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| Mark
2. Community (Mark 4:35--8:26) |
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What
are the boundaries of the
community as prelude to the
coming kingdom of God?
|
Topics
Note:
The section headings and the majority of
this material is taken from Hearing
Mark. A Listener's Guide,
Elizabeth Struthers Malbon,
Trinity Press International,
Harrisburg, 2002. ISBN
1-56338-379-9. Additional
material is from: Augsburg
Commentary on the New Testament:
Mark. Donald H.
Juel.
Augsburg, Minneapolis, 1990.
ISBN 0-8066-8856-4
In
the notes below,
1.
Introduction
2.
First Journey (Mark 4:35-6:44)
2.1.
Stilling the Storm (Mark 4:35-41)
2.2.
Casting Out Demons (Mark 5:1-20)
2.3.
Healing a Woman and a Girl (Mark
5:21-43)
2.4.
Jesus in His Hometown (Mark 6:1-6a)
2.5.
Sending Out the Twelve (Mark 6:6b-13)
2.6.
Death of John (Mark 6:14-29)
2.7.
Return of the Twelve (Mark 6:30)
2.8.
Feeding Five Thousand Mark 6:31-44)
3.
Second Journey. (Mark 6:45-8:26)
3.1.
Walking on the Sea (Mark 6:45-52)
3.2.
Healing Many (Mark 6:53-56)
3.3.
Challenging Tradition (Mark 7:1-13)
3.4.
Inside Out (Mark 7:14-23)
3.5.
Healing Another Daughter (Mark 7:24-30)
3.6.
Healing a Deaf Man (Mark 7:31-37)
3.7.
Feeding Four Thousand (Mark 8:1-9)
3.8.
Refusing a Request for a Sign (Mark
8:10-12)
3.9.
Questions on the Sea (Mark 8:13-21)
3.10.
Reviewing Mark 4:35-8:22a - Journeys and
Community
3.11.
Healing a Blind Man (Mark 8:22-26)
3.12.
Reviewing Mark 4:35-8:26 - Community
Primary
References
1.
Introduction
-
*
After
proclaiming the kingdom of God, Jesus initiates a core community by calling
disciples
-
*
What are
the boundaries of that community?
-
*
This part
of Mark reads like a travelogue with travel alternating between Jewish and Gentile
regions
-
*
Galilee is
practically surrounded by Gentile areas
2.
First Journey
(Mark 4:35-6:44)
2.1.
Stilling the Storm (Mark
4:35-41)
-
*
Begins in
Jewish territory on the Sea of Galilee with terrified disciples and a sleeping
Jesus
-
** Contrast the terror of the disciples while Jesus sleeps with
Jesus’ pleas while the disciples sleep in the garden of Gethsemane
-
*
When
awakened, Jesus says, “Peace be still.” And the storms cease
-
** Jesus rebukes the wind as in an exorcism, and the winds obey
-
** Water has deep roots as a chaos symbol in the Bible (Job
38:1-11, Psalm 74:13-14, Psalm 107:23-29, Psalm 106:9, Psalm 114:3-4)
-
*
For Jesus,
the issue is the disciples’ lack of trust when they are witnesses to the
inauguration of the kingdom of God
-
*
For the
disciples, the issue is, “Who is Jesus?”, who can exert this kind of control
over the elements of nature
-
*
One of
Mark’s techniques is to raise questions that are not answered in the text,
intending them for the audience
-
*
Note that
at creation, God gave dominion over the land to people, but retained dominion
over the sea for himself
2.2.
Casting Out Demons (Mark
5:1-20)
-
*
Once on
the Gentile side of the Sea of Galilee, a man with an unclean spirit meets them
-
** Note how at the beginning of this scene, Jesus is crossing
numerous boundaries
-
A Gentile land
-
An unclean spirit
-
A herd of swine
-
*
The
unclean spirit questions Jesus’ business there, saying, “What have you to do
with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?”
-
*
And Jesus
asks his name
-
** Knowing the name of a demon was thought to give power over
the demon
-
*
The
response is a joke; their name is legion like the Roman legion
-
*
The Roman
legion is like the unclean spirit; it is demonic
-
** Roman legions stationed in Palestine used standards with a
wild boar on them
-
*
Knowing
they will be cast out of the man, the demons negotiate a deal with Jesus to be
sent into a nearby herd of swine, who promptly rush down the hillside and drown
themselves in the sea
-
** Note the comedy here, the unclean
spirit(s) ask for God’s
protection against Jesus (* . 7)
-
*
Jesus’
presence on the Gentile side is just as disruptive as on the Jewish side; the
Gerasenes demand that Jesus leave
-
** “What is frightening about Jesus is that he refuses to leave
the world as it is.He transgresses the
boundaries and rescues those beyond help.”
-
*
The healed
man begs to go with Jesus, but Jesus instructs him to go home and tell his
family and friends “and tell them how much the
Lord has done for you”
-
*
So off to
the Decapolis goes the healed man to tell “how much
Jesus had done for
him”
-
*
Mark is
saying Jesus is Lord
2.3.
Healing a Woman and a
Girl (Mark 5:21-43)
-
*
Back on
the Jewish side of the sea, Jesus is met by
Jairus, a leader of the synagogue
-
** First time a bona fide religious official interacts with
Jesus in a non-confrontational way
-
*
In the
middle of a large crowd, Jesus consents to go with Jairus to heal his daughter
who is at the point of death
-
*
Also in
the crowd is a woman suffering with a hemorrhage for 12 years
-
*
Trusting
that she will be healed if she only touches the hem of Jesus clothes, she does
so and is healed
-
** Notes that Mark and Luke are unconcerned with Jesus’ power
being accessed without deliberate action on Jesus’ part
-
*
Sensing
the outflow of power, Jesus asks, “Who touched me?”
-
*
The
disciples are chagrined at this question when they look around them at the
crowd
-
*
The woman
responds to Jesus’ question and Jesus commends her faith, calling her daughter
and thus restoring her to community (Leviticus 15:25-30)
-
*
Jairus
receives word that his daughter has died
-
*
Despite
protests, Jesus insists on visiting the girl, exhorting the father to have
faith
-
*
With the
parents and 3 disciples, Jesus passes through a group of professional mourners
who laugh at him
-
** Literally, Jesus throws out the mourners
-
*
To the
little girl, Jesus speaks in Aramaic, “Talitha cum” or “Little girl, get up”
and requests that she be given something to eat
-
** Use of Aramaic gives Mark’s gospel authenticity and a hint
of mystery
-
*
“He
strictly ordered them that no one should know this”
-
** Juel sees the tension that results as similar to the ending
of the gospel
-
*
Can this
secret be kept?No, like the new wine
in old wineskins, it will break out of its container
-
*
Another
sandwich
-
Mark 5:21-24 Jairus requests that
his daughter be healed
-
Mark 5:25-34 healing of
the hemorrhaging woman (Jesus’ daughter)
-
Mark 5:35-43 raising of Jairus’
daughter
-
*
Stories
are linked by theme of 12 years and by the faith required for healing
-
*
Both women
have their life-giving capacities restored to them
2.4.
Jesus in His Hometown
(Mark 6:1-6a)
-
*
Jesus
returns to his hometown
-
*
Note
carefully the questions the people ask
-
“Where did this man get all this?”
-
“What is this wisdom that has been given to him?”
-
“What deeds of power are being done by his hands!”
-
“Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of
James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?”
-
**
Son of
Mary implies that Jesus is illegitimate; it is a slur used by the villagers
-
*
Jesus
probably quotes a proverb, “Prophets are not without honor, except in their
hometown”
-
*
Then we
are told that Jesus “could do no deed of power there” and that Jesus is amazed
at their unbelief
2.5.
Sending Out the Twelve
(Mark 6:6b-13)
-
*
The twelve
disciples are now sent out to the surrounding villages by twos with authority
over unclean spirits
-
*
Their
instructions include what not to take (bread, bag, money) and what to take (a
staff, sandals, and 1 tunic only)
-
** Jesus’ instruction to shake the dust off their feet prepares
the disciples for rejection
-
*
Their
message is the same as that of John the Baptist, “Repent”
-
*
They cast
out demons and heal the sick by anointing them with oil
2.6.
Death of John (Mark
6:14-29)
-
*
King Herod
hears about the activities of Jesus and his disciples and he becomes concerned
that this is John the Baptist come back to life
-
*
Then we’re
told about John’s death
-
*
John is imprisoned
because he offended Herod’s wife,
Herodias, who had previously been married to
Herod’s brother, Philip
-
** According to Josephus, John’s arrest had political overtones
-
** Herod’s first wife was from the neighboring kingdom of
Nabatea; King Aretas of Nabatea waged war against Herod because of the divorce
-
*
Then we
learn that although Herod is confused by John, he likes to listen to John
-
*
John’s
demise comes because of a birthday party, Herod’s, at which Herod’s
stepdaughter dances
-
*
Herod is
so pleased that in front of all the celebrants he says, “Whatever you ask me, I
will give you, even half of my kingdom.”
-
There’s another king who said this, King Ahasuerus (Esther
5:3, 7:2) and he is a buffoon
-
Also like Esther, this narrative involves death, in this
case the death of John
-
*
John’s
disciples, on hearing about the death of their rabbi, take John’s body away for
burial
2.7.
Return of the Twelve
(Mark 6:30)
2.8.
Feeding Five Thousand
Mark 6:31-44)
-
*
In an
effort to get away from the crowds, Jesus and the disciples get into a boat,
and discover the crowds meet them on the wilderness shore
-
*
Jesus has
compassion on the crowds and teaches them because they are like “sheep without
a shepherd”
-
** The biblical basis for the image of God as shepherd can be
found in Psalm 23 and Ezekiel 34
-
*
Before
long, it’s late and the people are hungry
-
*
The
disciples demand that Jesus send the crowds away, but Jesus tells the disciples
to feed the people
-
*
The
disciples protest that they can’t afford to buy food for all the people (200
denarii = 200 days’ wages)
-
** Compare the disciples’ question with Moses’ question in
Numbers 11:22
-
*
Jesus
brings the disciples down to earth asks them what food they have - 5 loaves
& 2 fish
-
*
Jesus
takes the loaves, blesses the loaves, breaks the loaves and gives the loaves to
be distributed
-
*
When all
the people are full, the disciples pick up 12 baskets of leftovers
-
*
All 5000
people are fed in the wilderness
-
** Compare what Jesus does here with Elijah in 2 Kings 4:42-44
3.
Second Journey.
(Mark 6:45-8:26)
3.1.
Walking on the Sea (Mark
6:45-52)
-
*
Jesus has
the disciples take the boat to Bethsaida while he dismisses the crowds and
spends time in prayer
-
*
Because of
the wind, the boat is not making much progress, so Jesus walks out to meet them
with the intention of passing by them
-
*
Mistaking
him for a ghost, the disciples become fearful
-
*
To calm
their fears, Jesus says, “Take heart, I am”
-
*
In Exodus,
this is the name that God uses to identify himself to Moses at the burning bush
-
*
Jesus got
into the boat with them and the wind stopped
-
*
“And they
were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their
hearts were hardened.”
-
*
Who else
had a hardened heart? Pharoah
-
*
Here is
the exodus all over again
3.2.
Healing Many (Mark
6:53-56)
-
*
The
disciples, headed for Bethsaida, have managed to land in Gennesaret
-
*
Jesus
heals many people who touch the fringe of Jesus’ cloak
3.3.
Challenging Tradition
(Mark 7:1-13)
-
*
Scribes
and Pharisees from Jerusalem noticed that Jesus and his disciples did not
follow the washing ritual before eating
-
*
This is
not about hygiene, but about keeping sacred and profane spaces separate
-
** Keeping the law was a measure of holiness and
life-sustaining (Exodus 30:19)
-
*
Mark’s
explanation here suggests that Mark’s community included people who were not
familiar with Jewish ritual practices
-
*
The
question of the scribes, “Why do your disciples not live according to the
tradition of the elders?
-
** The tradition of the elders is oral law, considered to be
equal in validity to the Torah according to rabbinic authorities
-
** Intent of this oral law does not reflect undue concern with
minutia, but is an effort to acknowledge God in every aspect of life
-
** “Washing of hands is a mark of respect for every aspect of
God’s created order; it signals the desire to bring mealtime under the sacred
canopy of the Torah.”
-
*
Is
answered by Jesus retort that they are “teaching human precepts as doctrines”
-
** Jesus’ response here is based on Isaiah 29:13 (in
LXX)
-
*
Then Jesus
gives a specific example of a human doctrine that is used to work around God’s
commandment to honor ones parents
-
*
However,
we have no information that such a doctrine or practice actually existed, in
fact, written material in the Mishnah, agrees in substance with Jesus’
interpretation
-
** Problem here is not tradition per se, but the use of
tradition to appear faithful while actually opposing God
-
** Jesus is not the only Jew who questions oral law’s
authority; the Sadducees not only reject the oral law, but all writings other
than the Torah
-
** Notes that table fellowship issues will loom large in the
early church as seen in Acts and the letters of Paul
3.4.
Inside Out (Mark
7:14-23)
-
*
Calling
for the crowd’s attention, Jesus says, “There is nothing outside a person that
by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.”
-
*
Once
again, the disciples get the inside scoop, followed by Mark’s comment to the
audience that Jesus “declared all foods clean” this way
-
*
Jesus
expresses dismay that the disciples are like the crowds in their lack of
understanding
-
*
This
section ends with Jesus’ plain statement that the evil intentions of our hearts
are what defile us, whether Jew or Gentile
-
** “For Judaism..., the relationship with God and the world is
mediated by the Torah, understood as a structure that orders all of life in
terms of holiness. For Jesus’ followers,
the relationship with God and the world is mediated by Jesus, whose desire to
heal and to save acknowledges no boundaries.
3.5.
Healing Another Daughter
(Mark 7:24-30)
-
*
Jesus and
the disciples make another attempt to get away from the crowds by going to Tyre
-
*
Even here,
a Syrophoenician woman comes to ask for healing for her daughter
-
*
Then a
Jesus we don’t know says, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to
take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”
-
** “As the sacred food was intended for men, but not for the
dogs, the Torah was intended to the[sic] given to the Chosen People, but not to
the Gentiles. ”Babylonian Talmud
-
** Paul expresses thoughts similar to Jesus in Romans 1:16
-
*
Implied
here is that the Jews are children and this woman and her child are dogs
-
*
So the
woman engages with Jesus with this witty repartee, “Even the dogs under the
table eat the children’s crumbs.”
-
*
Jesus
praises the woman and declares her daughter healed
-
*
Malbon
sees this as Jesus learning about community and inclusion, having ears to hear
3.6.
Healing a Deaf Man (Mark
7:31-37)
-
*
This
section begins with strange geography- Jesus goes north to Sidon in order to go
south to the Decapolis
-
*
In the Decapolis, a deaf man is brought to Jesus for healing
-
** Wording of this story is especially close to the healing of
the blind man (Mark 8:22-26)
-
*
Jesus
heals him by using Gentile techniques, but he does so in private away from the
crowds
-
*
Jesus uses
an Aramaic word, ephphatha
-
*
Jesus’
native language has power in Gentile
territory
-
*
Once
again, Jesus orders those who know to keep this healing a secret, but the more
they are cautioned the “more zealously they proclaimed it”
-
** Notes that some interpreters think that the point of
requiring silence is a way to guarantee that the good news gets spread
-
*
Their
proclamation - “He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and
the mute to speak.”
-
*
Here in
Gentile territory, the people are taking Jewish messianic expectations and
applying them to Jesus
3.7.
Feeding Four Thousand
(Mark 8:1-9)
-
*
Even in Gentile
territory, Jesus is followed by crowds who listen to his teaching for days at a
time
-
*
Jesus is
concerned that if he sends the people away, they will faint on their travels
home
-
*
The
disciples respond, “How can one feed these people with bread here in the
desert?”
-
** Notes that this is a point of laughter for people reading or
listening to the entire gospel
-
*
So where
were these disciples a few crowds back....
-
*
Again,
Jesus asks the disciples what food is available; the answer, 7 loaves
-
*
Jesus
takes the loaves, blesses the loaves, breaks the loaves, and gives the loaves
-
*
We will
hear these words one last time, at the Last Supper
-
*
These are
the words of Communion
-
*
Once
again, the people eat until filled and there are leftovers, 7 baskets
-
*
Here in
Gentile territory, that’s a lot of crumbs, enough for everyone
3.8.
Refusing a Request for a
Sign (Mark 8:10-12)
-
*
Jesus and
the disciples get back in the boat and head for
Dalmanutha, a Jewish region
-
*
Here the
Pharisees ask Jesus to give them a “sign from heaven”
-
*
Jesus
sighs, asking why they need a sign, and says there will be no sign
-
**
“This generation has eyes, but it cannot see what is being
enacted before its face.”
-
*
Malbon
calls Jesus an ambiguous Messiah
3.9.
Questions on the Sea
(Mark 8:13-21)
-
*
Back in
the boat, Jesus and the disciples have bread on their minds
-
*
The
disciples have forgotten to bring bread and so have only one loaf with them
-
*
Jesus
warns the disciples about the yeast of the Pharisees
-
*
The
disciples are thinking, “He knows we forgot the bread.”
-
*
Jesus
expresses dismay at the lack of understanding by the disciples; Are their
hearts hardened?
-
*
They have
eyes, but don’t see; they have ears, but don’t hear
-
** Sees echoes of Isaiah here
-
*
So the
disciples get a pop quiz
-
*
Numbers
are important here
-
12 is the number for Jews, 12 tribes, 12 disciples, a woman
suffering for 12 years, a little girl of 12 years
-
7 is the number of the other nations, 70 nations according
to Jewish thought of the times, 7 days of the week, 7 planetary deities, 7
seas, 7 continents, 7 hills of Rome
3.10.
Reviewing Mark
4:35-8:22a - Journeys and Community
-
*
Jesus’
question, “Do you not yet understand?” Is another unanswered question that is
for the audience
-
*
Jesus heals,
feeds, and teaches both Jews and Gentiles, both insiders and outsiders
-
*
The
disciples, though heading for Gentile Bethsaida wind up in Jewish
Gennesaret,
symbolic of their inability to break boundaries
-
*
But Jesus
can lead the disciples to Bethsaida
-
*
There,
with Jesus, they heal Gentiles, feed Gentiles and teach Gentiles
3.11.
Healing a Blind Man
(Mark 8:22-26)
-
*
In Bethsaida, a blind man is brought to Jesus for healing
-
*
Jesus uses
saliva to touch the man’s eyes, an action that results in a partial healing
-
*
With a second
touch, there is complete healing
-
*
The now
seeing blind man is admonished sternly not just to keep silence, but to go home
without returning to the village
-
*
This
healing story is unique to Mark
-
*
Like the
blind man, the disciples have partial vision, partial hearing; they envision
restoration for Jews but not for Gentiles
-
** Notes that Peter’s confession later is also a two-stage
process
-
** “However much Peter and the rest fail to grasp, there is an
implied promise that Jesus will finish what he
began. Nothing is hidden except to be
revealed. What Jesus plants will bear fruit.”
3.12.
Reviewing Mark 4:35-8:26
- Community
-
*
In Mark’s
gospel, the Jewish areas are bounded by water, the Sea of Galilee and the
Jordan River
-
*
For the
disciples, these boundaries pose genuine difficulties
-
*
The
disciples have trouble crossing the sea even with a boat
-
*
Whether on
sea or land, Jesus acts with the power of God
-
On the sea, to still the waves and wind
-
On the land, to provide food for many with little
-
*
Mark wrote
for a community that had internalized the boundaries between Jew and Gentile
-
*
What are
the boundaries that divide our community?
-
*
Where is
our vision partial and in need of additional healing?
Primary
References
-
Hearing
Mark. A Listener's Guide,
Elizabeth Struthers Malbon,
Trinity Press International,
Harrisburg, 2002. ISBN
1-56338-379-9
-
Augsburg
Commentary on the New Testament:
Mark. Donald H.
Juel.
Augsburg, Minneapolis, 1990.
ISBN 0-8066-8856-4
|
