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As a Child (The Inescapable Story of Jesus #9b) (CCD)

Grace Sensing on June 2, 2024

INTRODUCTION

Perhaps you’ve boarded a plane with your kids in tow, and seen the pained expressions on the faces of the other passengers. You may as well have killed a puppy in front of them. The scowls and sighs belie a cultural mood that is far from Jesus’ Kingdom.

THE TEXT

And they departed thence, and passed through Galilee; and he would not that any man should know it. For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day. But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him. […]

Mark 9:30-50

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Jesus once more teaches His disciples about the endgame of His mission: death and resurrection (vv30-32). Once again Jesus alludes to himself in terms of Daniel’s prophetic vision of Dan. 7; but here Jesus introduces something new: the Son of Man will be betrayed (v31). The disciples are still confused by all this, but like timid pupils are afraid to ask the teacher to explain further; instead they devolve into bickering about which of them would be the greatest in this kingdom which Jesus was inaugurating (vv32-34). Mark tells us that this conversation took place in “the house” in Capernaum, Jesus’ own residence; this will be His last visit home before going up to Jerusalem (v33). Jesus discerns the crackle between them and brings a child (likely a young relative of Jesus) to illustrate the lesson the disciples need to learn. Greatness is defined by humility and service. Showing hospitality in Jesus’ name to small ones is not only showing hospitality to Jesus, but to His Father as well (vv35-37).

The conversation shifts gears and John asks about a man who was trying to cast out devils in Jesus’ name, even though he wasn’t an authorized member of Jesus’ followers. John says they had rebuked him for doing so. Instead of finding Jesus’ approval they find that Jesus isn’t bothered by this in the least. This is a proof of Jesus’ divine nature in that the demons could only be driven out if God willed it; Jesus’ name wasn’t a magic incantation. Cobelligerents should be welcomed, not scolded, so long as they are cobelligerents in Christ’s name (vv38-41).

Jesus returns to the topic at hand. Sinning against the weak merits a swimming trip with concrete boots. And then Jesus wields the knife of His Word to cut up the disciples (and our) apathy towards sin. How seriously should you take sin? Seriously enough to lose limbs and senses in order to enter the kingdom of God instead of being cast into hell. Couple this with the restoration miracles which Christ has done. Jesus is, in effect saying, that there is a greater good than mere bodily wholeness. Better to be spiritually whole, and bodily maimed than to be bodily whole and gnawed eternally by the worms of hell (vv42-48). Jesus sums up this teaching episode with a final rebuke of their contentiousness with each other. The disciples need to understand that they are destined to be sacrifices, and as such must be seasoned with salt (Lev. 2:13, Ez. 43:24). Followers of Jesus must be salty, not like sailors, but like priests of God’s kingdom of peace (vv49-50).

HE SHALL RISE

This is the third time Jesus has explicitly taught His disciples about the humiliation and suffering which awaits Him, and those who would follow Him. But this humility is the pathway to everlasting glory. The indignity of Jesus’ death is swiftly coming. But Jesus explains here that after He is killed, He shall rise on the third day. Jesus states this with not only certainty, but as some He will do. The Resurrection, for Mark, is Jesus’ mightiest work. Where is death’s sting? It is in Christ’s nail-scarred hand. We know from elsewhere in Scripture that we can and should also say that Jesus was raised by the Father, “according to the working of his mighty power (Eph. 1:19-20).”

FIRST AND LAST

We need to be careful not to misunderstand what Jesus is teaching us here about desiring to be first. He is not warning against mere ambition. Rather, what He has in view is ambition which uses others as the rocket fuel burned up to raise you into glory. Desiring to be the greatest isn’t something that suddenly happens to you. Rather, you set your heart upon attaining some pedestal of greatness, and you then arrange all your activities to become numero uno.

Our Lord calls His disciples then and now to direct such energy and any desire for greatness in the direction of humility, sacrifice, and service. The disciples had been sucked into triangles of envy and rivalry, instead of emulating the Lord’s example. The glory Jesus calls us to is found in laying down your life for others. A husband sacrifices his strength to earn a living for his family. A mom sacrifices sleep to nurture a sick child in the night. A shepherd fights wolves to protect the sheep. Our culture seeks greatness through self-absorption. Jesus shows us that greatness is found in sacrifice, in following Him in self-denial, and even crucifixion (Cf. Mk. 8:34-35).

RECEIVING CHILDREN

We shouldn’t over spiritualize what Christ teaches here. He is not using a child merely as an object lesson. Rather, a culture’s attitude towards children is where this pattern of humility leading to greatness is displayed. Jesus calls us to receive children in His name, and in so doing you receive Him.

Contrast this disposition with what Jesus says about those who ensnare children. There is no mincing of words. A person who even conceives a plan to ensnare a child with some wicked design would be better off to go deep sea diving with “an ass’s millstone” necklace than to actually carry out such a plan. To abuse children, to lead them astray into error, and to slaughter them by the millions are great evils in God’s sight. There are no blunt edges on these sharp words of Jesus. For parents, pastors, and presidents this is a serious warning. Leading astray the little ones under our care is an evil which Jesus the Judge will recompense with terrible severity.

Not only should we have such a hatred of the sin against “little ones”, but Jesus leaves us with no room for escape. If you would enter His Kingdom, you must detest your sin. Do you think you have a wandering eye? An impulsive hand? A restless foot? Is it really your body parts that are ensnaring you in sin? Of course not, it is your heart. If you would follow Christ, you must recognize that He calls you to battle. He calls you to lay aside your feet, hands and eyes in order to be follow Him to victory. Picture a soldier on the battle field with a leg trapped underneath some heavy machinery that fell on him. Better to cut of the leg and flee to safety than to stay a sitting duck.

SALTY PEOPLE

Take everything that Jesus has been saying and doing. Remember how His healings match up with the consequences of idolatry which Psalm 115 describes. Jesus has healed lame feet, withered hands, and blind eyes. Now He tells the disciples that if they would enter His Kingdom, they must be willing to lose feet, hands, and eyes in order to flee from the horrors of Hell.

Jesus’ healings rebuke Israel’s idolatry, and demonstrate that the Jews have become like their idols. If you would be made whole, you must be salted. This is how God required His meals to be prepared. He wants His covenantal meals to be full of flavor and free of the rot of corruption. If you would be a pleasing sacrifice to Jehovah, the seasoned Word of Jesus must infiltrate you entirely. If this Word dwells in you richly, then the peace of God will also rule in our midst (Col. 3:15-16).

The Father Speaks (The Inescapable Story of Jesus #9a) (CCD)

Grace Sensing on May 26, 2024

INTRODUCTION

Matthew’s Gospel opens with a lineage from Abraham down to Jesus. Luke’s Gospel includes a family tree from Jesus back to Adam. Mark did not neglect to give a lineage. Rather, fitting his stylistic rapid pace gives us the most concise lineage possible for Jesus: He is the Son of God the Father. But the Heavenly Father promises His Beloved Son glory. But this glory will be bought with blood.

THE TEXT

And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power. And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them. And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them. […]

Mark 9:1ff

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

After the revelation of the last chapter that Jesus is indeed the Christ, and must die and rise again, Jesus informs His disciples and the crowds that His Kingdom will come with power in their lifetime (v1). Mark now underscores this point by taking us up a mountain to show us Christ’s glory. Mark gives a rare time-statement, six days later, a call-back to the creation narrative. Three witnesses, Peter, James, and John are led by Jesus to the top of a mountain and is transformed (metamorphosed) before them, His robes shine as bright as a mirror reflecting the sun; Elijah and Moses appear and talk with Jesus (vv2-4). Peter, out of fearful wonder, proposes the building of tabernacles for them (vv5-6). Instead, the glory cloud of the Spirit of God overshadows them and the Father’s voice proclaims, “This is my beloved Son: hear him.” In the blink of an eye, the wondrous cloud and OT visitors were gone and only Jesus remained with them (vv7-8).

While descending the mountain, Jesus instructs them to tell no one until the Son of Man (Cf. Dan. 7) rose again; this talk about rising again puzzles the three disciples (vv9-10). It sparks a question regarding the accuracy of the scribes’ teaching about Elijah coming before Messiah. Jesus assures them that the scribes are right, Elijah would come to restore all things, but the prophetic writings also teach of the Son of man’s sufferings. Jesus goes on to assert that the prophesied coming of Elijah had already taken place, and he’d been treated as was written (vv11-13).

The reunion with the rest of the disciples confronts Jesus with a squabble to sort out. His appearance shocks the crowds (Cf. Mk. 14:33, 16:5-6) and straightway they bring the point of contention to Jesus. A man speaks up for the crowd to tell that he’d brought his son to the disciples because his son was vexed by an unclean spirit that afflicted him with violent fits, deafness, and speechlessness. They’d been unable to cast out the demon (vv14-18). Jesus passes a judgement upon His generation for their faithlessness, and then commands the boy to brought; when the boy saw Jesus, straightway a demonic fit began. Jesus inquires as to the duration of the affliction. The man answers that the boy has endured the violence of this demonic possession from childhood, and he pleads for compassion and help (vv19-22). Jesus tells the man that if he believes all things are possible, and straightway the man responds with a tearful confession and prayer, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” Jesus’ attention turns to the turmoil of the crowd due to the foul spirit. He rebukes the spirit, which violently convulses a final time, seemingly killing the boy. But Jesus is there to perform a shadow of the resurrection which everything in Jesus’ story is leading towards (vv23-27). Later, in private, the disciples are perplexed why they couldn’t drive out this particular demon, so Jesus teaches them that this kind of spirit must be driven out by prayer (vv28-29, Cf. Lk. 9:28).

TWO NATURES

This passage raises an important theological point. It is quite easy to slip into some form of heresy when dealing with the two episodes where God speaks from heaven (baptism & transfiguration). On one hand it might be tempting to think that up until this point the divine nature of Jesus was hidden, and suddenly here is where the mask comes off. But this is to fall into what we call docetism, that Jesus only appeared to be a man. On the other hand, these episodes are used to teach that Jesus was merely a man and that at one of these points the Father decided Jesus was a good enough man for Him to use, this is often called adoptionism.

In modern times, with particularly Mormonism becoming more mainline, these christological errors not only linger but are becoming common among the evangelical rank and file. The transfiguration isn’t an instance of “the Christ” coming upon Jesus. Rather, as we confessed in the Nicene Creed, Jesus is “of one substance with the Father.” He is not the Father, but He and the Father are one in Godhead. At His conception the eternal Christ, who was very God of very God, was united with a true human body. The transfiguration is the unveiled glory of human nature reunited with God. Sin had sundered and sullied human nature, Jesus Christ came to drag human nature out of the gutter and raise it into glory. His human nature became resplendent with His divine nature. This is the hope of the resurrection, that our mortal bodies will be raised into glory because they are covenantally united to Christ’s body.

MOSES & ELIJAH

The presence of Moses and Elijah with Jesus is rich with meaning. The Law and the Prophets, as it were, add their amen to the Father’s declaration that Jesus is His Beloved Son. Moses had ascended Sinai to receive the Law; Elijah had ascended Sinai and received the prophetic call. Now both stand as witnesses to the fullness of the Law and Prophets reach their crescendo in the Gospel of Jesus. Peter’s instinct to built a tabernacle to contain the glory is off the mark, but not by much. A tabernacle was needed, but not one made with human hands. Rather, Jesus was the tabernacle––the true house of God––and the glory cloud was a proof that in Jesus man might dwell in God’s House. The dwelling place for the saints of every age––as represented by Elijah, Moses, and the three Apostles––is in the tabernacle of Christ’s body.

THE LAST DRAGON

Thus far, Jesus’ ministry has been booming. Crowds are gathering. Merely His touch heals. Five loaves feed five thousand. Scrupulous scribes are mocked. Herod is quaking in his boots. Suddenly, the success grinds to a halt. Danger and difficulty are growing. These ominous notes begin precisely as the glory rises to a peak. Jesus is declared to be the Christ (Mk. 8) and then is transfigured, with a promise of even greater glory which awaits the Son of God upon the completion of His mission. The glory is real, it is promised, but it will be hard fought. A violent dragon must be subdued.

Glory and hardships aren’t opposites. As Solomon says, it’s the glory of kings to search out a matter. Glory is hidden in hardships. Glory is weighty. Glory is heavy. The raging dragon which Jesus meets at the foot of the mountain isn’t a diminishment of the glory which was revealed atop the mountain. Instead, the glory on the mountain was a glimmer of the glory which would come through all the danger which Jesus must grapple with and overcome.

At Christ’s baptism the Father spoke His love over His only begotten Son, sent the Spirit as a dove upon Him, and then immediately Jesus was confronted with a wilderness battle with Satan. Here we have a similar pattern. The glory cloud of the Spirit surrounds Jesus, the Father speaks once more that Jesus is His beloved Son, with a summons to hear him. Then Jesus is once more confronted with a battle with a powerful demon. Both of these foreshadow the last declaration of Christ being the Son of God which Mark will present at the crucifixion. There evil shall be decisively overthrown, and then the disciples will spread out to notify all the evil throughout the world: game over.

IF

This is a lifeline to us in our own trials. Our light and momentary trials reveal a weight of glory. Trials, hardships, and battles are not detours from the glory. They are where our faith is strengthened and the glory of Spirit-empowered obedience is revealed. Jesus faces this violent dragon which was afflicting this boy, and is able to drive this demon out because His faith in His Father’s calling upon Him was more resolute than a vice grip. The boy’s father asks Jesus, “If you can do anything, please help.” Jesus replies with another witty comeback, “If you can believe, all things are possible unto you.” If you believe, what are your trials compared with the glory? If you believe, what is the gruesome cross compared with the glory of the resurrection?

Straight Into Danger (The Inescapable Story of Jesus #8) (CCD)

Grace Sensing on May 19, 2024

INTRODUCTION

Mark presents Jesus as a mighty man, driving out evil spirits, challenging self-righteous and self-assured teachers, and performing powerful acts (healings, feedings, calming seas). Jesus has been slowly unveiling what His master plan is. He didn’t come only proclaim Yahweh’s kingdom as coming; but to also make a claim to be the lawful King of Israel with designs for expanding to borders to the ends of the earth. All His riddles and signs have been the curriculum, and now as their teacher He gives His disciples a test.

THE TEXT

In those days the multitude being very great, and having nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples unto him, and saith unto them, I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat: And if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way: for divers of them came from far. […]

Mark 8:1-3ff

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

The hard sayings of Jesus from the previous chapter have not dampened the enthusiasm of their crowds. In this instance, the crowds have been on a three-day sojourn with Jesus. He notices the danger they’re in from not enough food in the wilderness (vv1-3). Jesus communicates His compassion to the disciples, but they offer no solution (v4). The disciples actually have seven loaves. So, as with the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus commands the crowds to be seated. The same order of actions (Cf. Mk. 6:41) is described here: taking, blessing, and breaking. The disciples distribute the bread, along with some fish, and the four thousand people were left satisfied, additionally, seven baskets were left over. Straightway Jesus departs in a ship to Dalmanutha (vv6-10).

A new contest with the Pharisees arises. They want a sign, but Mark reveals they are insincere; so Jesus, with a heavy sigh, flatly denies them a sign (vv11-12). This prompts Jesus to go elsewhere, but the disciples forgot to bring along the lunch supplies. Jesus warns the disciples to avoid the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod, but they think He is rebuking them for forgetting the lunch. The Lord is forthright with them: their eyes are blind, ears shut, and hearts hard (Cf. Duet. 29:4, Is. 6:9, Jer. 5:21). He reminds them of His ability to provide by recalling His two great feedings; and then He leaves them to ponder why they still don’t understand (vv13-21).

Remember the “exaggerated” healing of the deaf man in Mk. 7:31-37. Now a blind man is brought (v22). Jesus again performs an “exaggerated” healing: leading the man out of the town, spitting on his eyes, asking if he can see. At this, the man reports he can only see in part; so Jesus again touches his eyes, makes him look up resulting in the man’s sight being fully restored. The man is sent home with the instructions to keep quiet (vv23-26).

Now, in light of these healings of deafness and blindness, Jesus gives His disciples another chance to solve the puzzle by asking them, “Who do men say I am?” Echoing Herod’s courtiers (6:15) they offer a few options. But Jesus wants to know what their answer is, and Peter declares, “Thou art the Christ” (vv27-29). This is a potent truth, so Jesus instructs them (like the blind man) to keep this to themselves for now. He then begins to teach them and reveal the answer to all His riddles: He must die at the hands of Israel’s elders and then rise again after three days. News this potent causes a potent reaction as seen in Peter’s attempt to dissuade Jesus from His mission. This earns him a scathing rebuke (vv30-33). Having privately told the disciples His mission, Jesus now reveals to the crowds what it means to follow Him: self-denial (vv34-38).

TWO KINDS OF LEAVEN

Jesus warns the disciples to avoid two kinds of leaven. The first leaven is that of the Pharisees; they claim to desire a heavenly sign while ignoring the clear Messianic signs right in front of them. They are indeed deaf, dumb, blind, and witless. But the second leaven is that of Herod. A curious warning. Remember how Mark told us that Herod saw more clearly than anyone that the miracles being done must mean a resurrection and accompanying judgment upon evildoers. Herod knew that he had done a great evil in beheading John the Baptist, but was unwilling to repent despite knowing that divine judgement was looming.

So then, the disciples are warned against two things. First is the evil of wanting more/different proof than God had given; second, is the refusal to respond decisively when convinced of those proofs. These warnings still pertain. It is not wrong to desire proof for the existence of God, or assurance of your salvation, or to understand the reliability of the Scriptures. However, many fall into the error that Lewis describes in one place, being so interested in proofs for the existence of God that you neglect to worship the Good Lord Himself. Mouths were made for eating, not endless chewing. But just as damning is the attitude of someone who has been warned that their actions are sinful, will admit as much, but still won’t turn from those actions. Followers of Jesus must jettison both attitudes.

LIKE THEIR IDOLS

Put all that Mark has told us together. The Pharisees, and even the disciples, are showing the fruit of their idolatry. The Psalmist says that “They that make [idols] are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them (Ps. 115:8).” And what are the idols like? Made out of precious metals, but shaped into the form that their makers desire. Mouths that don’t speak. Eyes that can’t see. Ears that don’t hear. Noses that can’t smell. Hands that can’t hold. Feet that can’t walk. (Ps. 115:4-7).

It is no accident that the healings which Mark has recounted all map onto this Psalm. Those that make them are like them. Idolatry turns you into a stump of wood and a block of granite. When you, like Israel, give your heart over to idols, it should be no wonder when you have to submit to the rule of those idols. In ancient Israel, God raised up judges and then kings to deliver God’s people from this oppression. But they always wandered back into their idolatry. Jesus was on a Mission to deliver not only Israel, but all the world, from the oppression of false gods. He was indeed making a claim to be the anointed King, come to deliver. But this deliverance demanded something that the prophets had foretold, but was tempting to overlook as a mark of the Messiah. He must die. Not only that, but those who would enjoy Messiah’s kingdom would also need to die with Him. This is how Jesus plans to overthrow the oppression of the idols.

DIE TO LIVE

What Jesus has come to do is going to turn the whole world upside down. The Messiah has come to die. This was a hard pill to swallow, and yet Jesus make the pill even more bitter. If you want to follow Him, you must join Him in running towards the danger. You cannot try to save your life. You must give it up. You must despise your idols, your self-righteousness, and your own vain claims for world domination. You must, as the old hymn says, “surrender all”.

Jesus’ kingdom will be one where He rules over not mere territory, but over our affections, wills, and desires. To bring this kingdom about, the old man (Adam) must die. But along with this death comes the bright promise of resurrection. When you trust in Christ, and are united to Him by faith, you are joined to His death. This is what your baptism means (Cf. Rom. 6). So, if you want to live, you must die. And if you die in Christ, you shall also live in Him.

Christ’s Piercing Wit (The Inescapable Story of Jesus #7) (CCD)

Grace Sensing on May 12, 2024

INTRODUCTION

Have your words or past actions ever come back to haunt you? Perhaps you once said, in your youth, “When I’m a parent, I will never (fill in the blank).” And now that you’re a parent you find yourself regularly doing that thing. There are really only two responses to such a moment of revelation: laugh at yourself or burn with vindictive anger.

THE TEXT

Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem. And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault. For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders […]

Mar 7:1ff

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

A Jerusalem embassy of Pharisees, likely tasked with keeping tabs on Jesus (3:22) launch a fresh legal assault upon Jesus’ disciples (v1). The infraction is that the disciples are eating without washing their hands (v2,5). Mark provides a bit of insider baseball for his Greek audience. The Pharisees had taken the Levitical cleanliness codes and extrapolated them past the point of possible obedience; they taught that hands must be washed often, along with eating vessels, or else you will not only defile yourself but you’ll defile others (vv3-4). Jesus responds to their accusation with Isaiah’s rebuke (vv6-7, Cf. Isa 29:13), and explains that they are the epitome of replacing God’s clear command with man-made tradition (vv8-9). Jesus tightens the screws further on these accusers by demonstrating that they’ve broken Moses’ command to honor father & mother by inventing a legal loophole to avoid financially supporting their parents while appearing to honor God (vv10-12). Their traditions have not resulted in fulfilling the Law; rather, they’ve undermined the very basis of their authority (v13).

Jesus then tells a joke to the crowd at the expense of the Pharisees. What goes in you doesn’t defile; what comes out the other end is what’s unclean (vv14-16). The disciples ask Jesus to explain the joke parable; and He reproaches them for needing the joke explained (vv17-20). Man thinks holiness resides in himself, but Jesus’ punchline is that our show holiness is just raw sewage. What’s in man? Nothing good (vv21-23).

Jesus now goes to a predominately Gentile area, and His presence once more can’t be hidden, the Word is getting out, even amongst the Gentiles (v24). A Syrophoenician woman comes to fall at His feet, and requests deliverance for her daughter from a devil (vv25-26). This will be the second to last demon Jesus encounters in Mark’s Gospel. Jesus responds with a quip: it isn’t right to take the children’s (Jews) bread (Him) and feed it to the little dogs (Gentiles) (v27). She replies with a faith-filled plea: even dogs get some scraps (v28). Jesus responds to her witty faith with an assurance that the devil will be expelled; the woman returns home and finds just that (vv29-30).

Mark whisks us back to where Jesus performed the exorcism of a legion of devils (v31). Some folks bring a deaf mute to Jesus for a healing touch (v32); Jesus takes him aside and Mark gives a more detailed description than usual of what Jesus does to heal the man. Jesus pokes his fingers into the man’s ears, spits and then touches the man’s tongue, looks to heaven, sighs/breathes heavily, and commands the closed ears and mouth to be opened (vv33-34). Mark (like he’d done with Jairus’ daughter) preserves the Aramaic word which Jesus spoke. Straightway the man’s ears are opened and his tongue loosed and he begins to speak; Jesus requests that they not spread the word but to no avail (vv35-36); instead, they lift songs of praise: He does all things well (v37).

EARS TO HEAR

Jesus has already shown that even touching the hem of His robe will bring healing. So why the seeming exaggeration involved with this healing? This healing is the first of a pair. Jesus will soon face off against the last demon recorded in Mark’s Gospel (Mk. 9:25), which causes a boy to be deaf & dumb. Jesus has been sowing the Word all throughout Israel. But many are still hard of hearing. Even His disciples grapple with His words and fail to comprehend. The Pharisees have, in a sense, stuffed the cotton of manmade tradition into their ears and seem entirely unable to hear the Word they claim to be the stewards of.

Jesus resorts to telling a parable, which is more like a joke. He accompanies that parable with a charge for Israel. This is a charge which is still necessary for us all: he who has ears to hear, let him hear. Man’s condition is fatal. Christ’s Word is a seed which brings about life. But we need our ears opened. How does Jesus open our ears? He wields piercing wit to shock us awake. Ironically, His piercing wit will get Him pierced.

GENTILE DOGS

The disciples unwashed hands provide more than just cause for the Pharisees to squabble over. Mark has hinted in a certain direction, but from this cycle of his Gospel onward it will get clearer and clearer: the Gentiles will be blessed by the coming of the promised Seed of Abraham. If you didn’t wash your hands you defiled other Jews, so this had led the Pharisees to teach that to even enter a Gentile home would make you unclean. But Jesus says it isn’t what goes in you that defiles but what comes out of you.

The disciples, within a few decades, will be breaking bread with Gentiles because both are washed in baptism. These unwashed hands are like the faint introduction of an instrument in the midst of a symphony. But in the rest of this chapter and especially the next it will swell and become too big to ignore. For example, Jesus goes to an area full of Gentiles; He playfully banters with the Syrophoenician woman; He agrees to let the dogs enjoy the crumbs; and He delivers the Gentile girl from a demon. Jesus has been driving out unclean spirits from Israel, but now, notice is served that the demons will not find safe haven outside of Israel. Jesus has come to take possession of the ends of the earth, filling it with His worshippers, feeding them with the bread of His body. Additionally, the healing of the deaf and dumb man is in a predominately Gentile area (the Decapolis), this healing is followed by Christ being praised among the nations (Mt. 15:31).

The Pharisees had hidden the Word, but Jesus is coming to fling the Word far and wide, opening even Gentile ears to hear this life-giving Word of His Salvation (Cf. Is. 29). And when they hear, they will also sing. The Word of Jesus’ universal reign is proclaimed, and the fitting response is always songs of praise (Ps. 72:16-19).

WHAT’S IN YOU?

What Jesus is doing is going to land Him on a cross. He is putting our sin on a billboard. He is mocking our foolish scruples. He is shaming our holiness. You think your holiness is found in taking your kids out of public schools, a good thing; but have you exploded with anger at them, neglected to train them in the Word, or been permissive in the entertainment you allow? You claim to be defenders of traditional marriage, but what’s in your browser history, where have you failed to submit to your husband or be loving to your wife? You despise the government printing money on demand, but is your work ethic is outpaced by a moss covered sloth?

Jesus did not come to drive out a pagan oppressor from Israel. Jesus came to show us the sewage that comes out of the human heart. Jesus came to show us we are dogs. Jesus came to show us where we’ve voided God’s Word. But He also came to truly wash us by baptism into Him. He came so that dogs could become children. He came to open our ears so we could hear the joke and loose our tongues so we could laugh at our folly and then trust in Him alone for our holiness.

Man As He Ought to Be (The Inescapable Story of Jesus #6b) (CCD)

Grace Sensing on April 7, 2024

INTRODUCTION

Mark has just told us of a king serving the head of a righteous man on a feasting dish at a royal banquet. Now he contrasts that king with a King who brings His people into green pastures and beside still waters to give them an abundant feast. The contrast could not be more stark.

THE TEXT

And the people saw them departing, and many knew him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them, and came together unto him.And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things. […]

Mark 6:33ff

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

The disciples have returned from their mission, and Jesus takes them across the Galilee waters for reprieve in a private (literally wilderness) place (vv30-32). But the multitudes will not be left behind, and race to the other side, meeting Jesus as He arrives (vv33-34); He takes compassion upon them as a shepherd-less flock, and His compassion is demonstrated in His teaching them (v34). Dusk begins to descend and the disciples advise Jesus to send the multitudes away to get their own food (vv35-36). But Jesus has come to feast (2:15-19), and so He tells His disciples to get bread for the multitude, but they demonstrate the smallness of their faith by missing the point; they imagined that they must produce a vast sum of money to purchase enough bread (v37). Jesus is not deterred by the amount needed, for He is the Sower of the Word, and where the soil is fertile it will be a 30, 60, and 100-fold harvest. He asks how much bread they have, and they have 5 loaves and 2 fish, a loaf for each thousand (vs38, 44). Jesus commands the disciples to arrange the multitude into ranks of hundreds and fifties upon the green springtime grass (vv39-40). Mark gives us a prefiguring of the events of Christ’s Last Supper (Mk. 14:22): blessing, breaking, and giving the bread (v41). The multitude of five thousand men feast until filled, while the leftovers fill twelve baskets (vv42-44).

Mark doesn’t tarry at this scene but whisks us off once more, and straightway Jesus instructs the disciples to cross the Sea, dismisses the multitude, and heads off to pray alone––another hint at the events of His passion (vv45-46). But while still on the land He sees the disciples battling the choppy Galilee sea at the darkest hour of the night (according to Roman reckoning), and walks out to their rescue (vv47-48); but instead of His coming being a reassurance, they are terrified that He is a death angel. So He comes into their ship with tidings of good cheer which dispels fear, and at His coming the adversarial winds cease (vv49-51a). The disciples are in slack-jawed awe once more, and Mark tells us it is because they still hadn’t learned the lesson Jesus has been patiently teaching them in the parable of the Sower and now in the feeding of the five thousand (vv51b-52).

As they come ashore once more, this time in the area of Gennesaret, Jesus’ identity is straightway recognized. Like wildfire, people rush to bring their sick unto Him for healing, setting up healing stations in the marketplace in the towns and villages where they heard Jesus was heading. What had happened to the woman with 12 years of internal bleeding had clearly become widely known, and the sick were given hope that merely touching the tassel of Christ’s garment would bring healing; this, in fact, is precisely what Jesus allows: all who touched Him were, in Mark’s words, made whole (vv53-56).

A FEAST IN GREEN PASTURES

Mark’s narrative is like an incoming tide. Each new wave brings the water level higher. In our text, there is a repetition and expansion of earlier events and anticipation of greater––yet to be revealed––glories. Mark has told us a number of times of people responding to Jesus with awe, wonder, fear, bafflement, and even terror. Mark doesn’t want you to get comfortable with a Jesus that can fit in the palm of your hand. He is leading up to the crescendo, where Jesus will send out His disciples into all the world, and He would ascend as Lord to the Father’s right hand. But His ascension would not mean the termination of His work in the world. Mark tells us that as the disciples went forth, and preached every where, Jesus the Lord worked with them (Mk. 16:20).

Jesus told us that He was a Sower of the Word, and that where the seed of his Word lands in good, receptive soil, it produces a graciously abundant harvest of bread in seed form. That story was followed by Jesus crossing the waters to cast a demon army into the sea (a callback to the Hebrews’ Red Sea crossing under Moses). Here Jesus takes His disciples through the sea again, but this time a multitude of Israelites follow him, and Mark uses martial language to describe their seating. Once more, Mark wants the Exodus story on our mind. One commentary notes that when God led Israel out of Egypt by the way of the Red Sea they “went up harnessed” (Ex. 13:18), literally “by rows of five.” At Jethro’s counsel, Moses constituted the twelve tribes into representative divisions of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens (Ex. 18:25). When Israel was in the wilderness, Yahweh fed them bread from heaven.

The disciples struggled with the Parable of the Sower, and now Jesus retells it with a visual demonstration of it. He is the Son of God revealing God unto the sons of Men. In Him is abundant life. Jesus sows five loaf-seeds and it becomes a thousandfold harvest of bread. In Him is bread and plenty for a cleansed Israel. Notice that the first few chapters of Mark have focused on Jesus calling and cleansing Israel. Now, a theme that started almost imperceptibly (Simon’s mother is healed in order to prepare a meal) is too big to ignore. The twelve leftover baskets make the same point as the Parable of the Sower, but the disciples still don’t quite see it. Jesus came to feast with a cleansed Israel.

UPON THE WATERS ONCE MORE

Jesus walking upon the water is often taken as a demonstration of His divine power. But God has always been revealing His power and Godhead in both the created order and by the writings of the Holy Prophets. But, Jesus in this wondrous act of walking upon water demonstrates Himself to be Israel’s long-awaited Messiah.

God put Adam in a Garden to dress and keep it and gave him the entire earth as the domain for him to subdue. Jesus compresses an entire agricultural season into an evening, and then tames the windswept sea (Ps. 8:6-8). Jesus is what Adam ought to have been. The earth is Lord’s and the fullness thereof. Therefore, Jesus is making way for man to be restored to our high office of lords of the earth under God our Creator, with Him as the High King over all other kings. But we must not miss the pathway. The way to this new life which Jesus is bringing into the world is found in the words He speaks to the disciples: “Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.”

MADE WHOLE

Jesus safely brings the disciples through the sea once more, for He is the true Man, exercising dominion over land and sea. Mark gives us one last wonderful parallel with the Red Sea crossing. As Moses led them toward Sinai they came to the bitter waters of Marah, and many fell ill. Moses healed those foul waters with a tree. Now, this Greater Moses is revealed to be Jehovah Rapha, the Lord our healer. All who come to Him He makes whole.

Why? Because He came to cleanse and came to feast. Jesus calls you to come to Him in faith, and be clothed in His righteousness. This is what your baptism is. And then He invites all the earth to this table. And lest you think there won’t be enough for you, Jesus, in His Word, makes a point to tell you: there were twelve baskets of leftovers.