Chapter # 5 Paragraph # 2 Study # 13
May 18, 2021
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
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Thesis: Jesus made a deliberate decision to elevate Peter, James, and John into a threesome out of The Twelve because of what they were to come to represent.
Introduction: In our last study we considered Mark's focus upon Jesus' dealings with "the ruler of the synagogue" as a kind of "doubling down on" the bigger thesis of the cruciality of continuing to believe even in the face of the mounting level of difficulty being faced. The fearful, timid woman with the lesser problem of a twelve-year long endurance of a flow of blood is a presentation of how "faith" (no matter how attended by fears and losses) moves God to keep His word without regard for "other" issues. Now we have come to the man of status and privilege (with all the attendant pride and theological perversion) who is suddenly confronted by a monumental disaster (from his perspective) that is magnified by the "wet blanket" of messengers who clearly declare to him that bothering Jesus any further is a waste of time because all hope is gone. He is in serious danger of throwing away his confidence because of the pressures that surround him, so Jesus interrupts the delusions of the doubters with a demand that he reject his fear and continue in the "faith" with which he began his turn to Jesus.
It is clear that "actual death" is worse than a slow flow of coming death, and it is clear that the issues of "faith" are compounded by the characterization of "the ruler of the synagogue": faith, preceded by a life of humility, God might honor, but will He honor "faith" after a life of hubris and deceit?
The issue is crucial. "Faith" is the issue once repentance has entered into the heart, not the former failings. Then, we read that Jesus only allowed five people to actually witness what "faith" brought to pass, and we wonder what Mark's "point" is. One would think, perhaps, that if Jesus wanted The Twelve to be able to go forth and represent Him accurately, He would have had all of The Twelve witness what He was going to do. But that is not the case, and my question is "what is Mark's point in this note of restriction by Jesus?"
- I. The Record Of Jesus' Selection Of Peter, James, and John.
- A. In the face of the larger historical developments, we can see a portion of the reasoning behind this decision.
- 1. Peter was to become "the apostle to the circumcised" (Galatians 2:8) as well as the one by whom God chose to open the door of the Gospel to the gentiles (Acts 10).
- 2. James was to become a major martyr of The Faith early on in the history of the Church (Acts 12:1-2).
- 3. John was to become the recorder of The Revelation of Jesus Christ as the final declaration of the "Yahweh is gracious" theological construct that was to guide the Church into the future.
- B. But, there are some other reasons also.
- 1. In Mark 3:16-19 Jesus "made" The Twelve into His initial representative, and Peter, James, and John are the only ones to whom He gave a different name.
- 2. The significance of the new names.
- a. "Peter" was the new name for Simon, whose namesake was Simeon of Leah who called him Simeon because "Yahweh has heard that I am unloved" and she thought that this second son might be able to succeed where Reuben failed (Genesis 29:31-33).
- 1) Leah was frustrated in this "T"heology of Yahweh in that He did not cause Jacob to love her.
- 2) That this was Leah's thought is revealed by her comments regarding the first and third sons' impact upon Jacob ("my husband will love me for my production of sons").
- 3) Thus, because "Peter" was to be the one to "correct" the "T"heology/theology of the circumcised, he could not continue as "Simon", but had to become "Peter".
- b. "James" was identified as a "son of thunder" along with "John".
- 1) The issue of "thunder" is "the voice of God" (John 12:29) Who speaks of how He has "glorified His name" with a predominate thesis of "judgment" (Revelation 6).
- 2) As a "son of the thunder of God's voice", James was to live up to his namesake in Genesis (25:26 and 27:36).
- a) This "Jacob"/James was a man who valued the right things (birthright and blessing) but approached the way to acquire them in the wrong way [a parallel to Romans 10's "ignorant zeal"].
- b) But the original "Jacob" had his name changed to "Israel" because he learned that the "right" way was to seek it from God.
- c) Thus, another "James" became the supporter of Peter in Acts 15 as he supported Paul's insistence that the Gospel was of "grace through faith" rather than "human effort" and "deceit".
- d) "James" was called a "son of Thunder" as a "son of Zebedee" [whose name means "Yahweh has bestowed"] because he stood for the voice of God until his martyrdom.
- c. "John" has already been highlighted by earlier studies, but as "the brother of James" he is given a special status.
- 1) It seems that "James and John the brother of James" may well have Mark's major "T"heology/theology in mind as a kind of metaphor.
- 2) "James" as a son of thunder is more identified with "Jacob's" original issue: a flawed approach to the Thunder of the Glory of God in particular respect to "Law" and its focus upon "Righteousness/Justice".
- 3) Alternatively "John" as a son of thunder is more identified with "Israel's" change of approach to God with a focus upon "Grace".
- 4) Thus, the "thunder" of the voice of God in respect to "glorifying His name" has two main issues: Justice and Grace [these are the core issues in the naming of a man "John"].
- C. As future leaders of the Church in both "T"heology and "theology", Peter, James, and John were selected as the "two or three witnesses by which truth is established" to be present when Jesus first went further in His self-identification by work by raising the dead so that "faith" as the non-negotiable with God could be validated (it was, after all, by "resurrection of the dead" that Jesus, Himself, was confirmed as "Son of God: Romans 1).
