The Gospel of Mark Part 8
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I. Fasting or Feasting?
II. Harvesting & Healing: Sabbath Controversy
A. Harvesting on the Sabbath
Let’s go back to the last verse of chapter two to grasp some context for today’s study
28 Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”
Remember that Jesus’ disciples had been accused of breaking the Sabbath laws when they plucked some grain by hand from a field they were walking through.
Of course, this did not violate any Sabbath laws, but it did violate the traditions of the Pharisees and their EXTRA-biblical beliefs about the Sabbath day.
And Jesus’ statement here leads us right into the next section of text, where we will find yet another Sabbath Controversy!
I. Fasting or Feasting?
II. Harvesting & Healing: Sabbath Controversy
A. Harvesting on the Sabbath
B. Healing on the Sabbath
1 And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. 2 So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him.
So here is the set-up: The Pharisees were looking for ways to take Jesus down.
They didn’t like Him, they didn’t like His message, and they didn’t like His refusal to conform to the traditions of the elders.
They couldn’t control Him or intimidate Him, so they wanted to eliminate Him, and they needed some ammunition in order to do it.
Think about these Pharisees’ evil thoughts and what day they are having those evil thoughts…the Sabbath Day! - Hypocrites!!
They are meeting in the synagogue on the Sabbath for worship, but instead they are lying in wait for Jesus so they can accuse Him.
Revelation 12:10 (NKJV)
10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.
This word for “accuse” is the same Greek word used in Mark 3:2!
The Pharisees were indeed the sons of the devil:
John 8:44 (NKJV)
44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.
3 And He said to the man who had the withered hand, “Step forward.” 4 Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they kept silent.
Jesus wanted to make sure that everyone in the synagogue could see the condition of this man’s hand, so he asks him to stand in the middle of the room so that all can see.
So with the man standing before Jesus, Jesus turns to the Pharisees with a question of His own.
His question gets to the heart of the essence of the Sabbath controversy: What is LAWFUL to do on the Sabbath?
In this case the good thing to do would be to heal the man’s hand.
But the Pharisees refuse to answer Jesus - WHY? Because no matter what answer they give, it would undermine their position on the Sabbath!
To “do good” and to “save life” are actions of God - God is the ultimate GOOD in the universe, and God is the ultimate SAVIOR of the universe, so doing good and saving life are exactly what must be done at all times, regardless of what day it is.
What if God wants to heal someone on the Sabbath? Is He bound be the traditions of men so that He cannot heal on that day? If God does good on the Sabbath, then so should man!
Also, we will find out in a couple of verses that the Pharisees began plotting to KILL Jesus! Was Jesus calling them out for their wicked thoughts again?…quite possibly!
Evil does not rest on the Sabbath, so neither should anyone avoid an opportunity to do good and to save life.
17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
In Matthew’s account, we can see that Jesus answered His own question:
11 Then He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? 12 Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
Mark 3:5 (NKJV)
5 And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.
Notice Jesus’ inner responses to the Pharisees’ silence:
Anger - This was righteous anger, not sinful. It was indignation at the state of the hearts of these men, who were suppose to be the spiritual leaders of the nation faltering and failing in their roles and having the opposite effect.
Why wasn’t this anger sinful? - It was directed at sin and it was under control. Anger is something that God gave us so that we might have the energy to go and do whatever needs to be done.
Grief - This was the emotion that offset Jesus’ anger - He was grieved over the condition of the Pharisees’ hearts - a genuine sorrow over their hardened hearts.
Anger and Grief are the responses that God still has towards hard hearts and seared consciences.
So Jesus does the GOOD THING - He SAVES LIFE by healing this man’s hand, but without any physical contact - He simply SPOKE it to be healed!
3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
These men were standing right in front of their Creator God!
16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.
Jesus, who spoke the universe into existence now spoke this man’s hand healed…and what is the response of the Pharisees?
6 Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.
Once again, exposing their own hypocrisy by plotting a murder on the Sabbath day.
Jesus’ question still ringing in their ears - “Is it lawful to save life, or to kill?”
What a contrast! Jesus spoke LIFE and brought HEALING, but the Pharisees spoke DEATH and brought SIN!
6 Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.
The Herodians were an influential political group that supported Herod Antipas.
Normally, these two groups would not have been cohorts, but now they had a common enemy in Jesus of Nazareth, so they joined forces.
The word “destroy” is a word that would be used to describe the killing of an animal. (even today, one might say that the rabid dog was destroyed)
Notice what this word sounds like: Apollyon, the destroyer
It can also mean to annihilate or to make void
I. Fasting or Feasting?
II. Harvesting & Healing: Sabbath Controversy
A. Harvesting on the Sabbath
B. Healing on the Sabbath
III. The Crowds & The Called
III. The Crowds & The Called
III. The Crowds & The Called
A. The Crowds (vv. 7-12)
7 But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea. And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea 8 and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him.
Jesus was becoming a phenomenon!
Some of these locations were as far as 120 miles from Idumea and 50 miles from Tyre and Sidon, yet the crowds kept arriving!
8 and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him. 9 So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him.
Notice that the crowds pose a danger to Jesus - a crushing stampede of people!..and Jesus needed an exit plan
This helps us understand that although Jesus is God, He operated His earthly ministry within the confines of the human experience.
Also, notice that Jesus doesn’t miraculously make a boat appear or decide to walk on the water. He chooses to live in the full, human experience - to live just like us!
He also asks for help from His disciples - He chooses to give His men opportunities to do the work of the ministry. ( I would not have been able to grow in ministry experience if others had not asked me to “get a boat ready”…to jump into the action and help.) - This was Jesus’ training program…getting these men ready to lead the people one day as the apostles of the church.
We have been working hard on preparing for VBS.
There have been some obstacles - technology obstacles, communication obstacles, and time obstacles. This is no one’s fault - it is just the nature of this ministry.
But Jesus understands all of this. He has worked in a ministry setting where obstacles abound!
And many of Jesus’ obstacles had to do with the crowds.
The crowds in Mark often represent problems for Jesus and the disciples.
The crowds kept Him from entering cities and towns openly.
The crowds blocked the doorway to the house, forcing the four friends to carry their paralytic friend up and lower him down through the roof.
We will see later that the large crowds and their needs kept Jesus and the disciples so busy that they didn’t even have time to eat.
Crowds are noisy, they stir up dust, and they are demanding, yet Jesus continues to serve them along with His disciples.
10 For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him. 11 And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, “You are the Son of God.” 12 But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known.
Jesus’ healing ministry continues - and He healed “many”! - probably all the sick in the crowd, which were many - meaning that it was a huge crowd!
Notice what they are trying to do in order to be healed: “to touch Him”.
This is a scene of great commotion!
The crowd makes a lot of noise! - both on their way to Jesus and as they cry out in delight at their healing!
People are pressing in, pushing past one another in an effort to get closer to Jesus!
Demon-possessed people are crying out to Him!
Yet Jesus is always in control! - He heals the sick and He quiets the demon horde.
Even in the chaos, Jesus is in control - a comforting thought as we face the crowds and the chaos of our own lives.
III. The Crowds & The Called
A. The Crowds (vv. 7-12)
B. The Called (vv. 13-19)
13 And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him. 14 Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, 15 and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons:
Notice how “immediately” Mark changes the scene!
One moment we are at the shore of Galilee, with the teeming crowds and the noise of demons and of people shouting..
And the next moment we are on a quiet, mountainside retreat, alone with Jesus and His disciples.
It seems to indicate that there were more than twelve - likely the women that travelled with them, as well as other men besides the twelve - out of which Jesus calls these that would be His closest friends and confidants - it was to these 12 that the secrets of the kingdom would be revealed…who would have the privilege to walk with the Lord, up close and personal, and to whom Jesus would take the time to explain the parables that He taught the crowds with.
Like we have seen so many times in Mark, there is an emphasis on Jesus’ authority.
Jesus takes the initiative to go up on the hillside and to call out the 12 men He was commissioning.
Notice that He is giving them their job description:
B. The Called (vv. 13-19)
To Be With Him
Mark 3:14 (NKJV)
14 Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach,
The constant presence of Jesus is a transformational presence.
He wanted them near Him!
Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (μετά)
μετά meta: to be in the same company with; to be on the same side or party; association; union
Also, this part of the job is given first - it is a prerequisite to everything else.
Without spending time with Jesus, these 12 would not have had the training to do the other things.
It is really no different for the modern-day disciple.
If we desire to serve the Lord, we must first know the Lord.
B. The Called (vv. 13-19)
To Be With Him
To Preach
Mark 3:14 (NKJV)
14 Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach,
Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Preach)
κηρύσσω (kēryssō): to “preach, proclaim, tell, announce a message
This is the same word that Mark used in his Great Commission passage:
Mark 16:15 (NKJV)
15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
Jesus began His ministry as a Preacher, preaching about the Kingdom of God.
In fact, Jesus’ preaching was the cornerstone of His earthly ministry, which is why it is listed first as He commissions His disciples to go out.
B. The Called (vv. 13-19)
To Be With Him
To Preach
To Power over Sickness
Mark 3:15 (NKJV)
15 and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons:
Although preaching was His main ministry, healing was a way for Jesus to authenticate His message and to set people free from the bondage of sin and Satan.
Remember the crushing crowds? - Jesus, in His human body, was limited by time and space. This commissioning would allow for more people to be healed at once. This was safer for them and for the disciples.
B. The Called (vv. 13-19)
To Be With Him
To Preach
To Power over Sickness
To Power Over Satan
Mark 3:15 (NKJV)
15 and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons:
This was a vital part of Jesus’ ministry model.
His opposer was oppressing the people and destroying lives, and Jesus had been disrupting his evil work.
And now He called His disciples to work along side Him in the ministry of setting people free.
10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
Jesus wanted to see His ministry multiplied, so He did so by a factor of 12!
This is a model for the church - more people involved means more impact for the gospel and for the Lord!
Jesus had been and would be training them for this, and then they would go out and do it! - But each one would preach a little different style (not content) according to his traits and personality…and Jesus knew that and was ok with it!
The 12 weren’t all clones of Jesus - they imitated Him, spoke the same message, did the same deeds, but they did it in their own skin, their own personality!
And He is still calling His disciples from every walk of life, every kind of culture, language, personality, strengths, and weaknesses.
So now we can read the list of the 12 disciples.
16 Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; 17 James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, “Sons of Thunder”; 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; 19 and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. And they went into a house.
The order of the names is not random - it is on purpose to help us understand the leadership structure within the twelve disciples.
Peter is always listed first in any list of the twelve because he was the leader of the group, under Jesus of course. And we see this played out not only in the gospels but also in the book of Acts as the church age is inaugurated, Peter comes to the forefront as the leader.
After Peter we see the brothers, James and John - why? Because Peter, James, and John formed the “inner three” - the close-knit circle of disciples with whom Jesus spent the most time working with. It was these three that went with Jesus to the mount of transfiguration, into the hime of Jarius, and with Jesus at His most vulnerable hour in Gethsemane.
Andrew is the fourth - right below the inner three and then the rest of the disciples.
Notice who is always listed last, with a disclaimer - Judas, who betrayed Him!
Application: What has God called you to do? Are you a leader of people?…a servant?…someone who can be trusted to get a boat when the crowds are pressing in?
Jesus has called all of us to do His work - to accomplish His mission. No, we are not part of the twelve…but we are modern day disciples. Jesus may have not empowered us to do the miraculous things that the twelve could do, but He still empowers his disciples to accomplish the things that He has asked us to do.
God never calls us to do something that He doesn’t also empower us to do.