Mark: The Suffering Servant (Chapters 8-16)
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MarkSurvey of the New Testament: The Gospels & ActsWinter 2005 |
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Mark changes the question in this second pivotal point in his gospel. Now that we have seen the power and compassion of this man, the question is no longer “who is this man,” but “who do you say he is?” Mark chooses his stories from here out to show people in different circumstances coming to Jesus and wrestling with His identity: Peter (8:27ff), a rich young ruler (10:17 ff.), Bartimaeus (10:46 ff.), the Sannhedrin (14:61-62), Pilate (15:2), and a Roman centurion (15:39).
Chapter 8 begins with another look at the compassion of Jesus as He once again feeds the multitudes who are hungry. And, just as the feeding of the 5,000 in chapter 6 was ultimately a object lesson for the disciples, so again the feeding of the 4,000 in this chapter was intended to teach the disciples of the compassion and power of their master. But the disciples again fail to learn the lesson.
In 8:12-21, the disciples get into a boat with Jesus, only to discover that they have forgotten to bring bread. This creates quite a discussion as they become upset that there is nothing to eat. Jesus expresses frustration at the disciples, for he has twice demonstrated that he can feed thousands of people, yet the disciples are afraid of starving. Jesus asks them:
“Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet see or understand? Do you have a hardened heart? "HAVING EYES, DO YOU NOT SEE? AND HAVING EARS, DO YOU NOT HEAR?” (Mark 8:17-18)
But the disciples are not the only ones who do not understand who Jesus is. In 8:11-12 the Pharisees approach Jesus and ask for a sign from heaven. Their request sounds as if it is a genuine desire to learn who Jesus is. However it is clear from the passage that they have already made up their minds as to who Jesus is, and so Jesus is unwilling to give them any supernatural signs or understanding.
While the disciples have yet to understand fully who Jesus is, unlike the Pharisees, Jesus is willing to give them a supernatural understanding of his true nature. Beginning in chapter 8 Jesus begins instructing the disciples plainly.
To illustrate this point, Mark inserts into his narrative the story of the blind man being healed. In 8:22-26, a blind man is brought to Jesus. Jesus spits into his eye and lays His hands upon him. The blind man begins to see. However, at first he can not see clearly. So Jesus lays his hands upon him again. Now the blind man can see clearly.
Jesus is about to do the same thing with the disciples. Up to know the have been touched by Jesus, but they only have a blurry vision of who he is. Now, just as the second touch by Jesus brought clear sight to the blind man, Jesus is going to allow the disciples to see Him in his fullness.
This second touch by Jesus begins with a simple but critically important question. Jesus asks His disciples who people say He is. They respond, “some say John the Baptist or Elijah.” Then he asks:
“ But who do you say that I am?" Peter *answered and said to Him, "You are the Christ." (Mark 8:29)
This is a turning point in the book of Mark. Jesus true identity has been revealed to Peter (Matthew 16:17), and from here forward Jesus speaks plainly to them of his ultimate purpose (8:31-32a). He has come to suffer and die.
From this point in the book, Jesus comments become increasingly serious, condemning the religious leader's hypocrisy and showing the signs of the end times. It is as if the sobriety of the story is growing as we get closer and closer to the climax: Jesus death.
No longer should Jesus identity and purpose be a mystery to the disciples. But if Peter's confession and Jesus plain statement of purpose in chapter 8 is not clear enough, surely the transfiguration in Mark 9 should be a clear enough picture of who Jesus is.
Jesus takes Peter, James, and John to a mountain where he is transfigured before them into his glory. He is joined there by Elijah and Moses. Then, a cloud appears before them and envelopes them. In the book of Exodus a cloud represented the presence of the glory of God. From this cloud shouts a voice, “this is my Son whom I love. Listen to him!”
For nearly 8 full chapters, Mark is raising the question, “who is this man.” Now the question has been answered plainly, first by Peter, and now by the very voice of God the Father.
Yet, even in the midst of such an obvious display of Jesus glory, the disciples' reaction is one of fear. Fear often comes when we don't understand what God is trying to do. Peter wanted to build tents to dwell in because he did not understand the Jesus ultimate purpose. He wanted to dwell in the glory on that mountain, forgetting that Jesus real purpose was to suffer and die.
In Mark 10:32ff the disciples again become afraid, again because they do not understand Jesus ultimate purpose.
They were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful. (Mark 10:32)
Why were they afraid? Jesus had been making enemies of the Jewish religious leaders. Going to Jerusalem would be walking straight into the enemy camp. So Jesus followers, seeing that Jesus was leading them into Jerusalem caused them a lot of fear.
So Jesus tries to help them with their fears by reminding them of His purpose. He tells them that when they go up to Jerusalem he will be betrayed and killed. But not to worry, for three days later he would rise again. But all of this was necessary, for in so doing, Jesus would bring salvation to the world:
"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." (Mark 10:45)
This is the first time in the gospel that Jesus' death is so clearly stated as being substitutionary atonement.
However, you get the sense in the following verses, however, that the disciples still don't really get it. Immediately after this takes place, we read about a strange request by two of Jesus followers, James and John. James and John want to be Jesus right-hand guys. Jesus tells them that if they want this, it is going to cost them. They will have to go through the same difficult circumstances that Jesus must face.
For Mark's readership, this provides context to their suffering. The Roman Christians need not have fear about impending persecution, as were the disciples in chapter 10. By enduring the same persecution and death as Christ, they would be considered great in the coming glory.
Just as Jesus predicts, when they go up to Jerusalem he is betrayed, arrested and tried. Yet even in the midst of his trials, Mark is answering the question of who this man is.
In the trial before the Jewish Sanhedrin, Jesus was asked straight up who he was. The Jewish High Priest asked him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?"
Jesus response shocked the entire courtroom. "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."
Jesus boldly proclaims that he himself is the Messiah, the promised one. And further more, that He is the Son of God himself who dwells in heaven on high with God Almighty.
Even in the manner of Jesus death his identity becomes apparent to those around Him. The Roman troops take Jesus out of the city and crucify him alongside two thieves. This is not a unique or special event to these soldiers. Execution by crucifixion was just “another day at the office.” Yet there was something different in this execution. As darkness covers the land and Jesus breathes his last, the attending Roman centurion is struck by the manner of His death and boldly declares, “Truly, this man was the Son of God.” (15:39)
If you look at your bible, you will probably notice that verses 9 through 20 of chapter 16 are bracketed or set apart some how with a footnote. There is a dispute as to whether verses 9 through 20 actually belong in the bible. The bible we have today is based upon thousands of manuscripts that date back almost 1900 years. However, in several of the most reliable of these manuscripts, these verses don't appear.
Some scholars believe that the original ending was lost and some scribe in later years decided to reconstruct the original ending. Others believe that Mark actually ended the book at verse 8, and that a later writer didn't like the abrupt ending to the book and decided to give it a better ending. I think that Mark actually did end his book at verse 8, for this abrupt ending fits with the style and themes within the book.
Jesus has been killed, executed by the Roman authorities for claiming to be the King of the Jews. His followers were scattered, and has been buried in a borrowed tomb. 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. 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?"
But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 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. 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.'"
These women have just been given wonderful news. The body they were coming to embalm is no longer dead! Jesus is alive! He has risen! What a miracle! What power! God has done something amazing! But do these women respond with excitement and praise to God? Is that how Mark ends his book? No!
They went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. (Mark 16:8)
If verses 9 through 20 are not part of the original manuscript, that's how the story ends. “They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.” The end.
It does have a certain anti-climatic end to it. When we compare the end of Mark to the end of the other gospels, Mark lacks a sense of victory. Mark lacks a sense of conclusion. Jesus doesn't appear to the disciples at all in Mark's story. Peter and John don't go to the tomb in this story. Thomas doesn't doubt Jesus' resurrection in this version. There is no Great Commission, no restoration of Peter, and no ascension. Instead, the women say nothing, for they were afraid..
It's just such a strange ending you can see why scholars believe that the original ending must have been lost. You can almost see some monk copying the scripture coming to this ending and thinking, “You know, I can do better than that.” So he adds his own ending.
However, if this is our reaction, we are not giving Mark, the credit for literary style that he deserves. We want a nice neat conclusion to the story. We are looking for the facts of the case rather than trying to understand what Mark was trying to communicate to us through his ending. Mark was written not to give information, but to solicit a response. We find ourselves asking the question, “what happens next?” Mark is forcing the reader to make a decision with what happens next. Who do you think this man is? The reader must respond to fill out the story.
Verse 8 ends with the women in fear. We have seen the theme of fear is weaved all the way through this book. We saw many people, when encountering Jesus, their reaction was to be afraid. The disciples in particular were afraid when they knew they were heading to Jerusalem. Peter was afraid at the transfiguration. The disciples were afraid when they saw Jesus walk on the water. Finally, they were afraid when Jesus calmed the storm.
If we go back to calming of the wind and the waves, Jesus question of the disciples seems to tie this book up. Jesus asks the disciples, “why are you afraid?” For if the disciples were able to answer their question, “who is this who is able to calm the wind and the waves,” they would have no reason to be afraid.
Mark has asked the question, “who is this man,” and then demonstrated his case that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. It is affirmed by Peter and by God the Father at the transfiguration. It was attested to by Jesus himself at the trial, and by the Roman solider at the cross. If Mark has answered the question, when you get to verse 8 of this chapter and see the fear in the women, you natural reaction to this should be, why are you afraid? Don't you know who Jesus is?
Mark's gospel serves as a source of encouragement for all who are afraid, be they Mark's original audience undergoing persecution, or be they a 21 st century believer whose life seems out of control. For those who know Jesus have no reason to fear, for He is the Messiah, the son of God, a man of authority and a man of compassion.
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