Mark is likely the earliest of the gospels. William Barclay calls it the world’s most important book, and it may also be the very first story of Jesus’ life that has come down to us. [1] Because it is the shortest of the gospels, and the one specifically written to Gentiles, it also may be the world’s most translated book and the one that appears in more languages than all the others. [2] The author of this short gospel is generally agreed to be John Mark. Although Mark was a young man at the time of Jesus, he was no doubt well acquainted with the events of early Christianity. Mark’s mother Mary was very influential in those early times and we see that the first Jerusalem church met in her home (Acts 12:12). Young Mark accompanied Paul and Barnabas, his cousin, on the first missionary journey (Acts 13:5), but for some reason he turned back to Jerusalem (13:13). The early writer and preacher John Chrysostom (c AD 349-407) suggested that young Mark might have just gotten homesick. Because Mark had turned back on the first trip, Paul would not allow him to join them on the second, thus creating a division between Barnabas and himself. Instead, Barnabas took Mark with him and the two set out for Cyprus (Acts 15:39). We know that in time, Mark earned the respect of Paul and we see the great apostle actually requested his presence when he himself was imprisoned (2 Tim. 4:11). We see Mark with Paul also in Colossians 4:10. So far as this gospel is concerned it is no doubt more important that Mark was a close companion of Peter. In 1 Peter 5:13, he is reported to be in Rome (code-named “Babylon”) with Peter and the chief apostle refers to Mark as “his son.” Several early church writers not only place him in Rome with Peter, but verify that he was with Peter a long time. Most importantly they verify that he was Peter’s interpreter and wrote his gospel directly from Peter’s knowledge, sermons and memoirs. One of these early sources was a certain Papias, who received his report from “the elder.” His information could easily date back to the first century. [3] Thus Mark’s gospel was probably written from Rome and it is generally dated to about the mid-sixties of the first century. Because Mark took his information directly from Peter and had long exposure to the great disciple, his gospel reads very much like an eye-witness account. Mark portrays the humanness of Jesus. His gospel is filled with activity as Jesus quickly moves from one event to the next. We will note that one of Mark’s favorite words is “immediately.” In fact, he uses it over 40 times. [4] Mark does not focus so much on the teaching of Jesus as he does on who Jesus actually is. He presents Jesus as the “Servant;” “the Christ;” “the Son of Man;” and most important of all, “the Son of God.” The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Mark 1:1 Everything must have a beginning, especially a great story, or a great gospel. Mark wants to make known from the beginning that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, for that is what the term “Christ” (Gk. – Christou) actually means. Thus, Jesus is the Messiah of Israel, or the Anointed One. Mark also wants to make it very plain that Jesus is the Son of God (cf. Heb. 1:1-3). Interestingly, this is made clear at the beginning and also near the end of Mark’s gospel. In Mark 15:39, it is the Gentile Roman centurion who watched the way Jesus died and confessed: “Surely this man was the Son of God!” Jesus’ sonship is also stated from the mouth of God himself at the Lord’s baptism (1:11) and also at his transfiguration (9:7). Since the title “Son of God” is so much a part of the gospel message it is amazing today that many people, and some of them supposedly Christians, deny that Jesus is the Son of God. In modern times there has been a consensus among scholars that Mark was the first gospel. [1] Indeed he uses this “gospel” designation more than the other three writers. Apparently Mark inaugurated a completely new literary genre as he applied “gospel” (Gk. euangelion) to the story of Jesus’ life and ministry. It is clear that in Mark’s understanding the gospel is much more than just a set of truths. It is all about a person, Jesus Christ. [2] While our world is full of bad news, the gospel has the meaning of “good news.” The gospel is therefore the good news of Jesus and the salvation he has provided for us all. “as is written in Isaiah the prophet: ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way’— ‘a voice of one calling in the desert, Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him’” (1:2-3) (cf. Isa. 40:3). Since Mark is writing to Romans and Gentiles, he will normally make sparing usage of Old Testament quotations. Professor of theology James Edwards thinks it is remarkable that he almost begins his gospel with such a quote. He notes how the expression “it is written” was commonly used in the Greco-Roman world as an authoritative formula that often carried legal force. [3] Although Mark quotes from Isaiah 40:3, we note that he is preceding his quote with an appropriate introduction from Malachi 3:1. We remember that Malachi was the last of the prophets. He no doubt prophesied in the general times of Ezra and Nehemiah, or around 445 BC. Thus, Israel had now gone without a prophet for some four centuries before the one predicted in Malachi would appear as John the Baptist. We see here that John came forth in the wilderness. At first sight this would seem to be a very inappropriate place to launch a great religious movement. However, there is much significance in the wilderness setting. In the Hebrew language the word for wilderness is mid-bar. It is taken from the Hebrew root dbr (note that there are no vowels in ancient Hebrew). Hebrew words are generally associated very closely with the root supporting them. It is certainly interesting that dbr is also the root for “word” (Heb. Mod. da-var). In Israel’s history the word of God seemed to always spring from the wilderness. It was in the wilderness where Moses first gave the law or the word of God to Israel. The prophet Elijah brought the word of God from the wilderness and now John the Baptist following his pattern does the same thing. After his baptism, Jesus would also be tested in the wilderness and then go forth from the wilderness with the gospel word for all humanity. We note that this section has many “Elijah” overtones. John is dressed as Elijah was (2 Ki. 1:8) and he cries out from the wilderness as Elijah did. Edwards makes an interesting remark concerning the Elijah/John connection. He says: “In the OT and intertestamental literature Elijah prefigures not the Messiah but the appearance of God himself. This fact considerably elevates the importance of the OT quotation in 1:2-3…This indicates that the Baptist is not simply the herald of the Messiah but herald of God himself, who appeared in Jesus of Nazareth.” [4] No doubt, the presentation of a forerunner to Jesus is taken from the ancient picture of the king’s messenger. In those times if a king wished to visit any part of his realm he would send a messenger to make ready the way. This could include preparing the people for the king’s visit and even preparing the roads. [5] In modern times there was a good example of this when the German Kaiser Wilhelm II visited Jerusalem in 1898. For his visit a portion of the old wall was removed near Jaffa Gate and a road was built directly into the city so the Kaiser and his large entourage could enter. The pastor, teacher and author, Ray Stedman, sees John the Baptist as a great bulldozer preparing a highway in the wilderness so that God could come. His job was to bring the mountains low and make the valleys high; to make crooked places straight and rough places smooth (Isa. 40:4) so that a people could receive their God. [6] And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Mark 1:4 It is clear that the ministry of John was God-ordained and that it was a very strong and widespread movement of revival and awakening. It was a great movement announcing the coming Holy Spirit who would bring much needed refreshment to a very dry and thirsty people. Long before Isaiah had promised: “For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants” (Isa. 44:3). The focus of John’s ministry was on the preparation to meet God’s Messiah. It was focused on repentance (Gk. metanoia) and baptism (Gk. baptisma). Repentance in the Bible means a change of one’s heart and a turning from one’s sins. Baptism has the meaning of being washed. The Greek word itself conveys the idea of being dipped fully or immersed. Perhaps the nearest picture to baptism is that found in the community of Qumran at the Dead Sea. In that community ritual washings were carried on almost daily and they were symbolic of an eschatological cleansing brought about by God. [7] It is difficult to ascertain exactly where John carried on his work. In Luke 3:3, we are told that “He went into all the country around the Jordan.” In John 3:23, we are given a place name for some of his baptisms. We know he worked at Aenon which was near Salim. This location on the Jordan has been tentatively identified as a spot about 25 miles (40 km.) south of the Sea of Galilee. Over the centuries there has also remained a traditional spot further south opposite the city of Jericho. However, from John’s gospel we realize that some of Jesus’ disciples were in a rather close association with John and that would seem to place him near the Sea of Galilee. Perhaps he was not far from the new and beautiful baptismal site of Yardenit. This traditional site is at the south end of the sea near where the Jordan River makes its exit from the lake. “The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River” (1:5). We see that, at least in the earlier part of John’s ministry, he ministered on the Jordan in some close proximity to Judea and Jerusalem, and we note the vast crowds from those areas coming to his baptism. When Mark says “all the people” he is no doubt using a common biblical figure of speech. We use such figures of speech often when we say things like “all Americans love football.” The statement really means that a very large group or large percentage loves football. Mark is indicating here that a great proportion of Judeans came out to hear John insomuch that it could almost be pictured as “all.” [8] “John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey” (1:6). We understand that John much resembled his predecessor Elijah. In 2 Kings 1:8, we learn that Elijah also wore a garment of hair with a leather belt around his waist (cf. Zech. 13:4). The great Glasgow scholar and prolific commentator William Barclay says of John: “He was a man who had given himself a chance to hear the voice of God…[he] avoided the soft and comfortable luxuries which kill the soul.” Barclay adds as he compares this situation to the present time, when— “Many come with a message that they themselves deny.” [9] After Jesus began his ministry he once spoke of John the Baptist: “…what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written: ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ Truly I tell you: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he” (Matt. 11:8-11). John did not dine on the fancy food found in king’s palaces. Rather he ate the simple fare of wild honey and locusts. The latter food sounds rather repulsive to us today but according to Leviticus 11:22, the locust was a perfectly clean and kosher food. “And this was his message: ‘After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit’” (1:7-8). John’s message was not one that was pointing to himself. His sole purpose was to point to the one who was to come. John later learned that the coming one was Jesus (Jn. 1:29-36), who was in fact his own cousin. John’s baptism was not for remission and forgiveness of sins, but it was a baptism of repentance. The remission of sins would follow at a later date and be made a possibility only through the ministry of Christ. [10] John saw himself as one who was not worthy to loosen the sandals of the one who was to come. In Bible times the loosening of sandals and washing of feet was the job of slaves, and foreign or Gentile slaves at that. [11] The one to come would not baptize in water only but would baptize in the Holy Spirit. Thus we see Holy Spirit baptism would be the work of Christ, which work should be evident today in all his followers. Matthew and Luke go further to describe Christ’s baptism as one of fire (Matt. 3:11; Lk.3:16). They describe it as a fire that will burn out all the chaff and impurities from God’s threshing floor. Today many place great emphasis on the Holy Spirit but they often do not realize that the Spirit is designed to burn out all the dross in their lives. At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Mark 1:9 This reflects a very important moment in Jesus’ life and is recorded in all four gospels. We may wonder at first why Jesus, who was absolutely sinless, would need John’s baptism. It was a baptism of repentance and Jesus obviously did not need to repent. Jesus probably came to be baptized for the same reason he came to earth in the first place. He came to be completely identified with sinful humanity. He came to be made sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21). In this act of baptism he was publicly identifying himself with humanity. [12] “As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased’” (1:10-11). The popular web commentator David Guzik, in citing F. F. Bruce, notes that this is a very strong phrase in the Greek and conveys the idea of the sky being torn in two. [13] Israel had long desired such an event as we observe in Isaiah 64:1: “Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you!” Here we see the Holy Spirit descending like a dove upon Jesus. John was not a newcomer to the Holy Spirit since he had apparently experienced it from his mother’s womb (Lk. 1:41). However, Jewish people by this time were taught by the rabbis that Holy Spirit manifestations had ceased with the death of the canonical prophets. They taught that the Holy Spirit’s activity would only be renewed with the dawn of the age to come. [14] Thus, when Jesus came out of the baptismal water he experienced three important things that the Jews believed were necessary to inaugurate the time of God’s eschatological kingdom. The heavens were opened, the Spirit descended upon him and a heavenly voice spoke. [15] At Jesus’ baptism we seem to have some evidences of a new creation much like the first, when the Spirit of God hovered over the waters (Gen. 1:2). At this great moment in Mark’s gospel God declared Jesus to be his Son. Such a thing was and is still unthinkable to the Jewish people, and to a lot of Gentiles as well. “At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him” (1:12-13). In the Greek, a very strong word is used indicating that Jesus was “driven” by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested. [16] Jesus was tested for forty days, which is a common phrase in Hebrew for testing. During that period Jesus fasted day and night (Matt. 4:2). In Matthew 4:3-10, we are told about the specific temptations that Satan brought to Jesus. Jesus resisted them all and the angels came and ministered to him. Mark’s gospel alone tells us that Jesus was there with wild animals. The Judean wilderness, although it is very close to Jerusalem, continues to be a wild and untamed place. Even today there are still reports of leopards roaming this area. After John was put in prison, 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!” Mark 1:14-15 Mark begins with Jesus’ ministry in the Galilee. However, it is obvious from John 3:22 and following, that Jesus actually ministered for a short time in the Judean area close to where John was baptizing. It is clear that Jesus began his great Galilean ministry after John was put in prison. Mark will tell us more about John’s imprisonment in the sixth chapter. As Jesus began preaching he cried out that “the time has come.” In the Greek language there are two words for “time.” The first word is chronos, which has reference to chronological time and the second is kairos, which means the opportune time or decisive time. It is the second word that Jesus uses here. [17] It was the “right time” for the Messiah’s appearing that had been spoken of long before in Daniel 9:24-27. As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him. Mark 1:16-18 It seems strange that these disciples would walk away from what was probably a very profitable business and follow a complete stranger. Actually, when we look closely at scripture we will understand that some of the disciples had at least met Jesus before. In John’s gospel we learn that Andrew had been a disciple of John the Baptist and had already decided to follow Jesus after John’s witness of him (Jn. 1:35-42). We also know that Andrew had already told his brother Peter about Jesus and had even arranged a meeting with the Master. Pastor and popular Bible teacher Warren Wiersbe remarks here saying, “This was not their initial call to faith and salvation; it was an initial call to discipleship.” [18] When we look at the above passage in John we see that there was also an unidentified disciple of John who also followed Jesus. We might suspect that something spiritual was going on in the Galilee. People were already excited after hearing John’s preaching. Perhaps several of Jesus’ later disciples had exposure to John’s preaching, because he apparently ministered around the Galilee where they did their fishing. Andrew’s excited words in John 1:41, “We have found the Messiah,” betray the fact that he was a seeker after the Messiah. Apparently other of the disciples were seekers too, for it is the seekers who find, according to Jesus’ own word (Matt. 7:7). “When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him” (1:19-20). Here we realize that the father Zebedee had a successful fishing business with a boat and hired men. Such a family business would be difficult to leave on a moment’s notice unless perhaps James and John had also heard about Jesus beforehand. We remember that all these men probably fished together since they were from the same general area on the lake and there seemed to be some kind of fishing partnership among them. Perhaps we should pause and say some things about the Galilee fishing industry in Jesus’ day. Fishing was a thriving business in those times. Josephus Flavius the historian estimated the population of fishing villages around the lake in the first century at some 100,000 people. [19] Around the lake there were probably some sixteen bustling ports. The fishing boats were numerous and some 40 years after Jesus’ time Josephus, who was then in charge of Jewish resistance, was able to commandeer 230 boats for his war efforts against the Romans. Of course, fish was the staple food for folks in the first century and they seldom ate other meats as we do. The Sea of Galilee produced so many fish that they were even exported to places as distant as Antioch of Syria and to Egypt. [20] One of my friends in the Galilee was an elderly fisherman from the fishing kibbutz of En Gev. This friend, Mendel Nun (his last name means “fish” in Hebrew), was the resident expert on Galilee fishing in Jesus’ time. He claimed that the most important commercial fish was the Talapia Galilea, a tropical fish that had somehow gotten in the lake. Due to the cool lake temperatures in the winter the Talapia, also known today as St. Peter’s Fish, would congregate at the large warm springs on the northwestern shores near Tabgha. Of course, the fishermen would also congregate there as well and likely the fishing was fantastic. Another important fish in the lake was the small fresh water sardine. These little fish along with bread made up much of the staple diet for Galileans. It was the little sardine that the small boy had in his lunch when Jesus worked the miracle of the fishes and loaves. The little sardines as well as other fish were preserved by salting at Magdala on the west side of the lake. This city was also called Tarichaea in the Greek (place where fish are salted). [21] No doubt Magdala was the home of the famous follower of Jesus, Mary Magdalene. The Galilee fishermen would use several types of nets. There was the smaller net or cast net as mentioned in verse 16. Peter and Andrew were said to be throwing around (Gk. amphiballein) this net. The cast net was circular and could be thrown by one person. Ideally it would land much like a parachute over nearby fish and then could be drawn in. There were larger nets such as the seine or dragnet (cf. Matt. 13:47-48), and the trammel net which entangled the fish and held them (cf. Lk. 5:1-7). [22] They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. Mark 1:21-22 Although Jesus had lived most of his life in Nazareth we see that when he began his ministry he moved directly to Capernaum. We might wonder why he would make such a move. Did he like to fish or did he like the warm semi-tropical weather in Capernaum, which was some 680 feet (207 m.) below sea level? We learn from Matthew that the real reason he came to Capernaum was to fulfill the scripture (Mt. 4:13-14). In Isaiah 9:1-2 the prophet had said: “Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan— The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.” Isaiah tells us that a great light would dawn in the areas of Zebulun and Naphtali. We wonder how the Jewish leaders missed this scripture in John 7:52, when they said that no prophet would come from the Galilee. While Nazareth was in the ancient tribal area of Zebulun, Capernaum was in the tribal area of Naphtali. Jesus would minister in Capernaum, which was only about two and a half miles (4 km.) from the Jordan River. Many times Jesus would cross the Jordan into the land of Herod Philip and he would minister up and down the Jordan as far north as Caesarea Philippi and Mount Hermon. Isaiah spoke of the area as “Galilee of the Gentiles.” Galilee is still today about a half- and-half mixture of Jews and Gentiles. In Jesus’ day the eastern and southern shores of the lake made up part of the Gentile Greek area of the Decapolis. Capernaum was also located very near what was called the Via Maris or the Way of the Sea mentioned by Isaiah. Interestingly, a Roman mile marker bearing witness to this important international route was discovered at Capernaum some years ago. [23] Soon after Jesus settled in Capernaum he attended the synagogue as was his custom (Lk. 4:16). We know from other scriptures that distinguished visitors to the synagogue were often asked to teach and Jesus did just that (cf. Acts 13:15). We see here that Jesus taught with great authority and boldness so much that the people were astounded. Unlike the scribes and teachers who often quoted others, Jesus spoke with great authority. “It has been said that the scribes spoke from authorities but that Jesus spoke with authority.” [24] “Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, ‘What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are— the Holy One of God!’” (1:23-24). We quickly see that Jesus was not all talk but was a man of deeds. This incident immediately sets the stage for Mark’s first recorded miracle. We should understand that miracles would make up a large percentage of Jesus’ ministry. It is said that they occupy about a third of the gospel and even take up more space than the passion narrative. [25] Jesus didn’t tolerate this interruption for a single moment. “‘Be quiet!’ said Jesus sternly. ‘Come out of him!’” (1:25). We might wonder why Jesus was not pleased since the demon had just named him as the Holy One of God. The early Christian father Euthymius (377-473) enlightens us on this by saying, “He has taught us never to believe the demons, even when they say what is ostensibly true. For since they love falsehood, and are most hostile to us, they never speak the truth except to deceive.” [26] On the other hand, some have marveled that demons seem to have more faith than some Christians. The web commentator David Guzik also says: “Jesus often told demons to shut up. Today, many self-styled deliverers from demon possession encourage the demons to speak, or even believe what the demons say.” [27] “The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek” (1:26). It seems that the evil spirit had to have one last fling in shrieking and shaking the man violently before making a quick exit. “The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, ‘What is this? A new teaching— and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him.’ News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee” (1:27-28). Jesus taught with power and authority quite unlike their teachers. Also, when he commanded a demon to go out it did so immediately and without hours of delay and quibbling. Jesus would make no deals with demons, nor would he give them any credit or publicity. The casting out of demons was a sign that Satan was defeated. Jesus had come specifically to destroy all the work of the devil (1 Jn. 3:8). We can imagine the electrifying effect this one great contest had on the small and close-knit community on the northern shores of the sea. It seems like everyone knew of it the same day it happened. Today our good news doesn’t travel nearly as fast. Perhaps it is because we are not speaking with authority from Christ and neither are we working miracles in the name of Jesus. Today as a result of our modernistic heritage many people do not believe in demons. No doubt in Jesus’ day, multitudes had become afflicted with demons precisely because they had dabbled in idolatry, sorcery and other forbidden things. People are once again dabbling in such things today, so we best get ourselves ready to experience demons just as those many unfortunate people in Galilee so long ago. As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. Mark 1:29 It seems fairly certain today that we are able to identify this synagogue as well as the house of Simon and Andrew. In the ruins of Capernaum on the northwestern shores of the lake we can still see what remains of an impressive white limestone synagogue. Archaeologists have dated this white synagogue to the fourth century AD. However, underneath this white synagogue there still can be seen the native black basalt foundation of an earlier building. Some archaeologists feel that this is the remains of the synagogue in Jesus time. [28] Most likely this is what is left of the synagogue built by the centurion and recorded for us in Luke 7:5. From Mark’s description here, the house of Simon and Andrew was very near the synagogue. Archaeologists have placed this house approximately 100 feet (30 m.) south of the synagogue. This site has been preserved in some form since the first century. The archaeologist Rami Arav, along with his associate John J. Rousseau, state how this structure may have been a place of worship by the end of the first century. They note how there were no traces in the home of domestic activity, such as ashes or cookware, although coins, lamps and fishhooks were found. Instead of pottery and other domestic items there was an abundance of religious graffiti in several languages scratched on the walls. This graffiti included a boat and several crosses. [29] Arav and Rosseau note how several early pilgrims had also identified the ruins as Peter’s house. To further confirm this in the fourth century the whole complex around the house was enclosed by a wall, the remnants of which can still be seen today. In the fifth century an octagonal church was constructed directly over the house, and its ruins can also be seen. [30] No doubt, early Christians revered this site. Since Jesus did not have a place of his own to lay his head (Matt. 8:20) it is now assumed that he lived with Simon and Andrew in this compound for the many months he stayed in Capernaum (at least a year and a half). Those Christians today who elect to have a “Lone Ranger” lifestyle outside the fellowship of the church should note how “Jesus always lived in community with a band of followers.” [31] So apparently this early place of Jewish/Christian worship continued several centuries, it is amazing that Messianic worship could be found so close to the Jewish synagogue. It does seem to indicate that Christianity was almost considered as a “sect” of Judaism in early times and that tensions were a lot less than they have been since those days (cf. Acts 2:47). After Jesus and his company had entered the house “Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her. So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them” (1:30-31). We see something here that has been hotly denied by some segments of the church. Peter was a married man as is also mentioned in 1 Corinthians 9:5. [32] We can begin to realize what a great sacrifice it was for Peter, Andrew and others to be called away from their homes and family responsibilities. However, the Messiah appeared on earth only once in the flesh. It was absolutely necessary to leave everything and follow him if one was to learn of him. Their sacrifice would benefit multiplied millions of Christians for centuries to come. Peter’s mother-in-law was living with Peter and Andrew. Or, it has even been suggested that Peter and Andrew were living with her. We learn in John 1:44, that Peter and Andrew were originally from Bethsaida. Soon, apparently Jesus came to live in the Capernaum house too. It was no doubt a little crowded around Peter’s house. By taking a quick look at the ancient excavation we note that there were many other structures adjoining the main house and it is possible that it was a fairly large compound. We do not know what kind of fever Peter’s mother-in-law had but we see Jesus taking her by the hand and lifting her up. This is just one of the many vivid and detailed pictures in Mark that cause Bible interpreters to treat the book almost as an eyewitness account. [33] Peter’s mother-in-law was instantly healed insomuch that she began immediately to serve Jesus and the group. Apparently she began to serve the main meal of the day. [34] “That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was” (1:32-34). Although Jesus had delivered a demon-possessed man on the Sabbath, the people in the community apparently would not seek his healing until the sun went down and the Sabbath was officially over. No doubt they were fearful of a rebuke by the religious officials. After sundown Peter’s house became like an infirmary with a great crowd of people waiting to be healed and delivered. Jesus healed them all. He always maintained a one-hundred percent success rate and his disciples could not quite manage that. Once again we read that Jesus would not allow demons to speak. He would happily accept the praise of men and women for their healing but not the acclaim of demonic forces. Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Mark 1:35 After healing and delivering people no doubt well into the night, we would think that Jesus would need to sleep-in the next morning. Jesus knew where his power came from and was not about to miss his early morning appointment with the Father. We are told that Jesus went off into a “solitary place.” The Greek word used here is eremos and it is the word used earlier for “wilderness.” [35] The great British Baptist preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-92) was quoted as saying, “Look no man in the face till thou hast seen the face of God. Speak thou with none till thou hast had speech with the Most High.” [36] We know that Jesus was faithful in prayer. On one occasion in Luke 6:12 he prayed the whole night. On that last night in the Garden of Gethsemane he prayed until his sweat was as drops of blood (Lk. 22:44). “Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: ‘Everyone is looking for you!’” (1:36-37). It has been pointed out that the Greek word used here “looked for” or “pursued” (katadiokein) has the meaning of “hunted.” The people themselves were also “looking for” Jesus (Gk. zetein). Interestingly, the ten times this last verb is used in Mark it carries negative connotations. Perhaps the disciples as well as the people were seeking Jesus in some attempt to control or otherwise “use” him rather than to come and submit themselves to him. Although it was just the first day of his public ministry in the Galilee some were apparently intent on capitalizing upon his notoriety and thus endangering him. [37] Jesus would not go back to Capernaum and bask in the glow of his great successes. Instead, “Jesus replied, ‘Let us go somewhere else— to the nearby villages— so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.’ So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons” (1:38-39). We see here that Jesus’ ministry covered Galilee, at least that part of Galilee where Jews lived. Mark was writing to Roman Gentiles so he does not stress that the primary ministry of Jesus was to the lost sheep of Israel (Matt. 15:24). We remember that he instructed his disciples not to go to the Gentile cities or to the Samaritans but to the lost sheep of Israel (Matt. 10:5-6). The church’s mission to Gentiles would come later. It appears that Jesus confined most of his ministry to what has been called “The Evangelical Triangle.” This was a small and focused area that fell between the cities of Capernaum, Korazin and Bethsaida. We read in Matthew 11:20 that most of his miracles were performed in these cities. Jesus and his disciples visited many other places and sometimes visited Gentile areas but this was not the thrust of his ministry. A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured. Mark 1:40-42 We have little comprehension today of what it was like to be a leper in the ancient world. William Barclay attempts to give us some understanding of one type of leprosy. He says that the skin becomes thickened with nodules gathering in the cheeks, nose, lips and forehead. All this totally changes a person’s appearance and he begins to look like a lion or satyr. Eyebrows fall out and eyes become staring; the voice becomes hoarse due to ulceration of vocal chords. Hands and feet ulcerate and in time the sufferer becomes just a mass of ulcerated growths. The disease runs its course in about nine years, ending with mental decay, coma and death. Barclay adds, “Lepers had not only to bear the physical pain of their disease, they had to bear the mental anguish and the heartbreak of being completely banished from human society and totally shunned.” [38] In Leviticus 13:45-46, the Bible tells us how a leper must conduct himself: “Anyone with such a defiling disease must wear torn clothes, let their hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of their face and cry out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ As long as they have the disease they remain unclean. They must live alone; they must live outside the camp.” We can now see that it took a great amount of boldness and strong faith for this leper to approach the Messiah of Israel. He must have been a horrible mess because the writer Luke says he was full of leprosy (Lk. 5:12). He came kneeling and in very deep humiliation. He seemed to have no doubt that Jesus could make him clean, if he only wished. Jesus was willing to cleanse this poor man and his healing was immediate. No doubt there was a gasp in the crowd when all the ugly manifestations of this awful disease melted away and he suddenly became a normal healthy looking person. “Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: ‘See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them’” (1:43-44). Jesus gives this man a strong command that he should not testify of his healing but rather go straight to the priests and offer the necessary sacrifices. We know from Leviticus 14:1-32, that there was a long and involved procedure of inspection and sacrifice that was required for the cleansing of a leper. Since it was probably an uncommon thing for lepers to be cleansed, Jesus wanted this man to bear a powerful witness to the priests rather than to the people. The man proved to be a blabbermouth and advertised his healing all over the place. “Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere” (1:45). No doubt, Jesus was inwardly happy about the man’s excitement and testimony but sad that he did not obey his strong and specific command. The result was not good in the long run since it greatly restricted Jesus’ public appearances. Edwards comments: “Jesus has relieved the leper of his burden, but in broadcasting the news the leper imposes a burden on Jesus…Jesus is ‘outside in lonely places.’ Jesus and the leper have traded places.” [39] This account of the leper gives us an insight to a very mysterious aspect of Jesus’ early ministry. Commentators refer to it as the “Messianic Secret” and we see it in 1:34, 43-44; 3:12; 4:11; 5:43; 7:24, 36; 8:26, 30 and 9:9. In these instances Jesus commands those delivered and healed to not advertise their healings. We can only guess at the reasons for this reticence. On the surface it seems to frustrate the declaration of the kingdom message. Perhaps Jesus did not want the message to raise the ire of the Roman occupation. It may be that he wished to protect his identity from false or premature understandings. [40] Obviously, the proper understanding of his Messianic ministry could not be gained until after the cross and the resurrection. Several sources I have cited here are from the electronic media, either from websites or from electronic research libraries. Thus in some of these sources it is not possible to cite page numbers. Instead I have cited the verse or verses in each chapter of Mark (e.g. verse v. 1 or vs. 1-2) about which the commentators speak. Introduction 1. William Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, The New Daily Study Bible (Louisville: John Knox Press, 1975, 2001), p. 1. “It is the most important book in the world, because it is agreed by nearly everyone that it is the earliest of all the gospels and therefore the first life of Jesus that has come down to us.” 2. Ray Stedman, Mark: He Came To Serve, Ray Stedman Organization, http://www.raystedman.org/new-testament/mark/the-place-to-begin, Introduction. “The Gospel of Mark is the most translated book in all the world. No other book appears in as many languages. Almost all Wycliffe translators, after they have reduced a language to writing, begin their translation of the Scriptures with this gospel…Mark is particularly suitable for introducing the Scriptures to people of all backgrounds, classes, and tribes. It is the one gospel of the four which is aimed at the Gentile ear.” 3. Bob Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, Intro. http://www.ibiblio.org/freebiblecommentary/pdf/EN/VOL02.pdf “Papias, the bishop of Hierapolis (about A.D. 130), wrote Interpretation of the Lord’s Sayings, which is quoted by Eusebius (A.D. 275-339) in his Ecclesiastical History 3:39:15. He asserts that Mark was Peter’s interpreter who recorded accurately, but not chronologically, Peter’s memories of Jesus. Apparently Mark took and adapted Peter’s sermons and organized them into a gospel presentation. Papias claims to have received this information from “the elder,” which could refer to the Apostle John.” (Utley, Introduction). Utley mentions Justin Martyr (AD 150), who quotes from Mark and states that it comes from Peter’s memory….also he relates how the Anti-Marcionite Prologue to Mark written about AD 180 states that Peter was the “eyewitness” in Mark’s gospel and that Mark wrote the gospel after Peter’s death around AD 65. (Utley, Intro.). Utley also mentions how Irenaeus, who wrote about AD 180, speaks of John Mark as Peter’s interpreter and compiler, (cf. Contra Haereses 3:1:2), and how Clement of Alexandria (AD 195) tells us that the people who heard Peter preach at Rome requested that Mark record his sermons. (Utley, Intro.). James Edwards (The Gospel According to Mark) continues with this, saying: “the Second Gospel was in many respects ‘Peter’s memoirs:’ – found as far as we know, unanimous agreement in the early church.” p. 5. 4. David Guzik, Commentary on Mark, David Guzik’s Commentaries on the Bible, Introduction. https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/mark-1/ Chapter 1 1. Barclay (The Gospel of Mark) remarks: “Both Matthew and Luke very largely follow Mark’s order of events…Matthew and Luke never agree together against Mark. Always one of them retains Mark’s order of events. p. 3. Guzik (Commentary on Mark) “Many believe Mark to be the first of the four gospels written, and that it was written in Rome.” Introduction. Joel Marcus (Mark 1–8) states: “Markan priority is still the consensus position…” p. 41. Thomas Oden (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture) notes in his Introduction, “No Gospel was earlier or more clearly or consensually received as designated for use in public worship than Mark.” p. xix. 2. James R. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Co., 2002), p. 45. 3. Ibid., p. 26. 4. Ibid., p. 28. 5. Warren W. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, NT (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2007), p. 90. 6. Stedman, Mark: He Came To Serve, v. 1:3. 7. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, pp. 29-30. 8. Peter Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, v. 1:5, http://www.angelfire.com/ok/bibleteaching/mark1a.html 9. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 17. 10. Thomas C. Oden, gen. ed., Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, New Testament II, Mark (Downer’s Grove: Intervarsity Press, 1998), p. 5. Oden also quotes Jerome who says: “The baptism of John did not so much consist in the forgiveness of sins as in being a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, that is, for a future remission, which was to follow through the sanctification of Christ.” 11. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, v. 1:7. 12. Stedman, Mark: He Came To Serve. vs. 1:9-15. 13. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 1:9-11. 14. Joel Marcus, Mark 1-8, The Anchor Bible (New York, Doubleday, 2000), p. 165. 15. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 34. “Above all, it was believed that in the eschatological age the Messiah would be endowed with God’s Spirit. (Edw. p.36)…To no prophet had words been spoken such as the words to Jesus at the baptism…The baptism is the keystone in the life and ministry of Jesus” (Edwards, p. 38). 16. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, p. 91. 17. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 1:14-15. 18. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, p. 91. 19. Cited in Baruch Sapir/Dov Neeman, Capernaum (Kfar-Nachum), History and Legacy, Art and Architecture (Haarlem, Holland: Jon. Enschede en Zonen, 1967), p. 6. 20. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 49. 21. Mendel Nun, The Sea of Galilee and Its Fishermen In The New Testament (Ein Gev: Kibbutz Ein Gev: Tourist Department and Kinnereth Sailing Co., 1989), p. 51. 22. Ibid., pp. 6-7; 16-29. 23. John J. Rousseau and Rami Arav, Jesus and His World, An Archaeological And Cultural Dictionary (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1995), p. 39. 24. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, p. 91. 25. John R. Donahue, Mark, Harper’s Bible Commentary (New York: Harper &Row, 1988), p. 987. 26. Oden, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, p. 22. 27. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 1:25-28. 28. Rousseau &Arav, Jesus and His World, p. 42. 29. Ibid., p. 40. Edwards (p. 59) adds to Rousseau &Arav’s remarks saying: “Archaeological investigations have discovered sacred and devotional graffiti in Greek, Latin, Syriac, and Aramaic scratched on the plaster walls, indicating that it was venerated as a gathering place for Christians, and perhaps as a church, from the end of the first century or the beginning of the second. There is a strong probability that the site preserves Peter’s house…it may be that Jesus lived with Peter in Capernaum.” 30. Ibid., pp. 40-42. 31. Marcus, Mark 1-8, p. 191. 32. James Burton Coffman, Commentary on Mark, Coffman Commentaries on the Old and New Testament, http://www.studylight.org/com/bcc/view.cgi?book=mr&chapter=001. Abilene Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. 1983-1999, vs. 29-31. 33. Barry D. Smith, The Gospel of Mark: Introduction and Outline, Atlantic Baptist University, http://www.textweek.com/mkjnacts/mark.htm, v. 1:30. 34. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 41. “According to Jewish custom the main Sabbath meal came immediately after the synagogue service, at the sixth hour, that is at 12 noon.” 35. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 65. 36. Quoted in Guzik, v. 1:35. 37. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, pp. 66-67. 38. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, pp. 49-51. 39. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 72. 40. Ibid., pp. 62, 64. A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Mark 2:1-2 We see here that Jesus had come “home.” Can we imagine such a thing? The King of the Universe had come to dwell in a humble earthly home at Capernaum. The little city would never be the same. In fact, the whole world would never be the same. Once again great crowds gathered to hear Jesus. They pressed into the house until there was no more room. It is possible that they were trying to all get into the main room of the house and this would have been a difficult task. According to the sketches presented by archaeologist Rami Arav, the main part of Peter’s house at Capernaum would have measured only some 3-4 meters on each side. [1] It would therefore have been only the size of a rather small US bedroom or roughly 9 to13 feet. It is very possible that some of this activity was taking place in an adjoining courtyard. A quick look around the ruins of Capernaum will reveal that many of the houses had courtyards. In the nearby reconstructed city of ancient Katzrin on the Golan Heights it is possible to walk through the rebuilt houses that existed close to New Testament times. The rooms of such houses were rather small due to the fact that the roof beams had to reach from one stone wall to the next. In Katzrin, some houses also have courtyards that are reconstructed. Much activity went on in the courtyard. The clay ovens were placed in courtyards (for summer usage) as well as inside the main house (for winter usage and heating). Stone flour mills could also be placed there. At Katzrin one can see that portions of the courtyard were covered with makeshift roofs to protect from the hot Summer sun. “Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on” (2:3-4). Another important part of the ancient house was the roof, which could often be reached from exterior steps. The roofs were usually flat and were constructed with flat beams laid from wall to wall. The small spaces between beams were then packed with brushwood and covered over tightly with clay [2] to seal them from winter rains. At some sites one can still see the large stone rollers that were used to pack down the clay and make a watertight seal. The roof was a place for rest and even for sleeping in the summer months. We see in Deuteronomy 22:8, that it was necessary to build a parapet around the roof lest some person might accidentally fall off or sleep-walk to his or her death. The roof could be used for many other enterprises such as drying fruit or even praying as we see in Acts 10:9. Into this crowded situation came four men carrying their paralytic friend. Since there was no way they could get into the house they chose to go up on the roof. Even at that point it probably seemed that there was no solution to their dilemma. Perhaps in a flash of inspiration they decided to make a large hole in the roof and let their friend down to Jesus. If they were on the main roof itself their frantic efforts would have made an awful mess for those folks below, including Jesus. We can imagine the people below being suddenly showered and covered with dirt and brush. We can also imagine the ire of the owner, perhaps emotional Peter himself, watching his roof being destroyed. Perhaps this whole episode took place on the less problematic roof of the courtyard. That area would have been much more conducive to accommodating the large crowd that had assembled and was listening to Jesus preach. Both Jamieson and Utley suggest that the incident may have occurred in the courtyard. [3] The fact that Luke in 5:19 mentions the men removing the tiles (keramos) to let their friend down also seems to speak of the courtyard and not the house. Such an act would not have threatened the structural integrity of the main dwelling. In the courtyard the people could have probably watched this faith drama unfold with a lot of interest and excitement. Regardless of how the four men brought their friend to Jesus we have to say that it was a bold and incredible operation. It would be wonderful today if we were so intent on getting our friends to Jesus. Stedman says that the whole event reminds us of Matthew 11:12 where Jesus says: “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence, and violent people have been raiding it.” He adds that we should never lose the ability to defy the “status quo,” which is one of the most deadly things for the church today. It has been expressed as, “Come weal or woe; our status is quo.” [4] “When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven’” (2:5). Obviously, one thing that greatly impresses Jesus is faith. It is also really nice to have friends who believe and even have faith for us. I have often wondered just how many of the good things we experience are due partly or wholly to believing saints around us. The writer Hugh Hewit remarks how “Friends are the face of God in everyday life.” [5] Faith was the key here, whether the faith of friends or of the man himself, and Jesus immediately makes the proclamation, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Guzik remarks here: “Whenever there is a problem, almost always, sin is the real problem. Jesus got right to the problem.” [6] We see in the prophets that healing and forgiveness of sins would both be demonstrated in Messianic times. As Fuller Professor Robert Guelich states it, “Healing the sick and forgiving the sinner correspond to the prophetic hope for the age of salvation.” [7] In biblical days many felt that sickness was actually caused by sin. Boston University professor Joel Marcus mentions a rabbinic tradition that seems to relate to this passage. It says, “a sick person does not arise from his sickness until all his sins are forgiven him.” [8] No doubt a lot of sickness is caused by sin, but we see later in Jesus’ words of John 9:1-3, that there is sickness not caused by a person’s sin. We will probably remember that almost all of Job’s comforters blamed his terrible sickness and plagues on the fact that he had sinned somehow. Job denied this to the end and was later exonerated and healed by God. Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Mark 2:6-7 We note in Luke’s version of this story that Pharisees and teachers of the law had gathered from all over Galilee and even Judea to hear Jesus (Lk. 5:17). Several of these were no doubt present and probably sitting on the front row. However, they had immediate problems with Jesus forgiving sin for they felt that no one but God could do so. In their hearts they were certain that Jesus was blaspheming. This was no light thing as we see in Lev. 24:15-16, where scripture states that blasphemy should draw the death penalty. “Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, ‘Why are you thinking these things?’” (2:8). The Pharisees and teachers had a bigger problem than they knew. Jesus could not only read the heart of the paralyzed man but it quickly became apparent that he could also read their hearts too. Indeed, John’s gospel says of the Master: “…he knew all people. He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person” (Jn. 2:24-25). All this was probably not a manifestation of his deity but was more likely a gift and working of the Spirit that was powerfully upon him. [9] We know that the forgiveness of sin in the Bible is the exclusive right of God, for all sin is against him in essence (cf. Psa. 51:4). Edwards in citing Dunn notes here: “It is impossible to soften the Christological force of 2:7, 10: Jesus is able and has authority to forgive sins, not merely to declare them forgiven.” [10] All this was like the so-called “elephant in the room” that the Pharisees and teachers were somehow failing to see. It was the sure sign that Jesus was not just some itinerant preacher but the Messiah himself. In Jeremiah 31:34, the Bible speaks of the coming messianic times saying: “…For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” Then Jesus, as a great proof of his authority, said to them: “Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home” (2:9-11). Actually, it would be easy for us all to say that someone’s sins are forgiven, for that is an unseen matter. Of course, we do not have that authority to do such a thing and their sins would still remain. It is quite another thing to tell a paralyzed person to get up, walk and even carry his mat. Jesus here uses the term “Son of Man” for the first time in Mark. It is said to be Jesus’ favorite self-designation. The term did not carry the nationalistic and militaristic concepts of “Messiah” and was much less likely to raise the ire of the Romans. It was a title that both veiled and revealed his dual nature. [11] It meant that Jesus was fully man and yet fully divine (cf. Dan. 7:13; Jn. 6:62). In the role of Son of Man Jesus would later fulfill the role of Suffering Servant mentioned in Isaiah chapters 52 and 53 and would die for the sins of the whole world. By the great authority of the Son of Man this poor crippled person was healed. “He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, ‘We have never seen anything like this!’” (2:12). As we have noted, it was impossible to get into the place. Now with this dramatic healing the crowds made way for him and he walked out carrying his bed. He came into the crowd weak and sick but John Lightfoot, the seventeenth century English churchman and rabbinical scholar, describes his exit saying: “he, being not only made whole, but strong and lusty, pressed through the press of the multitude, and stoutly made his way with his bed upon his shoulders.” [12] Pharisees, teachers and people could not miss this great sign. They were amazed and praised God. In all their lives they had never seen anything like it. What a visual sermon declaring the divinity of the Savior! What a visual sermon proclaiming his victory over sin and sickness! (cf. Isa. 35:6). In commenting on this verse the great Augustine once chided his own people accusing them of being paralytics inwardly. He commanded them to take up their beds rather than allow their beds to take charge of them. His advice could apply to us today. [13] Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. Mark 2:13 Since Capernaum was a main harbor on the northwest coast of the Sea of Galilee, the shoreline was quite accessible to Jesus. He must have strolled along it many times. The Sea of Galilee is located in a most pleasant setting. The little sea or lake is the largest fresh-water body in Israel. It is about13 miles (21 km.) in length and 7 miles (11 km.) in width. The climate is semi-tropical and very agreeable for most of the year. In Israel the sea is called the Kinneret. This word is taken from the Hebrew kinor or harp, and in fact the little lake is actually harp-shaped. It is very picturesque. For four years at our Galilee Study Center in Migdal (near ancient Magdala) my wife and I were able to view almost the whole lake on a daily basis. We were always amazed that it turned so many colors throughout the day, from grey, to pink, to blue, to purple. Through our large living room windows we were able to watch the sun rise on the lake each day and observe the tiny fishing boats and fishermen as they gathered in their nets. As Jesus strolled along the beautiful lake the ever-present crowd gathered around. They walked with him and he began to teach them. Apparently Jesus soon began to walk along the roadway which is quite near the sea. This road was very important to ancient commerce. Barclay well describes the area with its road saying: “Galilee was one of the great road centers of the ancient world. It has been said that ‘Judea is on the way to nowhere; Galilee is on the way to everywhere’…The great Road of the Sea led from Damascus, by way of Galilee, through Capernaum, down past Carmel, along the Plain of Sharon, through Gaza and on to Egypt… On the way from Philip’s territory to Herod’s domains, Capernaum was the first town to which the traveler came. It was by its very nature a frontier town; because of that it was a custom center…” [14] “As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. ‘Follow me,’ Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him” (2:14). Jesus apparently walked right up to that customs toll booth. It was there that he encountered a man by the name of Levi son of Alphaeus. Levi of course is a very Jewish name. Today most people with this last name or its many derivatives likely have a remote association with the ancient Jewish tribe of Levi and the priesthood. Levi had another name of Matthew, meaning “gift of God.” With his promising names, Levi was in a most unpromising occupation. Because he was a tax gatherer for the Romans or possibly for the Jewish ruler Herod Antipas, [15] he was a marked and hated man. It was customary under the Roman government for tax positions to go out for bid. The Romans gave a contract to the highest bidder, and once the tax gatherer reached that obligated amount the rest was his to keep. Such a system promoted much graft and dishonesty. The tax gatherers or publicans as they were called tried to collect all the tax they could get. Their plan of operation may have been much like the shrewd farmer who was teaching his son how to sell a wagon. The father instructed the son to say: “Sir, the wagon is twenty-five dollars.” He advised his son that if the buyer didn’t flinch, he was to continue saying, “the wheels are five dollars.” If the buyer still didn’t flinch, he was to add, “each.” We can imagine that day the hard looks that may have been exchanged between Levi and Jesus’ disciples, who were mostly fishermen. It is thought that tax gatherers also had authority to tax fish that were caught in the lake. [16] Without hesitation Jesus said to Levi “follow me.” He, without hesitation, got up and followed. Barclay describes it, “With one action, in one moment of time, by one swift decision he had put himself out of his job forever, for having left his tax-collector’s job, he would never get it back… Matthew left everything but one thing— he did not leave his pen.” [17] Of course, Levi or Matthew with his pen would go on to write the great gospel by his name, a gospel relating all of Jesus’ wonderful teachings and parables. Apparently Levi was so happy with his decision that he made a banquet for Jesus and invited all his publican friends to meet the Master. “While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and ‘sinners’ were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him” (2:15). Stedman thinks that this was probably a farewell dinner for all his old friends and tax-collecting buddies. He remarks, “What a collection of rascals must have been there that day!” [18] Perhaps he would not be saying goodbye to all, because the text indicates that some were also interested in following after Jesus. We note that with the many tax collectors there were somehow also a few Pharisees who were either dining with him or perhaps looking from the courtyard wall. [19] Some might think Jesus would have been a little nervous in such rogue company. The Bible indicates otherwise. The Greek verb “reclining” (katakeimai) indicates that Jesus was in the customary posture for feasts and festivals. [20] Such festivals expressed friendship and acceptance. The participants would recline on their left elbows and position themselves on the floor around a low horseshoe-shaped table. [21] They would often prop themselves on pillows with their feet and legs stretching out behind them. “When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the ‘sinners’ and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: ‘Why does he eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” (2:16). In his ministry Jesus kept running into Pharisees (perushim or “separated ones” in Hebrew). They were never very happy with Jesus’s teaching or his conduct. This sect of Judaism had originated in the second century BC and placed much emphasis not just on the law but upon the oral traditions (which later became the Talmud). They were the strict religionists of the day and were the only major sect to survive the destruction of the temple in AD 70. The group continues on today, making up the basis of Rabbinic Judaism. Jesus did not accept their criticism for a moment: “On hearing this, Jesus said to them, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners’” (2:17). It appears that the Pharisees were scandalized because Jesus did not insist on moral repentance and make it a precondition for his love and acceptance. [22] Jesus reminded them that as a physician he had come to heal the sick not the well. It is plainly apparent that the Pharisees were not really well or righteous, but they only thought themselves so, and thus excluded themselves from Jesus’ ministry. [23] Some today may still have questions as to why Jesus fellowshipped with this type of people. The great British missionary to China, C.T. Studd (1860-1931), left us with these lines that might help us better understand the heart of Jesus in his outreach: Some want to live within the sound Of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop Within a yard of hell. [24] Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?” Mark 2:18 Fasting was always a part of the biblical faith and was considered a means of abasing oneself and seeking the face of God. We see here that both the Pharisees and John’s disciples fasted. The only fast commanded in Old Testament times was on the great Day of Atonement (Lev. 23:27). This was an awesome day when abstinence from both food and water was required. Even today religious Jews continue to keep this fast, although in modern times, with its many demands, it is sometimes quite difficult. As time went on, there were other fast days added to the religious calendar (cf. Zech. 8:19). By the time of Jesus, the strict Jews fasted twice each week, on Mondays and Thursdays (cf. Lk. 18:12). These daily fasts lasted from 6 AM to 6 PM. [25] We have much evidence in the New Testament that the Pharisees and other religious people abused these fasts and went to great lengths to attract much attention to themselves as well as to their self-imposed abasement and suffering (Mt. 6:16-18). By the time of the great prophet Isaiah we can see that some guidelines for a true fast were being given. In Isaiah 58:6-7 we read: “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?” Obviously, by the time of Jesus many had forgotten Isaiah’s instructions. From the scriptures we know that Jesus fasted (Matt. 4:2) and later the early church fasted (Acts 13:2-3; 14:23). However, over the centuries fasting got out of hand. Just before the time of the Reformation in Germany it is said that there were no less than 161 days each year that the pious were expected to fast or abstain from certain foods. [26] “Jesus answered, ‘How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast’” (2:19-20). It is as if Jesus rebuked them all saying: “You’ve misunderstood entirely the nature of the occasion. You think it is a funeral, but it’s not; it’s a wedding. A bridegroom is here. And at a wedding nobody fasts.” [27] There were some teachings in Judaism that a wedding was a time of celebration and not a time of fasting. One Rabbinic ruling read, “All in attendance on the bridegroom are relieved of all religious observances which would lessen their joy.” [28] Edwards describes for us what a normal Jewish wedding in biblical times was like. He says, “A wedding celebration in a Jewish village normally lasted seven days for a virgin bride or three days for a remarried widow…There was an abundance of food and wine, as well as song, dance, and fun both in the house and on the street.” [29] In John 2:1-7, the disciple relates how Jesus and his followers were invited to just such an event. Unfortunately, during the days of merriment the wine ran out. John tells us that Jesus worked his first miracle that day by having six large stone purification vessels filled with water and then turning all the water into wine. Jesus and his disciples were certainly not fasting on that occasion but were joining in the wedding celebration. Jesus makes plain that because he is still with his disciples they could not fast. He was the bridegroom and the wedding was in preparation. However, Jesus as the Son of Man and Suffering Servant would soon be taken away from them and then they would fast. No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. Mark 2:21 Sometimes it is necessary to patch a garment to get a little more use out of it. Yet, here Jesus warns that patching can go only so far and we must be careful what and how we patch. It was a big mistake in olden days to use un-shrunk cloth for the patch. Obviously, when the garment was washed the patch would shrink and make a mess of the garment. Jesus gave us this homespun illustration because he knew it applied directly to matters of religion. We cannot take something new like the gospel and make it work with the old ideas of religion. For instance, Jesus worshipped in the temple and in the synagogues. He even proclaimed the temple as his Father’s House (Jn. 2:16). Yet, Jesus told the Samaritan woman that someday people would not worship in a house but would worship God in spirit and in truth (Jn. 4:23-24). Jesus observed the Sabbath and went to the synagogue with all other observant Jews. [30] Yet, he cast out demons and healed at the synagogue. Such things were not permitted on the Sabbath according to the Pharisees and other groups. Jesus taught that the Sabbath was made for man and not vice-versa (Mk. 2:27-28). He taught that the Sabbath was a day to do good things as we will soon see. Jesus honored the old law which said “You shall not commit adultery” (Exo. 20:14), but he taught that adultery could also be committed by an unclean look or thought (Matt. 5:27-28). The gospel is brand new. We cannot mix it with old ideas or try to patch it up with these older concepts such as fasting. London’s Dr. Peter Pett says that on that last day if one does not have a proper wedding garment he will be cast out (Matt. 22:11-12; cf. Rev. 3:5, 18: 19:8). We cannot get into the wedding with a patched up gown. [31] Jesus continues with another illustration in Mark 2:22: “And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.” This is the same idea with a different picture. This was the day before wine bottles. In olden times a goat was skinned carefully so that the skin could contain liquids. [32] This made the transportation of wine much more convenient and avoided needless breakage and spills. Unfortunately, as time went on the old skins became stiff and the former elasticity was soon gone. It was therefore a big mistake to put new fermenting wine into and old skin. The wine would literally blow up the skin and both the wine and the skin would be lost. The message is that old containers cannot hold new ideas and new revelation. The gospel being the new wine would require a new container. It would break forth out of Judaism and would be expressed in the church. In that new vessel the saving gospel would reach to the ends of the earth. But as the centuries passed, even the church forms would become inflexible and would no longer respond to the Holy Spirit’s moves. As centuries passed the gospel did indeed have to break out of the old stiff forms of Christianity and be expressed in new more flexible forms of the church. Of course, this was exactly what happened in the Great Reformation under Martin Luther and others. One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” Mark 2:23-24 This next pericope pictures Jesus and his disciples in the grain fields of the Galilee. The areas around Capernaum and Chorazin were famous for their grain. In the Talmud both cities are praised for the quality of their wheat. Farmers in the area were first on the market with their grain due to what is called “insolation.” This is brought about by a combination of the black basalt soil and the steep angle going up from Capernaum to Korazin. All this allows more solar light and warmth from the sun to be absorbed into the soil, and greatly induces early ripening of the crops. [33] We note in this story that when religion gets too structured and legalistic it is almost impossible to move without breaking some rule. Here Jesus and his disciples were strolling along the footpaths or waysides in the grain fields of ripe wheat or barley. The disciples were apparently hungry so they were taking advantage of the bounty by picking a few heads, rubbing them in their hands and eating some of the grains. The Pharisees seeing this immediately cried “foul” and began to accuse them of breaking the Sabbath. According to their myriads of Sabbath laws there were probably two things they could have accused them of doing. Since they were apparently on a journey, they had probably walked more than 1,999 paces (2624 ft. or 800 meters). According to the Sabbath rules this would have qualified as a “journey.” In addition, the disciples were guilty of “reaping” (Exo. 31:13-17; 34:21). [34] James Burton Coffman, the influential Church of Christ scholar, remarks here with tongue in cheek: “It would have been just as reasonable, if they had knocked off a little dew on the ground as they walked along, to have charged them with irrigating land on the Sabbath!” [35] We might think today that they shouldn’t have been out there picking grain from someone’s field. However, God made such allowances in the Torah. In Deuteronomy 23:25 we read: “If you enter your neighbor’s grainfield, you may pick kernels with your hands, but you must not put a sickle to their standing grain.” God is a merciful God and he made plenty of provisions in his law for hungry people to be satisfied. “He answered, ‘Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need?’” (2:25). The Pharisees were the supposed experts in the law. Jesus had an interesting way of humiliating these self-declared experts by pointing out their gross ignorance of scriptures. Or as Stedman puts it, “Jesus skewered them on their own sword.” [36] “In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions” (2:26). Jesus referred them back to the days of David as he was fleeing from the tyrant King Saul (1 Sam. 21:1-9). David fled at first to Nob where the tabernacle was located. Since he was famished he asked the priest for bread. The priest had no bread except the shewbread or bread of the presence that was changed every Sabbath. This bread was only to be eaten by the priests according to God’s law. David took the bread and since he was without weapons he took the sword of the giant Goliath whom he had slain in battle as a child. This meeting was to be fateful for the priests at Nob. When Saul heard of it he had the priests there executed because of their apparent complicity with David. This account illustrates that the need of man can generally override the holy rules of God. No one was supposed to eat the holy bread but the priests and yet it was given to David in his need although he was not from the priestly line. Guzik quoting Morgan here says “Any application of the Sabbath Law which operates to the detriment of man is out of harmony with God’s purpose.” [37] God our Father is a God of love and is intimately concerned with our day to day needs, whether it be bread or a few grains of wheat. Commentators through the ages have noted what seems to be a discrepancy in this account. From the scripture we note that it was actually Abimelech (1 Sam. 21:1), also called Ahimelech, from whom David procured the loaves. How do we reconcile the mention of Abiathar in our verse? It would be absolutely unthinkable that Jesus would misquote the scripture, and especially at the same time he was chiding the teachers of the law about misunderstanding it. [38] The Pharisees would have surely latched on to such a blunder of Jesus and mocked him – “Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah – Jesus made a boo, boo!” Neither the Pharisees nor the gospel writers thought there was a problem here. [39] How could that be? It could simply have been a statement that the event happened in the “days of Abiathar,” or while he was alive, although he was not at the time holding the high priestly office. [40] Since Abiathar, son of Abimelech escaped the slaughter and later served as the high priest under King David, his name would have naturally been the most important and best-remembered. Jesus ends this section with the summary statement, “Then he said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath’” (2:27-28). Today in our busy world we have forgotten the Sabbath with its rest and refreshing. We have also forgotten the important title of Jesus as “Lord of the Sabbath.” Jesus is greater than the law because he is in fact the Living Law. He is greater than the Sabbath because the Sabbath was only a type, shadow and pattern of Jesus and his rest. Albert Barnes, the Presbyterian great, in his reflections on the Christian Sabbath says: It was a kind provision for man that he might refresh his body by relaxing his labours; that he might have undisturbed time to seek the consolations of religion to cheer him in the anxieties and sorrows of a troubled world; and that he might render to God that homage which is most justly due to him as the Creator, Preserver, Benefactor, and Redeemer of the world. And it is easily capable of proof, that no institution has been more signally blessed to man’s welfare than the Christian Sabbath. To that we owe, more than to anything else, the peace and order of a civilized community. Where there is no Sabbath, there is ignorance, vice, disorder, and crime. On that holy day, the poor, and the ignorant, as well as the learned, have undisturbed time to learn the requirements of religion, the nature of morals, the law of God, and the way of salvation…The Sabbath was, therefore, pre-eminently intended for man’s welfare. [41] Several sources I have cited here are from the electronic media, either from websites or from electronic research libraries. Thus in some of these sources it is not possible to cite page numbers. Instead I have cited the verse or verses in each chapter of Mark (e.g. verse v. 1 or vs. 1-2) about which the commentators speak. 1. Rousseau &Arav, Jesus and His World, p. 42. 2. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 53. 3. Jamieson, Robert, Commentary on Mark, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible. http://www.studylight.org/com/jfb/view.cgi?book=mr&chapter=001. 1871. v. 2:4. See also Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter p. 34. 4. Stedman, Mark: He Came To Serve, v. 2:3. 5. Hugh Hewitt, The Embarrassed Believer (Nashville: Word Publishing, 1998), p. 54. 6. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, v. 2:5. 7. Robert A. Guelich, Mark 1-8:26, Word Biblical Commentary, (Dallas: Word Books, 1989), p. 86. 8. Marcus, Mark 1-8, p. 221. 9. Stedman, Mark: He Came To Serve, v. 2:7. 10. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 77. 11. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p. 36. 12. John Lightfoot, Commentary on Mark, John Lightfoot Commentary on the Gospels. http://www.studylight.org/com/jlc/view.cgi?book=mr&chapter=002, 1675. 13. Oden, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, p. 29. 14. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, pp. 59-60. Editor: To this day there continues to be a great deal of discussion among scholars as to exactly where this important road ran. We can be certain from scripture that it ran close to Capernaum. 15. Ibid., p. 60. Barclay remarks how the Greek writer Lucian places tax gatherers in the class with adulterers, panderers, flatterers and sycophants. Guzik, commenting on verses 13-14 also describes their profession saying: “A tax collector bid among others for the tax collecting ‘contract.’ For example, many tax collectors might want to have the ‘tax contract’ for a city like Capernaum. The Romans awarded the contract to the highest bidder. The man collected taxes, paid the Romans what he promised, and kept the remainder. Therefore, there was a lot of incentive for tax collectors to over-charge and cheat any way they could. It was pure profit for them.” It was obviously a way to get rich quick. Edwards (p. 83) adds concerning this subject: “The Mishnah and Talmud (although written later) register scathing judgments of tax collectors, lumping them together with thieves and murderers. A Jew who collected taxes was disqualified as judge or witness in court, expelled from the synagogue, and a cause of disgrace to his family (b. Sanh. 25b).” 16. Guzik, Commentary on Mark vs. 13-14. “There is archaeological evidence that fish taken from the Sea of Galilee were taxed. So Jesus took as His disciple the taxman that may have been taking money from Peter, James, and John and the other fishermen among the disciples. This might have made for some awkward introductions!” See also Utley p. 36 on this subject. 17. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, pp. 61-62. 18. Stedman, Mark: He Came To Serve, v. 2:15. 19. Coffman, Commentary on Mark, v. 2:16. 20. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 84. 21. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p. 37. 22. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 85. 23. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, v. 2:17. 24. Quoted in Barclay, p. 66. 25. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 67. 26. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, v. 2:18. 27. Stedman, Mark: He Came To Serve, v. 2:18. 28. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 68. 29. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 89. 30. Ibid., p. 92. 31. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, v. 21. 32. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p. 39. 33. Sapir, Capernaum, p. 8. 34. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 94. “The Dead Sea Scrolls preserve the most rigorous Sabbath regulations in Judaism, forbidding even the carrying of children, giving of help to birthing animals, or the retrieval of an animal fallen into a pit on the Sabbath…the Mishnah lists thirty-nine classes of work that profane the Sabbath.” 35. Coffman, Commentary on Mark, v. 2:23. 36. Stedman, Mark: He Came To Serve, v. 2:25. 37. Quoted in Guzik, vs. 2:25-28. 38. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p. 40. 39. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, vs. 2:25-26. 40. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 2:25-28. Also Edwards in commenting on this “problem” has this to say (pp. 94-97). “The event under consideration appears to have been associated in popular memory with the high priesthood of Abiathar…In making the allusion to David, Jesus is inviting a comparison between his person and Israel’s royal messianic prototype. This is the first of several references or allusions to David in Mark’s Gospel…The appeal to David in our passage begins to define Jesus’ authority as the royal Son of God anticipated since the reign of David.” 41. Albert Barnes, Commentary on Mark, Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament. v. 2:27. http://www.studylight.org/com/bnn/view.cgi?book=mr&chapter=002. Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. Mark 3:1-2 It was Jesus’ custom to worship in the synagogue, as we have seen, and once again he is doing so. We can assume that it was still the synagogue near his home at Capernaum. When Jesus entered the synagogue he saw there a man with a withered hand. [1] In Luke’s account (6:6) he informs us that it was his right hand that was withered. This would obviously have had a big effect on how the man could work and earn his living. This time, there was an opposition group waiting in the synagogue to see if Jesus would heal again on the Sabbath. They were ready to bring accusations against him if he did so. As we can see, the Pharisees, scribes and others were increasing their surveillance of Jesus and no doubt were in close contact with their headquarters in Jerusalem. Opposition was building rapidly and headed for a climax. We can say that from almost the outset of Jesus’ ministry the shadow of the cross was falling upon him. [2] His enemies were now to the point of setting a trap for him and it is obvious from this chapter that their plans were focused on bringing about his death. One great theme of Mark is that Jesus came to fulfill the role of the Suffering Servant, as seen in the Servant Songs of Isaiah chapters 41-53. From the outset he was fully prepared to give his life for his sheep. It was actually the reason that he came to earth (Jn. 10:11; 12:27). “Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, ‘Stand up in front of everyone.’ Then Jesus asked them, ‘Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?’ But they remained silent” (3:3-4). Jesus was not the least bit timid, nor was he fearful of confrontation. In fact, it seems here that Jesus was even pressing for a confrontation as he singled out the man and asked him to stand before them all. For us to understand the tension here we must also understand how the Jewish people of old looked at the Sabbath. The Sabbath from ancient times had become very central in Jewish teaching. No doubt, one reason for this was that the Sabbath returned every week and was always on their minds. The Jews came to see the Sabbath in a very rigid way. They were determined to guard it so they began to build so-called “fences” around the law of the Sabbath lest they should break it. As we have seen, a person could only walk a certain distance on the Sabbath. Even today small synagogues in Israel are often located so that devout Jewish people can walk to them, since they may not ride in automobiles on the holy day. There were literally hundreds of things that could not be done on the day. “No medicines or special foods could be taken on the Sabbath, nor could a hand or foot out of joint be immersed in hot water.” [3] The Jewish people did have a teaching that eventually became known as pikuakh nefesh (Heb. saving a life). It was thought in biblical times that only life-threatening issues should be dealt with on the Sabbath. A broken bone for instance or a withered hand was not such an issue. Jesus thought otherwise. We have already learned that Jesus claimed the title “Lord of the Sabbath” (cf. Mk. 2:28). We know from scripture that Jesus was in fact the agent of the creation. He made all things (including the Sabbath) by his powerful word and he sustains all things by the same word (Jn. 1:1; Heb. 1:3). Jesus, as Lord of the Sabbath, was indeed the final authority on what could and could not be done on the sacred day. Jesus clearly felt that it was permitted to do good on the Sabbath rather than to do evil. Healing of all sorts was therefore permitted so far as Jesus was concerned. We see here the great irony presented in Mark. Jesus was intent on doing good and saving life, while the Pharisees sitting in the audience were actually contemplating murder. [4] We can understand why they had nothing to say to Jesus and were rather dumbfounded. John Chrysostom, that early church father and preacher (c. 347–407), quipped about the contest of the poor man and the Pharisees saying: “If he was withered in hand, the ones who stood by were withered in their minds.” [5] In Matthew and Luke’s versions of this same story we have some important additional information given that probably helped silence Jesus’ enemies. In Matthew 12:11-12, we hear Jesus say to them: “…If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath” (cf. Lk. 14:5). Cotton Mather (1663-1728) that early American father and writer once said: “The ability to do good imposes an obligation to do it.” [6] We see a similar thing in Matthew 25:45, where the wicked are condemned precisely because of what they did not do. “He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus” (3:5-6). Edwards remarks here: “He uses three strong Greek words that appear nowhere else in the gospel. Having surveyed the crowd Jesus is ‘angry’ (orges) and is ‘deeply distressed’ (syllypoumenos) at their ‘stubborn’ (porosei) hearts.” [7] Their hearts were actually “calcified” according to the Greek. [8] The Pharisees immediately went out. They had not the slightest praise for the miracle they had just seen. Rather, the only thing on their minds was how to kill Jesus, since they now deemed him worthy of death. They immediately began to consult with the Herodian party who were normally their natural enemies. Herod Antipas was in power over the Galilee and his consent would be necessary for obtaining the death sentence. So far as we know, the Herodians were not a party like the Pharisees or Sadducees, but were sympathizers and supporters of the Herodian dynasty. [9] Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed. When they heard all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. Mark 3:7-8 We can readily see from the previous incident, that the synagogue doors were closing on Jesus. He chose to do what some great preachers have done since. He simply went to the open-air meetings. Some of the great pioneers of the Evangelical movement were known for such meetings. We think of the eighteenth century ministers, George Whitefield and John Wesley. They were not always welcome in the Anglican Church, so they conducted vast meetings in the open-air, often with crowds numbering in the many thousands. When we look at scripture we see that even the Apostle Paul sometimes conducted such meetings (Acts 16:13). In these verses we cannot help but be amazed that Jesus was beginning to draw crowds from great distances. It seems that many were from Jerusalem, which was about one-hundred miles away (160 km.). Some had come from Idumea, far in the south country, perhaps as much as 200 miles (321 km.). Others had come from across the Jordan and from the areas of ancient Phoenicia. “Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him. For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him” (3:9-10). It seemed that Jesus was under pressure everywhere he went. He had been under great pressure from the religious authorities in the synagogue and now the crowds were pressing upon him. Edwards remarks how the: “Pastoral and folksy stereotypes of Jesus surrounded by lambs and children are skewed caricatures of Mark’s description of Jesus’ early ministry in Galilee.” [10] To avoid the near mob scene and the very real possibility of getting crushed in the press, Jesus instructed his disciples to provide him with a small boat. He put it out to sea and used it as his open-air pulpit. This open-air meeting must have been quite a scene with sick people crowding in just to touch Jesus. He always had mercy and healed them all. Coffman remarks: “The number of the cures wrought by Jesus was astronomical; all of the gospels together give only a fraction of the great things he did.” [11] Also as a part of this scene Mark says: “Whenever the evil spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, ‘You are the Son of God.’ But he gave them strict orders not to tell others about him” (3:11-12). As we have said previously, Jesus would not receive testimony from evil, lying spirits. It is rather amazing that devils knew he was the Son of God but the people, the Pharisees and even his own disciples did not understand this important fact. We see in James 2:19 that the devils believed and trembled. However, it was not possible for demonic powers to repent or truly have faith. Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. Mark 3:13 We have the mention of a mountain here which was no doubt well known to the disciples but is not known to us. Since the Sea of Galilee was surrounded by mountains there are many possibilities. On the west side of the lake, Mount Arbel is a very prominent and outstanding peak. On the eastern side of the lake we have the impressive hills of what we now call the Golan Heights. Since Jesus’ ministry was focused on the northwestern side of the lake we can probably eliminate the eastern mountains. Nothing at all is said about Arbel in the New Testament so we can probably eliminate that too. We might note that the traditional Mount of Beatitudes is the most prominent hill on the north side near the lake. Wiersbe says that according to the harmony of the gospels, the Sermon on the Mount must have taken place between Mark 3:19 and 20. Mark does not record this because his emphasis was not so much upon what Jesus said as upon what he did. [12] It could be that Jesus appointed his disciples on this now famous hill (cf. Matt. 28:16), and soon after preached his sermon there. There is a spot near the top of the hill and around that natural depression there is excellent acoustics, as many pilgrims who have tried it out can attest. “He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons” (3:14-15). In the gospels it is clear that the crowds following Jesus were fickle. Also, even large numbers of those who initially walked after Jesus turned back in time (cf. Jn. 6:66). Jesus needed some men who would never turn back. Through these men he would lay the foundations of the kingdom of God and the nucleus of the new “spiritual nation” he was about to bring forth (cf. Matt. 21:43). [13] It was probably for this reason that Jesus chose twelve, just as there are twelve tribes in Israel. Edwards remarks, “The Greek says, ‘he made Twelve.’ To appoint is to select from an existing lot and raise to a new status, but to make means to bring into existence. Mark’s verb (Gk. epoiesen) is the same as that of Gen 1:1 (LXX)…The Twelve are a new creation.” [14] Coffman says, “These men, in one sense, are the most important men who ever lived…. they are fully worthy of the honor God has reserved for them in the inscription of their names upon the foundations of the Eternal City (Revelation 21:14).” [15] Lists of the twelve are found in the synoptic gospels plus an additional listing in Acts (Mk. 3:13-19; Matt. 10:2-4; Lk. 6:14-16; Acts 1:13). Other people could not be added to this select group. After Judas betrayed Jesus, caused his crucifixion and then himself committed suicide, Peter saw that it was necessary to select someone to take his place. He noted that it would have to be someone who was with Jesus throughout his whole ministry from the time of John’s baptism to the resurrection (Acts 1:21-26). Two names were proposed and Matthias was chosen to replace Judas. These disciples were named as apostles (ones sent out) and were all given special authority to preach and to expel demons (cf. Lk. 9:1-2). In later church history there were other apostles such as Paul, Barnabas, Andronicus and Junias, but they were never classed with the original group and were obviously apostles of a different order. “These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder); Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him” (3:16-19). We note that in every listing Simon, who was renamed Peter, is always in first place and Judas is always listed last. Of course, this is not the case in Acts since Judas was already dead. Simon also had the name of Cephas (kepha) meaning a rock (Jn. 1:42). This name when translated into Greek became Petros, also meaning a small rock. [16] At some point Jesus gave nicknames to James and John. Perhaps it was after the episode when they wanted to call fire down on the cities of Samaria that had rejected Jesus (Lk. 9:52-55). He began to call them Boanerges (Sons of Thunder). No doubt Mark gives this Aramaic translation for the sake of his Roman readers. [17] We know from many scriptures that Peter, James and John made up the important inner-circle of Jesus’ disciples. Andrew, Peter’s brother, is also listed with the first group of four. Mark lists Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas next. In the listings of disciples they would form the second group of four. Philip is always listed first in this group. These first two groups of four remain stable in all the listings. It is only in the last grouping that there are some seeming differences. James the Son of Alphaeus always leads the last grouping of four. Thaddeus who appears in Mark’s listing here does not appear in Luke’s listing or that in that of Acts. Instead we have Judas son of James mentioned. It is thought that the two were one and the same. [18] Simon the Cananean (his name meaning “zealous”) mentioned here and in Matthew shows up as Simon the Zealot in Luke and Acts (cf. Lk. 6:15). There are a number of interesting things about the disciples or apostles. Simon the Cananean or Simon the Zealot was probably a former member of the Zealot group. The center for this movement, which advocated violent opposition to Rome, was at Gamla, a city just up the Golan Heights a short distance from Bethsaida. Later this city was totally destroyed in the Roman war. Judas Iscariot (man of Kerioth) may have been from this city in southern Judea. If so, he would have been the only one of the disciples who was not a Galilean. [19] Thomas apparently had the Hebrew name of Didymus or “twin” (cf. John 11:16). It is interesting that Mark, who earlier describes the call of Levi, gives him the name of Matthew here. [20] Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.” Mark 3:20-21 Through the window of these verses we get a picture of how weary, stressed and emotionally ragged the disciples must have been at this point. There was no rest and no chance even to have their necessary meals. The crowds were always pressing in and even invading the privacy of home. This setting no doubt takes place back at Capernaum, which was the only home Jesus ever knew in his ministry years. We read here that Jesus’ family heard of the situation and came over, no doubt from Nazareth (about 20 miles away or 32 km.), to take charge of him. The Greek text reads “those of him (hoi par autou)” and this could be broader than just his family. [21] It probably includes his associates, his kin, his followers or even friends of the family. Their idea was not just to “take charge” but to actually seize him. The Greek here is kratein, and is used elsewhere regularly in Mark with the attempt to bind or deprive someone of freedom. Edwards goes on to state that these relatives and friends may even have had the idea of “deprograming” him (cf. Zech. 13:3). [22] Father Bargil Pixner is a Catholic scholar who spent many years living, studying and doing archaeological work around the Sea of Galilee. Pixner feels that the small town of Nazareth was inhabited in about 100 BC with a Natzorean clan of Davidic lineage. This clan had apparently returned from their Babylonian exile. Pixner also points out how we now know from archaeological evidence that Nazareth is spelled with the Hebrew “tz” instead of with the “z.” In fact, in modern Hebrew the city has the name of Natzeret. Netzer in Hebrew means “branch” so we can see, at long last, that the town does actually connect up with the strange scripture in Matthew 2:23. This passage says of Jesus that, “…He would be called a Nazarene.” [23] Of course, there is no prophet in the Bible who says such a thing and scholars have pondered over this problem for centuries. Now we know for certain that Nazareth connects up with the prophecy in Isaiah 11:1, which includes the Hebrew word “netzer” or branch, and applies it to Jesus. If it is true that Davidic clans resettled the little town of Nazareth we can understand how they might have had very strong feelings about who the Messiah would be and how he should conduct his ministry. [24] In this passage, citizens of the town who were friends and family members show some embarrassment and consternation at Jesus and they seem determined to take him back home. No doubt their idea was to help him get his ministry restarted as they thought he should conduct it. This was obviously a serious crisis for Jesus and his disciples. Later on, Jesus would say in Matthew 10:36: “a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.” Guzik cites Cole, who thinks that he might have been saying this from his own bitter experience. [25] Apparently, even these close family members thought Jesus had lost his mind. History has proven many times that God’s servants are often misjudged by their contemporaries and even their close family members. It was the great evangelist D. L. Moody who was labeled as “Crazy Moody” by many in Chicago. [26] We see here that the family problem was not the only crisis. We read of another and perhaps a more serious one that was brewing. 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.” Mark 3:22 In this passage we have clear evidence that the Jerusalem leaders were stalking Jesus. Now they bring their charge against him and it is a very serious one indeed. They charge him of being possessed by Beelzebub and by doing his miracles through demonic power (cf. Jn. 10:20; Lk. 11:15). We should note here that Mark has an interesting literary technique, in that he is prone to “sandwich” one story right in the middle of another. [27] He does so here, and we will see him return to the troublesome family situation later in verse 31. The serious charge of Jesus being possessed by Beelzebub needs some attention. The “Beel” in the name reflects the Semitic word “Baal.” This word means “lord,” “owner,” master,” or even “husband.” Baal was known as the fertility god or storm-god of Canaan. The last part of the name, “zebul” can refer to “heights” or “prince,” but it can also refer to “dung.” Jewish people would sometimes change the letters of pagan gods to form a derogatory pun. [28] Here we can imagine them referring to this pagan god as “dung god” or “garbage god.” Wiersbe adds, “Beelzebub: (or Beelzebul) is a name for the devil, and it means ‘master of the house.’ Jesus picked up on this meaning and gave a parable about a strong man guarding his house.” [29] “So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: ‘How can Satan drive out Satan?’” (3:23). We saw in the last verse that the teachers of the law had come down from Jerusalem and how they had made a serious charge against Jesus. These teachers were known as scribes (grammateus). The scribes had their origin after the Babylonian captivity and they were the official teachers and interpreters of the law. Their understandings of the law tended more and more toward legalism. It is interesting that Jesus here began to speak in parables (Gk. parabolais). This is the first time in Mark that this word is used but we will see a great operation of parabolic teaching beginning with the next chapter and continuing on. Parables were proverbs, riddles or word pictures and Jesus used them both to reveal and conceal his message. [30]. The scribes were claiming that Jesus was not only possessed by Beelzebub, but that he was casting out demons by Beelzebub. The argument of the scribes was not theologically sound and neither was it logically sound. However, since they were likely an official delegation from Jerusalem their opinion carried much weight with the masses. [31] Jesus said to them: “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come” (3:24-26). Although there is no honor among thieves there nevertheless can be order. That order in this case is instilled by the great fear and terror of Satan. We know from scripture that Satan was a powerful angel, originally created good and beautiful by God, but that he fell because of his great pride. As a created being Satan does not have omnipotence, omniscience or omnipresence. It is clear from scripture that Satan must work through legions of fallen, evil beings to accomplish his will. He is their ruthless leader and some have described him as a spiritual godfather and his hierarchy as a sort of spiritual Mafia. As the prince of devils he must keep the underworld in line at all times. Because of the great pervasiveness of evil in the world we would have to think he is doing a pretty thorough job of it. We can understand that if Satan’s kingdom was divided in any way it would simply fall apart. “In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house” (3:27). This may well be a reference to Isaiah 49:24-25, or even to Isaiah 53:12, where it is said, “Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” We know that later when Jesus arose from the grave he defeated the strong man completely and “…When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people” (Eph. 4:8). In Matthew’s version of this struggle with the scribes Jesus also says: “But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (12:28). Mark relates how Jesus announced the kingdom of God in 1:15. He will pick up on the idea in the next chapter and continue with it throughout the book. Wiersbe says that “kingdom” becomes the key word in this whole section. [32] Jesus then warns, “Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin. He said this because they were saying, ‘He has an impure spirit’” (3:28-30). We immediately see that all sins and blasphemies can be forgiven – all except one, and that is the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Jesus had been healing the sick, casting out demons, and doing many mighty works in the Galilee. However the scribes were declaring that these mighty works came from Beelzebul or the devil. The idea of an eternal or unpardonable sin has caused a lot of heartache and concern among Christians. Edwards says of it, “The sin against the Holy Spirit is one of the most disturbing statements of Jesus in the gospels.” [33] Methodist scholar J. Newton Davies adds, “The saying of Jesus with regard to ‘the unpardonable sin’ has occasioned perplexity to scholars and anxiety and unnecessary pain to many devout believers.” [34] Why is blasphemy against the Spirit such a horrible and dangerous sin? To answer this we need to pause and think about what the Holy Spirit does. He bears witness to Jesus (Jn. 15:26). He convicts the world of sin (Jn. 16:8). He takes God’s things and makes them known to us (Jn. 16:14). He is actually the agent and means of our new birth (Jn. 3:5). When we blaspheme against the Spirit we cut ourselves off from our only hope of salvation. In a sense we throw away the one and only lifeline that can rescue us and take us to heaven. That is why this sin is eternal. Now, can a sincere Christian commit this sin? Is this something about which we should worry ourselves? Coffman answers, “We can say with absolute confidence to anyone who is overwhelmed by the fear that he has committed this sin, that the fact that he is so troubled is itself sure proof that he has not committed it.” [35] Edwards adds his reassurance, “Anyone who is worried about having committed the sin against the Holy Spirit has not yet committed it, for anxiety of having done so is evidence of the potential for repentance. There is no record in Scripture of anyone asking forgiveness of God and being denied it!” [36] Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.” Mark 3:31-32 Now Mark returns to the other side of the “sandwich” he had left and begins once more to speak of the brewing family problems Jesus was experiencing. It seems apparent here that this is a continuation of verses 3:20-21, where some close friends and relatives from his hometown had come to seize him and take him away. Some thought he had lost his mind. Here we see that his immediate family was probably also involved in this plot. Even his dear mother and brothers apparently thought he was somehow on the wrong track. Mary was no doubt a very good Jewish momma and probably had heard reports that her son was not being properly nourished. We note here and in many other places that Jesus’ father is never present. That is proof enough for many scholars that Joseph was now deceased. We no doubt remember from John 7:5 that even Jesus’ his own brothers did not believe in him. His dear mother, who had no doubt pondered many wonderful things about him in her heart, now seems to have some reservations herself. Perhaps they, like many, were thinking in terms of some earthly messianic kingdom. Jesus, being the firstborn of Joseph would have been in a direct line to David’s throne. [37] He surely had a divine right, as Matthew 2:2 says, to be called “King of the Jews.” Obviously, with many of his statements and actions he was not in the least seeking an earthly kingdom. There is also a very good chance that his family and friends had heard the death threats against Jesus made by the scribes, Pharisees and other Jewish leaders. Guelich points out here that lines are gradually being drawn between “insiders” and “outsiders.” He notes that the coming parable in chapter four will make the lines even more distinct. [38] For the time being at least, Jesus’ own family is placing itself in the category of “outsiders.” Some may think that Jesus is not giving due honor to his mother. This is not the case (cf. Jn. 19:27). Here his ministry and calling are being threatened. Jesus was here having to make the same difficult decision that he would later advise his own disciples to make. In Matthew 10:37-38 he says, “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” He had to make a choice for the kingdom of God even if it meant turning away temporarily from his own family, even from his dear mother. However, “She had not been replaced in his affections, only in his mission.” [39] Here we get an understanding of who the family of God really is. “‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ he asked. Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother’” (3:33-35). Jesus was not only bringing forth a new spiritual kingdom and a new spiritual nation, but he was bringing forth a new spiritual family. Those who were following Jesus sincerely would become that true family. The spiritual ties would actually become much more real and binding than any blood ties. Back in 1970 William Gaither wrote this gospel song expressing these new spiritual ties: I’m so glad I’m a part of the family of God I’ve been washed in the fountain And cleansed by His blood Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod I’m so glad I’m part of the family of God Several sources I have cited here are from the electronic media, either from websites or from electronic research libraries. Thus in some of these sources it is not possible to cite page numbers. Instead I have cited the verse or verses in each chapter of Mark (e.g. verse v. 1 or vs. 1-2) about which the commentators speak. 1. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 98. He says that the word “shriveled hand” occurs in Mark several times and that the meanings range from “dried up” (5:29), to “withered” (4:6; 11:20-21) and even to “stiff” (9:18). 2. Ibid. 3. J. Newton Davies, Mark, Abingdon Bible Commentary (New York: Doubleday &Co., 1929), p. 1003. 4. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 98. 5. Quoted in Oden, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, p. 37. 6. Quoted in Barnes, Commentary on Mark, v. 3:4. 7. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p.100. Marcus notes here that in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Mishnah if diseases were not life-threatening they could not be treated on the Sabbath (Marcus, p. 248). 8. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p. 43. 9. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 102. “The Herodians were not a distinct sect or political party as were the Pharisees or Sadducees or Essenes, for example, but rather sympathizers and supporters of Herods’s cause and the Herodian dynasty. In the NT Herodians always appear in alliance with the Pharisees…The alliance of these two otherwise antagonistic parties must argue for the magnitude of their opposition to Jesus.” 10. Ibid., pp. 103-104. 11. Coffman, Commentary on Mark, v. 3:10. 12. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, p. 98. 13. Ibid, p. 97. In commenting on these verses (13-19) Pett adds: “There are in the New Testament good reasons for suggesting that the twelve were to be seen as the foundation of the new Israel, thus paralleling them with the Patriarchs of the twelve tribes… For this compare Matthew 16.18; Ephesians 2.20 – where it is along with the Prophets; Revelation 21.14.” 14. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 112. 15. Coffman, Commentary on Mark, vs. 3:16-19. 16. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, v. 3:16. 17. Davies, Mark, Abingdon Bible Commentary, p. 1004. 18. Coffman, Commentary on Mark, vs. 3:16-19. 19. Davies, Mark, Abingdon Bible Commentary, p. 1004. 20. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, vs. 3:18-19. 21. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 118. 22. Ibid., pp. 118-119. 23. Bargil Pixner, With Jesus Through Galilee According to the Fifth Gospel (Rosh Pina Israel: Corazin Publishing, 1992), pp. 14-15. 24. Ibid., p. 50. 25. Cited in Guzik, vs. 3:10-21. 26. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, p. 98. 27. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 117. 28. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p.50. 29. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, p. 99. 30. Ibid. 31. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, v. 3:22. “The scribes who came down from Jerusalem: This is an official delegation of experts from Jerusalem, coming to Galilee, to observe and assess the ministry of Jesus. The opinion of these scribes carried a lot of weight with many people…” He quotes Lane here who says, “It is possible that they were official emissaries from the Great Sanhedrin who came to examine Jesus’ miracles and to determine whether Capernaum should be declared a ‘seduced city,’ the prey of an apostate preacher.” 32. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, p. 99. 33. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 122. 34. Davies, Mark, Abingdon Bible Commentary, p.1005. 35. Coffman, Commentary on Mark, vs. 3:28-30. 36. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 124. “The word for “sins” in vv. 28-29 is not the normal Greek word for “sin” (harmatia), but a derivative (harmartema). Such sin is called “an eternal sin” (v. 29), (Edwards, p. 122). Here Barclay quotes H. B. Swete who says, “To identify the source of good with the embodiment of all evil implies a moral wreck for which the Incarnation itself provides no remedy.” He also cites the Lutheran scholar Johannes Bengel, who said that while all other sins are human this sin is Satanic (Barclay, p. 92). 37. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, vs. 3:28-30. 38. Robert A. Guelich, Mark 1-8:26, pp. 152, 181. 39. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, v. 3:35. 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. Mark 4:1 Here we see Jesus was once more surrounded by a great crowd (cf. Mt. 13:1-9; Lk. 8:4-8). In order to escape the press of the crowd he once again resorted to the “floating pulpit” of a boat. In this case he apparently used a larger fishing boat, or one with a sail, according to the Greek description. [1] It is interesting that a picture of this sail-type fishing boat was found some years ago on an ancient mosaic floor at the coastal city of Magdala. So once again Jesus found himself preaching in an open-air setting. We might wonder today how so many people could really have heard him. Yet, history records that the great evangelist George Whitefield preached to as many as 20,000 English miners at one time in the open-air. His sermons often resulted in hundreds being converted. [2] Of course, in Whitefield’s day there were no means of electronically amplifying his voice. Jesus may have had some natural principles working in his favor. The water itself carries sound very well. On the northwest side of the lake, there is a picturesque site known as the Bay of Parables. It is handily located between Capernaum and Tabgha (the old fishing hole). This is the traditional spot where it is thought that Jesus’ sermon took place. In recent years Israeli scientists have tested this spot and found that it has remarkable acoustics, insomuch that the human voice out on the water could have effortlessly reached thousands of people on the shore. [3] “He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said:” (4:2). Jesus opened his mouth and began to teach in parables. It is interesting that only in this chapter and in chapter 13 does Mark depart from his brisk narrative format by including whole blocks of Jesus’ teaching. [4] Here we might wonder exactly what a parable is, and why Jesus persisted in teaching this way. Parables were not new to the Jewish people, for their Rabbis used parables before Jesus’ time. We might define a parable as an earthly story that has a heavenly meaning. It was an excellent way of making known concrete, deep, abstract ideas and of encouraging people to think for themselves. [5] By speaking this way Jesus was fulfilling a prophecy about himself found in Psalm 78:2-3 where it is said, “I will open my mouth with a parable; I will utter hidden things, things from of old— things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us.” Parables were vivid pictures and no one before or after ever told parables like Jesus did. They abruptly knocked people off balance and shed new light on old truths. Edwards describes them “like stained glass windows in a cathedral, dull and lifeless from the outside but brilliant and radiant from within.” [6] Jesus may have persisted in using these clever little stories for a number of reasons. Of course, they were the fulfillment of prophecy as we have said. Possibly they were meant to confound all the enemies who were listening in on his sermons. The very language of parables was unsuitable to the court charges the Pharisees and others wished to bring against Jesus. Jesus’ parables were highly interesting and thus easy to remember. [7] Jesus began his parables saying: “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up” (4:3-4). This was a picture from everyday Galilean life. Jesus was surrounded by farming country. All around Capernaum, Korazin and Tabgha there were farms with very fertile, black, volcanic soil, excellent for growing grains. Nearby was the extremely rich Plain of Genessaret. Today all this country produces luscious fruit consisting of citrus, mangoes, bananas, dates, avocadoes, and various grain crops. No doubt, as Jesus was preaching there was a sower working nearby intent on spreading grain upon his little farm. With the Greek word idou, which is often translated “behold” or “look”, Jesus seems to be directing their attention to “look” at the farmer. [8] With this, he begins his famous parable of the sower, which may very well be his most famous parable. It is no doubt his most important parable, because later in verse 13 we will see that this story has within it the key to understanding all parables. This is a very simple picture on the surface. The sower no doubt had a bag of seed around his neck and was using his right hand to scatter the seed on his field. As a young boy on the farm I still remember my dad sowing seed in just this fashion. A little later he found an automated bag-like contraption that had a spreading wheel on the bottom with a hand crank attached to it. This was by far a more effective method of broadcasting seed. In this parable we observe that some seed fell on the path or wayside. In those days fields were small strips and quite often they had pathways between them or even across them. [9] These pathways grew very hard with the constant trampling of many feet. When the precious seed fell on the hard pathway they were totally exposed, making a quick and easy meal for the eagerly-watching birds. Again as a child on the farm I remember how flocks of birds seemed to gather around us at plowing and sowing times. In the case of this parable the birds quickly ate the seed on the wayside and these seed were thus prevented from sprouting and bearing their fruit. Even without explanation we would all have to agree that the wayside is “a brilliantly simple analysis of men’s hearts.” [10] As the sower continued, “Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root” (4:5-6). There are a lot of rocky places in Israel. Quite often, otherwise fertile soil is literally covered with rocks. My wife, in joking about Israel, likes to paraphrase the Christmas story with these words: “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their ROCKS at night” (Lk. 2:8 paraphrased). Someone once quipped that Israel would be rich if she could only figure out a way to export rocks and her numerous political parties. While the abundance of rocks was a problem for ancient Israelite farmers there is a possibility that the author is speaking here more of rock outcroppings with shallow soil on top of them. In such an inhospitable place the precious seed would no doubt spout quickly due to the heat generated by sun-scorched rocks. Then once the noonday sun bore down upon them they would wilt away. This picture also packed a powerful message for the observant. Thomas Taylor once said “Earthly things must remind us of heavenly. We must translate the book of nature into the book of grace.” [11] “Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain” (4:7). Again, Israel has no lack of thorns and thistles. They were so prevalent that in the Hebrew language there are at least14 different words for thorns and thistles. In a walk across the landscape one can see many varieties of these. There is the Syrian Thistle, the Globe Thistle, the abundant Milk Thistle, as well as many others. In my early years as a farm boy I noted that the thistles and weeds somehow seemed to grow faster and taller than the grain crops. It was often my job to spend the day in the hot sun chopping down these persistent invaders. So we see here that the thorns and thistles outgrew the good seed and choked them out. “Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times” (4:8). Not all the seed sown were so unfortunate. Some seed fell on the good soil that was ready to receive them. There is evidence that ancient farmers plowed their fields prior to sowing and it was not even infrequent that they plowed again after sowing in order to protect the seed with a layer of soil. [12] This protected and well-nourished seed came up and produced a bumper crop. Some have thought the 30, 60 and even 100-fold yields were a bit extravagant, but the writer Gustaf Dalman (1855-1941), who did extensive field work in Palestine, has noted that individual grains were able to produce ears with an average of thirty-five kernels. He noted that sixty was not out of the ordinary and that even some produced one-hundred-fold. [13] Also, modern researchers have concluded that wheat heads can bear from 20 to 50 kernels with no problem. [14] We might note that a 100-fold yield is a bit out of the ordinary and would surely be classed as a bumper crop or even as a bit miraculous. “Then Jesus said, ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear’” (4:9). Jesus must have used this expression a lot, and interestingly, the Risen Christ still uses it in Revelation (cf. Rev. 2:7, 11, 17 ff.). Texas Professor Bob Utley thinks that the command to “hear” may be associated with the popular Hebrew Shema prayer of Deuteronomy 6:4. He notes that the right kind of hearing must end in action as seen in James 2:14-26. [15] When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. Mark 4:10 The interpretation of the parable of the sower may have come at a later time. We will see in verse 36 that Jesus apparently did not leave the boat after speaking but went on a trip in it across the lake with his disciples. “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….’” (4:11). The secret or mystery (Gk. musterion) of God’s kingdom has been revealed to the disciples so that they can understand and teach others. In 1 Timothy 3:16, we realize that there is a mystery of godliness. On the other hand in 2 Thessalonians 2:7, we also realize that there is a mystery of iniquity or secret power of lawlessness. It is important that we gain understanding in both these areas. When the New Testament speaks of mystery it is not speaking of some deep, esoteric and hidden secret. It has no similarity to the many mystery religions of the Roman Empire or even with certain mystery organizations of the present time. Rather it has to do with some glorious truth that was long concealed but is now clearly revealed. [16] We should clarify that this message is to those who are actually seeking to understand the mystery. In these verses the “insider” and “outsider” motif that we saw in 3:20-35 once more appears. The disciples who are following closely after Jesus are the “insiders.” The common people (Heb. am-ha’aretz) along with the Gentiles, are the outsiders. However, as we see on several occasions the situation can do a flip-flop and “outsiders” can become “insiders,” as in the case of the Syrophoenician woman and the Gerasene demoniac. “Insiders” can even become “outsiders” as in the case of Judas. [17] Jesus here refers to Isaiah 6:9-10, and at first sight this appears to be a troubling statement made by the Master. He explains why he speaks in parables: “…so that, ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’” (4:12). We must ask, “Did Jesus speak in parables in order to bring eternal condemnation on the people?” This really does not compare well with the many verses showing the saving love of God, such as 2 Peter. 3:9, which affirms that God is “…not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” What can we make of this? What was Isaiah really saying? Edwards points out that the quotation of Isaiah 6:9-10 occurs in the New Testament six times and it occurs in each of these instances in the context of hardness of heart and unbelief. [18] Matthew’s version of this account makes plain that it is the people who have hardened their hearts. [19] He says in 13:15: “For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.” We should note that Matthew is quoting directly from the Greek Septuagint version (LXX) which was the Bible of the early Christians. It seems that Jesus spoke in parables partly to protect the people. The early church father Origen (c. 184- c. 253) said of this: “The Lord wanted to prevent the unready from being too speedily converted and only cosmetically healed.” [20] Also, the Master may have been offering the people an opportunity to dig deep in the word and find its truth, but he was at the same time allowing them to turn a blind eye if they wished and just pass it off as an interesting story. The parables were a means of protecting people from the condemnation of rejecting the clearly explained truth of God. [21] Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?” Mark 4:13 Although this verse is not found in the other gospels it appears to be very important. Jesus seems to be saying that the Parable of the Sower is somehow a key in understanding all the other parables. There is something about mysterious and hidden things that appeals to us all. It seems that if truth is hidden slightly it becomes easier to see and more appealing. [22] Just as children play the game Hide and Seek we adults also like to seek things out. Proverbs 25:2 comments on this saying, “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.” In 1 Peter 2:9, we are declared to be a “royal priesthood” before God. By God’s great grace we serve before him as kings in his kingdom and a part of our job is to search out the things of God. The scripture says of this, “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever…” (Deut. 29:29). We are thus “…entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed” (1 Cor. 4:1). How do we seek out God’s secrets? Like the disciples of old we must be with Jesus, spend time with him, fellowship with him and follow him closely. We must meditate on God’s holy word day and night. We need to ask him about his mysteries and pray for revelation in our hearts. Then Jesus will explain his word just as he did to his disciples. The farmer sows the word. 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. Mark 4:14-15 Here the parable is explained leaving little guesswork. The Farmer is obviously the Son of Man as we see in the related Parable of the Weeds (Matt. 13:37). The seed is clearly the word of God (Lk. 8:11). The soils are the various conditions of people’s hearts. We are told that some seed fell on the hard path or wayside. As we noted in verse 4 the birds immediately swooped down and made a quick meal of these seed. Birds in scripture are not always presented in a good light. In many places we read that they fill people’s hearts with foreboding (cf. Gen. 15:11; Jer. 7:33; Ezek. 39:4, 17; Rev. 18:2). [23] Here they are directly connected with Satan, who is known as the prince of the air (Eph. 2:2). No doubt we remember the sad story of Pharaoh’s baker in Genesis 40:16-22. He had been deposed from his position and was in prison with Joseph. He had a dream which Joseph interpreted. In his dream he was once again carrying upon his head his wonderful baked goods to Pharaoh. However, while he was walking along the birds were having a feast on his delicacies. No doubt, when he presented his marvelously decorated éclairs and cakes to the king everyone was aghast that the baked goods were covered with bird tracks, feathers and perhaps some other items. The baker was soon hanged by Pharaoh. Birds can be rather pesky. At our study center in Migdal we had a very large grapevine that grew up from the ground and nicely covered our second story porch. This made a great shady retreat where we could sit in comfort and look out over almost the whole Sea of Galilee. We looked forward each year to the ripening of our grapes but in all the years we were there we ate very few of them. The grape arbor seemed to be handily in the flight path of the numerous Bulbuls, some small pesky birds around us. We tried every scarecrow method we could imagine but the Bulbuls went right on eating our grapes. All they left as a thank-you was a lot of clutter and bird droppings on our upper porch. We can understand in this parable that the pathway was hard. It could not receive the precious seed that were strewn upon it. This is the picture of the hearts of millions today. There is no place for them to receive the word of God. The theologian Helmut Thielicke in his book The Waiting Father, describes such a one saying: “A person who is only a path through which the daily traffic passes, who is no more than a busy street where people go rushing by hour after hour and where there is never a moment of rest, will hardly provide the soil in which the eternal seed can grow. People who are always on the go are the most in danger…the Word of God is demanding. It demands a stretch of time in our day—even though it be a very modest one—in which it is our only companion.” [24] What can be done about the hard heart? The hard heart must be plowed and broken up. This implies a lot of pain and suffering. [25] In Hosea 10:12 we are challenged: “Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers righteousness on you.” Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 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. Mark 4:16-17 As we said earlier, the rocky places could indicate a ground littered with rocks or perhaps a rocky shelf that is lightly covered with earth. Because of the sun beating down on the rocks the seed sown there would sprout quickly but in time the same hot sun would cause them to wither away. The obvious problem was the lack of a good and deep root system. In the New King James Version this passage reads that “they have no root in themselves.” This seems to be a picture of many professing Christians today. They have no root in themselves. They have roots in their parents, or perhaps they have roots in their friends, or their pastor. [26] They have no root that they can call their own. They are the kind of folks who are always taking their little cup to get it filled by others. Dear friends, it is going to take a lot more than a cupful of water to get us through what is coming. We need deep roots reaching down to the springs of living water; tapped into the river of life. One evangelist remarked: “We have learned that it takes about five percent effort to win a man to Christ, and ninety-five percent to keep him in Christ and growing into maturity in the church.” [27] The obvious problems we see here in these verses are affliction and persecution. We are told to expect such things, which will come upon us simply because we are Christians (cf. Mk. 8:34-38; Matt. 5:10-12; Lk. 6:22). In our modern and postmodern theology we have all but eliminated suffering, at least in the western world. How sad that in doing so we have all but eliminated the gospel. Verse 17 makes plain that these folks are scandalized (Gk. skandalon or skandelethron) or fall away from the gospel. [28] What an important message this was to those Roman Christians who were about to experience the awful persecution of Nero. What an important message it is for us today who will most likely soon experience persecution for our faith. Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 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. Mark 4:18-19 I was sitting on a rock meditating one day on a hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee. I suddenly realized that I had evidence of this parable all around me. I was sitting on a rock beside a road, while there before me were a collection of thistles all near the edge of a wheat field where the heads were happily growing. What a sight to be found sitting in the midst of a living parable! These verses describe seed sown in the middle of thorns and thistles. The good seed are immediately choked out and they produce no fruit. Jeremiah has a solution to this problem. He says simply “…do not sow among thorns” (Jer. 4:3). If we are exercising good stewardship of the land there will be no thorns or thistles. Several church fathers give us some advice in this area. The Great Augustine (354-430) says, “Cast away the stones from your field, and dig out the thorns. Be unwilling to have a ‘hard heart,’ such as makes the Word of God to no effect.” [29] Chrysostom (c. 347- 407) the “golden mouth” preacher declares, “When the Word is choked, it is not merely due to the thorns as such, but to the negligence of those allowing them to spring up.” [30] Evagrius of Pontus (345-399) adds, “Weed out from your soul the undergrowth of sporadic desires, along with the thorns and tares of bad habits.” [31] Mark lists a couple of important items that are classed among the “thorns” in our lives. The deceitfulness of wealth is one. Many people today are seeking riches. I remember one promising preacher in my seminary days whose goal was to become a millionaire. I know that later things did not end well for him. The Bible says in 1 Peter 2:11, “Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.” The Apostle Paul says in 1Timothy 6:10, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” The other item Mark lists as a thorn is the desire for things. In the western world we have a great fascination with things and stuff. The new plastic “stuff” containers seem to fill up more and more aisles at the department stores. Our attics and even our garages are filled with stuff. In addition to our stuff we are filled with anxieties (Gk. merimna) and cares of the world. In this age we are surely finding out how many things we can think about and handle at once; how many things we can accomplish through multi-tasking at one time. We are a complicated and busy mess. Yet, in all our thoughts there is no room for God (Psa. 10:4). Jesus was a friend of two women, Martha and Mary. When Jesus visited in their home Martha was very busy with all the serving and meal preparation. She grew quite agitated with her sister who was sitting at the feet of Jesus listening to him. Finally she asked Jesus to rebuke her sister for not helping. “Martha, Martha, ‘the Lord answered,’ you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed— or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her” (Lk. 10:41-42). 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. Mark 4:20 At last, some seed fell on good, fertile and prepared soil. I remember again from my young days on the farm how we would work the soil with discs and harrows until the old clay clods became as fine as sand. My dad would then declare that we had a good “seed bed.” The soil was finally ready for the sowing. We see here that there are great differences in production although the soil may be equally prepared. Wiersbe, from his long pastoral experience says, “Not all true believers are equally as productive, but from every genuine Christian’s life, there will be some evidence of spiritual fruit.” [32] One thing seems obvious as we look at the world around us. The whole world is busy, busy, busy trying to produce fruit. It is almost impossible to keep living things from producing. This is the law of life and we need to take it to heart and apply the principle to our spiritual lives. When the Lord of Creation returns he will be looking only for one thing – for fruit. We might ask ourselves how we are doing with that. Is there any fruit in our spiritual garden and on our spiritual tree? Do we have beautiful things like love, joy and peace hanging on our tree? Will the Farmer of our souls be able to say, “…Well done, good and faithful servant!…” (Mt. 25:21)? 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?” Mark 4:21 In the previous Parable of the Sower it was obvious that the Farmer or Sower was the Lord himself. Yet there is a sense in which all of the Lord’s servants are sowers as they transmit the word or the seed of God. In this parable Jesus is clearly the lamp while in the same sense his true followers can also become lamps as they transmit the light of God to humanity (Matt. 5:14). The Greek word erchetai (bring in) found in this verse is interesting. It means “come” and has more reference to a person than an object. Obviously this lamp is not an ordinary one. [33] It speaks directly of Jesus who said, “…I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (Jn. 8:12). John the Baptist in introducing Jesus spoke in much the same sense as this verse: “The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world” (Jn. 1:9). Jesus as the lamp of God must not be hidden although there is a sense in which the parables about him are somewhat hidden and mysterious. We must not put the lamp of God under a grain measure or under a bed. The bowl or grain measure mentioned here was a vessel containing around twelve quarts (11.35 liters). [34] We are reminded of all the ways the church itself has hidden Jesus. He has been hidden in false and ponderous theology, in cumbersome liturgy and ritual, in neglect of true Bible study, in neglect of witness and in dull or banal preaching. The lamp on a lampstand makes it clear that Jesus is to be seen by all, for truth is designed to be seen. How sad it is for the church or the person who hides the light of Christ. It has been said that “those who harbor secrets are never happy.” [35] The early church father Tertullian (c. 160- c. 225) once said, “If you hide your lamp beneath a bushel, you will soon notice that you yourself will be in the dark.” [36] How troublesome are today’s statistics that, “…less than a quarter of adults attending church are motivated to evangelize or even to witness.” [37] “For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear” (4:22-23). Although the parables have a hidden nature about them, the Bible is clear that in time all things will be revealed (Matt. 10:26; Lk. 8:17; Lk. 12:2). Dummelow has said, “If the gospel was for a moment treated as a secret, it was so only because this temporary secrecy was essential to its successful proclamation after the ascension.” [38] “‘Consider carefully what you hear,’ he continued. ‘With the measure you use, it will be measured to you— and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them’” (4:24-25). Euthymius, the Palestinian hermit theologian (377- 473), paraphrased this verse to read: “In that measure in which you measure your attention to my teaching, in the same measure will spiritual understanding be measured unto you.” [39] We might think here of the poor woman in Elisha’s day who was about to lose her two sons because of a debt she owed and could not pay (2 Ki. 4:1-7). The prophet advised her to go and borrow many vessels from her neighbors. Then he told her to go into her house, shut the door and begin pouring the small amount of oil she had into the empty jars. The woman poured, and kept pouring until all the vessels were miraculously filled. With that abundance of oil she paid the debt and delivered her sons from slavery. We might wonder what would have happened had the woman only borrowed two or three vessels. She came with a huge measure and God filled it up to the brim. Then the Lord says a very strange thing. He says that people who have will be given more and those who do not have will lose even the little that they have (cf. Matt. 25:29). This is a strange lesson in economics but nevertheless it is a true one. It works like this, the more we study, the more we are capable of studying; the more we know the more we are capable of knowing. “The more we develop the skill of hand, or eye, or mind, the more we are able to develop it…The more responsibility we take on, the more we are able to bear.” [40] Most of us know that if we want a job done well and quickly, we look for a very busy person to do it. We will likely be disappointed if we choose a person that has nothing to do. As one ancient Jewish wise man has said: “According to the standards of mortal man, an empty vessel is able to contain [what is put into it], and a full vessel cannot contain it, but according to the standards of the Holy One, blessed be he, a full vessel is able to contain it while an empty one cannot.” [41] There is another rule closely associated with this one and it is the rule of usage. “If you do not use what you have, you lose it. It is true on all levels: If you bind up your arm so that you cannot move it for as little as two weeks, when you remove the binding you find you have temporarily lost the use of your arm.” [42] He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain— first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.” Mark 4:26-29 Here we have a great and humbling picture of how the kingdom of God grows. It grows like a tiny seed and the growth is almost imperceptible. The inner workings of this miraculous growth are quite unknown to us. In fact, the exact workings of a seed’s growth are quite unknown to the farmers themselves. It is amazing that the farmer actually has nothing to do with the actual sprouting and growth of the seed. It does not matter whether he is asleep or awake the sprouting and miraculous growth will take place. It might seem that the soil is able to bring forth the growth by itself. The Greek word used here in verse 28 is automate (all by itself), and it is from this word that we get “automatic.” [43] In the spiritual realm we can conclude, “God is at work- hidden and unobserved in Jesus and the gospel to produce a yield wholly disproportionate to human prospects and merit.” [44] It is an astounding miracle; it is a surprise. It is like God is saying to us: “Patience! Do your work. Sow the seed. Leave the rest to God. The harvest is sure.” [45] It reminds us of Galatians 6:9 which says: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.” Mark 4:30-32 The theme of almost all of Jesus’ parables is the kingdom of God. The kingdom is presented in many ways and with various unforgettable pictures. Here it is presented as a mustard seed, something exceedingly small, but something that grows to unbelievable heights, even to the point of harboring birds. We would have to think that the mustard seed is a favorite illustration of Jesus since he uses it in several places (cf. Matt. 13:31; 17:20; Lk. 13:19; 17:6). [46] Jesus says that the mustard is the smallest of seeds. He is here giving us a lesson on the kingdom and not a lesson in horticulture. If we were to compare seed from all over the world the mustard would not be the least. Marcus tells us that if we were to be exact the orchid seed is the smallest. [47] Jesus is dealing in the practical realm with the type seed with which the Galilean farmers were acquainted. In their realm of experience the mustard seed was the smallest seed they ever planted in their gardens. [48] The mustard seed is something that is tiny but something that grows and grows to the size that no one can miss it. In the early spring the Galilee in many places is covered with wild mustard (sinapis aurensis). Many fields are almost solid yellow in color. Some of the plants can grow as high as a man’s head and yes, the birds do come and light in them. In fact, there is no lack of birds because they are quite fond of the little seed produced by the mustard plant. [49] So many times through history the church has seemed weak and insignificant and then suddenly a great revival and awakening breaks out and multiplied thousands are swept into the kingdom. Or how often has a very weak Christian become filled with the Spirit to the point of accomplishing great and unimaginable things for God? This is the mustard seed factor at work. Jesus once said that if we could have faith like a tiny grain of mustard seed we could command the mountain to be moved and it would take flight (Matt. 17:20). We do not get the impact of this statement until we realize that Jesus was standing on the Mount of Olives, probably the second most important mountain in the whole world and the very mount from which he would later ascend to heaven. He was obviously referring to it. “With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything” (4:33-34). We really do not know how many parables the Lord spoke. There were apparently many collections of his parables and sayings circulating around in the early years of Christianity. To the crowds Jesus confined his teaching to parables. People were able to choose for themselves and take away only the teaching they were able to carry. That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. Mark 4:35-36 We observe here that Jesus was taken just as he was on a journey to the other side of the sea. He remained in the same boat for the sea voyage of about five miles (8 km.) to the eastern shore. [50] It was obviously the same day and we see that the large crowd was left behind on the shore. In this story we observe once more the evidence of an eyewitness account. Mark notes that there were other boats present. Later he notes that the boat was drawing water and that Jesus was asleep on a cushion. [51] Today we know a great deal about the kind of boat in which Jesus was traveling. As we mentioned earlier, the picture of such a boat was found on a mosaic floor at Magdala on the western shore. Then in 1986, during a severe drought and a time when the sea was at its lowest point, the well preserved remains of such a fishing boat were found near Kibbutz Ginnosar. The waterlogged remains were carefully preserved and are on display today at the kibbutz. This boat measures 27 feet (8.2 m.) in length and 7 feet, 7 inches (2.3 m.) in width and 4 feet (1.25 m.) in depth. The remains were dated between 100 BC and AD 70, which would have fit well into the time of Jesus. The boat had a sail as was common in fishing boats and was propelled by four oars, two on each side. [52] We know from other sources that the boat could have held about fifteen people. It probably required a crew of five, and that it was likely designed for seine fishing and thus had a deck on its aft part. It is probable that the pillow Jesus later rested on was a sandbag that was used for ballast. [53] “A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped” (4:37). The Sea of Galilee, with snow covered Mt. Hermon to the north and the warm Mediterranean to the west can be at times a tempestuous body of water. In the hottest part of the summer about the middle of each afternoon there is a strong west wind that arises to the delight of windsurfers who are always waiting in the Tabgha/Capernaum area. However, the wind we see here was likely the “Sharkia” (Arabic for “shark”). Mendel Nun, the fishing expert we met earlier, states, “Even today this storm, which usually starts in the early evening, is good cause for apprehension among fishermen.” [54] In the cooler months the Sharkia drives down from the east and when the lake is full it can cause considerable damage even to the shoreline areas of Tiberias on the other side of the lake. “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?” (4:38). We remind ourselves that many of these on board were experienced fishermen but they were really scared. This must have been quite a storm (cf. Psa. 107:23-30). Today it is customary for insurance people to call violent storms, tornadoes, and such things as “acts of God.” We need to understand that while the earth and everything in it belongs to the Lord, nevertheless, Satan is called the prince of this world (Jn. 12:31), and he is allowed to exercise a great deal of power and authority in the earth. Many times the hand of Satan can be seen in certain things that we blame on the Lord. It is very likely in this case that Satan, the prince of the power of the air (Eph. 2:2), was trying his best to annihilate Jesus and all his disciples in one fell swoop. [55] We might wonder how the disciples could be so terrified with Jesus on board, although he was fast asleep. After all, he had promised that they would make it to the other side. The early church fathers remarked about this. Ephrem the Syrian (306-373) said, “While the ship was quietly bearing Jesus’ humanity, the power of his Godhead was wonderfully carrying the ship itself.” [56] Augustine commented, “Christ is asleep in you. What do I mean? I mean you have forgotten his presence. Rouse him, then; remember him, let him keep watch within you, pay heed to him.” [57] “He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm” (4:39). Jesus rebuked the wind and the sea and there was a great calm. Edwards remarks here: “The Greek word for ‘Be still!’ (pephimoso), carries the sense of ‘muzzled.’ It occurs in the second person singular, as though Jesus were addressing a personal being…Such language is more appropriate of demonic forces than of inanimate nature.” [58] Coffman also adds that these were the same words used in Mark 1:25 when Jesus cast out a demon. [59] “He said to his disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’ (4:40). The great storm did not disturb Jesus in the least. He was able to sleep through it all. What seems to have disturbed Jesus was the lack of faith of his own disciples. “They were terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!’” (4:41). We can imagine the disciples staring in disbelief at a completely calm sea, yet a moment before they had been in a terrifying storm and were no doubt still dripping with water. Now they were really alarmed. Guzik comments, “They were just as afraid when he calmed the storm as when they were in the midst of it.” [60] Who was this man on board with them? How could a man command the wind and sea to be quiet and they would promptly obey him? The Psalmist has said: “O LORD God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O LORD, and your faithfulness surrounds you. You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them” (Psa. 89:8-9)… Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea— the LORD on high is mighty” (Psalm 93:4). Several sources I have cited here are from the electronic media, either from websites or from electronic research libraries. Thus in some of these sources it is not possible to cite page numbers. Instead I have cited the verse or verses in each chapter of Mark (e.g. verse v. 1 or vs. 1-2) about which the commentators speak. 1. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p. 60. 2. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 96. 3. Pixner, With Jesus Through Galilee According to the Fifth Gospel, p. 41. See also on this subject, Edwards, p. 126. 4. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 126. 5. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, pp. 97-100. Edwards adds concerning parables: “Jesus did not invent the parable genre, for there are occasional examples of such in the OT (2 Sam. 12:1-14; Ezek. 17:1-10)…But in quantity and excellence Jesus’ parables are without parallel in the ancient world. The Gospels record some sixty different parables of Jesus, most of which are found in Matthew and Luke, fewer in Mark, and none in John.” Edwards continues (p. 127) saying that parables are found in the writings of the Palestinian rabbis but not in the writings of the Babylonian rabbis. (Edwards, p. 127). Barclay adds here (p. 98) that Rabbi Meir was said to have shrouded a third of his material in parables. Guzik defines parables more clearly for us saying, “The word parable comes from the idea of ‘to set along side.’ As Jesus used parables, it means to set a spiritual truth along side a daily truth of living.” (Guzik, vs. 4:1-9). 6. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 127. 7. Coffman, Commentary on Mark, v. 4:2. 8. Guelich, Mark 1-8:26, p. 192. 9. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, v. 4:4. 10. Ibid., v. 4:3. 11. Quoted in Coffman, vs. 4:3-9. 12. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p.128. 13. Guelich, Mark 1-8:26, p. 195. 14. http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/botany/wheat-info1.htm 15. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p. 61. 16. Coffman, Commentary on Mark, vs. 4:10-11. 17. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, pp. 131-133. 18. Ibid., p. 134. 19. Coffman, Commentary on Mark, vs. 4:10-12. Barclay adds here: “The Greek version does not say that God intended that the people should be so dull that they would not understand; it says that they had made themselves so dull that they could not understand- which is a very different thing…When Isaiah spoke, he spoke half in irony and half in despair and altogether in love.” (Barclay, p. 107). 20. Oden, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, p. 55. Origen long ago tried to express the mystery of parables. He said, “The writers of the gospels have withheld any detailed exposition of the parables, because the things signified by them were beyond the power of words to express.” (Oden, p. 50). 21. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 4:10-12. 22. Stedman, Mark: He Came To Serve, vs. 4:1-34. Cranfield speaks concerning the mysterious nature of parables saying that “in some sense … the parable of the soils is the key to all the parables.” (Quoted in Coffman, v. 4:13). 23. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, v. 4:15. 24. Helmut Thielicke, The Waiting Father, Sermons on the Parables of Jesus, 1959. 25. Warren Wiersbe, as cited in Guzik, vs. 4:13-20. 26. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 4:13-20. 27. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 110. 28. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, pp. 16-17. 29. Oden, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, p. 57. 30. Ibid. 31. Ibid. 32. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, p. 100. 33. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 139. See also Pett’s comments on v. 4:21. 34. Barnes, Commentary on Mark, v. 4:21. 35. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 118. 36. Oden, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, p. 58. 37. Prophecy Today, Jan/Feb 1998, p. 11. 38. Quoted in Coffman, v. 4:22. 39. Quoted in Coffman, vs. 4:23-24. 40. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 121. 41. Quoted in Edwards, p. 141. 42. Stedman, Mark: He Came To Serve, v. 4:24. 43. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 142, citing Thiessen. 44. Ibid., pp. 129-130. Davies adds: “Jesus here seeks to point out, first, that there is a mysterious divine element working in spiritual growth as well as in natural growth; and second, that in the spiritual realm one must wait on God’s time.” (Davies, p. 1006). Guzik says: “Man has done what he could do – plant the seed; and God has done what only He can do: grow the seed.” (Guzik, p. 26-29). 45. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 112. 46. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, vs. 4:30-32. 47. Marcus, Mark 1-8, p. 324. 48. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, p. 101. 49. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 126. 50. Stedman, Mark: He Came To Serve, v. 4:35. 51. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, pp. 147-148. “Ironically, the only place in the Gospels that we hear of Jesus sleeping is during a storm…” (Edwards, p. 149). 52. Rousseau &Arav, Jesus and His World, pp. 27-28. 53. Ibid., p. 29. 54. Nun, The Sea of Galilee and Its Fishermen In The New Testament, p. 54. 55. Stedman, Mark: He Came To Serve, v. 4:38. Also Pett, in his remarks on vs. 37-38 comments on this. 56. Oden, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, p. 63. 57. Ibid., p. 65. 58. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 150. 59. Coffman, Commentary on Mark, v. 4:39. 60. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 4:40-41. They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. Mark 5:1 Interestingly, Jesus and his party now headed their boats for Gentile country. Much of the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee was occupied in Jesus’ time by Gentiles. This was largely the result of Alexander the Great’s campaign into the region in the late fourth century BC. There developed a league of ten Greek cities called the Decapolis. They stretched from Damascus in the north to Philadelphia in the south. The capital of this area was the city of Scythopolis (ancient Beit Shean). It was the only one of the ten cities on the west side of the Jordan River. When the Romans invaded the area under Pompey in 63 BC these ten cities were given some political autonomy and each was allowed to function as a polis or city-state. The only one of these city-states near the Sea of Galilee was Hippos or Susita, which sat on a prominent hill about midway on the east side of the lake. Although Jesus traveled to and through Gentile country on some occasions, this seems to be the first time he actually went to a Gentile area on a mission. We remember in Matthew’s gospel how Jesus came to minister to the “lost sheep” of Israel (Mt. 10:5-6; Mt. 15:24). Yet, for some reason Jesus came to the Decapolis. Perhaps he heard the pitiful cries of a demon-possessed man as they were carried out over the water in the still of the night. The name of the region, written in Mark as “Gerasenes,” has brought about much discussion by commentators over the centuries. Matthew calls it the area of the Gadarenes while Luke agrees with Gerasenes (Mt. 8:28; Lk. 8:26). Over the years many place names have been suggested. Some have tried to identify the area with Gerasa (present-day Jerash in Jordan) but this city was over thirty miles to the south. Others have tried to identify the area with Gadara, but this city was over five miles away and not on the coast. John Lightfoot, the seventeenth century churchman and scholar, felt that the name Gergasene could be connected to the Girgashite family of the ancient Canaanites. [1] Pixner, a scholar who spent a great deal of time in the area, continues with this idea and mentions an old Jewish tradition claiming the Girgashites inhabited this area when they were expelled by Joshua. This tradition is reflected in the Palestinian Talmud and also by the early church father Origen. Pixner feels the word may have a connection with the Hebrew Gerushim or Gerashim, relating to “expelled people.” [2] Edwards, who is aware of these traditions feels that the area should be connected with the city of Kursi/Gergesa, a village on the eastern shoreline. [3] During the 1971-74 excavations of a road in this area a fifth century Byzantine monastery was discovered at this site. The monastery apparently marked the location of Jesus’ miracle. Today this area has been turned into the Israeli National Park of Kursi, and it commemorates the miracle of the swine. [4] No doubt, this was the very area where Jesus and his disciples came after their storm experience. When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, 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. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones. Mark 5:2-5 The sight the disciples saw when their landed their boat would make a normal person’s hair stand on end. They were met by a filthy, naked, screaming, demon-possessed man. Some modern interpreters have serious problems with this story. They have problems because they do not believe in demon possession. In our modernistic world we were taught that the only things real were those things which could be seen, touched and examined by science. In the twentieth century many missionaries from modernistic churches were sent to utterly pagan countries, only to be surprised by people who were truly demon-possessed. We can now almost be thankful that the postmodern era has arrived. In postmodern philosophy science is no longer viewed as a “sacred cow” and at least the spiritual realm is acknowledged to some degree. It is sad that Christians have had to learn about the spiritual realm of demons from the pagan world around us, from bad experience, or from movies, rather than from reading and believing the word of God. The description of this demon-possessed man is tragic. It has been called “one of the most lamentable stories of human wretchedness in the Bible.” [5] Guzik says this is also “the most detailed description of a demon-possessed man we have in the Bible. It is the classic profile of demonic possession. The man had been demon-possessed for a long time…wore no clothes and lived like a sub-human, wild animal (Luke 8:27)…lived among the decaying and dead, contrary to Jewish law and human instinct…had supernatural strength…was tormented and self-destructive (crying out and cutting himself with stones)…had uncontrollable behavior (neither could anyone tame him).” [6] As we mentioned, demon possession presents problems to some Bible scholars and to a lot of other folks. However, that is changing as people have more experience with the demonic world. Starting with the Charismatic Renewal of the 1960s, more and more Christians began to acknowledge the existence of demons and even to actually cast them out. This was not only a primary work of Jesus but it is a promise Jesus gave his followers as we see in Matthew 10:8 (cf. Lk. 10:17). Two of the most prominent twentieth-century leaders in the deliverance ministry were Father Francis McNutt, a Catholic priest, and Derek Prince, an Oxford Greek scholar and Protestant minister. Interestingly, both men agreed that the need for exorcism as we see with this man is a rare thing. McNutt says, “possession, when it truly exists is rare. Everyone agrees about this….while the need for exorcism is rare, the need for deliverance is common.” [7] Prince, instead of dealing with actual possession, focuses on the Greek word “diamonizo” which occurs in the New Testament about twelve times. He states that the English equivalent of this word is to demonize, or to subject to demonic influence. [8] When we realize that possession is rare but demonization is very common it opens up new understandings of this subject and we are able to see that many people can come under demonic influence. It is even possible for this to happen to Christians. The subjects of demonization and actual possession are serious matters. We all need to be aware of how quickly human beings can be affected by demonic powers. Guzik mentions many avenues whereby one can come in contact with the occult. This would include things like being superstitious, fortune telling, playing occult games, practicing magic or taking hallucinogenic drugs. Such things can open the door of one’s life to demons. [9] We need to realize that sorcery can begin in seemingly innocent ways but due to the captivating and holding power of evil, it always leads people into deeper involvement. Some of our children’s games can even become the doorway into the occult. I am speaking of games like the Ouija Board and Dungeons and Dragons. These are very popular among the youth. In the Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs by John Ankerberg and John Weldon, they mention a Consumer Reports survey of 17,000 young people between the ages of 10-14. Out of 83 games listed as enjoyed and played most often, Monopoly was number one but the Ouija Board was number two. Ankerberg and Weldon quote psychic and spiritist, Harold Sherman, president of ESP Research Association in Arkansas. He says, “The majority who have become involved with possessive and other entities come by this experience through the Ouija Board.” Of Dungeons and Dragons, Ankerberg and Weldon state that magic is prevalent along with demons, necromancy, astral projection and spells. The one bright spot in this sad and dismal story before us is that this poor man with all his demons ran straight to Jesus and bowed at the Master’s feet. What began there has been called “one of the longest and most vivid of the New Testament miracles.” [10] When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!” Mark 5:6-8 What a day it was when this poor demon-possessed man met the Master. The British Methodist scholar Adam Clarke comments here saying, “Even the devil himself has his chain; and he who often binds others, is always bound himself.” [11] It is amazing that when Jesus is around in his power, the demons start screaming and even begging. Often we just do not realize how powerful Jesus is and how powerful the spiritual weapons are that he has given us. One of the most powerful weapons is the blood of Christ. Years ago, my wife and I had an experience in Jerusalem that we will never forget. It happened on Friday afternoon as the Sabbath was coming on. That night as usual my wife had invited a number of dinner guests. As she was cooking sometime around midday she noticed a foul odor in the house. It smelled like something terribly spoiled. She immediately cleaned the whole kitchen and searched for some canned item that might have spoiled and broken open. She searched and cleaned the whole house but found nothing. That afternoon I came home from work, but when I walked into the door I smelled this horrible odor. It smelled like a freezer full of meat that had been unplugged and had rotted for a month or two. I immediately told my frustrated wife that I would take care of the problem. So I began another thorough search and cleaning process. The awful smell still remained with us. It was now getting late in the afternoon and dinner guests would soon be arriving. In sheer frustration I flopped into a chair and picked up my autoharp. I began to strum and sing a Hebrew worship song: “A-hav-a-to gdo-lah, ki-dam Yeshua nish-pak” (How great is his love, because the blood of Jesus was shed). When I sang the phrase “ki-dam-Yeshua nish-pak,” (because the blood of Jesus was shed), the terrible smell immediately disappeared. I walked into the kitchen and told my wife that we had been visited by a foul spirit. We were both surprised but delighted that he hurriedly left because very soon our guests began to arrive to the wonderful smells of a delicious home cooked meal. Demons are real, and the alarming thing today is that many people are experimenting with sorcery and writing popular books based on sorcery. We had best learn how to deliver people from demonization because there will certainly be much need for this ministry. “Then Jesus asked him, ‘What is your name?’ ‘My name is Legion,’ he replied, ‘for we are many.’ And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area” (5:9-10). We realize here how true are the words of Psalm 25:19, “See how numerous are my enemies and how fiercely they hate me!” Jesus asked the demon’s name, not that he was trying to get power over him. He already had power over him, for this was clearly demonstrated by the demons’ actions. The man replied that his name was legion because there were many demons in him. A legion (legio) was the largest military unit in the Roman army. It contained about 5600 soldiers. [12] We note how the demons begged Jesus not to send them away. It seems that one of the great fears of demonic powers is to be disembodied. When they lose their human hosts it appears that demons will inhabit almost anything, even a pig. Commentator J. Newton Davies remarks here, “The demons were believed to be very averse to changing their abode and were terrified to be without an abiding place.” [13] We see here that another thing they apparently dread is the coming judgment of God. They really believe the Bible about the coming judgment. 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.” Mark 5:11-12 I remember back in my seminary Greek class how the question of miracles once came up. Our professor seemed to be disdainful of the whole subject. At that point I spoke up and reminded him of the miracle of the demon-possessed man being delivered and the demons going into the pigs. I will never forget his enraged response, “Ah, that old pig story!” Well, despite the learned professor’s unbelief there really was a pig story. The demons begged to go into the pigs rather than to be expelled to the pit and possibly face a premature punishment by God. A good friend of mine who is a lawyer and who served many years as a messianic Jewish pastor recently told me this amazing story. This man at earlier times did not even believe in demon activity. However, one day as he was counseling and trying to help a very disturbed man, the man suddenly whined in a pitifully weak little voice, “But where can we go?” My pastor friend was shocked and amazed but he realized that he was in a conversation with demonic powers. On the spur of the moment he said, “Well, just go into that dog next door!” Immediately the man got relief and the dog next door began to howl to such an extent that many other dogs in the neighborhood began to howl with him. Please understand that this is by no means a recommended procedure to try out on the dog next door. Trapp, the old divine once said, “Lo, it is another hell to the devil to be idle, or otherwise than evil-occupied.” The great preacher Spurgeon commented saying: “Satan would rather vex swine than do no mischief at all. He is so fond of evil that he would work it upon animals if he cannot work it upon men.” [14] I find it utterly amazing that people tolerate and even court demonic activity, but the pigs would not put up with it for a moment. “He gave them permission, and the impure 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” (5:13). So it seems that the pigs were not willing to tolerate the sudden demonic intrusion into their lives. Once again Mark gives us eye-witness information, that the herd numbered about two thousand. The number of the pigs is not found in Matthew or Luke’s account. It is amazing that Mark the shortest gospel consistently gives extra information than that which is found in the other more lengthy gospels. We can be sure in this day of numerous animal rights activists that many folks are ready to set up a howl about the poor pigs being destroyed. We live in a strange age where the life of a human can hardly compare with the life of an animal. Recently, Princeton professor and Darwinist, Peter Singer, expressed this current view quite bluntly. He asserted that humanity has no uniqueness and that newborn humans are even of less worth than of a pig, a dog or a chimpanzee. [15] Clearly, this reflects the great chasm that separates the Judeo/Christian and evolutionary viewpoints regarding humankind. Mark tells us that the whole herd of pigs ran down a steep embankment and were all drowned in the sea. It is interesting that there is only one such steep embankment on the whole eastern side of the sea. It is found about two miles south of Kursi/Gergesa. [16] In the past I have often taken groups of tourists to this point. However, the pigs would have a time getting to the water today because this site was once occupied by the Syrians and the whole area from the road down to the water is still heavily mined. Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 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. Mark 5:14-15 There is no question that two thousand pigs running into the lake and drowning themselves was big news to this community. It represented a rather serious economic blow to the area as well. While many of the people were in fear or reverential awe (Gk. ephobethesan), [17] it appears that others were adding up the damages. This whole episode was not only a financial disaster but it was in a very real sense a challenge to their whole way of life and worship. Gentiles in those days used pigs in sacrifice. The pig was an important symbol to them. For instance, the Tenth Roman Legion (Fretensis), which was later garrisoned in Jerusalem, paraded the image of a pig around as its symbol. These people in Kursi did not know how to take Jesus. He had just brought judgment upon their whole way of life and upon their religion. Then, there was the once-crazy demon- possessed man sitting there all clothed and talking sense. They were bewildered and overwhelmed. “Here the inhabitants are more frightened by Jesus’ power to expel the demons than they are by the terrifying demoniac himself.” [18] “Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man— and told about the pigs as well. Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region” (5:16-17). This is a strange picture. The people had just witnessed an astounding miracle. There was evidence of the miracle all around them in the many dead pigs and in the perfectly cured man. Yet, they asked Jesus to leave their country. No doubt both fear and financial interests had a say in their decision. But all this seems so normal in the spiritual realm. “When God manifests himself in Jesus most people still ask him to leave (see Jn. 1:11).” [19] “As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 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’” (5:18-19). We see in scripture that Jesus really liked disciples and made many of them. Why then would he not permit this thoroughly changed man to be his disciple and go in the boat with him? We need to remember that the man was a Gentile, not a Jew. All of Jesus’ disciples were Jewish. Jesus’ preaching was enough of a problem to the Jews. We can only imagine what a riot would have ensued had Jesus included a Gentile with his disciples (cf. Acts 21:28). We remember again that the main thrust of Jesus’ ministry was to the house of Israel. Jesus rather instructed the newly delivered man to go back to his own family and people and tell all the great things that the Lord had done for him. We can notice here a big difference between the way Jesus instructed this man than how he instructed the Jews whom he had healed and delivered. Because of the “messianic secret” mode of preaching he instructed the Jews to keep quiet. However, because this man was a Gentile he instructed him to tell it everywhere. “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” (5:20). We have here a man with a powerful story to tell. It was especially powerful to all who had known him before. Someone has called him perhaps the very first Gentile missionary. His mission field was no doubt the Decapolis. [20] 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. Mark 5:21 When Jesus returned to the Jewish side of the lake, the crowds began to gather as usual. We can almost feel the pressure and the tension building. We can imagine that the enemies of Jesus were also gathering and plotting their next approach on how they would bring Jesus down. However, along with the many enemies there were at least two desperate people who were greatly longing to see him. “Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. He 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’’” (5:22-23). This man’s name would have translated back into Hebrew as Ya’ir. [21] We can see immediately that he was a very prominent man in the community. The leader(s) of the synagogue were lay people who were administrative heads who were responsible for the services, oversight of teaching, building maintenance and security, and order. The ruler was one of the most important men in the community. While the ruler could be just a single person, we see in Acts 13:15, that there could be more than one in charge. [22] This man was desperate enough to take the great risk of submitting himself to Jesus. The urgent problem was that his little twelve-year-old daughter was near death. Matthew 9:18 notes that the daughter had already died. Luke 8:42 tells us that she was the man’s only daughter. What a pitiful picture this is. The leader, knowing that it may already be too late, asked Jesus in faith to come and place his hands on the little daughter. “So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him” (5:24). And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 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. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. Mark 5:25-29 Here we once more have one of Mark’s writing techniques known as a “sandwich.” [23] Mark wraps the story of Jairus and his dying daughter completely around the story of the woman with the flow of blood. This woman was in a pathetic condition. While the little girl was twelve years old and dying, this woman had been dying for twelve years. For all these years she had suffered alone with her very embarrassing and debilitating situation. Her physical condition was further intensified by the Jewish culture around her. According to the Jewish law in Leviticus 15:19, this woman would remain unclean. As Guelich states, “This woman was not only defiled, she defiled anything and anyone she touched. Her illness had left her personally, socially and spiritually cut off.” [24] Still today the Jewish people are very careful with the matter of defilements. For instance, an ultra-orthodox Jewish man will not sit beside a woman on a bus or plane if she is not his wife. A woman salesclerk in Israel will usually not place change from a transaction directly into the hand of a man lest perchance she would be in the midst of her monthly cycle and would thus defile him. The change is often placed on the counter instead. Mark tells us that this woman had suffered much at the hand of doctors. She had spent all her money and had grown worse instead of better. Lightfoot mentions some of the remedies of her day and we can understand why she might have gotten worse using them. Jochanan saith, Bring (or take) of gum of Alexandria the weight of a zuzee: and of alum, the weight of a zuzee: and of crocus hortensis the weight of a zuzee: let these be bruised together, and be given in wine to the woman that hath an issue of blood …But if this does not benefit, take of Persian onions thrice three logs, boil them in wine, and then give it her to drink, and say Arise from thy flux…But if this does not prevail, set her in a place where two ways meet, and let her hold a cup of wine in her hand; and let somebody come behind her and affright her, and say, Arise from thy flux…But if that do no good, take a handful of cummin, and a handful of crocus, and a handful of foenum groecum. Let these be boiled in wine, and give them her to drink, and say, Arise from thy flux…But if these do not benefit, other doses and others still are prescribed, [etc., etc. ad nauseam]. [25] The sick woman believed that if she could only touch the hem of Jesus’ garment she would be healed. She probably realized her precarious situation. Her touch could defile a famous rabbi and teacher. She no doubt decided to come from behind in the crowd and touch Jesus in a surreptitious manner. Matthew 9:20 notes that the woman touched the “fringe” (kraspeda) of his garment. In Hebrew this would relate to the sitsit or tassels. [26] In Numbers 15:38, all Jewish men were commanded to wear prayer shawls with such tassels. We can be sure they were worn in Jesus’ time because one was found with the Dead Sea Scrolls and is displayed in the Shrine of the Book in Jerusalem. When the woman touched Jesus tassels she knew instantly that she was healed. “At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, ‘Who touched my clothes?’ ‘You see the people crowding against you,’ his disciples answered, ‘and yet you can ask, Who touched me?’” (5:30-31). Long ago, the great church father Augustine commented on this story saying: “Flesh presses, faith touches… He can always distinguish between the jostle of a curious mob, and the agonized touch of a needy soul.” [27] “But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering’” (5:32-34). We might wonder why Jesus was so insistent on publicly identifying this woman. Guzik answers this question very well saying: “Jesus ‘called her out’ so she would absolutely know that she was healed… Jesus did it because he didn’t want her to think that she stole a blessing, that she could never look Jesus in the eye again…He called her ‘Daughter.’ Jesus never called any other person by this name. Jesus wanted her to come forth and hear this special name of tenderness. She… came and fell down before him and told him the whole truth: When we come to Jesus, we must tell him the whole truth…” [28] This section of Mark so much reminds us of that old hymn by Joseph Hart (1759): Come, ye sinners, poor and needy, Weak and wounded, sick and sore; Jesus ready stands to save you, Full of pity, love and pow’r. Come, ye weary, heavy-laden, Lost and ruined by the fall; If you tarry till you’re better, You will never come at all. Let not conscience make you linger, Not of fitness fondly dream; All the fitness He requireth Is to feel your need of Him. Refrain: I will arise and go to Jesus, He will embrace me in His arms; In the arms of my dear Savior, Oh, there are ten thousand charms. [29] 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?” Mark 5:35 We can imagine the mental and emotional torture Jairus must have experienced as he anxiously waited for Jesus to heal the woman. He was probably saying to himself, “O please hurry Jesus!” Yet, the healing of the woman may well have been a model of faith to strengthen this bewildered man. [30] Suddenly, his worst fears seemed to become reality with the rather gruff announcement from members of his synagogue. They said bluntly, “your daughter is dead…why bother the teacher any more?” Coffman senses some callousness and perhaps embarrassment in these words. Possibly the synagogue folks were somewhat upset that their leader had appealed to Jesus in the first place. [31] The poor leader was probably very near shock with this announcement but Jesus seemed to pay no attention to it. “Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, ‘Don’t be afraid; just believe.’ He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James” (5:36-37). “The remainder of the story swings like the pendulum of a clock between the extremes of human despair and divine possibility…The present tense of the Greek imperative means to keep believing, to hold onto faith…” [32] We are here reminded of the old Scottish hymn by Henry Francis Lyte. It was written in 1847 as he lay dying of tuberculosis: Abide with me; fast falls the eventide; The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide. When other helpers fail and comforts flee, Help of the helpless, O abide with me. Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day; Earth’s joys grow dim; its glories pass away; Change and decay in all around I see; O Thou who changest not, abide with me. Jesus took with him the inner circle of the disciples, Peter, James and John and the small party moved toward the home of Jairus. As they neared the home the reality of death must have been everywhere around them. “When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly” (5:38). It was customary in those days to hire professional mourners when death visited a family. Obviously, the arrangement for these mourners had been made in advance and they were already busy about their work. The mourners were like a professional guild in Jesus’ day. It is said that even the poorest in Israel were expected to hire at least a couple of flute players along with at least one wailing woman. [33] For a person of the ruler’s stature we can expect that there were many professional mourners present and the text seems to bear this out. Funeral customs in the first century were somewhat similar to Jewish funeral customs today. Members of the bereaved family were expected to abstain from normal work, to stay at home, to refrain from comforts such as lotions, shaving, wearing shoes. Only the Bible books of Job, Jeremiah and Lamentations could be read. It was customary for the grieving persons to sit on the floor. [34] Today in Israel the custom is to “sit shiva” or to sit with mourners over a seven day period. Grieving family members still sit on the floor of their homes and avoid work and normal activities. It is customary to make a small tear (kria) in an outer garment as a symbol of mourning and wear such a torn garment throughout the grieving period. “He went in and said to them, ‘Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep’” (5:39). In Matthew’s version he notes that Jesus said “Go away” (Mt. 9:24) to the professional mourners and noisemakers. We can understand how these professional people would have been a little upset with Jesus. After all, their salaries for a night of mourning were at stake. They were no doubt insulted by Jesus’ insistence that the child was not dead. The Master seemed to be making a play of words regarding the use of “sleeping” (Gk. katheudo) in relation to death. Often this word simply means “sleep,” but in other cases such as 1 Thessalonians 5:10, it refers to actual death. [35] “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” (5:40). Coffman remarks about the noisy crowd Jesus had just expelled saying, “The scornful of all ages succeed only in shutting the door of opportunity against themselves.” [36] What a wonderful event they all missed! “He took her by the hand and said to her, ‘Talitha koum!’ (which means, ‘Little girl, I say to you, get up!’). Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished” (5:41-42). In his command to the little girl Jesus was using the Aramaic language which was commonly spoken. Mark undoubtedly remembered this small detail also from his many talks with Peter. [37] There are no words for the excitement and exhilaration felt especially by the parents, and even by the disciples present. The apostle Paul would later speak of “…the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were” (Rom. 4:17). In Jerusalem today this great miracle is still remembered. At the very heart of the modern city stand the remains of a girls’ school and orphanage that was built in 1868 by the famous architect Conrad Schick. Although the original building was destroyed in 1980, the façade still stands beside King George Street. It includes a clock, a chimney and a large engraving that reads: “Talitha Kumi.” [38] “He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat” (5:43). Suddenly they all had to face reality. However, it was not the grim reality of death, about which the professional mourners were so certain. It was the reality of a very much alive and hungry near-teenager. Jesus commanded that she be fed immediately. He also commanded that they keep quiet about the miracle. We can imagine that the next Sabbath in the synagogue one very happy leader was mumbling words like those found in Psalm 66:16: “Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me.” Several sources I have cited here are from the electronic media, either from websites or from electronic research libraries. Thus in some of these sources it is not possible to cite page numbers. Instead I have cited the verse or verses in each chapter of Mark (e.g. verse v. 1 or vs. 1-2) about which the commentators speak. 1. Lightfoot, Commentary on Mark, v. 5:1. 2. Pixner, With Jesus Through Galilee According to the Fifth Gospel, p. 44. 3. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 154. “We cannot say for certain, but a town named Gergesa apparently existed on the northeast shore of the lake. Both Origen…and Eusebius…identified the swine miracle with a town named Gergesa on the eastern side of the lake…” Guelich adds here, “The superior witnesses support the reading of Gerasenes.” (Guelich, p. 275). 4. See Kursi National Park http://www.parks.org.il/BuildaGate5/general2/data_card.php?Cat=~25~~352845344~Card12~&ru=&SiteName=parks&Clt=&Bur=569948287 5. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 154. 6. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 5:1-5. 7. Francis MacNutt, Deliverance From Evil Spirits, A Practical Manual (Grand Rapids: Chosen Books, 1995), p. 67. 8. Derek Prince, They Shall Expel Demons (Grand Rapids: Chosen Books, 1998), p. 16. 9. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 5:1-8. 10. Donahue, Mark, Harper’s Bible Commentary, p. 990. 11. Adam Clarke, Commentary on Mark, The Adam Clarke Commentary, http://www.studylight.org/com/acc/view.cgi?book=mr&chapter=005. 1832, v. 5. 12. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 157. 13. Davies, Mark, Abingdon Bible Commentary, p. 1006. 14. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 5:9-13. 15. Norman L. Geisler &Frank Turek, I Don’t Have Enough Faith To Be An Atheist, (Wheaton IL: Crossway Books, 2004), p. 190. 16. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 158. “About two miles south of Kursi/Gergesa a ridge extends from the eastern slopes of the Decapolis practically to the lake.” 17. Guelich, Mark 1-8:26, p. 284. 18. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 159. 19. Ibid. 20. Perhaps we need a note on Decapolis, regarding the territory involved in this designation. The name “Decapolis” meant “the Ten Cities.” The Decapolis was essentially a Greek area containing ten towns mostly on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee. The names of the cities were Scythopolis, Pella, Dion, Gerasa, Philadelphia, Gadara, Raphana, Kanatha, Hippos and Damascus. Hippos was near the eastern coastline of the Sea of Galilee. The capital of Decapolis was Scythopolis, the only city on the western side of the Jordan River. This city today has been largely excavated and is open to the public. These cities came about due to the conquests of Alexander the Great in the fourth century BC. 21. Guelich, Mark 1-8:26, p. 295, “Jairus translates Ya-ir.” 22. Ibid. Also see Edwards pp. 161-162 and Barclay p. 146 on this subject. 23. Marcus, Mark 1-8, p. 36. 24. Guelich, Mark 1-8:26, p. 296. 25. Lightfoot, Commentary on Mark, vs. 5:25-29. 26. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 164. 27. Quoted in Guzik, vs. 5:30-31. 28. Ibid., pp. 25-34. 29. To hear this beautiful old hymn go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6q_-jVbpLFM 30. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 165. 31. Coffman, Commentary on Mark, v. 35. Edwards gives us some information on this position. He says: “A ruler of the synagogue was the president or ‘head’ of the local Jewish worshiping community. The ruler of the synagogue, accordingly, was not a worship leader or a professionally trained scribe or rabbi, but a lay member of a synagogue who was entrusted by the elders of the community with general oversight of the synagogue and orthodoxy of teaching. His responsibilities included building maintenance and security, procuring the scrolls for Scripture reading, and arranging of Sabbath worship by designating Scripture readers, prayer, and preachers.” (Edwards, p. 61). 32. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 166. 33. Ibid., p. 167. 34. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, pp. 155-156. 35. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, vs. 5:39-40. 36. Coffman, Commentary on Mark, v. 5:40. 37. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 157. 38. See the Talitha Kumi Memorial, https://www.google.com/search?q=Talitha+Kumi+Memorial&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjevr_6q5DeAhWs7IMKHf1wB9YQsAR6BAgGEAE&biw=1134&bih=604 Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. Mark 6:1 Several commentators feel that this is Jesus’ second ministry visit to his hometown. They feel that the first visit is recorded in Luke 4:16-30. In Luke’s visit, Jesus was not only rejected over his teaching but his townsfolk actually tried to kill him by tossing him over one of the high cliffs on which the city was built. If this is his second visit to Nazareth we can certainly say that Jesus was a very brave man. Luke’s account has many parallels to this visit so it may be that there was only a single visit to Nazareth, and that Mark did not choose to tell of the threat upon Jesus’ life. Nazareth was about 20 miles (32 km.) southwest of Capernaum as the crow flies. It was reached by ascending the Wadi Hamam from Magdala at the foot of Mount Arbel. Scholars feel that Nazareth was a very small and insignificant town. Estimates concerning the population of the city vary from around 500 to 1500 inhabitants. [1] We can see why Nathaniel could remark in John 1:46, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?…” “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? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? 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” (6:2-3). It is obvious here that the people were astounded at the wisdom of Jesus. Yet, there seems to be an underlying jealousy in their tone. They seem offended that Jesus was a mere carpenter. The Greek word tekton used here implies that Jesus was a craftsman. We get our word “technician” from this. The word usually applied to woodwork but it could also apply to those who worked with stone. [2] The problem for the people of Nazareth apparently sprang from the fact that Jesus was not an official rabbi or the follower of a famous rabbi. They well knew that he had no formal theological training. “Not having studied with a rabbi then was like not having an academic degree today.” [3] Not only were they apparently offended at his lack of theological training, but they even cast a slur in his direction by calling him “Mary’s son.” In Jewish culture this was not an acceptable way of addressing a grown man, even if his mother was a widow. It was therefore an insult. This might also have reflected the rumors that circulated in Jesus’ own lifetime that he was illegitimate. [4] In this passage we see that Jesus was part of a large family. He had four brothers and probably at least three sisters. Only two of his brothers, James and Judas are known in the later church (1 Cor. 9:5; Acts 15:13; Jude 1:1). His sisters were not named, most likely because they were already married. In the first few centuries of the church his mother Mary began to be elevated in sanctity and almost worshipped. Because of this there arose a popular teaching in the church that Jesus’ brothers and sisters were the children of Joseph through a former marriage. [5] This teaching became known in the Catholic Church as “the perpetual virginity of Mary.” According to this doctrine, Mary remained a virgin after Jesus’ miraculous birth making him her only biological son. In any case, the people of Jesus’ home town met him with scorn and contempt. It has often been said that “familiarity breeds contempt.” Phillips Brooks stated this adage another way saying, “Familiarity breeds contempt, only with contemptible things or among contemptible people.” [6] The people of Nazareth were scandalized (Gk. skandalizonto) at Jesus and therefore placed themselves in that category of “outsiders” in regard to his work and ministry. “Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home’” (6:4). Here we remember the sad words of John 1:11, “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.” This statement of John would await further fulfillment as the whole nation would later reject him and crucify him in Jerusalem. Coffman tells the story of a Major General in the United States Air Force. This very high officer was once heard to say, “I may be a General to Uncle Sam, but I am just a buck private at home!” [7] We note that Jesus once more taught in their synagogue. This would be his last appearance in a synagogue in Mark’s gospel. If he said anything like what he said in Luke 4:16-30, we can say assuredly that Jesus rocked their theological boat. We might ask ourselves what would happen if Jesus came in person to our smug western churches today? It is likely that he would receive a similar treatment. He would rock our theological boats and some would at first become jealous, then ridicule him. Finally, many would probably begin to figure out ways to get rid of him. “He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. He was amazed at their lack of faith. Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village” (6:5-6). We see here how faith is the proper ground for miraculous work. Barclay adds here: “In an atmosphere of expectancy, the poorest effort can catch fire. In the atmosphere of critical coldness or bland indifference, the most spirit-packed utterance can fall lifeless to the earth.” [8] In other places Jesus was amazed at people’s faith. Here he is amazed at their disbelief. [9] All he could do was lay hands on a few sick people and heal them. “If a preacher today were to lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them in a way which could not be doubted, he would be lauded to the skies.” [10] Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits. Mark 6:7 At the end of the previous verse we were made aware that Jesus was beginning his third tour of preaching around the Galilee. This time, however, he was also sending out his disciples before him. We note that he sent them two by two (Gk. duo duo). We can probably think of some good reasons for Jesus doing this. In Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 it is written, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.” Where there are two there can be mutual encouragement. Jesus surely knew the loneliness of the preacher. [11] He knew how beneficial it would be to have an encourager at his side. Plus, the Bible had said long before in Deuteronomy 19:15, “…A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” Jesus sent them out as his own personal representatives (Gk. apostlelein). He also gave his disciples the power and authority to cast out demons. Jesus’ words in Luke 11:20 make plain that the casting out of demons was a sure sign of the arrival of God’s kingdom. “These were his instructions: ‘Take nothing for the journey except a staff— no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. Wear sandals but not an extra shirt’” (6:8-9). It seemed that while they must go two by two, they were not allowed to have two of anything else. Guelich remarks about this austerity program saying: “The rigorous list certainly deprives the missioner of any sense of self-sufficiency.” [12] Some have remarked that this attire, or lack of it, was very similar to that of the Israelites fleeing Egypt. “The four items required of the Twelve are, in fact, identical to the belongings that God instructs the Israelites to take on their flight from Egypt: cloak, belt, sandals, and staff in hand (Exo. 12:11)…They suggest that the mission of the Twelve announces something as foundational and revelatory as the Exodus from Egypt.” [13] We have to stop and wonder at the comparison of this ministry with some ministries we have going around today. Our traveling ministers need a van load of computers, projectors, sound equipment and musical instruments just to do their work. They went with great simplicity but they also went with spiritual power, producing great spiritual results. Let us take a closer look at their clothing and equipment. They could take a staff if they already owned one, but they apparently could not purchase one (Mt. 10:10). [14] The staff would be useful for support in hiking and for defense against predators. On normal journeys it was customary in biblical times to carry some non-perishable food, but we see this was also forbidden to the disciples. They could not carry a bag or any money. [15] One thing for sure is that with such simple attire they didn’t have to worry about robbers along the way. Thankfully, they could wear sandals for the rough roads. They could wear a tunic but they could not take an extra one. [16] The tunic was the innermost garment. It was also called the chiton or sindon. It was much like a sack with holes for head and arms. The outer garment was called the himation and it was useful as a cloak by day and a blanket by night. In addition to these items there was the girdle, which was a long doubled piece of cloth. For most people money could be carried in the doubled part, but this was not true for the disciples. [17] They could of course wear sandals and it may be assumed that they wore the normal headdress. Barclay mentions a Rabbinic law that applied to dress in the temple courts. It required a person to put aside his staff, his money girdle, and remove his shoes before entering the sacred place. [18] “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town” (6:10). This command of Jesus was surely designed to eliminate any “shopping around” for better or more comfortable quarters. [19] As Paul would later say in Philippians 4:11:“…I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” “And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them” (6:11). In the Middle East in ancient times there was always an unwritten law of hospitality. Israelites especially were taught to be hospitable because of the actions of Father Abraham (Gen. 18:1ff.). Hospitality was especially practiced by all desert people and much of this idea of hospitality is still in effect today throughout the area. For a town or village not to receive a stranger was a serious matter and it in effect brought judgment upon that community. For a Jewish village this became a matter far more serious. Edwards says about it: “This commandment is tantamount to declaring a Jewish village heathen.” [20] Apparently Rabbinic law taught that the dust of a Gentile country was defiled and therefore it was the duty of Jews coming from foreign lands to shake off the dust of their shoes at the border of Israel. [21] We see the practice of shaking off dust from one’s shoes carried out on the first missionary journey by the Apostle Paul in Acts 13:51. “They went out and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them” (6:12-13). The disciples, now apostles or sent ones, went out as they were instructed. Their message was the same as that of John the Baptist and that of Jesus. They preached that everyone should repent. Perhaps we should take just a little time to think about this important subject. Most people today do not understand repentance. They do not believe that they even need to repent. In our society the philosophers have told us that we are all “OK,” as Thomas Harris implied by the title of his 1967 classic, “I’m OK, You’re OK.” If we are really OK we have no need to repent. However, as we observe ourselves and the world around us, it becomes obvious that we are not OK. We have a problem and the problem is our sinful nature. We sin and we cannot help sinning. The clear message of Jesus and his disciples is that we first of all need to repent. This means initially that we need to acknowledge that we are sinners. Today people have come to see sin as something like having a peanut butter binge or chocolate decadence. [22] But sin is a terrible thing that cuts off from God, from hope, and from eternal life with God. Another aspect of repentance is that we need to turn away from our own “righteousness.” We think we are OK and even pretty good, but God says we are not OK and we are pretty bad. All of our righteousness stinks in God’s sight because it is all selfish and prideful. As Isaiah says “…all our righteous acts are like filthy rags….” (Isa. 64:6). The Psalmist adds, “… there is no one who does good, not even one.” (Psa. 14:3; 53:3). Repentance is the act of turning away from our own hope of righteousness and turning to God as we accept his righteousness in Christ. In Jesus’ day no doubt the people felt they were good Jews and that they could count on the fact that they were children of Abraham. John the Baptist told them that God could raise up children of Abraham out of the stones (Matt. 3:9). He called them a generation of vipers (Matt. 3:7). Today people think they can count on being good Christians and that their parents and grandparents were good Christians. John would probably still call us a generation of vipers. The disciples on their special mission preached repentance, drove out demons as commanded and poured oil on the sick, healing them. The pouring on of oil for healing was apparently a new thing that was not even seen in the miracles of the Lord himself. [23] We do see a reference to it later in James 5:14. 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.” Mark 6:14 “King Herod” (Herod Antipas), was really not a king but a Tetrarch, or a ruler of a fourth-part of his father’s kingdom. He longed to be a king and in the end that longing was his undoing. As we might remember, his father, King Herod the Great had died in 4 BC and left his kingdom to his sons. Since Herod had five wives, his children were plentiful. From his wife Malthake was born Herod Antipas, who was given rule over the Galilee and Peraea. Also from her was born the son Archelaus, who for the short period of 4 BC to AD 6 ruled Judea, Samaria and Idumea. From Mariamne the Boethusian was born Herod Philip who lived in Rome and married Herodias. Salome of this story was their daughter. From Mariamne, the Hasmonean, was born two sons, Alexander and Aristobulus, both whom Herod murdered. He later also murdered Mariamne. She was the last princess of the famous Hasmonean or Maccabean line. From his wife Doris was born a son Antipater, whom Herod also murdered. From Cleopatra of Jerusalem came Philip the Tetrarch, who ruled the area east of the Jordan River. He was also known as Herod Philip. In order to keep our story straight we need to remember that the one son named Philip remained in Rome, married Herodias, and Salome was born to them. The other Philip who was called the Tetrarch ruled the Galilee areas east of the Jordan, called Iturea and Trachonitis (Lk. 3:1). These areas are sometimes referred to as Gaulonitis, and Trachonitis. He ruled from there from 4 BC to AD 34 and eventually married his niece Salome, daughter of Herodias. His brother, or rather half-brother Herod Antipas became Tetrarch of the Galilee as we mentioned and ruled from 4 BC to AD 39, when he was exiled by Rome. Herod Antipas was originally married to Phasaelis, the daughter of King Aretas IV of Nabatea. When Antipas visited in Rome he seduced Herodias and stole her away from her husband Philip of Rome. He then divorced his wife Phasaelis. This illicit marriage became the setting for the evil events about to take place after John denounced the marriage. Edwards in remarking about Herod’s dynasty has said: “The Herodian family tree was as twisted as the trunk of an olive tree.” [24] It was not only twisted by intermarriage but was twisted and perverted by evil. King Herod the Great was a magnificent builder but otherwise was a cruel tyrant who even tried to murder the Lord Jesus at his birth. He was not really a Jew but was a convert of Edomite descent. “Like his father, Antipas was shrewd, pitiless, and a lover of luxury, particularly of magnificent architecture. He built two cities in Galilee, Tiberias and Sepphoris.” [25] We know from this passage that Herod Antipas was a man haunted by an evil conscience. Pett thinks that Herod’s evil conscience over killing John the Baptist was the thing that actually spared Jesus. Herod was so troubled over killing John that he left off the pursuit of Jesus. [26] “Others said, ‘He is Elijah.’ And still others claimed, ‘He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago.’ But when Herod heard this, he said, ‘John, whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!’” (6:15-16). Jamison says, “The murdered prophet haunted his guilty breast like a specter, and seemed to him alive again and clothed with unearthly powers, in the person of Jesus.” We can now see why Herod Antipas was so eager to see Jesus later when he was being judged in Jerusalem (Lk. 23:8). 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. Mark 6:17 This whole account of Herod Antipas is another example of a “Markan sandwich,” since it is placed between two other accounts of Jesus’ ministry. We note that this section is the second of only two passages in the gospel (1:3-8 and 6:14-29) that are not about Jesus. They are both about John and they both relate to Jesus and his ministry. [27] It appears that Herodias could not forgive John but held a bitter grudge against him for denouncing her marriage. Her goal and ambition was to kill John. As Barclay says, “She wished to eliminate the one man who had the courage to confront her with her sin.” [28] Because of his new wife’s rage Herod had John bound and held in prison. We know from the historian Josephus that John was held at the fortress of Machaerus near the Dead Sea. Barclay describes this fortress saying that it: “stood on a lonely ridge, surrounded by terrible ravines, overlooking the east side of the Dead Sea. It was one of the loneliest and grimmest and most unassailable fortresses in the world.” [29] “For John had been saying to Herod, ‘It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.’ So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, 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” (6:18-20). John had rebuked Herod for his marriage, no doubt based on the clear scriptural references found in Leviticus 18.16; 20:21. Herod was therefore much afraid of John. He deeply respected him and with good reason for the scripture says: “…Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist…” (Matt. 11:11). Although Herod feared John we see that he apparently feared his wife more. Utley says of him: “Herod was a fearful person. He feared John, Herodias, and his guests—too bad he did not fear God!” [30] 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. Mark 6:21 We see here that Herod put on a great birthday bash for himself. A lot of important people were invited and there was much eating and drinking. Apparently this banquet was not unlike the one given long before in Persia when Xerxes was king (Esth. 1:1ff.). In that banquet Queen Vashti was summoned to display her beauty before a room full of drunken men. She refused the request, although through her defiance she lost her place in the kingdom. In this case, Herod’s own stepdaughter was brought out for display. “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.’ And he promised her with an oath, ‘Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom’” (6:22-23). Asking a king’s daughter to dance and display herself before a group of drunken men was unheard-of in those days. These solo dances were disgusting and licentious things, unfit for daughters of royal blood. Such dances were usually done by professional prostitutes. [31] The fact that she was allowed to do such a degrading dance certainly didn’t say much for the character of her mother or of Herod himself. Eusebius, the early church historian, said: “Is anything so conducive to lust as with unseemly movements to expose in nakedness those parts of the body which either nature has hidden or custom has veiled, to sport with looks, to turn the neck, to loosen the hair…?” [32] Herod was obviously drunk just like everyone else at the party. He was so pleased with the vulgar dance that he offered to give Salome anything she wished, even up to half his kingdom. This was nothing less than the extravagant ravings of a drunken man. There was no way Rome would ever allow him to give up a single acre of his kingdom. [33] Nevertheless, the drunken oath was made and Salome’s cunning mother was waiting in the halls to make the most of Herod’s foolishness. “She went out and said to her mother, ‘What shall I ask for?’ ‘The head of John the Baptist,’ she answered. 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’” (6:24-25). What grisly fare was to be served at this banquet! The head of one of earth’s greatest men was to be sacrificed for a single lewd dance. The old divine John Trapp once remarked about this whole fiasco: “It never goes well when the hen crows. How many have we known, whose heads have been broken with their own rib?” [34] “The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother” (6:26-28). This episode surely must rank as one of the sorriest in all human history. We would be hard pressed to find another event, outside the fall of the human race itself, where something so righteous and good was traded for something so utterly sinful and worthless. “On hearing of this, John’s disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb” (6:29). Pett so aptly remarks: “While Herod had held a great feast and had drenched the nation in the blood of a prophet, Jesus was holding a great feast and bringing to them the bread of life as promised by the prophets (e.g. Isaiah 55.1-2).” [35] The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 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.” Mark 6:30-31 When my wife and I lived in the peaceful Galilee I often pictured the disciples lounging around in some delightful meadow or relaxing by the lake as the Master taught them. After a careful reading of Mark, I became convinced that this was almost never the case. It seems that from daylight to midnight he and his disciples were always pressured by the multitudes. As we have seen before, they once again did not have time to eat. The disciples had just finished a great mission outreach and were tired. Adam Clarke, the commentator of days gone by, once said: “Rest is necessary for those who labour; and a zealous preacher of the gospel will as often stand in need of it as a galley slave.” [36] The precise travels of Jesus and his disciples at this time, as well as the exact location of this miracle of feeding five thousand are much disputed among commentators. John in his account seems to place it on the “far shore” of the lake (Jn. 6:1). It is likely that the disciples had returned to Jesus at their home base of Capernaum after their ministry tour. Traditionally, this miracle of feeding was placed by early Christians at Tabgha, which was also the old fishing hole of the disciples and just west of Capernaum. Pixner, with his long experience around the Sea of Galilee as a biblical scholar and archaeologist, is certain that the miracle took place there. He notes how the early Christian traveler Egeria between the years AD 383-395 toured the area and kept careful records of her visits to the holy places. She noted that the site of the miracle was near the seven springs of Tabgha. [37] At this location one can still see the springs of water as well as the beautiful fifth century mosaic depicting the loaves and fishes. “So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them.” (6:32-33). Pixner feels that Jesus and his disciples left Capernaum for Tabgha in order to rest there. The crowds from Capernaum followed the boat along the shore as it made its way westward, and they actually outran the boat. The distance between the two places was only about two miles, so this scenario would have been workable. He rules out any crossing of the people to the far side of the lake for several reasons. It was too far for a crowd to travel on foot at one time, being a distance of 15-20 miles. It was also springtime as we are told by the “green grass” mentioned in Mark. At this time it would have been very difficult to ford the Jordan due to the normal spring runoff from the melting snows of Mt. Hermon. [38] Mark notes in 6:45 that the disciples were later sent back east by boat in the direction of Bethsaida. This also makes good geographical sense from the Tabgha location. The truth is that we cannot exactly pinpoint the place of this miracle, nor can we be absolutely certain in which directions they were traveling. These uncertainties should not detract us from the great miracle of the feeding. This miracle seems to have made a lasting impression on the disciples. It is the only Galilean miracle of Jesus that is mentioned in all four gospels. [39] “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” (6:34). Here we can imagine the rising frustration of the disciples. They thought they were going to get some much needed rest and suddenly there was another big crowd needing ministry. However, Jesus was not frustrated. He looked upon the crowd with great compassion. They were like scattered sheep, fearful, weak, sick, hungry and needing help. Their shepherds had only fed themselves and not the sheep. Many centuries before, the prophet Ezekiel had cried about such shepherds saying: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock?” (Ezek. 34:2). In the end God said, “…I myself will search for my sheep and look after them” (Ezek. 34:11). Jesus came as God incarnate searching for his sheep. The great Jewish scholar and theologian, Abraham Heschel, once said: “If I had to make a statement about God, one that is fundamental in Judaism, it would be that God is in search of man.” [40] Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost (Lk. 19:10). He came as the Good Shepherd, who would carry the little lambs in his bosom and who in the end would give his life for the sheep (Jn. 10:11, 15). The word for “compassion” used here is the Greek word, “splangnizesthai.” It is interesting that this word showing a deep movement of pity is used only of Jesus in the New Testament. [41] “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. Send the people away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat” (6:35-36). The disciples seemed to be experts in looking at natural things with their inherent limitations. When we look at our personal situations or the state of the world in general it always appears overwhelming. We must remember to look to Jesus and be delivered. “But he answered, ‘You give them something to eat.’ They said to him, ‘That would take more than half a year’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?” ‘How many loaves do you have?’ he asked. ‘Go and see.’ When they found out, they said, ‘Five— and two fish’” (6:37-38). The disciples still seemed astounded and overwhelmed at the need before them. When Jesus commanded them to give food to the needy people, their fevered brains began to calculate wildly as to the cost. They came up with the vast sum of two hundred denarii. In those days the denarii was an average day’s wage for the working person. This would have supplied only barley loaves, the cheapest loaves that normally fed the poor. [42] Obviously, two hundred denarii would have amounted to the better part of a year’s wages, or as the NIV states here “eight months” of a person’s normal wages. With this, Jesus asked them to go check their supplies. They found five small loaves and two little fish. Jesus started with that supply. John’s gospel tells us where this supply came from. A small boy had the little loaves and fish in his lunch (Jn. 6:8-9). The little fish were no doubt the Kinneret sardines. It is amazing that God always seems to begin with the things we have already. [43] From that point the miracle of God progresses. “Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties” (6:39-40). Mark notes that the grass was green. This signifies springtime in the Galilee because in the warmer months with their very hot temperatures and lack of rain, the grass quickly turns brown. John’s gospel verifies this in saying that the miracle happened at the time of Passover (Jn. 6:4). This might help account for the multitudes who were gathered, [44] and perhaps for the large number of men present. This whole picture seems reminiscent of Moses feeding the children of Israel long before. It even reminds us of Elijah who fed a hundred men with only twenty loaves of barley bread (2 Ki. 4:42-44). At that time there was also bread left over after the meal. Jesus had the people recline (Gk. anaklithenai) in companies (Gk. sumposia). This last word for “companies” or “groups” is the Greek word for growing plots of vegetables in one’s garden. [45] There seems no doubt that the sitting arrangement Jesus used was not only for good control but to facilitate an easy counting of the crowd. [46] “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 distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all” (6:41). Jesus took the loaves and fish, looked up to heaven and gave thanks to the Father. No doubt he used a Hebrew blessing that is widely used today and is found in the ancient Passover seder: “Ba-ruch a-tah A-do-nai elo-he-nu me-lek ha olam, bo-re p’re ha ad-a-mah” (Blessed are you O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who brings forth fruit from the earth). [47] We note that Jesus blessed the Father and not the food. We tend to do the opposite today when we pray. We should note here that Jesus gave the food to the disciples. In the Greek this is in the aorist imperfect tense. It means that Jesus “kept giving.” In other words, the miracle of the multiplication of the fish and loaves took place in Jesus’ hands. [48] This was an unforgettable miracle for the disciples and all who would follow them. Guzik says of this miracle: “The assurance that Jesus can provide— even miraculously— for all of our needs should be precious to us; it was to the earliest Christians. On the walls of the catacombs, and other places of early Christian art, loaves and fish are common pictures.” [49] “They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand” (6:42-44). We can suspect in these early days that many working people were hardly ever fully satisfied with the meager amounts of food available to them. Yet, Jesus fully satisfied them. There is no doubt a lesson here that Jesus is the Bread that came down from heaven. He says in John 6:35, “…I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” This is a great promise to us and to Israel. It is thought by many that this miracle was given to the Jewish people who lived largely on the western side of the lake, while the second miracle was given to Gentiles on the eastern or Gentile side of the lake. The “twelve” baskets full that were later picked up might well signify Israel. The term used here for “basket” is the Greek kophinos, and denotes a large wicker basket that the Jews normally carried. We have several symbolic numbers in this miracle. We cannot help but note the prominence of the number “five.” There were five loaves that fed five thousand men. We remember that there were Ten Commandments with five on each side (Exo. 32:15-16; 34:1). There were five books of the Law, and many more occurrences of “five” in the Jewish heritage. [50] We note that there is no waste in the kingdom of Heaven. The twelve disciples apparently used each of their own large baskets (kophinos) to gather up all the fragments. [51] Five thousand men were fully fed that day and we have no idea how many women and children were also fed to their satisfaction. Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray. Mark 6:45-46 We cannot help but feel some urgency in Jesus’ actions as he hurriedly gathered his disciples and sent them on their way to Bethsaida. We are reminded here that they must have been some distance from Bethsaida, which is in the northeastern corner of the lake. It seems natural that their trip would be taking them in an easterly direction. The great storm that later developed seems again to be the Sharkia or the severe northeastern storm. They would soon be trying to paddle their boat directly into the fierce windstorm. Why was Jesus in such a hurry to get his disciples away from the scene? Jesus obviously felt an urgency to pray, but there may have been some other factors. Coffman says of this scene, “It was indeed an hour of crisis; never was the ministry of Jesus any more threatened than at that hour.” [52] From this end of the lake it was easy to view the city of Gamla, which was nestled like a fortress on the Golan Heights. We should note that Gamla was the home of the Zealots, who felt that the only solution to Israel’s problem was to violently resist and overthrow the Roman occupation. We can be sure that the disciple Simon the Zealot was probably at one time connected with this party. Some have even thought that Judas might have had some Zealot feelings. John’s gospel sheds some light on this situation. He says, “Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself” (John 6:15). The people had just witnessed a great miracle and plenteous bread had been given to them. It seems that there may have been some sort of movement to make Jesus their Messiah who would fight against Rome and deliver them from oppression. Edwards says of this incident: “the account suggests populist and revolutionary sentiments within the crowd…an unusual number of signs thus suggest that the wilderness commotion was aflame with messianic fervor, and that the crowd hoped to sweep Jesus up as a guerrilla leader.” [53] In verse 52 we see that the disciples had somehow become hardened during the miracle of the loaves. We cannot but wonder if this hardening was not brought about by the zeal of the crowds and some attempt to make Jesus their natural leader. For Jesus this was a temptation not unlike the one Satan had given him in the wilderness. Had he chosen this route of glory, the Romans would have pounced upon him as a seditionist, exactly like they later pounced upon the city of Gamla and totally destroyed it. “Therefore, it was of the utmost importance to remove the Twelve from the satanic situation.” [54] Jesus was destined to be the King of Israel and his disciples were destined to rule with him. However, that rule would not be in the natural realm but in the spiritual realm. He would gain that position not by military conquest but through his suffering and death on the cross. “Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land” (6:47). As the miracle ended the evening was fast approaching. We read that Jesus went up into a mountain to pray. Again, the setting of Tabgha would have fitted this story well. From Tabgha to the present Mount of Beatitudes is one fairly steep incline. Jesus could have located himself anywhere on that mountain and would have had a good view of the northwestern shores of the sea. Although the night became stormy, the moon was no doubt peeking through the clouds at times, for Passover is celebrated at the full moon. “He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid’” (6:48-50). Jesus saw the disciples straining at the oars and making little progress. He saw them either naturally by moonlight or he saw them spiritually through his discernment. During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to his weary disciples. According to Roman time the fourth watch would have fallen around 3 AM. Edwards notes a curious fact in Mark. It seems that whenever the disciples were apart from Jesus they got themselves into trouble. [55] The same thing seems to happen to us modern disciples when we get separated from Jesus. We note here also that Jesus sent his disciples directly into the raging storm. We somehow have the idea today that when we follow Jesus everything will be nice and easy. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is in the midst of life’s storms where Jesus really appears to us in a miraculous way. Jesus came to them walking on the water. Several interpreters have had problems with this because of their unbelief in miracles. They have tried to make him walk on shoals, sandbars and rocks, but this destroys the whole meaning of the story. It is impossible to translate the Greek words epi testhalasses in any way but “walking on,” “upon” or “on top of the water.” [56] It was a real miracle, but when the tired and weary disciples saw him their hair probably stood up on end. They thought Jesus was a ghost and they initially screamed out in terror. We note here that Jesus was about to pass them by. This seems to be a divine prerogative. It apparently does not fit the context, unless it is taken with the rest of the verse: “because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid’” (6:50). The words “It is I,” (Gk. ego eimi), are identical with God’s disclosure of himself in other places. We think of the Lord revealing himself and passing by Moses at Sinai (Exo. 34:6ff). We think of the Lord also revealing himself and passing by Elijah on Mt. Horeb (1 Ki. 19:11). [57] Here the verse in Job 9:8 stands out. It says, “He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.” Mark continues,“Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened” (6:51-52). When Jesus climbed into the boat the wind died down and the storm was over. It reminds us of that children’s chorus: “With Jesus in the boat we can smile through the storm…As we go sailing home.” It is rather amazing that Mark does not tell us the interesting account of Peter getting out of the boat and walking toward Jesus on the water. Guzik says about this: “Peter may have left out the story because he didn’t want to be exalted for walking on the water – or to be humbled for sinking!” [58] Mark here inserts the strange comment that the disciples did not understand about the loaves and their hearts were hardened. This statement makes no sense unless it does apply to the militant Messianic hopes that many held. People probably thought that if Jesus could multiply loaves, he could multiply ammunition and even soldiers in order to defeat the Roman oppressors. The disciples may have been grieved that Jesus had missed another big opportunity to become the natural savior of Israel. “When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there” (6:53). John adds a little more to the story. He says as soon as Jesus got into the boat they were immediately over to the other side of the lake (Jn. 6:21). This was another miracle of course. We cannot help but notice that the boat apparently got turned around in the storm and they were blown back passed their place of launching to the western shore of Gennesaret. By Jesus’ time the name had reference to a very fertile and fruitful plain along the western coast. “As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was” (6:54-55). Once again Jesus and his disciples got no rest. It seemed to elude them as the pitiful needs of humanity pressed in upon them. Mark says: “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 it were healed” (6:56). It seems that the story of the woman touching his fringes had gotten around. Now many others started to do the same thing and they also got miraculous healings. Jesus was now at the height of his great Galilean ministry. Such love and passion he displayed even when worn out physically! If we could only be more like that! It reminds us of that old hymn by Albert Orsborn (b. 1886): Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me, All His wonderful passion and purity. May His Spirit divine all my being refine Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me. Several sources I have cited here are from the electronic media, either from websites or from electronic research libraries. Thus in some of these sources it is not possible to cite page numbers. Instead I have cited the verse or verses in each chapter of Mark (e.g. verse v. 1 or vs. 1-2) about which the commentators speak. 1. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 169. 2. Ibid., p. 171. 3. Ibid., p. 170. 4. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 6:1-3, citing Lane. Edwards remarks here: “Calling a person the son of a woman, as the Nazarenes do here, was not normal in Judaism, and was almost certainly insulting.” (Edwards, p. 172). 5. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 172. 6. Quoted in Guzik, vs. 6:1-3. 7. Coffman, Commentary on Mark, v. 6:4. 8. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 162. 9. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 169. 10. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, vs. 6:5-6. Davies adds here a saying that was found in the Oyrhynchus Logia… “No prophet is popular in his native town and no physician effects cures among his friends.” (Davies, p. 1007). 11. Ibid., v. 6:7. 12. Guelich, Mark 1-8:26, p. 322. 13. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 180. 14. Coffman, Commentary on Mark, v. 6:8. “That a staff was allowed (though not the purchase of one) is clear from Mark’s account.” 15. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 6:7-13. This author cites Liefield to say that the forbidden bag may have had reference to the kind of bag often used for begging by itinerant philosophers and religious mendicants. 16. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, pp. 162-165. 17. Ibid. 18. Ibid., p. 165. 19. Coffman, Commentary on Mark, v. 6:10. 20. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 181. 21. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 166. 22. John D. Hannah, Our Legacy, The History of Christian Doctrine (Colorado Springs: Navpress, 2001), p. 341. 23. Coffman, Commentary on Mark, vs. 6:12-13. 24. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 184. 25. Ibid. 26. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, vs. 6:14-29. 27. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, pp. 176, 183. 28. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 177. 29. Ibid., p. 172. 30. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p. 81. 31. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 176. See also Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 6:17-29. 32. Oden, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, p. 84. 33. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 187. 34. Quoted in Guzik, vs. 6:17-29. 35. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, v. 6:29. 36. Clarke, Commentary on Mark, vs. 6:30-34. 37. Pixner, With Jesus Through Galilee According to the Fifth Gospel, p. 36. 38. Ibid., pp. 69-70. 39. Donahue, Mark, Harper’s Bible Commentary, p. 992. 40. Susanna Heschel, ed., Abraham Joshua Heschel in Moral Grandeur &Spiritual Audacity, essays edited by Susanna Heschel, (NY: Farrar, Straus &Giroux, 1996). 41. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 191. 42. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 183. 43. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 6:35-44. 44. Jamieson, Commentary on Mark, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, v. 6:34. 45. Guelich, Mark 1-8:26, p. 341. See also Barclay, p. 182 on this explanation. 46. Jamieson, Commentary on Mark, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, v. 6:40. 47. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, v. 6:41. See also Edwards, p. 192 for explanation of this blessing. 48. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p. 82. 49. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 6:35-44. 50. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, v. 6:43. 51. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 182. “No orthodox Jew travelled without his basket (kophinos). The Romans made a jest of the Jew and his basket…very orthodox Jew carried his own food…The reason that there were twelve baskets is simply that there were twelve disciples. It was into their own baskets that they frugally gathered up the fragments.” 52. Coffman, Commentary on Mark, v. 6:46. 53. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 194. 54. Coffman, Commentary on Mark, vs. 44-45. 55. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 197. 56. Ibid., p. 198. 57. Ibid. Coffman adds regarding verse 50, “Mark intended his readers to identify Jesus with the Lord, the divine I AM of Exodus 3:14. The phrase occurs often in John, and with theological overtones (John 6:85; 8:12; 10:7; 11:25; 14:6). Mark uses the phrase two other times, in Mark 13:6 and Mark 14:62.” 58. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 6:51-52. CLEAN OR UNCLEAN? The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were “unclean,” that is, unwashed. Mark 7:1-2 To this point in Mark, Jesus has been regularly bumping up against the subject of “tradition.” We have seen already how “official” parties had come down from Jerusalem to spy on him regarding his apparent disdain for some rabbinic traditions. This is another of those official parties. They were not coming to make some decision regarding Jesus’ ministry, for that decision had already been made. They were rather attempting to gather more evidence that would condemn Jesus and his disciples. As we can probably remember from the play Fiddler on the Roof, “tradition” played a very important part in the lives of the Jewish people. By Jesus’ time there was already a whole body of oral traditions that had gathered. While the Sadducee party held only to the Torah or Law, the Pharisees put great stock in these oral traditions. After the defeat and destruction of Israel in AD 70, the Sadducees disappeared as a party, while the Pharisees continued on to eventually make up normative Judaism. By about AD 220, these oral traditions were codified into what we know as the Mishnah. In the third and fourth centuries there was a further development which became known as the Jerusalem or Palestinian Talmud. The Talmud was made up of the numerous discussions and commentaries on the Mishnah, along with some other ancient materials. By the end of the fifth century, the Babylonian Talmud was also completed and since that time has become probably the most important work in Judaism. We must not think that all tradition is bad. There are some good traditions as we see in 2 Thessalonians 2:15. Paul says, “So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.” In 2 Thessalonians 3:6 he says, “…keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching you received from us.” In some other translations the word for “teachings” is rendered as “traditions.” We must realize that there are numerous good Christian traditions related to family, prayer, Bible study and so forth. “(The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles)” (7:3-4). In this passage the focus is primarily placed on the Jewish tradition concerning the washing of hands. We need to understand that this washing of hands had little to do with cleanliness. [1] It was rather a ceremonial thing. Hands had to be dipped in just a certain way and the water had to run up to the wrist just so-so. Of course, there was no command in scripture concerning this. Interestingly, the former Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, remarked about this procedure in his recent book saying: “We must also wash our hands before sitting down to any meal at which bread will be eaten. This duty is rabbinic in origin (i.e. not specified in the Torah).” [2] The great rabbi thus admits that it is a tradition not found in scripture. The rabbis came to be deadly serious about this particular custom. They considered any bread that was eaten with unwashed hands was no better than excrement. In one case, a rabbi who had failed to perform this ritual before eating was excommunicated. [3] Another rabbi by the name of Jose said, “He sinneth as much as who eateth with unwashen hands, as he that lieth with an harlot.” [4] We can see how as time went on tradition became more important than the Bible. In fact, Rabbi Eleazer once said, “He who expounds the scriptures in opposition to the tradition has no share in the world to come.” [5] “Jacob Nuesner notes that the dominant trait of Pharisaism before AD 70, as depicted in both rabbinic traditions and the gospels, concerns conditions regarding ritual purity.” [6] In the later work of the Mishnah, there was much space given to the traditions regarding ceremonial cleanliness. It has been said that some twenty-five percent of this work is devoted to questions and matters of purity. [7] These ritual hand washings are still seen today in the Passover Seder. Christians and churches are becoming more familiar with the Seder and are once more beginning to enjoy this ancient ceremony since the Lord’s Supper was taken directly from it. As we can see in the previous verses, the purification rule applied to almost anything that came from the market, things like cups and vessels. Of course the laws applied to numerous other things like couches where the sick or infirm had lain. These were likely purified by sprinkling with water. When we lived in Israel I can remember that every year just before Passover there was a public washing of kitchen utensils outside the local synagogue. In these cases all metal household kitchen vessels were purified from their contamination with yeast (hametz) by scalding them in hot water. In modern Israel there is much provision still made for the ritual washing of hands. In Israel most every bathroom for males has a special vessel attached to the sink for dipping water and pouring it over the hands in a ritualistic manner. So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?” Mark 7:5 The Pharisees and scribes met Jesus “head-on” about his neglect of their traditions. Jesus answered them with the word of God. He quoted from their own prophet Isaiah: “He replied, ‘Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’ You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions” (cf. Isa. 29:13) (7:6-8). The great evangelist of the past century, Dr. Harry Ironside once commented: “To the spiritual mind, it is a question of unceasing wonder that men should be so ready to follow and even fearlessly contend for the authority of human traditions, while they are just as ready to ignore the plain teachings of the Word of God.” [8] Jesus pulled no punches with the Pharisees and scribes. It is amazing and almost shocking how clearly he answered them, boldly calling them “hypocrites.” We will see later in Matthew 23:1-36, how Jesus at last boldly and publicly assailed the Pharisees and teachers of the Law for their many errors. We can only wonder how he might also boldly and publicly assail some leaders of Christianity today, who have forsaken the pure and holy Word of God for their own traditions. Jesus called them “hypocrites.” No doubt he took the term from the Greek plays of his day. [9] In these plays the participants wore masks and pretended to be someone they were not. They were merely “playing a part” on stage. We shudder as we wonder how many “play-actors” are prominently displayed today in the realm of Christianity. We must make sure we are not partners with them. “And he said to them: ‘You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!’” (7:9). Another great preacher from the past, Thomas Dickson, called tradition, “the most constant, the most persistent, the most dogged, the most utterly devilish opposition the Master encountered. It openly attacked him on every hand, and silently repulsed his teaching.” [10] We can ever so quickly withdraw from the Word of God and begin to observe traditions almost without knowing it. It is a silent killer. “For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)— then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that” (7:10-13). Here Jesus is referring back to a most important commandment, to honor father and mother (Exo. 20:12). The fulfilling of this command seems to be almost a foundation for all civilizations. Indeed, the world order might well collapse if this command were taken away. Yet, we see how the Pharisees and teachers had undermined this important commandment. Rather than honoring parents by helping to support them in their old age, this tradition proposed that folks declare a portion of their wealth and holdings as “Corban,” and thus dedicate it to God. It was no longer available for the help of parents. Although the traditions were originally put in place to “protect” the law (supposedly), we see how they in the end opposed and replaced the law. Edwards remarks about this saying that Corban “typifies a comprehensive perversion promoted by the attitudes and methods of the Pharisees and scribes. He sees that the Greek word poiete (you do) in verse 13 is present tense, because Corban had become a standard procedure among Pharisees.” [11] Several of these rabbinic teachings that contravene the law of God have survived to the present day. In Israel at Passover time there is a clear biblical injunction that all the Jewish people must get rid of all items that have yeast (Heb. hametz) in them. This of course would become a very expensive matter for businesses like bakeries, or even for households with large quantities of yeast items on hand. In order to get around this law, leaven is “sold” to a non-Jew who pays a token amount down with the balance due after Passover. Of course, after Passover the non-Jew decides not to complete the purchase and the leavened items are returned to the Jews. [12] A very similar practice also takes place during the shemittah or seventh-year. We know from the Bible that on the seventh year all lands owned by Jews were to lay fallow (Lev. 25:4-7). Items that came up voluntarily could be eaten but they could not be sold. Today, in order to circumvent this law Jewish lands are also “sold” to a non-Jew before the sabbatical year begins. The land can then be farmed, and after the shemittah it is returned to its Jewish owner. This tradition is called the heter mechira (Heb. right to sell). [13] “Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, ‘Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them’” (7:14-16). Here Jesus reverses the flow and makes clear that it is the inner impurities that defile a person rather than things on the outside. [14] Barclay says that when this statement was made it was “well-nigh the most revolutionary passage in the New Testament.” [15] We realize how this statement reaches much farther than to the traditions of the Pharisees. The statement would eventually touch the Bible’s food laws as Mark will make clear later. To explain all this we might say that there are two ways to take down a great tree. We can just cut it down with a chain saw and watch it fall, smashing all the smaller trees. Or, we can cut a small ring around it. Either way, it is just as dead. In the latter method it takes somewhat longer for its death to be noticed. In truth, Jesus had cut a ring around all food laws by his statement. We can clearly say that Jesus was not at this moment teaching people to disobey the food laws. Jesus most surely was obeying the food laws (biblical kashrut) himself at the time. Had he not done so he would have broken the very law he came to uphold and fulfill. Proof of this is seen later in a statement made by Peter. As late as Acts 10:14, this chief apostle could still say, “…I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” The kashrut system of clean and unclean foods was a type, pattern, and shadow of the reality that was to come. Jesus was and is that reality and that truth. After his death and resurrection these natural shadows of reality would give way to the true light and the true reality. That truth is that outward things do not defile a person but rather it is inward things that do so. After Jesus’ resurrection the food laws became a major issue. It seemed that Paul had a good understanding of this subject and we see him rebuking Peter about it in Galatians 2:11-21. Some years before the Gospel of Mark was written, Paul also made some very clear teachings to this same Roman church about this subject in Romans 14:1-23. Paul summarizes his Romans teaching by saying, “…I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean” (Rom. 14:14). After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. Mark 7:17 We see here and in other places that Jesus made a practice of teaching his disciples in private. Of course his continued lack of privacy must have made this difficult at times. Interestingly, the present-day disciples of Jesus have this same privilege of being taught by Jesus personally. Isaiah 54:13 says, “All your sons will be taught by the LORD, and great will be your children’s peace.” In another place Jesus promises to send the Holy Spirit to us, who will teach us and bring all things to our remembrance (Jn. 14:26). “‘Are you so dull?’ he asked. ‘Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body’ (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)” (7:18-19). “It is clear from this that Jesus was beginning to expect more of his disciples and was a little disappointed at their slowness.” [16] Jesus was trying to make clear a great teaching that uncleanliness begins on the inside rather than on the outside. When we think about it, there is really nothing that can make us unclean if it tries to do so from the outside. That is providing our hearts are pure and clean on the inside. “When Mark wrote his gospel, questions related to kosher foods and dietary regulations were prominent in the minds of converts to Christianity, particularly from paganism (e.g. 1 Cor. 8:1 ff.).” [17] Mark makes it very plain by his note that “Jesus declared all foods ‘clean.’” Guelich adds, “This comment clearly pertains to the Levitical food laws and stems from a setting in the early church that no longer observed them.” [18] We need to understand that this was one of the biggest problems the early Christians had to face. The Judaizers (see “ioudaizein” in Gal. 2:14) were a quasi-Christian-Jewish sect in the first century that caused a great deal of trouble to Paul and his ministry. They insisted that Christians should keep the Old Testament laws, including the kosher laws. Kashrut or the keeping of these laws is a problem that still deeply troubles some Christians, especially those who work in close proximity to Israel. Now that some segments of Christianity are beginning to move back toward Zion or to Israel, the church is encountering once more the very same problems she faced in the first century. “He went on: ‘What comes out of a person is what defiles them’” (7:20). This scripture reminds us of Proverbs 23:7 (NKJ) which says of man: “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…” (cf. Matt. 12:34). Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount made clear in several places that what was in the heart was paramount, and that it is the pure in heart who will see God (Matt. 5:8). The person who is angry in his heart is a murderer (Matt. 5:22). The person who lusts in his heart is an adulterer (Matt. 5:28). The importance of what went on inwardly was seen far back in the Old Testament, as Proverbs 4:23 makes clear, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” “For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come— sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person’” (7:21-23). Here Jesus details a long “laundry list” of inside items that make a person unclean. Clearly, evil is first bred in the heart and mind of a person. Then it proceeds to become an outward act. He lists evil thoughts (Gk. dialogismoi oi kakoi) first of all, for they are surely first. Today the church is probably being assaulted by evil thoughts more than at any other time in its history. Much of this is due to the widespread availability of pornography on the web. Even as early as 2003, there were already 260 million pornographic Web pages in existence. [19] By 2007, a quarter of all internet searches were in some way related to internet pornography and a fourth of internet searchers had visited a porn site. That would amount to about sixty million people. [20] Figures show that at least a fourth of US Christians are watching porn on the web. We see why Jesus ranks evil thoughts and particularly sexual immorality at the top of his list. Next come theft, murder, adultery and greed. These things seem to hang out together in our western societies. All appear to result from a lowering of human esteem. Since people no longer see others as made in the “image of God” and very special, people can thus be cheated, abused, degraded, and even eliminated with little thought. There are a lot of ways to harm or even kill people. We can simply take what they have. We can, in our greed, step on their heads as we fight our way to the top of the success ladder. We can steal their self-respect and even destroy them, as well as their progeny, by illegitimate sexual relations. Jesus mentions malice and deceit next. In the Greek, these read poneriai meaning “iniquities,” and dolos actually meaning “deceit.” These are hidden inward sins. Barclay, the Greek scholar, defines poneriai as “the one in whose heart there is the desire to harm.” He notes that Satan has the title Poneros, or the evil one. [21] He notes that dolos in the Greek language is the “bait” of a trap designed for trickery and deceit. He mentions the famous “Trojan Horse” that brought about the devastation of Troy long ago. [22] Next is the word lewdness (Gk. aselgeia). It has been called one of the most despicable words in the Greek language. It is really a picture of those folks who have run the gamut of evil in their lives. It is a picture of those who are utterly lost to shame and decency. [23] Jesus then mentions the evil eye (Gk. ophthalmos porneros). We no doubt recognize these Greek words since their derivatives are used quite often in our modern and postmodern societies. However, in the rabbinic world “evil eye” was an expression commonly used for envy and covetousness. [24] The next word translated “malice” is blasphemia in the Greek, and might be best understood as its English equivalent, “blasphemy.” This of course could be any slander or impious utterance against God. It would normally manifest itself in some type of cursing or raving against the deity. Then comes the Greek word huperphania which is actually translated “slander” here in the NIV. It has the literal meaning of “showing oneself above.” [25] It is understood as simple pride and arrogance. From our leaders on down to common people, our western world seems suddenly filled with arrogant and narcissistic people. Jesus ends his rather long list with “folly” (Gk. aphrosune). Barclay adds, “This does not mean the foolishness that is due to weakness of intellect and lack of brains; it means moral folly.” [26] After all these centuries people are still trying to do things in the moral realm that simply do not work. They never did work and they never will. For instance, adultery has never worked in all the thousands of years of human existence. It has always complicated life not only for the guilty parties but for the society around them. It is things such as these— inward things that make people really “unclean” and certainly not whether they have forgotten to do their outward ritual washings. Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. Mark 7:24 Jesus’ great Galilean ministry was now virtually at its end. Although the ministry had been a tremendous success we still must note that Jesus was a “man of sorrows” (Isa. 53:3), being rejected by his own home town, by some close family members, and certainly by the religious establishment in Israel that literally dogged his heels. We have also seen how his own disciples did not understand his ministry and how the crowds even attempted to hijack his ministry and change it into some type of resistance movement against Rome. He now makes a serious departure from his calling, which was to go to the Jews first of all. He now goes to the Gentiles. Edwards points out how the Greek verb for “went” (apalthen) is stronger than the normal verb for “went” (erchesthai). The change of verbs “tends to signal a decisive departure.” [27] This action reminds us somewhat of Paul’s later mission work when he would turn away from the Jews to the Gentiles, once the Jews had rejected his message (cf. Acts 13:46). Jesus and his disciples left for the region of Phoenicia. He would now make an extensive tour of Gentile areas and then begin to confine his ministry more to the disciples than to the crowds. No doubt he and his disciples were at last able to have some rest and private conversations without the press of the crowds or the condemnations of Jewish leaders. The Gentile city of Tyre was about 60 miles (96 km.) northwest of Capernaum. The other great Gentile city was Sidon, which was another 26 miles (42 km.) northeast of Tyre. Both these cities were on the Mediterranean. In route, Jesus and his disciples no doubt enjoyed the very pleasant and scenic climb up to the regions of Mount Meron and on into beautiful Lebanon hills. So far as we know this was the only time in his ministry that Jesus left the land of Israel. [28] Much of the land of Phoenicia itself was actually included in the heritage given to Israel (Josh.19:28), but the Israelites were never able to claim this grant from God. We might remember from our school history lessons that the Phoenicians were the great seafaring people of antiquity. The Phoenicians were traders in expensive purple dye, which was derived from the Mediterranean murex shell. They also traded in many other items such as Phoenician glass, slaves, and precious metals. It is thought that they were very instrumental in the usage and spread of the concept of an alphabet. Certainly they were some of the best navigators of ancient times. The Phoenicians were the first seaman who learned to steer by the stars. [29] With this new skill they could sail across the vast Mediterranean, to far- away places like Carthage, Gibraltar, Tarshish (Spain/Portugal) Britain and points along the African coast. In the times of King Solomon and even in those of King David, the Phoenicians were friendly, but by this time they were some of Israel’s bitter enemies. [30] We remember that in the days of Elijah, the Phoenician wife of Ahab, Queen Jezebel, had introduced Baal worship into Israel and tried her best to overcome the traditional worship of Yahweh. Phoenicia was certainly a very Gentile area. It is likely that Jesus took lodging with a Jewish person in that area, perhaps a Jewish trader or merchant, for they were spread all over the ancient world. When Jesus and his disciples arrived in the area of Tyre, they were perhaps weary from the long journey and wanted seclusion, but as usual, this didn’t work out. Jesus’ presence was soon no longer a secret. This attests to how far and wide the message of Jesus had already traveled. “In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit came and fell at his feet. The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter” (7:25-26). We get the clear impression that this woman was the persistent type. Matthew tells us that Jesus did not answer her at first and that she continued crying after the disciples and disturbing them with her request. They even wanted Jesus to send her away (Matt. 15:23). At this point Jesus stated again his main ministry, that he was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matt. 15:24). The woman would not be put off by Jesus’ statement. She still called him “Lord,” fell at his feet and begged him to deliver her daughter. “‘First let the children eat all they want,’ he told her, ‘for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs” (7:27). With the word “first,” Jesus slightly opened a door of hope for this Gentile woman. As Barclay says, “she saw at once that Jesus was speaking with a smile. She knew that the door was swinging on its hinges….” [31] The scripture makes plain that the Servant of Israel had to first seek and restore the House of Israel. However, part “B” of his mission would be to reach out to Gentiles and become a light to the nations (Isa. 49:6). This statement of Jesus was sure to offend if taken the wrong way. We can imagine how many millions of modern folks would immediately get up and stride away with great offense should Jesus make such a statement to them. Some scholars have wondered if this new door that was about to open to Gentiles was a continuation of Jesus’ theme of “clean and unclean.” [32] Up to this point Gentiles were considered a defilement by many devout Jews. We remember Peter’s later vision as the door to the Gentiles was about to be opened up to him. In that vision God commanded him to rise, slaughter and eat a variety of unclean foods. Peter refused, claiming that he had always kept kosher. In that vision God instructed him never again to call anything “unclean” that God had called “clean” (Acts 10:15). Barclay says of this whole unusual Phoenician event: “When this incident is seen against its background, it becomes one of the most moving and extraordinary in the life of Jesus.” [33] The woman in her great faith seemed to spar with Jesus as Jacob had done with God long before. [34] Jacob left with a great blessing, and so did she. Marcus says that this is “the only time in the gospels that a person wins an argument with Jesus…” [35] As we have said, Jesus’ first words to her seem to be an awful insult. He clearly referred to her as a dog, and dogs were usually connected with unclean things in the Bible, things like garbage, carrion and corpses (Exo. 22:31; 1 Ki. 21:23; 22:38; 2 Ki. 9:36). [36] Today dogs are becoming more popular as pets in Israel but in earlier days we can remember when it was quite uncommon to see dogs as pets. Obviously, the Gentiles had dogs as their pets as we see here. It is interesting that Jesus uses the diminutive in speaking of dogs (Gk. kunarion). He is referring to little puppies or house dogs. [37] In early times people did not have napkins. As they ate their meals they simply wiped their hands on pieces of bread and dropped the pieces down to the little dogs. [38] “‘Lord,’ she replied, ‘even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.’ Then he told her, ‘For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.’ She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone” (7:28-30). How amazing that this Gentile woman seemed to understand things that even the disciples were missing. She called Jesus “Lord,” and somehow glimpsed that the gospel had to first go to the Jews and then to the Gentiles. In Matthew’s version (15:28) Jesus said to her, “…Woman, you have great faith!…” How amazing it is in the gospel that in the only two times Jesus commended people for having great faith he did so to Gentiles and not to Jews. [39] Jesus seemed to always marvel at two things. He marveled at faith and he also marveled at unbelief. [40] The woman no doubt marveled to see her daughter perfectly whole when she arrived home. Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. Mark 7:31 Not all ancient manuscripts show Jesus going through Sidon but he likely did. It was a round-about way to get back to the Galilee however. We have to say that Jesus is clearly spending a lot of time in Gentile areas. After Sidon Jesus would go directly for another visit to the Gentile area of the Decapolis, on the east side of the Sea of Galilee. Edwards remarks here: “The journey deep into Gentile territory— indeed notorious Gentile territory— indicates his willful inclusion to the non-Jewish world in his ministry.” [41] We immediately note that Jesus’ welcome in the Decapolis is much improved over his first visit. Several commentators have wondered if the evangelistic outreach of the demon- possessed man had something to do with this improved reception. “There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged him to place his hand on him” (7:32). It is of great interest that the Greek word describing this man (mogilalos) occurs in only one other place in the whole Bible. It occurs in Isaiah 35 where the prophet describes the glory of God going out to the nations. [42] Isaiah says, “Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy…” (Isa. 35:5-6). “After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue” (7:33). Some of the commentators have remarked how much compassion Jesus showed this poor man. Jesus did not look at him as just a number or a face in the crowd. He gave him great personal attention, carefully taking him apart from the crowd. Then he put his fingers into the man’s ears. This was really the only way he could communicate with him because he was deaf. The Jews still use the expression “finger of God” when speaking of God’s power. Of course Michelangelo pictured God’s finger reaching down to touch man in his famous Sistine-Chapel painting. Then Jesus placed his spittle on the man’s tongue. Again, this was perhaps the only means of communication, by this way he could enter the man’s world. We should note that in ancient times it was a common belief that spittle had curative power. [43] “He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, ‘Ephphatha!’ (which means, ‘Be opened!). At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly” (7:34-35). Jesus was acquainted with our grief and he sighed deeply over this poor man’s woes. He spoke the Aramaic word “Ephphatha!” which was a command to be opened. Mark as usual translated Jesus’ word for the sake of his Roman readers and for our sake too. We can imagine the surprise to this man and to all those standing by as he began to hear and speak plainly. “Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. People were overwhelmed with amazement. ‘He has done everything well,’ they said. ‘He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak’” (7:36-37). Interestingly, this is said to be the only occasion in Mark where Jesus commanded Gentiles to be silent regarding his miraculous works. [44] This attests that there were many more works and that his fame was even spreading in Gentile lands. Matthew’s version (Matt. 15:30) tells us that Jesus healed many in that area. The Gentile testimony of Jesus that he did everything well was in stark contrast to the testimony of Israel’s leaders, who found fault with almost everything he did. Of course, the mission to the Gentiles was somewhat premature. Jesus would have to go to the cross to bring it to reality and fullness. We remember that during his last days in Jerusalem some Greeks came anxiously wanting to see Jesus. They came asking Philip if they could see Jesus. Philip had to inquire among the others because this request still presented some problems. Jesus replied that the hour had not yet come and then spoke of his approaching death as a necessity for the Gentiles (Jn. 12:20-24). After his death on the cross and his resurrection Jesus could command in Matthew 28:19-20: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Several sources I have cited here are from the electronic media, either from websites or from electronic research libraries. Thus in some of these sources it is not possible to cite page numbers. Instead I have cited the verse or verses in each chapter of Mark (e.g. verse v. 1 or vs. 1-2) about which the commentators speak. 1. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, p. 108-109. Stedman injects here the procedure for washing hands. The hands had to be held out, palms up, hands cupped slightly, and water poured over them. Then the fist of one hand was used to scrub the other, and then the other fist would scrub the first hand. This is why the fist is mentioned here. Finally the hands again were held out, with palms down, and water was poured over them a second time to cleanse away the dirty water the defiled hands had been scrubbed with.” (Stedman, vs. 7:1-5). 2. Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, Practical Judaism, (Tel Aviv: Modan Publishing House Ltd., 1997), p. 84. 3. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 7:1-5. 4. Ibid. 5. Ibid., citing Wiersbe. 6. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, pp. 206, 207. Edwards quoting Nuesner says, “…If you touch a reptile, you may not be dirty, but you are unclean. If you undergo a ritual immersion you may not be free of dirt, but you are clean.” 7. Ibid., p. 208. 8. Quoted in Guzik (vs. 7:6-9). Pett adds here that this was the beginning of something serious. He notes that in Mark’s own day the church was under harassment by Judaisers who claimed that their legalistic way was the right way (vs. 7:1-16). 9. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 209. 10. Quoted in Stedman (vs. 7:1-4). 11. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 211. 12. Lau, Practical Judaism, pp. 297-98. 13. Ibid., pp. 146-147. 14. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 211. Note: Modern Greek New Testaments omit verse 16. 15. Quoted in Guzik vs. 7:14-16. 16. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, vs. 7:18-19. 17. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 213. 18. Guelich, Mark 1-8:26, p. 378. Edwards adds: “Finally, the editorial addendum to v. 19 that ‘Jesus declared all foods clean’ makes clear for Mark’s Roman readers that the matters of ceremonial cleansing and kosher foods, so important to observant Jews, are not binding for followers of Jesus.” (Edwards, p. 204). We need to be clear that when Jesus gave his teaching on clean and unclean things he was not implying that all the food laws should be done away with. That would come much later in the days of Mark and the early church. We can be certain that Jesus kept the food laws. Pett remarks about this saying: “At first sight this seems to suggest that Jesus is discounting the Old Testament teaching on foods which were ‘unclean’. But nothing was further from his mind. His statement was not intended to deal with that question. It was intended to be general rather than specific. There is no doubt in fact that he did abstain from, and would at this stage have accepted that other Jews should abstain from, ‘unclean’ food as described in Leviticus 11.” (Pett, vs. 7:14-15). 19. Michael Reagan with Jim Denney, Twice Adopted (Nashville: Broadman &Holman Publishers, 2004), p. 210. “The most recent studies available suggest that one out of every two people-that’s fifty percent of the people sitting in our pews-are looking at and/or could be addicted to Internet pornography.” 20. Natasha Vargas-Cooper, ““Hard Core-The New World of Porn is Revealing Eternal Truths About Men and Women,” The Atlantic, Jan/Feb 2011, p. 99. 21. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 201. 22. Ibid. 23. Ibid., p. 202. 24. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 213. 25. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 202. 26. Ibid., p. 203. 27. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 216. 28. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, p. 110. 29. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 204. 30. Guelich, Mark 1-8:26, p. 384. 31. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 207. 32. Ibid., p. 205. 33. Ibid., p. 203. 34. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 222. 35. Marcus, Mark 1-8, The Anchor Bible p. 470. 36. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 219. 37. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p. 92. 38. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 207. 39. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, p. 110. 40. Jameison citing Bengel, vs. 7:28-29. 41. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 224. 42. Ibid. 43. Davies, Mark, Abingdon Bible Commentary, p. 1009. See also Marcus, p. 473 who agrees on this subject. 44. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 226. During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat.” Mark 8:1-2 Jesus is still in Gentile country. Most commentators agree that he is still ministering to Gentiles in the region of the Decapolis. His ministry is quite successful as we can see from the large crowd that has gathered around him. Some of this excitement must have come from his miracle works. Perhaps it was partly caused by the recent healing of the deaf mute or from the many others healed (Matt. 15:29-31). Maybe some of the excitement can be traced back to the Gadarene demoniac who was gloriously delivered on Jesus’ first trip to Decapolis (Mk. 5:1-20). Several commentators have remarked that the demoniac must have become a very successful witness for the Master— and a Gentile one at that. It is sometimes amazing what just one person, or even a small group of people can do in the cause of Christ. “John Bunyan tells how he owed his conversion to the fact that he heard three or four old women talking, as they sat in the sun, ‘about a new birth, the work of God in their hearts.’” [1] Some scholars have had problems with the miracle of the feeding that Jesus is about to perform. They feel that it is nothing but a doublet of the first feeding and somehow the gospel writers have gotten themselves all confused about the event. We might note that while there are a few similarities in the feedings, there are a great many differences. Let us look at some of them. The first feeding was given to five thousand people and this one is to four thousand. The first feeding was on the Jewish side of the lake while this one is on the Gentile or eastern side. The first feeding was obviously in the spring due to the green grass while in this feeding people are sitting on the barren ground. In the first feeding twelve baskets of remnants were taken up but in this one there are seven baskets. Even the words for “baskets” are different. In the first feeding the Greek word was cophinos which describes a Jewish basket. Here the word is spuris or sphuris which describes a different kind of basket. [2] It is a much larger basket, even large enough for the Apostle Paul to get into as he escaped from Damascus (Acts 9:25). There are several other differences in the two events. The first seemed to be symbolic of the Jewish people since the numbers five and twelve appear but in this event the numbers four and seven are emphasized. The four thousand could have reference to the four winds of the earth or to the whole world. Seven could be a veiled reference to the seventy nations on earth. The clincher in the argument is that Jesus himself spoke of two distinct feedings when he mentioned them later in this chapter (8:19-21) and also in Matthew 16:9-10. In the first feeding the people had been with Jesus only a short time. Here they have been with him for three days and their food supply is exhausted. In the first miracle the disciples approached Jesus about the needs of the people. Here Jesus approaches his disciples about the people’s needs. Jesus feels a great compassion for their needs. In fact, he feels a “gut wrenching” emotion concerning them since the Greek word “compassion,” (splangnizomai), refers to the entrails or vital organs of the body. [3] “‘If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.’ His disciples answered, ‘But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?’” (8:3-4). The picture we get here is that this miracle occurred in a rather desolate area. It is interesting that the east side of the lake even today is sparsely settled and still pretty desolate. The fishing kibbutz of Ein Gev is about the only sizeable settlement on the whole eastern side of the lake. It is interesting that the disciples did not notice that people were hungry. Perhaps they were a bit lacking in compassion this time because these people were Gentiles and not Jews. [4] As usual in the Bible, this miracle began with what people had on hand and grew from that. “‘How many loaves do you have?’ Jesus asked. ‘Seven,’ they replied. He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people, and they did so” (8:5-6). In the Greek language we read that Jesus “kept on breaking” the loaves. [5] Once again, as in the first miracle of feeding, we see that the multiplication occurred in the hands of Jesus. How interesting it is that the first Gentile woman in Phoenicia was quite happy to feed on the crumbs while these Gentiles are now feasting on the loaves directly from Jesus’ hands. [6] Finally the gospel is going out to Gentiles in an abundant manner. “They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them” (8:7). The fish in this miracle seem to almost be an afterthought. Apparently they were brought out later and blessed separately by Jesus. The Greek word for fish ichthydia is also different from the first miracle. These fish are clearly identified as the little sardines. [7] Even today the fisherman of Ein Gev bring in large commercial boatloads of these little fish. They are very plentiful on the east side of the lake, especially on the shoals of Kursi. “The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. About four thousand were present. And having sent them away, he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha” (8:8-10). As we have mentioned, these baskets were larger than those of the first miracle. [8] Although there were only seven baskets full they might well have contained more broken pieces than those of the first miracle. Although “men” are mentioned here, the “four thousand” (Gk. tetrakischilioi), is not gender specific and implies that there were probably also some women and children in the group. [9] The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven. Mark 8:11 We note in the previous verse that Jesus and his disciples sailed to the western shore of the lake to a place called Dalmanutha. Matthew calls this place Magadan (15:39). We do not know exactly where this place was. A variant of the name may have been Magdala. [10] It could have been any one of the several small ports on the western side of the lake. It is strange that Jesus left the warm crowd of Gentiles who had a particular adherence to him. The word used of “remaining” with him is the Greek prosmenein, and speaks of a special commitment. [11] Then, immediately as he arrived on the west side he was met with a cool and demanding group of Pharisees. We cannot blame him for quickly turning the boat around and heading back towards the other side of the lake. With their questions and demands Jesus was surely discouraged. “He sighed deeply and said, ‘Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to it.’ Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side” (8:12-13). We might wonder what kind of sign from Jesus would have satisfied this crowd. They had already witnessed his miraculous healings and had accused him of blasphemy. They had watched him cast out evil spirits and had promptly accused him of being in league with the devil. Jesus knew that any sign he could give them would be twisted to once more hint of his association with Satan. [12] It is a strange quirk of the Jewish people that they look for signs. Much later Paul would say of them, “Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,” (1 Cor. 1:22-23). How sad that these Jewish leaders were demanding signs but were not able to enjoy the miraculous provision of bread that the Gentiles on the other side had just finished eating. “Ironically, the Gentiles in the previous story who were ‘far off’ (8:3; Eph. 2:13-14) are closer to Jesus than those of his own faith and people like the Pharisees.” [13] In Matthew’s version (16:1-4) Jesus accuses the Pharisees of not being able to read the signs of the times, although they were apparently good weather forecasters. They knew that when the evening sky was red it meant fair weather, but when the morning sky was red it meant bad weather. They could read the signs of the sky but not the signs of the times. Matthew adds that the only sign that would be given to them was the sign of Jonah. This was apparently a reference to Jesus’ coming crucifixion and three days in the tomb. It was too bad that the Pharisees did not have eyes to see that they were speaking with their long-awaited Messiah, the one who ruled heaven and earth. It was too bad that they couldn’t see the signs all around them. The poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning once wrote: Earth’s crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God; But only he who sees, takes off his shoes… [14] The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.” Mark 8:14-15 It is rather amazing that with such a recent abundance of miraculous bread and so many baskets filled with it, the disciples now have only a single loaf. To complicate matters, they are headed once more for Gentile country. How very soon must we return to Jesus for a resupply, even after our miraculous experiences with him! Jesus picked up on their panic and gave them a stern warning. Wiersbe remarks, “Our Lord did not often say ‘Beware!’ but when he did, it was important!” [15] He warned them to watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and Herod. Matthew’s gospel adds the Sadducees to this group (Matt. 16:6). Leaven or yeast in the olden days was not something bought at the store. It was merely a small amount of fermented dough kept back from last week’s baking. [16] In the Jewish world leaven was almost always a symbol of evil and corruption. It is something we need to get out of our lives (cf. 1 Cor. 5:6-8; Gal. 5:9). In the Passover seder, while the main theme is the Lamb who is Jesus, a very strong secondary theme is the unleavened bread. Not only was Jesus unleavened but he desires that our lives become unleavened like his. Of course, leaven is that item that puffs us up with self-importance or with wrong theology and corrupt ideas. It puffs us up with pride and hypocrisy as well. Leaven represents sin and corruption in all its many forms. The disciples here “are seen as being disturbed about having little ‘bread’ when what they should have been concerned about was false ideas.” [17] The Pharisees, Sadducees and Herodians had very little in common. In fact, they did not agree on much at all. About the only thing they did agree on was their opposition to Jesus. The Pharisees and Sadducees did not want Jesus to rock their religious boats. They did not seem to care much about spiritual things but they wanted to keep a good grip on their natural things. Actually the Sadducees did not even believe in life after death or in the resurrection. Coffman says that they “were as cold-blooded a group of crass materialists as ever lived on earth.” [18] They wanted to guard the status quo with Rome and protect their positions of religious power. Of course the Herodians and Herod himself wanted to do a very similar thing. A Messiah coming to deliver his people threatened all their natural security. Among the religious people there had arisen the idea that the Messiah would deliver the people from the oppression of Rome. We have already seen this idea seething in the crowd that gathered for the first miraculous feeding. Now we know that that same idea was brewing in the midst of the disciples. They were not seeing the kingdom of God as a spiritual reality but as a natural one. As Edwards says, “The disciples are anxious about lack of bread, but Jesus is anxious about their lack of faith.” [19] It is clear here “that Jesus has not left the opposition behind with the Pharisees on the lakeshore.” [20] “They discussed this with one another and said, ‘It is because we have no bread’” (8:16). It is clear that the disciples were functioning wholly on the natural plain. They were thinking about the lack of natural bread when they had the spiritual Bread of Life on board with them (Jn. 6:35). “Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: ‘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?’” (8:17-18). Often in Jesus’ ministry he used the phrase “He who has ears, let him hear” (cf. Matt. 13:9; Mk. 4:9; Lk. 8:8). We see the Risen Christ in Revelation using a similar expression, so we can know for certain it is the Lord himself speaking to us all in that book (cf. Rev. 2:11; 3:6; 13:9). How little we hear even with two ears. There is an old story that comes to us from the days of the great 18th century evangelist George Whitefield. It is the story of an unbeliever who really wanted to hear Whitefield preach but he had no intention of listening to his message. In order to make sure the message did not penetrate he put his fingers in both ears. That way he could watch the great preacher without hearing a word he said. But about that moment a stubborn fly landed on the man’s nose. It seemed that he could not shake the fly off no matter what he did. Finally in desperation he unplugged his ears just long enough to shoo the fly away. At that precise moment Whitefield boomed loudly “Him who has ears to hear, let him hear!” The timing of Whitefield’s words so amazed the man that he listened to the remainder of the message and got himself saved. [21] “‘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?’” (8:19-21). Wiersbe remarks about this verse saying: “the fact that he had multiplied bread on two occasions and fed over ten thousand people had apparently made little impression on them.” [22] We can almost be certain that this whole miracle story made a big impression on the Roman church Mark was addressing. They were perhaps already beginning to face the horrible persecution of Nero. They needed to hear once more how Jesus could supply all their needs and provide for them in the most difficult of circumstances. [23] They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. Mark 8:22 Ancient Bethsaida was located near the place where the Jordan River emptied into the Sea of Galilee. It was a fishing village as implied in its Hebrew name. According to John’s gospel it was the home of Peter, Andrew and Philip. It is the city most frequently mentioned in the gospels after Jerusalem and Capernaum. [24] The city was located on the eastern bank of the Jordan and made up part of Herod Philip’s holdings in Gaulanitis. There has been a great deal of controversy over the centuries about the exact location of Bethsaida. A German scholar who examined the location said, “this question is one of the most difficult in all of sacred geography.” [25] Some scholars have even felt that there were two cities of Bethsaida, one on the seashore at the Jordan and another on a tell or hill about 1.25 miles (2 km.) from the shores of the sea. [26] We know from history that Herod the Tetrarch elevated the status of the city to that of a polis in AD 30. He renamed it Bethsaida Julias, in honor of Livia-Julia, the mother of Emperor Tiberius. [27] Archaeologists are now fairly certain that Bethsaida sat on the hill called et-Tell. The site is now excavated and has been designated as the official tourism site of Bethsaida by the Israeli Government. The Bible tells us that Jesus did many of his miracles in Bethsaida (Matt. 11:20-24; Lk. 10:13-15). The city was a part of what has been called the “Evangelical Triangle” (Bethsaida, Capernaum and Korazin) in which Jesus did most of his ministry. We note that Jesus later pronounced woes upon all three cities because they failed to accept his ministry. Jesus’ ministry to the blind man at Bethsaida is perhaps the most interesting and unique miracle of Jesus. It is the only miracle of Jesus which happened gradually or in stages, and only in Mark are we told about it. [28] “He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, ‘Do you see anything?’ He looked up and said, ‘I see people; they look like trees walking around’” (8:23-24). Once again we see Jesus using spittle in his healing method. We remember that spittle was considered a healing methodology in ancient times. Perhaps the commentator Adam Clarke has some insight on this manner of healing. He says about Jesus’ method, “It is likely this was done merely to separate the eyelids; as, in certain cases of blindness, they are found always gummed together.” [29] This healing has raised some questions regarding Jesus’ ability to heal. Some may wonder why Jesus’ could not heal perfectly at first touch as in all his other miracles. As we look at this miracle and the more we consider the condition of Jesus’ disciples, the more we might think there is a hidden meaning in the miracle. All the disciples had experienced a touch from the Master. [30] However, although their spiritual eyes were opened, they were by no means seeing clearly. We have gathered that Jesus is quite disturbed about this. At this point Mark’s gospel is going to take a dramatic turn. All the disciples are about to see the Lord’s nature and purpose more clearly, although it will be painful. Three of the disciples are about to have their eyes opened wide to Christ’s full glory. “Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Jesus sent him home, saying, ‘Don’t even go into the village’” (8:25-26). With the second touch the man’s eyes were opened and he saw perfectly. Apparently this man was not from the city of Bethsaida and in keeping with the “Messianic Secret” mode of operation Jesus warned him not to go into the city. With this miracle we are about midway in Mark’s gospel. We will note that from this point Jesus’ ministry takes a new direction. From this point on there will be few miracles and less crowds. Jesus will begin to focus more on instructing his disciples. [31] They are about to face some of their most difficult lessons. We must stop here and confess that while millions today need a first touch by the Master, there are many believers who desperately need a second touch by him. We see him and his kingdom but we still see a blurry picture. We see men as trees walking. Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” Mark 8:27-28 In the Northern Galilee, at the foot of towering, snow-capped Mt. Hermon, are the ruins of Caesarea Philippi. This ancient city had an idyllic setting since it was located at the beautiful springs forming one of the sources of the Jordan River. It was about twenty-five miles (40 km.) north of Bethsaida, or roughly a full day’s walk. [32] In the past, the city had many names. In Old Testament times it was called Ba’al Hermon (Jud. 3:3), likely because the god Ba’al was worshipped there. In Hellenistic times it was called Paneas because the god Pan and his worship had apparently replaced the ancient Ba’als. The niches for Pan’s images can still be seen in the rock façade at the site. Of course, Pan was a nature god, the ancient god of fright, who was half man and half goat. He is often pictured as playing the flute. As we have mentioned, Herod Philip the Tetrarch, one of the sons of Herod the Great, ruled the area east of the Jordan. And as we have said, it was called Gaulanitis. Herod Philip changed the name of the city to Caesarea in order to honor Caesar. He made Caesarea his capital city and to distinguish it from the Caesarea on the Mediterranean coast it was called Caesarea Philippi. Much later, in the seventh century AD, the Arabs captured the city and it reverted to its old name. Because of their difficulty in pronouncing the “P” sound, the name of the city became simply Banias as it still is today. All the Synoptic Gospels (Matt.16:13-23; Mk. 8:27-33; and Lk. 9:19-22) give an account of Jesus and his disciples visiting this beautiful area of the Galilee. We have no evidence in these passages that Jesus and his disciples actually visited the pagan shrines or even entered the city proper, but they certainly were in the area. Mark seems to indicate that Jesus only visited the villages around the capital. We must remember that Jesus and his disciples were orthodox Jews. It was not their custom to spend time in pagan Gentile cites. For instance, pagan Tiberias was one of the two largest cities in the Galilee. Although it was very close to the area where Jesus focused his ministry neither Jesus nor any of his disciples ever entered the city so far as we know. We need to speak a bit more about the setting of Caesarea. The whole area around Caesarea Philippi, with its natural beauty and picturesque setting, had long been a center for false religion. Just a fifteen minute drive from Caesarea, and also situated on the slopes of Hermon, is the ancient city of Dan. This city was also blessed by cooling springs of water bubbling up out of the ground to make yet another source of the Jordan River. Unfortunately, during the days of Jeroboam the Son of Nebat, Dan was made into a cultic shrine where one of the two golden calves was set up. Of course, it was but a short step from the worship of a bull to the worship of Ba’al. Ultimately the beautiful site of Dan helped bring about the fall of Israel, or the northern ten tribes. These tribes have now been in dispersion for 2700 years because of their idolatry. So we can see that Jesus brought his disciples to the very gates of false religion, to the gates of Hades. [33] With this background we can see how it was very appropriate for Jesus to ask his disciples the question, “Who do people say I am? That question still resonates in our postmodern world. The question of “who is Jesus” or “who is God” is likely the most important question we could ever ask ourselves or try to answer. “They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets’” (8:28). As we see from the disciples’ answers, even a lot of Jesus’ followers were somewhat confused about his identity. Was Jesus a prophet? Was he just some good teacher or some good man? Jesus is intense and personal as he asks the question. There are plenty of people who are willing to say that Jesus was a good man or a good teacher. Obviously that is not enough for one to say about him. “‘But what about you?’ he asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’ Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah’” (8:29). No doubt he is still asking this same question to each of us today: “Who do YOU [emphasis added] say I am?” Peter answered the question as it can only be answered: “You are the Messiah.” This is the heart of it, the absolutely correct answer. But it is not an answer that man can come up with from his own fleshly thinking. We see from the parallel account in Matthew 16:16-17, that it is only God who can reveal this kind of information. This is the answer that still appalls the world but delights the true saints. Even God’s chosen people, were not ready for this answer. Perhaps because of this, Jesus commanded that his disciples not speak about Peter’s confession at the time. Still, Jesus was obviously delighted with the answer as he still must be today. With this answer he knew his mission had not failed. [34] He was so delighted that he commended Peter and then went on to make one of the great promises of the New Testament. Peter, perhaps in his humility, does not let Mark convey this information. However in Matthew 16:18-19, Jesus says “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” The statement contains a play on words, since “Peter” meant “rock” and the church of Jesus is built upon this great rock of confession. All of us who believe and confess Jesus are like “living stones” in this marvelous structure (1 Pet. 2:5). “Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him” (8:30). Peter had made a marvelous confession but it will quickly become apparent that he was not yet seeing clearly. He still needed a second touch and perhaps a third or fourth. At this stage Jesus did not want the disciples proclaiming the message of his Messiahship. They really did not understand it. Also, it was still too confusing to people and too risky. The idea could have incited a revolution against Rome. He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. Mark 8:31 We have noted so far in Mark that the shadow of the cross has been falling regularly upon Jesus. Now the Master speaks plainly about his coming suffering. Jesus has set his face resolutely toward Jerusalem and to his death there. The idea of a suffering Messiah was a difficult one for the disciples and for the Jewish people. The prevailing idea was that the Messiah would be a great deliverer from the oppression of Rome. Jesus would have none of this idea. It was Satan’s way of doing things not God’s way. Satan promises glory but in the end he gives suffering. God promises suffering and in the end the suffering is turned into glory. [35] In the Bible we see that Satan originally had great power and glory among God’s angels. However, Satan became proud and wished to exalt himself (Ezek. 28:13-17). Satan’s great fall preceded the fall of man in the Garden, and the fall of both were somehow due to pride. Jesus knew that to exalt oneself was to be humbled and to humble oneself was to be exalted (Matt. 23:12). The only way he could defeat Satan was through humility and suffering. The Bible had spoken long before of the Servant of God as a Suffering Servant (cf. Isa. 50.5-7; 52.13— 53.12; Zech. 13.7). Somehow the Jewish people and the disciples as well had missed this important information. Their eyes remained focused on a natural messianic deliverer. “Not only does Jesus not fit the messianic stereotype, but he defines his mission in scandalous contrast to it.” [36] Jesus makes plain in this verse how he will be plotted against and killed by the Jerusalem religious establishment, including the very high priest of God. But he also makes plain that he will arise from the dead after three days. Edwards remarks about this saying, “It is not humanity at its worst that will crucify the Son of God but humanity at its absolute best.” [37] The sad and shocking truth is that it is good people who crucify Jesus. We are all guilty of his death. Jesus would have to die for all of us and for our sin. “He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him” (8:32). Obviously Peter did not yet understand the concept of redemptive suffering. He would understand it well much later and would write about it to the church in 1 Peter 1:6-8; 4:13-5:10. [38] In the end he would face the very same death as his Master at the hands of Nero in Rome. However, Eusebius the church historian tells us that Peter was crucified upside down at his own request. [39] Apparently he felt unworthy to be crucified as his Master was. At the moment though, he was standing in direct opposition to all that Jesus had come to accomplish. “But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. ‘Get behind me, Satan!’ he said. ‘You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns’” (8:33). Here Peter is called “Satan.” In the Old Testament this word (ha-satan) primarily had the meaning of an “adversary.” However by Jesus’ time it had come to be understood that Satan was the ruler of the present evil age and also the ruler of the underworld. He was obviously an exceedingly evil personality. Utley says here: “Without realizing it, Peter was tempting Jesus in the very same way that Satan did in the wilderness (cf. 1:12-13; Matt. 4:1-11). Satan tried to get Jesus to win human allegiance in any way but by Calvary.” [40] It was not a good day for Peter. He had been elevated to great heights by Jesus and within a few minutes had totally crashed and burned. “One minute Peter was a ‘rock,’ and the next minute he was a stumbling block!” [41] How the world hates the idea of the cross. Yet, it is the cross that defeats Satan and opens up the way to God. There is really no other way. “‘Christianity’ without the cross is not Christianity at all, but a shabby, slimy substitute. The word of the cross is what makes it Christian.” [42] Let me glory in the cross Let me glory in the cross Let me count all else as loss But let me glory in the cross Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Mark 8:34 Here we have the heart of the gospel clearly stated for us. There was a cross for Jesus and he was willing to die upon it because he was God’s Suffering Servant. However, here it becomes much more personal. There is a cross for everyone who wishes to become a Christian. It is not a cross we might wear around our necks but a cross which we must carry on our backs. No doubt the great German theologian and martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer summed it up best by saying: “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” [43] There is certainly a death to self which can be very painful (Gal. 2:20) but there is the real possibility that there can be a death of martyrdom for Jesus. Today most Christians are not white and western but are people of color who live in places like China, Africa and India. They live in many other spots where Christians are often imprisoned and killed for the gospel. Perhaps it would be good here to distinguish between the martyrdom of scripture and the very false idea of martyrdom constantly promoted by Islam. The Islamic “martyrs” have a totally selfish idea of martyrdom. Their goal is to kill “infidels” in order that they may inherit a “heaven” with 70 dark-eyed virgins serving them. The idea in Islam is to kill as many unbelievers as possible with one’s death. On the other hand, the idea of martyrdom in Christianity is to lose one’s life for Christ in order to ultimately be a blessing to others. “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?” (8:35-37). Many of our readers probably remember about Jim Elliot who was a missionary to the Auca Indians in South America. He died as a martyr for Jesus at their hands, but he left us a wonderful testimony that we must not forget: “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep in order to gain what he cannot lose.” [44] Laying our lives down for others and for Christ makes life worth living. We think here of all the scientists, inventors, explorers, pioneers, mothers and others who have sacrificed their time, money, strength and lives for the good of others. What would have happened to us if they had not done so? [45] As I write I think about Marie Curie (1867-1934), the Polish physicist who discovered polonium and radium. She spent a great deal of time creating a theory of radioactivity, a term which she coined. In the end she died of aplastic anemia, a condition brought about by her long exposure to radioactive substances. Then I think of a fourth-century monk by the name of Telemachus. For many years he lived as a recluse in the desert. However, one day he realized he was living a selfish life so he left the desert and went to Rome. By this time Rome was a Christian city, yet the gladiatorial games were still going on in the arena. Although the crowds were made up of Christians they still roared to see bloodshed. Telemachus could not bear this and he leapt over the barrier, placing himself between the gladiators in order to stop the fight. The crowd became agitated and screamed for the gladiators to kill him. With one swift stroke Telemachus lay dead. That day the games ended abruptly and they never started again. The Great historian Edward Gibbon said of him “His death was more useful to mankind than his life.” [46] Long ago the great saint, Francis of Assisi (c.1181-1226), left us with this prayer, which is now set to beautiful music: Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon. Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope. Where there is darkness, light. Where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love. For it is in giving that we receive. It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life. Amen. In closing, Jesus says to us all “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels” (8:38). Will we be able to identify with him who is a Man of Sorrows and shame— a man to whom the crowds scream their curses and blasphemies? Can we identify with him who was spat upon and reproached? Are we willing to take our place with him on death row? [47] Or, do we cower in shame even when his name is mentioned? When Jesus returns in all his heavenly glory we cannot imagine what will be the reward of those faithful, weary, bleeding soldiers of his. They will have fought the good fight on earth, finished the course, kept the faith and held the fort at the cost of everything. The Lord Jesus will caress them and bless them. He will wipe all tears from their eyes. They will see his face and they will reign with him forever. Several sources I have cited here are from the electronic media, either from websites or from electronic research libraries. Thus in some of these sources it is not possible to cite page numbers. Instead I have cited the verse or verses in each chapter of Mark (e.g. verse v. 1 or vs. 1-2) about which the commentators speak. 1. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 213. 2. Davies, Mark, Abingdon Bible Commentary, p. 1009. “In the one case the basket is a Jewish basket (Gk. Cophinos) and in the other a Gentile basket (Gk. Spuris or sphuris).” 3. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 230. “The Greek word for ‘compassion,’ splangnizomai, comes from splangnon meaning entrails or vital organs….being moved deeply within, in the seat of emotions (Mat 9:36)… expresses Jesus’ gut-wrenching emotion on behalf of the crowd.” 4. Coffman, Commentary on Mark, v. 8:3. 5. Stedman, Mark: He Came To Serve, v. 8:1-10. Utley adds: “What the Greek really says is, ‘… he kept on breaking them’— and the disciples kept on feeding the multitude” (see also Utley, p. 98). 6. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, vs. 8:1-10. Donahue enhances: “We cannot miss the point that the gospel is now going out to the Gentiles.” (Donahue, p. 993). Stedman also says: “The Gentiles can now feast on the true bread sent down from heaven (Jn. 6:41). The ‘seven’ loaves speak of Jesus’ completeness and full manifestation to Gentiles.” (Stedman, vs. 8:1-10). 7. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 228. 8. Ibid., p. 228. “The kophinos (or cophinos) of the first feeding in 6:43 may have been smaller, perhaps of stiff wicker, whereas the spyris in 8:8 is larger and of more flexible mat.” 9. Ibid., p. 231. 10. Ibid., p. 234. 11. Ibid., p. 229. 12. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, vs. 8:11-13. 13. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 236. 14. Quoted in Barclay p. 215. 15. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, p. 112. 16. Marcus, Mark 1-8, p. 506. 17. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, vs. 8:14-21. Wiersbe adds here (p. 112) “The Bible uses leaven as a picture of false doctrine (Gal. 5:1-9), unjudged sin in the church (1 Cor. 5), and hypocrisy (Lk. 12:1)…The Pharisees ‘said but they did not’ in other words, they practiced and encouraged hypocrisy…The Herodians were a worldly group who catered to Herod, accepted the Roman way of life, and saw in Herod and his rule the promised kingdom for the Jewish nation.” 18. Coffman, Commentary on Mark, vs. 8:14-15. 19. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 240. 20. Ibid. p. 237. 21. Charisma Magazine, Feb. 2006. 22. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, p. 111. 23. Davies, Mark, Abingdon Bible Commentary, p. 1010. 24. Rousseau &Arav, Jesus and His World, p. 19. 25. Quoted in Rousseau &Arav. p. 20. 26. Ibid. 27. Ibid. 28. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, pp. 219-220. 29. Clarke, Commentary on Mark, v. 8:23. Barclay remarks here: “Jesus used methods that the man could understand. The ancient world believed in the healing power of spittle…we remember that it is a first instinct to put a cut or burned finger into our mouth to ease the pain.” (Barclay, p. 220). 30. Guelich, Mark 1-8:26, p. 436. 31. Donahue, Mark, Harper’s Bible Commentary, p. 994. 32. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 245. 33. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, vs. 27-28. “Nearby was a Temple of Augustus, built by Herod the Great, and an ancient shrine dedicated earlier to Baal and then to Pan, the god of nature, whom many claimed was born in a cavern there. Thus it was a center of Emperor and Roman worship and of primitive nature religion…it was in this vicinity that Jesus should test what the disciples thought about him.” 34. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 223. 35. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, p. 114. 36. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 253. 37. Ibid., p. 254. 38. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, p. 113. 39. Eusebius Pamphilus, Ecclesiastical History, Book III, Chapter 1. 40. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p. 103. 41. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, p. 113. 42. Stedman, Mark: He Came To Serve, v. 8:33. 43. http://www.theopedia.com/Dietrich_Bonhoeffer Guzik quoting Clarke on verse 35 says: “If Jesus Christ had come into the world as a mighty and opulent man, clothed with earthly glories and honours, he would have had a multitude of partisans, and most of them hypocrites.” 44. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 257. 45. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 238. 46. Cited in Barclay pp. 236-237. 47. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, v. 8:34. And he said to them, “I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.” Mark 9:1 Most commentators have agreed that this first verse should belong at the end of chapter 8. Of course, the chapters and verses of scripture were divided many centuries after the Bible was written and sometimes the divisions seem arbitrary. On the other hand, in the spiritual sense, this verse may actually be connected to what is about to happen in verse 2. Jesus is clearly saying that some around him would not die until they saw the glory of God. This prophecy of Jesus may have been fulfilled in two ways. The first and obvious way was in in the transfiguration which would begin to happen in the next verse. Three of the disciples were about to see the dazzling glory of Jesus and have a peek into the heavenly and spiritual realm. Then, not too many weeks after this prophecy was given, the disciples would be able to witness the glorious resurrection of Jesus in Jerusalem. It has been customary for many modern interpreters to see these words of the Lord as referring to the Second Coming of Jesus, or the Parousia. If the verse is interpreted in this way we have a huge problem. Two thousand years have now passed and Jesus has not come. Joel Marcus comments on this problem saying: “Mark also, like Jesus before him, saw the eschatological epoch as already dawning…” [1] A number of other commentators and scholars now see this prophecy in reference to the first century events of the transfiguration and/or resurrection. Edwards says, “The context 9:1 as 8:31 establishes, is not the Parousia as is often supposed, but the death and resurrection of Jesus, which did transpire in the lifetime of the hearers. The interpretation of 9:1 with reference to the resurrection claims a long history of support that goes back to many fathers in the early church.” [2] “After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them” (9:2-3). Christian tradition has it that Jesus took the three disciples up Mount Tabor for this event. Unfortunately, Mount Tabor is not a high mountain at all. It is a rounded hill that is very close to Nazareth in lower Galilee. It is only 1,843 feet (575 m.) in elevation. The fact that it is near Nazareth should tip us off that Tabor might have been merely a sight of convenience for early pilgrims. Also, it was occupied in Jesus’ time and had a fortress on its top. There would not have been much privacy there. It is not unusual to see such traditions develop in the Middle East. While my wife and I lived in Galilee there were a couple of these traditions established and stones were actually set up to mark spots of supposed biblical events. These new sights may or may not have any connection with actual historical events, but in the future they will no doubt be revered by the masses. The weight of scholarly opinion has been shifting in modern times away from Mount Tabor to Mount Hermon, which is very near to Caesarea Philippi. [3] Thus, Jesus and his disciples were actually in that area before the event. Mount Hermon is a high mountain, reaching 9,230 feet (2,813 m.) in elevation. It is high enough for its top to be snow covered for the cooler months of the year. The Israelis now even have a busy ski resort on its slopes. Hermon also has the tradition of being a holy or sacred mountain (2 Pet. 1:18). Marcus says that the Upper Galilee area where Mount Hermon is located “is linked in ancient Jewish sources with visionary activity and ascent to the heavenly temple.” [4] This information is reflected in some of the extra-biblical works of the time. As Jesus and his disciples reached the higher elevations of the mountain something of incredible strangeness began to happen. Jesus’ countenance was suddenly altered and his face began to shine like the sun (Matt. 17:2; Lk. 9:29). His clothing began to shine with blinding brilliance. The word describing his garments is stilbein in Greek and has the meaning of gleaming like burnished brass. [5] Many years later, John would see one in Revelation 2:18 whose feet would appear like “burnished bronze” (cf. Dan. 7:9). Jesus was transfigured or radically transformed before his disciples. The Greek word is metamorphoun and it is the word from which we get metamorphosis. [6] We can imagine what a great encouragement the transfiguration was to these three weary disciples. They had been troubled by the words of Jesus’ approaching death. Peter had been severely scolded by Jesus because of his lack of understanding about the Lord’s coming suffering. Now on the mountain it is made clear that suffering has to precede glory. The disciples must never forget this fact. “And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus” (9:4). Elijah no doubt represented the prophets while Moses represented the law. Of course, Jesus was the fulfillment of both prophecy and law. Here Stedman quips that Moses at last had “made it” to the Promised Land. [7] The two great leaders of the past were discussing important things with Jesus. Mark does not tell us what they were discussing. However, Luke 9:31 does tell us: “…They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.” Once again the coming suffering and glory of the Lord is confirmed to the disciples and this time by heavenly voices. As the glory of the Lord dazzled them, Luke says that the disciples almost fell asleep (Lk. 9:32). This reminds us a lot of the experiences of Daniel as he saw the glory of the Lord. When the glory of the Lord appeared to him he actually fell into a deep sleep (Dan. 8:18; 10:9). We see here the mystery of the incarnation. Jesus always had this glory (Jn. 17:5) but in order to come to earth as our Savior he had to empty himself of it (Phil. 2:6-7) and become a servant. For this brief moment the former glory returned to our Lord. “Peter said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters— one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)” (9:5-6). Peter called Jesus “Rabbi” or teacher, which he surely was. But in his great fear he asked if three tabernacles could be constructed to memorialize this great event. Mark adds a footnote that he no doubt got directly from Peter. He says that the disciple was so frightened he did not know what to say. Stedman says there are two kinds of speakers, “those who have something to say; and those who have to say something.” [8] Peter seemed to fall too often in the latter category. He probably did not realize it at the time but his suggestion was actually demeaning to Jesus by comparing him with Moses and Elijah. [9] How much like Peter are all of us human beings who would like to freeze or memorialize some glorious moment, so that it would appear like the pictures on some Grecian urn. We never realize that these moments cannot be memorialized. We always have to make the journey back down the mountain to earthly reality. [10] There we always meet with the anxiety, suffering and drudgery of the world to which we are to minister and to which we bring the good news. “Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: ‘This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!’” ((9:7). In the past visitations of God such a cloud was usually present. No doubt the cloud came to shield the weak and sinful eyes of mortal man from the awesome glory of God. We remember how God once came to Moses in a dense cloud (Exo. 19:9) and how the cloud covered Mount Sinai (Exo. 24:16). We also remember how God guided the Children of Israel with a pillar of cloud (Exo. 13:21). As God did in the case of Moses and the Israelites, the voice of God came from within the cloud. Once more as in (1:11) the heavenly voice of the Father proclaimed Jesus as the Son of God. We have noticed in Mark that the demons well knew this fact about Jesus but even the disciples did not understand it. Certainly the Jewish leaders did not understand. The heavenly voice commanded the disciples to “listen to him.” This so reminds us of Deuteronomy 18:15, where Moses commands the Israelites: “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him.” How tragic and sad that even the leaders of Israel were not in the least inclined to do this. “Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus” (9:8). As quickly as the transfiguration began it ended. The astounded disciples were left alone with Jesus. Edwards says of this glorious event, “The transfiguration of Jesus is a singular event in ancient literature.” [11] There is really nothing like it anywhere. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. They kept the matter to themselves, discussing what “rising from the dead” meant. Mark 9:9-10 Jesus could have stayed on the glory peak and refused to go to his crucifixion in Jerusalem. The disciples certainly wanted to stay on the mountain top. However, the Christian life always calls us back down to the valley, where there is the shadow of death, sickness, oppression, fear, failure, guilt, and a host of other maladies. Jesus and his party came back down to the valley. Once again, Jesus bids his followers not to tell of their glorious experience. There was really no way the experience could make much sense to others until Jesus had faced death on the cross and the resurrection. The disciples were greatly puzzled about the resurrection. Actually, in the Old Testament there was not much revealed about the doctrine. For a couple hundred years before Christ the resurrection had been emphasized. From that time the Pharisees had believed in it. [12] Other groups like the Sadducees had not. We must remember that it would be only Jesus who would bring “life and immortality to life through the gospel” (2 Tim. 1:10). “And they asked him, ‘Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?’” (9:11). The disciples were not only puzzled about the resurrection, they were also puzzled about Elijah, whom they had just seen in glory. Was Elijah coming back? Had Elijah already come? We remember that Elijah was a most mysterious individual who apparently did not face death but was carried up to heaven in a whirlwind (2 Ki. 2:11). Because he did not die a physical death there began to be stories about his return. The prophet Malachi says clearly that Elijah must appear before the Messiah (Mal. 4:5-6). “Jesus replied, ‘To be sure, Elijah does come first, and restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected? But I tell you, Elijah has come, and they have done to him everything they wished, just as it is written about him’” (9:12-13). Although John the Baptist denied that he was Elijah (Jn. 1:21), nevertheless he was prophesied to come in the spirit and power of Elijah (Lk. 1:17). Jesus says that Elijah had already appeared. He was no doubt speaking of John. We have noted that John was dressed like the prophet and carried on a ministry much like his. Perhaps Jesus clears up this mystery even further in Matthew 11:14, where he says: “And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come.” Of course, the Jews were not willing to accept it and so we can expect that Elijah will reappear in the very last days as Revelation 11:2-12 seems to indicate. When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him. Mark 9:14-15 No doubt the teachers of the law had moved in for the kill when they realized that the disciples were without their Master and that he might be away for a long time. [13] The ubiquitous crowds were also present, adding to an already explosive mixture. We are told that there was quite an argument going on between the disciples and the teachers of the law. When they saw Jesus they were overwhelmed with wonder. There is an interesting Greek word used here (ekthambeomai) and it means an astonishment and trembling that is very close to alarm. [14] Several commentators have wondered why the people were so alarmed. Perhaps they were amazed because Jesus arrived at exactly the right time. Some have suggested that Jesus still bore traces of the glory he had just received on the mountain. Most have discounted such a possibility feeling that the outward display of Christ’s glory would have negated his many appeals to keep his real identity hidden. [15] “‘What are you arguing with them about?’ he asked” (9:16). It appears here that Jesus is addressing his question to the crowd. The Greek word for “argue” used here is syzetein. Edwards remarks about this word saying that it “carries combative connotations and is often used by Mark of altercations with religious authorities (8:11; 9:14, 16; 12:28).” [16] “A man in the crowd answered, ‘Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not’” (9:17-18). This is a rather lengthy account just as in the case with the deliverance at Gadara earlier. As in many other instances Mark has a more detailed account than the other two Synoptic Gospels. However, Luke 9:38 does give us the extra information that this son was the man’s only child. Demon possession and demonization were quite common in the first century. There is evidence that they were common in earlier days, even in Israel. The historian Josephus relates how God gave Solomon special knowledge in the art of dealing with demons and in the healing of diseases (Ant. 8.2.5 par. 45). This tradition concerning Solomon was believed widely in late antiquity. [17] There were a number of Jewish exorcists such as the one who appears later in this chapter. No doubt exorcism had been attempted many times on this young man even before the disciples vainly tried their hands at it. The problem the young boy displayed here has many of the classic symptoms of epilepsy. While it is true that the gospels try to distinguish between demon possession and other physical problems, there seems to be a blurring of them here. [18] Even today it is likely that many health problems have their roots in the spiritual world. We just have no way of testing this on our “sophisticated” machinery. “‘You unbelieving generation,’ Jesus replied, ‘how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me’” (9:19). Jesus seems to have reference to the crowd here. “‘Generation’ (Gk. Genea) occurs five times in Mark…but never with reference to the disciples.” [19] Unbelief was not a new problem for Israel. Even in the early days of the Exodus there was unbelief. In Deuteronomy 32:20 the Lord said, “I will hide my face from them…and see what their end will be; for they are a perverse generation, children who are unfaithful.” Of course, we cannot deny that the chosen disciples were having a few problems themselves with unbelief. Jesus will point this out later. “So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth” (9:20). As we have witnessed before, the demon in the boy tried to have one last fling before Jesus threw him out. Such action also may have been designed by the evil one to frighten the exorcist as well. Poole comments here, “He will do what harm he can when he cannot do us the harm he would.” [20] An early saint Peter Chrysologus (AD 405-450) quipped about the boy’s actions saying: “Though it was the boy who fell on the ground, it was the devil in him who was in anguish.” [21] “Jesus asked the boy’s father, ‘How long has he been like this?’ ‘From childhood,’ he answered” (9:21). We can be certain that Jesus was not probing for this information in order to gain some power over the evil spirit. He already had such power and we can know from scripture that Jesus knew what was in man (Jn. 2:25). Marcus adds, “Miracle stories often stress the length of the illness to show that it was incurable by natural means.” [22] “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us” (9:22). I remember the story of a fellow worker many years ago. This man had been burned severely when he was a child. However, it was not an accident. He had a very clear memory of being pushed into a campfire by some unseen being. Fortunately, he had made a full recovery and was serving the Lord at the time. We see that this young man had been the recipient of such evil tricks. The devils had even tried to drown him. We get a clear understanding here of the devil’s plans for the human race. While God has a wonderful plan for our lives, the devil has a terrible plan for us. His plan is to destroy us completely. Jesus was amazed at the man’s little faith. “‘If you can?’ said Jesus. ‘Everything is possible for him who believes’” (9:23). We see here that the boy’s father had a little faith but not nearly enough. Jesus makes a great teaching here, telling us that faith is a very key element in the Christian life. It is somewhat like the power cord that connects the appliance to the outlet. When it is connected everything will work but when it is not nothing works. In Matthew’s account (Matt.17:20) Jesus said that just a tiny bit of faith, even like a mustard seed, can move mountains. It reminds us of the refrain to the old hymn written by Paul Rader back in 1921. Only believe, only believe; All things are possible, only believe, Only believe, only believe; All things are possible, only believe. “Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, ‘I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!’” (9:24). We see here that Jesus worked even through this man’s weak faith. He can certainly increase and strengthen our faith (cf. Lk. 17:5; 22:32). After all, faith is really a gift that comes from God (Eph. 2:8). It was certainly difficult for the man to believe since he knew the every-day reality of his son’s demon possession. The great Israeli leader Menachem Begin said in his book The Revolt that “Faith is perhaps stronger than reality, for faith itself creates reality.” “When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. ‘You deaf and mute spirit,’ he said, ‘I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.’ The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, ‘He’s dead.’ But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up” (9:25-27). It is always amazing to see the great authority and power of Jesus in action. He has no failures or delays. He does not quibble with foul spirits. They scream and come out at his word. After all, he is the Lord of heaven and earth. All things, visible and invisible, were made by him in the beginning. They dare not dispute or delay at his word. “After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, ‘Why couldn’t we drive it out?’ He replied, ‘This kind can come out only by prayer’” (9:28-29). As Pett states it: “‘faith’ means more than just believing. It involves relationship with God.” [23] In answer to their query Jesus was saying to his disciples, “You don’t live close enough to God.” [24] We must remember this in the great challenges of life. Christianity is all about relationship, a very close and continuous relationship with Jesus. It is only in such a relationship that we will have the power to deal with life’s problems. That relationship is kept warm and vital through constant prayer. Some early manuscripts add “and fasting” here as a condition. We note that this is not included in the NIV. Many scholars feel that this was not in many original manuscripts primarily because Jesus had previously said that the disciples would not fast while the Bridegroom was with them (Mk. 2:19). [25] In summary of this whole episode Morgan says: “He found disputing scribes, a distracted father, a demon-possessed boy, and defeated disciples…He silenced the scribes, he comforted the father, he healed the boy, he instructed the disciples.” [26] “They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, ‘The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.’ But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it” (9:30-32). Jesus and his disciples are now moving out of the Galilee and in the direction of Jerusalem. They will stop briefly at Jesus’ Galilee home in Capernaum. This will be the last reference to Galilee until after the passion of Jesus. He is moving almost incognito in order to teach his disciples and prepare them for what is ahead for them in Jerusalem. This is the second of his three passion predictions (8:31; 9:31; 10:33-34). [27] Although the disciples did not understand his coming death they were fearful to ask him about it. They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. Mark 9:33-34 We gather that the disciples were quite embarrassed with Jesus’ question. The reason was that they had been arguing on the way about which of them would be the greatest. Perhaps this situation above all others tells us of the poor spiritual condition the disciples still were in. They just did not get it. As Marcus says, “Time is running out for the disciples to get on board.” [28] “Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, ‘If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all’” (9:35). Once more Jesus sat down to teach which was the usual posture for a teaching Rabbi. He tried again to impart the very basic kingdom principles into his disciples. Actually, the kingdom of God seems quite crazy at first sight. The way to live is to die; the way to receive is to give; and the way up is down. Of course, this was all nonsense to the pagan world. They felt that a servant was at the very bottom of the social ladder and they had no desire for such a position. The Greek word used here, diakonos, was just the ordinary word for one who waited tables. Such a task was considered demeaning. It was written by Plato in his Socratic dialogue, Gorgias, (c.380 BC), “How can a man be happy when he has to serve someone.” [29] Jesus says that the way to be great is to serve others. St. Augustine once said of this portion of scripture, “The text teaches that discipleship grows first by a downward, lowly movement, as a tree seeking roots, in order then to reach skyward.” [30] Years ago I read the story of a man who was investigating one of the “illegal” but vigorous house churches in the Far East. After speaking with several of the members he finally expressed his desire to meet the pastor. One of the members pointed him out. The visitor was amazed to see that he was the man pushing a wheelbarrow full of manure. He was the leader but he had placed himself in the lowest position. “He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me’” (9:36-37). Jesus here broke with many traditions of his age. In that early time children had little or no status. In the Roman world unwanted children were often exposed or murdered. Giving attention to children or listening to “children’s talk” was considered as a waste of time by many. [31] Just as Jesus gave status to women he is also here gave status to children. Commentators, teachers and preachers often rave on about the virtues of children, such as innocence, humility, simple faith and the lack of guile. All these things are no doubt true but Jesus is not emphasizing them here. He is emphasizing the lowly position of a child. When we give attention to the lowly, we serve the Master. When we welcome one of these lowly ones we welcome the Messiah. Obviously, children have no influence. They will not advance our careers, lend us prestige or give us things. In the same way the lowly of society cannot help us. Rather, we must help them. [32] In his parallel Matthew adds a section here: “And he said: Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me’” (Matt.18:3-5). Again, we can only enter the kingdom with great humility and not with pride. There are several more places in scripture where such teachings on humility are given (cf. Matt. 20:26-27; Matt. 23:12; Mk. 10:43-44; Lk. 14:11; 18:14; and 22:26). “Teacher,” said John, “we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.” Mark 9:38 At first sight this passage does not seem to fit with the one before it and the one after it. However, on close inspection we see that it is an example of pride and arrogance, just the opposite of humility. We might wonder how the disciples who had just failed “big time” in casting out a demon would have the gall to forbid a stranger who was successfully casting them out to continue on in his work. We remember how Paul in a comparable incident rejoiced that his enemies were preaching the gospel (Phil. 1:15-18). [33] Barclay says here: “Intolerance is a sign both of arrogance and ignorance, for it is a sign that people believe that there is no truth beyond the truth they see.” [34] I remember many years ago when we were struggling over the nature of the real church and ministry that my wife and I came upon a group who seemed to have stepped right out of the first century New Testament Era. We were amazed and instantly attracted to them. However, we were soon put off by their idea that they were the true church and that all other churches were apostate. They even declared the preaching of evangelist Billy Graham as apostate. It was actually Paul’s words in Philippians 1:15-18 that caused us to wake up and reject this group. I remember a little ditty from years gone by that runs like this: We are God’s chosen few; All others will be damned. There is no place in heaven for you: We can’t have heaven crammed. Here we must recall the conflict that happened in the days of Moses (Num. 11:26-30). In this incident Moses took seventy of the elders aside to the tent of meeting. There the Spirit fell upon them and they prophesied. Two men, Eldad and Medad, did not go out to the tent but they nevertheless also began prophesying. Joshua demanded that Moses stop the two but Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!” (v. 29). “‘Do not stop him,’ Jesus said. ‘No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us’” (9:39-40). Jesus is delivering a very great teaching here. He is telling us that truth is a many-faceted thing. [35] We can safely say that truth is a lot bigger, wider, longer and deeper than any of us suppose. There is plenty of room in Christianity for all kinds of denominations and groups, providing they hold firmly to Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Someone once said that Jesus is a lot easier to please than his disciples and this saying appears to be true. “Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward” (9:41). This is a very simple act but Jesus says it will not be forgotten and certainly will be rewarded. It is of note that in this verse Jesus calls himself “Messiah” or “Christ.” It is a rare occurrence for him to do so. [36] If anyone causes one of these little ones— those who believe in me— to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea. Mark 9:42 The Greek word for little one (mikros) can also mean humble one. [37] It would thus apply to a child, or to the least, unimportant person in the church. It would apply to the weak and vulnerable. Causing others to stumble (Gk. skandalise) has reference to a baited animal trap. [38]. It seems that the underlying idea here is that we can be a part of trapping others in sin if we are not very careful. When we do so, Jesus says woe unto us. It would be better for us to have a very heavy millstone tied around our necks and to be cast into the sea. In Israel there are ancient millstones on display almost everywhere. For instance, at Capernaum there is a great collection of millstones of all sizes. A millstone, whether small or large, comes in a set. The smaller millstones are really just a hollowed-out rock with a smooth round rock for the upper part. Even a small child could operate this kind of mill. The larger millstones had for their base a smooth conical rock pointing upwards and a heavy upper portion that would fit down over the conical base exactly. Millstones had handles where two people could hold them and turn the upper part around. The grain was placed in the upper part and was ground into flour as the mill was turned. The larger mills were turned by slaves and the upper mill stone could be very heavy. Some millstones were so heavy they had to be turned by a donkey. Even a rather small millstone was sure to take a person to the bottom of the sea if hung around the neck. It is the very heavy donkey driven stone (Gk. mulos onikos) that is referred to here. Jesus is using hyperbolic language to underscore the very important point he is making. [39] God help us if we offend a little one, whether a child or a weak believer in the church! When my sister and I were young people we were part of the church youth choir. On a certain occasion, one of our choir members was chewing gum. This so irritated a church member that he came forward and publicly shamed and humiliated her for her “irreverent” act of chewing gum in the church house. I don’t think we ever saw that girl in church again. In the parallel version of Matthew 18:7 the evangelist adds: “Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!” Today child molestation is rapidly increasing. David Kupelian reports a remark one talk-show host had made: “Today’s culture is a child molester.” [40] People seem to think that having sex with children is a good thing. According to the Internet Filter Review more than a hundred thousand web sites now offer child pornography. The illegal child-porn racket generates some three billion dollars in revenues every year. [41] Unfortunately, many children are sexually abused at home by fathers and male family members. This is particularly dangerous for today’s single moms who often invite other men into their broken homes. When we look at nature (Job 12:7-8) we see that even animals have better judgment. A mother bear will fight to the death to keep a strange male away from her cubs. We can only say, woe to the fathers who have sexually abused their children and have likely condemned these daughters to a life of sexual promiscuity and harlotry. Woe to male relatives and others who have abused young children! “If your hand causes you to stumble cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out” (9:43-44). Jesus continues with his hyperbole in order to greatly stress his point. Sometimes hyperbole can be funny, such as the man with a plank in his eye in Matthew 7:3-5. Here, it is rather drastic and alarming. Jesus is saying that we should go to almost any extent to get rid of sin in our lives. “Not even things we value supremely like eyes, hands, and feet – should stand in the way of eternal life.” [42] We must not think for a moment that Jesus is instructing us to cut off our body members. With just a little bit of thought we can see that such a natural act would not work. If we were to cut off one hand the other one would probably commit the same sin in time. If we cut off both, our hearts and minds would surely keep on sinning. “And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where ‘the worms that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched’” (9:45-48). Jesus continues on with his drastic Middle Eastern hyperbole. The point is that we should do anything and everything to get sin out of our lives. If we let sin and sinful habits continue and become a part of our living and thinking we surely will be thrown into hell. Today there are a lot of people and even a lot of preachers who no longer believe in hell. We can only say that someday everyone will believe in it. The word for “hell” here is the Greek gehenna. It translates the Aramaic gehinnam, a compound word referring to the Hinnom Valley. [43] The Hinnom Valley is a large valley that begins on the western side of the Old City of Jerusalem and continues on the southern side where it finally joins the Kidron Valley. In the days of King Ahaz (2 Chr. 28:3) and also in the days of King Manasseh (2 Chron. 33:6) small children were offered in the fires of this valley to pagan gods by the Israelites. We have to say that this was surely child abuse at its worst. When King Josiah later instituted his religious reforms, the valley was declared an unclean place (2 Ki. 23:10). [44] Over the centuries this valley became a dumping ground for trash and garbage. We can imagine how it burned continuously and how the worms and vermin must have infested it. Sometimes in warfare this valley was filled with the dead. No doubt the smell from the valley was odious and repulsive. What a picture of Hell! Perhaps Isaiah was looking at this valley when he spoke the words: “And they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind” (Isa. 66:24). We must realize that the Creator of the Universe surely designed a means of disposal for sinful and rebellious souls. [45] We see that there is a disposal system built-in everywhere in his creation, whether it be fish, fowl, animals or humans. Even the smallest cells have their own disposal system built-in. Gehenna or hell, is God’s disposal system for rebellious humans and fallen angels. It is a place of punishment and dread. It is a place where the fire burns and the worm devours. Gehenna is an eternal punishment and everlasting condition. For those who have problems with a literal hell let us say that there are some things actually worse than fire. That Anglican theologian, John Trapp (1601-1669) says, “This worm of conscience is worse than the fire, if worse may be: it is the very hell of hell, as being the furious reflection of the soul upon itself for all its neglected opportunities and flagitious practices.” [46] How could one live a million years with such horrible remorse? That is what hell is all about. How could a person exist forever knowing that he or she has forever lost that which was of most importance in life? Clarke says, “They suffer without being able to die; they are burned without being consumed; they are sacrificed without being sanctified-are salted with the fire of hell, as eternal victims of the Divine Justice.” [47] Everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other. Mark 9:49-50 Barclay refers to these verses as some of the most difficult ones in the New Testament. They obviously have nothing to do with each other but are coupled here because they contain the word “salt.” [48] We need to understand that in early Christian times many sayings of Jesus (Gk. logion) were circulating in the church. Mark was obviously using some of these well-known sayings of Jesus in his gospel. As we have said before, Mark was more intent on portraying the life and deeds of Jesus than he was in portraying his teaching. Also, the most ancient witnesses tell us that Mark did not try to give us a purely chronological account of Jesus’ ministry. [49] What can we make of these verses? The salting with fire probably has to do with Israel’s sacrificial system. Edwards says; “It [salt] was prescribed to accompany burnt offerings (Ezek 43:24), cereal offerings, and indeed ‘all your offerings’ (Lev. 2:13).” [50] Obviously, salt was a picture of the life offered up to God. It may be in this sense that Jesus calls believers “the salt of the earth” in Matthew 5:13. Thus, the Christian life, like the offerings of old, is to be sanctified both with salt and with fire. We immediately think how the fire of tribulation purifies the lives of believers as they become living sacrifices for God (Rom. 12:1). Ancient people felt that nothing was purer than salt because it came from the sun and sea, the two purest things. [51] Salt was a purifier and the most ancient preservative. There was no refrigeration in ancient times so many perishable items were salted. As we have seen, fish from the Sea of Galilee were salted and shipped all over the country. One additional quality of salt was well understood in the Middle East but is not known in the west. It was impossible to eat olives, whether green or ripe, unless they were soaked in a salty brine solution for several weeks. Thus, salt takes the bitterness out of life. That is just another of the many reasons that believers are to be the salt of the earth. The Bible says that we must have salt in ourselves (Col. 4:6). Here Jesus is telling us to do everything it takes to preserve our saltiness. This is that flavor— that savor, that makes us different from the world. This is also what helps us to live at peace with others. Several sources I have cited here are from the electronic media, either from websites or from electronic research libraries. Thus in some of these sources it is not possible to cite page numbers. Instead I have cited the verse or verses in each chapter of Mark (e.g. verse v. 1 or vs. 1-2) about which the commentators speak. 1. Marcus, Mark 1-8, p. 630. 2. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 260. A number of commentators feel that Jesus is not talking about his Parousia or second coming in this passage. Coffman (comments on v. 1) says the passage “has reference to an event which occurred in that generation, now nineteen centuries in the past… There is no need whatever to construe Mark 9:1 as a reference to the second coming of Christ or the beginning of the glorious phase of the kingdom. The great preachers of the Restoration have long held Mark 9:1 to be a prophecy of the establishment of the church on the first Pentecost after the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” Barclay adds (p. 241), “But this is not a reference to the second coming at all.” Edwards agrees (p. 259) saying: “It is doubtful that the statement in 9:1 is necessarily a reference to the Parousia.” 3. Many scholars feel that the weight of evidence points to Mt. Hermon (Edwards, Utley, Coffman, Lightfoot). Josephus informs us that in the first century Mt. Tabor was inhabited and surrounded by a wall (Edwards. p. 263). Tabor is not really a mountain but a hill close to Nazareth. It would have provided little privacy for Jesus and his disciples. In addition, the scripture makes plain that Jesus was in the area of Mt. Hermon just before the transfiguration. 4. Marcus, Mark 1-8, p. 602. 5. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 243. 6. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p. 108. 7. Stedman, Mark: He Came To Serve, v. 9:2. ff. 8. Ibid., v. 9:5. 9. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 9:5-10. 10. Coffman, Commentary on Mark, v. 9:5. 11. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 268. 12. Ibid., p. 273. 13. Craig A. Evans, Word Biblical Commentary, Mark 8:27—16:20 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2001), p. 50. “Up to this point in the Markan narrative, the scribes are critical but not dangerous.. As the review of the material just undertaken shows, the scribes become increasingly threatening as Jesus enters Judea and especially Jerusalem.” 14. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 276. 15. Some commentators feel that Jesus still reflected a glow from his transfiguration but this seems unlikely since it would seem to nullify the Lord’s injunction to secrecy that was just imposed upon the three disciples (Coffman, v.9:15). 16. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 277. 17. Evans, Word Biblical Commentary, Mark 8:27—16:20, pp. 14, 49. 18. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p 111. See also Steadman’s comments on verse 14. Marcus (p. 652) also comments on epilepsy: “In ancient paganism, epilepsy was often referred to as ‘the sacred disease,’ though there was no unanimity about the reason for this nomenclature; some thought it was because the malady was sent by a god.” Coffman on vs. 9:16-18 says: “The symptoms certainly suggest epilepsy; but the Greek word which describes it is literally “moonstruck” and much more reasonably bears the translation “lunatic.” (Both the Emphatic Diaglott and the Nestle Greek text concur in this). 19. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 278. 20. Quoted in Guzik, vs. 9:19-27. 21. Quoted in Oden, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, p. 123. 22. Marcus, Mark 1-8, p. 654. 23. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, vs. 9:28-29. 24. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 254. 25. Jamieson, Commentary on Mark, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, v. 9:29. 26. Quoted in Guzik vs. 9:14-18. 27. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 283. 28. Marcus, Mark 1-8, p. 659. 29. Quoted in Edwards p. 287. 30. Quoted in Oden, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, p. 126. 31. Evans, Word Biblical Commentary, Mark 8:27—16:20, p. 61. 32. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 261. 33. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 9:38-42. 34. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 263. 35. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, v. 9:38. 36. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 291. 37. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, v. 9:42. 38. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p. 115. 39. Evans, Word Biblical Commentary, Mark 8:27—16:20, p. 70. 40. David Kupelian, The Marketing of Evil, (Nashville: WND Books, 2005), p. 78. 41. Ibid., p. 131. 42. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 294. Also Oden (p. 130) warns us that the early fathers of the church cautioned against taking this verse in a purely literal way. In such interpretation we would fail to hear the meaning of scripture. 43. Evans, Word Biblical Commentary, Mark 8:27—16:20, p. 72. 44. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 269. 45. Coffman, Commentary on Mark, v. 9:43. 46. Quoted in Guzik vs. 9:43-48. 47. Clarke, Commentary on Mark, v. 9:49. 48. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 271. 49. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p. 3-4. 50. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 296. 51. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 274. Pett asks the question concerning v. 9:49-50: “How can its saltiness then be restored? The answer expected is, it cannot. It is therefore essential that those who are salt retain their saltiness by a life of trust and obedience, and by dealing violently with sin.” Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds of people came to him, and as was his custom, he taught them. Mark 10:1 As we learned in the last chapter, Jesus has now closed out his great Galilean ministry. Some commentators feel that he probably moved through Samaria and on down to parts of Judea before crossing over into Peraea, the land east of the Jordan River. [1] Jesus was no doubt ministering in all these areas as he traveled. The scholar A.T. Robertson in his Harmony of the Gospels feels that the period of ministry in Peraea may have lasted some three and one-half months. Lightfoot feels that the whole period of travel towards Jerusalem may have lasted longer, perhaps even half a year. [2] Several events could have happened during this time, like the sending out of the seventy and the raising of Lazarus. We see once again that great crowds were present for his teaching. “Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?’” (10:2). The question of divorce and remarriage was a burning social issue in Jesus’ day just as it is today. It was a problem for Israel just as it is a problem for the church in our time. In Jesus’ day there were two great schools of thought on the subject. The school of Hillel took a very liberal view regarding the divorce exception as it is mentioned in Deuteronomy 24:1. The Deuteronomy passage permits divorce if a husband finds “something indecent” in his wife. Hillel felt that “indecency” applied to many things, even petty things like spoiling a meal. However, the school of Shammai interpreted “indecency” as sexual immorality and held that this was the only valid reason for divorce. [3] While marriage and divorce was a pressing social question, it is not likely that the Pharisees were asking the question of Jesus in order just to get his opinion. The question was more like a trick or ruse that they might somehow frame Jesus. If the question was asked in Peraea, this area was also ruled by Herod Antipas. No doubt gossip throughout the area centered on how Herodias had recently divorced her husband and married Antipas, who had accommodated her by divorcing his wife, a Nabatean princess. We remember how John the Baptist had spoken out on this and eventually he was murdered because he did so. The Pharisees may have hoped that Jesus would speak out and also enrage Antipas. [4] “‘What did Moses command you?’ he replied. They said, ‘Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away’” (10:3-4). Jesus here wisely answers a question with a question and puts the Pharisees on the defensive. He also guides the discussion back to the Bible and to the Law of Moses. We note that Moses did make an allowance for divorce in Deuteronomy 24:1. It was not a command but a concession, and Jesus would point out why Moses made such a concession. Since Israel was a male-dominated society in Moses’ day and also in Jesus’ day, the concession was no doubt designed as a protection for the wife who was sent away from her home by the husband. Wiersbe adds that “without a bill of divorcement, a woman could easily become a social outcast and be treated like a harlot.” [5] “‘It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,’ Jesus replied. ‘But at the beginning of creation God made them male and female’” (10:5-6). Jesus did not quibble about the subject of divorce with the Pharisees but rather he took them back to Genesis 1:27 and spoke of God’s original intention. We see an interesting thing here. God made them male and female. Many in our society today despise what God has done and try their best to change it. Men are now trying to become women and women are trying to become men. It seems outrageous but it is happening. We all should have noticed by now that there is a profound difference between the sexes. Not only is there a vast difference in physical makeup but there is a difference in emotional makeup as well. There is also a difference in mission and purpose. The French have a saying that we would do well to adopt, “vive la différence!” (Long live the difference!). The people in Moses’ day like many today were hard-hearted. The foundation of marriage was being shaken, so Moses allowed divorce under some circumstances. It was a text of concession rather than a text of intention. [6] The Pharisees wanted to discuss divorce but Jesus wanted to discuss marriage and what God intended for humanity in the beginning. It has been said that the Pharisee’s attitude was much like someone who just received a bank loan and then began to question the banker about the conditions imposed if he should wish not to repay it. [7] “‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh” (10:7-8). We should note that in God’s intention, both husband and wife must leave their parents (cf. Eph. 5:31). Many are the marriages today that have ended up on the rocks because a wife would not fully leave her parents or a husband would not fully leave his. We can also pity the parents who encourage such things. The term “being united” or “joined together” in Genesis 2:24 is the Hebrew word debek and it has the idea of two things being glued together. [8] Today in Israel the same word is used for household glue. We see by this that the marriage union is a very close and permanent one. The courts, judges, or state legislators did not invent marriage. God invented it and arranged for the miraculous connection and union of a man and a woman. Indeed, it is the closest and most sacred union known to the human race. We must say that if God invented marriage then he surely has the right to make the rules regarding it. [9] Because of the sacredness of marriage Jesus gives this warning: “Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate” (10:9). God knew that sinful man would try to destroy this heavenly union. No doubt he knew that the devil would also try his best to destroy it. Today we are being hit broadside by a massive assault on marriage. According to a recent Pew Research report, 39 percent of people polled felt that the institution of marriage was becoming obsolete. Four out of five of those polled felt that an unmarried couple with children or even a single parent situation constituted a family. Three out of five of those polled felt that a same-sex couple with children constituted a family. [10] This cheapened view of marriage is already taking a heavy toll in the US. Many households are now made up of single moms, struggling to make ends meet and to somehow raise a family. Michael Reagan and Jim Denney give us some startling and shocking statistics regarding this new social arrangement: According to statistics from the US Census Bureau, the Centers for Disease Control, and the Department of Justice, 70 percent of long-term prison inmates- including 72 percent of adolescent murderers and 60 percent of all rapists— grew up in fatherless homes. Fatherless children account for roughly 90 percent of all homeless and runaway children, 85 percent of all youth in prison, 75 percent of adolescent patients in chemical abuse centers, 71 percent of high school dropouts, and 63 percent of youth suicides. Nearly 24 percent of all American kids-almost seventeen million kids-live in fatherless homes. [11] God knew what he was doing when he made marriages and families. God is unabashedly pro-marriage and pro-family. How doubly tragic it is today that the divorce rate of born again Christians is essentially the same as that of non-Christians (32 percent versus 33 percent respectively). [12] We wonder today if Christians are taking time to read Genesis chapters 1-2 and other passages like Ephesians 5-6, that speak of God’s intention in marriage. Divorce has been likened to an amputation, or the undoing of God’s created order. [13] Our appreciation goes to those single moms who have somehow made a success of an otherwise impossible task by trusting and depending upon God. We see from Malachi 2 that God hates divorce (2:16; cf. NAS, NET, NKJ, NRS, RSV). He hates it when people forsake their life partners; when they forsake the holy covenant they have made. God is a witness when we break faith with our life partners (2:14). God has an overall purpose in marriage— that the couple will bring forth godly children (2:15). “In ancient Judaism, marriage was not regarded as a union of equals for the mutual benefit of both husband and wife but rather as an institution whose chief purpose was the establishment and continuance of the family and whose chief enemy was childlessness.” [14] “When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. He answered, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery” (10:10-12). It has been pointed out that these verses on marriage and divorce make up the longest ethical section of Mark’s gospel. [15] They are certainly some of the most important verses in the Bible. My life has spanned a time when divorce was very rare in the US Bible Belt to a time when it has become quite common, even among Christians. In fact, there is hardly anyone in the church who has not been touched by divorce in some way. There is no question that Jesus gives one of his most severe teachings here. He breaks precedent and places both the husband and wife on an equal moral plain. He says that if a man divorces his wife and marries another he commits adultery. Also, if the wife divorces her husband and marries another she commits adultery. It is just that simple according to Jesus. Obviously, not too many people in the church today subscribe to Jesus’ teaching. The Lord apparently knew his teaching on marriage would not be accepted by many. We see here and in Matthew’s version that even the disciples were having a difficult time with it. They thought that with such a teaching it might be better not to marry at all (Matt. 19:10). Jesus acknowledged to his disciples that all people would not be able to accept his teaching (Matt. 19:11). However, he instructed that all who could receive it should receive it. Clearly, Jesus is laying down a very high principle while at the same time knowing that many who profess faith in him will not be able to accept it. Jesus no doubt foresaw the crisis that his teaching would bring in the modern and postmodern church. We notice in Matthew’s version that one exception is made to this stern teaching. In Matthew 19:9 Jesus says, “I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.” We see here that adultery breaks the marriage vows and releases the other partner to divorce and remarry (cf. Matt. 5:32). We should add that although adultery officially breaks the marriage vows there are some righteous, loving, holy, forgiving and long suffering spouses who have held marriages together in spite of this. These are to be greatly commended. We have to pause and say here that Jesus’ teaching both on money and on marriage represented paradigm shifts of massive proportions from Old Testament ideas of morality. Jesus in his teaching put an end to male-domination in marriage. He presented marriage as a new creation of God where the husband as well as the wife would bear equal responsibility of lifelong obedience. [16] Having strong marriages is critical for the ongoing of civilization. Strong marriages are also critical for the survival and victory of the church. We can be sure that God is very much concerned about the state of marriage and is busy promoting and defending it. Once Rabbi Jose bar Halafta was asked by a Roman matron, “How long did it take the Holy One, blessed be he, to create the world? The rabbi replied “Six days.” The woman then asked, “And from then until now what has he been doing?” The rabbi answered, “The Holy One, blessed be he, is occupied in making marriages.” [17] People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. Mark 10:13 It was apparently a custom in that day for people to bring small children to the rabbis for a blessing. Here we see that the people were bringing small children (Gk. paida) to him. The usage of the diminutive here points out that they were very young children or infants. Luke even mentions in 18:15 that they were “babies.” [18] Jesus took time out of his busy ministry schedule to bless these little ones. We remember that Jesus was facing the cross and the events of his life and ministry were crushing in upon him. It was surely an inconvenient time for Jesus, but he stopped and blessed them. However, when the disciples saw this they were displeased. The disciples still didn’t get it, even after Jesus had previously taught them about the importance of children in 9:36-37. They began rebuking those who were bringing the little ones to Jesus. “When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these’” (10:14). Usage of the Greek word eganaktesen here tells us that Jesus was sorely displeased or even indignant over the disciples’ behavior. We note that this is the only time in the gospels where it is mentioned that Jesus was indignant. [19] Once again as in 9:36-37, the emphasis is upon the weak, the helpless, disenfranchised, and the dispossessed. Little children had no rights in the ancient world. In those days parents were allowed to abandon or even kill infants if they wished. Heaven belongs to such as these, not to those who are powerful, influential and self-sufficient. Jesus would say in Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus was one who dearly loved little children. Edwards says “One will search Jewish and early Christian literature in vain for sympathy toward the young comparable to that shown by Jesus.” [20] “This passage properly has been called the Magna Carta of the children, the Bill of Rights of children everywhere.” [21] “Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it” (10:15). In the very next section we will see a powerful and rich ruler being turned away from Jesus. What a paradox. Little helpless children can rest in Jesus’ arms while this mighty person will be turned away. In 1 Corinthians 1:26-29, Paul sums this up beautifully by saying: “Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things— and the things that are not— to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.” “In this story, children are not blessed for their virtues but for what they lack: they come only as they are – small, powerless, without sophistication, as the overlooked and dispossessed of society. To receive the kingdom of God as a child is to receive it as one who has no credits, no clout, no claims.” [22] This incident speaks volumes about the kind of person Jesus was and is. Little children could be comfortable with him. They no doubt felt the warmth of his sincere love. He was not some stern, grumpy and joyless person. Barclay tells of one great man who once said that the best compliment ever paid to him was the time when a little boy came to him, and although he was a complete stranger, asked him to tie his shoe. [23] “And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them” (10:16). The people had initially asked Jesus to touch the little children but Jesus did much better than that. He took the little children in his arms and thoroughly blessed them. Mark uses the intensive form of “bless” (Gk. kateulogein), a word which is used nowhere else in the New Testament. [24] In my religious background it was not customary for the church to bless or dedicate children. However, since my adulthood I have been in many fellowships where this was a custom. Based upon what we see here we can certainly say that blessing or dedicating children seems to be a sound biblical practice. We would cringe today if we heard that some child was dedicated to the devil. Somehow we understand that there is some spiritual power in the act. Yet, we may be still hesitant to dedicate a child to Christ. We should differentiate between blessing or dedicating a child and baptizing a child. David Bercot, a scholar who has spent much of his life plodding through early Christian documents, tells us that “a faithless person could not be reborn through water baptism.” [25] Early Christians until the time of Augustine believed that unbaptized babies who died as infants could still be saved. It was Augustine in the fifth century who taught that unbaptized infants would be damned. [26] Certainly if infants were being baptized by Jesus, the disciples would not have been willing to turn them away. If Jesus taught infant baptism he missed a golden opportunity to perform it in this instance. [27] As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Mark 10:17 This was an unusual thing in the ancient Middle East for a person of wealth and importance to come and fall on his knees before someone. Luke 18:18 says that this young man was even a ruler. Perhaps he was a ruler in the synagogue as has been suggested. [28] If indeed this young man was ruler in the synagogue he was exposing himself to a great deal of ridicule from his peers for doing such a thing as bowing before Jesus. The young man asked Jesus a very important question— how he could inherit eternal life. Edwards says of him, “No one who heard Jesus teach in Galilee asked a question of such magnitude, nor indeed have Jesus’ own disciples.” [29] While it was important to inquire about eternal life, we see that the young man asked the question, as all natural men tend to ask it— “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” His emphasis is that of all natural and false religion, on what he could “do.” He surely thought by doing good things or good works he could gain eternal life. Jesus would clearly answer this question later in John 6:29 saying, “…The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” Jesus quickly dealt with the young man’s mistaken concept of “goodness.” He did not even allow the young man to address him as “good.” “‘Why do you call me good?’ Jesus answered. ‘No one is good— except God alone’” (10:18). Since we know that Jesus was indeed God incarnate, how can we understand this statement? Perhaps Utley is correct in saying, “Jesus is not making a statement about his own goodness, but he wanted to jolt this man’s shallow thinking about God and true goodness.” [30] We also know that it was not customary in Jesus’ day to refer to rabbis as “good.” It should be noted that in the whole Jewish Talmud there is not a single instance of a rabbi being called “Good Master.” [31]. Jesus directed him to God’s commandments, specifically to the second half of the commandments that deal with man’s relationship with others. Jesus said, “You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother’” (10:19). We know from scripture that the commandments were given to prove to man that he could not keep God’s perfect law (cf. Jam. 2:10). They were like an x-ray machine that reveals all the inner and hidden evil of man, or like a mirror that reveals his dirtiness. We know how God pronounced his verdict on the whole human race saying, “All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one” (Psa.14:3). While the law could reveal man’s corrupt nature, it offered no cure for that nature. “‘Teacher,’ he declared, ‘all these I have kept since I was a boy’” (10:20). The rich ruler had an argument with God. God said there was none who did good, not one. Yet, the young man was claiming to be good. Jesus was being exceptionally kind to the young man by not pointing this out to his face. So obviously, the young man broke the command of not bearing false witness right off. The law was given to prove conclusively to humans that they could not keep it. While the young man may not have committed adultery he was no doubt an adulterer at times in his heart (Matt. 5:27-28). Obviously, righteousness could not come by observing the law. Religiously speaking, this young man had climbed to the very top of the success ladder, only to realize that it was leaning against the wrong building. [32] “Jesus looked at him and loved him. ‘One thing you lack,’ he said. ‘Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me’” (10:21). Edwards remarks about this encounter saying the “Greek emblepein is an intensified compound of the normal word for ‘look,’ meaning ‘to look at intently,’ ‘to examine,’ or ‘to scrutinize’…There must have been something rare and admirable in the man, for of no one else in the gospel does Mark say that Jesus ‘loved him.’” [33] He was called to be a disciple of Jesus. Some have even thought that he might have become included in the original disciple band. However, this would have been quite impossible, since he had not been with Jesus from the beginning (Acts 1:21-22). However, this young man, no doubt, had a splendid opportunity to follow Jesus. Jesus demanded that he go sell all and give it to the poor before he could become a disciple. Some might think that Jesus was being too hard on this enthusiastic young would-be follower. However, we see in Matthew 6:19-21, that Jesus says to all his followers: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” I used to think that Jesus only made this requirement to test the young rich man. Then I later found that he made the very same requirement of others (Lk. 12:33). “At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth” (10:22). Clearly, this young man had not only broken the second table of law that deals with human relationships but he had broken the first table that deals with idolatry. The young man had made an idol out of his money. Jesus put his finger directly on his problem. The ancient scholar Jerome says of him, “He who declared that he had observed all the commandments had already yielded to the power of riches from the very outset.” [34] The young man’s face fell and he went away from Jesus very sad. For him to part with his great wealth would make him like a vulnerable child, or like the poorest wretch down on skid row. [35] He simply could not do it. “This narrative…is the only instance in the gospels where a person refuses a call to follow Jesus.” “Of all the people who ever came to the feet of Jesus, this man is the only one who went away worse.” [36] Albert Einstein the great physicist once said: “The tragedy of life is what dies inside a man while he lives.” [37] Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” Mark 10:23 Just as he did in the case of marriage and divorce Jesus now also does in the case of worldly riches. He demands a drastic paradigm shift in the thinking of his followers. For ages in Judaism worldly wealth was considered a blessing of God and a hallmark of the righteous (Job 42:10; Psa. 112:3; 128:1-4; &Isa 3;10). [38] Many great men of God in the Old Testament, like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Job and David were all rich. Now Jesus warns his disciples regarding riches, or at least regarding those who trust in riches or love riches. In 1 Timothy 6:9-10, Paul would warn God’s saints saying, “Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” Clearly, money in itself is not evil, but rather the love of money is evil. There were certainly some wealthy people in early Christianity, people like Nicodemus, Joseph of Armathea, Zacchaeus and perhaps even Lazarus and his sisters at Bethany. They knew how to use their wealth to the glory of God. We will see later how the great blessings of God upon Christians will also be accompanied with persecutions. Jesus knew that his followers may have to part with their wealth, with houses, fields and even families. Therefore Christians would have to hold all things loosely. We think of the great persecution and expulsion of the Jews from Rome. Priscilla, Aquila and no doubt thousands of Jewish Christians with them were also expelled from Rome by Claudius (Acts 18:2). Many of these Jewish Christians probably had to leave houses, lands, wealth, and businesses in order to flee persecution. We know that God promises his people blessings but these blessings may or may not be measured in worldly wealth. If we concentrate upon wealth it will likely be dangerous to our souls (Matt. 6:24). Interestingly, we see Christians in New Testament times offering up their wealth to God, even selling properties and laying the money at the apostle’s feet (Acts 4:32-37). With this teaching of Jesus we can see how mistaken a lot of modern and postmodern theology is. The “Prosperity Gospel” (also known as “Name It and Claim It” or sometimes laughingly called “Blab It and Grab It”) has originated since the middle of the twentieth century and has now been distributed throughout the world. Many poor people in third world countries are now certain they will become rich through the gospel. This “gospel” is an aberration of Christianity and stands condemned by Jesus’ own words. One early statement of Salvian the Presbyter of Marsailles (c.400- c. 480) reflects the attitude of early Christians toward riches. He says “There is no compelling necessity for you to store up large earthly treasures for your children. You would do better to make your offspring treasures of God than make them richer in worldly goods.” [39] This is a deep and important subject and we don’t want to be confused about it. Jesus was poor. He was born in a stable. He had no home or place to lay his head. He lived from a common purse shared by at least twelve other people. When he died he was buried in a borrowed tomb. We can say without question that Jesus saw riches as a real threat to the holy life. His brother James saw riches in the same light (Jas. 5:1-6). There was a problem with how people got their money and a problem with what they did with it as well as what they thought about it. The rich ruler probably never had a thought of giving away any of his riches. It is true that as we follow Christ God desires to bless us. As Christians we also build many qualities into our lives that will invite blessings. These are things such as integrity, industry, perseverance, punctuality, respect, love, etc. As Christians we are taught to avoid sins such as dope, booze, gambling, adultery, etc. Christian self-control tends to bring blessing and prosper us. However, there is a mysterious element in Christianity that makes us different from others. The shadow of the cross falls on each of us just as it did on Christ. We have blessings with persecution (v. 30). “The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, ‘Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God’” (10:24-25). As his disciples probably stood speechless Jesus lightened up the tense situation by injecting another bit of ancient Middle Eastern hyperbole. He may have even elicited a chuckle from his bewildered disciples. The camel (dromedary) is the largest animal found in the Holy Land. [40] The very idea of this animal going through the almost microscopic eye of a needle is a humorous thought. It is a humorous thought and at the same time an impossible thought. Some have tried to induce more reality into this picture by insisting that the eye of the needle was an ancient but very small city gate in Jerusalem. However, this supposed small city gate came into being several centuries after the time of Christ. [41]. Jesus is simply saying that a rich person will have a difficult if not impossible time entering the kingdom of Heaven. With this one picture he was turning the disciples’ world upside down. As we have said, the Jews generally believed that the biblical faith would bring great blessing and prosperity to a person’s life. Jews for hundreds of years had believed this. It was assured many times in the Tenakh (Old Testament). (Psa. 17:14; Pro. 3:9-10). “The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, ‘Who then can be saved?’ Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God’” (10:26-27). We can see how terribly bewildered the disciples were at this point. Their long held and cherished theology had suffered a train wreck. They were even wondering if anyone could be saved. Jesus assured them that with God all things are possible. It is even possible for a rich man to enter heaven. Long ago as young people we used to sing an old chorus illustrating this: Are there any rivers that seem to be un-crossable? Are there any mountains you cannot tunnel through? God specializes in things that seem impossible He knows a thousand ways to make a way for you. Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you.” Mark 10:28 We need to stop and realize the awful price that was paid by the earlier followers of the Lord. As Peter affirms, they left everything to follow Jesus. Once again we must say that if a person wanted to follow Jesus in that day he had to physically follow him, even if it meant leaving and even losing everything else. It was at this, that the rich ruler balked. It must have worked impossible hardships on the disciples. We know Peter was a married man and in his day that usually meant a family, and perhaps a very large family. Peter had been supporting them by fishing. Now he was fishing for souls. We can imagine that there were many anxious and tense conversations between disciples and harried wives in Capernaum and elsewhere. They might have gone something like this: “Peter, I am so glad you all had a great ministry trip, but I have no money to buy groceries this week, and two of the kids have worn out their shoes.” We don’t know how many of the disciples were married but conversations in their homes may have resembled this one. Edwards sums it all up in saying: “Our most essential natural network of relationships and allegiances—homes, families, and fields— must be forsaken, for the scandalous call of Christ takes priority over them.” [42] “‘Truly I tell you,’ Jesus replied, ‘no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions— and in the age to come eternal life” (10:29-30). In our poor attempts at discipleship my wife and I have experienced this promise of Jesus coming true in our lives. In order to work for the Lord in Israel for sixteen years we had to give up a nice home, leave behind our three maturing children, leave our aging parents, our many friends, our business, and a host of other things. The departure was heartbreaking. However, over the many years we have lived in nice homes in Jerusalem and the Galilee. We have had many other wonderfully luxurious homes opened up to us as we have traveled and ministered. We have grown very close to many brothers and sisters in the Lord and many mothers in the faith. Often these spiritual relationships have become even more precious than some of our own blood relationships. We have a new family of faith now that stretches around the world. God has not given us fields but he has given us the bountiful produce of many fields, a bounty for which we did not have to labor. For example, the benevolent Galilee farmers used to regularly dump mangoes, grapefruit and other produce in the yard of our study center. He has taught us that the use and enjoyment of wealth is far more advantageous than the ownership thereof. Those who own wealth must concern themselves with it and often worry about the wealth they own. We have no such worries, only blessings. It is interesting that Mark omits “Fathers” in this list (cf. Matt. 23:9). It is likely that he is thinking that disciples of Jesus have only one Father and that is God himself. [43] We must once more emphasize the word “persecutions.” Again we affirm that the Christian life will have many blessings but those blessings will likely come with persecutions for those who are serious about their faith and witness. Those dear Christians in Rome, from where Mark wrote, were surely beginning to experience persecution on a large scale. Just a very few years after Mark was written, Christians in Israel underwent unimaginable horrors as the Romans invaded the Galilee and finally Jerusalem. The Holy City fell in AD 70. History tells us that the church escaped as Jesus had commanded by fleeing the city. They settled in Pella in the area of today’s Jordan. Still, the Roman siege and occupation must have turned life upside down for them during the years to come. “But many who are first will be last, and the last first” (10:31). “Judas was one of the first; and, among the apostles, Paul was the last; but in the events recorded in the New Testament, it turned out that Judas was last and Paul first. Matthew’s account placed the parable of the laborers in the vineyard next after the events here; and, in that parable, this principle was elaborated (Matt. 20:1-16).” [44] I have often taught that if there is a struggle in the church today it should be a struggle over who sits in the lowest seat. They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. Mark 10:32 Here the journey up to Jerusalem begins. Clearly, Jesus was not in the least reluctant to go to his death there. We see him actually leading the way to the amazement of the disciples. Jesus had set his face like a flint, fulfilling the words of Isaiah 50:7. Once again Jesus began to tell the disciples of his approaching suffering and death. This was now the third and final prediction of his passion. “‘We are going up to Jerusalem,’ he said, ‘and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise’” (10:33-34). This prediction is much more detailed than the other two. Jesus tells how it will be Israel’s religious establishment that will deliver him to death. The plot will include Israel’s chief priests and honored teachers of the law. The Scottish divine Robert Jamieson notes that this is the first time that the Gentiles are expressly mentioned as being complicit in his death. [45] Since the Romans did not allow the Jews the right of capital punishment the Jewish leaders would have to turn Jesus over to the Romans for this sentence. Centuries before, the prophet Jeremiah had suffered at the hands of Jerusalem’s religious establishment. He was also rejected by the priests and those who handled the law (Jer. 2:8; 18:18). He too was seized by the priests and prophets, beaten by them and threatened with death (Jer. 20:1-2). [46] As the Suffering Servant of the Lord, Jesus was prepared to fulfill all the prophecies of Isaiah concerning him (Isa. 52:13— 53:12). He knew he would be mocked and insulted by the Gentiles as Psalm 22:7-8 had spoken. He knew at last he would be flogged, crucified and killed as was written of him. However, he also knew he would rise again after three days as was spoken by the prophets. Of course, the disciples did not understand a thing Jesus said about all this. Fully knowing what would befall him Jesus led the way up to Jerusalem and to his crucifixion. The way up to Jerusalem was no easy road. In fact the whole pilgrim path, especially through the desert-like Jordan valley was not easy. The three major feasts of Israel all happened in the warmer weather and the valley could easily reach temperatures of 110 degrees Fahrenheit (53 Cel.). The trip from Jericho up to Jerusalem, although only 15 miles (24 km.) in length, was a difficult and perilous climb. Jericho is the lowest permanently inhabited city in the world, with an elevation of 846 feet (258 meters) below sea level. Jerusalem sits astraddle the north and south ridge in Israel and reaches elevations between 2133 – 2756 feet (650 – 840 meters) above sea level. Jesus and his disciples were in for a climb of some 3500 feet (1066 m.). Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. Mark 10:35-36 According to Matthew 20:20, Salome, the mother of James and John may have first made this request for her sons and was deeply implicated in it. Mark tells us later that Salome was present in Jerusalem for the crucifixion and was one of the women who came to anoint Jesus’ body after his death (Mk. 15:40; 16:1). Apparently a much larger group of disciples and friends were following along after Jesus, since we see Mary Magdalene and others from Galilee at the crucifixion. Although Salome was apparently behind the request, Mark tells us that James and John also asked Jesus about it. The plural endings confirm that Jesus was here speaking with James and John and not their mother. [47] “They replied, ‘Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory’” (10:37). This request was crude and out of order in many respects. Coffman says of it: (1) It showed a lack of faith in what Jesus had just said regarding his being raised “after three days.” (2) It was founded in human vanity and conceit. (3) It represented an effort on their part to gain ascendancy over the other apostles. (4) It showed a fundamental misconception of what God’s kingdom would be. (5) It was a selfish maneuver prompted by the Lord’s repeated announcement of his forthcoming death and resurrection in which they appeared as desiring the chief places in the presumed absence of the Lord. (6) It was a request founded in ignorance… [48] The famous ancient preacher Chrysostom says of it: “The timing was precisely wrong. For this was not the right time for crowns or prizes. It was the time for struggles, contests, toils, sweat, wrestling rings and battles.” [49] We do not know why the two disciples would make such a request. Perhaps it was partly because they had been included in the inner circle of disciples. It illustrated beyond a doubt that Jesus had not yet been able to rid them of the idea of a natural kingdom full of earthly power and glory. The cross would later fully accomplish that end. [50] “‘You don’t know what you are asking,’ Jesus said. ‘Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?’” (10:38). The cup he was to drink was like a cup of poison (cf. Mk. 14:36). The baptism he spoke of was a complete submersion. In Psalm 42:7, the psalmist had cried out to God, “…all your waves and breakers have swept over me.” Jesus was about to be overwhelmed with suffering. “‘We can,’ they answered. Jesus said to them, ‘You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared’” (10:39-40). Obviously, the disciples did not know what they were talking about. The great Augustine remarks here: “They were conferring with him about glory. He intended to precede loftiness with humility and, only through humility, to ready the way for loftiness itself….Why do you seek the homeland if you are not seeking the way to it?” [51] Jesus assured them that they would certainly drink of his cup and baptism. James was the first disciple to die a martyr’s death (AD 44) at the hand of Herod Agrippa I, as recorded in Acts 12:2. John lived to a very old age at Ephesus but did not escape persecution. One church tradition tells of how he miraculously survived being plunged into boiling oil. The dominant tradition about him was that he was exiled and suffered on the Isle of Patmos under Domitian’s reign (AD 81-96). This is born out in Revelation 1:9. Jesus had promised his disciples that they would someday sit with him on twelve thrones. They were also destined to someday judge the twelve tribes of Israel (Matt. 19:28). However, there had to be a lot of suffering both by Jesus and by his disciples before such a thing could take place. “When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John” (10:41). We so clearly see what happens when we try to do things the world’s way. Here we see demonstrated the needless divisions and suspicions that are brought about by pride and self-seeking rather than by serving in humility. “Jesus called them together and said, ‘You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many’” (10:42-45). Jesus has already done serious teaching on humility and the necessity of becoming like a little child. There was still work to be done with the disciples. People in that day saw plenty of evidence all around them of the abuses of wealth and power. The Romans ruled over them ruthlessly and their own rulers did likewise, living in unspeakable luxury and lording it over their poor and oppressed people. Jesus speaks of another and better way. The person who would be first must become the slave or servant of all. Jesus had come as the Suffering Servant of Israel. He had emptied himself of all the glory, wealth and power of heaven (Phil. 2:5-8). At the last supper he girded himself with a towel and washed the disciples’ feet as another illustration of the fact that he had come to serve. Chrysostom says of him: “Before he humbled himself only the angels knew him. After he humbled himself, all human nature knew him….” [52] It is obvious today that after two thousand years we still have not gotten the message of Jesus about serving others. We have somehow slipped into the world’s way of doing things even in our churches. Stedman reminds us that there is no chain of command in the churches; that the early disciples and apostles refused to lord it over the sheep (2 Cor. 1:24). He sighs saying that although we have rejected the idea of a Pope over Protestant churches we have in effect placed a Pope in every church. [53] “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (10:45). In this verse we have an unusual thought. Jesus not only came to serve us but he came to ransom us (cf. 1 Pet. 1:18-19). This is the Greek word lutron and it refers back to the Hebrew words kofer, padah and geulah. [54] Luton was a word used of slaves and prisoners who were redeemed and returned to their homes. Often they were redeemed by their near kin (Heb. go’el). [55] We have had some instances of this activity as prisoners are held hostage by the Somali pirates in recent years. Some countries have raised large sums to redeem their citizens and their ships. There has been some discussion over the centuries as to whom this ransom is paid. Medieval theology claimed that it was paid to Satan. However, later it was realized that such a teaching placed the devil on equal footing with God. It is best that we try not make a metaphor run on all fours, as it is said. Barclay concludes that we had best content ourselves with the idea that it cost the life of Jesus to bring us back to God. He says that this is enough. [56] Surely it is. Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (that is, the Son of Timaeus), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Mark 10:46-47 Jericho was a city rich in biblical history. Actually, there were two cities of Jericho. There was the ancient city of Tell es Sultan. At the foot of this tell was the spring that was purified by Elisha and there were settlements around that. Then there was the Roman establishment built by Herod at the foot of the Wadi Qelt leading up to Jerusalem. [57] Just as there were two cities there were also two blind beggars (cf. Matt. 20:30). The beggar of our story was the more vocal one and it seems that all the attention is focused upon him. Nevertheless, two blind men were there that day. They both called upon Jesus and both were healed. According to Matthew 20:29-34, they both followed Jesus. The prominent blind man was named Bartimaeus (son of Timeaus). Long ago, Augustine speculated on the significance of this name being included. Names scarcely occur in the instances where people are healed by the Lord. Augustine felt that the name and father’s name are mentioned here because this blind man may at one time have had great prosperity and significance in the community. Somehow, he had gone blind and had fallen to the position of a lowly beggar. [58] It is just a theory but it is interesting that both names are included by Mark. Bartimaeus shouted out “Jesus Son of David have mercy on me!” The title “Son of David” had messianic overtones and indicated that Bartimaeus was looking to Jesus as the Messiah. [59] He knew that the Messiah was passing his way and he probably knew that such opportunities only happen once in a lifetime. He seemed to cause a stir by his continued shouting. “Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” (10:48). We know that Jericho was in the pilgrim path that led up to Jerusalem and Passover was drawing near. Great crowds were present including crowds of pilgrims and crowds of well-wishers. Jericho was a town where many of the 20,000 priests and many Levites resided when not on duty in Jerusalem. [60] We might guess that it was some of these priests and Levites who were trying to still the shouts of Bartimaeus. After all, Jesus was already quite unpopular with the Jerusalem establishment. “Jesus stopped and said, ‘Call him.’ So they called to the blind man, ‘Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.’ Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus” (10:49-50). It is difficult to imagine that Jesus on his way to Calvary and with great festival throngs around him would even hear a lowly beggar. However, the cry of the blind beggar stopped Jesus in his tracks. [61] Bartimaeus threw his old garment away and came to the Master. His act of throwing aside the old garment is so characteristic of our leaving behind the old life of sin as we come to him. Edwards says of him, “None of the disciples demonstrates the faith, insight, and discipleship of Bartimaeus…What Bartimaeus lacks in eyesight he makes up for in insight.” [62] “‘What do you want me to do for you?’ Jesus asked him. The blind man said, ‘Rabbi, I want to see’” (10:51). Obviously, Jesus knew what the poor man wanted, but as was his custom he desired to hear it from the man’s mouth. Bartimaeus addressed Jesus as “Rabbi” or as the Greek says, “Rabbouni.” He asked the Lord for his sight. The term “Rabbouni” is very rarely used in reference to humanity. It is also seldom used in the form of an address. It is a term that is used in prayer as an address to God. [63] “‘Go,’ said Jesus, ‘your faith has healed you.’ Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road” (10:52). What an astounding miracle, and it was done before large festive crowds and no doubt before the eyes of numerous priests and Levites. Jesus told the man to go his way but instead he went Jesus’ way [64] and followed him on the way to Calvary. Several sources I have cited here are from the electronic media, either from websites or from electronic research libraries. Thus in some of these sources it is not possible to cite page numbers. Instead I have cited the verse or verses in each chapter of Mark (e.g. verse v. 1 or vs. 1-2) about which the commentators speak. 1. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p. 121. 2. Lightfoot, Commentary on Mark, John Lightfoot Commentary on the Gospels, v. 10:1. 3. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 10:1-2. 4. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 276. 5. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, p. 117. Here Barclay fills us in on Jewish law in Jesus time. He says: “In Jewish law a woman was regarded as a thing. She had no legal rights whatever but was at the complete disposal of the male head of the family. The result was that a man could divorce his wife on almost any grounds, while there were very few on which a woman could seek divorce. At best she could only ask her husband to divorce her.” (Barclay, p. 276). 6. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 301. 7. Ibid. 8. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 10:3-9. 9. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, p. 117. 10. Christian Broadcasting Network, as reported on Nov. 18, 2010. 11. Reagan with Jim Denney, Twice Adopted, p. 82. 12. Barna Report, http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/15-familykids/42-new-marriage-and-divorce-statistics-released. “In fact, when evangelicals and non-evangelical born again Christians are combined into an aggregate class of born again adults, their divorce figure is statistically identical to that of non-born again adults: 32% versus 33%, respectively.” It is clear from the writings of the early church that Christians then took a stern view toward divorce. Oden (p. 136) quotes from the early writer Clement of Alexandria who said of divorce: “Guilt in this does not attach merely to the man who divorces her. It attaches also to the man who takes her on, since he provides the starting point for the woman’s sin.” 13. Evans, Word Biblical Commentary, Mark 8:27—16:20, p. 84. Wiersbe says on this subject: “If a newly married husband discovered that his wife was not a virgin, then he could put her away…The law of Moses did not give adultery as grounds for divorce, for, in Israel, the adulterer and adulteress were stoned to death (Deut. 22:22).” (Wiersbe, p. 117). Guzik adds: “To this permission for divorce, Paul adds the case of abandonment by an unbelieving spouse (1 Corinthians 7:15). (Guzik, vs. 10:1-12). 14. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 297. 15. Donahue, Mark, Harper’s Bible Commentary, p. 996. 16. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 298. 17. Genesis Rabba (B’reshith Rabba), 68:4. 18. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 307. 19. Ibid., p. 306. 20. Ibid. Evans adds here: “The child is not being idealized (as often thought in the western world), for the child was not held in high regard in late antiquity. Indeed, parents had the power of life and death over the very young.” (Evans, p. 94). 21 Stedman, Mark: He Came To Serve, pp. 13-31. 22. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 307. 23. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 282. 24. Evans, Word Biblical Commentary, Mark 8:27—16:20, p. 94. 25. David W. Bercot, Will The Real Heretics Please Stand Up, A New Look at Today’s Evangelical Church in the Light of Early Christianity (Tyler, TX: Scroll Publishing, 1989), p. 80. 26. Ibid., p. 81. 27. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, p. 118. “If the disciples had been accustomed to baptizing infants, they certainly would not have turned the people away.” Coffman (vs. 10:13-14) adds a comment saying: “Here is no allusion to baptism; and here was his golden opportunity if he had ever wished baptism to be associated with infants.” 28. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p. 124. 29. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 309. 30. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p. 125. 31. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs.10:17-18. Pett enhances saying, “In Jewish circles it was almost unique. Goodness was seen as belonging only to God.” (Pett, v. 10:17). 32. Ibid., vs. 10:19-22. 33. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 312. 34. Oden, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, p.142. 35. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 312. 36. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, p. 118. 37. Stephen Mansfield, ReChurch: Healing Your Way Back to the People of God (Carol Stream IL: Tyndale House, 2010), p. 82. 38. Evans, Word Biblical Commentary, Mark 8:27—16:20, p. 101. “Wealth, after all, was often understood as an indicator of covenant blessing, not as an obstacle to covenant fulfillment.” On this subject Barclay adds: “Popular Jewish morality was simple. It believed that prosperity was the sign of a good man.” (Barclay, p. 286). 39. Oden, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, p. 146. 40. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 10:23-27. 41. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 314. 42. Ibid., p. 316. 43. Ibid. 44. Coffman, Commentary on Mark, v. 10:41. 45. Jamieson, Commentary on Mark, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, v. 10:33. 46. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, vs. 10:32-34. 47. Evans, Word Biblical Commentary, Mark 8:27—16:20, p. 116. 48. Coffman, Commentary on Mark, v. 10:35. 49. Oden, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, p. 150. 50. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, pp. 295-296. 51. Oden, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, p. 149. 52. Ibid., p. 151. 53. Stedman, Mark: He Came To Serve, vs. 10:32-52. 54. G. Abbot-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (Edinburg, T&T Clark., 1960, p.273. 55. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p. 135. 56. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, pp. 300-301. 57. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, p. 120 For additional information on Jericho see Utley, p. 137 and Rousseau &Arav, pp. 132-135. 58. Oden, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, p. 152. 59. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 330. 60. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, pp. 302-303. 61. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 330. 62. Ibid., pp. 328-329. 63. Ibid., p. 331. 64. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 10:46-52. As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly’” Mark 11:1-3 As Jesus and his disciples approached Jerusalem they ushered in a momentous hour, a time that Israel had anticipated through the ages, a time of which the prophets had spoken. The long-awaited Messiah of Israel was about to make his formal public appearance in Jerusalem. Centuries before, Zechariah had spoken of his coming saying, “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zech. 9:9). God had prepared his Messiah for this hour and God had also prepared the donkey. Jesus knew that in the village ahead the little animal was waiting. Bible commentators and scholars try to say that the donkey was awaiting Jesus because of some prearranged signal, but we must remember that this was the day before cell phones. Prearranging a signal would have been quite difficult. Sometimes these folks forget that God is Lord of all creation. He can speak to a total stranger in the night and command him to tie his choice donkey out front in the morning. He can speak to the donkey and the beast will obey his voice. He once spoke to a fire-worshipping king by the name of Cyrus and commanded him to send the people of Israel back to their land. God is God and he can do anything! In order to fulfill prophecy Jesus sent two of his disciples to the village ahead telling them exactly what they would find there. They would find a young donkey all tied up and ready to go. The donkey would have never been ridden before by anyone. Jesus told them what the bystanders would say and he told them what they were to answer. The operative words were “The Lord needs it.” This was a rare occasion in Mark where Jesus referred to himself as “Lord.” “They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, some people standing there asked, ‘What are you doing, untying that colt?’ They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go” (11:4-6). We can only imagine what the disciples thought as they untied a colt that did not belong to them. It was no doubt a little like someone trying to hotwire a new Mercedes belonging to a total stranger and then driving it off. People could probably have gotten stoned for stealing a donkey in those days, so no doubt the two disciples were a little shaky. Matthew gives us some extra information on the donkey. Apparently, the mother followed along after the colt (Matt. 21:2). [1] So, there were really two animals involved and this seems to be indicated in the Zechariah passage. Regarding Jesus and the little animal the ancient writer Ephrem the Syrian (c. 363-373) quipped, “He began with a manger and finished with a donkey.” [2] Mark tells us where this incident occurred. It was near the small cities of Bethany and Bethphage. These small towns were both located on the backside (East side) of the Mount of Olives. They were very near the pilgrim road coming up from Jericho to Jerusalem. The names of these villages are very descriptive of their settings. Bethphage meant “house of figs” or “place of unripe figs.” Bethany meant “house of dates.” [3] Of course, the latter location was the home of Jesus’ dear friends, Lazarus, Mary and Martha. Bethphage was one of the villages that marked a Sabbath’s day’s journey (Acts 1:12) from Jerusalem, since it was less than a mile away. [4] In reading Mark’s abbreviated and fast-moving account it would seem that Jesus had not been to Jerusalem before in his ministry. From the other gospels we realize that he had been to Jerusalem several times. John’s gospel indicates that Jesus was frequently in the city (2:13, 5:1, 7:10). The Bible in other places indicates that Jesus kept the feasts and went up to Jerusalem to do so. In Matthew 23:37, Jesus indicates that many times he would have gathered the people of Jerusalem together but they would not cooperate. [5] It is also interesting that so much of the gospel account is focused on the last few days of Jesus’ life. About a third of Mark’s gospel is focused on his passion and about half of John’s gospel. [6] Of course, that is what the gospel is all about, Jesus suffering and dying for our sins and then being gloriously resurrected. “When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it” (11:7). The people willingly donated their garments to make a sort of saddle for Jesus. “Nowdays the donkey is an animal of amused contempt, but in the time of Jesus it was the animal used to bear kings.” [7] We remember in 1 Kings 1:33-48, how Solomon was placed on King David’s mule when he was anointed to rule over Israel. The rabbis had a teaching that if Israel was worthy even for a day, the Messiah would arrive on the clouds of glory, but if not he would come to them on a donkey. [8] We know from scripture that Jesus came first in great humility on a donkey but his second appearance will be on a white charger to declare war on his enemies and to take his place as Judge of the universe (cf. Rev.19:11-16). “Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, ‘Hosanna!’ ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ‘Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!’ ‘Hosanna in the highest heaven!’” (11:8-10). “We like this slice from the life of Jesus because it simply feels so right. For much of Jesus’ ministry, he was despised and rejected of men. Often the adoring crowds followed him only for what they could get from him, and most of his audience rejected any kind of personal commitment to Jesus. It was all different on this day.” [9] As this procession began people willingly spread their garments on the road before him. In those days clothing was very expensive and quite limited for the average person. We can just imagine the damage caused to a cloak by the sharp hoofs of a loaded donkey and on a hard road to boot. [10] Other people went into the fields to cut reeds or shocks of grain or small leafy branches (Gk. stibadas), laying them in the road before Jesus. [11] The shouts of praise filled the air, shouts of “Hosanna!” and “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” These shouts were no doubt taken from the messianic Psalm 118:25-26. Hosanna simply means “Save now!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” is the very phrase all Israel will someday shout as Jesus returns to the earth in glory (Matt. 23:39). Something within us makes us want to jump through the pages of history and join in this triumphal welcoming of Jesus to Jerusalem. Luke tells us that the whole multitude of disciples began to praise him for all the mighty works they had seen (Lk. 19:37-38). Surely there were many in the crowd who had just witnessed Lazarus being raised from the dead. Well, we cannot join that happy group but perhaps we can just praise him where we are. As once spoke the ancient church father Methodius of Philippi: “Instead of our garments, let us spread our hearts before him.” [12] “Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve” (11:11). Soon the festivities were over and Jesus found himself inside Jerusalem and no doubt looking at the goings on in the temple. Jesus may have been the only one present that day who realized that the words of Malachi 3:1 were now fulfilled: “‘I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,’ says the LORD Almighty.” As the King of the Universe stood in the temple we might wonder, where was the large welcoming committee of rulers, officials, priests, and Levites? They were all strangely absent. Later Jesus would say of the Jews and of Jerusalem, “…you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you” (Lk. 19:44). He would further say, “…If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace— but now it is hidden from your eyes” (Lk 19:42). The King left the city of Jerusalem to a place where he was welcome, to Bethany, and no doubt to the wonderful home of Lazarus, Mary and Martha. It was simply not safe for him to spend a night in the walled city of Jerusalem. [13] The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Mark 11:12-13 Jesus was a man, fully identified with the human race, therefore he got hungry. Perhaps he had arisen early that morning and spent a long time in prayer as he often did. [14] In the process he may have missed breakfast. In the distance he saw a fig tree in full leaf and went to it expecting to find fruit. Instead he found nothing but leaves. Commentators have had difficulty with this enacted parable. Some look at Jesus’ action as peevish, selfish and below his character. Scholars have blamed Jesus for cursing the poor little tree for its fruitlessness when the text says plainly that it was not the season for figs to get ripe. As usual, when we have a problem with scripture it is because we do not have full information on the situation. In recent years a lot of light has been shed upon this verse. It appears that one of the first people to begin unraveling this mysterious passage was a certain W. M. Christie, a Church of Scotland minister who lived in the Holy Land under the British mandatory regime. He noted that the local fig trees began to put forth leaves by the end of March. Shortly after, or even before the leaves in some instances, the trees brought forth small knobs that were a sort of forerunner of figs. These grew to the size of green almonds and were eaten by the peasants who called them in Arabic, taqsh. He noted that if this early fruit failed to appear there would likely be no fruit crop later that year. [15] In our day of vast information via the Internet we know from fruit farmers that this account is factual. Fruit growers call this early fruit the breba (breva) crop, and unlike the later crop, that comes in the heat of summer, it appears early on last year’s growth. [16] So Jesus really did have a reason to check out the fig tree that was in full leaf. The leaves advertised that there would likely be an early breba crop on the tree. These early figs (Hos 9:10) are today called paggim by the modern Israelis. [17] “Then he said to the tree, ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again.’ And his disciples heard him say it” (11:14). Here we have no indication that Jesus was angry or vindictive. He was merely bringing judgment on a fruit tree that advertised its fruit but was fruitless. We should note that the fig tree was often a symbol of Israel. [18] It was also a symbol of God’s judgment (cf. Isa. 34:4; Jer. 29:17; Hos. 2:12). New Testament Professor Craig Evans adds that the judgmental thrust here and in the next verses was not so much against Israel as it was against the religious leaders and caretakers of Israel. This will be made especially clear in chapter 12:1-12 by the Parable of the Wicked Tenants. [19] “On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts” (11:15-16). Jesus’ main focus was not on the city of Jerusalem but on the temple. It represented the heart and soul of Israel. It is clear in scripture that Jesus had cleansed the temple on an earlier occasion but somehow his message did not get across. This previous incident is recorded for us in John 2:14-17. The first cleansing must have happened in the very early ministry of Jesus. On this occasion Jesus took a whip and drove the merchandizers out of the temple. It is thought that Jesus’ action took place in what is called the Court of the Gentiles. It must have been frustrating for God-fearing Gentiles to come long distances to this most holy place seeking the true God, only to find a greedy bunch of merchandizers. We can only imagine the haggling, noise and confusion that must have prevailed in the court. Jesus was no doubt aghast at such a desecration of God’s temple. He began driving out the merchants and overturning the tables of the money changers and those selling doves. He stopped those who were making the temple courts merely a byway. In order to understand the wrath of Jesus we must understand some of the practices going on in the temple. The whole temple operation was run by the family of Israel’s high priest, who had purchased the right from the Romans. The temple authorities would not allow normal coins with images to be used in paying the temple tax. This amount was ½ shekel (about a day’s wage) as we see in Exodus 30:13. The temple leaders required that it be paid with the Tyrian shekel. While this coin was 94 percent silver it also had images on both sides. It had the laureate head of the pagan deity Melqarth-Herakles on the obverse and an eagle engraved on the reverse. Nevertheless, the rabbis had determined that the purity of the coin was more important than the fact that it had forbidden images on it. [20] Pilgrims were charged 1/24th of a shekel to exchange their currency. The doves were allowed as a sacrifice for the poor, for lepers and for women. The normal price was often tripled at these booths. We can imagine the excesses that happened with such merchants. A person might bring in a perfect sacrificial lamb but these bandits at the temple would surely find some flaw in it and force the pilgrim to buy another at very inflated prices. [21] Jesus became enraged at these abuses. This episode tells us something of the personal authority Jesus radiated. People normally do not let go of their money and products so easily unless they are very much afraid. The fact that Jesus could totally disrupt this whole bazaar is testimony to the great force of his personality. The merchants seem to have slunk away before the blazing eyes of the Master. Jesus not only totally disrupted the temple merchants but he also refused to allow people to use the Court of the Gentiles as a short-cut to and from the city to the Mount of Olives. We may see some continuing reference to this in the Mishnah. In this later work it is written that “A man may not enter into the temple mount with his staff or his sandal or his wallet, or with the dust upon his feet, nor may be make of it a short by-path.” [22] “And as he taught them, he said, Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations?’ But you have made it ‘a den of robbers’” (11:17). Here Jesus is quoting from two Old Testament passages. In Isaiah 56:7 it is written, “… for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.” Also, the prophet Jeremiah (7:11) had said, “Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the LORD.” “The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching. When evening came, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city” (11:18-19). “For Jesus to have both ruling priests and scribes seeking how they might destroy him was to be in serious trouble indeed.” [23] We realize that this was not a new decision, for we saw in Mark 3:6 that such a choice had been made early in Jesus’ ministry. We see that the chief priests were in collusion with the teachers of the law (Gk. grammateus) or scribes. The priestly and scribal families were wealthy people who controlled activities around the temple. The priesthood was severely compromised in Jesus’ time. It was no longer related to Aaron but was simply a cheap political office sold to the highest bidder by the Romans. [24] In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!” Mark 11:20-21 No doubt Peter remembered this incident well, since he was the one who noticed the withered fig tree and called it to the Master’s attention. We see here that the tree was withered not just in the leaves but in the roots. Fig leaves are prone to wither quickly when removed from the tree (by this we could understand that they would have made very poor coverings for naked Adam and Eve in the Garden). However, this tree was totally dead from the roots up, and that was a little strange. We cannot remove this incident from what had just happened in the cleansing of the temple. Jesus had encountered a God-ordained temple and a religious system that looked good on the outside. It had leaves and those leaves indicated there should be fruit. However, Jesus had found that there was no fruit there. It was a system filled with hypocrisy and corruption. Edwards remarks about this saying: “Mark portrays the clearing of the temple not as its restoration but as its dissolution…the temple is fundamentally – from the roots- replaced by Jesus as the center of Israel.” [25] Many months before John the Baptist had cried out, “The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire” (Lk. 3:9). Now the tree is finished. In a mere generation the temple would be destroyed and the Jewish nation would be scattered. Many of those greedy priests, scribes and Pharisees would be destroyed with the temple. “‘Have faith in God,’ Jesus answered. ‘Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, “Go, throw yourself into the sea,” and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them’” (11:22-23). Here Jesus seems to move from the theme of the destroyed tree and temple to the subject of faith. Of course, faith is one of the three pillars of Christianity (1 Cor. 13:13). Here Jesus is saying that if we really believe in God we can move mountains. Jesus and his disciples were standing on the Mount of Olives and this mountain provides many clear views of the Dead Sea. This is another example of ancient Middle Eastern hyperbole. We would of course not want to move a literal mountain. It would be horrendously damaging to both life and ecology. As we say, the mountain Jesus was standing on at the time was none other than the Mount of Olives, probably the second most important mountain on earth and the mount from which Jesus will soon ascend to heaven. It is also the mountain to which he will return at his Second Coming. Of course, the most important mountain on earth was and is the Temple Mount. Some commentators think that Jesus may have even had it in mind. What in the world is Jesus saying here? He is essentially repeating what he said to the bewildered man earlier in Mark 9:23: “…Everything is possible for the one who believes.” In Jewish imagery a mountain signifies something really strong and immovable. It represents a problem which is too big for everyone and stands in the way. [26] In Zechariah 4:7 God said to Zerubbabel: “What are you, O mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground….” God was saying that all the impossible problems of the Jews resettling the land and rebuilding their temple were as nothing to God. True and powerful faith is based on God’s word – what God says (Rom. 10:17; Jn.15:7). It is not just a faith in faith. It is not based on how we feel or what we think or understand. Some people do not exercise their faith in God, giving the excuse that they do not fully understand. If we believe we will understand. Long ago Augustine said, “Credo ut intelligam” (“I believe in order that I may understand”). [27] This is an astounding saying of Jesus. There is really nothing impossible to those of us who believe in God because there is nothing impossible to God. If we are lined up with God’s word we can do anything and everything. In this verse we are given amazing and almost bewildering spiritual authority. The secret to this authority is that we must believe. “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (11:24). This verse really stretches our faith. Jesus is saying that if we can believe as if it were done, then it is done. We must remember that true faith is based on the word of God. We must see it in the word for it to become reality. Jesus is not in any sense speaking of our wants, desires or lusts. James 4:3 warns us, “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins” (11:25). God is not giving an absolutely free rein so that we can ask for any foolish thing and receive it. Nor is he suggesting that we can pray and receive if we have obvious sin in our lives. Here we see another requirement of real, powerful prayer. We must forgive others (Matt.6:12, 14-15). [28] Pastor Don Finto says, “Refusing to forgive is like drinking poison and hoping the other person will die.” A lot of people today are inwardly wounded by parents, by spouses, and by dozens of other things. We cannot pray the faith prayer with such bitterness in our lives. Actually, relationships are key in our spiritual progress. We may not get much closer to God than we are to others who are our relationships. Here we need to remember the almost immortal lines of Alfred Lord Tennyson in his play The Promise of May: O man, forgive thy mortal foe, Nor ever strike him blow for blow; For all the souls on earth that live To be forgiven must forgive. Forgive him seventy times and seven: For all the blessed souls in Heaven Are both forgivers and forgiven. [29] They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you authority to do this?” Mark 11:27-28 The Jewish leaders were considerably galled by Jesus’ audacity in clearing the merchants from the temple. After all, these leaders were no doubt getting a substantial income from all this buying and selling. The three groups represented here, ruling priests, teachers or scribes and elders likely represented the groups that constituted the Sanhedrin, the ruling council of the Jews. This meeting has the appearance of an informal query by that body. [30] It was likely that this event took place in what was called the Royal Cloister or Solomon’s Porch. This was a common place for rabbis to teach. [31] These leaders no doubt thought they could catch Jesus on the horns of a dilemma by questioning him about his authority. As we can see, it did not turn out that way. “Jesus replied, ‘I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. John’s baptism— was it from heaven, or of human origin? Tell me!” (11:29-30). As was customary with the rabbis, Jesus answered a question with a question. His question placed these Sanhedrin representatives on the horns of a worse dilemma. Today we might call their situation a “catch—22.” “They discussed it among themselves and said, ‘If we say, From heaven, he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin’ (They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet)” (11:31-32). They immediately perceived that if they said John’s baptism was from men, the people around them might riot. Many of those folks had been baptized by John because “all Jerusalem” had gone out to him. On the other hand, if they said his baptism was from heaven the people would wonder why they themselves did not believe and obey him. [32] They were stuck! No doubt a very embarrassing silence ensued while these leaders stumbled and fumbled. “So they answered Jesus, ‘We don’t know.’ Jesus said, ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things’” (11:33). Obviously, the Jewish leaders were afraid of the crowd. “They were not asking ‘What is true?’ or ‘what is right?’ but ‘what is safe?’ This is always the approach of the hypocrite and the crowd-pleaser.” [33] As Augustine said many centuries ago, “Since they answered the truth with a lie, Jesus did not force open the doors they themselves had barricaded.” [34] Several sources I have cited here are from the electronic media, either from websites or from electronic research libraries. Thus in some of these sources it is not possible to cite page numbers. Instead I have cited the verse or verses in each chapter of Mark (e.g. verse v. 1 or vs. 1-2) about which the commentators speak. 1. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, v. 11:7. 2. Oden, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, p. 155. 3. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p. 141. 4. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, pp. 306-307. 5. Ibid., p. 306. 6. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 332. 7. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 308. Clarke (v. 11:2) gives us some extra information on the sacred use of animals. He says, “No animal was allowed to be employed in sacred uses, even among the heathen, that had previously been used for any domestic or agricultural purpose; and those which had never been yoked were considered as sacred.” 8. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p. 142. 9. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 11:7-11. 10. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p. 142. 11. Evans, Word Biblical Commentary, Mark 8:27—16:20, p. 144. “The tall grass cut from fields may have been reeds or stalks of grain…Mark’s stibadas are not the same as Matthew’s kladous apo twn Dendron, “branches from the trees (21:8).” 12. Oden, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, p. 156. 13. Jamieson, Commentary on Mark, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, v. 11:11. “It was not now safe for the Lord to sleep in the city, nor, from the day of His Triumphal Entry, did He pass one night in it, save the last fatal one.” 14. Clarke, Commentary on Mark, v. 11:12. 15. See, http://mutated-unmuated.blogspot.com/2007/05/figs.html12-13 16. Fig Fruit Facts, breba crop http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/fig.html 17. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 339. “After the fig harvest from mid-August to mid-October, the branches of fig trees sprout buds that remain undeveloped throughout the winter. These buds swell into small green knops known in Hebrew as paggim in March-April, followed shortly by the sprouting of leaf buds on the same branches usually in April. The fig tree thus produces fig knops before it produces leaves. Once a fig tree is in leaf one therefore expects to find branches loaded with paggim in various stages of maturation.” 18. Ibid., p. 338. 19. Evans, Word Biblical Commentary, Mark 8:27—16:20, p. 154. 20. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p. 144. See also Associates For Biblical Research on the tyrian shekel. http://www.biblearchaeology.org/post/2006/11/the-tyrian-shekel-and-the-temple-of-jerusalem.aspx#Article 21. Ibid. Evans (pp. 174-175) relates this account: “The Mishnah tells of one occasion when pigeons were being sold, apparently within the temple precincts, at many times the normal cost. In angry protest to this exorbitant overcharge, Simeon ben Gamaliel began to teach that women could offer a pair of pigeons for as many as five live births or miscarriages and then be eligible to take part fully in the feasts. We are told that in response to Simeon’s teaching the price of pigeons went down suddenly and dramatically. (M. IKer. 1:7).” 22. Quoted in Barclay p. 319. 23. Evans, Word Biblical Commentary, Mark 8:27—16:20, p. 180. 24. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p. 144. 25. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 346. 26. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, p. 121. 27. Larry D. Hart, Truth Aflame, A Balanced Theology for Evangelicals and Charismatics (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1999), p. 112. 28. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, v. 11:19 ff. “Forgiveness was always intended to be central to God’s deliverance and salvation (compare Matthew 6.14-15; 18.15-35; Isaiah 43.25; 44.22).” Utley adds this note on the normal prayer position for Jews: “‘Whenever you stand praying…’ The normal posture for prayer was standing with the eyes open and the head and arms lifted upward. They prayed as if in dialogue with God.” (Utley, p. 147). 29. http://www.online-literature.com/tennyson/promise-of-may/3/ 30. Evans, Word Biblical Commentary, Mark 8:27—16:20, p. 199. 31. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, pp. 324-325. 32. Ibid., p. 325. 33. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, p. 123. 34. Oden, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, p. 164. He then began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey.” Mark 12:1 As we have said previously, Mark mostly emphasizes the person of Jesus and his actions. So far in the book we have only had one other major parable, and that was found back in chapter four. [1] Now we have another parable section. There is an unwritten rule of interpretation that a parable should never be treated as an allegory and that we should be careful in trying to seek meaning in every detail. This parable seems to be an exception to the rule. Barclay sees it as a kind of hybrid between an allegory and a parable, since many of the details have meaning. [2] It is easy to perceive that the owner is God himself. The vineyard is the house of Israel. The cultivators are the rulers of Israel. The servants are the many prophets who came to warn and minister to Israel. The last one to come is Jesus, God’s Only Begotten Son. The picture of the vineyard was not a new picture to Israel. We see far back in Isaiah 5:1-7, which is the setting for this parable (cf. Psa. 80:8-16). We are told that the Lord planted the vineyard of Israel on a very fertile hillside. God went to a lot of effort in preparing the vineyard. He dug it up and gathered out all the stones. Then he planted it with a choice vine. In addition he put a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress. After all his effort he waited, and waited for the vineyard of Israel to produce fruit. Finally he was disappointed that it brought forth only bad fruit. To really understand Mark’s parable we need to make ourselves aware of the agricultural situation of the Holy Land in Jesus’ time. There were many absentee landlords who lived far off in the cities. They had to depend on middle men as their tenants. [3] We also need to be aware that a vineyard represented much capital investment and labor by the owner. In this parable he did all the things the Lord did in Isaiah 5, and he also put a wall around the vineyard. We also know from Leviticus 19:23-25, that for a Jewish owner, it would be at least as long as five years before he could collect the fruit. [4] The owner had a lot of liability regarding a vineyard. It had to be cared for properly, irrigated, pruned, guarded, or else all his labor and investment could easily come to ruin. There was actually a legal problem involved too. In various countries today there are still laws regarding the actual use of land. In the US there is the law of “adverse possession.” By this law a person who openly possesses a portion of land and uses it for a certain number of years may be able to get title to it in the courts. “Squatter’s rights” is a kind of adverse possession. It seems that there was some law of this nature in ancient Israel. [5] For an owner to maintain title he would have to appear occasionally and reestablish his ownership. This of course could be done by making a claim for his share of the fruits. “At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed” (12:2-3). We realize here that there were several tenants involved and that they were quite powerful. Evans tells us that it was common in intertestamental papyri for tenant farmers (Gk. georgoi) to be not just individual peasants but groups of large and wealthy commercial farmers. [6] This would explain some of the trouble the owner had in collecting his rents. Clearly, we see in this parable that the tenants were resolved to claim the land for themselves. Since the owner was apparently not living in the area, the servant was sent to collect the fruits owed to him. It was understood that “fruits” meant money. [7] Instead of receiving money the servant received a severe beating. The word for “beating” is edeiran in the Greek means literally to “skin” or to “flay.” [8] When we think of beatings today we certainly do not picture the severity of beatings in ancient times. “Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully” (12:4). When we look back over the history of Israel there was hardly a prophet that the people did not mistreat in some way. In Jeremiah 7:25-26 it is written: “From the time your ancestors left Egypt until now, day after day, again and again I sent you my servants the prophets. But they did not listen to me or pay attention. They were stiff-necked and did more evil than their ancestors.” We can see that the tenants were becoming more and more aggressive since this servant was wounded in the head. “He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed” (12:5). We think here of Elijah the prophet. He complained to God: “…The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too” (1 Kings 19:10). We are caused to think here of the great persistence, faithfulness, longsuffering and love of God. “He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son’” (12:6). This verse reminds us again of Isaiah 5:4, where God asks, “What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it?…” Here the question is answered. There was one more thing to be done. The owner could send his son. After all, the son was the only other person beside the father who possessed legal claim over the property. [9] Here the parable makes it very clear that Jesus is none other than the Son of God. It was an unmistakable message to Israel’s leaders. Also, in the Bible the fourth year was the time when the fruit was offered up to God (Lev. 19:24). The Beloved Son, God incarnate, had come to receive what was his. [10] The great English Baptist “prince of preachers,” Charles Haddon Spurgeon, remarked here, “No one else can be sent; heaven itself contains no further messenger. If Christ be rejected, hope is rejected.” [11] “But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard” (12:7-8). What an incredibly clear picture of the gospel account. The leaders of Israel seemed to have sensed that Jesus was the Son and the heir. Almost from the outset of his ministry they had determined to kill him. They had only lacked the opportunity to do so. Coffman sees in this verse proof that the Jewish hierarchy really did recognize Jesus as the true Messiah of Israel. [12] They valued their vested political and religious interests too much to turn loose of their power and publicly acknowledge him as the real ruler of Israel. We sense a total disrespect here for the son. He was murdered and then simply thrown out of the vineyard. They did not even give him the esteem of a proper burial. How clearly this parallels the gospel account. They crucified Jesus outside the city wall and they did not provide him a burial. Had it not been for wealthy Joseph of Arimathea, Jesus would not have had a burial place (Mk. 15:43-46). “What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others” (12:9). Matthew’s version is more specific. He says, “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit” (Matt. 21:43). Matthew thus gives us an extremely clear picture that God would take the kingdom from Israel and would give his salvation to the Gentiles. [13] God would work with a humble people who would obey his word. These would become the apostles and evangelists who would complete God’s will and take the gospel to the ends of the earth. This is an awesome parable. It really pictures the problem humanity has had through all the ages. Men and women have sought to get rid of God so they themselves can take the place of God. [14] This idea surely culminated in the late twentieth century as Friedrich Nietzsche’s “God is dead” philosophy came into prominence. Before the century ran out even some theologians were parroting this idea in their “God is dead theology.” On the cover of its April 8, 1966 issue, Time Magazine even asked the question, “Is God Dead?” We can understand the rage with which the Father will come to such godless people. “Haven’t you read this scripture: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” (12:10-11). The Jewish builders or leaders in Jerusalem had somehow rejected the most important stone of all. This probably has reference to the capstone that is very important in completing an arch or it could also have reference to a capital or a pinnacle of a building. [15] Jesus was God’s Beloved Son (Aramaic ‘ben’). He was also the most important keystone (Aramaic ‘eben’). Pett feels there is probably a word play intended and he notes that the Targum follows suite and translates “stone” as “son.” [16] Several commentators have noted how the early Christians seemed to be fascinated with the subject of the “stone.” Jesus was the stone rejected by the builders. Peter was a stone also and Christians were referred to as being like living stones. The subject is dealt with in several places such as in Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2:4-7; Romans 9:32-33; and Ephesians 2:20. [17] Unfortunately for Israel, Jesus became a “stone of stumbling” and a “rock of offense just as the prophet Isaiah had predicted (Isa. 8:14; 28:16; cf. 1 Pet. 2:8). “Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away” (12:12). “The dilemma the authorities faced was whether to ignore Jesus, only to have him whip up a rebellion, or to seize Jesus, only to ignite the very rebellion they feared…In plotting Jesus’ destruction, they unwittingly lived up to their characterization in the parable as murderers.” [18] Israel’s proud rulers slinked away because they were afraid of the crowd. SHOULD TAXES BE PAID TO CAESAR? Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?” Mark 12:13-14 This was meant to be a trap for Jesus. The Pharisees and Herodians were by no means friends with each other. They came together for one purpose, to snare Jesus with his words and hopefully to bring about his judgment and death. These two groups were full of conniving and deceit. They began their approach with great flattery toward Jesus. Probably they felt like they had a fool proof question that Jesus could not answer without causing great damage to himself. The question was whether or not taxes should be paid to Caesar. If Jesus answered “yes,” the crowds would likely jeer him. If he answered no, the Herodians would no doubt hurry off and report him to the government as a seditionist. It was a “no-win” question. Perhaps it would be good for us to understand the political situation in the land of Israel at this time. The Romans had two classes of provinces. If a province required no troops and was peaceful, it was governed by the Roman senate and ruled by a proconsul. If a province had many troubles and required troops it was placed under direct rule of the emperor and was governed by a procurator. The southern portion of Israel’s land fell in the latter category and therefor tribute was paid to the emperor directly. [19] There were three types of taxes paid to the Romans. First, there was the ground tax which amounted to one-tenth of all grain harvested and one-fifth of wine and fruit. Next, there was an income tax and this amounted to one percent of a person’s income. Last, there was the poll tax which amounted to a denarius. This was the daily wage of a working person. [20] It is the poll tax which was under discussion here. The Pharisees and Herodians were insistent with their question: “‘Should we pay or shouldn’t we?’ But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. ‘Why are you trying to trap me?’ he asked. ‘Bring me a denarius and let me look at it’” (12:15). “Paying tribute, especially the ‘poll tax’ (tax per head), was seen by the Jews as something to be done grudgingly, and by some extremists even as treason. The majority, however, paid it but hated it.” [21] How could Jesus answer such a trick question? As the two groups of antagonists awaited in smug satisfaction at their question, Jesus asked them to produce a denarius. Apparently, the Master did not have one of his own. “They brought the coin, and he asked them, ‘Whose image is this? And whose inscription?’ ‘Caesar’s,” they replied” (12:16). It is a widely held view that the denarius given to Jesus was one that had been minted by the Emperor Tiberius sometime in the 20s. Its legend probably read like this, TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVSTVS, “Tiberius Caesar Augustus, Son of Divine Augustus.” [22] The face of the denarius even displayed the bust of Caesar Tiberius upon it. They all probably waited in breathless silence for Jesus’ answer as he pondered the coin’s inscription. “Then Jesus said to them, ‘Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.’ And they were amazed at him” (12:17). Obviously, every Jew knew beyond a doubt that he or she was made in the image of God, as Genesis 1:26-27 recounts. Jesus was saying simply that they should give their coins to Caesar and themselves to God. This is a tremendously powerful teaching. In it Jesus acknowledges the authority of human governments and governmental systems such as taxation. However, he also acknowledges that there is a higher government ruling over humankind. It is the obligation of humans to be submissive to both. As the early church father, Tertullian said: “You give to Caesar only money. But to God, give yourself.” [23] Some years later, the Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 13 would sort out the full implications of Jesus’ statement. Paul would say, “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God” (Rom. 13:1). In almost the same breath Paul would also say, “Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor” (Rom. 13:7). It is amazing that Jesus would command people to give taxes to Caesar, who was at best a cruel oppressor. Jesus no doubt knew that the troops of Caesar would shortly pierce his hands and feet on a cross. [24] Later, Paul also probably knew that he would likely meet his end under the cruel hand of Caesar. When we look at Jesus’ statement and the statements of Paul there will surely be no reason left why we should not submit ourselves to the governing authorities that God has set up. But at the same time we must know that we should submit our lives to God. Clarke says here: “This answer is full of consummate wisdom. It establishes the limits, regulates the rights, and distinguishes the jurisdiction of the two empires of heaven and earth.” [25] Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. Mark 12:18 This is the only appearance of the Sadducee party in the book of Mark. This group probably had its beginning in the second century BC. The name “Sadducee” can possibly be traced to the name of Zadok (2 Sam. 8:17), or to the word “saddiq” (Heb. righteous). [26] This group was mostly made up of priests and it is thought that the office of high priest was regularly held by a Sadducee. The Sadducees only accepted the Torah or the written law (the five books of Moses) as authoritative. They were the elite and wealthy of Israelite society. It is of note that they did not believe in angels, spirits, or even in immortality. [27] Of course, many Sadducees were members of the Sanhedrin, the great religious court of the Jews. Since they were closely connected to the temple, their sect perished with its destruction in AD 70. We cannot miss the fact that Jesus is dealing with each group that made up the Sanhedrin, or the governing body of Israel. In the last section he dumbfounded the Pharisees regarding the matter of paying taxes to Caesar. Now he will take on the Sadducees. “‘Teacher,’ they said, ‘Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother’” (12:19). We have mentioned earlier how a divorced or widowed woman had little status in ancient societies. The loving God of Israel was greatly concerned for such as these. He was also concerned about the continuation of family lines and that property remain within the family group. Therefore, God issued laws concerning what is called Levirite Marriage (Gen. 38:8-10; Deut. 25:5-10). “Levirite” was a later term taken from the Latin word “levir” meaning “brother-in-law.” [28] Through the laws of Levirite Marriage, when a husband died without producing a son, the brother was required to marry the widow and produce a son or an heir to his brother in order that the family line could continue and the inheritance rights to property might remain intact and in the family. “Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children. The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third. In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too” (12:20-22). The Sadducees must have sat up all night thinking up this shrewd test for Jesus. In Jewish history there had been a couple of instances that slightly resembled this story. [29] Perhaps they got part of their inspiration from these. On the surface, their story seems a little bit weird and concocted. Now that the Sadducees had spun their ingenious stratagem they presented their clinching question that they thought would surely stump Jesus. They asked: “At the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?” (12:23). This question was designed to be a real brain teaser. We can imagine how the Sadducees must have also sat back with smug looks on their faces. They were no doubt intent on watching Jesus squirm. “Jesus replied, ‘Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?’” (12:24). This reply must have stunned the Sadducees. They had spent their entire lives absorbed with the temple and with God’s word. “Scripture (the Torah) and power (the Sanhedrin) were precisely the Sadducees’ stock-in-trade, the two matters which they majored.” [30] How could Jesus dare tell them they were wrong! The problem was that the Sadducees were such gross materialists that they were overlooking the spiritual world and missing it entirely. Things in the spiritual world just do not work like things in the natural world. It would be a little like a Medieval peasant trying to understand the postmodern cyber realm. It would be like the old pioneers traveling across the American west in a covered wagon trying to imagine doing the trip in three hours by modern jet plane. “When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven” (12:25). Here, Jesus the Son of God gives us some very new revelation about the afterlife. Earth’s most dear and closest relationship will be entirely eclipsed by the heavenly bliss. There will be no marriage in heaven. “Marriage is ordained to perpetuate the human family; but as there will be no breaches by death in the future state, this ordinance will cease.” [31] We all have the tendency to create heaven in the image of earthly things. For instance, today the Moslem terrorists see heaven as a place where they will each be rewarded with 70 dark-eyed virgins. This is all pure nonsense of course. Those in heaven will be like the angels. They will not actually be angels since humans were created to ultimately be higher than the angels (Jn. 17:22-24; 1 Jn. 3:1-2). [32] Some have suggested that they would be sexless but this is not borne out in scripture. We should understand that although there will be no marriage in heaven there will certainly be a recollection of former marriages on earth. [33] The Bible tells us that in the heavenly state we shall understand all things fully. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:12, “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” As we can see, Jesus is methodically chipping away at the faulty theology of the Sadducees. He continues: “Now about the dead rising— have you not read in the book of Moses, in the account of the burning bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!” (12:26-27). Jesus displays much shrewdness in quoting from Exodus 3:6. This was the very part of the scripture which was fully accepted by the Sadducees. We note here something very important about Jesus. He really believed and accepted as true and relevant every word of God. As he had replied to the devil some years before, “…It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (Matt. 4:4). We must note the expression every word. We can also see in this passage that the Sadducees and all those gathered around Jesus accepted every word of God as true and relevant. The Sadducees and those listening were devastated by the power and correctness of Jesus’ answer. Jesus slew them with a single word of God. He demolished their argument and their whole theology with the single word, “am.” God said “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” He didn’t say, “I was the God of Abraham before he died.” God is living and he is the God of the living. The Sadducees had missed one important word in the Bible and that error caused them to go astray. We might think of how this applies to our day when even some great Bible scholars handle the word carelessly and in fact do not really believe it. The Bible had hinted at life after death in many places (cf. Isa. 26:19; Ezek. 37:1 ff.; Dan. 12:2; Psa.73:23). In Psalm 23 David had stated that he would dwell in God’s house forever. Long before him Job had said, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes— I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” (Job 19:25-27). Had the Sadducees only opened their eyes to the word of God they would have understood about the wonderful life to come. As Edwards says, “God’s power to create and restore life bursts the limits of both logic and imagination.” [34] WHAT IS THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT? One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” Mark 12:28 This scribe must have been truly impressed with Jesus’ teaching, however both Matthew and Luke say that he was still trying to “test” Jesus (Matt. 22:35; Lk. 10:25). His question seemed to be an honest one and not a trick question as the others had asked. In those days it was quite popular to try and condense Bible teaching into a short summary. The great sage, Rabbi Hillel, was once asked by a proselyte to condense the whole law of God while he remained standing on one foot. Hillel said to him, “What thou hatest for thyself, do not to thy neighbor. This is the whole law, the rest is commentary.” [35] “‘The most important one,’ answered Jesus, is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these” (12:29-31). To answer the scribe’s question Jesus simply recited the Shema (Heb. to hear) —“Sh-mah Yis-ra-el A-do-nai, El-o-he-nu A-do-nai e-chad…” This ancient prayer is taken from Deuteronomy 6:4-9. It is still recited at least twice daily by devout Jewish people all over the world. In addition to the Shema Jesus added a portion of scripture from Leviticus 19:18. Apparently, no one had put these scriptures together before. [36] We note here that Jesus adds a fourth response. People are not to just love God with all their heart, soul and strength as Deuteronomy 6:5 commands. They must love God with all their mind as well (cf. Matt.22:37; Lk. 10:27). [37] Not only did Jesus expand the original Shema, but we see in Luke 10:29-37, that he drastically expanded the idea of the neighbor to include anyone in need. What a succinct statement of real religion. First we must love God with everything in us, with heart, soul, mind and strength. Next, we must love our neighbors as we love ourselves. The love of God must always be first and primary. If it is not, all other love will be like sounding brass or clanging symbols. If we do not truly love God we will be powerless to love our neighbors. If we do not love our neighbors it will be impossible to love God. “‘Well said, teacher,’ the man replied. ‘You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices’” (12:32-33). Apparently, although this man began with some hint of malevolence, he was overwhelmed and changed by the great wisdom of Jesus’ answer. He ended up in total agreement with the Master. Barnes remarks here: “This shows that a proper understanding of the Old Testament, of its laws and requirements, would prepare the mind for Christianity, and fit a man at once to embrace it when presented.” [38] This man was open to God’s truth. He was a sincere seeker and by no means hypocritical as the others had been. When we really open our hearts to God and cry out for wisdom God will surely give it. “When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions” (12:34). “What does it mean when a person is ‘not far from the kingdom of God’? It means he or she is facing truth honestly and is not interested in defending a ‘party line’…People close to the kingdom have the courage to stand up for what is true even if they lose some friends and make some new enemies.” [39] We do not know if this scribe became a follower of Jesus or not. If he chose to do so, the price would have been extremely high. He would no doubt have been cast out of his scholarly position and would have been a persona non grata around the temple. Today, the price is still just as high as it was then. While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, “Why do the teachers of the law say that the Messiah is the son of David?” Mark 12:35 Ralph Martin says here, “After a day of questions comes the question of the day.” [40] It is now Jesus’ time to ask a question and he asked them a real zinger. In Jewish circles of that time the Messiah was expected to be the Son of David. To complicate this matter a bit, we see that Jesus was indeed the Son of David in the flesh. We see this clearly in a number of Old Testament prophetic sections such as Jeremiah 23:5; 33:15, and Isaiah 11:1. The genealogy of Jesus makes it crystal clear that he was born from the line of David. We see this in Matthew 1:1; Luke 1:32; 3:23-31; and in Romans 1:3. It is also quite clear that Jesus was referred to as the Son of David by many people in the New Testament (i.e. Matt. 9:27; 12:23; 15:22; 20:30; and 21:9). “David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared: ‘The Lord said to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet’” (12:36). Jesus is here quoting from Psalm 110. This Psalm became very popular with the early Christians in New Testament times. In fact, it is the most frequently quoted portion of the Old Testament found in the New Testament. [41] Jesus is saying that although the statement about him is true biblically speaking, it is not his whole title. He is also David’s Lord. Barclay helps us untangle this difficult passage saying: “He is not denying that the Messiah is the Son of David, nor is he saying that he himself is not the Son of David. What he is saying is that he is the Son of David— and far more, not only David’s son but David’s Lord…Jesus was saying that the title Son of David, as it was popularly used, is quite inadequate description of himself.” [42] “‘David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?’ The large crowd listened to him with delight” (12:37). It is thought by some that this verse was interpreted Messianically in the period just before Christ’s coming. After his coming the rabbis seemed to have dropped this interpretation. Interestingly, the interpretation reappears in Jewish writings by AD 250, after Jewish Christian relations had passed their first century crisis. [43] In Matthew’s version it is added here, “No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions” (Matt. 22:46). As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.” Mark 12:38-39 After totally demolishing much of the Sanhedrin’s theology with his quick wit and sharp answers, Jesus went on to expose some of their hypocritical practices. It appears that the teachers of the law or scribes liked to walk around in fancy long robes and receive lavish greetings such as “hail my great one (Rabbi).” [44] Of course, the New Testament assures us that it is much better to clothe ourselves with the Lord (Rom.13:14), with compassion (Col. 3:12), and with humility (1 Pet. 5:5). The scribes or teachers of the law also liked to take the choice seats in the synagogues and at important meetings. In the ruins of the synagogue at Korazin near the Sea of Galilee, the archaeologists found a special stone seat which is on display there today. It is called “Moses’ Seat,” and such a seat is apparently mentioned by Jesus in Matthew 23:2. It was a great privilege to sit in that seat and be honored as a great teacher by the people. The scribes also liked to take the most important seats at banquets. The best spot in biblical times was to the immediate right of the host. The second most important seat was on the left of the host. [45] Jesus tells his followers to always take the least important seat at the table and if the host thinks we need to go higher he will arrange that (Lk. 14:8-11). The leaders of Israel were doing many evil and hypocritical things. In this section Matthew and Luke relate that Jesus brought many charges and woes against these leaders (Matt. 23:1-36; Lk. 20:45-47). Years ago my wife and I went to what was billed as a prayer breakfast in Jerusalem. There were many “important” Christian dignitaries seated on the stage before us. We were amazed that after the breakfast was over, most all the time was spent by the moderator in telling about all the important people who were present. One man was somehow left out of the spotlight and was seen passing a note to the moderator. Quickly, the moderator made a long acknowledgement of that important fellow. When all was said and done, there was a lot more said than done. My wife and I were sure that the total praying time that morning was something less than twenty minutes. Likely the Lord was amused by it all. “They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely” (12:40). The scribes must have liked prayer meetings. They really enjoyed making long prayers. Long ago the pastor of my home church once droned on so long at the morning prayer that he finally got distracted and absent-mindedly blurted out, “Lord we thank you for this food.” Jesus prayed long, but we do not have much evidence that he prayed long prayers, at least in public. When he taught his disciples to pray the model prayer, it must have lasted all of about 30 seconds (Matt. 6:9-13). It was extremely short but it covered all the bases. Long prayers seemed not to have much merit if done in public. We can pray all we wish in the secrecy of our closet though (Matt. 6:6). Long public prayers can certainly bore people to tears and even put them to sleep. Coffman tells us about a couple of extremely long public prayers. When the Democratic Convention nominated Franklin D. Roosevelt to be the US President, a Christian faith healer led the prayer for 31 minutes and 15 seconds. The Catholic Cardinal who gave the inaugural prayer at the installation of President John F. Kennedy prayed for fourteen minutes. He reminded the Lord about the date of the occasion four different times during his prayer. [46] Jesus in other places warns us about babbling like pagans (Matt. 6:7). Apparently the pagan priests of Baal prayed and babbled all morning in the contest with Elijah. It is said in 1 Kings 18:26, “…Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. ‘Baal, answer us!’ they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.” Some of these religious leaders in Jerusalem did not just have long robes and make long prayers, they also had long noses as well. They looked down their noses on others. In Luke 18:11, Jesus told the story of a Pharisee with a long nose: “The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people— robbers, evildoers, adulterers— or even like this tax collector.’” The hypocritical nature of these scribal prayers was the fact that they were a cover up for cheating poor widows out of their properties. The scribes (teachers or lawyers) were not wealthy like the Sadducees. They largely depended upon gifts from worshippers and could not receive pay for their teaching. This did not keep them from flattery and from manipulating gifts from widows and others who could least afford them. [47] Barnes adds that this might have also been accomplished by supposed counseling of the widows in the matters of law and in the management of their estates. [48] Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. Mark 12:41 The scribes and other leaders not only made a show of their praying but they apparently also made a show of their giving. The rich people gave some large amounts that day. No doubt some waited for a suitable admiring crowd to gather before they dropped their large gifts into the treasury (Matt. 6:1). That day some other eyes were watching. The Master was looking on at what must have been an interesting religious show. Apparently, this show took place near the Court of the Women and the Gate Beautiful. In that area there were thirteen collection boxes installed. These boxes were called “the Trumpets,” because this was their shape. [49] Into the mouths of these trumpets people could cast their offerings. “But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents” (12:42). The Greek scholar Robertson tells us that the language here is emphatic, indicating that her poverty-stricken condition was manifest from her dress and wasted look. [50]. This poor widow dropped in two very small coins (Gk. lepta). The two thin copper coins would have made up a Jewish pruta (the smallest Jewish coin), and ten of these would have bought a loaf of bread in those days. [51] Pett imagines that with this small gift “the trumpets of heaven blared, and the angels stopped what they were doing and looked at each other (even though the woman never knew). For here was a gift that was almost worthy of God.” [52] “Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, ‘I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything— all she had to live on’” (12:43-44). Jesus was really excited about this small gift. This poor widow had given more than all the others put together. How was that so? Chrysostom said, “The Lord paid no attention to the amount of her money but only to the abundance of her generosity.” [53] Coffman relates a story from the days when the Statue of Liberty was being erected in New York harbor. “The City of New York was participating in a campaign among the immigrant poor of the great city to raise funds for the construction of the pedestal and supporting tower upon which Bartholdi’s Statue of Liberty would be erected. The campaign was lagging until a poor woman sold her bed for $13.00 and contributed the money. Inspired by that, the people quickly responded and gave more than was needed.” [54] We will never know what the small gift of the widow in our story has inspired throughout Christian history. There is no telling how many church buildings, evangelistic programs, literature crusades and God knows what else, have been inspired by this widow’s small gift so long ago. Several sources I have cited here are from the electronic media, either from websites or from electronic research libraries. Thus in some of these sources it is not possible to cite page numbers. Instead I have cited the verse or verses in each chapter of Mark (e.g. verse v. 1 or vs. 1-2) about which the commentators speak. 1. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 354. 2. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 327. 3. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 355. 4. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 328. 5. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 12:1-8, citing Morris. Wiersbe adds here: “In order to retain his legal rights to the property, the owner had to receive produce from the tenants…This explains why the tenants refused to give him anything…It also explains why the owner continued to send agents to them; it was purely a question of authority and ownership.” (Wiersbe, p. 123). 6. Evans, Word Biblical Commentary, Mark 8:27—16:20, p. 232. 7. Ibid., p. 233. 8. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p. 151. 9. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 358. 10. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, p. 123. 11. Quoted in Guzik vs. 1-8. 12. Coffman, Commentary on Mark, vs. 12:1-7. Edwards (p. 359) sums up the situation well saying: “No longer content with the owner’s produce (v. 2), the farmers go for his property as well…If humanity can dispense with God, or even kill God, then humanity can become God…What is the sum total of human history if not the attempt to rid the universe of God.” 13. Ibid., v. 12:9. Barclay injects this thought: “The parable has in it the whole germ of what was to come- the rejection of the Jews and the passing of their privileges and responsibilities to the Gentiles.” (Barclay, p. 329). 14. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 359. 15. Evans, Word Biblical Commentary, Mark 8:27—16:20, p. 238. 16. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, vs. 12:10-11. 17. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 330. 18. Evans, Word Biblical Commentary, Mark 8:27—16:20, p. 239. 19. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 331. 20. Ibid., p. 332. 21. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, vs. 12:13-17. Utley writes concerning the poll tax (p. 155): “This was a transliteration of the Latin term ‘census.’ It was a head tax which Rome placed on all conquered peoples…[an] empire-wide tax (i.e., A.D. 6-20) on males fourteen years through sixty-five years and on women twelve to sixty-five…” 22. Evans, Word Biblical Commentary, Mark 8:27—16:20, p. 147. 23. Oden, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, p. 167. 24. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 12:15-17. 25. Quoted in Guzik vs. 12:15-17. 26. Evans, Word Biblical Commentary, Mark 8:27—16:20, p. 252. 27. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 336. 28. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 12:18-23. 29. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 366. “In the Apocrypha, the book of Tobit tells the story of a woman who married seven men and remained childless (3:7-15) – a story that may have inspired the fantastic plot proposed by the Sadducees to Jesus.” 30. Ibid., p. 367. 31. Jamieson, Commentary on Mark, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, v. 12:25. 32. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, p. 124. 33. Barnes, Commentary on Mark, v. 12:25. 34. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 368. 35. Quoted in Barclay p. 341. 36. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, vs. 12:29-31. 37. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 371. “God lays rightful claim to every facet of human personality: heart (=emotions), soul; (=spirit), mind (= intelligence), and strength (= will)…Both the Hebrew and Greek versions of Deut. 6:4-5 describe a threefold response to God – heart, soul, and strength. Mark quotes Jesus adding a fourth response, the love of God with one’s whole mind or understanding.” 38. Barnes, Commentary on Mark, v. 12:32. 39. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, p. 124. 40. Quoted in Edwards, p. 375. 41. Ibid., p. 376. Barclay adds here, “The Jews at this time assumed that all the Psalms came from the hand of David. They also held that this Psalm referred to the coming Messiah…All through the NT, the conviction that Jesus was in fact the Son of David in his physical descent occurs (Rom. 1:3; 2 Tim. 2:8; Matt. 1:1-17; Lk. 3:23-38).” (Barclay, p. 347). 42. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 347. 43. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, vs. 12:35-37. 44. Ibid., v, 12:28. 45. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 349. 46. Coffman, Commentary on Mark, vs. 12:38-40. 47. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 379. 48. Barnes, Commentary on Mark, v. 12:40. 49. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 352. 50. Cited in Guzik vs. 12:43-44. 51. See Hebrew Prutah, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prutah 52. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, v. 12:42. 53. Oden, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, p. 177. 54. Coffman, vs. 12:43-44. As he was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!” Mark 13:1 Jesus was leaving the temple and would likely never return to it again. He came to his own people and they would not receive him (Jn. 1:11). Now the sure judgment of God was about to fall on the nation and on its house of worship. As Jesus was leaving, one of his disciples seemed overwhelmed by the massive stones and the magnificence of the structure. From what we know today the temple was indeed both massive and magnificent. Starting in 19 BC, King Herod the Great had begun renovation on the Temple of Zerubbabel (Ezr. 6:15), or the Second Temple as it is now called. Much of the temple was completed after ten years of hard labor but the finishing work lasted much longer, making a total of over eighty years, and being concluded only in AD 63. It took the work of 10,000 skilled laborers for the overall complex and 1000 especially trained priests to do construction on the holy sanctuary itself. [1] Herod the Great, who was not Jewish but Idumean (Edomite), was in many ways a terrible person but he was a great builder. It is thought that he was trying to gain favor with the Jewish people by rebuilding their temple. He greatly increased and leveled the old temple complex by the use of a massive retaining wall some 1576 feet (480 m.) x 985 feet (300 m.) on the average. [2] On top of the platform he reconstructed the temple and made it utterly magnificent. As the disciple indicated, the stones used in building were massive. According to Josephus, some of the stones were 40 feet (12 m.) in length, 12 feet (3.6 m.) high and 18 feet (5.5 m.) in width. [3] The temple building itself, when seen in the morning sunlight, dazzled observers with its splendor. Pett describes it saying: “It rose to a height of fifty meters [164 ft.] and was a visual collage of gold and silver, crimson and purple, radiating the rising sun like a snow-clad mountain.” [4] “‘Do you see all these great buildings?’ replied Jesus. ‘Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down’” (13:2). It is utterly amazing how this prophecy of Jesus was so completely and accurately fulfilled. Today on the Temple Mount there is no trace of the glorious building complex of Herod. It is not even possible to discern exactly where the holy temple once stood. Truly, there is not a single ancient stone left on top of another because it was swept clean by the Romans in AD 70. At the southwestern corner of the platform in the Old City it is still possible to see a pile of large ancient stones that were thrown from the top of the retaining wall and came crashing down on the pavement below, destroying it in some places. [5] The only stones remaining intact are those of the massive retaining wall itself. The most famous spot on this retainer is what was once called the Wailing Wall and today is referred to as the Kotel. This has become a sacred spot for the Jews since it is normally the closest they may come to where the temple once stood. [6] The Western Wall (Kotel) or retaining wall is a wonder to behold. The very large stones are decorated with the typical Herodian indented borders and they are so perfectly fitted together that it is almost impossible to slip even a sheet of paper between them. This is utterly amazing when we consider that their weight has been estimated between 400-600 tons each. [7] The first seven visible layers today are original Herodian-type stones. The height of the exposed section of the retaining wall is approximately 62 feet (19 m.). Below ground there are 17 more layers of massive stones going down to bedrock. [8] As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?” Mark 13:3-4 We do not know exactly where Jesus and his disciples were located on the Mount of Olives. Actually, it would not make much difference because almost the whole western face of the mountain provides an excellent view of the Temple Mount. We should note that the Mount of Olives is higher than the temple area by several hundred feet. Its elevation is 2683 ft. (818 m.), compared with 2428 ft. (740 m.) for the Temple Mount. Today, most tourists to Israel are treated with a grand photo op from a spot near the top of the Mount of Olives. The four original disciples of Jesus asked about when these things will take place. Jesus began to make a great prophetic sweep with his answer. He began to weave the destruction of the temple with the end of the age. He wove them together so closely that it is practically impossible to separate them. When one drives across the Great Plains of the US traveling west, he will eventually see the Rocky Mountains appearing in the distance. These great mountains appear initially as a very long chain of snow-capped peaks. However, as one draws closer it becomes apparent that there are many peaks and valleys that make up this mountain range. Prophecy is a little like that. Jesus is not just seeing the one event of Jerusalem and her temple but he is seeing the remainder of human history as a background. Much of what Jesus sees concerns the destruction of Jerusalem and her temple. All other history is somehow linked to this watershed event of Jerusalem’s destruction. In fact, we will see in Daniel that all human history is indeed connected to Jerusalem. No doubt it is for this reason that the Bible exhorts us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem in Psalm 122:6, and to give God no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes it the praise of the earth in Isaiah 62:6-7. Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you.” Mark 13:5 This section of Mark and its corresponding parallels in Matthew and Luke are often referred to as an “apocalypse” or as an “unveiling.” While there are certainly apocalyptic elements in this section, its purpose is not just to reveal what is coming in the future. Edwards says of this passage: “Although Mark 13 contains some apocalyptic features, it is not an apocalypse in any ordinary sense of the term. Consequently, the use of ‘apocalyptic’ to characterize the chapter is an obstruction rather than an aid to understanding it.” [9] We can quickly discern that an overall purpose of these verses is to alert God’s people to what is coming and to insure that they carefully watch as the time unfolds. We have the command to “watch” here, and we will see this command again in verses 34 and 35. Actually the whole section ends with the command to “watch!” (13:37). This command was so urgent for the disciples because the drama of human redemption was unfolding before their eyes in those very hours. Sadly, they failed to watch but instead all went to sleep. We not only see the word “watch,” but we see several other expressions such as “be on your guard,” (vs. 9, 23, &33); exhortations to stand firm (v. 13); to understand (v. 14); to pray (v. 18); to learn (v. 28); and to know (v. 29). This is indeed a chapter of urgent warnings for God’s people. The chapter no doubt had great implications for the Markan community in Rome. [10] They were about to enter into the awful tribulation brought about by the Emperor Nero. “Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come” (13:6-7). As early as the Book of Acts we have evidence of false messiahs arriving. The book mentions Theudas (5:36), Judas of Galilee (5:37), and “the Egyptian” (21:38). [11] Bar Kokhba in AD 132 also was hailed as the messiah by the Great Rabbi Akiva. He led Israel into the second horrible and unsuccessful revolt against Rome. The period after Christ witnessed many wars and rumors of wars as the Pax Romana (the Roman peace) began to unravel at the seams. There was great pressure from the Parthians in the east and from the many uncivilized tribes to the north. In addition, Rome had great internal trouble. Just before the time of Jerusalem’s destruction there was a succession of several claimants for the job of emperor. In one year alone there were four emperors. The fourth was Vespasian, who left the siege of Jerusalem to his son Titus and took over the reins of Roman government. Clearly, false prophets and wars were all signs of the approaching end. Jerusalem’s destruction was certainly such a sign. In every age since Christ they are reminders and pictures telling us that the age is ending and that we are living in the last days. “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains” (13:8). In addition to wars there would be earthquakes and famines (Matt. 24:7; Lk. 21:11). Of course, there was an earthquake marking the resurrection of Jesus (Matt. 28:2). There was an earthquake later in Laodicea and a terrible one that shook the whole of Phrygia in AD 61. There was the famous eruption of Mt. Vesuvius on the Italian peninsula in AD 79. That great eruption completely buried the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Corinth and the isle of Cyprus also suffered earthquakes in the 70s. [12] Jesus says that these things are the “beginning of birth pains.” So, the birth pains of the Messiah have been going on since the first century. The mothers among us well know about birth pains. The one sure characteristic of birth pains is that they begin easy and get harder and closer together until the delivery. We can expect to see a similar progression in pains as the Messianic Age comes upon us. These birth pains are mentioned often in scripture (cf. Isa. 26.17; 66.8; Jer. 22.23; Hos. 13.13; Mic. 4.9-10). Sometimes these are referred to by writers as “Messianic Woes.” In addition to earthquakes there will be famines. In Acts 11:27-30 we read about a terrible famine that struck in the days of Claudius. As Nero’s reign drew to an end there were great unrests and food shortages. [13] The famines have certainly gotten worse over the centuries as Jesus indicated. Many of the famines today are state-sponsored. We think of the famine in the Communist Ukraine killing from 2.4 to 7.5 million peasants in 1932. As a result of the “Great Leap Forward” in 1958, some 16.5 to 46 million people perished in China. [14] This was one of history’s most deadly famines. Of course, some countries like North Korea seem to be in state of almost perpetual famine. Famine is another “birth pain” of the coming age. In Revelation 6:5-6, we are told that a black horse will run throughout the earth indicating that there will be great famine. In Revelation 6:8, we see that initially a fourth of the earth will be suffering under war, plagues and famine. In Luke’s parallel (Luke 21:11) he adds pestilences, terrors along with great signs from heaven. You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. Mark 13:9 The warning continues. We must all be on our guard as the end-days approach. The persecution will take place in local councils (Gk. sunedria) and in synagogues. “Sanhedrins” or “councils” is plural here indicating local governing bodies and not necessarily the Great Sanhedrin in Jerusalem. [15] We see that the persecution will be both of a religious nature and of a political nature, since God’s people will also stand before governors and kings. Obviously, there was much fulfillment of this verse in the first century. Peter and John were brought before the Sanhedrin in Acts 4:1-22. Peter and some of the other apostles were put in jail by the high priest and his associates, but the Lord delivered them in the night (Acts 5:17-42; cf. 12:11-19). Stephen the deacon was stoned to death for his witness (Acts 7:54-60). Paul was stoned for preaching at Lystra but miraculously survived (Acts 14:19-20). Paul and Silas were imprisoned by the magistrates in Philippi but were miraculously delivered (Acts 16:20-40). During his ministry Paul was beaten with rods three times (2 Cor. 11:25). He was beaten by the Jews three times with 39 stripes each. [16] Paul was arrested in the temple area at Jerusalem (Acts 21:27) and was later sent to Rome as a prisoner. During his imprisonment he bore witness before Annas the high priest (Acts 24:1ff.), and before Felix the procurator of Judea (Acts 24:2ff.). Finally Paul bore witness before Festus, the Roman governor who succeeded Felix (Acts 25:1-12) and before King Agrippa (Acts 25:23 ff.). “And the gospel must first be preached to all nations” (13:10). Incredibly, there was also a great deal of fulfillment of this verse in the first century. Before Paul’s imprisonment he could write to the Romans telling them in Romans 1:8, that their faith had been reported throughout the known world. Also when Paul and Silas preached at Thessalonica there was a great anxiety and disquiet among the town leadership. They cried out, “…These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here…” (Acts 17:6). This was not only a charge against them but a back-handed compliment to the effectiveness of Christian work in the first century. Matthew repeats this information from Jesus (24:14), but he definitely connects it with the end of time: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” It has generally been understood by this verse that the gospel must at least reach all nations and peoples before the end. “Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit” (13:11). We see a beautiful picture of this in the trial of Peter and John before Caiaphas and the elders of Jerusalem. After they heard the witness and saw the boldness of the two they reacted in amazement: “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13). Jesus continues on to say: “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death” (13:12). The family was at the very heart of Jewish life, but Jesus had predicted in other places that the family would become fragmented over the preaching of the gospel (cf. Matt: 10:21). [17] Those Christians to whom Mark was writing in Rome were very close to the great persecution under Nero which happened in AD 64. The Roman senator and historian Publius Tacitus, in describing this persecution, tells us “that those who confessed that they were Christians were first arrested, and then on their disclosures, many Christians were further arrested…” [18] He supports the fact that family division and betrayal were some of the most serious consequences of Nero’s great persecution. [19] Barclay relates a tragic story that happened during World War II: “In Hitler’s Germany a man was arrested because he stood for freedom. He endured imprisonment and torture with stoic and uncomplaining fortitude. Finally, with spirit still unbroken, he was released. Some short time afterwards he committed suicide. Many wondered why. Those who knew him well knew the reason – he had discovered that his own son was the person who had informed against him. The treachery of his own flesh and blood broke him in a way that the cruelty of his enemies was unable to achieve.” [20] In the end-days some families, and no doubt some Christian families, will be fragmented because of persecution. Jesus speaks of death in this passage and that has been the lot of many since New Testament times. “Researchers estimate that since the Day of Pentecost, more than 43 million Christians have been killed for their faith.” [21] It is generally reported that the recent twentieth century was by far the bloodiest one ever for Christians. “Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved” (13:13). Here we have usage of the Greek word hupomeno, which means “to remain under.” [22] It is a word found several places in the New Testament and also has meanings of “to wait,” “to bear patiently” and “to endure.” In short, this word expresses that great doctrine of perseverance. Utley notes how this doctrine must be held in a sort of dialectical tension with the other great doctrine of the believer’s security in Christ (cf. Rev. 2:7, 11, 17,; 21:7). [23] Matthew 24:12 gives us a great warning that the love of many or even most (NIV, NAS, NJB, RSV) Christians will grow cold in the last day. When you see “the abomination that causes desolation” standing where it does not belong—let the reader understand— then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Mark 13:14 Here we have the introduction of a great mystery that is both alarming and frightening. Jesus tells us that something awful and unspeakable will happen in the last days and that we have a great need to understand it. In order for us to begin to understand this awful and unspeakable mystery we must go back in the history of God’s people to the time of the prophet Daniel. Today a lot of scholars sneer at Daniel and claim that his prophecies were written after the events took place. Therefore, some scholars maintain that Daniel is a very late book and thus it is essentially a false and contrived account. We need to make clear that Jesus really believed in the Book of Daniel. He based much of his prophecy regarding the end-time on the book. We had better believe it too. In the Book of Daniel we have a mysterious outline of holy history beginning with the second decree of the Persian King Artaxerxes in 445 BC and running to the end of time. This great and fascinating outline is encapsulated in a mere four verses of Daniel—from 9:24 through 9:27. Only God could do such an astounding thing as to summarize all the future history of the world in four verses! That history, like all history, is closely connected to Jerusalem. From the time of the decree to rebuild Jerusalem to the end of the world would be “seventy sevens” or seventy weeks of seven years. This would make up a total of 490 years. Daniel tells us that after 69 of these weeks of years had passed, the Messiah of Israel would come, be cut off, and then the holy temple and the city of Jerusalem would be destroyed. It is interesting that 69 sevens or 483 years (adjusted for the Jewish lunar calendar) brings us up to the area of around AD 30 or to the general time of Jesus’ ministry and death. Shortly after that, both the temple and city of Jerusalem were destroyed by the Romans. Obviously, Daniel tells us that there is a mysterious “seven” or a period of seven years still unfulfilled. Since all future time is built around Jerusalem we can only conclude that the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus in AD 70 somehow stopped the divine clock. There is still a week of seven years left. After almost two thousand years the clock is still stopped with “seven minutes till midnight,” so to speak, still showing on its face. We are thus very near a new day. This is exactly why early Christians felt they were living in the last day or last hour of history (cf. 1 Jn. 2:18). We are still in that last hour. Many Bible scholars believe that the restoration of Israel and especially the future rebuilding of the temple by the Jews, will inaugurate these last seven years of history. It will be an exceedingly turbulent time in which the Beast or antichrist will arise. During the last three and one-half years the antichrist will proclaim himself as God and will take his seat in the new temple of God. This is the “abomination of desolation” spoken of by the prophet Daniel (Dan. 9:27; 11:31; 12:11). It will bring a time of horrible suffering for all people, even for God’s people (cf. Dan. 12:1 ff.). Now, holy history is a strange thing in that often there are partial fulfillments of prophecy before the final one. This is especially true in regard to Jerusalem and the temple. What Daniel prophesied had a rather exact fulfillment in the days of the Greek/Syrian or Seleucid king named Antiochus IV (Epiphanes). This account is recorded for us in the non-canonical history books of I and II Maccabees. It is also related by the Jewish historian, Josephus. During this period the Syrian king invaded Jerusalem (175 BC), killed and enslaved many of its inhabitants, sacked the temple, and carried off most of its treasures. He then offered a pig on its altar, set up a statue of Olympian Zeus in its sacred courts and ordered the Jewish people to worship it. [24] At this, the devout and zealous Jewish family of the Maccabees began a revolt against Antiochus. Although they were a small band, with the help of God they gained some outstanding victories over very large armies. In time, they cleansed the temple and rededicated it. This event is still celebrated in the Jewish festival of Hanukkah. Although it was not a biblical festival Jesus must have thought it very important for we see that he went up to Jerusalem in the winter to celebrate it (Jn. 10:22-23). Had the valiant Maccabees not arisen there probably would not have been a temple court for Jesus have entered, or even a nation of Israel left for him to have visited. When Mark wrote his gospel the stage was fully set for another and even more serious fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy. In less than a decade of his writing the Romans would come and totally destroy the temple and the city of Jerusalem. They would kill over a million of the Jews and take another hundred thousand captive. [25] The long age of the Gentiles would be fully instituted and would last till the present hour, with the holy temple area being trampled down by a long succession of Gentile people (Lk. 21:24). According to the prophetic pattern, Titus also entered the temple as it was being destroyed. [26] It is significant that as Roman armies were surrounding Jerusalem the early Christians were watching and were alert. They must have taken Jesus’ warnings seriously because the whole Christian community fled Jerusalem and settled at Pella, a city of the Decapolis across the Jordan and in the foothills of Peraea (today’s country of Jordan). [27] Thus, the Christians were spared the awful destruction of Jerusalem. The rest of the Jews did the opposite and crowded into Jerusalem. They soon faced suffering and death that is almost too horrible and difficult to describe. [28] “Let no one on the housetop go down or enter the house to take anything out. Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak” (13:15-16). In true prophetic fashion Jesus is weaving past, present and future together. The early Christians probably did not go back into their houses for personal items as Jesus had warned them. Once the Roman army completed its encirclement of Jerusalem there was really no hope of ever getting out. Those who tried were killed either by the Romans or by the Jewish rebel leaders who were in charge. We are left with an eerie feeling that in the last days of human history Jerusalem will be surrounded and occupied once more, and this time by the armies of antichrist. God’s people once again may have to flee to the mountains without going back for personal items. We must be alert, watch and pray when these days come upon us. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that this will not take place in winter, because those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now— and never to be equaled again. Mark 13:17-19 The days of Antiochus IV were dreadful times for God’s people. There was much suffering and many horrors. The days of Jerusalem’s fall in AD 70 were even more dreadful. People were starved to death by the thousands and robbed by their own leaders. Piles of dead bodies were everywhere in the city with no one left or even strong enough to bury the dead. We cannot even imagine how terrible will be the last days of human history when the armies of antichrist and of the world surround Jerusalem for one last time. We see the great pity and love of our Master as he here expresses concern for pregnant and nursing women. We sense his loving concern for the weak. He therefore instructs his people to pray that these events will not happen in the winter. Many folks think that Israel is a land of deserts and camels. However, Jerusalem ranges to elevations of around 2600 feet (792 m.). In the winter months there can be cold driving rain for days and sometimes there can be snow. When the rains come, the normally dry rivers and wadis can become dangerous and difficult to cross. [29] Apparently the early Christians prayed and the siege of Jerusalem happened in the warm dry summer months. As bad as it was in the previous times of tribulation for Jerusalem, the time to come will be much worse. It will be a time that will never be equaled again” (v.19), in that it will not be an antichrist type that will lord it over Jerusalem, but it will be the real antichrist. Paul warns us about this in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4:“Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.” Clearly, Jesus connected his own crucifixion with the coming fall of Jerusalem. He said to the women as he was being led to Calvary: “…Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’” (Lk. 23:28-29). How much worse it will be for the women of Jerusalem on the day that antichrist takes his seat in the temple of God and declares himself to be God! “If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them” (13:20). Bible scholars have long concluded that the last terrible time of history will last only about three and one-half years (cf. Dan.7:25; 12:7; 8:14; 12:11-12; Rev. 12:6 &13:5). Things will be so bad that the human race could not survive a longer time. God in his mercy has decreed that this time shall be short. We must take note that it is for the sake of the elect that the time will be shortened. We surely cannot miss the fact that the elect will still be here in the midst of this final great battle. In the last two hundred years it has been quite popular for some scholars to say that the elect will escape the last tribulation. The early Christians certainly were not aware of this as we see in several of the earliest church fathers. They tell us that believers will still be on the earth and right in the midst of it all. [30] At that time if anyone says to you, “Look, here is the Messiah!” or, “Look, there he is!” do not believe it. Mark 13:21 Mark continues with what seems to be his main theme of this chapter, how believers should watch and be alert as the last days come upon them. One thing we should watch out for is false Christs. Just as there were false Christs in Jesus’ time the end-days will apparently abound with them. These imposters will try to show themselves secretly to entice and lure away believers. In Matthew’s version (24:26-27) Jesus says, “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” Mark enlightens us further about these deceivers saying: “For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive if possible even the elect. So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time” (13:22-23). Pett says of these evil workers: “History reveals how false prophets did continually disturb the Christian church right from the beginning and John had to warn against many antichrists (1 John 2:18-23)….They will show signs and wonders. Just as the Egyptian magicians did in the time of Moses (Exodus 7:11, 22).” [31] It is interesting that these false believers can actually do miracles and give supernatural signs. We must remember that we do not recognize God’s workers by their signs, but by their fruits (Matt. 7:16, 20; cf. Deut. 13:1-3). We may be watching out for false Christs, but it seems the modern and postmodern church has not done well in watching out for false prophets. Certain false prophecies of the end-times have led us far off from biblical understandings of how believers must watch, be sober, be prepared and endure through the difficult times that are coming. Edwards says of our present condition: “The mischief caused by the misuse of eschatology— not least in contemporary America— has resulted in a virtual eclipse of eschatology in the life of the church.” [32] We need to wake up! But in those days, following that distress, ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’” Mark 13:24-25 So far in this chapter we have seen that the end-days will be marked by an awful time of tribulation. It is a time when wickedness will be judged and when literally billions of people will be taken out of the earth and destroyed in various ways. It is literally the harvest of the wicked mentioned by Jesus in his parables. We have only to look at the Book of Revelation to see these disasters play out all over the world. Now Jesus gives us a very important key in interpreting the end-times. It is a key that millions of Christians have overlooked. What we have here is the official Day of the Lord spoken of by all the prophets. We note that this day comes after the tribulation. In Matthew 24:29, Jesus says this time will come “immediately” after the time of tribulation. Luke’s version tells us that there will be great distress of nations and much perplexity among peoples, that even the sea will roar mysteriously (Lk. 21:25-28). This is a most serious time for believers. We need to endure to the end to be saved (Matt. 10:22). We need to look up and see their salvation coming (Lk. 21:28). Jesus in speaking of this end-time made a strange statement in Luke 18:8, “… when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” The Great St. Augustine in speaking of this day said: “Even the most faithful will be shaken in the tribulation.” [33] Guzik says of this time: “In a sense, this is the groaning of all creation (Rom. 8:22) and it will come to one last crescendo before the return of Jesus….This kind of cosmic calamity is described in many Old Testament passages: Isaiah 13:9-11, Ezekiel 32:7-9, Joel 2:30-31, Amos 8:9-10, Zephaniah 1:14-15.” [34] We need to point out that the cosmic cataclysm of the last day will not totally destroy the earth or the heavens (Psa. 78:69; 93:1; 148:6). The Bible looks at it more like a recycling of the earth and heavens as both earth and heavens are cleansed and made new. In 2 Peter 3:13 the disciple says: “But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.” The Bible is clear that the earth will continue. It likely will be made new in much the sense that we are made new when we come to Christ. We are still the same person but we are radically changed within and under new management. The shaking of the heavenly bodies may have a lot to do with the spiritual realm. Pett says of this: “The stars falling from heaven may…indicate supernatural activity behind the affairs of the world, as may the shaking of the powers of the heavens (compare Revelation 12:4, 9; Luke 10:18).” [35] Utley points out how the stars often have reference in apocalyptic literature to the angels (cf. Rev. 8:10; 9:1). [36] This time of great judgment is not just a judgment of men and nations but a judgment of heavenly beings. “At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens” (13:26-27). There is nothing secret about the return of the Lord. All people everywhere will see his coming as he appears in great power and glory. This time he will not be coming as the Suffering Servant but as the Lord of the Universe. In Matthew 24:30 it is added: “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory” (cf. Dan. 7:13). His coming will not be a celebration for most of earth’s residents. We see here that the nations will mourn (cf. Rev. 1:7). We cannot imagine how great will be the mourning of the godless on that day. They will suddenly realize their totally lost condition; the utter bankruptcy of all their many philosophies and religions. Revelation 6:15-16 tells us that all the earth’s great ones, her kings, generals, rich and mighty and all the other godless will cry for the rocks and mountains to fall on them and hide them from the face of the coming Lord. I have often said that the most expensive real estate in the last day will be a hole in the ground where wicked people can try to hide from the face of Jesus. We see in this verse that the angels will begin gathering the elect from the four winds, from earth and heaven. Angels will figure prominently in the coming of the Lord (Zech. 14:5; Jude 1:14-15). Matthew 24:31 tells us that the angels will be sent out with a loud trumpet call to gather God’s elect (cf. 1 Thess. 4:16; 2 Thess. 1:7). Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door. Mark 13:28-29 It seems that the fig tree was one of Jesus’ favorite teaching tools (cf. 11:20-25). Now he returns to it again. The fig is an interesting tree. However, it is not an early bloomer. In Israel the very first tree to bloom is the almond. Normally in Jerusalem it blooms in late January. I have even witnessed the almond blooming in a snowstorm. However, the fig is a late blooming tree and puts out its leaves in March or April, around the time of Passover. When the fig puts on its leaves we know that summer is near. After Passover each year the warm weather begins to move in, even in the high country of Jerusalem. So it will be with the end of the age. When we begin to see the signs of the Lord’s coming we can know that the time is near, even at the door. “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (13:30-31). A generation is about 40 years. Actually in Deuteronomy 1:35, and in 2:14, we see a generation reckoned as 38 years. This is exactly the time frame dealt with in the above verse. We realize that the destruction of Jerusalem came about 38 years after the Lord made this prediction. [37] Jesus was talking about the fall of Jerusalem, but we must realize that Jerusalem is very important and has within it many spiritual implications relating to the last-days. As Edwards says, “The fall of Jerusalem once again functions as a mysterious paradigm of the end of the world…According to our interpretation, the generation under discussion is not that of the Second Coming, but the generation contemporary to Jesus that lived to witness the destruction of the temple and fall of Jerusalem.” [38] Many have questioned the Lord’s’ words here but Jesus says that his words will outlive heaven and earth. By his word Jesus made the heavens and earth in the first place (Jn. 1:1-3) and by his powerful word he maintains them to this day (Heb. 1:3). We know from Isaiah 40:8, “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Mark 13:32 We can know the signs of the Lord’s coming but we cannot know the hour. We see that even Jesus and the angels did not know the hour. This has been a troublesome passage for some, but there is really no problem here. When Jesus came to the earth and took on human flesh he also took on its limitations. Paul speaks of this in Philippians 2:7, saying of Jesus that he “… made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.” Jesus as a human being did not know the hour of his coming but Jesus as the risen and exalted Son of God certainly knows. We see in Revelation 1:1 ff. that the exalted Jesus is now worthy to open the book of the future and break all its seals. [39] “Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch” (13:33-34). Once again we are challenged to be on guard and to be alert as the end-day comes upon us. We are like doorkeepers to God’s house. The other synoptic gospels give us additional information here. Matthew and Luke tell us about a householder who was not watching and had his house broken into by a thief (Matt.24:42-44; Lk. 12:39-40). The two writers also tell us that the time leading up to the end-days will be like it was in Noah’s day. People were busy eating, drinking and getting married and were caught unprepared for the flood (Matt. 24:37-41; Lk. 17:26-27; 34-35). Luke warns us of the dangers of being filled with dissipation, drunkenness and the cares of life so that the day will spring closed on us like a trap (Lk. 21:34-36). He also challenges us to be on the watch and to pray so that we can escape the trouble that is coming and stand triumphantly before the Son of Man. “Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back— whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’” (13:35-37). In these verses we can see how insistent the Master is on our watching as the end-times come upon us. Does this mean that we have to suspend life and go out on some hill top to await the Lord’s coming? Some in the past have done such things but these approaches always seem to end in embarrassment and disaster. No, it is perfectly permissible for us to carry on with our work as we keep an eye out for his coming. In Luke 19:13, the Lord gives instructions to those he trusted with his money. He says “…Put this money to work,..until I come back.” God wants us to be busy, to occupy, but to always keep an eye out for his coming. Here Mark mentions the four Roman watches of the night, no doubt for the benefit of his Roman readers. The Jews had only three watches, from sundown to 10 PM, from 10 to 1:00 AM and from then to sunrise. The Romans had four. Evening ended at 9 PM, midnight ended at 12:00 PM, cock-crowing ended at 3 AM and morning ended at 6 AM. [40] Whether morning, evening or midnight the Lord wants us to be alert and ready for his coming. Somehow the disciples had not gotten the importance of this message, although Jesus had repeated it many times. In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus had to reprimand them five times because of their failure to watch (14:34, 37, 38, 40, 41). [41] Several sources I have cited here are from the electronic media, either from websites or from electronic research libraries. Thus in some of these sources it is not possible to cite page numbers. Instead I have cited the verse or verses in each chapter of Mark (e.g. verse v. 1 or vs. 1-2) about which the commentators speak. 1. Josephus Flavius, Antiquities of the Jews, Book 15, Chapter 11, par. 2 &6. 2. Rousseau &Arav, Jesus and His World, p. 280. 3. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 358. 4. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, vs. 13:1 ff. 5. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p. 175. “Josephus tells us that in A.D. 70 the Romans destroyed this site so completely that one could plow the ground as a field (cf. Mic. 3:12; Jer. 26:18).” 6. The Western Wall or Kotel was called the Wailing Wall in earlier times. Since Orthodox Jews are not permitted to go onto the Temple Mount this is the closest many can get to where the old temple once stood. There is now a Western Wall Tunnel that takes one closer to the site but it is mostly accessible to tour groups at scheduled times. 7. Evans, Word Biblical Commentary, Mark 8:27—16:20, p. 299. 8. See Western Wall, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Wall. 9. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 385. 10. Donahue, Mark, Harper’s Bible Commentary, p. 1001. 11. Davies, Mark, Abingdon Bible Commentary, p. 1015. 12. Evans, Word Biblical Commentary, Mark 8:27—16:20, p. 308. Pett (on verse 4) says: “Tacitus, a first century Roman historian, after referring to the horrors, calamities, disasters and portents, of the period, went on to say ‘never has it been better proved, by such terrible disasters to Rome, or by such clear evidence, that the gods were concerned, not with our safety but with vengeance on our sins.’ It is clear from this that to a contemporary the first century AD was a time of terrible troubles, including dreadful wars, earthquakes and famines, for the Roman Empire of which Judaea was a part (although not necessarily moreso than some other centuries).” 13. Ibid. 14. See, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Famine 15. Clarke, Commentary on Mark, The Adam Clarke Commentary, v. 13:9. 16. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p. 178. “Jews whipped offenders thirty-nine times—thirteen times on the front and twenty-six times on the back in accordance with Deut. 25:1-3.” 17. Ibid. 18. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 394. 19. Donahue, Mark, Harper’s Bible Commentary, p. 1002. 20. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, pp. 364-365. 21. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 13:9-13. 22. Ibid. Edwards adds here (p. 386): “The premium of discipleship is placed not on predicting the future but on faithfulness in the present, especially in trials, adversity, and suffering.” 23. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p. 178. 24. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 361 25. Ibid., p. 362. 26. Donahue, Mark, Harper’s Bible Commentary, p. 1002. Evans mentions concerning Titus: “In fact Titus’s stroll through the sanctuary occurred after the temple had already been seriously damaged and was in fact in flames.” (Evans, p. 19). There was something about the kings of Daniel’s four world empires (Dan. 2:1-45) in that they would often consider themselves to be gods. This began with Nebuchadnezzar himself and continued through the Roman Empire. The last king of this empire will be the antichrist who will consider himself as god supremely and demand the worship of the whole world. 27. Eusebius Pamphilus, Ecclesiastical History, Book III, Chapter 5. 28. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 360. 29. Evans, Word Biblical Commentary, Mark 8:27—16:20, p. 322. Edwards adds (p. 400) concerning the trials of AD 70 and the last days: “The catastrophe that befell Jerusalem in the Jewish War of AD 66-70 was a prolepsis, a paradigm in history of the woes that would transpire at the end of history before the return of the Son of Man.” 30. Roberts and Donaldson, The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 1 p558, Vol. 2 p. 11, &Vol. 5, p. 217. Several of the earliest church fathers actually comment upon the awful time of tribulation coming upon the church at the end of the age. Hermas (c. AD 150) says: “Happy are you who endure the great tribulation that is coming. And happy are they who will not deny their own life.” Hippolytus (c. AD 200) speaks of the tyrant who will “…reign and persecute the church, which flees from city to city, and seeks concealment in the wilderness among the mountains.” Irenaeus (c. AD 180) says: “For this is the last contest of the righteous, in which they are crowned with incorruption – when they overcome.” 31. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, vs. 13:21-23. 32. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 402. 33. Oden, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, p. 186. 34. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 13:24-27. 35. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, vs. 13:24-25. 36. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p. 184. 37. Clarke, Commentary on Mark, The Adam Clarke Commentary, v. 13:30. 38. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 405. 39. Lightfoot, Commentary on Mark, v. 13:32. 40. Coffman, Commentary on Mark, v. 13:35. 41. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 409. Now the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. “But not during the festival,” they said, “or the people may riot.” Mark 14:1-2 The scriptures make clear that the real drama of Jesus’ passion began two days before the Passover. The Passover has always been celebrated on the fourteenth day of the Hebrew month of Nisan. Thus, this scripture begins with the twelfth day of Nisan. We should realize that because of Israel’s lunar calendar, the Passover can come on any day of the week on our Gregorian calendars. The first day of Passover is always a Sabbath, so it is quite possible to have this Sabbath running into the regular one and even have two Sabbaths celebrated together. We also need to remember that virtually all Hebrew holidays begin at sundown on the evening before the actual day. Such biblical timing is made clear in Genesis (cf. 1:5; 1:6; 1:13 ff.). This was the case with Passover. We should note that the Passover and the seven-day festival of Unleavened Bread were celebrated together. During this period of festivity great crowds gathered at Jerusalem. People came from far and wide, even from foreign countries. For those Jews living within a fifteen-mile radius, it was necessary that they celebrate the feast in Jerusalem. Although some doubt his figures, Josephus the historian estimates that around three million people may have been present for the Passover on one certain occasion. [1] Obviously, people crowded into the city and even overflowed into nearby towns, like Bethany and Bethphage. Many others camped in the open areas around Jerusalem. Passover was the festival of freedom from Egyptian bondage and nationalistic tensions always ran high at this time. We can understand why the Jewish leaders were afraid that a riot might erupt. Such a riot would place them in ill favor with the Roman authorities. Thus, “while thousands of Passover pilgrims were preparing for the joys of the feast, Jesus was preparing for the ordeal of his trial and crucifixion.” [2] Beginning with this chapter we are dealing with the very heart of the Christian gospel. All the four gospels devote a great amount of space to the following important events: the arrest, trial, mockery, crucifixion, death and resurrection of Christ. These make up the essence of what the gospel is all about. These events are really the most important ones in all human history. [3] The Jewish leaders were intent on finding a way to eliminate Jesus but they were fearful to try such a thing during the great feast, lest they be mobbed. Their evil plans were on hold until one of Jesus’ disciples decided to betray him. This was too good a break to turn down and they were forced to take advantage of it. While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. Mark 14:3 This lovely and enduring event happened in the home of one Simon the Leper in the nearby city of Bethany. We do not know who this Simon was but we can be sure he was no longer a leper. A gathering at the home of a leper would have been forbidden by custom and by biblical law. Actually, a leper would not have been able to remain at home. Perhaps he was a person Jesus had previously cured. [4] In the gospel of Mark the woman remains nameless. Perhaps there were reasons for this in those days. However, at the end of the century when John was writing his gospel, he named the woman as Mary of Bethany, sister of Martha and Lazarus (Jn. 12:1-3). Mark tells us that the head of Jesus was anointed but John adds that the feet were also anointed. His body was thus prepared for burial. What can we make of these seemingly differing accounts? It has been suggested that Simon the Leper was in fact the father of Lazarus and his sisters. [5] Also, this anointing must not be confused with the one mentioned in Luke 7:36-50. This earlier anointing was at the house of a Pharisee. While this woman also brought an alabaster jar of perfume, the writer notes that she was a sinful woman. She came from behind Jesus and placed the anointing on Jesus’ feet as he reclined to eat. We must pause to note the extravagance of Mary’s offering. She came with an alabaster jar of pure nard. It was expensive almost beyond imagination. We know today that nard (Nardostachys grandiflora) or spikenard as it is also called, is the spice taken from a plant which grows in the high Himalayan areas of India, Nepal and China. [6] It is difficult for us to imagine just how valuable this offering was. John 12:3 tells us that Mary brought a pint of pure nard. Mark informs us that this ointment could have been sold for three hundred denarii. We may remember that a denari was the average daily wage for a laboring man. [7] So here we have a sacrifice that was close to a year’s wage for a working person. If we translate this offering into modern figures in the US, it would come to an amount of at least $20,000. We would be extremely careful even handling such an expensive gift. Yet, Mary recklessly broke the jar and poured the anointing out over Jesus. Such an expensive ointment was no doubt a family heirloom. It has even been suggested that the precious ointment was Mary’s dowry. [8] “Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, ‘Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.’ And they rebuked her harshly” (14:4-5). Even while the almost intoxicating and exhilarating smell wafted through the air the devil’s advocates began their howl of complaints. We know from John’s gospel (1 2:4) that the leader of the pack was Judas Iscariot. He was the one who quickly calculated the value of the gift. John tells us that Judas didn’t really care about the poor but that he was a thief and commonly stole money from the communal purse (12:6). We can see in John 13:29, that Jesus and his company were apparently in the habit of giving to the poor anyway. “‘Leave her alone,’ said Jesus. ‘Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me’” (14:6). In the Greek language there are two words for “good.” First there is agathos, meaning a thing that is morally good. Then there is kalos, meaning a thing that is not just good but is actually both good and lovely. This latter word is used here. [9] Once again we see how Jesus honored women. They made up such a vital part of the gospel story. In the ancient world women had a generally low position. Jesus changed that forever. To the grumblers Jesus then said: “The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me” (14:7). Obviously in every society, even in the most affluent ones, there will always be poor people (cf. Deut. 15:11). With their complaints Judas and the other disciples were actually demeaning Jesus. It was Mary who grasped his real and incommensurable worth. Apparently, she was the first person to fully realize that the gospel implied suffering. [10] Jesus said: “She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her” (14:8-9). Wiersbe remarks of her: “When Mary gave her best at the feet of Jesus, she started a ‘wave of blessing’ that has been going on ever since.” [11] The early preacher John Chrysostom praised her saying, “The simple, beautiful act of a guileless Judean woman is even now being remembered the world over.” [12]. It is good to always give our flowers while people can still smell them. The other women of the resurrection story wanted to do a similar thing and anoint the body of Jesus but they were too late, since Jesus had already arisen from the dead. Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over. Mark 14:10-11 No doubt, Judas was really stung by Jesus’ rebuke, but obviously there were more serious things about Jesus’ ministry that were troubling him. We can only guess at the real problems. Several commentators feel that he was displeased that Jesus did not seek to become a natural deliverer of the people and save them from the Romans. Some have felt that Judas was trying to force the hand of Jesus and help him become such a deliverer. This is all speculation of course. The scripture makes clear that he was a greedy thief and perhaps greed was his sole motivation. For sure, the devil entered into Judas and urged him to perform his despicable act (Lk.22:3; Jn. 13:27). Matthew alone tells us that Judas actually bargained with the high priest and his associates for the price he was to be paid for Jesus. They agreed on thirty pieces of silver (Matt. 26:14-16). This is a reference to Zechariah 11:12-13. In Exodus 21:32, we see that thirty pieces of silver was the price for a slave that had been gored by an animal. Wiersbe says of this: “He sold his Master for the price of a slave… the basest act of treachery in history.” [13] There is a serious lesson here. If we are faithless in small matters we are likely to also be faithless in great matters (Matt. 25:21, 23). Judas first pilfered the common purse for a few coins, then later he was able to sell Jesus the Messiah of Israel for a few pieces of silver. Of course, none of this was a surprise to Jesus. He knew from the very beginning that he would be betrayed by one of his own disciples. In John 6:70 Jesus had predicted, “…Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!” Jesus knew his betrayal would come by the hands of an intimate friend (Jn. 13:18), and he knew exactly who that friend would be. In the end it would not be man, but God himself who would deliver Jesus into their hands (Isa. 53:10). [14] On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?” Mark 14:12 In biblical times we know that the Passover began at evening twilight at the start of the fourteenth day of the Hebrew month of Nisan (Lev. 23:5; Exo. 12:1-30; 43-51; Deut. 16:1-8). The Festival of Unleavened Bread began at the same hour on the fifteenth day of Nisan (Lev. 23:6; Num. 28:17). Starting with the fourteenth, no ordinary work could be done (Lev. 23:7; Num. 28:18). This prohibition obviously did not apply to the priesthood and the sacrifices at the temple (Num. 28:9-10). Alfred Edersheim (1825-89) was a biblical scholar and Jewish convert to Christianity. He had deeply studied the Talmud and Torah and was very familiar with Jewish practices. Edersheim in his book The Temple carefully explains the Passover chronology for us. He tells us how the festival of Passover included Unleavened Bread, and lasted from the fourteenth to the twenty-first days of Nisan (a total festival time of eight days). [15] Edersheim states that the Passover lambs in Jesus’ time were slaughtered on the afternoon of the fourteenth. This was reckoned as a time between when the sun commenced to go down and actual sundown. Because of the multitudes of Passover lambs to be slaughtered, the daily evening sacrifice on the fourteenth, which normally would have been slain at 2:30 PM and offered at about 3:30, was moved up an hour. [16] At the beginning of the fourteenth day the leaven was removed from homes. This is probably what Mark has reference to by mentioning unleavened bread. If all the leaven had not been removed the previous evening it could be removed in the forenoon of the fourteenth. [17] The leaven was then taken out and burned by the head of the family. In Judea some work could continue until mid-day. However, new work could not be started on the fourteenth day. As we have mentioned, the Passover lambs were sacrificed in the afternoon of the fourteenth day. As Edersheim, Pett and others mention, the Paschal Supper for Israel would have necessarily happened at the beginning of the fifteenth day, which would have begun after sundown of course. [18] Because of the Jewish calendar and the fact that feast days began in the evening, the chronology of Passover can be quite complicated. All our gospel writers even seem to record the events somewhat differently. [19] Of course, there is a great deal of confusion and varying opinions among Gentile commentators today. “So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, ‘Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him’” (14:13). Again, some writers try to say that this was a sort of prearranged signal that Jesus had worked out in advance. When we consider the hundreds of thousands that must have been thronging the streets of Jerusalem for the great festival, we can see how silly this idea is. How could anyone be able to arrange such a precise signal? What we obviously have again is the Spirit of Prophesy working strongly in Jesus. He knew beforehand exactly what the two disciples would encounter, just as he knew that Peter would betray him three times before the cock could crow twice. Luke tells us (22:8) that the two disciples Jesus sent were Peter and John. The two were sent to make all the preparations for the coming meal. In route they would see a man carrying a jar of water. That was an unusual thing in a culture where women usually carried the water. They would follow the man and he would lead them to the house where the Passover meal could be held. The fact that the owner had a large room all prepared was a miracle of no small magnitude. Having lived in Jerusalem many years and having been there numerous times for the Passover, I can say that there is usually not an empty room available at such a time. Jerusalem is a city that is compact together (Psa.122:3) and crowded. There is usually not a closet that is not in full use at Passover time. It was customary for houses to be filled with pilgrims and the lodging was free. [20] The pilgrims did normally leave as a gift to their host, the hide of the sacrificed animal and the vessels used in the offering. [21] “Say to the owner of the house he enters, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ He will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there” (14:14-15). Here the word “Teacher” seems to be the code word that opens the door. We see that the large upper room was furnished and ready. The word “furnished” (Gk. stronnymi) probably did not refer to “furniture” as we would understand it today. It rather had reference to being furnished with rugs and carpets spread out where guests could recline and eat. There was also probably the low U-shaped dining table that was common in that time. [22] It is natural for us to wonder about the location of this room. Modern tourist in Jerusalem see it today as the Cenacle, or Upper Room. It is located in the higher western portion of the Old City, in the area known as Mt. Zion. The room as it stands today is clearly part of a 12th century Crusader church. The room itself cannot possibly precede the 11th century, yet there are evidences of Byzantine pillars at the location. Also, the remains of the Byzantine Church of Mount Zion were found in the immediate area. This latter church actually appears on the famous sixth century Madaba Map, a mosaic found on the floor in a Greek Orthodox church in Jordan, with a copy of it now being displayed in the Old City Cardo Mall. Although the present Upper Room seems not to be authentic as it is presented today, there is a great deal of scholarly agreement that many of the earliest Christians lived in this area of Jerusalem. John Mark’s mother had a home in this general area and several early New Testament events happened in this home (cf. Acts 1:13 and 12:12). Some have even suggested that Jesus’ Passover supper was held in her home. It is felt also that these early Christians had connections with the Essenes, some of whom also lived in this area. [23] In recent years a new gate has been excavated in this southwest corner of the Upper City and identified as the “Essene Gate.” Scholars have noted that although there were many differences, the Essenes and early Christians shared some basic teachings in common. Even the man carrying a pitcher of water has been identified by some as an Essene. Since the community at Qumran did not permit women to be members, the men obviously had the job of carrying the water. [24] Also, the Essenes operated on a calendar different from the Orthodox Jews of Jesus’ day. They celebrated the Passover a day earlier and did so without a lamb, all this in opposition to the temple cult at Jerusalem. [25] Some have thought that Jesus and his disciples may have even been following the Essene calendar and customs rather than the traditional Jewish ones. “The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover” (14:16). We may wonder just how the two disciples were making preparations for the Passover. Probably, first of all they began a thorough cleaning of the room taking special note to remove any trace of leavened items, such as crumbs of bread on the floor. If this supper of Jesus was indeed the Passover as implied, they would have had to obtain, slaughter, and then roast the Passover lamb that afternoon. They would also have had to prepare all the other unleavened foods for the seder. We can see how they really needed a couple of busy Marthas around to help. It has even been suggested that this meal was not for the twelve only but that it might have included other friends who came along from Galilee. Evans even suggests that there might have been women and children present as at any normal Passover meal. [26] When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me— one who is eating with me.” Mark 14:17-18 Although Passover is the happy festival of freedom, this one began on a sad and somber note. Jesus revealed to all that he would be betrayed by one of his own disciples, one eating with him at the time. It would even be his own “familiar friend” as Psalm 41:9 long before had indicated. This of course would have been a great breach of Middle Eastern manners and customs. In that area at the time of Jesus when people ate together it was a declaration of friendship and peace. [27] We realize from the story that John must have been reclining at the place of greatest honor, on Jesus’ right hand. We have previously noted that the diners leaned on their left elbow as they ate. We see that John finally rested against Jesus as he dined. It seems clear that Judas was reclining in the next place of honor on Jesus’ left hand. Obviously, he was close enough for Jesus to dip into the bowl with him. Guzik remarks about this saying: “If we miss his love towards Judas’ – rejected love, to be sure –‘if we miss that love, we miss the whole story.’” [28] “They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, ‘Surely you don’t mean me?’ ‘It is one of the Twelve,’ he replied, ‘one who dips bread into the bowl with me’” (14:19-20). Every Christian probably has moments when he thinks thoughts like this— “could it be me? Would I betray the Lord?” We are all capable of such things and it is only the grace of God that prevents our doing so. This must have been a really tense moment for the disciples. “The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born” (14:21). In John 17:12, Judas is spoken of by Jesus as the one “…doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.” This sounds very arbitrary, like God decrees that some will be saved and others will be damned. However, all through the Bible there is an understanding that individuals have the freedom of choice. In the early Christian writings this “free will” is also clearly brought out. [29] People indeed have the freedom of choice, but God knows how they will choose. As Edwards states, “Divine providence neither cancels human freedom nor relieves responsibility for moral choices.” [30] The moral choice of Judas was horribly tragic. He betrayed his Master to a terrible death and he did it all for a few pieces of silver. He not only betrayed Jesus but in a real sense he betrayed all Israel and the whole human race. Indeed, it would have been better had he not been born. While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.” Mark 14:22 As we have seen, the timing and nature of the supper is a thing hotly disputed by biblical scholars. The three synoptic gospels seem to indicate that it was a Passover meal, while John’s gospel simply refers to it as “…the evening meal” (Jn. 13:2). The other writers place the meal right in the midst of Passover while John places it “…just before the Passover festival” (Jn. 13:1).” The synoptic gospels apparently show Jesus and his disciples actually eating the Passover, while John indicates that the actual feast had not yet come and the disciples at the meal even suspected Judas was going out to buy supplies for the Passover (Jn. 13:29). Of course, Jesus could have had a Passover-type meal, without the lamb, just before the holiday began. This would have been much like the custom of the Essenes as we have seen. Such timing would have allowed Jesus to be crucified on the fourteenth of Nisan at the precise time the Passover lambs were being slain in the temple (cf. Jn. 18:28). The early meal would also simplify the problem of how Jesus could have been in the tomb three days and three nights as it is mentioned in Matthew 12:40. [31] We are now looking back on an event that happened almost two thousand years ago. The event has been complicated through the centuries with both Jewish and Christian customs and understandings. The fact is that we probably cannot know the exact timing of this event. Perhaps it is not all that important to us that we do know. What is important is the gospels bear certain and uniform witness that the event happened and that Jesus died at Passover, becoming our Passover Lamb. Now let us look at the meal itself. Luke 22:15-20 tells us that Jesus greatly desired to eat the Passover meal with his disciples and that he would not drink of the cup again until all would be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. There is something about the biblical festivals that goes on and on through the ages into eternity (Lev. 23:14, 21, 31, 41). Jesus was anxious to teach his disciples about the holiday. There are many great truths in the Passover because it is really the festival of our deliverance and freedom in Christ. Even today it is still a wonderful way of celebrating our salvation in Jesus. The Passover meal is called the seder and this word means “order.” When we look at the Passover we need to remember that there was the original Passover in Egypt and there is what the Mishnah calls the “Passover of the generations” or the continuing Passover. [32] In the original meal the people were slaves and they stood around the table. In the continuing Passover the people celebrate their freedom by reclining to eat. Even today, people often lean on pillows as they eat the meal. In the original Passover there was no wine. In the continuing Passover there came to be four cups of wine. In the original Passover the people ate the lamb. Modern Jewish people have only a shank bone of the lamb as a reminder, and often this is replaced by a chicken bone. [33] “Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,’ he said to them. ‘Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God’” (14:23-25). The Passover actually begins with the father or leader taking the first cup of wine and blessing it with the ancient Hebrew words: Ba-ruch a-tah Adonai Elo-he-nu Melek ha-olam, bo-reh p’ree ha-ga-fen (Blessed are you O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who creates the fruit of the vine). The cup and the phrase reminds us of that old, old Mosaic covenant that was ratified by the shedding of blood (Exo. 24:8). As Christians we cannot see this cup without seeing the blood of Christ which ushered us into the Kingdom and family of God. The first cup is called the Kiddush and this Hebrew word speaks of sanctification. In ancient times the four cups contained red wine that was diluted with water. [34] Even the poorest people in Israel were obligated to drink the four cups, even if the money had to be taken from the alms plate. [35] Today, as in early times, the Passover is built around the four cups of wine. These four cups are based on the four “I wills” of Exodus 6:6-7. God says “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people,…’” It was likely that it was the cup of redemption which Jesus took and with it instituted the New Covenant. [36] Exodus says, “…I will redeem you with an outstretched arm…” We just did not realize how the Lord’s arm would be outstretched for us on the cross. Pett says of the Passover supper, “Jesus now…gave it a new significance, in line with his teaching in John 6.52-58 …But Jesus had added a new meaning, the idea of participating in the benefits of his death…They thus recognize that his offering of himself is once for all (Hebrews 9:28) and is something that they continually participate in.” [37] Thus in the Passover meal through the ages there has been the blessing and eating of the unleavened bread or matzah, the tasting of the bitter herbs (representing the bitter life in Egypt or of sin), the eating of the charoset (a nut and juice mixture resembling mortar used in Egypt) and the drinking of the cups. It was probably after dipping into the charoset that Judas left and went out into the night. [38] Obviously, he missed the institution of the New Covenant that would come after supper. Today the Passover is very much like it was in the first century. We have already noted that in the Jewish Passover the lamb may not be present at all, except in the dried out portion of the shank bone. Still in the seder the young son asks the question “Why is this night different than all other nights?” The father hastens to explain salvation history to his son. Much of the interest of the seder, at least for the children, involves the hidden piece of matzah called the afikoman. After the meal the children look for the hidden piece and are rewarded for finding it. It is felt that the third cup (coming after the meal) and the hidden piece of matzah were taken by the Lord and used to institute the Lord’s Supper. Interestingly, the word matzah in Hebrew means “to find.” Today after all these centuries Israel still looks and waits for her Messiah. “When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives” (14:26). The Passover seder ends with drinking the fourth and final cup and with singing the Hallel Psalms (Psa. 113-118). After the singing they all went out to the Mount of Olives. The commentator Wiersbe remarks here: “Imagine our Lord singing when the cross was only a few hours away!” [39] Let us pause to consider some of the words Jesus and the disciples were singing as they went out to Gethsemane. Psalm 116:3-4, “The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by distress and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the LORD: ‘LORD, save me!’” Psalm 116:15, “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful servants.” Psalm 118:6: “The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? Psalm 118:17, “I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the LORD has done.” Psalm 118:19 “Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to the LORD.” Psalm 118:22–23: “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.” “You will all fall away,” Jesus told them, “for it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’” Mark 14:27 Here Jesus is referring to Zechariah 13:7. He predicts that all his disciples will be offended in him. The Greek word used is skandalizein, from skandalon and it has to do with bating a trap or being entrapped with some trick. [40] The New Revised Standard Version translates this: “…You will all become deserters.” “But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee” (14:28). At this verse we just have to pause and appreciate the amazing grace of Jesus our Messiah. Although his chosen ones would desert him and deny him at history’s most critical hour, Jesus could still talk about reinstatement and blessing in the beautiful Galilee. “Nothing in literature, fable, myth, legend, or imagination is worthy to be compared with what Christ promised in this verse. What’s more, he did it!” [41] “Peter declared, ‘Even if all fall away, I will not’” (14:29). Peter is talking again as usual and this time he is “all talk.” He no doubt did not realize with his boasting he was demeaning all the other disciples. He was about to fail Jesus and to fail him “big time.” In fact, if Jesus had not prayed for him in Luke 22:32, he may have ended up like Judas. “‘Truly I tell you,’ Jesus answered, ‘today— yes, tonight— before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times.’ But Peter insisted emphatically, ‘Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.’ And all the others said the same.” (14:30-31). Denying Jesus was a serious matter but denying him with a curse was more serious still. Imagine, the chief disciple upon whom the church was to be built, denying with a curse that he had ever known Jesus. Once more we must just praise the Lord for his amazing grace that would later reinstate Peter. As he had denied the Lord three times the Lord would reaffirm his love for him three times (Jn. 21:15-17). They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” Mark 14:32 Jesus left the supper in Jerusalem with his disciples and walked to the Mount of Olives, to a garden called Gethsemane. This name is derived from the Hebrew words for “oil press.” [42] Indeed, to this day there are many olive trees on the mountain and in this particular area. Some of these trees are extremely old. Today the beautiful Church of All Nations is located in the present-day Garden of Gethsemane. It sits very near the bottom of the Kidron Valley and is quite close to the present wall around Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. Gethsemane was likely a private garden to which Jesus had access. Even in modern times there are several private gardens in the area. On occasions over the years our tour groups have been allowed to spend a little quiet time in some of these gardens. “He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,’ he said to them. ‘Stay here and keep watch’” (14:33-34). Upon arriving in the garden, Jesus instructed most of his disciples to sit while he ventured on with Peter, James and John and found a place to pray. Jesus left even these three and went about a stone’s throw further (Lk. 22:41). It may have been possible for the three disciples to have overheard Jesus’ prayers. Davies remarks here, “If Mark was the young man of verse 51 who had followed Jesus and his disciples, he may be depending here on his own experiences.” [43] Nevertheless, the Holy Spirit has relayed to us the heart-rending prayers of Jesus at this point. In a very real sense the weight of the whole world was on his shoulders as he prayed. He was the Passover Lamb of God who had come to the earth to bear the sins of the whole human race. Paul would later say in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Later on Peter would say: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; ‘by his wounds you have been healed’” (1 Pet. 2:24). Barclay says of this awful moment in Jesus’ life: “This is a passage we almost fear to read, for it seems to intrude into the private agony of Jesus.” [44] Hilary of Poitiers (c. 300 – c. 368) said of this special hour: “We with our temporally bound minds cannot grasp or measure his almighty power that stooped to suffer for us.” [45] The Greek words used in verse 33, for “distressed’ (ekthambein) and for “troubled” (ademonein) are very rare words in the New Testament. “Nothing in all the Bible compares to Jesus’ agony and anguish in Gethsemane…The suffering of Gethsemane left an indelible imprint on the early church (Heb. 5:7).” [46] “Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. ‘Abba, Father,’ he said, ‘everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will’” (14:35-36). Here we see a great contrast between the human nature of Jesus and his divine nature. Humanly speaking, Jesus cried to be delivered from the ordeal before him— that the cup would be taken away. In the Old Testament the “cup” represented suffering and even the wrath of God (Psa. 75:8; Isa. 51:17, 22; Jer. 25:15). However, Jesus as the divine Son of God, and Suffering Servant of Israel, was prepared to drink the cup, even to the last dregs. Jesus cried out in Aramaic, “Abba” meaning “Father.” Barclay says here, “If we can call God father everything becomes bearable.” [47] At last Jesus says, “Yet not what I will, but what you will.” Jesus was fully prepared to be the Savior of the world, even if it meant a cruel death on the cross. Coffman says, “the death of Christ could not be avoided, short of abandoning the whole project of human salvation.” [48] There was really no other way to defeat Satan and to assure the salvation of the human race. “This prayer of Jesus eliminates any other way of salvation. If there is another way, his death was not necessary and his prayer was not answered.” [49] Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you not keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” Mark 14:37-38 After he was aroused, Peter must have been a little shocked to hear Jesus refer to him as “Simon.” This was the first time since Jesus renamed him that this name has been used by the Master. “This was the old sleeping Simon, not the new man Peter. Peter was ready to resist any attack, except the attack of the Sandman.” [50] We remember that Jesus had stressed the word “watch” when he gave them the Olivet discourse some time before. He had just stressed the word again in verse 34. They were to watch and not be caught sleeping. Now they were all caught sleeping, even the chief apostle. [51] Amazingly, these were tough fishermen who were used to fishing all night without nodding off. Now under the pressure of the hour of redemption they were wilting away. Edwards suggests that the lateness of the hour or even the big Passover dinner and the wine may have wiped them out. [52] Luke 22:45 tells us they were also “…exhausted from sorrow.” Jesus’ request was a simple one, that they stay awake and watch. Perhaps Jesus just wanted them to act as sentries, to guard his privacy and give him advance warning when the malefactors appeared. [53] Perhaps he wanted them to pray as they had never prayed before in their whole lives, while he worked deliverance for the human race. “Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him” (14:39-40). Many times in the history of warfare, guards who have gone to sleep at their posts were summarily shot. Here the watchmen for the greatest battle in the history of the world went to sleep while guarding their Commander in Chief not once, but three times. They seemed to be dumbfounded, speechless and greatly embarrassed. “Returning the third time, he said to them, ‘Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!’” (14:41-42). The Greek word for “enough!” is apechei. Various translators have tried to put this word into English. It can be translated in several ways, such as “it is enough,” “it is settled,” “it is over,” or even “what’s the use!” [54] As the disciples rubbed their sleepy eyes they saw a large band of rogues approaching them, led by none other than Judas Iscariot. Just as he was speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders. Mark 14:43 Although the Jewish people lived under Roman jurisdiction the priestly leaders of Israel did have at their disposal an auxiliary police force. These were charged with maintaining order in the temple area. [55] This seemed to be a motley crew armed with swords and clubs. Also, John writing at the end of the century indicates that there were some Roman soldiers involved (Jn. 18:3). This crew seemed to be led by Judas (Lk. 22:47). After all, he was the only one who knew where Jesus would be lodging that night. “Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: ‘The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.’ Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, ‘Rabbi!’ and kissed him” (14:44-45). Judas led the group directly to Jesus. John’s gospel gives us some extra information. He tells us that when Jesus said “I am he,” the whole contingent seemed to be overcome with the force of his great authority. They immediately drew back and fell down (Jn. 18:6). Judas came forward and kissed Jesus. The Greek word used here for kiss is kataphilein. It is intensive and suggests that Judas gave Jesus a prolonged kiss. [56] We might wonder if this lavish kiss may have expressed some slight remorse for his evil act or if Judas was making sure the arresting party knew exactly who Jesus was. “The men seized Jesus and arrested him. Then one of those standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear” (14:46-47). As Jesus was being arrested, to add to the suspense, one of those standing near drew a sword and cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant. We know from John’s gospel that the perpetrator of this rash act was none other than Simon Peter and that the servant’s name was Malchus (Jn. 18:10). Jesus told Peter to put his sword away. He reminded them all that he could call twelve legions of angels to defend himself if he wished (Matt. 26:53). Jesus then touched the servant’s ear and healed him (Lk. 22:51). Barclay tells us that if Jesus had not healed the ear, Peter might have also been arrested and then there would have been four crosses at Calvary. [57] “‘Am I leading a rebellion,’ said Jesus, ‘that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.’ Then everyone deserted him and fled” (14:48-50). Jesus seemed amazed that the group would come out for him in such a way. After all, he had spent much time in the temple courts and they could have certainly arrested him at will. Yet, Jesus knew that the scripture had to be fulfilled. The fact that Jesus mentions spending a lot of time in the temple seems to indicate that he visited Jerusalem much more than is noted in Mark’s gospel. It is John’s gospel that we see Jesus visiting Jerusalem more often and spending more time in the holy city. [58] Also, Jesus says “I was with you,” indicating that some of the people who came out to arrest him were the very same people who were present when he was teaching and doing his works in the temple area. They were probably some of the same security people. [59] Mark alone adds an interesting bit of information here. He says: “A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind” (14:51-52). Since this information is told only by Mark, scholars since early centuries have wondered if young Mark was the youth who fled. If young Mark had eavesdropped on the whole garden scene, he would have been the only person awake to hear the prayers of Jesus. [60] Davies remarks: “Many scholars….are of the opinion that Mark is describing a personal experience of his own and that here we have in a hidden corner of his gospel his own signature.” [61] They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, elders and teachers of the law came together. Mark 14:53 In John’s gospel we are told that Jesus was taken first to Annas (Jn. 18:13). He had been appointed as high priest by the Romans and served from AD 6-15. He was removed from office but continued to be extremely influential in leadership. Because of his influence several of his sons as well as his son-in-law became high priests of Israel. After a short meeting with Annas Jesus was sent to his son-in-law Caiaphas, who was actually serving as the high priest at the time (Matt. 26:57). John reminds us that it was Caiaphas who prophesied “…that it would be good if one man died for the people” (Jn. 18:14). Thus, the ordeal of Jesus trials before Israel’s leaders began and dragged on through the night. Mark adds another of his “sandwich” techniques by quickly bringing us up to date on the chief apostle: “Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. There he sat with the guards and warmed himself at the fire” (14:54). John tells us that Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus into the court of the high priest. John in his typical humility does not mention that he was that other disciple. Apparently, John had some connections with the priestly families. Some have even suggested that he might have sold fish to them at one time. At least he was known at the gate and was able to enter into the inner courts while Peter had to wait in in the outer court for the test of his lifetime. “The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any. Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree” (14:55-56). Immediately when we look at this verse we see a serious problem emerging. They were looking for evidence against Jesus so they could put him to death. The decision was already made to kill Jesus before any evidence was introduced. In fact, the “evidence” presented was false and was introduced by worthless folks who were lackeys of the high priest and Israel’s leaders. In short, the whole trial was a “frame up.” Over the centuries commentators have noted that the trial of Jesus was a horrible miscarriage of justice. There were many things wrong with the trial. First, it was not a real meeting of the Sanhedrin but a sort of “rump session” that may have been hand-picked. We can be fairly sure that members like Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea were not present. [62] The meeting was not conducted in the usual Chamber of Hewn Stone in the temple complex but in the villa of the high priest. The commentator John R. Donahue adds that capital trials such as this were forbidden to be held during the nighttime or on a Sabbath or feast day (Mish. Sanh. 4:1). [63] Edwards mentions another such trial arranged by the high priest Ananus in AD 62. It was another rump session that was quickly called together in order to secure the death sentence for James, the brother of the Lord and leader of the Jerusalem church. [64] Barclay remarks of Jesus’ trial saying that the 71 members should have met in the usual Chamber of Hewn Stone at the temple complex. The decisions of the Sanhedrin were not valid if meetings were not held in this place. Not only could the court not meet at night but it could not meet during any of the great feasts. In cases where the verdict was death, a night had to elapse before such a verdict could be carried out. [65] Edersheim sums up the meeting saying: “What passed there need not be further described, except to say, that, in their treatment of Jesus, the Sanhedrin violated not only the law of God, but grossly outraged every ordinance of their own traditions.” [66] “Then some stood up and gave this false testimony against him: ‘We heard him say, “I will destroy this temple made with human hands and in three days will build another, not made with hands.”’” Yet even then their testimony did not agree” (14:57-59). Some commentators feel that this charge could have been taken from something Jesus actually said. On one occasion he spoke of his body being destroyed and being raised up again in three days (cf. Jn. 2:19-22). He was certainly not speaking of the literal temple which would be destroyed by the Romans and would not be rebuilt. [67] Essentially the testimony was a lie or a half-truth. Hyman von Rickover once said, “Half-truths are like half a brick – they can be thrown farther.” We do know that in his death Jesus raised up a new and spiritual temple that is made up of believers, who are like “living stones.” (Eph. 2:19-22; 1 Pet. 2:5). “Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, ‘Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?’” (14:60). We cannot help but sense a real nervousness and frustration in the high priest. He thought he had an air-tight case arranged against Jesus but his contrived witnesses brought a confusing testimony that would certainly not support a death sentence. “But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer. Again the high priest asked him, ‘Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?’” (14:61). Against all the false charges Jesus was quiet and gave no answer. How bravely the Master fulfilled Isaiah 53:7: “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” Now we see the high priest doing something very strange that must have raised several eyebrows. “In desperation, Caiaphas, who was beginning to find the judge’s bench a very uncomfortable place, forsook the judicial status, usurped the role of a prosecutor, placed Jesus under oath, and demanded an answer.” [68] Barclay adds: “At last the high priest took the matter into his own hands. When he did, he asked the very kind of question that the law completely forbade. He asked a leading question.” [69] Matthew 26:63 makes plain that the high priest placed Jesus under oath. He said, “…I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.” Being under oath from Israel’s high priest Jesus apparently felt that he had to give an answer. “‘I am,” said Jesus. ‘And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven’” (14:62). Edwards notes here, “the secret that Jesus has protected since the beginning of his ministry can now be disclosed.” [70] Jesus truly was and is the Son of Man and the Son of God. He went on to place himself at the right hand of the Almighty God (Psa. 110:1), as the popular messianic Psalm declared. He went further to state that this same high priest would see him coming in the clouds of heaven. This was a clear reference to Daniel 7:13. “The high priest tore his clothes. ‘Why do we need any more witnesses?’ he asked. ‘You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?’ They all condemned him as worthy of death” (14:63-64). The practice of tearing one’s clothing was an old, old custom used in showing grief and one that is still in use today in Israel. There seemed to be a unanimous decision that Jesus was indeed a blasphemer and deserved the death sentence. “Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, ‘Prophesy!’ And the guards took him and beat him” (14:65). By spitting on Jesus they were unknowingly fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah 50:6. The same prophecy mentioned beating and mocking. There were some strange ironies that night. “Above all, it is the high priest, not Jesus, who blasphemes, because Jesus is God’s Son.” [71] Before that day would end these very folks would renounce God as their king and claim that they had no king but Caesar (Jn. 19:15). [72] Donahue mentions one last irony of this fateful night: “At the very moment the Sanhedrin mocks Jesus as a false prophet (14:66-72), his prophecy about Peter is being fulfilled.” [73] While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came by. When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked closely at him. “You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus,” she said. But he denied it. “I don’t know or understand what you’re talking about,” he said, and went out into the entryway. Mark 14:66-68 Here we see Peter in the courtyard of the high priest. Barclay commends him for even showing up in this place. [74] After all, it was Peter who had seriously wounded the servant of the high priest. One would think he would get as far away as possible from that courtyard. We do not know exactly where this courtyard was located. In the upper part of the Old City of Jerusalem today there is situated a prominent church called St. Peter in Gallicantu. The term “gallicantu” means “cock-crowing.” This present church was built in 1931 and is owned by the Roman Catholics. It was built over the ruins of a Byzantine church that was erected in 457 and later destroyed. This church has below it a crypt which is felt by some to be the temporary prison where Jesus was held. The site itself is supposed to be the home of Caiaphas the high priest. One day as I walked past this church I was startled to actually hear a cock crowing. However, in recent excavations of the Old City near the Temple Mount a large complex has been uncovered. This complex is not only very near the temple but has many things like ritual immersion pools (Heb. mikvaot) and other paraphernalia that would have been used by someone like the high priest. This complex has several areas that could have been used as courtyards. Since it is so handy to the temple we might find out later that this was indeed the house of Caiaphas. Although Peter had bravely followed the Master to the place of his trial, we quickly get the impression that he was spiritually undone. The ancient writer Jerome says of him: “Lacking the power of the Spirit, Saint Peter trembled at the voice of a maidservant.” [75] Before he knew what happened this young woman was in his face looking at him intently and then accusing him. Peter quickly denied her accusation. “When the servant girl saw him there, she said again to those standing around, ‘This fellow is one of them.’ Again he denied it. After a little while, those standing near said to Peter, ‘Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.’ He began to call down curses, and he swore to them, ‘I don’t know this man you’re talking about’” (14:69-71). Those standing near began to accuse Peter. John adds that one of those was a relative of the man whose ear Peter had sliced off (Jn. 18:26). All the fingers were pointed at Peter. Unfortunately, his Galilean accent confirmed their charges whenever he opened his mouth. Finally in desperation Peter began to call down curses on himself, swearing to everyone that he never knew this Jesus. “Immediately the rooster crowed the second time. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows twice you will disown me three times.” And he broke down and wept” (14:72). “Peter’s renunciation is the first open denial of Jesus in Mark.” [76] It broke the man apart. To add to his heartache, Luke tells us that at this precise moment Jesus turned and looked directly at Peter (Lk. 22:61). The great disciple broke down and wept bitterly. Several sources I have cited here are from the electronic media, either from websites or from electronic research libraries. Thus in some of these sources it is not possible to cite page numbers. Instead I have cited the verse or verses in each chapter of Mark (e.g. verse v. 1 or vs. 1-2) about which the commentators speak. 1. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, pp. 376-378. 2. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, p. 128. 3. Coffman, Commentary on Mark, v. 14:1. 4. Evans, Word Biblical Commentary, Mark 8:27—16:20, p. 359. 5. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 413. 6. See, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spikenard. 7. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 413. 8. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p. 193. Regarding the breaking of the container, Barclay mentions the following: “There was a custom in the middle east that if a glass was used by a distinguished guest, it was broken so that it would never again be touched by the hand of any lesser person.” (Barclay, p. 380). 9. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 381. 10. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, pp. 415-416. 11. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, p. 129. 12. Oden, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, p. 197. 13. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, p. 129. 14. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, v. 14:10. 15. Alfred Edersheim, The Temple, Its Ministry and Services (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1975), p. 208. 16. Ibid., pp. 212, 222. 17. Ibid., p. 220. 18. Ibid. Pett adds a note here on v. 12: “The Passover lambs were slain on the afternoon of the 14th Nisan …The Passover meal was eaten in the evening (on the commencement of 15th Nisan, for the Jewish day began at sunset). 19. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p. 192. Guzik citing Morris (v. 14:12-16) says: “There seems to be a difference between the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) and John about the Passover. The implication in the synoptic gospels is that Jesus was crucified on the day after Passover, and that this meal was the day before. John seems to say that Jesus was crucified on the day of Passover itself, as a Passover lamb (John 18:28 and 19:14)… ‘Possibly the best explanation is that there were different calendars in use. Jesus died as the Passover victims were being slain according to the official calendar; but he had held the Passover with his followers the previous evening, according to an unofficial calendar.’” 20. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 378. 21. Edersheim, The Temple, Its Ministry and Services, p. 215. 22. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 421. See also Pett vs. 13-15 on the subject of ancient dining. 23. Ibid., p. 420 Edwards. “The Traditional site of the Last Supper, which has received considerable archaeological attention, neighbors the reputed Essene Quarter.” 24. Ibid., p. 420 citing Pixner. 25. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, v. 14:12. 26. Evans, Word Biblical Commentary, Mark 8:27—16:20, pp. 374, 377, 422. 27. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, vs. 14:17-18. 28. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 14:17-21. 29. The references to free will are numerous in the writings of the early church fathers. A couple of examples should suffice. The early father Justyn Martyr, about AD 160, states that both angels and men were endowed with free will (Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, editors, The Ante-Nicene Fathers), V.1, p. 243. The father Irenaeus (180) states that humans were created as free agents with power over themselves (ANF V. 1 p. 523). 30. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 424. 31. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, v. 14:12. “A final suggestion is that Jesus celebrated a special kind of Passover for his disciples which took place without a lamb (no lamb is mentioned), with a view to establishing his new Passover. But this does not tie in with the language used. The possible alternatives do, however, bring out how foolish dogmatism on the matter would be.” 32. Mishnah, Pesah., 9:5. 33. Lau, Practical Judaism, p. 306. 34. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, pp. 389, 392. 35. Mishnah, Pesah., 10:1. 36. Edersheim, The Temple, Its Ministry and Services, p. 239. Guzik adds an explanation of New Covenant saying: “This covenant is all about a new, close, relationship with God: I will be their God, and they shall be my people (Jeremiah 31:33)….He is waiting for all his people to be gathered to him and then there will be a great supper – the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:9).” (Guzik, vs. 14:22-25). 37. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, v. 14:22. 38. Ibid., pp. 20-21. 39. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, p. 130. 40. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 398. 41. Coffman, Commentary on Mark, v. 14:28. 42. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 431. 43. Davies, Mark, Abingdon Bible Commentary, p. 1018. 44. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 399. 45. Oden, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, p. 209. 46. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 432-433. [Jesus] “became the sin-bearer for humanity. Who can imagine what it would be like to stand before God to answer for every sin and crime and act of malice and injury and cowardice and evil in the world?…The worst prospect of becoming the sin-bearer for humanity is that it spells complete alienation from God.” 47. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 401. 48. Coffman, Commentary on Mark, v. 14:35. 49. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 14:32-36. 50. Ibid., vs. 14:37-42. 51. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 435. 52. Ibid. 53. Evans, Word Biblical Commentary, Mark 8:27—16:20, p. 410. 54. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p. 204. 55. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 14:43-51. 56. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 403. Davies adds (p. 1018): “The intensive form used here for the verb kiss is the same as describes the father’s greeting of the prodigal and the kiss of the woman who anointed Jesus’ feet in the Pharisee’s house…It means kissed much or passionately, and therefore suggests the depths of shame to which Judas had fallen…” 57. Quoted in Guzik, vs. 14:43-51. 58. Cranfield Cited in Evans p. 426. 59. Ibid. 60. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 405. 61. Davies, Mark, Abingdon Bible Commentary, p. 1018. 62. Coffman, Commentary on Mark, v. 14:53. 63. Donahue, Mark, Harper’s Bible Commentary, p. 1005. Coffman adds here (v.56), “The sacred religious court of the Jewish nation engaged themselves all night in the subornation of perjury, but despite this, no usable testimony against Jesus was uncovered.” 64. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 443. 65. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 407. 66. Edersheim, The Temple, Its Ministry and Services, p. 254. Evans mentions here (p. 445) “The Johannine Jesus says something similar (cf. Jn. 2:19…Most scholars today believe Mark 14:58 represents something that Jesus actually said or at least something close to something he had said…There are some Jewish traditions in which the eschatological Messiah is expected to rebuild the temple of Jerusalem…the men of Qumran apparently looked for a new, eschatological temple).” 67. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p. 206. 68. Coffman, Commentary on Mark, vs. 14:57-58. 69. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 408. 70. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 447. 71. Ibid., p. 449. 72. Coffman, Commentary on Mark, v. 14:64. 73. Donahue, Mark, Harper’s Bible Commentary, p. 1006. 74. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 410. 75. Oden, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, p. 220. 76. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 451. Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate. Mark 15:1 We have clearly seen that Jesus’ “trials” throughout the night were a sham. Luke 22:66 ff. tells us that the chief priests and scribes gathered early in the morning for what seemed to be an “official” Sanhedrin trial. They no doubt felt that this daytime trial could lend some validity to the goings-on through the night. It is clear however that they “rubber stamped” the verdict of the night. Then they bound Jesus as they would have bound a violent criminal and rushed him off to see Pilate, the Roman governor or prefect over Judea. Pontius Pilate exercised rule over Judea from AD 26 – 36. History tells us that he was not fond of the Jews and was rather suspicious of them. While the gospels generally give a sympathetic portrait of Pilate, the early Jewish writers like Josephus and Philo do not treat him so well. [1] It is interesting that he was recalled in AD 36 for abuse of power. In 1961 a stone with Pilate’s name was found at Caesarea Maritima. This stone is the only universally accepted archaeological find with Pilate’s name upon it. [2] In New Testament times it was customary for the Roman governor to go from his usual dwelling in Caesarea up to Jerusalem during the times of the great feasts. Tension was always high, particularly at Passover, when nationalistic feelings often peaked. When he visited Jerusalem there is ample evidence that the Roman governor lodged at Herod’s Palace, on the upper west side of the Old City, near the present-day Jaffa Gate. [3] This of course does not agree with the prevalent idea that Pilate lodged in the Fortress of Antonia near the Temple Mount. This latter site is well woven into the Via Delorosa traditions, although many of these traditions date only from the 18th century. We can understand the haste of the Jewish leaders to get Jesus to Pilate when we realize that Roman governors preferred to have their trials beginning at the earliest hour of daylight. Pilate was no doubt already awake and well prepared to decide on Jesus’ case. “‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ asked Pilate. ‘You have said so,’ Jesus replied” (15:2). It is necessary for us to go to Luke 23:2-5, to get the full setting of this conversation. The Jewish leaders had spent the night trying to convict Jesus of blasphemy. To their minds they had succeeded. However, the charge of blasphemy would be of no concern whatever to Pilate. As Guzik says, “The Jewish rulers knew that if they brought Jesus before Pilate on the charge of claiming to be God, Pilate would merely yawn. He would say, ‘We Romans have hundreds of gods. What is the harm with one more?’” [4] So we see here that the Jewish leaders totally switched their charge to sedition as they appeared before Pilate. “The chief priests accused him of many things. So again Pilate asked him, ‘Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of’” (15:3-4). As we saw in Luke 23:2-5, they were charging Jesus with perverting the nation, forbidding people to pay tribute to Caesar, and claiming to be king. These also were trumped-up charges and had nothing to do with their original charge of blasphemy. Pilate apparently saw right through their charade. “They knew the charge was a lie – and so did Pilate.” [5] It was absolutely necessary for the Jewish leaders to secure Pilate’s judgment against Jesus. The Sanhedrin did not have the power to put a person to death (Jn. 18:31). In fact, it had not possessed such a power since AD 7. Capital punishment was solely in the hands of Rome. We must admit though that there were some times when the Jews broke this rule. They stoned Stephen to death shortly after the crucifixion of Jesus. Later in 62 they killed James the Just, the Lord’s brother. However, neither of these leaders had the national prominence of Jesus. They must have known that to kill him in an unauthorized manner would bring down the wrath of Rome upon their heads. Pilate however could not take their charges against Jesus seriously. In John’s gospel we realize that a more lengthy conversation was carried on between Jesus and Pilate. Apparently this conversation was held in private. When asked about his kingship Jesus said: “…You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me” (Jn. 18:37). John tells us that Pilate tried to release Jesus (Jn. 19:12). To add to his concern Matthew 27:19 tells us that Pilate’s wife had suffered a dream about Jesus and warned her husband not to have anything to do with sentencing such a righteous man. However, regarding the Jewish charges against him Jesus would not answer Pilate. “But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed” (15:5). We can be certain that most people brought before Pilate were pleading for their lives with all their might. Pilate was amazed that Jesus didn’t do so. Barclay adds, “There is a time when silence is more eloquent than words, for silence can say things that words can never say.” [6] JESUS OR BARABBAS? Now it was the custom at the Feast to release a prisoner whom the people requested. A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did. Mark 15:6-8 Pilate may have sought to shift the focus from himself by bringing up the subject of the customary prisoner release. This was usually done at Passover. The attention of Pilate and everyone else present seemed to be fixed on a certain Barabbas. Barabbas was an insurrectionist who was guilty of murder. It is of note that in some ancient texts of the Bible Barabbas also has the given name of “Jesus.” It is almost is if Pilate is later saying to the crowd, “Which Jesus do you want me to release to you?” [7] We can be sure that thorough preparations had been made by the Jewish leadership in regards to the Barabbas question, should it come up. The chief priest and his crowd must have regarded this incident as a heaven-sent opportunity to accomplish their goal. Some might wonder how a crowd of people could so completely change from the mood of the triumphal entry to the mood of this trial before Pilate. The fact is that it was not the same crowd. [8] It is altogether possible that the Jewish leadership had hand-picked many in the crowd and that the event regarding Barabbas was a well-orchestrated one. Guzik remarks here, “It is a strange, almost insane scene: a cruel, ruthless Roman governor trying to win the life of a miracle-working Jew against the strenuous efforts of both the Jewish leaders and the crowd.” [9] There were many ironies in the trial of Jesus, as several commentators have noted. It is certainly ironic that the chief priests and leaders were requesting that Pilate release to them the very kind of person that Jesus was accused of being. [10] We cannot discount the involvement of the priesthood and particularly the high priesthood in the death of Jesus. Neither can we discount the fact that Pilate wanted to release Jesus and tried hard to do so. Throughout the trial Pilate repeatedly stated that he could find no fault in him (Matt. 27:24; Lk. 23:14, 22; Jn. 18:38; 19:4). In the end he washed his hands of the whole matter, claiming innocence in the Lord’s death (Matt. 27:24-25). “‘Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?’ asked Pilate, knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead” (15:9-11). How tragic that both the priests and people rejected the Prince of Peace and requested that a prince of bandits and terrorists be released to them! The consequences of this act would be dire indeed. Coffman spells out some of the results of this shameful decision: They not only received that Barabbas whom they requested; but, before that generation expired, the Holy City and the Holy of Holies itself were infested with a vast multitude of the most vicious and bloody robbers ever known to history, who seized the government, filled the holy place with dead corpses, murdered the entire nobility, and with rapine and slaughter unparalleled historically, they accomplished the total ruin of Jerusalem, being in fact the “abomination of desolation.” [11] “‘What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?’ Pilate asked them. ‘Crucify him!’ they shouted. ‘Why? What crime has he committed?’ asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, ‘Crucify him!’” (15:12-14). It is astounding that the crowd cried for Jesus to be crucified. He had spent his life doing good (Acts 10:38), healing the sick, casting out demons, feeding hungry crowds. It seems almost insane that the priests and crowds would demand that such a good person be killed and with such a horrible punishment. In all this we can sense the “mystery of iniquity” or “the secret power of lawlessness” that Paul would later speak of, working in the priests and people of Israel (cf. 2 Thess. 2:7). In other words, it was not just humans who were making this decision. Satan and all the demons of hell were no doubt screaming for the crucifixion as well. Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified. Mark 15:15 In Luke’s version we read that “Pilate gave sentence” (Lk. 23:24). Jesus was thus officially handed over to the soldiers to be flogged and crucified. We are prone to read over the word “flogged” without thinking much about what was involved in this process. It seems that the ancient method of flogging or scourging was instituted to insure that no one would ever survive the cross. The truth is that many in ancient times did not survive the flogging. Barclay says, “Some men emerged from the ordeal raving mad. Few retained consciousness through it.” [12] Those who saw The Passion of the Christ, a 2004 blockbuster film by Mel Gibson should have come away with a good idea of how horrible a flogging or scourging could be. Those who missed it may not want to see it because it was a gruesome, blood-splattered scene that put many audiences across the world in a state of near shock. Let us briefly describe what took place in a flogging. The condemned person was stripped and bent over with his hands tied to a low stake. A soldier on each side then began to beat him with whips. There was no maximum number of stripes imposed. These were not normal whips but whips with nine leather straps. Each of these straps had hard or sharp items attached, such as pieces of metal or bone. The lashes often stripped the flesh while sometimes even exposing bones and entrails. These beatings were so brutal that even the cruel emperor Domitian was said to have been horrified at their sight. [13] This bloody scene reminds us of the prophetic words of Isaiah 50:6, which were spoken of Jesus over 700 years before this event happened: “I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.” The brutal and bloody beating plus all the other following horrors of crucifixion were long before predicted in Isaiah 52:14, “…his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness….” Jesus was literally beaten to a “bloody pulp,” so to speak. The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!” Mark 15:16-18 If the mocking of Jesus happened after the beating we can imagine that Jesus was barely conscious while this abuse was taking place. We are told that it happened in the Praetorium, the residence and headquarters of the governor. The headquarters cohort of the guard was called together to make sport of this “Jewish king.” A cohort was a tenth of a legion or normally around 600 men. These were the elite soldiers who guarded the prefect. As we have mentioned briefly, in the past, many have felt that the Praetorium was in the Fortress of Antonia very near the Temple Mount. The spot where Jesus was mocked (the Lithostratos or “Pavement”) has been traditionally located under the Sisters of Zion Convent along the Via Dolorosa (Way of Sorrows). There are now many questions as to this location and it is thought that the site does not precede the time of Hadrian (AD 117-138). [14] Many scholars now feel that the Praetorium was located at Herod’s Palace on the western wall close to the Jaffa Gate. The gate today is 2,549 feet (777 meters) in elevation and the surviving tower of Phasael that was part of Herod’s Palace provides one of the best views of the Old City. In John’s gospel he notes that Jesus’ trial was before an area of stone pavement that was called “Gabbatha” (Jn. 19:13). “Gabbatha” is an Aramaic word meaning “high point,” and this too gives credence that the trial and flagellation of Jesus happened at Herod’s Palace adjoining today’s Jaffa Gate. [15] As the soldiers ridiculed Jesus they placed a purple robe on him and mockingly hailed him as king. In Matthew 27:28, the evangelist indicates that it was a scarlet robe. This has led some to think that it was a scarlet military cloak that perhaps was faded and had begun to take on the color of purple. [16] They also placed a “crown” of woven thorns on Jesus head. Some have thought that this crown was woven from the acanthus plant but actually Israel has many common varieties of thorny plants and any one could have made up the crown. “Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him” (15:19-20). Jesus must have been almost beyond feeling as the soldiers continued to mock, spit on him and pummel him with blows. At last his clothes were put back on him and he was turned over to the execution squad. This usually consisted of four soldiers accompanied by a centurion. [17] The route to the place of execution was usually not the most direct since the Romans wanted everyone to see and fear their example of justice. [18] A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. Mark 15:21 Jesus was no doubt weary beyond description. Yet, according to custom he was forced to carry his own patibulum or heavy crossbeam to his crucifixion site. [19] We see in the next verse that they had to bring Jesus to the site of his crucifixion. He was obviously too weak to walk and certainly was not able to carry his cross. In those days Roman officers had the right to impress residents for any service they desired (cf. Matt. 5:41). [20] The centurion chose a man in the crowd to help carry the heavy crossbeam. Mark, who is not in the habit of using many people’s names, does something unusual here. He not only names the man who was conscripted for service but he also names his two sons. The man conscripted was Simon, a native of Cyrene in Africa. He was obviously a person of color, of dark skin. Most likely he had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. Scholars have felt that his sons, Alexander and Rufus were certainly known to the church at Rome, the recipients of this gospel. [21] It is very interesting that in his later epistle to the Romans, Paul sends this note: “Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too” (Rom. 16:13). We may have an example here of how a really bad thing can turn out good if God is in it. No doubt, Simon was humiliated and petrified with fear when he was summoned by the Roman officer. The Greek word used here for “force” or “impress” is the word angareuo. It was a word that was often used of forcing slaves and animals to work. [22] Yet, something glorious beyond words must have happened to Simon as he watched the Master suffer. He came to the Passover and personally met the true Passover Lamb. [23] Edwards remarks about him saying that Simon of Cyrene was the first person in Mark’s gospel to literally fulfill Christ’s command to take up his cross and follow him. [24] “They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull)” (15:22). It was the custom of both the Jews and the Romans to execute victims outside the city limits (cf. Lev. 24:14; Num. 15:35-36; Heb. 13:12). [25] Today at Jerusalem’s Model City the small hill can be seen just outside the main wall on its western side. This setting was quite near the area of Herod’s Palace and was near a main road going into the city. Of course, like many holy places in Israel, particularly in Jerusalem, there is an alternate site for the event. On the north side of the city, near what is today the Arab bus station, General Charles Gordon in 1885 spied a skull-shaped hill and decided it was the authentic Calvary. In time this popular area became known as the Garden Tomb. This beautiful garden with its tomb has all the feel of the authentic site but the Church of the Holy Sepulcher on Old Jerusalem’s west side has all the history. This church was already built in AD 335, but the spot had been previously marked with a pagan shrine in the days of Emperor Hadrian (AD 117-138). “Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it” (15:23). Barclay tells us of a pious group of women in Jerusalem who brought a drugged wine to every crucifixion in order to ease the terrible pain of the condemned. [26] They offered this to Jesus but he would not drink the mixture. Cole has suggested that Jesus would not take this anesthetic because he wanted all his faculties unclouded for the great work of redemption that lay before him. [27] Of course, at the last supper Jesus vowed that he would not drink of the fruit of the vine again until he drank of it in the kingdom. “And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get” (15:24). Mark, in his traditional economy of words, quickly passes over what must have been one of the most cruel and heartless practices in all human history. When Jesus arrived at Golgotha, his hands and feet were apparently nailed to the cross (Lk. 24:39-49; Jn. 20:25). It is thought today that nails were actually driven through the wrists, since the weight of the body would have caused the nails to tear through the hands. This action would have severed the large median nerve going to the hand and would have resulted in excruciating bolts of severe pain. [28] In 1968 at Givat ha-Mitvar, a northern suburb of Jerusalem, the remains of a crucified man were found. The rusty nail was still affixed in his heels. Interestingly, the man’s legs may have been folded up under him with the nail piercing both heels at once. Such a position might well have increased the helplessness and suffering of the condemned. While such unmitigated acts of cruelty to Jesus were taking place, the soldiers began gambling for the Master’s clothing. During the Lord’s suffering some think that much of Psalm 22 was apparently recited by him. Some of the verses of this psalm as they were recited must have stuck in the collective memory of the church. Psalm 22:16-18, very appropriately describes the situation going on here: “Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet. All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.” There is some question among the biblical writers as to exactly when the Lord was crucified. Mark says: “It was the third hour in the morning when they crucified him” (15:25). This would have been at 9:00 AM. However, John 19:14 says it was about the sixth hour (12 O’clock noon). It is thought by some that John was using Roman time while Mark was using the Jewish system of time. [29] Interestingly, penitential prayers at the third, sixth and ninth hours must have continued in the church for centuries as is recorded in the Apostolic Constitutions (AD 375-380). [30] “The written notice of the charge against him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS” (15:26). Evans says of this inscription or titulus, that it would have read “something like [Iesus nazerenus] Rex iudaeorum, while the Hebrew may have read yeshua hanatsri melek hayyehudim” (cf. Jn. 19:20). [31] It was also written in the Aramaic language. “They crucified two robbers with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself!” (15:27-30). Jesus was crucified with two villains, one on each side. As Isaiah 53:9 had said many centuries before, “He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.” The crowds on the busy road nearby reviled him making the charge again that he had claimed that he would destroy the temple. They chided him implying that he did not even have enough strength to come down from the cross, much less to rebuild the temple. Coffman says here, “The priests had done a good job of spreading their infamous lies regarding Jesus, so good in fact, that passers-by were able to repeat it exactly.” [32] “In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. ‘He saved others,’ they said, ‘but he can’t save himself!’” (15:31). It is amazing that the priests and teachers of the temple came out to witness the death of Jesus. This attests to the fact that he was considered a most serious threat to their leadership. It is also amazing that in their reviling they made here a great gospel statement, “…He saved others,..but he can’t save himself!” How true it was that, “Everywhere, in Jerusalem, in all the towns and villages and hamlets through the countryside, were those whom he had saved.” [33] How true the words of the priests and leaders, “…he can’t save himself!” Jesus certainly had the power to come down from the cross if he so chose. However, he could only become the Savior of humanity by remaining on the cross. As Donahue says: “The final paradox of this powerful scene is that, by remaining on the cross, he is both “saving himself” and “saving others.” [34] “‘Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.’ Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him” (15:32). The leaders of Israel had already seen many miracles of Jesus and yet they had not believed. As Edwards says, “Faith is not the result of signs and miracles, but the condition for them.” [35] The great leader of the Salvation Army, General William Booth, once summed up this situation and the truth of the gospel message when he said: “It is because Jesus did not come down from the cross that we believe in him.” [36] At this point in his suffering both the brigands crucified with Jesus were still mocking him. That was to change dramatically for one of them as recorded in Luke 23:39-43. Jesus, the true Lamb of God, stayed on the cross and bore all its humiliation and suffering just as Isaiah said he would: “Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” (Isa. 53:12). At noon darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. Mark 15:33 At the sixth hour (12 O’clock noon) the world was visited by an awesome and miraculous event. The whole land became dark, in an occurrence that may have been predicted by the prophet Amos long before: “‘In that day,’ declares the Sovereign LORD, ‘I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight’” (Amos 8:9). This great darkness was surely reminiscent of the darkness that fell upon Egypt as the nation of Israel was about to be delivered from slavery and oppression (Exo. 10:21-22). Through the centuries some have felt that this was surely an eclipse of the sun. However, it has been pointed out that while solar eclipses only last some eight minutes this darkness lasted three hours. [37] With this great darkness Jesus was experiencing for the first time what it was like when the Father turns his face away. In 2 Corinthians 5:21, it is written that “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Jesus, who had never sinned in his whole life, now began to experience the awful effects of sin, that alienation from the face of God. He became the sin-bearer for all humanity. In that dark hour Christ not only experienced the withdrawal of the Father’s fellowship but he experienced the full effect of the Father’s wrath upon sin. Paul would later say of this awesome redemptive moment, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). Not only did he die for us but as he hung there on the cross he cancelled the written code of the law that had condemned us. He nailed it to the cross and it is now finished (Col. 2:14). Coffman remarks, “The full mystery of the awesome events of Calvary cannot ever be fully known by mortal and finite men.” [38] It is incomprehensible that God would allow such a thing, that the Son of God and Creator of the universe should be put to death as a common criminal on earth. There is something about the cross that forever proves the absolute sinfulness of man and the absolute love of God. It was no accident that the cross was planted in the hill of the skull, Golgotha. It is here that the love of God finally penetrates the mind of humankind. The cross ends all arguments about whether or not humans are sinners and whether or not God loves us. Jesus says, “But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (Jn.12:32). Today the preaching of the cross is regarded as foolishness by many, but we who are saved know that it is the power of God to salvation (1 Cor. 1:18). “And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani? ‘ (which means ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’)” (15:34). We no doubt have the actual Aramaic words spoken by Jesus and Mark gives the interpretation for the church at Rome. Added to the horrors of the cruel cross, Jesus had to bear not only the sins of all humanity but the rejection of his own Father. Again Jesus is quoting from Psalm 22:1. We simply cannot imagine the suffering Jesus endured for those hours. The cross itself was designed to slowly and surely kill a person. The nail pierced hands and feet produced a constant and searing pain, the lack of oxygen made it harder and harder to breathe. With each breath one had to push against the agonized feet. The body was wracked by muscle cramps due to the lack of oxygen. [39] Physicians tell us that in crucifixion the blood would sink to the lower extremities and the blood pressure would drop drastically. The pulse rate would then rise as the heart was deprived of blood, resulting in fainting spells. We are told that it could sometimes take from two to three days for a condemned person to die. To such a horrible death the Son of God descended (Phil. 2:5-8). “When some of those standing near heard this, they said, ‘Listen, he’s calling Elijah.’ Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. ‘Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,’ he said” (15:35-36). We have seen in the previous verse that it was now the ninth hour or 3 O’clock in the afternoon. The rigors of the Lord’s suffering were about over. Apparently some bystanders had misunderstood the cry of Jesus and supposed that he was asking for the Prophet Elijah to appear. One man took a sponge, dipped it in wine vinegar and lifted it to Jesus. He may have done it in response to Jesus’ request that he was thirsting (Jn. 19:28). We note in John’s gospel (v. 29) that the sponge was lifted on a stalk of hyssop (Gk. hussopo). Long before in Egypt it was with hyssop that the Passover lamb’s blood was put upon the houses. This was the second attempt to give Jesus a wine mixture (cf. Psa. 69:21). We see such sour wine mentioned in the Old Testament (Ruth 2:14). In the Greek and Roman world it was apparently a common beverage that was appreciated by soldiers and laborers. [40] As in the earlier instance, it was likely that Jesus also refused this drink. “With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last” (15:37). The loud cry of Jesus is unusual for a dying person. It surely must have startled the centurion who was on guard. When death closes in on people, one thing they often do is to stop talking, or else begin talking in a mere whisper. It just takes a lot of energy to talk and especially to cry out in a loud voice. The other gospel writers add some information to this last moment of Jesus. Luke records that Jesus said, “…Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Lk. 23:46). John notes that Jesus uttered the single word in the Greek language, tetelestai (meaning “it is finished”). Utley mentions how this Greek word is found written across business documents from ancient Egypt. In the commercial sense it meant “paid in full” (cf. Isa. 53). [41] Barclay writes that “Jesus died with the cry of triumph on his lips.” [42] The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, ‘Surely this man was the Son of God!’” Mark 15:38-39 While we cannot be absolutely sure, it seems likely that the veil spoken of here was not the outer veil but the inner veil of the temple. The Greek word for veil here is kateapetasma. It is used in reference to both curtains, however it is more frequently used of the curtain in the Holy of Holies. [43] This veil separated the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place. We remember that only the high priest of Israel could go behind this veil and that only one day each year on the Day of Atonement. It was the secret place where atonement was made for all Israel. Now we see that the veil is torn in two from top to bottom. This veil was very thick, about a handbreadth in width. Yet, at Jesus’ death it was ripped apart. Matthew ties the event to an earthquake in which the rocks split (Matt. 27:51). The spiritual significance of this development is rather astounding. Guzik summarizes this act saying: “The tearing of the temple veil signifies that now man has free access to the throne of grace by the cross, and that no one should ever think again that God dwells in temples made with hands.” [44] The torn veil seemed to be a token of the coming day, less than forty years in the future, when the whole temple would be destroyed by the Romans. The Roman centurion had just witnessed three hours of unusual and eerie darkness; he had just witnessed Jesus crying out with a loud voice and giving up his spirit. He had just witnessed a dramatic and frightening earthquake. Now the pagan Gentile Roman centurion declares that Jesus is the Son of God. Mark began his gospel proclaiming this fact. It was even announced from heaven at Jesus’ baptism and at his transfiguration. Now, the pagan world can confess Jesus and be saved. “The centurion now ascribes to Jesus what he had earlier ascribed to Caesar: Caesar is not divi filius, “son of God”…but Jesus is.” [45] “Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there” (15:40-41). Davies aptly says “The cause of the Cross will never lack loyal women.” [46] Mary Magdalene was a witness of Jesus’ death and first witness of his resurrection. Along with her was Mary the mother of James and Joses. In John 19:25 we read: “Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.” Pett thinks that Salome may have been the wife of Zebedee, the mother of James and John. [47] We do know that John was the only one of the original disciples present and that Jesus assigned the care of his mother to him before dying (Jn. 19:26-27). Matthew (27:55-56) tells us that there were many women present and he verifies that these women had ministered to Jesus and his disciples in the Galilee. We can imagine that there was a great need around camp to wash clothes, dishes, and just keep things in some degree of order. The ancient preacher Chrysostom remarks here: “For what reason then was he being supported by women. For women, it is said, followed him and ministered to him. It was to teach us from the first that he is ready to receive those who do the good.” [48] It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Mark 15:42-43 It appears here that the secret disciple, Joseph of Arimathea, was now no longer secret. He boldly went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. We might note that this was a little unusual with a crucifixion. Bodies were generally left upon the crosses to be devoured by birds and wild animals. Writing not long after this event the Roman historian Seutonius said of crucifixions, “the carrion birds will soon take care of ‘one’s burial.’” [49] However, because of Jewish sensibilities and because of the fast approaching holiday the Romans allowed the bodies to be buried. “Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph” (15:44-45). We can be certain here that Jesus was really dead. We have first the expert opinion of the Roman centurion who watched him die. Then we have the opinion of the soldiers who were sent to break the legs of those still living. They did not break Jesus’ legs because he was already dead (Jn. 19:33). For good measure a soldier even pierced Jesus’ side with a spear. Jesus was dead and not in some sort of swoon as some have claimed. Jesus truly fulfilled the prophetic words of Isaiah 53:8, “By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished.” Mark continues: “So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb” (15:46). Joseph by his actions was most surely subjecting himself to scorn from the rulers and religious people of his community. Also, by contacting a dead body he was making himself unclean and unable to participate in the upcoming holiday. We see here that Jesus was laid in the nearby tomb of Joseph. It was the new tomb (Mt. 27:60) of a wealthy man and therefore Jesus fulfilled Isaiah 53:9, “He was assigned a grave with the … rich in his death…” In Jesus’ day people were buried in “niche” tombs or kokhim. Almost a thousand tombs of this type have been discovered around Jerusalem. [50] With such a burial the deceased was anointed with spices, wrapped in linen and then laid out on one of the slabs in the tomb. Normally, after about a year when the body had thoroughly decomposed the bones were gathered and placed in a stone bone box or ossuary. The box, after being appropriately marked, was arranged with other boxes in the family tomb. The tombs were enclosed with large stones. For the wealthy the stones were sometimes round and were rolled back and forth in a track to cover and uncover the opening. “Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid” (15:47). Wiersbe remarks that faithful women were last at the cross and first at the tomb of Jesus. [51] We cannot discount the great importance of women in the gospel. In fact, Mary Magdalene would have to be counted as a disciple par excellence since she did what the other disciples, with exception of John, were unwilling or unable to do. She would then be the very first witness to the resurrection of Jesus. The timing of his death The ending of this chapter brings us once more face to face with the difficult question of when Jesus was crucified. Verse 42 tells us “It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath)” when Jesus died. The question remains as to which Sabbath. Was it the normal Sabbath beginning in the eve of Friday, or was it the special Sabbath connected with the holiday or Passover? We have said earlier that Passover can come on any day of the week. Some have gone to the great and painstaking task of checking the stages of the moon in the early centuries (remember, Israel runs on a lunar calendar). Many scholars feel that Jesus was probably crucified in the year AD 30. In that year the fourteenth of the Hebrew month of Nisan fell on Thursday. Thus the day of Jesus’ crucifixion would have been on Thursday and not on Friday according to this scientific evidence. [52] The Day of Preparation mentioned would then have been for the Passover Sabbath and not for the normal Sabbath. In effect, there would have been two Sabbaths in close proximity to each other. The interesting use of “Sabbaths” (Gk. sabbaton) in the plural in Matthew 28:1 seems to corroborate the passing of two Sabbaths while Jesus was asleep in the tomb. [53] Also, Lightfoot points out how in John 18:28, the leaders of Israel would not go into Pilate’s judgment hall lest they be defiled and not be able to eat the Passover. He says, “And hence it is confidently concluded by them, that however Christ ate his lamb the day before, yet the Jews were to eat theirs this very day.” [54] Early Christian writers like Ignatius and Augustine struggled with the problem and felt that Jesus was crucified on Friday, that he was in the grave the whole of the second day and was raised on the morning of the third. [55] That idea has prevailed over the centuries. Unfortunately, this does not allow for three days and three nights in the tomb as Matthew 12:40 declares. The eternal sufficiency of his death We see in the Bible that the sin problem was a very big one. We also see that the blood of bulls and goats could not take away sin (Heb. 10:4). After all, the animals on a thousand hills already belonged to God, so how could they be given back to him in offering? (Psa. 50:10). If the blood of animals could have taken away sin, then the suffering of Christ was unnecessary. We can safely say that in all of the millions of offerings of Israel not a single sin was ever forgiven through the shedding of animal blood. Still, we must not discount the sacrificial system. It was a system of types and shadows that spoke of coming reality, of the true offering that would in fact cover all sins and fully atone for them. Those who were not faithful with the types and shadows would miss the reality that was coming. It is clear in the Bible that the human sin problem was so big that only God could solve it. It is also clear that God solved the problem long before it came into existence. In Revelation 13:8, we read of “…the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.” The true Lamb of course was and is Jesus the Son of God. We hear this talking Lamb say to his Father,“…Here I am, I have come… I desire to do your will, my God…” (Psa. 40:7-8). From the scripture we can be assured that Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross was the eternal solution to the sin problem. It is said in Hebrews 7:25, “Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him…” Those Israelites who lived before the cross were looking toward the cross for full forgiveness and redemption. We, who live after the cross are looking back on it. Paul deals with this mystery in Romans 3:25 saying: “God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood— to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished….” In this verse we see that God displayed a remission toward the sins committed during the Old Testament era. The Greek word used here (paresin) does not occur elsewhere in the New Testament or in the Septuagint. It has the idea of “passing by” or “not noticing” the sins that were committed. [56] God is a God of justice. Because he is a God of justice, it is impossible for him to be unjust in his dealings with sin. In Old Testament times if God had simply waved his hand to forgive sin he would not have been dealing justly according to his own word (cf. Prov. 17:15; 24:25). In the Bible he says: “…I will not acquit the guilty” (Exo. 23:7). John Stott comments: “How can the righteous God act un-righteously, and so overthrow the moral order, turning it upside down? It is unbelievable! Or rather it would be, if it were not for the cross of Christ.” [57] Guzik remarks: “The idea is that through the animal sacrifice of the Old Testament, those who looked in faith to the coming Messiah had their sins ‘covered’ by a sort of an ‘IOU’ or promissory note. That temporary covering was redeemed for full payment at the cross.” [58] God was, “…not remitting but only forbearing to punish them, or passing them by, until an adequate atonement for them should be made.” [59] Thus we see that God in his great forbearance was willing to leave the sins of the Old Testament era unpunished until Jesus as the Lamb of God could receive the full punishment for them all at Calvary. What an awful burden of sin our Savior bore! In the Old Testament, sacrifices and offerings were repeated continuously and this fact itself argued against their eternal efficacy (Heb. 10:2-3). It is much different with Jesus: “But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God” (Heb. 10:12). On the cross it really was “finished.” Hebrews 11:39-40 tells us that the people of the Old Covenant had to wait on the New Covenant to be established. It says, “These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.” The cosmic consequences of his death We know from the Bible that the sin problem was not just an earthly problem. The Bible tells us that God’s most glorious and powerful angel, Lucifer, rebelled against God in the eons past (Isa. 14:12-15; Ezek. 28:1-19). The Book of Revelation makes plain that a third of the angels of God were drawn into this rebellion (Rev. 12:3-4). From other passages such as Genesis 6:1-2, we might assume that there were other rebellions in the heavenly realms. With these rebellions Satan sat up his rival kingdom. [60] From the Bible we can understand that the heavens are divided into at least three parts. There is the third heaven where Paul visited on one occasion (2 Cor. 12:2) and it is this heaven where God dwells. Then there is the lower part of heaven where Satan and his cohorts dwell. Paul speaks of this in Ephesians 6:12 saying, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” These dark spiritual powers were already represented in the Garden of Eden long ago. The serpent was already there tempting Adam and Eve to do evil and also join in the rebellion against God. Satan had rebelled because of his pride and man did essentially the same thing. Derek Prince says, “Pride was the cause of Lucifer’s downfall. It is also the main motive that Satan uses in tempting human beings to sin. Pride has caused the downfall of more men and women than all the other sins put together.” [61] Satan said (Isa. 14:14), “I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” Much later Satan tempted humankind saying, “…you will be like God…” (Gen. 3:5). If we had to summarize sin we could probably do it with the words, prideful-selfish-rebellion. It is clear that by the strategy of the cross God worked a great victory over these rebelling spiritual forces. In Colossians 2:15 it is said: “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” Apparently God in his wisdom knew that mere power and force could never appease the minds of either angels or humans. It was power and pride that brought about the fall of angels. Now it was pride that brought about the fall of man. God in his wisdom knew that he could never settle the nagging question of his right to be God by his power alone. It was only in humility that the victory was won on earth and in heaven. When Christ, the Sovereign of the Universe, died a meek and humble death on the cruel cross it proved something to both angels and to humans. It is therefore the cross of Christ that triumphs over all. Through that cross the evil rulers and authorities in the heavenly places will be finally cast down and destroyed. Several sources I have cited here are from the electronic media, either from websites or from electronic research libraries. Thus in some of these sources it is not possible to cite page numbers. Instead I have cited the verse or verses in each chapter of Mark (e.g. verse v. 1 or vs. 1-2) about which the commentators speak. 1. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 454. 2. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, vs. 15:1-20. 3. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p. 212. “Most scholars think Pilate stayed at Herod’s palace when in Jerusalem.” Guzik (vs. 1-5) in quoting Lane reports: “Josephus states explicitly that the procurator, Gessius Florus, lived there and held his court on the public square in front of the buildings.” 4. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 15:1-5. 5. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 413. 6. Ibid. 7. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 461. 8. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 416. 9. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 15:6-15. 10. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p. 214. Donahue adds, “There may be a subtle irony in the choice of Barabbas whose name means ‘Son of the Father’ (Aramaic, Abba). Jesus, the true son of the Father, is rejected in favor of a pseudo-son.” (Donahue, p. 1007). Guzik in citing Lane (vs. 6-15) also says: “If anyone should be able to say, ‘Jesus died for me,’ it should be Barabbas.” 11. Coffman, Commentary on Mark, v. 15:11. 12. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 417. 13. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p. 215. 14. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 465-466. “There is no evidence that Herod the Great or the Roman prefects who succeeded him ever stayed at the Antonia Fortress when they were in Jerusalem.” 15. Ibid., p. 466. 16. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 15:16-20, citing Wessel. 17. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 467. 18. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p. 216. 19. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 470. 20. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, p. 132. 21. Ibid., p. 133. 22. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 470. 23. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, p. 133. 24. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 470. 25. Ibid. 26. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 421. 27. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 15:21-23, citing Cole. 28. Ibid., vs. 15:24-26, citing Edwards. 29. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p. 217. “The third hour’ In John 19:14 it says ‘the sixth hour.’ The Synoptic Gospels consistently use Jewish time, while John, often, but not exclusively, uses Roman time.” 30. Oden, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, p. 228. 31. Evans, Word Biblical Commentary, Mark 8:27—16:20, pp. 503-504. 32. Coffman, Commentary on Mark, vs. 15:28-29. 33. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 15:27-32, citing Morgan. 34. Donahue, Mark, Harper’s Bible Commentary, p. 1007. 35. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 474. 36. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 422. 37. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 15:33-37 Barclay adds concerning the darkness: “Up to this moment, Jesus had gone through every experience of life except one- he had never known the consequence of sin.” (Barclay, p. 424). 38. Coffman, Commentary on Mark, v. 15:34. 39. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 15:24-26, citing Edwards. He mentions that death could come in many different ways: “Acute shock from blood loss; suffocation from being too exhausted to breathe; dehydration; heart attack, induced by stress; heart rupture from congestive heart failure.” 40. Ibid., pp. 15:33-37, citing Lane. 41. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p. 219. 42. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 425. 43. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 478. 44. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 15:38-41. 45. Evans, Word Biblical Commentary, Mark 8:27—16:20, p. 510. 46. Davies, Mark, Abingdon Bible Commentary, p. 1020. 47. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, vs. 15:40-41. 48. Oden, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, p. 236. 49. Evans, Word Biblical Commentary, Mark 8:27—16:20, p. 484. 50. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 490. 51. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, p. 134. 52. Coffman, Commentary on Mark, v. 15:42. 53. Ibid. 54. Lightfoot, Commentary on Mark, v. 15:35. 55. Oden, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, p. 237. 56. Albert Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament, Romans, v. 3:25. http://studylight.org/ com/bnn/, 57. John R. W. Stott, The Message of Romans (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994), p. 76. 58. David Guzik, Romans, David Guzik’s Commentaries on the Bible. vs. 3:25-26. https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/romans-3/ 59. David Brown, The Epistle of Paul to the Romans (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, 1997), v. 3:25. 60. Derek Prince, Rules of Engagement: Preparing For Your Role In the Spiritual Battle (Grand Rapids: Chosen Books, 2006), pp. 144-145. 61. Ibid., p. 144. When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Mark 16:1 In Israel the Sabbath (Shabbat) is a very important day. The Sabbath’s approach and celebration regulate what a person can and cannot do. For instance, Friday is a preparation for the Sabbath and today in Israel it is quite difficult to get things done on that day. Stores begin closing in the early afternoon and by three or four in the afternoon it is almost impossible to do shopping. If customs in Jesus’ day were anything like today it would have been difficult for the women to have purchased spices after the death of Jesus at 3 o’clock in the afternoon. In addition, the women were probably much too traumatized by Jesus’ crucifixion and death to even think of shopping. Today in Israel when the Sabbath ends there are always certain businesses that open up within an hour or so after sundown. It is likely that the women found some merchant open after the Sabbath and procured their necessary spices. We should note that the Jews did not use spices for mummification since this was not a Jewish custom. Rather they used spices to offset the odors of the body’s decomposition. [1] The spices included Myrrh, a fragrant Arabian gum and Aloes, a fragrant type wood. [2] With their purchase, the women were thus ready to journey to the tomb at a very early hour the next morning. From John 20:1, we see that they began their journey to the tomb while it was still dark. The women were some of the same group that watched Jesus die at the crucifixion. Mary Magdalene, probably being the youngest, seems to be the leading character. With her, were Mary the mother of James and Salome. This “other Mary” may be the same as Mary mother of James and Joses listed in Mark 15:40 and Matthew 27:56. Salome was also mentioned in Mark 15:40. Most of these women had followed Jesus to Jerusalem from Galilee. “Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, ‘Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?’” (16:2-3). We sense a great deal of fear and foreboding in these women. While it was no doubt a bit eerie to be venturing to a tomb in the twilight, there were other things bothering them. They were rightly concerned about how they would move the large rolling stone in front of the tomb. One estimate by two engineering professors from Georgia Tech has placed the weight of the stone at 1 ½ to 2 tons. [3] Not only was the stone very large and immovable, but it was sealed with an official seal. In those days it was a serious criminal offense to break such a seal. To add further to their concerns, the tomb was guarded by soldiers. We have to pause and say that although they were frightened, these were some very brave women to even attempt such a thing. We can see in the case of these women as well as with the disciples that they did not expect Jesus to rise again in spite of all his previous teaching on the subject. Their service to him was to be final. Edwards quips here, “For the first time in history, last rites were all wrong.” [4] Mark, as he does in his whole gospel, is giving us a very fast-moving and abbreviated account. When we go to Matthew’s account we find much helpful information that will fill-in the blanks for us here. Matthew 28:2-4 says: “There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.” Unknown to the fearful women, God had already taken care of their problems. So it is with us as we serve our God, that he has often gloriously taken care of our concerns without our knowing. But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. Mark 16:4 We can assume that the terrified guards had fled the scene when they regained their senses and miraculously the tomb stood open before the women. The women now became more shocked and dazed at every turn. “As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. ‘Don’t be alarmed,’ he said. ‘You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him’” (16:5-6). When people encountered angels in the Bible, their first response was great alarm bordering on sheer terror. It is interesting that today’s supposed angelic appearances hold no such alarm. We see the angel represented as a young man and in Mark’s account only one angel is reported on. There was obviously more to the story. Luke and John tell us that there were two angels at the tomb. Angels are generally depicted as males with the exception of Zechariah 5:9-10. [5] The angel then makes the wondrous announcement of the resurrection, “He has risen! He is not here.” It is surely this announcement that really dumbfounded and mystified the women. Coffman tries to sum it up saying: “The mystery and heart-stopping meaning of what they had come to know was as devastating a body of information as mortals ever received; and the implications of it are enough to challenge and awe any man who ever contemplated it.” [6] It is this very information, “He has risen!” that sets Christianity off from every other religion of humankind. The world’s greatest religious leaders, Buddha, Mohammed and even the great Moses died and their bodies are today still in the tomb but Jesus is risen and alive for evermore. It is the resurrection that brought great joy and victory into the early floundering church. It is the resurrection that has sustained the hope of the church through the ages. Paul goes so far as to say that if there was no resurrection then our faith is in vain (1 Cor. 15:14). The resurrection put God’s stamp of approval on the ministry and sacrificial death of Jesus. In Romans 1:4 Paul says that Jesus “…who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead…” The resurrection was proof positive and final that Jesus was who he said, the very Son of God. [7] The angel invited the women to “See the place where they laid him.” This may be a significant witness to the resurrection. We know it was to John when he looked into the tomb. In John 20:1-10, he speaks of seeing the grave clothes. These were strips of linen that covered the whole body. There was something about these linen strips that make a believer out of John. The strips were apparently still intact as if the body of Jesus was inside. Obviously “Christ had risen through the grave clothes in exactly the same manner that he had arisen through the tomb. The angels had rolled away the stone not to let Jesus out, but to let the witnesses in!” [8] “But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you’” (16:7). The message, “and Peter,” was likely as encouraging as the resurrection message itself to poor Peter who had denied the Lord and who probably felt terrible. Barclay relates a saying, “The most precious thing about Jesus is the way in which he trusts us on the field of our defeat.” [9] We know from scripture that much of the revelation of the risen Christ would take place in Galilee (Mk. 14:28). Even the Great Commission would be given on a mountain there. We can only surmise that Jesus appeared to the disciples in Jerusalem because of their great unbelief. The plan was still to be worked out in the Galilee and he would see them all there soon. It is likely that Jesus’ appearance to the much wider circle of 500 people (1 Cor. 15:6) happened also in the Galilee. [10] “Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid” (16:8). How incredible it was that the greatest revelation in all earth’s history was made to women. In the Jewish culture the witness of a woman was not even valid in a court. [11] Once again, we see the great heights to which Jesus lifted womanhood. But these women had experienced more than their minds and bodies could take in. They were overcome with “trembling” (Gk. tromos) and “bewilderment (Gk. eksstasis). [12] The women were so overwhelmed that they panicked and fled from the tomb. They were too afraid to speak even a word about what they had witnessed. With this amazing picture the original gospel of Mark is drawn to a close. The NIV notes at this point: “The earliest manuscripts and some other ancient witnesses do not have verses 9-20.” When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. Mark 16:9 We immediately sense that this account is different from the rest of the gospel both in its style and content. Mary Magdalene is introduced as if it were her first appearance. She is identified as the one from whom Jesus cast out seven demons (cf. Lk. 8:2). Edwards remarks here “It is virtually certain that 16:9-20 is a later addition and not the original ending of the Gospel of Mark.” [13] The writer then continues with the account of Mary Magdalene saying, “She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping” (16:10). This account assumes that Mary Magdalene and the other women had gotten over the shock of seeing the angel and the empty tomb and that they had rallied themselves to make the report to the disciples. We see in John’s gospel (20:10-18) the tender picture of Mary meeting the resurrected Master. Perhaps after her report to the disciples Mary went again to the tomb where Jesus appeared to her. The Venerable Bede remarks here saying: “A woman first tasted death, but in Magdalene, woman first saw the resurrection, that woman might not bear the perpetual guilt of transgression among men.” [14] Thus Mary Magdalene was not only the first witness to the resurrection but in telling the disciples she became its first herald to the church. [15] In spite of Mary’s glowing account the disciples did not believe her. “When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it. Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either” (16:11-13). This is reputed to be the same as the account that recorded in Luke 24:13-32. When the breathless duo arrived back in Jerusalem and told their story the disciples did not believe them either. As Guzik says of the disciples, “They were equal opportunity unbelievers!” [16] “Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen” (16:14). Some of the disciples had been involved off and on in arguments about which of them would be the greatest. Now they are hearing stories of how the resurrected Christ had appeared to lowly Mary Magdalene and to the two who were not even a part of their sacred company. [17] Barnes says of the group, “They were not convinced, until it was impossible for them longer to deny it.” [18] We see in Matthew 28:16-17, that even after they had traveled to the Galilee and met Jesus again some still doubted. When we see how deep was the unbelief of Jesus’ select disciples we see how foolish are the stories that his disciples stole away the body and rigged the resurrection account. “He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation’” (16:15). No doubt this statement of Jesus was made in the Galilee. In Matthew 28:18-20, we see that the Great Commission had its setting on a familiar Galilee mountain. This commission is seen by the church as something that applies to all Jesus’ disciples, past and present. The great preacher Harry Ironside put it this way: “Interest in missions is not an elective in God’s university of grace. It is something in which every disciple is expected to major.” [19] “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned” (16:16). This statement at first glance sounds a lot like Jesus was teaching baptismal regeneration. Those commentators who believe in such a doctrine are happy to declare that the sixteenth chapter of Mark is a unity. However, the great Greek scholar Robertson pointed out that the “condemnation rests on disbelief, not on baptism. So salvation rests on belief. Baptism is merely the picture of the new life not the means of securing it.” [20] We might say that baptism is a very first step in discipleship. For one to spurn baptism creates a real problem with that person’s salvation. Barnes adds to this: “he did not say, indeed, that a man could not be saved without baptism, but he has strongly implied that where this is neglected, knowing it to be a command of the Saviour, it endangers the salvation of the soul. Faith and baptism are the beginnings of a Christian life: the one the beginning of piety in the soul, the other of its manifestation before men, or of a profession of religion.” [21] “And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well” (16:17-18). While verses 9-20 may not have come directly from the hand of Mark they certainly are very early and come directly from the orthodox teaching of the early church. Jesus cast out demons and it was a very large part of his ministry. He gave his disciples the same ability. In fact, he tells his disciples who were to come in the future that they will continue his works. He says in John 14:12, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” Characteristically, the commentators who do not believe in charismatic gifts for today are happy to declare that verses 9-20 are not valid and should not be part of the gospel. Because of modernistic tendencies in the church it has been popular in recent centuries to deny that supernatural gifts continue to modern times. Many preachers and teachers declare that such things ended with the first century. However, despite what many people have said, miraculous healings continue today and they continued on in the church far past the first century. The famous apologist Justin Martyr spoke of people receiving gifts of healing around AD 160. [22] The church father Irenaeus (around 180) also spoke of miraculous healings and even the raising of the dead. [23] The African father Tertullian (about 197) wrote of performing miraculous cures. [24] The influential father Origen (around 248) mentioned performing many cures. [25] We know from other sources that miraculous healings were witnessed in the church as late as the times of Ambrose (339-397) and Augustine (354-430). [26] The church father Ambrose once said, “Each believer receives gifts from the Father and Son through the Spirit according to each one’s capacity to receive.” [27] Obviously, if people today to not have the capacity of believing in supernatural gifts these gifts will likely not be given. Both Ambrose and Gregory the Great (540-604) stated that the gifts of tongues and casting out of demons were not given exclusively to the apostles but to the continuing apostolate in the church. [28] The matter of picking up snakes may raise some questions for those in modern times, especially when we consider the outlandish practices of some eastern mountain churches in the US. They believe that they should be able to pick up dangerous snakes without ill effect, based on the Mark passage. However, a few of the leaders in these churches have actually died from the resulting poisonous snake bites. There is a passage of scripture that says, “Do not put the LORD your God to the test…” (Deut. 6:16). There is also another passage in Ecclesiastes 7:17 that asks, “…why die before your time?” We see from scripture that it is possible for believers to exercise dominion over serpents. In Psalm 91:13 it is written “You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent” (cf. Lk. 10:19). In Acts 28:3 ff. we read that Paul was bitten by a poisonous snake on the isle of Malta. He shook the snake off in the campfire and went on with no ill effects. This no doubt reflects the true meaning of verse 18. Satan and his snakes should not impede our ministry. The same principles must surely apply to the matter of drinking deadly poison. We would not tempt the Lord by doing such a thing. However, we may well experience deliverance should someone maliciously try to poison us. The church historian Eusebius tells of how Justus Barsabas, the disciple who was not chosen in Acts 1:23, drank some poison without experiencing any harm. [29] Regarding the matter of laying hands on the sick and having them recover, this was an established biblical practice. James 5:14-15 commands the sick to go to the elders of the church, who will anoint them with oil and pray for them so that they can be well. 1 Corinthians 12:9 speaks of gifts of healing for helping the sick. “After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God” (16:19). As we no doubt remember, the ascension of the Lord did not take place in the Galilee but on the Mt. of Olives at Jerusalem (Acts 1:9-11). It was a fulfillment of that most popular early Christian text, Psalm 110:1. The ascension of Jesus was certainly necessary. There would have been something seriously defective if the stories of his appearance had gone on for a few months and then gradually faded away. Jesus ascended to the glory he had before with the Father and to the new glory that was now his as the supremely successful Savior of all who would believe in him. He ascended so that he could go and prepare a place for us (Jn. 14:3). He is in heaven now as our intercessor and as one who showers gifts upon his followers (Rom. 8:34; Eph. 4:8). [30] “Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it” (16:20). We can see with this verse why Mark could not end with fearful women running from the tomb. There was much more to the story as the other gospels and Acts attest. The disciples did not always have a doubting complex. They gained faith and grew in it. In time, with the coming of the Holy Spirit, they bore a mighty witness to their risen Lord. In time, some of them bore even a mightier witness as they offered up their lives for the sake of the gospel. When compared to the other three gospels the ending of Mark is very strange. The ending must have troubled the early church and at some point a statement of the resurrection account was apparently appended to Mark’s gospel. Many Bibles, including the NIV insert a note after verse 8 saying that the earliest manuscripts of the Bible do not contain verses 9 through 20. Several Bible scholars treat these verses differently and some refuse to make any comment on them whatsoever. We certainly want to know why the scholars and commentators feel this way. Evans notes that R. H. Gundry may have a valid point when he insists that verse 8 was actually the beginning of an unfinished new paragraph. Some of his points are that the other gospels continue on with the account of the women and Mark’s does not. He notes that Mark usually begins his accounts with a note of fear rather than ending them that way. He feels it is odd that the gospel would end on a note of disobedience. The women were instructed to bear witness and they did not do so. Also, since the other gospels relate an appearance of the risen Christ, Mark’s would have likely done the same thing. He summarizes saying that verse 8 was not Mark’s intended ending. [31] What then happened to cause Mark to end his gospel in such a strange manner? We need to remember that the first documented case of imperial persecution happened under Emperor Nero in the years of AD 64-68. This was probably the result of the great fire that devastated Rome and Nero apparently shifted the blame of that devastation to the Christians. Christian tradition says that Paul was beheaded and Peter was crucified upside down as to his own request. He did not feel worthy to be crucified as Jesus was. We can thus see that the two brightest lights of Christianity were quickly extinguished by Nero. Rome was suddenly a very dangerous place to be for Christians. Since Mark was a close companion of Peter we can wonder if Mark was also suddenly incarcerated or perhaps martyred. Mark already had a background as Christian missionary and would surely have come under suspicion. He also had close associations with Paul. Such a scenario may explain why his gospel ended so suddenly and seemingly unfinished. Clearly, the church in coming decades felt that the ending of Mark was incomplete. They apparently tried to remedy this by appending a statement of faith concerning the resurrection to the ending of the gospel. The church appended what they felt Mark would have said had it been possible for him to say it, or perhaps if he had lived to say it. Several sources I have cited here are from the electronic media, either from websites or from electronic research libraries. Thus in some of these sources it is not possible to cite page numbers. Instead I have cited the verse or verses in each chapter of Mark (e.g. verse v. 1 or vs. 1-2) about which the commentators speak. 1. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 1-7, Citing Lane. 2. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p. 227. 3. Josh McDowell, A Ready Defense (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1993), p. 226. Evans cites Kloner (BAR ’99) who says that about 98 percent of the stones that were used to cover tombs in Jesus’ day were actually square block type stones. He notes that the more sophisticated wheel type stones were only used by the wealthy. (Evans, p. 535). Utley (p. 227) notes that the need for such stones was because of grave robbers who would frequently steal the spices and other valuables in the tombs. 4. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 493. 5. Utley, The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I &II Peter, p. 227. 6. Coffman, Commentary on Mark, v. 16:8. 7. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, p. 134. 8. Coffman, Commentary on Mark, v. 16:6. 9. Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p. 430. 10. Pett, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, v. 16:7. 11. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 492 12. Ibid., p. 496. 13. Ibid., p. 497, 503. “Since none of the autograph copies of documents of the NTG survives, the Greek text of the NT is constructed form later copies of manuscripts dating from AD 135 at the earliest to about AD 1200 at the latest. These copies, of which more than five thousand exists, range in size from scraps little larger than postage stamps to complete manuscripts…The most notorious exception to this otherwise happy rule, however, is the ending of Mk, which presents the gravest textual problem in the NT. The two oldest and most important manuscripts of the Bible, codex Vaticanus (B) and codex Siniaticus, omit 16:9-20 as do several early translations or versions…Neither Clement of Alexandria nor Origen shows any awareness of the existence of the longer ending, and Eusebius and Jerome attest that vv. 9-20 were absent from the majority of Greek copies of Mark known to them” (Edw. p. 497). Edwards (p. 503) also remarks: “There is thus considerable reason to doubt that 16:8 was ever the intended conclusion to the Gospel of Mark…The most plausible suggestion is that it was lost due to wear-and-tear on the last leaf of a codex. Or perhaps Mark was interrupted or died before completing it…It would not be surprising if Mark’s name were among the martyrs of Nero’s reign….Mark leads reader to expect an appearance of Jesus to the disciples in Galilee…We have examples of other ancient codices missing either first or last leaves…the necessity of flight; a pressing call to another work, leaving the uncompleted gospel in the hands of fellow believers….” 14. Oden, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, p. 247. 15. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 504. 16. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 16:12-13. 17. Coffman, Commentary on Mark, v. 16:14. 18. Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament, Romans, v. 16:14. 19. Quoted in Guzik vs. 16:14-19. 20. Guzik (14-19) quoting Robertson. 21. Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament, Romans, v. 16:16. 22. Roberts &Donaldson, The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 1, p. 214. 23. Ibid., p. 409. 24. Ibid., Vol. 3, p. 91. 25. Ibid., p. 415. 26. John Wimber, with Kevin Springer, Power Evangelism, Signs and Wonders Today, (London: Hodder &Stoughton, 1985), p. 155-56. 27. Oden, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, p. 249. 28. Ibid., p. 248. 29. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, p. 506. 30. Guzik, Commentary on Mark, vs. 16:19-20. 31. Evans (p. 539) citing Gundry.