Blind at Bethsaida (Mark 8:22-26)

Ever wonder why the Gospel are in the order that they are in your Bible? The Gospels come in the order of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John because that’s the order the Early Church Fathers believed that the Gospels were written. Of course, John makes the most sense as the last Gospel. About 85% of the Gospel of John in unique, and the 15% that is not unique John takes a different direction. So much uniqueness in the Gospel of John demonstrates that the accounts in the synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke have been well established, hence why John felt the need to add new material. Therefore, John must come last. Luke also makes much sense as the penultimate Gospel. In the Gospel of Luke’s introduction, Luke acknowledges that several reports of Jesus exist, which probably consists of both the oral tradition and written tradition, which possibly includes both the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. Luke’s goal simply consists of creating the most organized report. Thus, Luke makes sense as the penultimate Gospel. That leaves Matthew and Mark.

Back in the days of the Early Church, the Early Church Fathers honestly believed the Gospel of Matthew proceeded the Gospel of Mark (called Matthean priority), but their logic and reasoning did have its flaws. Some argued that Matthew, as an upper-class tax collector, could afford the paper and ink for the gospel sooner than lower-class fisherman Mark, so Matthew must have come first. Others believed that Matthew, as a Jew writing to Jews, must have written the Gospel of Matthew first in Hebrew before Greek (no original Hebrew manuscripts has ever appeared, by the way), and since the Hebrew language is older than the Greek language, the Hebrew text of Matthew must have happened before the Greek text of Mark. As stated above, the Early Church Fathers did not have the soundest logic. During the modern church age, however, modern Bible scholars have concluded that the Gospel of Mark came first, called Markan priority. Modern scholars have a top 3 proofs, which do have studier logic and reasoning. The first proof comes from the length of each book. It makes little sense for Matthew to write his Gospel first and then have Mark write his Gospel second because then Mark’s Gospel would look like a Cliff Notes or Spark Notes version of Matthew’s Gospel (the famous bishop of Hippo Aurelius Augustine actually knows and understands this argument, yet he still holds fast to Matthean priority, even calling the Gospel of Mark the “inferior Gospel”). It makes a lot of sense that Mark’s Gospel came first, and upon reading it, Matthew decides to explain and expound on it. The second evidence comes in light of the Gospel’s setting. Mark mentions the temple as a present reality, while Matthews talks about the temple as a past reality. Since the Romans destroy the temple in 70  A.D. Mark must written before 70 A.D. and Matthew after 70 A.D. Third, and most important to transition from introduction to the main body, if the last Gospel has the most unique passages, then the first Gospel must have the least unique passages. Indeed, the Gospel of Mark has the fewest amount of unique passages in comparison to the other 3 Gospels. Now when the Gospel of Mark has unique passages, it is typically words or phrases, maybe a sentence, but rarely whole stories. Nevertheless, Mark does have 2 unique pericopes: 1 miracle and 1 parable. This exegesis will look at the miracle.

 And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. ~Mark 8:22

In this section of the Gospel of Mark, Jesus tours the cities, towns and villages along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, which all had a bigger Gentile population and a smaller Jewish population. So far in this tour, Jesus has visited Gennesaret (Mark 6:53), Tyre (Mark 7:24), Sidon and the Decapolis (Mark 7:31) to Dalmanutha (Mark 8:10). Connecting the dots on a map, it becomes evident Jesus sailed across the Sea of Galilee to get to each town or region, which also probably provided relief from the crowds. From Mark 8:13, the reader learns that Jesus and his disciples cross over the Sea of Galilee to Bethsaida in the district of Gaulanitis. Gaulanatis’s capital, Bethsaida, sat right on the northeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Bethsaida had started out as a village, but in recent history, under Herod’s brother Philip, it had upgraded it to a city. Philip grew its population to that of a city, and he also had built some of the important buildings that mark a city. Thus, it becomes confusing when Mark labels Bethsaida a village in the next verse. Some have argued Mark may have called Bethsaida a village simply because he always knew Bethsaida as a village, like a force of habit, as evident in a lot of Mark’s contemporaries’ writings, who did the same (Josephus acknowledges Bethsaida has all the buildings of a city, but he still calls Bethsaida a village). Others believe that the setting of this account takes places not in the city of Bethsaida, but in a village outside of Bethsaida (like a suburb of Bethsaida), similar to how Jesus stops at village of Caesarea Philippi in Mark 10:27. The other Gospels teach more about Bethsaida. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke teach that Jesus cursed Bethsaida for not reacting appropriately to the mighty works performed in it. From the Gospel of John, the reader learns that three disciples, Peter, Andrew and Philip came from Bethsaida. These three disciples all had the occupation of fisherman, which makes sense. Indeed, Bethsaida had become known for its fishing industry. In fact, Bethsaida means “house of fishers.”

 At Bethsaida, the people intercede for the blind man, bringing him to Jesus, asking Jesus to touch the blind man in order to heal the man. Up to this point in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus has yet to go to Bethsaida (Mark 6:45 says that Jesus had the disciples embark towards Bethsaida, but Mark, but Mark 6:53 tells of Jesus and the disciples reaching Gennesaret) but Mark makes it clear that the word about the miracles Jesus has performed has gotten around, so no surprise that Bethsaida heard this news, probably from nearby Capernaum. Throughout the Gospel of Mark, Mark has made generic statements about Jesus healing the sick and diseased (see Mark 1:34, 3:10 & 6:56), which, with the help of the other Gospels, could assumedly include blind people. Altogether, the 4 Gospels record at least 7 blind men healed. This blind man in Bethsaida is the first detailed account of healing a blind man, although it will not be his first it will not be his last (see Mark 10:46-52). Therefore, the reader must consider what this blind man healing teaches differently than all the other ones. The people specifically ask Jesus touch the blind man because that’s what Jesus normally did in the past (see Mark 1:31&41, 5:23, 6:5, 7:33), to the point that people themselves sought to touch Jesus (see Mark 3:10; 5:27&28; 6:56). Thus, naturally, when the people ask for a healing, they expecting healing through touching.

And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” ~Mark 8:23

The text clearly states Jesus leads the blind man out of the village, as opposed to merely taking him aside, which may be due to the fact that the man cannot see. The text does not explain, however, why Jesus led the blind man out of the village. It does seem necessary for the miracle, as Jesus has performed many miracles in the middle of a crowd (see Mark 1:23-28, 3:1-5, 9:14-27). As a matter of fact, in the next blind man healed, Jesus does so in the presence of other people (see Mark 10:46-52). Even the generic statements about Jesus’s miracles insinuate large crowds witnessing the healing (see Mark 1:32-34, 3:7-12). This does not mean, however, Jesus has never performed a miracle in private. For example, Jesus raises synagogue ruler Jairus’s daughter only in the presence of the father, the mother, Peter James and John (Mark 5:35-43). As another example, when Jesus heals a deaf man, Jesus takes the deaf man out of the crowd to heal him (Mark 7:33). Jesus may have pulled the blind man out of crowd for the benefit of the blind man. Crowds can become loud and chaotic, especially to a man down a sense. By removing the blind man out of the crowd, Jesus created an intimate connection with the man. The blind man could concentrate on Jesus, and Jesus can concentrate on the blind man. Based off this built relationship, the man would trust in the certainty of Christ’s healing power. Jesus might have also removed the blind man from the people in order to avoid people from getting the wrong idea or message from him. The crowd could focus more what Jesus did instead of who Jesus was, which would lead them into copycatting in order to heal, instead of having faith in Jesus. The people could end up following Jesus simply out of awe and inspiration from the miracle, just bringing more sick and disabled for a miraculous healing, hoping to see another miracle, instead of becoming a true disciple.

This healing miracle has three actions attached to it. First, Jesus spits on the blind man’s eyes. Second, Jesus lays his hands on the blind man. Third, Jesus asks the blind man if he says anything. These actions adds the details that Jesus not merely speak healing into this man’s life, nor did Jesus simply touch the man, as the locals requested. The laying on of hands could go together spitting in his eyes. Quite possibly, Jesus put spit on his fingers and put his fingers into the blind man’s eyes, thus putting spit in the man’s eyes. Similar methods occur in both Jewish and Gentile healing procedures of Jesus’s day, especially the spitting part, but Jesus does not attempt anything magical or mystical here. By doing so, Jesus alerts the blind man that he intends to heal him, and it puts the blind man at ease. Obviously, the blind man cannot see what Jesus is doing, but he can feel what Jesus is doing, so Jesus includes lots of sensory touching making the blind man aware of the working power of Jesus. Also, give credit to the man for allowing Jesus to do something that someone might consider disgusting. Of course, just as obvious, Jesus’s laying on of hands involves touching the body part needing healing. How Jesus proceeds, however, will draw the difference from Jewish and Gentile practices. Jesus follows his actions with the question of “Do you see anything?” This is the first and only time Jesus questions the recipient about the progress of a miracle. Do not mistake this question as Jesus’s uncertainty of the healing. This question already hints Jesus intended a two-part healing miracle.

And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.”  ~Mark 8:24

The blind man’s response begins with the action ἀναβλέψας (anablepsas). The root βλεπω (blepo) simply means “to look,” but the prefix ἀνα (ana) can mean “up” or “again.” The wordplay here involves the blind man looking up to look again. Interesting enough, ἀναβλέψας (anablepsas) commonly refers to a person looking up to the heavens to consult God. Here, the bland man looks up to consult the Son of God, Jesus Christ. The blind man’s answer to Jesus’s question if the blind man sees anything is that he sees people, but they look like trees walking. This statement clues the reader into a couple details about this account. For starters, this answer reveals Jesus did not pull the blind man too far outside of the village, as the blind man can see the people in the distance. More importantly, this reply demonstrates to the reader the fact that the man was not born a blind, for a man born blind could not identify a person or a tree. At the same time, however, such a description also displays that the man is still somewhat blind. He knows what a human looks like, he knows what a tree looks like, and he knows humans walk, but trees do not walk. What he sees must be people, although they look like trees walking. This part may be the puzzling piece of this account. At first glance, it looks like the miracle did not work. At first glance, it seems like Jesus made a mistake, which would throw in doubts about the perfection of Jesus, especially as the perfect God. To the contrary, what Jesus does here makes sense, as those who wear glasses might know from going to the ophthalmologist-

 

Jesus did not do something incorrect or wrong. Rather, it was just incomplete. The healing Jesus had in mind had two parts; Jesus merely checked in halfway to make sure the miracle worked as intended, the first time he ever did that in a miracle. It also does not mean the blind man did anything incorrect or wrong, like lack faith.

Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly ~Mark 8:25

Here, Jesus’s healing of the blind man diverts from the common procedures of Jesus’s time. Jesus does not do anything differently. Jesus simply lays his hands on the man’s eyes a second time, unheard of for Jesus’s day. The rest of the verse goes on to confirm that this action brought the man from partial healing to full healing. The three-fold synonymous parallelism (the same idea repeated with different words, in this case, three times) assures the reader of the certainty of the healing. The man can see plainly and his eyes have returned to their normal function. Together, it may prove that while worldly ways may bring partial healing, but only true, full healing comes from Jesus. Interesting enough, thought, the best way to describe Jesus’s action would be healing over miracle. Jesus acts more like a doctor than a miracle worker. He asks questions, he has a procedure, and he follows up accordingly. This does not de-emphasize the miracle. Rather, it emphasizes Jesus the great physician, who can provide the perfect healing for any disease or disability. And sometimes, that healing can be a process, even for divine healing. Healing as a process should comfort the Christian, as it assures the Christian that God will never leave the Christian partially healed. As Pail said in Philippians 1:6, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

And he sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.” ~Mark 8:26

Jesus’s last words to the man are the instructions to go home and not tell anybody in the village. Such wording may hint that the man did not live in the village of Bethsaida. With this concluding verse of the pericope, now for the third time in Mark, Jesus requests that the healed person goes home instead of returning to the crowd (see Mark 2:11 & 5:19), and for the fourth time, Jesus requires the healed person to tell no one about the miracle (see Mark 1:44, 5:43 & 7:36). Most Old Testament prophets publicly displayed the results of the miracle for the testimony (e.g. 1 Kings 17:23 & 2 Kings 4:36). Surely Jesus would want the man to testify in excitement about what God has done for him, right? Again, Jesus may have made these requests in order to avoid crowds following him just to see miracles. While this man needed the healing, the deeper meaning behind it would not become clear until the death and resurrection of Jesus, when Jesus’s ministry on earth came to full completion. Then everybody could know what Jesus did because it would make sense in the light of his whole ministry. Jesus might have also made these requirements because Jesus did not the people begging for miracles to throw him off of his true ministry. For the rest of the Gospel of Mark, Jesus will not travel by boat, but rather, he will travel by foot. Escaping the people by foot will become harder than escaping by sea. Because the man went home instead of back into the village, it allows Jesus to escape without a crowd following him, even though a miracle just happened. Also, Jesus might have denied the man to go back to Bethsaida because in the other Gospels Jesus cursed Bethsaida, and so Bethsaida did not deserve the success story of this man.  Although an argument from the silence, some have claimed that Jesus preferred the blind man to go home, where family could verify the success of the miracle.

On top of exegeting Mark 8:22-26, a study of the near context, or the pericopes surrounding Mark 8:22-26, will aid in revealing the intended purpose and message of Mark including this story in his Gospel. Furthermore, a study of the far context, or how this account attributes to the Bible as a whole, will help reveal the importance of this narrative to theology.

In regard to the near context, this account of Jesus in Mark 8:22-26 has a parallel narrative in Mark 7:31-36. While the two pericopes differ in the disability healed, the two stories share several similarities. Both have the eastern coast of the Sea of Galilee as the setting. Both have the crowd bringing forward the disabled man. Both disabled men are missing one of the senses. Both have the people asking Jesus to lay hands or touch the disabled person. Both have Jesus pull the disabled man out of the local population to perform the miraculous healing. Both involve spitting and touching, more specifically, touching the disabled body part. Both have a tricolon of synonymous parallelisms to emphasize the completeness of the miraculous healing. Both end with Jesus asking not to disclose the event that just happened. With so many parallels, these stores must serve as “book ends” to a section. Thus requires a closer look at the narratives in between the two pericopes.

After the account of Jesus healing the deaf man (Mark 7:31-36), Jesus feeds the four thousand in the following account (8:1-10). The account of feeding the four thousand happens similar to the feeding of the five thousand. Simply replace five thousand men with four thousand people, five loaves of bread with seven loaves, two fish with a few fish, and twelve baskets with seven baskets. Next comes the narrative which the ESV calls “The Pharisees Demand a Sign” (8:11-13). As the title hints, the Pharisees want Jesus to provide a sign from heaven, and Jesus refuses. The comes the pericope which the ESV names “The Leaven of the Pharisees and Herod.” In this pericope, Jesus accuses the disciples in Mark 8:18 of “Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear?” Does that sound familiar? This pericope transitions smoothly into the story of Jesus healing the blind man. As an added bonus, observe how the chapter ends. Mark 8 ends with Peter calling Jesus the Christ. While more famous for Peter’s confession, just as important, do not forget the passage contains 2 rebukes. Peter rebukes Jesus for claiming the Messiah must die, and Jesus rebukes Peter for not understanding the role of the Messiah. While Peter successfully gives Jesus the title Christ, he fails to comprehend what that means.

Regarding the far context, turn to the book of Isaiah. Throughout the book of Isaiah, Isaiah makes it clear to the reader that the real, true Messiah can work miracles. If somebody claims to be the Messiah, but he cannot perform miracles, he is not the Messiah, but a really naughty boy, making him an anti-messiah, or an antichrist. This idea most explicitly appears in Isaiah 35:5&6, in which Isaiah says, “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.” Isaiah 35:5b&6 has already been fulfilled in Mark 7:32-37. Mark 8:22-26 fulfills Isaiah 35:5a, thus bringing Isaiah 35:5&6 to full completion. Now that Isaiah 35:5&6 completely fulfilled, no wonder Peter can confess Jesus as the Christ in Mark 8:27-30! Peter, and the rest of the disciples, have now seen Jesus fulfill all the obligations of the Messiah, as recorded in Isaiah. As a response, they have to call Jesus Christ and Lord!

Put the near context and far context together. Between the account of Jesus healing the deaf man in Mark 7:32-37 and the narrative about Jesus healing the blind man in Mark 8:22-26, Mark includes a couple pericopes in between the two stories. One account, in Mark 8:10-13, the Pharisees ask for a sign. The Pharisees should have known of Isaiah 35:5&6. They had the miracles performed in front of them, yet they ignored them, demanding a sign. No wonder Jesus denied them the sign they wanted! In another narrative, in Mark 8:14-21, Jesus exposes the disciples of behaving like those Pharisees. In that passage, although not literally speaking, figuratively speaking, these disciples are as blind and deaf as the people that crowds bring to Jesus for healing. To go back to the specific story at hand, the disciples resemble the blindman halfway through the healing. They can see in part what Jesus is doing, yet at the same time, they are blind to why Jesus does what he does. If Jesus can make the blind man see and the deaf man hear, then Jesus can make the disciples, who are figuratively blind and deaf, perceive and understand who he is. It also gives hope to all Christians, who are unsure of what God has planned for them.

In closing, a few applications come from this account of the life of Jesus. First, the narrative reminds the believer that Jesus is the great physician, able to heal all disabilities and diseases completely. Second, the pericope proves Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God because he fulfills the prophecies of the Messiah as found in Isaiah. Third, this pericope teaches that Jesus can heal spiritual blindness just as much as physical blindness. In both the Jewish and Gentile writings of the first century, a common theme links blindness and seeing to knowledge, wisdom and understanding the world.

First, this account serves as a helpful reminder that Jesus is the great physician, able to heal all disabilities and diseases completely. Remember this account of Jesus both emphasizes Jesus the natural healer and the supernatural. Jesus has the power to heal both ways. Since Jesus created nature, he can choose to heal through the nature he created. This can include doctors, medication and therapy. Since Jesus reigns over his creation, he can also act supernaturally. Do not limit Jesus to either one or the other. Furthermore, the two-step healing reminds the reader that prayers for healing, both physically and spiritually, does not always come instantly complete. God can choose to heal over time, but again, the good work that the Lord starts he will bring to completion (Philippians 1:6).

Second, this narrative proves Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God because he fulfills the prophecies of the Messiah as found in Isaiah. For someone who has called Jesus Lord and Savior, this might sound like common knowledge. For those living during the 1^st century AD, however, that common knowledge did not come so easily. Mark 1:1 begins the Gospel of Mark with “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” This introductory verse communicates the message and purpose of the Gospel: to prove Jesus is Messiah and the Son of God. Mark knows Isaiah. Mark knows that Isaiah defines the Messiah as the Suffering Servant. Mark knows Isaiah describes the Suffering Servant as a miracle worker, most explicitly seen in Isaiah 35:5&6. Thus, Mark stuffs his Gospel full of miraculous healings to prove Jesus is the Suffering Servant, the Messiah and the Son of God. He successfully does so.

Third, this pericope teaches that Jesus can heal spiritual blindness just as much as physical blindness. In both the Jewish and Gentile writings of the first century, a common theme links blindness and seeing to knowledge, wisdom and understanding the world. The blind in first century literature represent those who do not have knowledge, wisdom or understanding of the world. Those who see represent those who have obtained knowledge, wisdom and understanding of the working world. Even rabbis of the first century commenting on the Old Testament commonly describe Old Testament Israel’s sinful state as spiritual blindness, even to the point of claiming Isaiah’s prophesies about the blind seeing simply refer to the spiritually blind people becoming spiritually aware. With that in mind, the Messiah Jesus can not only heal physical blindness, but he can also hear spiritual blindness. Even Paul catches on to this in 1 Corinthians 13:9-12, where he writes, “⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. ¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. ¹² For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” The Pharisees at best can only “half see.” The disciples only “half see.” Even Peter’s confession of faith is a “half seeing.” In turn, Christians must humble themselves to understand they have reduced comprehension in comparison to God’s, so Christian must seek understanding through Jesus.

Bibliography

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Cole, R. Alan. “Mark.” Pages 946–77 in New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition. Edited by D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, and G. J. Wenham. 4th ed. Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994.

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Selective seeing, hearing and remembering (Mark 8:14-21)

(This sermon was originally preached on Sunday, February 14, 2021 AKA Valentine's Day)

Sorry, no Valentine’s Day sermon on love today. Yes, Valentine’s Day actually falls on a Sunday, and I have no Valentine’s Day sermon on love. I have nothing against the holiday (well, I do have my reserves). As I have said in the past, all holidays, whether the holiday had a sacred or secular origin, have an important role in the Christian life for spiritual growth. The holiday allows the Christian to reflect on how he or she can improve in that aspect of his or her life. In regard to Valentine’s Day, Christians should not only reflect about the people that love them, but they should also reflect on how they love people and how they can improve on loving people.

This Valentine’s Day, I reflect on how I can love my wife Carrie more. After reflecting, I know how I can love Carrie more. I need to work on actively listening to here. Quite often, more often than I like to admit, Carrie has to call me out for not listening or selective hearing. To be fair to me, however, I think sometimes it is less of selecting hearing and more of selective memory. If she says something to me, and I cannot repeat what she just said, that’s selective hearing. If she tells me something on Monday about something she will do on the upcoming weekend, and she asks me on Wednesday or Friday, “Do you remember what I’m doing this weekend?” and I cannot remember, that might be selective memory (although I’m not sure that selective memory is a much better excuse than selective hearing).

In this account of Jesus’s life, it would seem that Jesus’s disciples have selective seeing, selective hearing, selective remembering or some combination of all of them.

Turn to Mark 8:14-21. Before studying in-depth the passage at hand, the passage needs the context set, especially how Mark 8:14-21 contributes to Mark 8 as a whole. The two accounts found in Mark 8:1-13 set the scene for Mark 8:14-21. Mark 8 begins with the feeding of four thousand. Yes, the feeding of the four thousand, not the feeding of the five thousand. In this narrative, Jesus takes seven loaves of bread and a few fish, breaks them apart, and he feeds four thousand people, with seven baskets full of leftover pieces. Now if Jesus fed the four thousand first and the five thousand second, that would make sense because Jesus would break his own record. Jesus feeding five thousand with less and then feeding four thousand with more does not make sense. It leaves the audience questioning why Mark talked about this miracle of feeding four thousand if the audience already knows Jesus can feed five thousand with little food. For starters, the pericope at hand mentions this miracle by name, so the audience needs to know about it, so they do not feel unaware. Also, without going into a mini sermon within a sermon, the feeding of the four thousand differs from the feeding of the five thousand in the initial action which sets the miracle in action. In the feeding of the five thousand, the disciples have to make Jesus aware of the problem: the people are in a desolate place for a long time, and the people need something to eat. In the feeding of the four thousand, Jesus makes the disciples aware of the problem: the people are far away for a long time with nothing to eat. It is as if Jesus says, “Oh no! Have I been talking all this time in a faraway place? These people must be hungry! What should we do?” Sadly, instead of the apostle answering, “Don’t worry, Jesus, you got this like you got it last time,” the disciples reply with how much of a herculean task feeding four thousand would be. While the numbers may differ, Jesus pretty much repeats the miracle, providing the crowd enough to eat, until they reached satisfaction. Based off of John’s experience of how the people responding to the feeding of the five thousand, I imagine Jesus caused quite the stir, so much so that it required Jesus and the disciples to retreat by getting in a boat and crossing to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.

Jesus feeds 4,000

The second story has Jesus and his disciples arrive in the district of Dalmanutha, where they do not encounter a crowd but Pharisees, who demand a sign from heaven. The reader might wonder why the Pharisees need a sign. The book of Mark has tons of miracles, which should work as a sign enough. The Gospel of Mark even explicitly points out Pharisees present for some of the miracle. Even if the Pharisees did not attend some of these miracles, they are quite possible heard about them from eyewitnesses. Still, they demand some kind of sign from heaven, perhaps sunrays shining directly down on Jesus, or maybe a choir of angels praising his name. Jesus must have felt the same way about the ridiculous request, for he outright denies them their request. He hops back into the boat to sail across to another side of the Sea of Galilee.

The Pharisees demand a sign

Both accounts, the story of the feeding of the four thousand and the pericope about the Pharisees demanding a sign, setup the narrative at hand.

8:14. The conflict of this story appears immediately in the beginning of story. Mark 8:14 ESV reads, “Now they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat,” but the Greek text literally says, “And they forgot to take bread, [and] if not [for] one loaf they had, with them in the boat.” The strange wording emphasizes may factors. First, it emphasizes the apostles forgot to bring loaves of bread, for if they did remember, they would have brought more than one. Second, it highlights how much food the disciples lacked. One loaf was so little, the disciples might as well have no loaves. Third, the wording may stress Jesus is the bread of life, making him that one loaf. Speaking of loaf, prior to this narrative, “loaves,” the plural of “loaf,” has only appeared in the feeding of the five thousand and the feeding of the four thousand. This clues the reader into where this account will go. Speaking of the feeding of the five thousand and four thousand, the disciples find themselves with the problem that those crowds had. They find themselves with no bread and far away from the nearest food. With the literary context, it makes sense why the disciples forgot to pack break. Constantly having to leave one place to move on to the next, it became all too easy for the disciples to keep track of their belongings, even their rations.

8:15. Probably over their last contact with the Pharisees, and possibly overhearing the disciples talk about bread, Jesus takes advantage of the opportunity to present a new teaching with a new illustration. Jesus’s warning has a double command of “watch out” (ὁρᾶτε, orate) and “beware” (βλέπετε ἀπό, blepete apo). This double order merely draws emphasis to the warning Jesus will give. In other words, Jesus says to disciples, “Pay attention! This is a warning you really need to heed.”

The metaphor Jesus uses here involves “leaven” (ζύμη, zymē). Ironically, the Greek noun for “leaven” (ζύμη, zymē) in the New Testament is never literal and always figurative. Sometimes the Greek term has positive connotations. For example, in Matthew 13:33 and Luke 13:21, Jesus compares the kingdom of God to “leaven” (ζύμη, zymē) in flour, representing how the kingdom of God can grow like a rising dough. Other times the Greek word for “leaven” (ζύμη, zymē) has negative connotations. For example, in both 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 and Galatians 5:9, Paul uses “leaven” (ζύμη, zymē) to symbolize sin running rampart within the Christian community. Clearly, the common denominator here involves something growing uncontrollably. What makes the illustration good or bad  depends on what grows uncontrollably, whether the kingdom of God or sin. Therefore, what leaven means in Mark 8:15 will determine the positive or negative connotations.

The parallel passages in the other synoptic Gospels may yield clues to the figurative meaning of “leaven” (ζύμη, zymē), which will in turn yield either a positive or negative connotation of it. Matthew 16:11&12 says the leaven is teachings, which is a little more specific but still a lot broad. Luke 12:1 tells the reader that the leaven is hypocrisy, which gets more specific, but hypocrisy in regard to what? The problem with cross referencing the Mark passage at hand with its counterparts in Matthew and Luke comes down another difference, which is who the leaven belongs to. Matthew says the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Luke just speaks of the Pharisees. Meanwhile, Mark speaks of the Pharisees and Herod or the Pharisees and the Herodians. These seem like three different groups, so Jesus may have used “leaven” (ζύμη, zymē) to describe these three different groups in three different ways.

Even the question to whether Jesus pairs Herod or Herodians with the Pharisees causes problems figuring out the metaphorical meaning of “leaven” (ζύμη, zymē). It seems like an odd pairing, to talk about a religious party and a vassal king in the same sentence. The literary context may help here. Immediately preceding this passage, the Pharisees demanded a sign, and Jesus denied it. Earlier in the Gospel of Mark, Mark introduces Herod in Mark 6. In fact, twice Mark repeats the phrase “Herod heard of it” in Mark 6:14-16. Heard of what? What is “it”? Well, the phrase in Mark 6:16 points back to the phrase Mark 6:14, and the verse prior to Mark 6:14, Mark 6:13, talks about Jesus sending out the Twelve apostles with the power to do what he can do: cast out demons and anoint with oil many who are sick to heal them. What seems unclean now become clear. Just like the Pharisees, Herod got more caught up in the signs and wonders Jesus could do, not the message Jesus proclaimed (cf. Mark 6:12&13 to Mark 8:11&12). Therefore, the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod in Mark 8:15 refers to belief based off signs and wonders. In fact, belief on the foundation of signs and wonder is not real, true belief; it is unbelief. The Pharisees did not believe because they saw the miracles, and they claimed it did not do enough. They declared they wanted more. For Herod, the miracles confused Herod, causing him to think more about John the Baptist and less about Jesus. Both the Pharisees and Herod saw and heard the miracles Jesus performed, yet none of them came to faith in Jesus. For belief to fully mature into faith, it must do so without the aid of signs.

8:16. The conversation shifts from the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod back to the bread, or rather, the lack thereof bread. This conversational shift may have come about in a few ways. First, the apostles could have merely ignored Jesus, focused too much on their provisions than listening to Jesus’s admonishment. Second, the disciples may have thought too deeply. They expect “leaven” to have a deep and complex figurative meaning, when in reality, they can take it more literally. Third, the term “leaven” (ζύμη, zymē) can simply be shorthand for “leavened bread,” which easily aids the transition from talking about leaven to talking about bread. Their “discussion” could have easily evolved into a debate about who to blame for lack of bread. Ironically, this puts the disciples in a worse position than the Pharisees or Herod, for quite a few reasons. First of all, the apostles had more of an insider view of all the miracles, whereas the Pharisees and Herod had to watch things from the outside, yet the disciples from the inside had the same faith as the Pharisees and Herod on the outside. Second, while the Pharisees and Herodians saw the signs and wonders. They wanted more. The Twelve, on the other hand, could not even recall the signs and wonders they had seen for themselves. For if they did, they would know that having one loaf of bread really did not cause that much of an issue.

8:17&18. For the third time in this account, the narrative brings up that the apostles did not have enough bread in the boat with them. Again, Mark here draws emphasis on their lack of supplies. As sharp as Christ’s reproach may seem, the disciples totally deserved it. Despite witnessing everything Jesus had done, they failed to understand what it really meant for the fourth time (see Mark 4:13, 6:52 and 7:18). Thus, this group of twelve disciples could easily belong with the Pharisees or Herod because they too saw and heard what Jesus did, but they could not perceive or understand what Jesus did. The inspiration for Christ’s rhetorical questions in Mark 8:17&18 comes from the major prophets, more specifically, Isaiah 6:9, Jeremiah 5:21 and Ezekiel 12:2. All three major prophets describe those outside God’s covenantal people as people who have eyes yet cannot see and who have ears yet cannot hear. This illustration has a clear meaning. The eyes have the job to see, so an eye that cannot see has no use. The ears have the job to hear. Ears that cannot here have no purpose. As a matter of fact, Isaiah does the best job with this wordplay in Isaiah 6:9. In Isaiah 6:9, Isaiah pretty much says, “They can see, but they can never say, ‘Oh, I see’ (as in “Oh I get it”); they can hear, but they are not listening.” In essence, the major prophets prophesy to their original audience, who are the people of Israel and Judah who are about to go into exile, that they have become a useless people in their covenant with God. Now Jesus uses the same words to describe the apostles. They have become useless disciples if they cannot perceive and understand what Jesus does. This must have pained Jesus, who had intentions for his disciples to both see and perceive and hear and understand, even if the outside crowd could not (see Mark 4:12&13). Jesus desired to make the disciples the inside group, yet they acted like the outside group.

8:19&20. Just in case the disciples truly forgot what they saw and heard, Jesus quizzes them on two miracles, more specifically, the feeding of the five thousand and the feeding of the four thousand. Jesus hopes that by knowing the facts, the apostles can comprehend what happened and apply it to their lives. Clearly, the disciples have not forgotten, as they ace their test! In reality, though, the Twelve did not ace their test; they actually failed it because they did not get what the miracles meant! Remember that this narrative centers around the lack of bread. Jesus precisely picks the miracles of feeding the five thousand and feeding the four thousand because they too deal with bread. If Jesus can feed five thousand men with five loaves and have twelve baskets of leftovers, and if Jesus can feed four thousand with seven loaves and have seven baskets of leftovers, then Jesus can feed thirteen adult men (the twelve disciples plus Jesus) with one loaf of bread. The clear moral of the story for both the feeding of the five thousand and the feeding of the four thousand is that Jesus is Yahweh Yireh (you probably know it as “Jehovah Jireh”), the Lord who provides, yet the disciples did not get that because they act like they will run out of provisions. Again, the disciples act just like those outside. They got caught up so much in what Jesus did that they did not get what Jesus meant. More specifically, they got too caught up in what Jesus did and missed who Jesus was.

8:21. This account on the life of Jesus concludes again with a rhetorical question, and it also addresses the apostles’ ability to understand. Thus, the rhetorical question becomes a call for the Twelve to deepen their discipleship with Jesus. They should not merely see and hear what Jesus does; they should perceive and understand who Jesus is. Note also how the rhetorical includes the two words “not yet” in the middle. This wording provides hope that the disciples will eventually and ultimately understand.

Exiting this account of the life of Jesus, the context brings even more light to the narrative. This pericope takes place between two miracles: one in which Jesus makes a deaf man hear (7:31-37) and the other in which Jesus makes a blind man see (8:22-26). This context gives the reader hope that Jesus can make the spiritually deaf disciples hear and the spiritually blind disciples see. Even more fitting, Mark 8 closes with Peter’s confession of Jesus as Christ, for it will demonstrate that the disciples did take that call to perceive and understand who Jesus is seriously.

After studying this story, the question remains, “How do modern-day disciples of Jesus make sure they do not fall into the same mistake as Jesus’s twelve disciples back then?” Three applications will help safeguard twenty-first century disciples of Jesus from becoming like the first century disciples of Jesus.

First, see and hear what God has done! Unfortunately, no Christian today can see and hear firsthand the works of Jesus like the twelve apostles did. Fortunately, today’s Christians do have a very reliable account of the works and words of Jesus, the four Gospel books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Nobody can perceive unless that person first sees, and no one can first understand unless that person hears. Anybody who wants to perceive and understand what Jesus does in this world must start will seeing and hearing what Jesus did, as found in the Gospels. That not only applies to Jesus in the Gospels, but it also applies to God in the whole Bible. Take some time out of the day, whether in the beginning of the day before breakfast or at the end of the day before bed or any time in between, to read about what the Lord has done. The sixty-six books of the Bible are sixty-six love letters from the Lord. If you do not take the time to read those love letters your loving God gave you, then shame on you!

See and hear what God has done!

Second, marinate in the Word of God. Maybe I am just hungry for a nice steak, but I really think marinate is the best verb to describe what the Christian should do with the Bible. Sure you can quickly throw juices and spices on a piece of meat and throw it in the oven, but if you really want the most flavorful meat, you will let the meat sit in those juices and spices for hours, even days, before cooking it. The most professional chefs have marinating meat down a science to get the most flavorful meats. Believers need to have the same approach in their Bible study. Before I go on any further, let me quickly include a disclaimer. I know many brothers and sisters in Christ who do the read through the Bible in year, and they do it every year. Because they do it every year, their knowledge and wisdom on the Bible matches anybody who has graduated from a seminary. My only problem with reading through the Bible in a year comes down to the fact that it comes with a very strict schedule, and it can sometimes force a reader to move on to the next passage without making sure the reader has fully grasped what he or she had read in the prior passage. Bible quizzing, on the other hand, has the quizzer read over the same section over and over again for a whole week. This repetition leads to what I call “subconscious memorization.” Repeating the same chapter over and over again result in “accidently” remember it. Anyone inexperienced with Bible quizzing will watch one of the top quizzers quiz and think, “Wow, that quizzer must have memorized all those chapters!” Nope. The quizzer has merely repeated those chapters over and over again until it sunk into memory. That’s what happened to me. When I quizzed as a quizzer, I learned and memorized so much through mere repetition. Not only did I read the Scripture passage daily, but I also listened to it daily on an audio version of the Bible, which further cemented what I wanted to learn. I found this memorization by repetition so beneficial, even though I no longer quiz as a quizzer, I still practice it. Yes, from the beginning of the new year to the end of March, I read and listen to the same Bible passage over and over again. No matter how many times I see or hear the same Bible passage, I always pick up on a new detail. Try it yourself. The Holy Spirit may teach you things you never thought about in Bible stories quite familiar to you.

Marinate in the Word of God!

For a third application, read Mark 4:25. In Mark 4:25, Jesus says, “For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” Christians, like the Pharisees, sometimes wish that the Lord would just reveal God’s will for the Christian life from heaven, perhaps sun rays shining down from the sky, or maybe a choir of angels. Getting visions and dreams does sound cool, too, but the Lord will not hand out that kind of revelation unless the Christian has proven himself or herself faithful in the revelation God has provided for all people, the Bible. I will tell you that I have had dreams, in which the Lord wanted me to know something. For example, in 2019, I kept having a recurring dream that I missed the invitational Bible quizzing tournament in Ohio. Those dreams felt more like nightmares, often waking me up in night sweats or even tears. Back in 2019, I merely dismissed those dreams, but now that both the 2020 and 2021 invitational Bible quizzing tournament have been cancelled, I wonder if God wanted to warn me about the cancellation to prepare me for it. For certain, every time I had a dream in which the Lord wanted me to know something, it happened when I was on top of my Bible study and devotions. It all goes back to Mark 4:25. For the one who has Bible study and devotions, the Lord deems it fit to be given even more revelation. For the one who has no Bible study or devotion, not only does God take away unique revelation, that person will also miss out on what God wants to reveal to him or her in the Bible. Do not miss out on what God wants to speak to you. Cherish your devotional time, and you will find the Lord speaking to you.

Prior to Mark 4:25, in Mark 4:24, Jesus says, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you.” The Bible has revealed so much about God the Father and his Son Jesus. May believers all around the world prove themselves worthy to have it, not by merely seeing or hearing it, but by perceiving and understanding it.

Bibliography:

Guelich, Robert A. Mark 1–8:26. Vol. 34A. Word Biblical Commentary. Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1989.

Lane, William L. The Gospel of Mark. The New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1974.

Mark: A Story About a Suffering Servant

Before the fall, the group of guys in my small group got to together to decide what book we should study for the fall and the spring preceding it. We had done an Old Testament book before, so we were looking for a New Testament book to study. I threw out the book of John as a possibility. My reason (beside it being next year’s material for quizzing) was that I realized most of the Gospel stories I knew from heart were from the synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, and that I did not know too many details of the supplementary Gospel of John. All the guys liked this idea, but one of them thought that the 21 chapters of John would be enough to cover only about 21 weeks, not 36 weeks. He suggested that, since John is the last Gospel (in both position in the New Testament and date written), we should start our Gospel study with Mark, the shortest and earliest written Gospel. At first, I wasn’t as on board with this idea. I had studied the book of Mark intensely for quizzing in 2003 and I was pretty sure I knew about it. But everyone else was on board with it, so I went along with it. And I’m glad I did. The last time I took a good look at Mark was when I was in 8th grade. Since then, I have gone through 4 semesters of Bible class at a Mennonite High School, and 4 years of Bible college. Both experiences have greatly improved my Bible study skills. With those skills, I noticed things about Mark I did not notice before in 8th grade. Sadly, my small group was unable to complete our Bible study on Mark, for reasons that will within the confidentiality borders of my small group. But I have stayed true to reading Mark, and I would like to share what I have learned.

Mark is indeed the shortest Gospel account, only 16 chapters long. Mark is also a synoptic gospel, meaning it is just summarizing the events of the life and ministry of Jesus. Both of these make sense if we take into consideration the date the book of Mark was written. The book Mark was written somewhere between 55 and 66 AD, making it the first Gospel account written down. Before this book was written, the only New Testament Scriptures out there were epistles from Paul and perhaps a few general epistles. Stories about Jesus were simply passed down by oral tradition, by word of mouth. With that in mind, it was important to get something written down about Jesus. So when Mark wrote his gospel, he wasn’t into details. Mark wanted, as the famous saying goes, “just the facts,” and it’s apparently throughout this short gospel. Take the temptation of Jesus’ for example. Matthew and Luke go into great detail about what happened during those 40 days of temptation. Mark simply says, “Jesus was tempted, and when he passed the temptations, angels served him.”

Let’s talk a little bit more about the man Mark. Most of what we know from Mark does not come from the book of Mark, but mostly from the book of Acts. Mark was a companion of Paul and Barnabas on a missionary. Mark, however, was an unreliable man, as he left part way through. Thus, when Barnabas wanted to bring along Mark again for the next missionary trip, Paul and Barnabas got in a fight over whether taking Mark was a good idea. Paul and Barnabas split, but Barnabas stayed faithful to Mark, bringing Mark with him to wherever he ministered. I could go on and tell you more about Mark, such as his mother’s name was Mary, he was a cousin to Barnabas, or that he was like a son to Peter, but none of that would really help our understanding of how the man Mark connects to the book Mark. What do think might help, I would have to take from traditional interpretations and modern interpretations. In Mark 14:51-52, Mark inserts a little story about a man wearing nothing but a linen cloth flees naked when Jesus is arrested. One might think, “That’s an odd tidbit to insert in this story. Why does Mark do it when no other Gospel writer mention it?” Some people have suggested that Mark is talking about himself, that the man running away naked is Mark. This would place Mark at the arrest. Why do I find this significant? Jesus did call 12 disciples, but these 12 disciples were not the only ones following Jesus around. There was a larger group of people who regularly followed Jesus wherever he would go. The number cut down greatly in John 6:66, and by the time we get to the book of Acts, we find out the number of Christ’s followers post-resurrection numbered around 120. I would be surprised, and I do believe, Mark was probably one of these 120 followers of Jesus, who might have witnessed Jesus speaking and performing miracles when Jesus was in the public sector. In fact, a tradition dating back to the 500s AD would not only verify me, but would also say that Mark was one of the 72 Jesus sent out to minister in Luke 10. Now to be fair and represent the other side, some scholars say there is no proof for any of this, since the earliest proof of Mark’s appearances is in Acts. They would say most of Mark’s information about Jesus and his ministry from what Peter witnessed. I do agree that Mark did get a lot of information from Peter, as a lot of the book of Mark tells stories about the closeness in the relationship between Jesus and Peter that only Peter could talk about. But if I were to add one last piece to that, and I know this argument is weak because it is merely from logic, but don’t you think God would want the first Gospel account to come from someone who witnessed Jesus more directly? One more key feature I will note is Mark’s name, or rather his full name. His full name is John Mark. John is a Jewish name. Mark is a Roman name. Thus, one can conclude Mark most likely is both Jewish and Roman, just like Paul. The other option would be Mark is from a Jewish family that were slaves to a Roman family and his family took on the last name of his Roman masters. Either way, Mark has Roman ties.

So naturally the audience for the book of Mark is Romans. Let me remind you about the Roman people, although you may not need a lot of reminding if you simply remember what you learned about them in middle school or high school (or maybe even college). The Romans are the power of the western world. They have conquered all the land around the Mediterranean Sea, including the remnants of the Egyptian and Greek Empire, the Germanic tribes and the Anglo-Saxans (English, Welsh, Scottish, etc.). Remember that Israel/Judah is not an independent, free nation. The land belongs to the Romans, ruled by the half-Jew and half-Roman King Herod, overseen by Roman Governor Pontius Pilate. In fact, all the ethnic groups the Romans have conquered have rulers that have been put in place by the greater Roman government. The Roman government has allowed the people to keep their religions, culture, traditions and holidays (as long as they are not against the Romans), but they have to submit to the Roman government and they have to pay taxes. The Romans know they have authority and they exercise it over the people they conquer. So with that mind, what do you think the most important thing is to the Romans? Power and authority. In fact, in their minds, power = authority. Actually, I can throw a third word in there: strength. Power comes in strength. Authority comes in strength. Power = strength = authority. It’s obvious if you think about it. Think about when you learned about the Caesars in history class, or even think back to reading Julius Caesar in English or Literature class. If your father was the Caesar, you were not guaranteed to be the next emperor, even if you were the firstborn son. When Julius Caesar was assinated, both Brutus and Cassius fought Julius Caesar’s son Octavius/Augustus to be the next emperor of Rome. If you wanted to be the next emperor of Rome, you had to fight for it. You had to gain followers by proving your strength, and then fight off any opposition. The last man standing, the strongest man, became the emperor. So if Mark wants to win any Romans over to Christianity, he’s got to show Jesus has strength, power and authority, to show Jesus is worth following, and that is emperor/king material.

Now usually at this part I would state the purpose of the book of Mark, and then show you through an outline of the book how Mark answers the purpose. But I’m not going to do that this time, so you can see how great of a story Mark’s gospel account is. Instead, I’m going to highlight some parts of Mark’s Gospel narrative that will eventually point to Mark’s purpose. As I go through them, and as you may be led to actually read them, think of yourself as a Roman person during the height of the Roman empire, reading this story. You’re looking for Jesus to be strong, powerful and authoritative. If you are a Roman, what are you thinking as you read this narrative? What are you feeling, or how are you emotionally reacting to parts of this Gospel account?

Mark wastes no time showing the authority and power Jesus has. At first, Jesus displays his authority simply by teaching. His message is simple: repent and receive the good news that the kingdom of God is here! As simple as this message is, it has captivated everyone who hears. His words alone have authority. But actions speak louder than words, so we need some action to verify these words. Mark wastes no time showing exciting action in his gospel story. As soon as Mark 1:21-27, Jesus begins preaching and a man with a demon comes to Jesus, and Jesus drives the demon out of the man. The people see the power behind the message Jesus is preaching and they make that connection from words to action immediately. Also in chapter 1, Mark records Jesus getting rid of a fever in Simon Peter’s mother-in-law and a man with leprosy, as well as many other sickness and demon possessions. Already with the first chapter, the Roman reader sees that Jesus has the power and strength to cure people of any sickness and even cast out demons. The demon possession would stick out, showing Jesus has power over the spiritual realm.

Mark chapter 2 opens with the famous story of Jesus healing the paralyzed man on a mat. Here, the authority of Jesus is shown twice, when Jesus first forgives the man’s sins, and then gives him the power to walk. Jesus poses the question, “Which is easier to say: to the paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’?” The one bear testimony to the other. Since the paralyzed man can walk, the observers and readers know the man’s sins are forgiven. Jesus is shown to have power over both physical ailments and the spiritual ailment of sin. After this incident of forgiving sins, the Pharisees and Sadducees are looking at Jesus in a different light. They are questioning him more, and it’s not always to learn more. Some of them are trying to trap him, accuse him, or bring judgment down on him. The rest of chapter 2 is the Pharisees and Sadducees questioning Jesus in both his teaching and actions. Yet none of these questions or accusations phase Jesus. He knows what he is teaching is right and fully stands behind it as right. Furthermore, when Jesus is questioned about Old Testament teachings, like fasting and the Sabbath he shows that he has authority above both of those practices. Once again, Jesus is a teacher with authority. This slides right into chapter 3, and in chapter 3, the reader starts to see the results. All this power and strength is attracting a crowd. People are literally coming from all over to see Jesus. There are so many people Jesus is being crowded and pushed around. From this large crowd, Jesus picks out 12 to be his inner circle, his disciples, who will follow his every move and learn from him. Jesus has a large following, which shows his authority. Even his family is starting to pay closer attention to him.

A majority of Mark chapter 4 is Jesus speaking in parables. Once again, this shows the authority of Jesus in His teaching. It takes great wisdom to teach a parable with perfect meaning; only a smart teacher could do this. Jesus demonstrates he knows what he is teaching by teaching with various stories. But the big sign of strength comes at the conclusion of the chapter, with the famous story of Jesus calming the story. In addition to power, strength and authority over sickness, injury, demon possession and sin, we can add nature to the list. Chapter 5 adds another key element to the list. After another demon exorcism is performed, Jesus brings the daughter of Jairus, the synagogue leader, back to life. Now Jesus has strength and power over sickness, injury, sin, demons and death! Chapter 6 continues to show Christ’s power over nature by walking on water and splitting up food to feed over 5,000 men, not including women and children! But maybe more intriguing is that when Jesus sends out his 12 disciples, they have the same power and authority Jesus has. A Roman reader might be attracted by this: following Jesus gives you power!

This will repeat from chapter 7 to chapter 10, with more miracles showing the power of Jesus, speficially with blindness, deafness and muteness. This is no coincidence that there is so many miracles in the book of Mark. If Mark is trying to show great strength and power, there is no greater strength and power than a miracle, and Mark shows that Jesus just doesn’t do a few miracles, but many miracles. If there is something I would point out with the miracles in this section, as well as the miracles in the first seven chapters. If you read through it, you might see the word “immediately” a lot. The book of Mark uses the word “immediately” more than any other book of the Bible. “Immediately” is one of the most repeated words in the book of Mark. Mark is saying something here. It’s not like Jesus laid hands on the sick and they eventually got better or progressively got better. Immediately, instantly, Jesus brought full healing. Now that’s power!

Now remember I encouraged you to read through this book as a Roman reader. So far, what’s your response to Jesus as a Roman reader after reading the first 10 chapters of Mark? What are you thinking? What are you feeling? A Roman reader, you’d probably be thinking, “Wow, this Jesus guy is so strong and so powerful! He has power over physical nature as well as the spiritual realm. This man would be the perfect leader. He fed people numbering over 5,000 and over 4,000, so he could solve world hunger. He healed the sick, the blind, the deaf, the mute, and the lepers. He’s better than any doctor, so we’d never need a doctor again. He can even heal us spiritually of our sin. No one opposing him can stand up to him. No one is stronger or more powerful than he is!” Now if I asked the Roman reader, “How do you think the last 6 chapters will end the story?” After a little bit of pondering, the Roman might have a few predictions. Perhaps Jesus, with his following, will kick the Romans out of Judah and reclaim Jerusalem for the Jews. Maybe Jesus will also kick the Romans out Galilee, Samaria and Idumea as well to reunite Israel as one. Or maybe even march up to Rome and claim himself the next Roman emperor! It wouldn’t be too far-fetched in the Roman mind. After all, that’s what all the Roman emperors did. Once they proved their strength and power, and once they got a large following, they would march up to Rome with their followers and claim the throne for themselves. Well, let’s see how it turns out (and remember, this is the only Gospel narrative that the 1st century Roman has).

Chapter 11 is looking good for the uprising. Jesus enters Jerusalem like a king, with a parade and people cheering. The shouts of the people crying, “Blessing is the coming of the kingdom of our father David’ even has the Jewish people thinking the same as the Roman Christian: here comes the new kingdom and the reign of a new king. But what’s got the Roman reader excited is when Jesus clears out the temple. It shows Jesus moving to action in order to do what is right. Jesus is using his strength and power to also show authority. Even the cursing of the fig tree demonstrates the authority of Jesus. Jesus won’t put up crap with anyone or anything that disagrees with him. At the end of chapter 11, his authority is brought into full question. While the chief priests, teachers of the law and elders fail to recognize it, Jesus hints that his power is greater than any earthly power. His power is from above. So far, so good for uprising.

But then comes chapter 14, and it all goes downhill from there. Starting in verse 32, we see a tired, troubled, distressed, depressed Jesus minding his own business and then comes trouble. In 14:43, Judas leads a mob of people with swords and clubs. They have not come to peacefully ask Jesus questions. They have come to arrest him. Once again, remember your imagining yourself as the Roman reader. You, as a Roman, are probably thinking along the same lines of Simon the Zealot. You’re thinking, “Now’s your chance, Jesus! Tell all your disciples to get their swords and clubs and fight! Use your divine power to call down nature, angels or demons to attack your foes! We’ll first take down the Jewish leaders that oppose you, then we’ll take down the Roman leaders that oppose and you’ll be the next king of the Jews!” But that’s not what Jesus does. In fact, when a disciple (other Gospel accounts credit it to Peter) does attempt to fight back with violence, Jesus rebukes both sides for even entertaining the thought.

In Literature terms, we call this point the climax. In Literature, the climax is when the dramatic tension is at the highest and the story dramatically changes from this point out. Clearly Mark 14:43-51 is the climax of the book of Mark. The building tension in the first 13 chapters of Mark show that as Jesus builds his authority by displaying his strength and power, opposition tries to flex its power and authority to lower the power and authority of Jesus. The more Jesus rises up, the more the religious leaders are trying to push Jesus down. This all happens with the first 13 chapters, and by chapter 14, someone has got to come out on time. Like I said, in the Roman mindset, the Roman reader is expecting Jesus the one to come out on top. After all, Jesus has clearly demonstrated He is the more powerful one. But the story changes as Jesus no longer is the more powerful one. His enemies are, and to make matters worse, it looks like Jesus is the weakest.

How does Jesus look like the weakest? It gets worse from here. Jesus is brought before the Sanhedrin, and even though Jesus is right, he is declared guilty and beaten. He is handed over to Pilate. Pilate questions Jesus, but Jesus remains silent. Since Jesus does not defend himself, he is flogged then sentenced to death. Soldiers then mock him and torture him. Then he is crucified. Chapter 15 ends with Jesus, clearly dead, buried in a tomb. The Roman reader sits there, eyes wide, jaw dropped, in utter shock. No, it’s not over the way Jesus was treated. Those methods were common methods that Romans used on foreign criminals. Any Roman was use to that. The Roman reader is shocked because after seeing Jesus display his strength, his power and his authority, he doesn’t use any of it. In fact, it makes Jesus look the opposite: weak and powerless. Jesus submits to the mocking, the false accusations, the spitting, the beatings, the flogging and all the other kinds of torturing. Finally, the ultimate submission is when Jesus gives up his life on one of the most painful execution devices in the history of man. If I was a Roman reader, I might want to close this book (or scroll, I guess) in disgust after reading chapter 15. I don’t want to even glance at Mark chapter 16 (besides the fact that the second half of chapter 16 might have been written a couple centuries later). I’m guessing that Mark 16 is some kind of epilogue that concludes the book by saying the Roman leaders then executed the 12 disciples, thus ending the Christianity movement. As a Roman, I’m starting to believe this book is just Roman propaganda to show that not even a religious terrorist can thwart the Roman Empire. Well, let’s play along and pretend this is the case. After reading those 15 chapters of Mark, I slam the book shut, mad at how it ended, and walk away.

But I just can’t get my mind of this book. As a Roman, it baffles me why someone with so much strength and so much power would willingly not use it and get pushed. If he wanted to, he could have called his disciples and followers to defend him, and they would have defended him to the death. If he wanted to, he could have called down legions of angels to counter attack. Or even by his own strength, he could have taken them on single handedly. Yet he didn’t choose any of those options. Why didn’t he? This is puzzling your Roman mind so much that you can’t concentrate and you’re scatterbrained. The Jesus in chapters 14 and 15 does not seem like the same Jesus the 13 chapters before…or does it?

Now you’re Roman mind is thinking back to those first 13 chapters. You’re thinking not about the miracles themselves, but why Jesus performed the miracles. Did He do it to show how strong He was? No. Did He do it to display his power? No. Jesus seems very humble over the experiences. Did Jesus do it to exercise his authority over people? No. The more you think about it, while Jesus gave a general calling to follow him and receive the gospel message, people came to him on their own. So why did he perform his miracles? He was serving the people. He did it for the people in need, not himself. At the most, you could say he did it to win people over to his cause, the kingdom of God, but really that’s for the people’s benefit as much as his own. Every time Jesus healed, he healed to serve the people. And when you think about it, Jesus technically submitted his power to the people to serve them. Think about it. Think about Jesus feeding the 5,000 in Mark 6. In Mark 6:30-32, Jesus and his disciples are trying to run away from the crowd to get some rest. But when Jesus sees how lost they are and how desperate they are for him, he denies himself the rest to serve the people in teaching them. In Mark 5, Jesus is on his way to heal the daughter of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. When another comes along who needs healing just as much as the little girl, Jesus stops to minister to her. Yet Jesus keeps his promise to Jairus, even it takes raising her from death. Both times Jesus submits. Time after time in the Mark Gospel, Jesus is pulled out of his way to heal someone, but Jesus never complains. Every time, he submits. His strength is not meant to be used to gain power for himself for selfish reasons. His strength is suppose to be used to help others.

And it all finally hits you when you remember two important passages: Mark 10:42-45 and Mark 8:34-38. Good old Roman you quickly skimmed over those parts because it seemed like boring teaching and you wanted to get back to action. Yet Christ’s words recorded in Mark 10:42-45 and Mark 8:34-38 linger in your head over and over. Let’s take a careful look over these 2 passages specifically. We’ll go in that order, even though it’s not in chronological order.

Mark 10:42-45-
42 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. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 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.”

We’re starting out with these verse because most scholars acknowledge theses verses (more specifically, verse 45) as the theme verse of the book. It would make sense, considering it’s so explicit to the point. It is almost like Jesus is talking directly to the Roman reader. If I may paraphrase, it’s like he’s saying, “I know how your Gentile (or Roman) culture works. You think that being high and powerful means you’re the greatest. But that’s not the way to go, especially if you’re Christians. Rather, if you want to be lord and master, be the servant and the slave. If you want to be strong, be weak. If you want to be powerful, be powerless.” Why? Because Jesus did. As verse 45 clearly states, Jesus did not come to rule in authority, but to be a servant and a slave to the people. The reader can see how Jesus was a servant and a slave to the people up to this point, and as (s)he finishes reading, it is still evident Jesus is being a servant and slave.

See, when it comes to the 4 Gospel books of the Bible, with every book, the reader has to ask the question, “How is Jesus being portrayed in this book?” In Matthew, Jesus is portrayed as the Messiah. In Luke, Jesus is portrayed as the Perfect [Son of] Man. In John, Jesus is portrayed about as the Son of God. So what about Mark? How is Mark portraying Jesus? In the book of Mark, Jesus is portrayed as the suffering servant. How did we get suffering servant? Mark chapters 1 to 13 show the servant part, as Jesus serves the people in need. Mark chapters 14 and 15 show the suffering part, as Jesus is willing to go through whatever pain it takes to pay the ransom of sin. The follow-up question everyone must ask is, “So what does that mean in light of the audience?” because that will reveal the purpose. So why does Mark need to show Romans that Jesus is a suffering servant? I thought we’d want to Jesus as a strong, powerful, authoritative leader, like they want. Well, the book does do that. Jesus does have that. But Jesus is also setting an example, and the example is that even if we have those powers, they are not to be used for selfish gain. Instead, they are to be used in servanthood towards others. So this leads us to our second passage, the application passage. But before we go on, let me conclude this first passage with an explicit, written out purpose for the book of Mark.

Mark wrote the book of Mark to persuade the Romans that Christians are not to seek after strength, power or authority, but are called to submit as suffering servants, just like Jesus did.

Mark 8:34-38-
34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37 Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 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.”

Mark 10:45 might be the theme verse to cover all the book of Mark, but if I had to pick out a key verse for application of this book, it would be Mark 8:34-38. This drives it home to us. But first, let me connect back to Mark 10:45. Jesus never asked us to do anything he didn’t do on earth. While on earth, Jesus was a suffering servant. While on earth, Jesus gave up his life to pay the ransom for our sins. And now in Mark 8:34-38, Jesus directly calls us to do the same. Jesus did deny himself. It was never about himself while Jesus was on earth. It was about His Father first, then the people. Jesus literally took up the cross, giving up his life for us. Now we’re called to do the same. We are called to deny ourselves. To deny ourselves means to deny your dreams, your ambitions, your pride, your self-worth. It means it’s no longer about the self, but rather it’s all about God. Taking up your cross means to be willing to take up whatever suffering Jesus took, whether it be lighter or heavier. It could mean rejection from society, being mocked, being ridiculed. It could even mean real persecution and martyrdom. Finally, following him means giving up everything in your life and giving your life to God. This might seem extreme, but Jesus provides good reason. It’s the true way to save your soul. Trying to save your soul by your own strength, your own power or your own authority will just cause you to lose it. Even trying to save your soul through worldly strength, power and authority will cause you to lose it, too. Jesus calls us to give up all strength, all power and all authority and give it to him. And then we will truly find out being under his strength, power and authority is so much better.

And now if you’re still thinking you’re a Roman, and you’re still thinking like a Roman, you finally understand that Jesus was has power and authority, not in his strength over physical nature, the spiritual realm or over death and disease, but rather because he served His Father God and the people out of love. Jesus did stay true until the end. But wait, it’s not the end, is it? You forgot all about chapter 16! Maybe chapter 16 isn’t as bad as you think. You’re now ready to sit down and read it.

Interesting enough, Mark chapter 16 opens with women wondering who will be strong enough to roll away the heavy stone (there it is again, strength). But when they get there, they find the stone rolled away, and a really shiny man wearing really shiny white clothes. He reports that Jesus is not here, but has risen! They are given orders to tell Peter and the disciples to go to Galilee and meet Jesus there. Verse 8 concludes with the women running away, telling no one, out fear. Now this is where the debate enters. The earliest manuscripts we can find of Mark 16:9-20 do not appear until a couple centuries after Mark has written. Some scholars have questioned this, and have suggested the rest of Mark may have been added a couple centuries after first manuscript by summing up the other 3 Gospels. I can understand their argument, but I would disagree only because of the abrupt ending if Mark 16:8 was the true ending. If it is the true ending, Mark ends with the women running away scared, not mentioning a peep. If the story were to end this way, then the disciples never hear Jesus rose from the dead, and thus no one goes up to Galilee to see the resurrected Jesus. But we know different from the other Gospel accounts. I do believe Mark 16:9-20 is the original ending, despite not finding an older manuscript. It gives full closure to Mark’s story by giving other appearances of the risen Jesus. It is consistant with Mark’s writing as some of the accounts of the alive Jesus are quick, short summaries. But more importantly, we need Mark 16:9-20 to show the Roman reader the really grand conclusion to the book. Jesus tells the disciples to go continue the ministry He started, and if they do, the signs and miracles will accompany them. After that, Jesus raises into heaven, and he is seated at the right hand of the Father, which means Jesus is the one in charge, Jesus truly has authority and power. And sure enough, the disciples do go preach the simple gospel message of Jesus Christ, and they got the power Jesus has.

I hope you did read this whole thing, despite it being long. But this does show you that while some people would not suggest the Bible as a good storyteller, I would sharply disagree. Mark knew how to tell the true story of Jesus Christ in an exciting way that would grip his intended audience. But more importantly, I hope you got the moral of the story that Mark was trying to preach. I hope you too are persuaded to be a suffering servant, just like Jesus was.