distance from himself.

Part of that purpose was so that he could be alone and pray.

Perhaps he was talking to his Father about the disciples’ lack of faith.

And perhaps he sent them on ahead to test and strengthen their faith.

Soon they would be facing a storm without Jesus being physically present with them.

This is made clear in the next verse.

47 When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake and he was alone on land.

John 6 tells us that the boat was about three and a half miles from the shore.

Matthew 14 adds that it was buffeted by the waves.

The disciples are in trouble, but Jesus is alone on the land.

At least in the earlier storm he was with them in the boat, even if he was asleep!

How often when we face problems do we feel that Jesus is no longer with us, no longer aware of our need? Help seems miles away. But look at the next verse.

48 He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night (i.e. between 3 and 6 am) he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them…

The disciples were having a hard time. The wind was against them.

They were straining at the oars. They were finding it difficult to cope.

But even though it was dark, Jesus saw them. He saw the problem.

And he sees us too, even when our circumstances are so dark that we cannot see him.

Jesus intervenes supernaturally

So …he went out to them, walking on the lake.

He found a way of getting to them, even though it was humanly, scientifically, impossible.

He walked on water! If he can do that, surely he can do anything.

Mind you, walking on water wasn’t his usual way of getting places. He only worked miracles when there was a need.

But why was he about to pass by them? Or he intended to pass by them.

He had come to help them, so why pass by them?

You would have expected him to go straight to them.

Was it to test their faith? To get their attention?

We don’t know, but sometimes when it seems that he’s passing us by, he’s doing it to test our faith or get our attention. Maybe he wants us to really cry out.

Note that when he hears them cry out in fear he immediately encourages them by speaking to them.

His power to answer is not limited by the way we ask for help.

Even when we cry out in fear he is there to help.  Look at verses 49-50.

49 but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, 50 because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

Why did they think he was a ghost?

Because it couldn’t possibly be Jesus, could it?

Surely nobody, not even Jesus, can walk on water.

So they settled for another, even more implausible, supernatural explanation – a ghost.

And it’s very much the same today. So many prefer other forms of ‘spirituality’ rather than believing the solid evidence for the bodily resurrection of Jesus.

But Jesus says, Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid!

But how can we take courage when we’re being buffeted by the waves?

How can we not be afraid?

The key is in those three little words IT IS I.

In context it could simply mean, It’s not a ghost. It’s me.

But literally translated we can understand it to mean far more than that.

Jesus actually says I AM. The name by which God revealed himself to Moses.

The eternally self-existent one.

If we wonder how it was that Jesus could walk on water, and how he could give Peter the power to do so, we have only to remember who he was –

The I AM with whom all things are possible.

But Mark doesn’t mention Peter walking on the water.  

It’s Matthew who tells us. At this point in the story before Jesus gets into the boat, Matthew tells us that Peter says, Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.

And Jesus says, Come.  

Then Peter gets out of the boat, walks on the water and comes towards Jesus.

But when he sees the wind, he’s afraid and begins to sink.

So he cries out, Lord, save me!

And immediately Jesus reaches out his hand and catches him.

You of little faith, Jesus says, Why did you doubt? (Matthew 14:28-31).

We won’t take time to discuss why Mark does not include this amazing miracle. Any attempt to do so would be sheer conjecture. What’s important here is that

·      Jesus is giving one of his disciples an opportunity to exercise faith in him

·      Peter actually walked on water

·      He soon wavered after Jesus told him to come.

This is so typical of the fluctuating faith of all the disciples throughout the Gospels,

and, if we’re honest, of ours today.

But back to the passage in Mark.

51 Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, 52 for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.

Notice that Jesus didn’t rebuke the wind this time.

It died down as soon as he was in the boat.

His very presence was enough to calm both the wind and the anxious hearts of the disciples.

But what does Mark mean when he says that they had not understood about the loaves, and that their hearts were hardened?

And how do we reconcile this with Matthew’s account which says that they worshipped him saying, You are the Son of God!?

The reference to the loaves, of course, relates to the feeding of the five thousand earlier in the chapter.

It’s clear that they were not expecting such a miracle,

and, even when it happened, they did not fully understand the full significance of it.

Surely miracles like this were pointing to the fact that Jesus was the Son of God, and yet they hardly dared to believe it.

They were amazed because they hadn’t understood who Jesus was.

And so, as we’ve already pointed out, their faith frequently fluctuated, up one minute, down the next. Or, down one minute, up the next!

And this may explain why Matthew could say that the disciples worshipped Jesus and said, You are the Son of God.

They’re doubting one minute, believing the next.

Their initial reaction is amazement. They want to believe, but they hardly dare to.

But after they witness the miracle of Peter walking on water their faith rises and they worship Jesus and acknowledge who he is.

Compare Peter’s confession in Matthew 16.

The realisation of who Jesus is comes by revelation from Heaven.

The process of coming to this understanding was gradual, reaching a climax in a flash of revelation. And it doesn’t just happen once. We need repeated revelation, and repeatedly to confess who Jesus is. And this was Jesus’ purpose – building their faith and bringing them to a steadfast understanding of who he is. It was a gradual process, as it is with us.

But however wavering our faith we can be sure that his faithfulness will always bring us to the other side. As verse 53 tells us – they crossed over, they landed… and they anchored there.

So, to summarise, in this incident we see how Jesus tests and strengthens his disciples’ faith. He sends them ahead without him. He allows them to go through another storm, but he still has his eye on them. He does the impossible by walking on water to encourage them and even allows Peter to walk on water too, despite his wavering faith.  And of course, he gets them all safely to the other side. It was Jesus who had told them to make the journey in the first place. And all this enables them to appreciate better who he is.

But before we leave Mark 6, let’s read the last few verses of the chapter.

54 As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. 55 They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he went – into villages, towns or countryside – they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed.

These verses are a summary of Jesus’ ministry at that time. Notice the words wherever he was, wherever he went. The healings recorded in the Gospels were no isolated incidents. They were happening everywhere, in villages, towns, and countryside. As we saw in earlier talks, they were evidence of the truth that the kingdom of God was among them and that Jesus was who he claimed to be, the Son of God.

The need for any of us to walk on water today would be exceptional, but the need for healing is always with us. In the passage we have just read five facts stand out:

They recognised Jesus

They ran to him

They requested (begged) him to heal them

They reached out and touched him

They received their healing.

Is it always like that today? If we’re honest, the answer is no. The extent to which miracles of healing are happening varies from place to place. As we saw in Chapter 5, even Jesus’ power to work miracles was limited in Nazareth because of their unbelief. And there were times in his ministry when he didn’t heal everyone as we see from John’s account of Jesus healing at the Pool of Bethesda. The key to his miracles, and indeed to his whole life, was that he only did what he saw the Father do (John 5:19).

We cannot tell God what to do, but we can like Jesus spend time with God and let him tell us what to do. So the five points mentioned above are not a formula for healing. There’s no such thing, and the belief that there is can lead to bitter disappointment. But in our search for healing we can and we should recognise that Jesus is Lord, run to him with our request, and reach out in faith, believing that we will receive our healing in God’s own good time. He does work miracles of healing today, but we need to remember that all healing in this life is temporary. The ultimate healing will take place when we receive new bodies when Jesus comes again. Meanwhile, keep your eyes on Jesus. He will get you there.

For more on this important subject, please see Just a Taste of Heaven – a Biblical and Balanced Approach to God’s Healing Power, available from my website: www.davidpetts.org

Talk 18   Mark 6:30-44   Feeding the Five Thousand

Welcome to Talk 18 in our series on Mark’s Gospel. Today we’ll be looking at Mark 6:30-44 where we read of the amazing miracle of how Jesus fed over 5000 people with five small loaves and two small fishes. Mark tells us that these people were, as so many are today, like sheep without a shepherd, and today I want to concentrate on what the passage shows us about the people, about the disciples, and about Jesus.

But first let’s read the passage to remind ourselves of the details of what happened.

30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” 32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.

33 But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

35 By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. 36 Send the people away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”  37 But he answered, “You give them something to eat.” They said to him, “That would take eight months of a man’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”

38 “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.” When they found out, they said, “Five – and two fish.” 39 Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. 42 They all ate and were satisfied, 43 and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. 44 The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.

The people

So let’s begin by considering the condition of the people. Verse 34 tells us that they were like sheep without a shepherd (34). To understand what this means we need to remember that the role of a shepherd was to lead and feed his sheep. This is well illustrated in Psalm 23 where David says:

The Lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.

But these people were like sheep without a shepherd. Notice the word like. We’re not told that they were sheep without a shepherd. The Greek literally says they were like sheep not having a shepherd. But surely they had a shepherd. Wasn’t the Lord their shepherd? Didn’t Psalm 23 apply to them? Of course it did. The Lord was their shepherd, but, as so often with Israel of old, they were acting as though he were not, some because they were ignorant of it and others because they were unwilling to be led by him. And if you’re not willing to be led, you can’t expect to be fed! A sheep without a shepherd will probably find food somewhere, but it won’t find the green pastures and quiet waters that only the shepherd can provide.

What’s more, one of the great things about being led by the Lord is not just that he takes care of you and meets your needs, but that he gives you a sense of direction in life. He leads you. But the people in this passage, like so many people today, were aimlessly running to and fro, without any clear purpose in life other than to get their needs met. They ran on foot from all the towns (33). They were constantly coming and going (31). The word going here literally means departing. Why didn’t they STAY? Of course, some did. The disciples did. But many were departing. They were in a constant state of flux.

The key to understanding the root cause of this is found in verse 34, where we’re told that Jesus began teaching them many things. This shows very clearly that they had a lot to learn. Of course they would have known well enough about the current political situation with the occupying Roman forces as a constant reminder. They would have known about the history of their nation and of God’s deliverances in the past, and they were well aware of the religious laws of their Bible as they were interpreted by the rabbis in their synagogues. But there was still much that they needed to learn, that only Jesus could teach them. Only Jesus could show them the way to Heaven.

And it’s just the same today. Most people know something about politics and history and law. Some even know something about the teachings of the Bible, but there is still much coming and going, still no clear understanding of truth. Despite all the advances of science and our knowledge of the natural world, people are still living in uncertainty, with no real sense of direction and purpose in their lives. Refusing to be led by the good shepherd, they are failing to find the green pastures to which only he can take them. But that’s where our role as Jesus’ disciples is so important. It’s our responsibility to make sure that everyone at least has the opportunity to know the truth. It’s by knowing the truth that people are set free (John 8:32). So let’s now see what we can learn about the disciples in this passage.

The disciples

At the start of our passage the disciples have just come back from the mission Jesus sent them on. They were excited to tell Jesus all they had done and taught (30). They had preached that people should repent and they had cast out demons and healed many who were sick (12). And by the end of the passage they had become instruments in one of the greatest miracles Jesus ever performed. They were truly a privileged group of people.

But they were also in many ways quite ordinary people, and our passage reveals some of the weaknesses that are sometimes seen in our lives as Christians, and perhaps especially of those God uses in miraculous ways like healing. It’s clear from verse 31 that the apostles were under pressure from the demands of the people. So many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat (31) and, when Jesus suggested they go somewhere quiet to get some rest, it must have been frustrating for them to see that the people had got there ahead of them (33).

I can’t help wondering if the disciples were irritated by this. I know from personal experience how easy it is for this to happen. Just when we think we might have found a solution to a problem, it can so easily crop up again when we’re least expecting it. Problems do sometimes seem to get there ahead of us. And the ‘problem’ on this occasion was the very people whose problems they were there to deal with! They wanted Jesus to send the people away (36). The reason they gave might suggest that they were genuinely concerned for the people:

…so they can go …and buy themselves something to eat.

But was this really their motivation, or were they more concerned for themselves than for the people? After all, hadn’t Jesus told them that they needed a rest? Of course, we can’t be sure what the disciples’ real motives were, but if we’re honest we know how easy it is to think of a good reason for doing what’s most convenient for ourselves. Only Jesus was entirely selfless, putting the needs of others before himself.

But before we turn our attention to Jesus, we need to point out another weakness in the disciples that we often find in ourselves as well. Despite all the miracles Jesus had already performed, and indeed the healings and exorcisms they had experienced in their own ministry, the disciples still had a tendency to doubt when the problem they were confronted with seemed insoluble. When Jesus told them to give the people something to eat (37) they responded by saying, That would take eight months of a man’s wages!

It seems they thought that Jesus was making an unreasonable demand. And at a natural level it probably would have been. It’s unlikely that they carried that much money with them, so how could they possibly feed a crowd of several thousand? Their mistake was to forget that when there was no natural solution, with God there might aways the possibility of a miracle. And, of course, with the benefit of hindsight, we know that that’s exactly what Jesus had in mind.

So is it wrong to seek a natural solution to our problems when we know we have a miracle working God? By no means. We mustn’t limit God to working in one way only. We certainly mustn’t limit him to working naturally, but neither must we limit him to working supernaturally. For example, he may heal by natural means, or he may heal us supernaturally. Proclaiming the kingdom of God means proclaiming that God is king. That means that he decides! We should never forget that he is able to work a miracle, but that he may choose to work through natural means.

When looking for a miracle the important question is, Have you heard from Jesus? The disciples had the benefit of hearing directly from him and when they followed his instructions they discovered that on this occasion his purpose was a miracle rather than a natural solution to the problem. But that brings us to the person of Jesus himself. What does this passage teach us about him?

Jesus

Perhaps the most important thing we learn about Jesus in this passage is his compassion for the people.

When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

They were like sheep without a shepherd, so he began to teach them. We were all like sheep going astray (1 Peter 2:25), but like the shepherd in the parable of the lost sheep (Luke 15:1-7), Jesus sought us and found us and has rescued us by laying down his life for the sheep (John 10:11). That’s what Jesus is doing for the people here in this passage, and Matthew and Luke tell us that he was not only teaching them and feeding them, but he was also healing them. Jesus was giving his life for them even before he died on the cross. And if compassion is not our motivation, then any words that we may say or any miracles we may perform will be of little value.

And Jesus’ compassion is evident not only in his care for the crowds. It is also seen in his concern for his disciples. They had just returned from a mission of preaching and healing and he knew they needed rest. So he says in verse 31, Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.

It’s interesting that he does not say, go away and get some rest. He says, Come with me… He knew that they needed to be alone with him. In Mark 3:14 we read that he chose twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach… Now, as they return from the mission he sent them on, it’s just as important that they spend time with him even as they rest. It’s vital that Christian workers learn this lesson. We all need time to rest, and to rest in him.

And Jesus’ concern for his disciples is also seen in the training he gives them. He tells them, You give them something to eat. He involves them in one of the greatest miracles he would ever perform. He guides them step by step through a lesson in faith that so far they have never experienced. Notice the following six things:

1.     He asks them to assess the seriousness of the situation.

“How many loaves do you have? Go and see.”

2.     He directs them to prepare for the impossible.

…have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass.

3.     He prays.

…looking up to heaven, he gave thanks.

4.     He acts in faith.

He broke the loaves.  

5.     He involves them in the miracle.

Then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people.

6.     He does not allow anything to be wasted

the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces

 (cf. John 6:12 Let nothing be wasted). Perhaps for them to eat later?

He was not expecting this kind of miracle every day. Neither should we.

So in this passage we have seen Jesus’ compassion for the people and his concern for his disciples. But before we conclude we need to take note of Jesus’ confidence in his Father. He did nothing except what he saw the Father do (John 5:19) and so before he breaks the loaves and the fish he looks up to Heaven – unlike the disciples who looked around for the solution (36). He has already organised the people into groups ready to feed them although as yet he had only five loaves and two fishes. But his eyes were not on the paucity of natural resources, nor on the immensity of the multitude. His eyes were on Heaven.

And the qualities we see in Jesus in this passage are qualities that are seen over and over again throughout his life. He lived and died because of his compassion for us sinners who were like sheep without a shepherd. He was able to do this because of his complete dependence on and obedience to his heavenly Father. And he is still training disciples and involving them in miraculous provision to demonstrate his love and compassion for a world that is lost without him.

So let’s be aware of the condition of the people around us, let’s try to avoid the mistakes the disciples made, and let’s follow the example of Jesus and love those who reject our testimony, even if necessary by laying down our lives for the sake of the gospel.

Talk 17 Mark 6:14-29  Herod and John the Baptist

Welcome to Talk 17 in our series on Mark’s Gospel. Today we’re looking at Mark 6:14-29 which relates the terrible story of the beheading of John the Baptist. The passage is set between Jesus sending out his disciples to proclaim the good news and their return to report to him all they had done and taught (v30). At first sight, the beheading of John the Baptist might seem to be something of a digression, but, when we remember the theme of our last talk, it becomes clear that there’s a very real continuity of thought in this passage.

Last time we saw how the people of Jesus’ home town rejected him and how, when Jesus sent out his disciples, he told them to shake the dust off their feet as a testimony against any who rejected their message about him. Today’s passage begins in verses 14-16 with the theme of people’s attitude to Jesus and his message, and continues with the story of how one particular person, King Herod, hardened his heart against the preaching of John the Baptist and ended up by ordering his execution. And we know from Acts 4:27 and Luke 23:12 that this eventually led to his conspiring with Pontius Pilate against Jesus himself.

But let’s begin by reading the passage to remind ourselves of the details.

14 King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.” 15 Others said, “He is Elijah.” And still others claimed, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago.” 16 But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, the man I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!” 17 For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, 20 because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him. 21 Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” 23 And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.” 24 She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” “The head of John the Baptist,” she answered. 25 At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter. 26 The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27 So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, 28 and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. 29 On hearing of this, John’s disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

The fact that Jesus’ name had become well known (v14) is not surprising, bearing in mind the miracles he was performing and the great crowds who gathered around him. The miracles were causing people to wonder exactly who Jesus was. He reminded them of what they had heard about Elijah and the miracles he performed. Some even thought Jesus was Elijah, possibly basing their assumption on Malachi’s prophecy that God would one day send Elijah back before the day of the Lord came (Malachi 4:5). (Although Jesus said in Mark 9:13 that it was actually John who was the promised ‘Elijah’). Others thought that Jesus was John the Baptist risen from the dead. This included King Herod who said, John, the man I beheaded, has been raised from the dead! (v16).

Mark then goes on to explain how and why Herod came to order John’s execution, but before we go any further it’s important to identify which Herod we are talking about, as the New Testament makes reference to no less than four different Herods, all of whom were unpleasant characters, to say the least. Perhaps it will be easiest to say which Herod this is NOT. This Herod is not Herod the Great (so-called) who wanted to kill the baby Jesus and massacred the baby boys in Matthew 2. He is not Herod Agrippa I, who was smitten by the angel of the Lord and died because of his pride in Acts 12, neither is he Herod Agrippa II before whom Paul conducted his defence in Acts 25-26. The Herod who executed John the Baptist was Herod Antipas whose final attitude to Jesus is found in Luke 23:7-12.

There we’re told that Pilate sent Jesus to Herod, who happened to be in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus’ trial, because Jesus came from the region of Galilee where Herod was the ruler and was therefore under his jurisdiction. Herod was pleased to see Jesus because, from what he’d already heard about him, he hoped to see him perform some miracle. He asked him many questions, but when Jesus refused to reply, he ridiculed and mocked him, dressed him in an elegant robe, and sent him back to Pilate, who then became his friend although up to that point they had been enemies. Herod was thus complicit in the crucifixion of Jesus as Acts 4:26-27 makes clear:

The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed one. Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel to conspire against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed.

So Herod and Pilate banded together against the Lord and conspired against Jesus. And now, as we return to our passage in Mark 6, we see that it was by hardening his heart to God’s word through John the Baptist that Herod took the first steps that led ultimately to his role in the crucifixion of Jesus. His attitude to God’s servant, John, was finally to determine his attitude to God’s Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus once said:

Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me (John 13:20).

To accept Christ’s message through the messengers he sends is to accept Christ himself, and to reject his message through the messengers he sends is to reject Christ himself. In rejecting God’s message through John, Herod finally came to ridicule and reject Christ.

But this need not have happened. Herod had every opportunity to accept John’s message of repentance. Verse 18 tells us that John had been saying to Herod, It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife. And the tense of the Greek verb indicates that he had done so repeatedly. But instead of repenting, Herod had John put in prison where John continued to preach the same message.

So Herod had plenty of opportunity to repent. He knew that John was a righteous and holy man. He feared him and he liked to listen to him but was greatly puzzled by what he heard. This verb (aporeomai) is sometimes  translated in the New Testament as perplexed and can also convey the idea of doubt. The mental confusion that caused Herod to doubt sprang from the fact that he knew what was right but was unwilling to do it.  There were so many voices clamouring for his attention – the voice of conscience telling him that his relationship with Herodias was sinful, the voice of John the Baptist constantly confirming that he must repent, the voice of Herodias demanding John’s death, and the voice of the flesh telling him that he must protect his own reputation at all costs. No wonder we’re told that he was perplexed.

And so, although for a time he protected John from Herodias’s thirst for his blood, the time came when, trapped by his own foolish vow, he murdered, without a fair trial, the man who Jesus said was the greatest person who had ever lived (Matthew 11:11), and in so doing involved a young girl [1] in the bloody process, undoubtedly psychologically damaging her for the rest of her life. But we know the story. It remains now for us to summarise where Herod went wrong.

It began with his decision to break God’s law and live in adultery with his brother’s wife. Instead of listening to the voice of conscience and repenting at the preaching of John the Baptist, he chose to continue to disobey God. Embarrassed by John’s public denunciation of his lifestyle, he attempted to silence him by putting him in prison. Infatuated with a young dancing girl he made a foolish oath, and when, at her mother’s instigation, she made the most outrageous demand, he lacked the moral courage to refuse it for fear of what others might think. This series of wrongly motivated decisions led finally to the ultimate decision – the rejection of Christ.

But before we conclude this message, let’s turn our attention away from the evil Herod to the man he beheaded, God’s faithful servant, John the Baptist. As we saw in Mark 1, the heart of the message God had called John to preach was that everyone needed to repent in preparation for the coming of the Messiah, and vast crowds came to be baptised in the Jordan confessing their sins. It’s clear from Luke 3 that the message was for all – soldiers, tax-collectors, religious leaders, and even for political leaders like King Herod. As we have seen, John told him in no uncertain terms that his relationship with his brother’s wife was wrong, and rebuked him for all the other evil things he had done (Luke 3:19) which led to his arrest, imprisonment and eventually his execution.

John was imprisoned before Jesus started his public ministry in Galilee (Mark 1:14) but his execution took place some time later. We know little of the time John spent in prison except that Matthew tells us that:

When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me” (Matthew 11:2-6).

John’s question shows that he was beginning to doubt if Jesus really was the promised Messiah despite the evidence of the miracles Jesus was doing. He was doubting the testimony of Scriptures like Isaiah 61:1-2 which Jesus said was being fulfilled in his miraculous ministry, and he was even doubting his own testimony that Jesus was the lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world. More serious still, he was doubting the testimony of God himself, who at Jesus’ baptism had declared that Jesus was his beloved Son.

These serious doubts would have been caused by the circumstances in which he found himself, unjustly imprisoned, and cut off from fellowship with like-minded people, but also perhaps by the expectation that the Messiah would proclaim freedom for the captives and release for the prisoners (Isaiah 61:1, Luke 4:18). If Jesus really was the Messiah, why was John still in prison? It’s all too easy to doubt when circumstances tell us that God has not kept the promises we believe he has made us, and John was no exception.

But fortunately, there is a remedy for doubt. John sent a message to Jesus and Jesus gave him the answer. Note that even though John was doubting who Jesus was, he still made contact with him. If you’re doubting God, it might seem illogical, but contact him anyway. When my philosophy tutor at Oxford confidently asserted that he could disprove the existence of God, as soon as the tutorial was over I said, God, if there is a God, HELP. And he did! My AV Bible fell open at Psalm 119:99 where I read:

I have more understanding than all my teachers, for thy testimonies are my meditation.

And my doubts were gone. So if your circumstances are causing you to doubt, do what John did. Keep in touch with Jesus, and if it seems that he’s not keeping his promises to you, let him remind you of the things he has done for you and of how he has worked in the lives of others. Faith is not the absence of doubt. It’s trusting the Lord despite our doubts and leaving the outcome with him. In the KJV Jesus’ final word to John was:

Blessed is he who is not offended in me (v6).

John’s doubts were leading him towards the danger of taking offense at Jesus like the people of Nazareth in Mark 6:3. The Greek word is the same, and as we saw last time it’s frequently used in the New Testament to mean a stumbling block or something that trips you up. What tripped up the people of Nazareth was their refusal to see beyond the humanity of Jesus.  For John the potential stumbling block was that if Jesus really was the Messiah, why was he not setting him free from Herod’s prison?

One lesson we can learn from this is that we must not be offended by God’s will for our lives. Some promises – especially with regard to the body – will not reach final fulfilment until the redemption of the body at the resurrection. When circumstances are against us, and when we’re not yet experiencing the fulfilment of one of God’s promises, it’s all too easy to give way to doubt. The remedy is to concentrate on the many wonderful promises we have seen fulfilled in our lives and to rejoice in what we hear God is doing for others, even if we are not yet experiencing the same blessings that they are. If the great John the Baptist could come to the point of doubting the very truth of what God had called him to preach, we should not be surprised or feel condemned if we are tempted to doubt.

Eventually, of course, John was liberated from the prison, but perhaps not in the way he was expecting or hoping. Death, for those who believe in Jesus, is the ultimate release, whether it be from imprisonment, or sickness, or any other form of suffering. Death is the gateway to Heaven where there is no mourning, or crying, or pain (Revelation 21:4). John’s headless body was laid in a tomb, but he himself was already enjoying the rewards of Heaven, far beyond the reach of evil people like Herod and Herodias.

Talk 16   Mark 6:1-13   Preaching the gospel in a hostile environment

Welcome to Talk 16 in our series on Mark’s Gospel. Today we’ll be looking at Mark 16:1-13. We’ll be concentrating on verses 1-5 where Mark tells us that Jesus was unable to do any mighty miracle in his home town because of the people’s unbelief, and then we’ll see how this relates to verses 6-13 where Jesus sends out the twelve apostles. We’ll begin by reading verses 1-6.

1 Jesus left there and went to his home town, accompanied by his disciples. 2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. “Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles! 3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. 4 Jesus said to them, “Only in his home town, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honour.” 5 He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 And he was amazed at their lack of faith…

1 Jesus left there and went to his home town, accompanied by his disciples.

Jesus leaves the home of Jairus and travels with his disciples away from the shore of Lake Galilee to his home town of Nazareth. He had been born in Bethlehem, and, as we’ve seen in previous talks, the base for his ministry was Capernaum, but he was always known as Jesus of Nazareth because that is where he had been brought up. So by Jesus’ home town Mark means Nazareth.

2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue

He does in Nazareth exactly what he has done elsewhere. He begins to teach in the synagogue. By saying that Jesus began to teach Mark is indicating that Jesus might well have continued to teach there if only the people had accepted him. Mark doesn’t tell us here what Jesus’ message was, but he would expect us to assume that it was in line with what he has already told us in Mark 1:14-15:

… Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!

But the people of Nazareth would not believe the good news. They took offense at him (v3). Why? Because the good news is Jesus! They were amazed. They asked, Where did this man get these things?  They recognised that he had been given wisdom and acknowledged that he worked miracles. But they could not look beyond the fact that they had known him as the carpenter. So in verse 3 they say:

3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?”

Despite the supernatural evidence of the miracles they had heard about, they refused to look beyond the natural. Yes, he was the carpenter. Yes, he was the son of Mary – if they had heard the story of his virgin birth, they had clearly not believed it.

Yes, he was the half-brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon and his sisters. But didn’t the miracles show that he was so much more! He was, in the opening words of Mark’s  Gospel, Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

And they took offense at him.

The verb that’s used here is closely connected with the noun skandalon which is frequently used in the New Testament to mean a stumbling block or something that trips you up. What tripped up the people of Nazareth was their refusal to see beyond the humanity of Jesus. And Paul, using the same word in 1 Corinthians 1:23, tells us that the Jews in general stumble at the message of Christ crucified. There is a danger that our preconceived ideas prevent us from seeing the whole truth about Jesus.

4 Jesus said to them, “Only in his home town, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honour.”

This reminds us of Luke 4:24 which records Jesus as saying, No prophet is accepted in his home town. Note the word accepted. The problem with the people of Nazareth was that they refused to accept Jesus. It’s interesting that Luke’s account of this whole incident is far more detailed than Mark’s. He tells us that Jesus read from the passage in Isaiah where it says:

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour (Luke 4:18-19, quoting Isaiah 61:1-2).

Luke goes on to tell us that Jesus went on to say, Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing (v21), and that the people spoke well of Jesus and were amazed at the way he spoke. As in Mark 6, their amazement sprang from the fact that they knew his family. Their familiarity with his humanity prevented them from seeing his divinity. They had heard of the miracles Jesus had performed in Capernaum and were expecting him to do something similar in Nazareth (v23).

But Jesus knew that they would not accept him, and provocatively stated:

I tell you the truth… no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed – only Naaman the Syrian (vv24-27).

As a result, Luke tells us that:

All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way (vv28-30).

So they not only refused to accept him. They actually tried to destroy him! But, perhaps surprisingly, Mark leaves out all this detail and simply tells us in verses 5-6:

He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their lack of faith…

Does Mark really mean that Jesus could not do any miracles there? Couldn’t Jesus do anything? We may be tempted to say that Jesus could have but chose not to do any miracle there. But that is not what Mark says. The Greek literally means he was unable to do. So how do we explain this? Of course, God can do anything, but he has sovereignly chosen to work in response to faith. Jesus only did what he saw the Father do (John 5:19). He was unable to work outside of the parameters by which God has chosen to operate. So he was unable to do any miracle (literally, powerful thing) there because of their lack of faith, although presumably a few sick people had enough faith to be healed.

I personally believe that this teaches us a very important principle. We know from experience that miracles seem to happen more frequently in some places than in others and we wonder why. The answer lies in this passage. Community unbelief inhibits the miraculous. If even Jesus could do no miracle in a place because of unbelief, we must not be surprised if we find that the same is true for us today.

But why is faith so important? The answer lies in the message of salvation. Salvation is by faith. Jesus preached, Repent, and believe the good news. He came because God loves us. He came to give his life a ransom for many. He came to take the punishment our sins deserved, so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. He knew that we would never be good enough for Heaven by our own self effort. That’s why he made a way for us to be saved by faith. Accepting Jesus, believing in him, is the only way to be saved. That’s why faith is important.

And that’s why Jesus worked miracles and why he commissioned his disciples to do so. He came to die for us. He wanted people to have faith in him for salvation, and miracles encourage faith. They give a practical demonstration of God’s love for us. By working miracles Jesus was giving people every opportunity to believe. But if they refuse to believe despite the evidence of the miracles, they will have no excuse when they stand before God on the day of judgment. Our eternal destiny is determined by whether or not we accept Jesus. But sadly, for the time being at least, the people of Nazareth would not, and so Jesus leaves them and goes around teaching from village to village (v6). But now let’s read verses 7-13.

7 Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits. 8 These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff – no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 9 Wear sandals but not an extra tunic. 10 Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. 11 And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them.” 12 They went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

7 Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits

We know from Mark 3:14-15 that Jesus had already chosen his twelve apostles so that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons. These verses express Jesus’ purpose in choosing them, but it’s not until now in chapter 6 that Jesus actually gives them that authority and sends them out. God’s timing is so important. He often reveals his purposes for us before he intends us to begin to fulfil them. And he gives us the authority we need as and when we need it. In the case of the Twelve, it was almost certainly so that they might have time to learn from his teaching and example before he gave them authority and sent them out to preach. It was by following him that he would make them fishers of men (1:17).

The specific instructions Jesus’ gave on this occasion are recorded in more detail by Matthew, where it is clear that this was a specific mission to the lost sheep of Israel (Matthew 10:6), but not at this time to the Samaritans or the Gentiles. That would come later. And where Mark only mentions that Jesus gave them authority over evil spirits, Matthew includes authority to heal every kind of sickness and disease, to cleanse lepers, and even raise the dead.

Some Christians take the view that these passages are intended to indicate that as Christians we all have the right to ‘take authority’ over these things, but that ignores the fact that nowhere in the Bible are we told to take authority. We only have authority if we are given it. Even Jesus’ authority was given him by God (Matthew 18:19). The fact that Jesus gave this authority to twelve specific disciples at a specific time and for a specific mission does not automatically mean that he has given it to you or me today.

Indeed, these very disciples, after Jesus had ascended into Heaven, had to wait to receive the power of the Spirit. In the Gospels they worked miracles with a specific authority given them by the Lord Jesus, but in Acts he would continue to work miracles through them as they were led and empowered by the Holy Spirit. And so it is with us. We can, and we should, expect the Lord to work through us in miraculous ways, but only as we are led by the Spirit.

The fact that he sent them out in pairs provides us with a wise example of how we should work today. Teamwork is essential. However great our gifting or experience, none of us is infallible, and we all need the wisdom, support and encouragement that comes from others who work alongside us. This principle was followed by the disciples in Acts – e.g. Peter and John, Paul and Barnabas etc., although Paul’s apostolic teams were often larger than two. The basic principle is that we should not go it alone.

8 These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff – no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 9 Wear sandals but not an extra tunic.

Again, these instructions were given with regard to a specific mission, and we should certainly not assume that when we go out on evangelism we must never take any money with us and that we should wear sandals rather than shoes! But we can certainly learn from the principles Jesus was teaching.

We can trust the Lord to meet our needs as we seek to proclaim the good news. How can we have faith to work miracles if we cannot trust God to provide for our basic needs? The Christian life is by faith from first to last.

10 Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. 11 And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them.”

Amazed at the lack of faith of the people of Nazareth (v6), Jesus was only too aware of the opposition that he and his disciples were facing. Nevertheless, people must be given the opportunity to accept him, or to reject him. So he sent his disciples out to preach the good news to the surrounding villages, knowing that some would not listen. The disciples were to shake the dust off their feet as a testimony against those who rejected the message.

This was something Jewish people did when passing through a Gentile town or village. It was a sign that they were distancing themselves from them because they were different. They were the people of God. But Jesus’ disciples were not visiting Gentile towns or villages on this mission (Matthew 10:5). They were visiting Jewish villages. So by shaking the dust off their feet the disciples were showing the Jews that there is a distinction between those who believe the good news and those who reject it. Only those who accept Jesus, whether Jew or Gentile, are truly the people of God.

In most cultures today shaking the dust off one’s feet would mean nothing to those who might be watching, but as Christians we need to show by what we say and how we live that we are different from those who deny Christ. We have a different lifestyle and a different destiny.

12 They went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

We saw in Mark 1:15 that Jesus’ message was, The time has come. The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news. The miracles were the evidence. They helped people to believe. Sadly, as we have seen in today’s passage, there were those who refused to believe despite the evidence. Could this have been because they were not willing to repent? It’s much the same today. There’s plenty of evidence for the truth of the Christian message, but many refuse to believe it because of the implications it has for their lifestyle.

So what can we learn from this passage about preaching the gospel in a hostile environment? Follow the example of Jesus. Proclaim the good news. Expect miraculous confirmation of the message. Miracles demonstrate God’s love and make it easier for people to believe. Remember that Jesus gave his disciples authority for that specific mission. After he had returned to Heaven they received their authority from the Holy Spirit. As we keep filled with the Spirit he will lead us and empower us. The Holy Spirit will enable people to repent and believe, but he will not force them to do so. If people adamantly refuse our message we should move on to those who will accept it. Whether they accept it or reject it, it’s our responsibility whether people accept it or not to tell them the truth. We are not to blame if people refuse to accept Christ. But it is our responsibility to point out the consequences of doing so.

Talk 15 Mark 5:21-43 More amazing miracles

Welcome to Talk 15 in our series on Mark’s Gospel. In our last two talks we have seen the mighty power of Jesus displayed in the calming of the storm on the Sea of Galilee and the deliverance of a man possessed by a legion of demons. We now turn to Mark 5:21-43 where Jesus cures a woman with a longstanding problem with bleeding and raises a dead girl to life. As today we won’t be working through the passage verse by verse, we’ll begin by reading the entire story to remind ourselves of what happened.

21 When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. 22 Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet 23 and pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” 24 So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. 30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” 31 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?'” 32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

35 While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher any more?” 36 Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” 37 He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38 When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39 He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” 40 But they laughed at him. After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him and went in where the child was. 41 He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). 42 Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. 43 He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this and told them to give her something to eat.

The passage begins by telling us that once Jesus had come back across the lake a large crowd gathered around him. We have already seen how frequently Mark tells us that great crowds followed Jesus. In 1:28 we read that because of his miracles, news about him spread quickly over the whole region. In 1:32-34 we’re told that the whole town gathered at the door.

Just notice the references to crowds in the following verses:

2:2      So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door…

2:13    A large crowd came to him and he began to teach them.

3:7      A large crowd from Galilee followed

3:9      Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready….

3:32    A crowd was sitting around him…

4:1      The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat…

And now in 5:21 we read that a large crowd had gathered. And again in verse 24, A large crowd followed and pressed around him and in verse 31 the disciples say, You see the people crowding against you. But, of course, crowds are made up of individuals, and in the passage we have just read Mark tells us of two of the individuals who were part of the crowd. Their needs represent the needs of many in the crowd, and the needs of many even today – perhaps even your need. This passage reveals some important lessons about what to do when, like them, you’re faced with an apparently insoluble problem.

In many ways Jairus and the woman were very different. The woman who, because of her condition, was considered ceremonially unclean, would have been excluded from the synagogue. She was living with loneliness, sickness, and poverty. Jairus, on the other hand, as ruler of the synagogue, was in a privileged and financially secure position, enjoying the respect of the community. He had everything going for him. She had everything going against her.

Yet, despite these differences, there was one thing they both had in common. They both faced insoluble problems. She was beyond medical help and Jairus had a daughter who was dying. But they both found a solution – they came to Jesus. They came in different ways – he came openly, she came secretly – but they came knowing that their only hope of a solution lay in Jesus. But let’s look at each of them in a little more detail.

The woman

First, notice the severity of her condition. It had lasted for twelve years. She had spent all she had in seeking a medical cure, but instead of getting better, her condition was deteriorating. Mark says that she had suffered many things under the care of many doctors. Of course, the art of medicine was nowhere near as advanced as it is today, and we certainly should not take this verse to mean that it’s wrong to avail ourselves of medical help. (I deal with this in some detail in my book, Just a Taste of Heaven – a biblical and balanced approach to God’s healing power). Mark’s intention is not so much to criticise the doctors as to point out the extremity of the woman’s condition – that she had no hope, other than in Jesus.

But notice now what motivated her action. She was clearly very determined, but determination was not what motivated her. It was faith that motivated both her determination and her action. Jesus said it was her faith that saved her and freed her from her suffering (v34). She believed that if she could just touch his cloak, she would be healed (v28). But how did she come to have such faith? The clue lies in verse 27 – she heard about Jesus. Paul tells us in Romans 10:17 that faith comes by hearing the word about Christ.

No doubt she had heard about some of the miracles Jesus had already performed. The news had already spread far and wide and the miracles were the main reason that the people crowded around him. This woman was no exception, and she believed that what he had done for others, he could and would do for her. And her faith was rewarded immediately. At once (v30) Jesus’ healing power flows out of him. Immediately (v29) her bleeding stops and she feels it in her body. It’s never too late with Jesus, even after twelve years!

And with Jesus you so often get much more than you’re believing for. She receives far more than the healing of her body. Jesus knew that someone had touched him, and he kept looking around to see who had done it (v32). Why was this so important? The answer lies in verse 33:

33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth.

Again, I’m reminded of what Paul says in Romans 10. Salvation comes not only from believing in our heart, but by confessing with our mouth (Romans 10:9). The woman had already shown great faith, but Jesus wanted her to acknowledge what her need had been. This would not have been easy, bearing in mind the stigma of being ceremonially unclean that she had carried for so long. But her public declaration of it made way for Jesus’ public pronouncement in verse 34:

…”Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

There is so much more than physical healing here. The word for healed conveys so much more. It’s used frequently in the New Testament to refer to our salvation. And what a wonderful picture of salvation we see in this woman’s encounter with Jesus! There is acceptance – Jesus calls her daughter. There is peace – the Greek word is the equivalent of the Hebrew SHALOM. And there is freedom. In healing her Jesus restores all that the dreadful condition had stolen from her. And in saving us from our sins he has done the same for us.

Jairus

As we’ve already pointed out, unlike the woman who came to Jesus secretly, Jairus came quite openly. His daughter was dying, and he urgently needed Jesus’ help. We don’t know the nature of his daughter’s illness or how long she had been ill, but by the time Jairus was seeking Jesus’ help she was at the point of death. Her need of immediate attention was even greater than that of the woman. Jairus was intentionally looking for Jesus in the crowd and as soon as he saw him he fell at his feet.

In different circumstances, as a synagogue ruler, he might well have been reluctant to do this, bearing in mind the close connection synagogue rulers had with the Pharisees who were, as we have seen, already plotting to kill Jesus (Mark 3:6). But Jairus was not afraid to risk their displeasure. His daughter was dying, and he knew that Jesus could heal her. Like the woman, Jairus had faith in Jesus’ power to heal, and he was willing to humble himself publicly to beg Jesus to do so. Interestingly, he falls at Jesus’ feet in prayer before the need is met whereas the woman does so in thanksgiving after she is healed. In both cases the action is an appropriate acknowledgement of who Jesus is and what he can do.

But it’s at this point that the woman touches Jesus’ cloak and Jesus is delayed in getting to Jairus’ daughter. We can well imagine Jairus’ anxiety and frustration about this, but as we’ve already seen, it’s never too late with Jesus. So as we pick up the story in verse 36, even when  news comes that his daughter has now died, Jesus tells him, Don’t be afraid. Just believe. The Greek Imperative here means literally keep on believing. Jairus had had faith for his daughter’s healing, but now he needs faith that Jesus can raise her back to life. If ever we’re in a similar situation it will be helpful to remember that faith looks beyond the problem to the person who is able to solve the problem. Jesus was asking Jairus to keep on trusting him. Raising the dead is no more difficult for Jesus than healing the incurably sick.

So Jairus’ faith was tested, but the woman’s was not. Her faith was immediately rewarded. God deals with different people in different ways. Don’t be discouraged when you see others receiving an immediate response to their faith while yours is being tested. Remember that the Christian life is by faith from first to last (Romans 1:17) and that your faith will ultimately be rewarded.

After encouraging Jairus to keep on believing, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John to Jairus’s home. On more than one occasion these three were chosen by Jesus to accompany him at critical times in his ministry – at his transfiguration, and in the Garden of Gethsamane, for example. But why he did not allow any of the other disciples to come with him is not clear. However, it seems reasonable to assume that all the disciples were at different stages in the development of their faith and understanding, and this may have been a determining factor in making his decision on this occasion.

If the other disciples thought that it was unfair – and this seems quite likely bearing in mind their indignation when James and John asked Jesus for unique privileges in the coming kingdom (Mark 10:35-41) – what they did not know was that in time they would all witness an even greater miracle than the raising of Jairus’ daughter – the raising of Lazarus. And eventually they would meet the risen Christ. God’s timing in his dealings with us is one of the hardest things for us to understand. We just need to keep on trusting him. He loves us and whatever he gives to us or withholds from us, is for our good. Christ is the head of the church and to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it (Ephesians 4:7).

So they arrive at Jairus’s house and there’s a crowd of people weeping and wailing, as was the custom at the time. Jesus silences them and says, The child is not dead but asleep. He says this to indicate that the child’s death was only temporary, because he knew that he was about to bring her back to life. But, quite understandably, the people laugh at him, knowing, Luke tells us, that she was dead (Luke 8:53). They may have known she was dead, but they didn’t know who Jesus was! To him who is the resurrection and the life (John11:25) raising the dead is no more difficult than waking them up. And the day is surely coming when the Lord himself will descend from Heaven with a loud command and those who have ‘fallen asleep’ in Jesus will rise from the dead. His command is enough. Talitha koum! Little girl, get up! And immediately she stands up and walks around. Yet another evidence of his deity, which, for the time being, must be kept a secret, because his time has not yet come.

But now let’s summarise what we have learnt from this passage about what to do when we are faced with insoluble problems. We have seen that, whatever our differences, we all need Jesus. We all have needs and we need to admit it. We need to acknowledge we’ve got a problem.

But however great your problem, Jesus has the answer. Make a conscious decision to come to Jesus. Ignore the crowd. Humble yourself – don’t worry about what others might think or say about you. Come in faith. Faith comes by hearing the message about Christ. Believe the message you’ve just been listening to. If you need more faith, read the Gospels. What he’s done for others, he can do for you. Trust him.

Sometimes our faith is rewarded immediately. Sometimes it’s tested. Things might seem to get worse before they get better – but keep on believing. Faith looks beyond the problem to the person who can solve it – Jesus. And it’s never too late for Jesus.

And finally, remember that Jesus can do far more than solve the problem you’re currently dealing with. Our greatest problem is our sin. But Jesus offers us forgiveness for all we’ve ever done wrong. He offers you peace, life, freedom, acceptance, restoration, and a home in Heaven when you die.  Acknowledge your need. Come to Jesus. Put your faith in him. He is the only solution.

Talk 14   Mark 5:1-20    Legion

Welcome to Talk 14 in our series on Mark’s Gospel. Today we’ll be looking at Mark 5:1-20 where Jesus casts demons out of a man who was inhabited by a legion of them. As the story is well known I’ll not take time to read through the passage in advance, but take it a verse or two at a time, beginning with verses 1-2:

They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. 2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an unclean spirit came from the tombs to meet him.

1 They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes.

In our last talk we saw how Jesus calmed the storm on the Sea (or lake) of Galilee and how the disciples were overawed, asking the question, Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him. They had left from Capernaum at the northern end of the lake and this verse tells us that they arrived in the region of the Gerasenes which is south-east of the lake, so their crossing would have been about ten to fifteen miles. The region was largely inhabited by Gentiles and was part of a larger area known as the Decapolis (or Ten Cities) which is referred to in verse 20. It’s clear that Jesus had a definite purpose in going there (4:35) and this becomes evident in what happens next.

2 When Jesus got out of the boat

Literally, immediately Jesus got out of the boat. Students of Mark’s Gospel will know that one of the characteristics of his writing is the frequent use of the Greek word euthus (immediately). Its significance here may well be to underline that Jesus’ sole purpose in crossing the lake was to meet the desperate need of the demon possessed man. This is confirmed by the fact that in verse 21, as soon as he has dealt with the man’s need, Jesus returns to the other side of the lake.

a man with an unclean spirit came from the tombs to meet him

Literally: …there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit (ESV).

Interestingly, in their accounts of the same story Matthew describes him as demonized (8:28) and Luke says that the man had demons (8:27). This shows that the gospel writers use different expressions to refer to the same man and the same condition. And elsewhere Mark himself uses these alternative expressions too. He refers to a person:

Having an unclean spirit (Mark 1:26)

Being demonized (Mark 1:32)

Having a demon (Mark 3:30)

So these different expressions are used interchangeably and it would be a mistake to try to differentiate between them. It’s clear that an unclean spirit is a demon and that a person with an unclean spirit may be said to be demonized or to have a demon. And any of these expressions can be used to refer a variety of different conditions caused by demonic activity. Perhaps that’s why Mark says here with an unclean spirit, when it’s clear from the story that he was controlled by many demons.

But now verses 3-5.

3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. 4 For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

These verses reveal the desperate condition of the man. There was a supernatural force within him that neither he nor anyone else could control. This was no mental illness, though people today might describe it that way. This was demonic power which no amount of medical or psychiatric treatment could have cured. Matthew 4:24 distinguishes between mental illness and demon possession, and it’s vital that we discern the difference, especially as some of the symptoms can be very similar.

But let’s take note of what the demons were doing to him:

·      This man lived in the tombs – he was cut off from society.

·      …no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain – he was beyond human help.  Cf. v. 4 No one was strong enough to subdue him.

·      For he had often been chained hand and foot – despite repeated efforts, nothing could be done for him.

·      … he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet – the demonic forces within him gave him supernatural strength (but only to harm himself further).

·      Night and day among the tombs and in the hills… – there was no relief from his torment

·      … he would cry out and cut himself with stones – he was bent on self-destruction. In John 10:10 Jesus told us that the work of the devil was to steal and to kill and to destroy. And that’s what Satan’s forces do. But Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8) and to give us life to the full. That was the reason he came from Heaven and that was the reason he crossed the lake.

But that brings us to verses 6-10:

6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. 7 He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won’t torture me!” 8 For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you evil spirit!” 9 Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” 10 And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.

6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him.

It’s clear from the passage we’ve just read that everything the man says is inspired by the demons. He seems to be completely under their control. But if he is completely under their control, how is it that he comes to Jesus? The answer must surely lie in the fact that the demons were completely under the control of Jesus. Remember what we said when we were considering Mark 3:23. Jesus has already bound the strong man (Satan). In conquering Satan during his temptation in the desert and by his continued submission to his heavenly Father Jesus had complete authority over all Satan’s forces.

The man comes to Jesus because Jesus has come to him, and for him. There was no way the demons could stop him. All they could do was beg. The verb translated fell on his knees frequently mean worship, but that is not its meaning here. It comes from a verb depicting a dog crouching before its master and licking his hand. The demons cower before Jesus and pay reluctant homage.

7 He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won’t torture me!” 8 For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you evil spirit!”

Two things are clear here. First, what the man said was in fact the demons speaking through him as they had through the man in the synagogue in Capernaum (1:24). They knew who he was. They knew he had power over them. In fact, Mark 3:11 tells us that

Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, You are the Son of God.

And, according to Matthew 8:29, they pleaded that Jesus would not punish them before the appointed time. The day is coming when at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow… (Philippians 2).

And secondly, the response of the demons was a direct result of Jesus saying, Come out of this man… On seeing the man Jesus immediately commands the demon to come out of him. He does not enter into a lengthy discussion about the man’s problem. He does not ask what the man might have done that could have caused the problem. He knows the root cause and he deals with it.

9 Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.”

Jesus asks the man his name. Note, he does not ask the demon its name. There is no sound basis here for asking demons to name themselves, as some have taught. In the Greek text the word for him is masculine. If Jesus had been speaking to the unclean spirit it would have been neuter. So the man replies – but it’s clear from what he says that it’s the demons who are speaking through him – My name is Legion, for we are many. Of course, Legion was not his real name. It’s typical of Satan to try to rob a person of their true identity. To say this is not to suggest that every person with an identity crisis has a demon, but there can be no doubt that the rapid spread of this problem in recent years is of Satanic origin.

The number of demons need not concern us, but in the Roman army a legion would have numbered anything between 3000-6000 men, and verse 13 tells us that there were about 2000 pigs that were drowned in the sea after the demons had entered them. But what’s important here is that the number of the enemy is of no concern to Jesus. No problem is too difficult for him to solve. No enemy too numerous for him to conquer.

10 And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.

No doubt the man himself, his judgment clouded by demonic influence, would be reluctant to leave the area. The tombs, after all, had afforded him a measure of security. One thinks of prisoners who do not want to be released because they’ve become used to the security of prison or of the addict who, despite the dreadful side-effects, is frightened to kick the habit because of the sense of security it gives him.

But it’s clear from the next few verses that the demons are speaking through him too. And they do so repeatedly. They don’t want to leave, but they know that they must because Jesus has told them to. So they ask him not to send them out of the area for fear, Luke tells us, that he might send them into the Abyss (Luke 8:31) the place of confinement for Satan and his minions (Revelation 9:1, 20:1-3).

11 A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” 13 He gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.

Why did Jesus give them permission to go into the pigs? The demons were a highly destructive force and one suggestion is that it was better that they use it on pigs than on people. Others have concluded that it was to demonstrate his superior authority over the demons and to convince the people that the demons really had come out of the man. But we simply do not know. The one thing we can be sure of is that Jesus knew what he was doing. He knew that the time would come for Satan and his forces to be confined to the Abyss, and that time had not yet come. Perhaps we can all learn from this that when it’s unclear to us why God is allowing things to happen that we do not understand, he knows what he is doing. He knows the end from the beginning, and he is working all things together for our good because we are called according to his purpose.

14 Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 15 When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 16 Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man – and told about the pigs as well. 17 Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.

In these verses we see the reaction of the people to this amazing miracle:

·      Those who witnessed it were quick to tell others about it (v14, 16). This is not surprising. People are usually eager to talk about anything out of the ordinary.

·      Those who heard about it went to see what happened (v14). This is not surprising either. People want to see for themselves. It’s just natural curiosity.

·      When they saw the evidence for themselves they were afraid (v15). The reason for this is not so obvious. But people often instinctively fear anything they don’t understand, especially if it’s clearly supernatural. Even some Christians are afraid when the Holy Spirit is at work in a supernatural way. But we have no need to fear anything God does, because he loves us.

·      They pleaded with Jesus to leave their region (v17). Despite the beneficial outcome for the man, and potentially for the whole region, they ask Jesus to leave. Who can understand the motivation behind people’s decision to reject Jesus? Perhaps they were not ready to face up to the implication for their own lives of Jesus’ lordship so clearly demonstrated by his supreme authority over the demonic powers.

18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19 Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.

The people plead with Jesus to leave their region and Jesus gets into the boat. He does not stay where he is not welcome. But clearly the man he has delivered from demons wants to remain in his company, so he asks to go with him. No doubt he wanted to learn more from Jesus, and he certainly felt safe in his company. But Jesus says no. The miracle Jesus has performed is sufficient. The demons will not be back. And the man already knows enough to be able to tell others what the Lord has done for him. (Note the reference to Jesus’ deity here – compare how much the Lord has done for you with how much Jesus had done for him). He knows that Jesus is the Lord. He knows what he has done for him. He knows that he has had mercy on him. And that’s all we need to know to start to tell those nearest to about Jesus. Let’s boldly proclaim the lordship of Jesus, how much he has done for us, and the mercy he has shown us.

Talk 13  Mark 4:35-41 Jesus calms the storm

Welcome to Talk 13 in our series on Mark’s Gospel. Today our subject is the well-known story of Jesus calming the storm. We’ll begin by reading Mark 4:35-41.

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” 39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. 40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” 41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

So far Mark has given us several reasons why we should believe in the deity of Jesus. He takes Old Testament verses that refer to YAHWEH and applies them to Jesus (1:2-3). He records the words of the voice from Heaven saying to Jesus, You are my Son (1:11). Even the demons knew who he was – the Holy One of God (1:24). When the Pharisees accuse Jesus of blasphemy, asking the rhetorical question, Who can forgive sins but God alone? Jesus responds by saying that he has authority…to forgive sins (2:10) and demonstrates it by healing a paralysed man. He even claims to be Lord of the Sabbath (2:28). And now in the verses we have just read, he demonstrates his power over the forces of nature, leaving the terrified disciples to ask, Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!

So this passage may rightly be seen as further evidence of the deity of Christ. Who can calm storms but God alone? But the story also provides evidence of his humanity. He was asleep. Jesus was both fully man and fully God, a mystery that is beyond our human comprehension. But if my tiny mind could fully understand him, he could not possibly be God. So let’s just believe the biblical revelation of who he is and see how this passage applies to us today as we are confronted with the unexpected storms of life.

35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat.

There were also other boats with him.

Let us go over…

When Jesus called his disciples his first words were, Follow me. So it’s not the disciples who take the initiative here. It’s Jesus who says, Let’s go over to the other side. At first sight this might sound like a suggestion, but it’s clear from Matthew’s account that it was much stronger than that. Matthew says that Jesus gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. The one who spoke the word in the beginning and said, Let there be light, now says, We’re going to the other side. No wonder then that, despite the storm, they arrived at the other side.

They took him along

Again, Matthew’s account is stronger. It says, his disciples followed him. Either way, it’s clear that they were obediently doing what Jesus asked them to. And bearing in mind what was about to happen it’s just as well that they took him along with them. When we’re seeking to follow the leading of the Lord Jesus, it’s important that we ensure that he is with us in every step we take.

There were also other boats with him.

Mark is the only Gospel that records this. The word used for boats here is slightly different from the word used for the boat Jesus was in. The KJV version suggests that they were smaller. If so, they would have been in even more danger from the storm but notice the words with him. Not with them. Jesus is the centre of attention, not the disciples. And the people in the other boats are with him too. The miracle Jesus performs benefits more than the select few. And the miracles he performs for us, in delivering us from the storms we find ourselves in, may very well benefit others too.

37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.

Make no mistake about it. The problem they were facing was very real. Whatever problem you may be facing right now, it cannot be more serious than theirs was then. The disciples, who were fishermen and knew the lake well, recognised that they were in danger of drowning. In fact Luke’s account states clearly, they were in great danger. And to make matters worse, Jesus was asleep.

38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion.

As we’ve already said, Jesus was human and his sleep may well have resulted from the weariness that comes to us all when working hard. Preachers and teachers will understand very well what I mean, and if you have experience in ministering to the sick you will know how tiring it can be.

But Jesus’ sleep was not just a sleep of weariness. It was a sleep of faith. He had entrusted his life to his Father in Heaven and he knew that nothing could harm him. When we are asleep things are beyond our control, and when things are beyond our control it can take a lot of faith to believe that all will be well, especially in the middle of a storm.

But what do you do when God is asleep? Of course, God never goes to sleep (Psalm 121:3-4). But Jesus was God and Jesus was asleep. That’s part of the mystery of the incarnation that we mentioned earlier. For God to go to sleep he had to become a man. And as man Jesus was asleep, even though he was still God.

However, in trying to relate this part of the story to our own experience, perhaps we could say that there are times in the experience of every Christian when it feels like God is asleep. What should we do? Well, we could do what the disciples did and try to wake him up! Or we could just hold on tight and trust him to bring us through.

The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

The disciples chose the first option. They decided to wake him up. We do something similar when we hammer on the doors of Heaven and repeatedly plead for an answer. And there are times when it’s appropriate to do that – remember the parable of the unjust judge (Luke 18:1-6)? God understands when we feel the need to pray like that.

But in the light of Calvary, we can hardly accuse God of not caring! I wonder if perhaps it was Peter who asked the question. Years later it’s clear he had learnt his lesson. Not only could he sleep in the prison knowing that, like James, he could be executed the following day (Acts 12), but at a time when the church was facing intense persecution he could write to his fellow Christians to cast all their anxiety on Jesus, because he cares for you (1 Peter 5:7).

Yet at the time when the disciples woke Jesus up, it’s clear from their question that they believed that Jesus had the power to save them, but that they were doubting if he cared enough to do so! The fact that Jesus suggests in verse 40 that they still have no faith shows us that true faith is more than believing in God’s power to work a miracle.

39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. 40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

Despite their lack of faith, Jesus works the miracle anyway! Note what he didn’t say. He didn’t say, I’m sorry guys. I’d have liked to have saved you, and I could have saved you, if only you had enough faith. As it is, I’m afraid you’ll have to drown… Of course he didn’t say that. Why? Because he did care. He did love them, and he had a purpose for their lives. And he does love you, and he does have a purpose for your life. Please remember:

GOD’S LOVE FOR YOU IS BIGGER THAN YOUR LACK OF FAITH.

The disciples didn’t need to wake Jesus up. He had said they were going to the other side and his word cannot fail. Believing in God’s power is not enough. Real faith trusts in his love for us.  Interestingly, in Matthew’s account Jesus’ challenge to their faith comes before he calms the storm. Sometimes it’s the condition of our hearts that needs dealing with before the external conditions of the storm we are facing.

Putting Matthew’s and Mark’s accounts together, which are probably only a summary of the events that took place, it seems that Jesus addressed the subject of the disciples’ faith both before and after he calmed the storm. Following Jesus is an ongoing experience of learning more and more how much we can trust him. Our faith in him grows as we understand his faithfulness. His faithfulness will be your shield (Psalm 91:4).

41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

They were terrified

Why? They had already seen miracles. In fact he had already given them authority to cast out demons and to heal diseases. But this miracle was different. It clearly demonstrated more than ever who Jesus was. The truth was beginning to dawn on them. They were standing in the presence of DEITY.

Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

God had allowed the storm. It had happened for a purpose. The disciples’ experience of the storm was a step forward in their understanding of who Jesus was. The same is true of the storms in our lives. We may not understand their purpose, but that does not mean that there is no purpose. And when he brings us through the storm we find we have a deeper appreciation of Jesus.

And so they reached the other side.

Of course they did!

And they got out of the boat and sat down on the beach, opened their sandwiches and had a picnic.

Of course they didn’t!

That of course is typical of what we would like to happen. Surely when we’re through the next storm we’re entitled to a break! And that is what sometimes happens. But not on this occasion. Just look at what happened next:

Mark 5:1-4

They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him.

Oh no! Not another problem! Yes, and following Jesus brings with it all kinds of problems. Sometimes it seems like problem after problem. But with Jesus, there’s a solution for every problem. Jesus’ life was far from easy, and he faced many problems. And eventually he faced the greatest problem of all – Death on a cross.

No, that was not the problem. The cross was the solution. The problem was your sin and mine. But Jesus dealt with it once for all at Calvary. He took the punishment all our sins deserved and he died on that cross. But he couldn’t possibly stay dead. He had promised he would rise again! And he did. And to prove it he appeared to his disciples for a period of 40 days and then ascended into Heaven.

And one day soon, he’s coming back, and he will take us to the other side. And then there really will be a picnic!

Talk 12 Mark 4:1-33 Jesus teaches in parables

Welcome to Talk 12 in our series on Mark’s Gospel. Today we’re in Mark 4 where Mark records three of the parables Jesus used as part of his teaching method. A parable is an illustration taken from everyday life and used to teach a spiritual truth.  Its ultimate purpose is to make the truth clearer, but, as we shall see, sometimes people find it difficult to grasp the intention behind it. So we’ll not only be looking at the meaning of the parables in today’s passage, but also considering some problem verses which might seem to suggest that Jesus used parables in order to confuse people. But let’s begin by reading verses 1-9.

1 Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. 2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said:

3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times.” 9 Then Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Again we see Jesus teaching from a boat because of the size of the crowd that had gathered to hear him (cf. 3:9-10). Mark tells us here that he taught them many things in parables and in verses 33-34 we’re told that with many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them… and that in fact he did not say anything to them without using a parable. We’ll consider the reason for this a little later, but for now it’s sufficient to notice that the parables recorded in this chapter are just examples of Jesus’ preferred method of teaching.

The parable of the sower in verses 3-9 is fairly straightforward. Using the only method available to him at the time, a farmer scatters his seed and it falls on different types of soil and, depending on where it lands, it produces varied results. That’s it. But what does it mean? Of course we know the answer because we’ve probably already read Jesus’ explanation in verses 14-20. But if we hadn’t I doubt if we’d have understood it any better than the disciples.

We’ll come back to verses 10-13 in a moment, but first let’s look at Jesus’ explanation:

14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 19 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop – thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.”

The key to understanding the parable is found in verse 14. The sower sows the word. Once you understand that, the rest is relatively easy. Jesus’ explanation requires no further explanation. But perhaps it’s worth asking why Jesus told this parable in the first place. He gave his explanation to the Twelve whom he had chosen to send out to preach the word (3:14-15). So was he simply warning them and all preachers of the word ever since that their message would inevitably meet with a mixed reception? That must surely have been part of his intention. As we have seen in previous talks, he himself was receiving a very mixed reception to his message.

But his disciples were themselves hearers of the word before they became preachers of it. And the same is true of us. As hearers we need to make sure that our hearts are right if we are to be fruitful in his service. The parable applies not just to the initial time when we hear the message of the gospel, but whenever the word is preached. We must be careful not to let Satan take it away from us. We must not allow our hearts to become hardened. We must stand firm in times of trouble. And we must not allow worry or wealth or the desire for other things choke the word making it unfruitful.

And now, before we turn to the remaining parables in this chapter, we need to consider verses 10-13:

10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that, “‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’ 13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?

These verses present a very real problem because they appear to be saying that Jesus spoke in parables to those who were not his followers with the express purpose that they would not understand him, because if they did understand him they might turn from their sin and be forgiven. But could Jesus possibly have intended that? Surely not, but before we can give reasons for rejecting that conclusion, in seeking to answer this question we need to:

·      bear in mind the overall teaching of Scripture

·      examine the context of the passage from Isaiah that Jesus was quoting

·      see how that relates to the context in which Jesus said it.

Firstly, then, the overall teaching of Scripture. This is totally contrary to the idea that Jesus deliberately taught in parables so that the people would not understand.  God loved the world so much that he gave his only son so that whoever believes in him will not perish (John 3:16). God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). And Peter, of course, was present when Jesus originally spoke the words we are looking at. And it’s generally agreed that Mark gained most of the information for his Gospel from Peter’s eyewitness account of all that happened.  So it’s hardly likely that Peter would have understood Jesus to mean what the verse at first sight appears to mean – that Jesus spoke in parables with the intention that people should not be converted!

Secondly, we need to examine the context of the passage from Isaiah that Jesus was quoting. Isaiah was called to prophesy that God was going to punish the people of Judah for their rebellion against him.  They had disobeyed him time after time despite repeated warnings from God’s messengers the prophets. He would warn them again, but he knew from their past behaviour that they would not listen. They would hear him but not obey him. On this occasion forgiveness was not an option. God’s judgment was inevitable. It was the direct result of Judah’s persistent rejection of God. It came in 586BC when Nebuchadnezzar invaded and Judah went into captivity, away from her land (Jeremiah 52:27).

And thirdly, as we look at the context in which Jesus quoted these words from Isaiah, we see that things were not very different in Jesus’ day. He was repeatedly criticised and rejected by the Pharisees and teachers of the law. Even his own family misunderstood him. And, as we have seen in previous talks, although the people of Capernaum came in crowds to hear him, this did not lead to their repentance. The parable of the sower shows that it not the fault of the sower that some of the seed is not bearing fruit. It’s the kind of soil upon which it is sown. If the word is sown in fertile hearts it will grow, but there’s little point in continually attempting to reap a harvest from hearts of stone. So Jesus was quoting the words of Isaiah in a context where people were hardheartedly rejecting him. But if they would change their hearts the way to forgiveness would always be open, as it was for Judah after 70 years’ captivity in Babylon.

But how do we apply all this to ourselves? Every Christian should be a sower of the word. We should tell others about Jesus. But as we do so we’ll find that there are different levels of receptivity among the people we speak to, and, as in Jesus’ day, some will simply not want to know. Perhaps one day they will, but until then there’s little point in trying to nag them into believing. If they’re not yet ready, they won’t understand. Perhaps that’s why Jesus told his disciples:

If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave… and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them (Matthew 10:14, Luke 9:5),

something that Paul did in Acts 13:51 when the Jews in Pisidian Antioch rejected his message. What’s significant about this is not the actual shaking of dust off our feet – it’s symbolic significance would mean nothing to people today – but that Paul moved on elsewhere. If people’s hearts are hard perhaps we should prayerfully consider moving on to others whose hearts are softer.

But now let’s consider verses 21-34 which contain valuable truths about the growth of the kingdom of God. In verse 11 Jesus says that his disciples have been given the secret of the kingdom of God. It’s a secret because its truth is not immediately obvious. The kingdom of which Jesus was speaking was very different from the kind of messianic kingdom they were expecting. Now in verses 21-34 he shares three of the secrets of the kingdom:

·      The kingdom of God grows as God’s people let their light shine

·      The kingdom of God grows as God’s people spread the word

·      The kingdom of God grows gradually

·      The kingdom of God grows until the time for harvest has come.

The kingdom of God grows as God’s people let their light shine

21 He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? 22 For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.

Jesus says, Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? Matthew’s account makes clear what he is saying:

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:14-16).

As Christians we have received the light of the glorious gospel of Christ. We are to let our light shine. And we do so by the way we live, by our good deeds.

The kingdom of God grows as God’s people spread the word

We’ve already seen from the parable of the sower that the sower sows the word (v14). This theme is picked up in verse 26 where Jesus says, A man scatters seed on the ground. But we can only sow God’s truth in the measure that we’ve received it. Look at 23-25:

23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24 “Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you – and even more. 25 Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.”

These verses relate to our reception of God’s truth. First we need to hear it. We need to consider it carefully.  Then we need to use it, and the more we use it the more we receive. The motto of one Teacher Training College, when translated from Latin, was Teach that you may learn. Of course, we have to learn in order to teach. But it’s also true that the more you teach, the more you learn. So share what you do know of God’s truth and the Lord will give you more.

The kingdom of God grows gradually

This is clear from the two parables in verses 26-32.

He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain – first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”

30 Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade.”

The seed is sown. In time small shoots appear. It grows some more, and then, in God’s time – we don’t understand how – it develops into grain which eventually is ripe for harvest (vv26-29). The tiniest seed, given time, may surprise us with the size of the plant it becomes (vv30-32). When Jesus first spoke these words the disciples could not possibly have imagined how the small mustard seed of the kingdom would grow to be the worldwide church of today.

How has this happened? Because Jesus said he would build his church. Yes, he uses us to do it, but as Paul said when talking of how the Corinthians came to faith in Christ:

I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who makes things grow (1 Corinthians 3:6-7).

It’s Christ who will build his church. But it’s our responsibility to sow the word and, like the farmer, patiently wait for the time of harvest.

The kingdom of God grows until the time for harvest has come

Jesus says in verse 29:

As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.

We can apply this to our efforts at sowing the word in the lives of others. Paul tells us not to become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up (Galatians 6:9). But the final harvest will come at the end of the world. In Matthew’s Gospel, sandwiched between the parable of the sower and the parable of the mustard seed, Jesus tells the parable of the weeds (Matthew 13:24-30).

A farmer sows wheat in his field but at night an enemy comes and sows weeds. Rather than try to pull up the weeds straightaway, the farmer decides to wait until the harvest in case, in attempting to pull up the weeds, the wheat is damaged. At harvest time the wheat and the weeds are separated. The weeds are destroyed but the wheat is gathered into the barn.

In verses 37-43 Jesus explains the meaning of the parable.

The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. 40 As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

In the light of this solemn statement, we must surely rejoice that Jesus, not the devil, has the final word, that good will finally triumph over evil, that there will ultimately be universal justice, and that the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Meanwhile, let us do all that we can to be faithful sowers of the word.

Talk 11   Mark 3:20-35 Jesus’ True Family

Welcome to Talk 11 in our series on Mark’s gospel. Today we’ll be looking at Mark 3:20-35. In this passage we see three different groups of people, and their different attitudes towards Jesus. There were those who thought he was out of his mind. There were those who said he was demon possessed. And there were those who were seeking to learn from him. So let’s see what we can learn about these people. We’ll begin with those who thought he was out of his mind.

Those who thought he was out of his mind (vv20-21, 31)

20 Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21 When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”

From this we learn that it was his family who thought he was out of his mind. And in verse 31 his family is identified as Jesus’ mother and brothers. But Mary, above all people knew who Jesus was. Remember the words of the angel Gabriel in Luke 1:30-35:

30…But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favour with God. 31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.“ 34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.

Surely Mary could not have forgotten these words. There’s an important lesson to be learned here. However great a revelation we have received, when things seem to be going wrong it’s all too easy to doubt. John the Baptist too had received the revelation that Jesus was God’s son, but when he was in prison he began to doubt it (Matthew 11:3). And in Mary’s case, her natural maternal instincts took over when it seemed that her son was in trouble. She wanted to take care of him (21).

But why did she, and Jesus’ brothers, think this? The thought came from something they had heard (v21). How often do we allow the things we hear to shake our faith? What they had heard was that such a crowd had gathered that Jesus and his disciples did not have time to eat (v20). Was Jesus becoming a fanatic? Was he working too hard? These were the natural concerns that any family would have for a loved one. But they had not yet fully understood who he was and so did not understand the nature and purpose of his mission.

And why did they verbalise what they were thinking? Perhaps verse 31 can help us here.   We’re told that Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived and that standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. Why did they send someone in? Why not go in themselves? Were they embarrassed? Were they ashamed of him because they thought he was losing his mind?

Of course, we cannot know the answer to these questions, but whatever their motive at the time, in Acts 1:14 we have the assurance that after his resurrection both Mary and Jesus’ brothers were present with those waiting for the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost.

Those who thought he was demon possessed (vv22-30)

22 And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebub! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.” 23 So Jesus called them and spoke to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. 27 In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house. 28 I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. 29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.” 30 He said this because they were saying, “He has an evil spirit.”

If Jesus’ family’s assessment of him was mixed with concern for him, the same cannot be said of the teachers of the law, who, incidentally, are identified in Matthew’s account as the Pharisees. Superficially their accusation that Jesus had an evil spirit may have come from misguided theological convictions – rather like the initial reaction of some of the traditional church leaders who claimed that the early Pentecostals were of the devil, on the mistaken basis that gifts like speaking in tongues are not for today. But Jesus’ response to their accusation makes it clear that their problem was not merely intellectual. Its root was spiritual – the hardness of their hearts.

In fact he deals with their accusation at both these levels. In verses 23-27 he points out that what they were saying was not logical. He bases his argument on the well-known fact that division leads to destruction. Where there is internal division in a household or a kingdom, if the problem is not rectified it will soon disintegrate, a fact for which history provides abundant evidence. A political party is unlikely to be elected to power if the electorate knows there are divisions within it. So, following this analogy, Jesus asks, How can Satan drive out Satan? The accusation that he is casting out demons by the power of Satan makes no sense.

Now, having shown that it cannot possibly be true that the source of his power is Satan, Jesus goes on to reveal the real reason why he has power to cast out demons. It’s because he has already overcome Satan. In verse 27 he says:

In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man.

Just a thief cannot steal the possessions of a strong man unless he has first overcome him and tied him up, so Jesus could not have cast out demons (carry off Satan’s possessions) if he had not already overcome him and gained the mastery over him.  This he had already done during his temptation in the desert and would ultimately do when by his death on the cross he spoiled the principalities and powers triumphing over them in it (Colossians 2:15). His mastery over Satan was a direct result of his being submitted to God, and James 4:7 tells us that the same is true for us. If we submit ourselves to God we can resist the devil and he will flee from us.

So the reasoning of his accusers was faulty. But that was not the root cause of their problem which was the hardness of their hearts. In verses 28-29 he warns them about this.

28 I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. 29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.” 30 He said this because they were saying, “He has an evil spirit.”

Jesus’ critics were saying that he had an evil spirit, that the source of his power to cast out demons was none other than Satan himself. But in fact we know that he did so by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is made clear in Matthew 12:28 where Jesus says:

But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

Notice also what Matthew tells us in verses 22-24. In verse 22 Jesus has healed a demon-possessed man who was both blind and dumb. As a result of this miracle performed by the power of the Spirit the people are wondering if Jesus might be the Messiah (v23), but the Pharisees deny this and accuse Jesus of performing his miracles by the power of Satan (v24). In so doing they were hindering others from coming to faith in Christ. They were attributing to Satan miracles that had been performed by the Spirit’s power and it was in response to this that Jesus gave his serious warning about the danger of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit.

But does this mean that the blasphemy against the Spirit, the unforgivable sin, is simply to attribute to Satan a miracle that has been performed by the power of the Spirit? Almost certainly not. None of the accounts tells us that the Pharisees actually committed the unforgivable sin. Jesus was probably warning them that they were in danger of moving towards it. This is backed up by the fact that elsewhere in the New Testament, particularly in John’s writings, it is clear that what is unforgivable is refusal to believe in Jesus as saviour (John 3:18, 36) and a major part of the Spirit’s work is to convict of sin and convert the sinner (John 16:8).

The best way to interpret the blasphemy against the Spirit, therefore, is to understand Jesus as warning the hard-hearted Pharisees (who refused to see his miracles as a sign of his Messianic role and preferred to believe that they originated in Satan rather than admit that Jesus was the Christ) that if they continued along that line of thought they would finally reject all the gracious promptings of the Holy Spirit in their lives and so commit the unforgivable sin of refusing the forgiveness which is freely available in Christ alone.

In the light of all this, how can we best advise those who feel that they have committed the unforgivable sin? We must assure them that the very fact they are at all concerned about it is a sure guarantee that they have not! We must point them to the merits of the blood of Jesus shed for sin at Calvary. There he paid the price and took the punishment for all the sins of all mankind. There is no sin so big that he will not forgive it if we come to him in repentance trusting in his atoning blood. The only unforgivable sin is to refuse the forgiveness he so freely offers.

Those who were seeking to learn from him – Jesus’ true family (vv31-35)

We have already discussed verse 31 when talking about Jesus’ human family. Whatever their shortcomings at this stage in their lives, there was always the opportunity for them to become part of his true family. They may have had their doubts, but they had not committed the unforgivable sin and, as we saw earlier, in Acts 1:14 they were among the disciples who, in obedience to Jesus, were waiting for the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost. But we now turn our attention to verses 32-35:

32 A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.” 33“Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked. 34 Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

What are we to make of what Jesus says here? At first sight it would be easy to think that Jesus intends his words as a rebuke to his family. And this may have been partly his intention. We remember how he lovingly corrects Mary at the wedding in Cana (John 2:3-4) and how in Luke 2:49 he politely reminds his earthly parents who his true Father is. But even if that is part of his purpose, we need to remember that his words were not addressed directly to his family but to the crowd sitting around him. Jesus is not denying his earthly relationships. He is inviting others to join his family, his true family who are those who, like Jesus himself, do the will of God. Belonging to that family more than compensates for any criticism that may be levelled against us by our human family.

It’s interesting that those sitting around him (v34) are described as a crowd in verse 32. So it’s unlikely that he is referring only to the apostles he has chosen earlier in the chapter. And note the use of the word whoever. This in itself shows that he is addressing a group wider than the Twelve. In John 7:17 Jesus says:

If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.

He says, If anyone chooses… The invitation to become part of his family is open to all – even to those who thought he had a demon, if only they would repent and believe the good news. The crowd sitting around him were there because they wanted to be with him and to learn from him. And to be like him, to bear a family resemblance to him, means choosing to do God’s will, because Jesus sought, not to do his own will, but the will of the Father who sent him (John 5:30). And the only way to become more like him is to spend time in his presence. Those who have been born again have been born into his family. Here on earth we are constantly being transformed into his image through the work of the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18), but one day we will be completely like him because we will see him as he is (1 John 3:1-2).

Thank God, we know better than the Pharisees, and even than Jesus’ earthly family. By the grace of God, we are among those millions who know who he is, who want to learn from him, who want to be with him, and who want to be like him. May that be increasingly evident in our lives every day.