Chapter # 1 Paragraph # 7 Study # 1
February 5, 2019
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
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Thesis:   The issues of Mark's record are first addressed in this opening paragraph of his actual record beyond the introductory paragraphs.

Introduction:   As we have already seen in our previous studies, Mark's introductory material puts a primary focus upon John the Baptizer (as the "messenger" who goes before the Lord to "prepare" His way); upon Jesus (as The Coming Mighty One Who will baptize with the Holy Spirit); and upon a select group of four disciples (as types of those who will carry the message forward beyond the period of the Lord's accomplishment of the primary requisites of God's Relational Kingdom). John promised "forgiveness of sins"; Jesus resolved the major difficulty of the promise; and the disciples were groomed to carry the message into the new age.

This evening we are going to begin a study of the opening paragraph of the main body of Mark's message.

• I. Indications That This Is the Opening Unit of Thought.
  • A. The tense of the "verb of record" is changed from the historical past to the emphatic present.
  • B. The use of Capernaum in Mark's record is critical as a "stage setting".
    • 1. Mark only records events deliberately tied to Capernaum by name three times.
      • a. This first record focuses upon the critical factor that created the initial amazement that was created by Jesus' style of teaching: "authority".
      • b. The second record deliberately says "...He again entered into Capernaum..." and tells us of Jesus' "authority" to "forgive sins" (2:10) and focuses upon John's initial promise: a relationship with God rooted in repentance/forgiveness.
      • c. The third record is found in 9:33 and following and zeroes in on the primary obstruction to the creation of a Relational Kingdom of Righteousness, Peace, and Joy: men's competition with each other to be the possessor of "status".
        • 1) That it is the major obstruction is proven by the enormous conflict in the New Testament between those who promote a "salvation by performance unto boasting" message and those who promote a "salvation by grace without works and without boasting" message: the former eternally prevents participation in the Glorious Kingdom; the latter extends the offer to participate in the Servant Kingdom.
        • 2) That it is central to Mark's thought is made clear by his continuous return to it as the problem; a reality we will see more clearly as we go along.
    • 2. Mark, as with all inspired writers of God's Word, was deliberately selective about his references to Capernaum by name (especially since Capernaum became the hub of the Galilean ministry after Nazareth tried to kill Him: Matthew 4:13; Luke 4:16-29).
  • C. Mark presents Jesus in terms of His "teaching".
    • 1. In the introduction of Jesus in 1:14-15 we have the "umbrella summary" of Jesus' message.
    • 2. Now, as Mark leads up to the key issue of that message, we have three particular parts.
      • a. We have "straightway"; a translation of a term used 40 times by Mark (and only used another 40 times in all the rest of the New Testament).
        • 1) The word is not primarily a "chronological" term; it is a term of "focus" as in "this is the most significant thing to consider".
        • 2) We know this because Mark used the plural form of "sabbath"; a fact ignored by the translators by and large.
      • b. We have the fact that Jesus deliberately used the synagogues as the launching pad for His preaching (Mark 1:39) [it is no accident that Paul copied this primacy of the synagogue practice].
      • c. We have the reality of the necessity of "teaching" in order for a "message" to "settle in".
    • 3. Then we have the "reaction" to the teaching.
      • a. The people in the synagogue are "astonished".
      • b. The "astonishment" is rooted in two things: content and style.
        • 1) Mark ignores the "content" issue for the moment.
        • 2) He focuses in on the "style" issue.
          • a) The "style" issue involves the key element for any "message" that is to be considered "true": "authority".
          • b) This "style" issues is set against the backdrop of what the scribes' teaching lacked.
      • c. The "astonishment" is a reaction to the fact that Jesus' teaching came home as "truth" that could not be easily side-stepped.
        • 1) The major issue of "authority in teaching" is one: obviousness.
        • 2) When a declaration is "obviously" true, it is impossible to have no "reaction".

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This is article #046.
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