Chapter # 4 Paragraph # 9 Study # 4
August 11, 2020
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
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Thesis: The "failure of faith" was inevitable given the presence of the disciples' persistent
application of their deeply established "love"
to their circumstances and "T"heology.
Introduction: In our last studies of this paragraph we have noted, first, that the paragraph exists in Mark's record as a testament to the unbelief of the disciples. From there we began to look into the details. In that look we have considered 1) that the "event" was directly tied to Jesus' "teaching in parables", 2) that this "event" is to be seen as a development in Jesus' "discipleship training" in contrast to Jesus' relegation of the narcissistic crowd to "those who will not receive a forgiveness of their sins", and 3) that the coming of the extreme storm was designed to force the disciples to "face their fear" as well as their "unbelief".
In this study we are going to look into Mark's presentation of a deliberate contrast between the behavior of Jesus and that of the disciples "whom He had chosen".
- I. Mark's Presentation of Jesus.
- A. Is, first, a presentation of Jesus as the farmer who had cast his sowing upon his field as per the parable of The Kingdom of The God and who then went about his other businesses as a farmer without any noticeable concern for the inevitable harvest because of the inherent capacities of the "earth".
- 1. Mark does this, first, by alluding to Jesus' "sleeping" as the storm develops and rages.
- a. Mark's use of "sleeping" in his Gospel is instructive.
- 1) The verb/participle combination deliberately focuses upon "He was sleeping".
- a) The imperfect indicative puts an "on-going" aspect to what "He was" doing.
- b) The "sleeping" identifies the specific issue of what "He was about".
- 2) In respect to "sleeping", there are two distinct issues involved.
- a) In his use of "sleeping", Mark's first reference is to the first of the parables that lets the crowd know that He is teaching about "The Kingdom of The God".
- b) In his next use of "sleeping" beyond our present context is found in the record of Jesus' raising of the daughter of Jairus, an official of the synagogue.
- i. The daughter was "at the point of death" in 5:23.
- ii. The daughter was described as "she has died" in 5:35 and Jesus insists that Jairus "keep on believing" in 5:36.
- iii. When Jesus arrives at the home of Jairus He tells the crowd that the girl "is not dead, but sleeping" and is laughed at.
- iv. It is clear that the "sleeping" is connected to both our current "event" in that it sets the stage for a significant "tension" regarding "faith" and that Jesus gives the crowd enough "rope" to hang themselves if they are so inclined.
- c) In his next references to "sleeping" the "sleep" issue is suddenly turned around.
- i. In 13:36 Jesus warns against "sleeping" as a matter of serious consequences.
- ii. And in 14:37, 40, and 41 He ineffectually insists that the disciples not "sleep" and they do it anyway to their own later dismay.
- b. Thus, "sleeping" is used by Mark as an indication of "faith" and as an indication of "unbelief" so that the disciples might understand that "sleeping" means "ignoring the implied processes and results"; a good thing when "ignoring" is a matter of "faith" and a grievous evil when "ignoring" is a matter of "fleshly unbelief".
- 2. Then, he also adds the details regarding the "stern" and the "cushion".
- a. The reference to the "stern" is Mark's only such reference (and one of only three in the New Testament).
- 1) The "point" of the reference is that Jesus' position in the boat was the furthermost from the storm's impact of driving the waves over the bow.
- 2) This is a matter of Jesus being "at rest" because the storm is not affecting Him.
- b. The reference to the "cushion" is the only such reference in the entire New Testament.
- 1) The "point" of the reference is that Jesus was "resting" upon a cushion as a matter of comfort.
- 2) This, also, is a matter of Jesus being oblivious to the storm because He was perfectly lacking the disciples' manifest absence of any "comfort" whatsoever.
- B. Is, second, a presentation of Jesus as a model of what He expects from those who would be His disciples: properly aware of the places for "unconcern" and "concern".
- II. Mark's Presentation of The Disciples.
- A. Is, first, a presentation of a group whose "T"heology is misguided.
- 1. The use of "Teacher" by the disciples.
- a. It is a word indicating "distance".
- 1) This is the first time Jesus is called "Teacher" by anyone.
- 2) All of the subsequent references to "Teacher" in Mark are uses that are set in contexts where there is a pronounced "distance of relationship" involved (people who have no clue as to Jesus' identity identify Him as a "Teacher").
- b. This should not have been the case in this setting.
- 2. The question of the disciples is about whether this "Teacher" "cares" for the fact that they are being threatened with "destruction" (a term that adds negativity to the concept of death).
- a. The word "care" is illustrated more potently by the only other time it shows up in this record: 12:14 (it signals a total lack of concern, and is used by the adversaries as a deceitful "compliment").
- b. The idea is that Jesus is unaffected by what might happen to His disciples.
- 3. This is completely off-base: 1 Peter 5:7.
- B. Is, second, a presentation of a group whose "love" is misguided.
- 1. The storm has made it impossible for the disciples to hide their "hidden value of the heart".
- 2. Matthew 10:28 is a clear insistence by Jesus that "fear of physical death" is not supposed to be a "determining" issue in life.
