Chapter # 5 Paragraph # 2 Study # 1
February 1, 2021
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
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Thesis: Jesus, by the sea, indicates another significant "discipleship" session and focus.
Introduction: In our studies of chapter five thus far, we have seen that Mark brings us to the "high" conclusion of his "Gospel" that Jesus is "Lord", meaning "Lord" as in
1:3's record of John's identity as the prophesied forerunner of "Yahweh" by the quotation of
Isaiah 40:1-3 which uses "Lord" for "Yahweh". In
5:19 Jesus attributes the exorcism of "Legion" to "the
Lord's doing" and in
5:20 Mark attributes the exorcism to "
Jesus's" doing. For all but the most obtuse, this means that "Jesus" is "Yahweh" in the flesh (which His enemies clearly grasped:
John 10:33) and John overtly declared (
John 1:14).
Now, as we begin a study of the second and final paragraph of Mark 5, we see Mark turning to his second major "discipleship" thesis: "faith" is a non-negotiable aspect of Jesus' "Gospel".
- I. The Larger Picture.
- A. In 3:14, Mark presented Jesus as "making" (poieo, the same word as used in 5:19-20 respecting the tell-tale exorcism regarding the answer to the "Who IS this?" question) twelve who "were to be with Him" and "to be sent by Him to preach".
- B. In 6:7, Mark presented Jesus as "beginning to send them ... and they went out and preached...(6: 12).
- C. Thus, the record of 3:14 through 6:6 is Mark's record of the "with Him" section.
- 1. In that section we have the record of the only possible conclusions people can draw regarding the question of "Who is this?" (3:14-35) which, incidentally, follows a paragraph where there are five recurring elements: the sea, the great crowd, the "doings" of Jesus, the disciples, and the identification of Jesus as "You are the Son of God" by the unclean spirits.
- 2. Then there is the record of "the mystery of the Kingdom" given in 4:1-34.
- 3. Then there follows the records of the calming of the wind and the waves (4:35-41) and the exorcism of a "legion" of unclean spirits (5:1-20) with the issue given between these two records: "Who IS This?" (uttered by the disciples who had already heard the unclean spirits' declarations).
- 4. At the end of the record of the exorcism, Mark identifies "The Lord" as "Jesus", or "Jesus as The Lord" as the definitive answer to the central question.
- 5. Thus, Mark's "there comes after me One Who is mightier than I" thesis makes Jesus "the mightier One" because He is "The Lord" Who was first identified as "Yahweh" by the quotes recorded in the opening paragraph of the entire record.
- 6. We conclude, then, that, in Mark's perspective, "Jesus" is "The Mighty Lord, Yahweh".
- 7. Thus, while being "with Him", the disciples were to grasp the fact that "Jesus" is John's "Yahweh", the "Mighty One", and that His Kingdom would develop along the lines of "the mystery" as given in the parables.
- D. Now, before the 6:7 event and after the "identity" of Jesus is established, there is one more "with Him" lesson that simply must be understood.
- 1. This "lesson" swirls around a single truth as given in the material between 5:21 and 6:7.
- a. The first half of this "lesson" has to do with the outcome of "faith".
- 1) This "outcome" is introduced by the coming of an official of the synagogue who seeks for Jesus to heal his "near death" daughter of twelve years.
- 2) Then, that record is temporarily interrupted by the record of a woman with a hemorrhage of twelve years, whose "faith" has "made you well".
- 3) With that thesis in mind, there is a return to the official's problem made greater by reason of the reported death of his daughter and Jesus' instruction to him to "be not afraid; keep believing", which results in the resuscitation of his dead daughter.
- b. The second half of this "lesson" has to do with the outcome of "unbelief".
- 1) This outcome is recorded with Jesus' "hometown" people as the backdrop.
- 2) This outcome is recorded as arising out of "offended" people who reject any, and every, suggestion that He is "Yahweh" in the flesh.
- 3) This outcome is directly attributed to "unbelief" that "restricted His 'doing of any miracles there'".
- 2. Thus, before the disciples are commissioned to "go forth to preach", they have to be with Him long enough to come to grips with His "identity" and His insistence that "faith" is a "non-negotiable" in respect to being able to have any participation in the "mysterious Kingdom" of Yahweh.
- II. The "Setting".
- A. When the "Who IS this?" question is settled by the answer, He is Yahweh, Himself, Jesus is recorded as "He was being (imperfect tense, continuing action) alongside the sea".
- 1. This "being" is set up with two statements.
- a. The "of The Jesus having crossed over again into the other side" puts us back close to Capernaum, setting up a short trip to Nazareth.
- b. The "a great crowd was gathered (passive voice, aorist indicative) upon Him" puts us back into the "great crowd" motif, which has to do with His enormous popularity (a major element in the "decisions" of the religious leaders -- Mark 15:10), and His use of "great crowds along the seashore" to explain and illustrate His "mysterious Kingdom" (2:13 and 4:1; the two places where three elements are given -- crowd, seashore, teaching).
- 2. The "beside the sea" issue was originally introduced as a "disciple gathering" focus (1:16), and that focus was continued as Mark moved his record along (2:13).
- B. This "setting" fits Mark's intent to characterize the "Mighty One" as addressing the "environment of death" thesis (metaphor of "the sea" that is banished in the New Heavens and New Earth: Revelation 21:1) by way of a "Gospel" of "forgiveness unto participation in an eternal experience of life".
