Mark: Who Is This Man (1-8)
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MarkSurvey of the New Testament: The Gospels & ActsWinter 2005 |
[Previous: Introduction][Next: The Suffering Servant]
In Matthew, Jesus is introduced with a formal genealogy establishing his heritage. Luke also goes into great detail about Jesus birth and heritage. John introduces his gospel with a beautiful chapter about the nature of Jesus. But Mark begins abruptly, declaring that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.
But Mark's case for Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God is laid out in an unusual way. He shows the questions and feelings of the people around Him as they wrestle with the question, “who is this man?”
In a rapid manner, Mark shows Jesus doing miraculous things, but also being in unusual situations with unusual characters, such as a wild guy who eats grasshoppers baptizes Jesus. He spends time with wild animals in the wilderness (1:13). In fact, the first person who recognizes His identity is a crazed demon possessed man who states, “I know who You are-- the Holy One of God!" (1:24).
Jesus himself fosters this sense of mystery about Him. When Jesus heals the leper in 1:40ff, he sternly warns the healed man not to tell anyone of his miracle (1:44). It is as if Jesus does not really want people to know about His identity yet.
Mark is building interest in the first four chapters, setting the stage for the question. Up to this point all we know about Jesus are the statements of some suspicious characters and questions without answers from others. All of this is designed by Mark to draw us into the question, “who is this man?”
Jesus' teaching was also often enigmatic and veiled. After giving the parable of the sower in 4:1-9, when they were alone, the disciples admitted that they didn't understand the parable and asked him to explain it. This seemed to be a regular practice of the Jesus and the disciples. He would teach in parables to the crowds, but then when alone he would explain the meaning to the disciples.
With many such parables He was speaking the word to them, so far as they were able to hear it; and He did not speak to them without a parable; but He was explaining everything privately to His own disciples. (Mark 4:33-34)
Most teaching in that day was a recitation of other's teachings and did not confuse or force the listener to hear with an understanding ear. But Mark is building up Jesus as a man of mystery so as to draw us into the question, “who is this man?”
Jesus public career around Galilee had just started when he began forming a team of men who would help him spread his message. Mark does not give us many details into these men or why they would be willing to leave their lives behind in order to follow this enigmatic man from Nazareth. What he does record gives an insight to Jesus' character: Jesus was a man of charisma.
There were four commercial fishermen in business together: Peter and Andrew (who were brothers) and James and John (also brothers). Mark tells us they were just going about their business when Jesus calls to them to be fishers of men.
These four dropped their business, their careers, and their families and immediately began following Jesus. Verse 20 even says that James and John left their father in the fishing boat when they left to follow this man.
The calling of Matthew follows a similar circumstance. However Levi was a tax collector. In a time when the Roman taxation was so extremely oppressive, Levi was certainly not the most loved of his countrymen. He would have been hated. But he also would have been extremely rich, as the Romans gave tax collectors the ability to take their salary to the top of what was due the government.
It is clear that Jesus must have been a tremendously charismatic leader. These men were willing to follow after a first meeting. They were not gullible people. These were hardened fishermen and street-wise savvy businessmen. Jesus must have had a quality about him that inspired people to follow after Him.
Jesus not only inspired his disciples to follow after Him, but crowds of people were thronging to Him. News of His ministry was spreading throughout Galilee (1:28), and soon there were so many people coming to see Him that he could not longer publicly enter a city for fear of being mobbed by the crowd. So Jesus moved his ministry out of the city and into the countryside so that they could all have room to see Him (1:45).
Part of Jesus charisma is tied with the manner in which he taught.
They were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. (Mark 1:22)
The standard of teaching in that day by the “teachers of the law” would be to quote the sayings of other teachers. They would gather their evidence and present a case for their teaching using secondary sources. Their knowledge was derived from tradition and scholarship [1]. But Jesus was using himself as a primary source. He dared to present teachings without quoting others or using others as a proof of his case. He spoke with authority, and this amazed the disciples and his other listeners.
This sense of authority was supported by an ability to heal sickness, cast out demons, and control nature itself.
As Jesus was teaching in the synagogue, a man with an evil spirit came in and interrupted the scene. After Jesus had rebuked the evil spirit and command it to leave the man, Mark tell us:
They were all amazed, so that they debated among themselves, saying, "What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him." (Mark 1:27)
It is interesting that the people responded to the authority of Jesus' teaching, not the authority he had over the evil spirit. It seems that the same authority they had sensed in his teaching, which was unlike the normal teaching, was transferred into this miracle. This was a mind-boggling teaching style. When Jesus opened his mouth, the things he said amazed people. It was a new teaching. It was an authoritative teaching. It was a teaching that had power.
While the disciples were amazed by His charisma and by how He taught, their amazement about this man named Jesus was about to rise to a new level in Mark 4:35-41. This is the first pivotal point in the book, raising the question which people in the first four chapters have been asking: “Who is this man?
Mark uses four questions in the passage come together to make a point. The usage of questions to make a point is an important literary device which even today is a part of Jewish culture. These questions build upon each other to brings us to a conclusion:
The scene begins with the disciples in a boat, and a storm. However, Jesus is asleep in the boat. The boat is about to sink in this windstorm and Jesus is sleeping in the stern with his head on a pillow. The disciples were not over reacting. At least four of the disciples were fishermen, with experience sailing on the sea. When they say that they are about to die, these men really thought the boat was going down. And here Jesus was, sleeping, as if he didn't care about their plight. They ask the obvious question of the indifferent sleeper: “Don't you care that we are about to die?”
Jesus quietly gets up and issues a simple command. “Quiet. Be still.” What follows is what has been described as a point of quiet intensity [2]. The silence is almost tangible as the disciples stand there with their mouths agape. Jesus breaks the silence by asking two questions: “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
Jesus is expressing his disappointment. He expected that by now the disciples would have understood who he was. They had seen him perform miracles. They had seen him teach with great authority. But they doubted not only that He had the ability to calm the storm, but that He cared for them.
You get the sense that the disciples didn't even hear Jesus questions. They were in complete shock. The moment strikes fear in the disciples and the haunting question just hangs there awaiting an answer: “Who is this?” Who has the power to control the wind and the waves?
Before the storm, it is clear that the disciples are afraid for their lives. But after Jesus has calmed the storm, Mark tells us that now they are terrified. It seems that the disciples felt their lives more threatened in the presence of someone with the power to end a storm than in the midst of deadly storm.
This is the beginning of a theme of fear which Mark shows us all through His gospel. The disciples were afraid of the storm. But now they are even more afraid to be in the presence of this man who has the very power to control nature.
It seems if you are able to answer the last question, “Who is this man,” you will have faith. That faith will keep you from fear, which then answers the first question, “Does Jesus care about my peril.”
Mark's audience would have also been facing a great deal of fear due to the persecution at the hand of the Roman government. Indeed, many in the Roman church were probably wondering if Jesus cared for their peril. But if the Christians reading Mark's gospel understand who Jesus is, they will have faith. That faith will keep them from fear, and answer the question if Jesus remembers or cares for them in the midst of their suffering.
Mark spends the rest of this book showing who Jesus is and asking his reader to determine for themselves who He is. This, in turn, will tell his audience, that there is no need to fear and that indeed Jesus does care about their perils.
In trying to answer the question raised in the previous verse (4:41), Mark's narrative moves to several miracles of Jesus. Mark seems to slow down and spend a little more time with the narrative so as to indicate that these miracles seem to be of a higher order of magnitude than what we have seen so far. Mark is drawing a picture here of a man who has great authority.
The picture begins with a demonstration of his power over a legion of demons. He then demonstrates his power over death as he raises Jarius' daughter (5:35-43). The demonstration of power continues as he feeds the 5,000 (6:30 ff.) and then the 4,000 (8:1ff). He walks on water (6:45ff). His power is so pervasive that even people who touch his cloak are healed (6:56)
These miracles demonstrate the incredible authority and power of this man.
Yet put in the midst of this power we see tremendous compassion, even when that compassion cost him something. For example, in 5:25ff, Jesus, on His way to heal someone, has a woman disturb Him. But it doesn't bother Him. Instead, he takes the time to heal her, and talk with her. His compassion is greater than the task at hand. He never allows the needs of someone to outweigh His personal agenda. However, the most compelling look at Jesus compassion is chapter 6.
Back in Mark 6:6-13, we read that Jesus sent his 12 closest followers, the disciples, on a whirlwind tour of Palestine to share the message of Jesus. Now, in verse 30, the disciples have gathered back together, and they have a debriefing session, where the disciples tell Jesus all that had happened on their mission. I am sure it must have been exciting to talk about their adventures. But the disciples were probably also rather tired. They had been traveling extensively for some time and now they were back reunited with their leader.
But it was not all a happy reunion. We read in the verses between the sending of the disciples and their return (i.e. verses 14-29) that John the Baptist has been beheaded by King Herod. John was Jesus cousin and his spiritual forbearer. It was John who had baptized Jesus and given Jesus his initial credibility, and now He was dead.
Jesus and the disciples were not just upset at the death of a close friend. They were probably also scared. If Herod were willing to kill John, would Jesus and his disciples be next on the hit list? It was no secret that John and Jesus were comrades, working for the same cause. So Jesus suggests a retreat.
But Jesus and his disciples had gained such notoriety, that they found it difficult getting away from the crowds of people who wanted to see and hear them. While Jesus and the disciples are in the boat crossing the lake the crowd ran around the lake to catch up with them.
But Jesus response gives us a wonderful insight into his character. He does not tell the disciples to get back in the boat. He does not tell the crowd, “Hey, I'm too tired, come back tomorrow.” Instead, he sees the need of the crowd and how desperate they are for a leader.
When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things. (Mark 6:34)
Jesus is tired, wanting nothing more than to be alone with his disciples. But when he sees the crowd, he is overwhelmed by their need. He looks on them and sees them as sheep without a shepherd. They are people who need guidance. They are people who need leadership. And, even though he is weary, he reaches out to them to meet their need.
But what was their need? What gave him such a deep sense of compassion? We see what Jesus perceived their deep need to be by how he sought to remedy that need. His compassion compelled him to teach them many things. He looked at the crowd and saw what they lacked was spiritual insight. They needed to know and understand about spiritual matters. He did not heal them. He did not give them financial stability. He did not organize them into a political party. He taught them. He gave them insights into the word of God, because he saw these people as a spiritually needy people. A people with need to understand who God is and what he expects from us.
Jesus and the disciples had been trying to get away from the crowd by sailing in their boat away from the cities and the crowds. So they headed to a deserted area across the Sea of Galilee. Now as Jesus is teaching the day is turning into evening and everyone is getting hungry. And since they are in the middle of nowhere, far from any town or city, the disciples come to Jesus.
But Jesus tells them to feed the crowd. He is telling the disciples to have compassion on the crowd and be willing to meet their need. The disciples respond that this would cost too much. It is interesting that the disciples don't say, “but Jesus, we don't have the money to buy this much food.” Rather they say, “Are we really supposed to go and spend that much?” It seems their concern was not with having the means to meet the needs of the crowd, but was in the cost of meeting the needs of the crowd.
Seeing the unwillingness of the disciples to take responsibility for the crowd, Jesus asks them what they are willing to give. He then proceeds to use what they have to meet the need of the crowd. And he does this in a miraculous way.
Mark is very descriptive in this passage. He says that Jesus had the people sit in groups of 50 and 100 on the green grass. What a wonderful portrait. You can see a patchwork of people sitting in this green pastureland, as the disciples pass the food amongst the crowd. Mark is painting a picture that is very reminiscent of a song, written 1,000 years before by Jesus ancestor, David:
The LORD is my shepherd,
I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
He leads me beside quiet waters,
He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
He makes me lie down in green pastures, just as Jesus made the crowd to sit down in the green grass to provide for them. Jesus is the shepherd that provides. He gives me what I need. I shall not be in want. But the need is not just physical in this song. Yes, he provides green pastures and quiet waters for me to eat and drink. But it is not merely physical refreshment. It is a spiritual one. “He restores my soul and guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.” It is the shepherd who gives me what I need for righteousness. And like the feeding of the five thousand, it is a miraculous provision.
Immediately after the Jesus performs this miracle, he puts the disciples on a boat on ahead of him while he dismissed the crowd. Then after saying goodbye to them, he headed up a mountain to spend time praying. The original purpose for Jesus in crossing over to this side of the lake was for a time of retreat. While Jesus took a brief time out to meet the needs of the crowd, Jesus was still in need of some time to refresh himself.
The disciples are in the meantime, back in the boat in the middle of the lake. But the wind on the sea was against them, and the disciples were struggling to row the boat. They struggled as the day wears on into evening. The evening wears on into the night. And finally after midnight, the disciples are still fighting the wind trying to get across the lake.
Jesus meanwhile looks down on the lake and sees these men struggling against the wind. So he left the mountain and decided to go walk out to them, literally walking on the water to get out to the lake. The passage says the disciples become greatly afraid of by this man who walks on the water. But in the midst of their fear he enters the boat and comforts them.
The disciples were afraid because they had not understood about the loaves. The disciples had just seen Jesus feed 5,000 people from a single loaf of bread. If they had recognized the power of Jesus as exhibited in the feeding of the 5,000, they would have not been scared when they saw Jesus walking on the water.
Just as we saw in the calming of the sea in chapter 4, the antidote to fear is faith in who Jesus is, faith in His authority, and faith in His compassion. In crafting this story in this manner, Mark is also telling the Roman church to put their faith in Jesus authority and compassion and Jesus will give them the courage they need to endure.
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