Chapter # 6 Paragraph # 1 Study # 6
July 13, 2021
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
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Thesis: The rejection of Jesus by the people most familiar with Him was totally unsupportable.
Introduction: In our study last time I put our focus upon the "mental panic" of the people in Nazareth who were hearing Jesus' teaching with a clear understanding that He was totally contradicting the roots and fruits of the theology of the "synagogue". Their "panic" was generated by the undeniable facts of Jesus' "credentials" as "The Teacher" as those facts collided with what they "had believed all their lives" as students of the "synagogue". The facts were: His "things" (teachings) had to have a "source" that could explain how His words came across as "authoritative" so that their question was "Where do His teachings come from?"; His "wisdom" made more sense than anything they had ever heard so that their question was "What is this wisdom?"; and "How did the powers of His works come to be His?" But, the "official position" of the teachers of the synagogues, as it was delivered from Jerusalem, was that the overall answer to the three questions was "the Archon of the Demons". Thus, the "facts on the ground" were in total contradiction to the "officials of Israel" and real and dangerous consequences were in play for whatever decision was to be made by the individuals in the synagogue. The "major" issue was one: can I live with being a complete outcast in my setting in life? Mark, here, revealed that his most basic thesis for his Gospel is that Jesus demands a "repentance" that is focused upon the potent "lust" for the good opinions of one's fellow human beings. This means that Jesus made it very plain that mankind is being eaten alive by their appetite for status in the eyes of men, and that His call for a "repentant faith" is a call to realize the potency of the temptation to seek honor in the eyes of men and to call upon God for deliverance from this "more-than-men-can-handle" delusion.
Now, this evening, we are going to look into the decision they made.
- I. The Foundations Of Their Decision.
- A. Is not This One "The Carpenter"?
- 1. According to Matthew 13:55 "Joseph" was a carpenter.
- 2. Mark changed this issue into "Jesus" being "The Carpenter" in the text before us.
- 3. At issue in the minds of the "hearers" of His teaching was this: "Can we actually stand against the formidable scholarship and 'machine' that runs all of Judea by turning from it on the basis of the words of a 'carpenter'?"
- a. Underlying this primary issue is, first, a question of the consequences involved: How much will it cost me to accept the words of a carpenter in a culture completely dominated by highly trained theologians? [This "cost" question is always front and center.]
- b. Also underlying this primary issue is, second, the question: "Is it even possible for a mere carpenter to be right when he stands against the huge edifice of centuries of biblical studies and decisions? [This "possibility" question is Satan's most intimidating argument.]
- c. And a third underlying issue is a third question: "Would God actually, first, allow His people to get to the point that their entire theological system was inimical to His Kingdom, and, second, attempt to replace that system by using a "carpenter" even if he did have a direct genealogical link to the Solomonic regnal line of the Davidic throne?" [This "allow" question is very near to the lips of everyone who runs into problems in their lives, and the fact that the rulers of Judea were not even close to having any linkage whatsoever to the lineage of David's throne was a major complication because of the answer to the "allow" question is "beyond obvious".]
- 4. Note: None of the answers to the questions that lie beneath the major question permit the major question to have any significance at all: So what if Jesus is "the carpenter"; what does that do to His "obvious source" as The Representative of Heaven? So what if Jesus is "the carpenter; what does that have to do with His "obvious wisdom" being "given to Him from Heaven"? So what if Jesus is "the carpenter"; what does that have to do with His undeniable power to do miracles?
- B. Is not This One "The Son of The Mary"?
- 1. The claim of Mary that her firstborn's "father" was not Joseph, but God, was not an unknown issue.
- 2. The veiled accusation of John 8:41 proves that Mary's claim was rejected by reason of the magnitude of implications involved.
- 3. That this question was being used to reject Jesus as "The Son of God" indicates that, though it may have been "buried under the length of days in thirty years", it was not forgotten, and it was a major aspect of "The Stone of Stumbling" to which God had subjected His rebellious people.
- C. Is not This One "brother" to James, Joses, Judas, and Simon and "sisters" whom we know?
- 1. The "guilt by association" tactic was being used here: because Jesus' brothers and sisters were not paragons of virtue, Jesus could not possibly be any different.
- 2. That the people used His brothers and sisters against Him is not a compliment to those men and women.
- II. The Decision.
- A. Mark's description of the decision is poorly translated by the translators of the NASB.
- 1. The translation of the NASB is "they took offense at Him".
- 2. But the verb is an imperfect, passive, indicative.
- a. If we accept the word "offense" as the NASB translates, the translation should be "they were being offended by Him".
- 1) The verbal action was "on-going" (imperfect tense).
- 2) The action was "actual" as opposed to "potential" (indicative mood).
- 3) The action was being imposed upon them (passive voice).
- b. But, the question is whether "offense" is a legitimate translation.
- 1) This term is used in 27 texts of the New Testament with Matthew being the majority user (13) and Mark being the next greatest user (8).
- a) Matthew's uses are as follows.
- i. Matthew's first and second uses are found in 5:29-30 where Jesus taught that one's "eye", or "hand" could have the effect to which this term is addressed and that the outcome could be being cast into Gehenna.
- ii. Matthew 11:6 is the third use by Jesus who said that a person was "blessed" if he/she did not have the impact of this term determine Who they thought He was [the occasion was John the Baptizer's in-prison-question, "Are You the Expected One?"].
- iii. Matthew 13:21 is Matthew's fourth use and in that text/context Jesus says of the "seed sown upon rock" that "afflictions and persecutions" cause the impact of this term (with the assumed consequence of Matthew 5:29-30).
- iv. Matthew's fifth use (13:57) is a parallel text to the one we are studying in Mark 6.
- v. Matthew 15:12 is the sixth use and it records that the disciples asked Jesus if He knew that His rejection of their legalism had "offended" the Pharisees (the meaning being that they refused to accept Him or believe His words).
- vi. Matthew 17:27 is the seventh and it is a record of Jesus yielding to the expectations of the tax collectors so that they would not reject Him on a false basis.
- vii. Matthew 18:6 pronounces a terrifying death for anyone who generates the impact of this term in "one of these little ones who believe in me".
- viii. Matthew 18:8-9 contains the ninth and tenth uses and they are a repetition of 5:29-30.
- ix. Matthew 24:10 is a prophecy of "many" who will "fall away" because of the pressures of intense persecution.
- x. Matthew 26:31 is a prophecy that "in this night" all of the disciples will "fall away" as sheep scattered after the death of the shepherd and in 26:33 Peter denies Jesus' prophecy.
- b) Mark's uses are these.
- i. 4:17 is a repetition of Jesus' interpretation of the seed sown on rock.
- ii. 6:3 is the focus of this study.
- iii. 9:42 is a repetition of Matthew 18:6 regarding anyone who "stumbles" a "little one who believes".
- iv. 9:43, 45, and 47 are repetitions of Matthew 5:29-30 and 18:8-9.
- v. 14:27-29 is the same as Matthew 26:31-33.
- c) Luke's uses are only two (7:23; a parallel to Matthew 11:6, and 17:2; a parallel to Mark 9:42 and Matthew 18:6).
- d) John's uses are only two (6:61, which is in regard to Jesus' "cannibalistic" declaration; and 16:1, which in regard to Jesus' preparation of His disciples for the tribulations and persecutions that were to befall them so that they would not be like the seed sown upon rock in the parable of the soils).
- e) Paul's uses are only two (1 Corinthians 8:13 which concerns "destroying (a Romans 14 term) a brother by eating meat against his conscience"; and 2 Corinthians 11:29 which focuses upon a brother being "scandalized"). Additionally he uses the noun form six times and, by it, identifies the essence of the concept: a deceit put forth as "truth" that causes those who believe it to reject the actual truth in favor of the deceit and to, afterwards, engage in wickedness as Jesus taught in Matthew 13:41 and 16:23.
- 2) There is no indication that any of the users of this term did not understand Jesus' clear warning that "being scandalized" would lead to being cast into Gehenna, but neither is there any indication that such a condition could not be reversed before it was too late.
- B. The bottom line is the decision to reject Jesus because His "truth" was too contradictory to their most basic commitment: He forced this and they "stumbled" over His "truth".
