Mark 3
1Another time he went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. 2Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. 3Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Stand up in front of everyone."
4Then Jesus asked them, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they remained silent.
5He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. 6Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.
Crowds Follow Jesus
7Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed. 8When they heard all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. 9Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him. 10For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him. 11Whenever the evil[a] spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, "You are the Son of God." 12But he gave them strict orders not to tell who he was.
Points: Jesus again heals on the Sabbath to "save life." In our world where you can do everything but buy liquor and cars on Sunday, do the laws about the Sabbath seem archaic and superstitious?
Why do you think the Pharisees and Herodians plotted against Jesus? For doing good?
Jesus takes his disciples to a lake. The demons cried out that Jesus is the Son of God. He told them not to tell anyone. This is the Messianic secret we find in the first three Gospel books. It is not in the Book of John. In John, Jesus tells everyone who he is what his mission is. Why do you think there is a difference?
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John's gospel is considered to be the last written of the 4. That might be part of the reason he is more open with who Jesus was. I also think it may have to do with the fact that John was not talking only to the Jews...nor even primarily to the Jews. He was talking to everyone and to new and searching Christians. These people would have no ties to the old Jewish ways and would probably not know about the Messianic secret...they were just open to hearing about an amazing man who had done great healing...and they wanted to learn more. John told them!
ReplyDeleteAs to the earlier question about why those in power plotted against Jesus...He was disrupting their order. Change is difficult and here was this "wild" man that didn't follow the rules...that appeared to be a maverick to them. He scared them. And they were the ones in power so they were supposed to do something about it. They just wanted the problem (Jesus) to go away.
Jesus secrecy is key, for me to his humilty and calling. He's not boasting or parading himself around as a public figure or icon. That's why he asks the disciples, "Who do you people say that I am? Who do you say that I am?" He's asking them a question of spiritual truth. If no one tells of him and things he's doing then the only ones who are going to take notice of him are the ones who are searching for Truth. Otherwise you get ever needy person coming and asking for their requests to be granted. He wasn't about answering requests, providing healing, his mission was about providing truth, presenting the mystery of God's kingdom. It's a journey that only those looking in spirit and truth will discover. This isn't dogmatic ritual or doctrine, this the God in reality, way beyond the religious rules, laws and customes of the society he was living in.
ReplyDeleteI am impressed that you guys abviously put a lot of time into looking for underlying meanings and signifiicance of detail.
ReplyDeleteI usually read the Bible on a much more simplistic level. Like reading a book. I picture the events happening and understand the symbolism and hear the tone of the dialogue and see the "character" motivation. I get the message. But I guess I just never look for those added interpretations. Don't know why. I can be motivated, inspired, pushed to think about how the parables relate to my journies, I can ponder how the actions can be examples for me and help me think thru some of my issues. I never would think I could know what Jesus was thinking.