On Line Bible Study - For the week January 26 - February 1, 2009

Lesson 372

Mark 3: 13 Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. 14 He appointed twelve—designating them apostles^[—that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach 15 and to have authority to drive out demons. 16 These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter 17 James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder); 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

You remember that Mark's Gospel is only 16 verses long when Jesus begins to call the twelve apostles to "Come, follow me." In the passage from Mark 3 quoted above, we get the list of the "twelve". Let's consider several things:

1. Discipleship is every bit as important for Mark as his Christology. So write Harrington and Donahue in their commentary on this gospel. (Sacra Pagina.) Jesus wastes no time in gathering disciples around himself, with a clear intent to put them to work. The Gospel - Good News - is something they have to be taught; but it is also a reality (the kingdom of God - Mark 1:15) that demands full participation.
2. These twelve are have three functions: a) To be with Jesus; b) to be sent out by Jesus to preach; c) to confront the power of evil. In this simple line (verses 14 & 15), we learn the importance of contemplation - of being present with Jesus. Before we do anything in his name, we have to be with him. We have to be willing to be "sent" (the meaning of the word "apostle") for the purpose of proclaiming his message. The admonition given to Timothy - Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season . . . (II Timothy 4:3) - this word is for us as well. And I Peter 3:15 tells us: In your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. Peter then reminds us ... But do this with gentleness and respect Proclaim the word! And finally, "drive out demons'. It is one of the characteristics of the kingdom of God that evil cannot survive in its midst. We lay claim to our Baptism vow - to repent of our sin, resist the evil power of this world, and renounce the spiritual forces of darkness. We resist evil on every front. That is what Jesus authorizes his disciples to do.
   

This section is introduced with Jesus going up a mountain. That is where we go when we need to communicate with God. Mark offers us this information with regard to the location of Jesus as a "heads-up" to the reader. Pay attention! The Lord is on the mountain. Remember in Matthew's Gospel - the Sermon on the Mount - reminiscent of Moses' conversation with God on Sinai.

One final note: the word translated in Mark 3:13 - "called" - in their translation of this same passage, Harrington and Donahue use the word "summon" to indicate that this word is stronger than the one found in Mark 1:20. This "call" in Mark 3:13 suggests a summons to receive teaching or instruction, a sense of getting prepared to perform some special task.

So - in this simple passage that looks like little else than a list of names, there is quite a bit going on! Be with Jesus; proclaim the good news; do not abide evil!

More on Mark 3 next week.

On Line Bible Study - For the week January 19 - 25, 2009.

Lesson 371

Mark 3: 7-10 Jesus went off with his disciples to the sea to get away. But a huge crowd from Galilee trailed after them—also from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, across the Jordan, and around Tyre and Sidon—swarms of people who had heard the reports and had come to see for themselves. He told his disciples to get a boat ready so he wouldn't be trampled by the crowd. He had healed many people, and now everyone who had something wrong was pushing and shoving to get near and touch him.

11-12 Evil spirits, when they recognized him, fell down and cried out, "You are the Son of God!" But Jesus would have none of it. He shut them up, forbidding them to identify him in public.

(From Eugene Peterson's The Message.)

Jesus needs to "get away". Do you? I am a member of a couple different committees for our Conference (Northeastern New York and all of Vermont) that interviews persons who are at various stages of preparing for being licensed or ordained in the United Methodist Church. One of the topics that constantly emerges is that of 'self-care'. It seems there are many clergy who struggle with depression, alcoholism, poor diets and health habits. All kinds of studies have been done on this. The predominant theories for why so many clergy are in such tough shape are these:

1. Personality Type. The kind of people who become pastors are people who want to help others. This makes it difficult for them to say "No" to people in need.
2. Constant Stress. The job never ends, and one of the centerpieces of the work is a sermon - standing up in front of people and trying to say something significant. Seinfeld did a stand-up comic routine noting people are more afraid of public speaking than they are of death. He quips: "This means, at a funeral, those sitting in the congregation would rather be the dead person than the person giving the eulogy."
   

Did Jesus experience these sorts of stressors? It's hard to imagine that he would need to get away. One of the theological "stressors" has to do with the nature of Jesus - fully human (Jesus), fully God (Son of God).

In their commentary on Mark's Gospel (Sacra Pagina), Donahue and Harrington make special note of the "crowd" - mentioned here in Mark 3:7 and 9. In their translation they use the phrase a large mass [of people]. They note the disdain the elite felt for the uneducated masses. Maybe you are familiar with the Greek phrase: hoi polloi. These are the very people Jesus attracts - they are exhausting ... but they are loved. They are demanding ... but they are God's children. They have so many needs ... and God wants every one of them to be met. In Mark 3:7 and 9, they are not hoi polloi. They are poly plethos. They receive Jesus with great enthusiasm. He touches them with healing. The demons know the truth of what the Gospel will proclaim - that Jesus is the "Son of God" (Mark 1:1, 11), the "Holy One of God" (Mark 1:24), the "Son of Man" (Mark 2:10, 28). While "Son of God" and "Son of Man" are not exactly synonymous, the Messianic implications are clear.

Not yet for the people in the story of the Gospel, but certainly for those reading the Gospel, the "secret" is out. Mark is making the point clear - Jesus is the Son of God.

Did you ever wonder if you were the kind of person Jesus would run toward, or away from?

More on Mark 3 next time.

On Line Bible Study - For the week January 12 - 18, 2009

Lesson 370

Mark 3: 1 Another time he went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. 2 Some 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. 3 Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Stand up in front of everyone."
4 Then 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.
5 He 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. 6 Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

This is the fifth - and final - "controversy" in the opening chapters of Mark's Gospel. While his ministry of teaching and healing in the synagogue was at first celebrated (see Mark 1:21ff), it came to be seen as something that must be destroyed (Mark 3:6). Let's consider several interesting points in this story:

1. First, there is a passage in Isaiah 35:3 that makes reference to "feeble hands being strengthened" as an indication that God's grace has returned to the people.
2. And, with reference to this man with a shriveled hand, the apocryphal Gospel of the Hebrews deals with this story in an attempt to understand the connection between "life and death" that Jesus speaks of, and an apparently non-life-threatening condition of a withered hand. The Gospel of the Hebrews tells us the man is a stone mason, and his hands enable him to make his living.
3. "Stubborn hearts" (or "hardened hearts") are not conducive to the work of God.
4. Such irony - that Jesus is faulted for healing on the Sabbath, while the Pharisees and Herodians fail to recognize the extent to which their plotting to kill Jesus violates the very essence of what the Sabbath stands for. Which is lawful, to save life or to kill? The Mishna allowed for persons to take life-saving measures on the Sabbath.
   

There is a missing word in the translation - the last line of the story should indicate that the Pharisees and Herodians plotting had a sense of urgency, or immediacy to it. It has to be remembered that the Pharisees were acting in a protective manner, seeing Jesus as a threat to their understanding of the truth of the Law.

I recall reading somewhere that our competency is our greatest liability. The assurance that we know how to do something can become the largest obstacle in our openness to learning new things. When it comes to our relationship with God, religion is its own worst enemy. Spiritual certainty is only a small step away from hardened hearts.

If you had never read or heard this story before, and you came to this point in the book, reading that a plot was emerging to kill Jesus, would you want to read on? Why? (Or why not?)

We will continue with Mark 3 next time.

On Line Bible Study - For the week January 5 - 11, 2009

Lesson 369

Mark 2: 23One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. 24The Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?"
25He answered, "Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions."
27Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."

Three things to be aware of in this passage:

1. The presence of controversy.
2. The Sabbath as the source of the controversy.
3. A Messianic (or christological) proverb.
   

Controversy - If you look at the beginning of Mark's gospel you find Jesus' reputation spreading because of all the good work he was doing (1:28, 45). People's amazement at what Jesus was doing translated into more and more talk about him, to the point where he could not go anywhere without being recognized (2:2). But if someone is this popular, there must be a flaw somewhere. Isn't that how we think? As we move into the second chapter of the gospel, the "amazement" gives way to controversy - "five controversies", to be exact. We have already explored the first three. Teachers of the law are the first ones to begin to be suspicious about Jesus when he both heals and forgives a paralyzed man (2:6). Then some Pharisees get into the act when they see Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinners (2:16). When Jesus' disciples are seen not to fast Jesus is called up on it (2:18).

The text under consideration this week is the "fourth controversy" - this one, and the next one (Mark 3:1-6) both involve the Sabbath.

So - Mark tracks Jesus as he moves from popular healer to the protagonist who causes tension.

Sabbath - Keeping the Sabbath is one of Israel's most intense laws. There are three dimensions to the Sabbath:

1. God rested; its a blessed day. The day must be reverenced for this blessing of "rest". (Genesis 2:2.)
2. The liberation from Egypt is to be remembered weekly on the Sabbath. (Deuteronomy 5:14-15.)
3. Sabbath is a sign of God's covenant with Israel. (Exodus 31:12-17.)
   

The repercussions for breaking the Sabbath Rest were severe - death. (Exodus 31:14; Numbers 15:32-36. In the text from Numbers a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath. He was stoned to death.) Donahue and Harrington note in their commentary on the Gospel of Mark (Sacra Pagina): "Even amid the great pluralism that characterized Judaism in the first century, Sabbath observance was widely maintained. The ordinary people in Palestine as well as rigorist reform movements like the Dead Sea sect observed it strictly, and its observance by Jews in the Greco-Roman Diaspora evoked both admiration and scorn."

Christological Proverb - Note how this brief story concludes - The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath. Given the intensity of law and rule that grew into a complex and intricate latice work around the Sabbath, this phrase attributed to Jesus did nothing to alleviate the concerns expressed by the Pharisees! If they were at all placated by the reference to David using the consecrated bread in the temple of the Lord to feed his men, this last comment must have reignited their ire! (There are numerous problems with Jesus' statements regarding David and his men. Reading I Samuel 21:1-10 we find that David was not with his men, but alone. The "house of God" had not yet been built. And David approached Ahimelek the priest,, not Abiathar. Abiathar was Ahimelek's son. If the Pharisees were familiar with the text Jesus is supposed to have quoted, they might have been very confused!)

Mark presents Jesus as one having authority - over sin, evil spirits, disease - and yes, even over the Sabbath. Jesus is not a breaker of Sabbath Law - he will restore the essence of the blessing of Sabbath. We will explore the notion of Jesus returning things to their original intent a bit more when we get to Mark 10. In the mean time, the question isn't so much how much or how little work you did on Sunday (or Saturday, or any other day . . .) For Mark, the question is more basic: Today, any day, every day, who is your Lord?

Next week we will explore the "Fifth Controversy".