Mark 2:18-end

Mark's second chapter ends with questioning of Jesus by the religious authorities and a questioning of His practices. Jesus looks like a Rabbi on the outside with a grouping of disciples or pupils anxious to learn from their master. This fits with the methods of Pharissees and so confusion arises when Jesus is not doing the same things that other religious teachers are doing. He is not performing the ritual fasting of his 'colleagues' like John the Baptist. These fasts usually took place before a great Jewish festival. So why is he and his disciples not fasting?

Jesus tells his enquirers that he and his disciples are feasting all the time. Now is a time of celebration. The Messiah is with his people. While Jesus does not use that word he does allude to it.

The metaphore of the bridegroom is a metaphore for God himself. In the Old Testament the image of Israel as the bride of God appears consistently. What Jesus is saying is that God is among his people. It is a period of celebration not a time for fasting. Jesus is clearly locking himself into the whole picture of Jewish expectation.

In the cornfield on the Sabbath. Jesus is with his disciples. They are hungry or just looking for a snack. They pull the top of the corn then rub it between their palms to remove the chaff. Now they can eat the corn. They are spotted (or spied upon) by some Pharisees who criticise their behaviour. They are not criticised for stealing they are accused of working on the Sabbath. The rubbing of the grain was interpreted as thrashing and thrashing on the Sabbath was work. Jesus takes them back into Jewish history. King David and his men were hungry and there was no food readily available.

They enter the house of God and take bread reserved only for the priest. The rules became of secondary importance compared to the necessity of the moment. The disciples had broken the law, so had David and his men. Jesus tells his accusers that the things of God must serve the people of God. The Sabbath was made for humans and not the other way around.

Looking at the passage there is an atmosphere of misunderstanding rather than menace. People are confused about Jesus and his ways. They're trying to make sense of it all. He calls himself 'Son of Man' a messiah reference. The Son of Man is Lord of the Harvest. God is in charge. The Pharisees would not dispute this but they fail to recognise who Jesus is.

Mark Chapter 2 v 1-17

Jesus and the paralysed man. Jesus is again in Capernaum and news spreads that he is back. There is a great build up of people outside his door. They have come for healing. Jesus is soon actively involved in healing those who came to him. Friends bring a paralysed man for healing but they cannot get next or near Jesus. They have a sinking feeling when they realise that their journey may have been in vain. They get up on the roof of the house, tear back the roof or branches, straw and dried clay and lower their friend to the floor. Jesus is struck by the faith of the friends. He says to the paralysed man something quite curious 'your sins are forgiven'. Why did he say this? Surely the priority is for the man to be healed. Why does Jesus mention forgiveness?

The reason is that in Jewish thinking of the time illness was like a pay back from God for sinfulness in the past. If you were ill you probably deserved it. So when Jesus says ' your sins are forgiven' he is in fact saying 'you are healed'.

Jesus words spark off the first conflict with the Jewish religious authorities. The scribes or Pharassees are listening. 'Heresy!' they shout. 'No one can forgive sins but God.' This is a highly charged scene. Getting on the wrong side of the Pharassees was not recommended. The punishment for heresy was stoning. This is also a scene filled with irony. Only God can forgive sin but standing in the middle of this group is Jesus whom we know to be God himself! Both Jesus and the Pharassees are correct the problem is that the Pharassees cannot see who Jesus really is.

This is a recurring theme in the gospel of Mark. Many will meet Jesus, hear Jesus, be healed by Jesus but many will not recognise who he really is. There is some tragedy in this.

The paralysed man is healed. He gets up and lifts his mat and he returns home. Many who watched were amazed and gave thanks to God. Yet they do not recognise who Jesus is.

Jesus calls another disciple. Matthew or Levi is a tax collector. He is hated by his own people for assisting the Roman authorities and is suspected of dishonesty by his fellow countrymen. He is despised by his Roman employers. He is regarded as a sinner. Here is the isolation again. Just like the leper he has no place in decent society. Isolated, forgotten and dismissed. No one speaks to him but he is challenged by Jesus. The words are repeated 'come follow me'. The bible account sows no hesitation on his behalf. Once more it can be asked what influence did Jesus have? What does Matthew see that others cannot?

Cut off from normal society Matthew has made a new community for himself. His friends are regarded as 'sinners' by the religious people of the day. Jesus goes home to eat with Matthew, one of the ways of showing respect and being respected. He sits among those who are lost to society ans isolated. Why does Jesus do this? What can we learn from his example.

St.Andrew's Church. Monday 13th October 8pm.
Please contribute to the study online if you cannot be there.

St.Mark Chapter 1:19-end.

Jesus is in Capernaum a town where it was believed Jesus as an adult may have lived. Jesus is at the heart of Jewish life on the Sabbath, the day of rest. Here in the Synagogue, the Jewish meeting house, the worshippers have gathered. It is here that a man with an unclean spirit rushes forward. He is immediately in conflict with Jesus. 'What are you doing here' he demands. 'I know who you are. You are the holy one of God'. Jesus is recognised by a seriously disturbed human being for who he truly is. Is this significant? Jesus thinks so because he tells the disturbed man to be quiet and for his illness, or his possession to come out from him. This it does.

What happens next is really interesting. People are standing around. 'Who is this' they ask. 'He has authority'. Others say, 'He commands the spirits and they leave'. The seriously disturbed human being recognises Jesus straight away but others cannot see it. How can this be?

There is conflict and healing in this story but one piece of conflict is not heard. Jesus will soon be criticised for healing on the Sabbath day but on this occasion there is no reference to it. There is healing, confusion and clarity from the mouth of a disturbed human being. The big word in this passage is authority. Jesus has it others lack it.

From the public scene Jesus goes to a family scene. It is the home of Simon/Peter's mother in law. She is in bed with a fever. Perhaps its flu or a heavy cold or something more serious. Whatever its scale Jesus is engaged with the healing of those around him. She is made better but soon the house is surrounded. The crowd from the synagogue have followed him and now dozens of people with illnesses of many kinds are brought to him.

Perhaps this is why he wants the news of his healings to be supressed. He cannot reach everyone but he will be swamped by those who need his help. What do you think?

The final healing is like the others in a number of ways. The leprosy sufferer has an uncurable disease. Every attempt at cure has been exhausted. He comes to Jesus and is healed but again he is warned not to tell others. The difference here is that there are no crowds present at this healing. The man is alone. He is removed from civil society and isolated by his illness. His approach to Jesus is humble. 'If you wish you can heal me' he says. Jesus certainly does.

Social isolation is also an illness that many suffer for various reasons but here in one healing Jesus heals and rehabilitates a human life. He goes to the priest and he is declared clean and receives a passport back into civil society and into a new relationship with God.

What lessons do we learn from these examples of healing? Why do you think Mark has clustered them together? Is there a purpose to the way he tells the stories?

Welcome to our Bible Study

Welcome to our Bible study blog. We begin our parish Bible Study on Monday 6th October 2014 at 8pm in St.Andrew's Church.

We will be studying the gospel of Mark and if you cannot attend each Bible study you can contribute through the blog and find the introduction to each passage.

We pray God's blessing upon our journey through this gospel story and know we will be blessed in our discoveries about Jesus and ourselves.

St.Mark Chapter 1: 1-18

Most of us like to read a book from the beginning. We like to see the story unfold and we are disappointed when someone tells us the ending before we get there. We feel let down and wish we hadn't heard the ending before we finished reading.

Yet this is what Mark does in his gospel he tells us the ending, the conclusion before we start. He is confident that we will form the same conclusion from the words on the page so he tells us in verse one exactly who Jesus is. This is the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son fo God.

Why do you think Mark starts his gospel this way?

From this moment on we will have a special knowledge which none of the people in the gospel story had. They had to discover who Jesus was for themselves.

Jesus is the Greek form of 'Joshua' which means 'the one who saves'. The Joshua of the Old Testament led his people into the promised land. The new Joshua is the one who leads to eternal life. What are your thoughts about that?

Christ is the Greek form of Messiah or anointed one. Jewish expectation was for this great deliverer. Jesus is the great deliverer from the pains of sin and punishment. Up until now we are talking in human terms but the title Son of God points to another reality. Jesus is God.

Jesus is a link to the past (a Joshua) he is part of the present and the assurance of the future. The image of John the baptist leaving the wilderness dressed like an Old Testament prophet is another connection with the past. 'Prepare the way of the Lord' are words from Isaiah the prophet. This is part of God's plan as expressed in the past and continuing into the future. The linking of the Jesus story to the heart of Jewish tradition is clear. Why is Mark making this link with the Jewish past?

                                                             Photo:Dinos Abatizidos

Yet the message of Mark's gospel is one of many not recognising who Jesus is, or refusing to recognise who Jesus is. The disciples struggle to see who Jesus is. John becomes popular with his listeners. He tells them to get ready for the Messiah by repenting (literally turning away from what is evil) and believing in God. But this is only the beginning. 'There is one who comes after me the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie' he says. 'I baptise with water John says but he will baptise with the Holy Spirit and Fire'. Is that a promise or a warning?

                                                                   Photo: Scott Robinson

All doubt about whom Jesus is is answered when he himself comes to be baptised. The perfect one comes for baptism. Why do you think he does this? The voice of God speaks 'This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased'. God has spoken, the past has spoken through the prophets and the prophet of the present has spoken. Now God has spoken. Jesus is the Son of God.

In the Old Testament there is an expectation that the Messiah will appear from the wilderness. Jesus goes to the wilderness and stays there for a long time. Forty days and nights is a simple method of saying ' a long time'. Here he is tempted just as we are and yet he resists.

                                                            Photo:Wolfgang Staudt

John moves from the scene, he is arrested, and Jesus now takes the prominent place. He goes around proclaiming that the kingdom of God is here. People must repent and believe.

Jesus gathers others around him in the mission to the world. He calls fishermen. What is most striking about this story is the use of the word immediately. Think about the impact of Jesus. What qualities does he have to drag working men away from their livlihood immediately and follow Him? What is his secret? He will make them fish for people. Why does he use these words?  

                                                            Photo: Hashmil

Thank you for sharing with us in this Bible study. Please leave a comment about what you have learned or what you can teach in this passage.