Chapter # 7 Paragraph # 1 Study # 7
May 17, 2022
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
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Thesis:   In this section of this paragraph, Mark sets the stage for one of the most important concepts of Jesus' "message".

Introduction:   In our last study we considered Mark's record of Jesus' "proof" that The Pharisees and some of the scribes were hardened adversaries of God who used hypocrisy to gain their status as leaders of the chosen nation of God. We attempted to make the point that Mark had to take this route in his presentation of Jesus as God's beloved Son because it is normally extremely unsafe for anyone to follow after someone who has put himself forth as a legitimate destroyer of the long-established traditions of the elders of the nation.

In the study this evening we are going to look into Mark's preparation of his readers for his presentation of one of the most critical truths of Jesus' "message". I have called this study, "Mark's preparation", because the critical truth he intends to present is too critical to tack on to what Mark has done to set the stage for the revelation of that "most critical truth". We, God willing, will look into that "truth" in our next study (after we consider what Jesus did to set the stage for its dissemination).

• I. The Hermeneutical Principle Of The Legitimacy Of "Implied Meanings" And The Dangers Involved.
  • A. All individual statements of "truth" are single elements of a fully integrated whole of "Truth".
    • 1. The "whole" of "Truth" is "infinite" because God is "Truth" and He is "infinite" in every aspect of His Being.
    • 2. The noun, "omniscience", refers to every possible detail of true knowledge, but it erroneously implies that it is possible to round up every possible detail of true knowledge (no one can gather up infinity).
    • 3. But, it is not necessary to possess the infinity of knowledge in order to "know" a particular element of truth; it is simply necessary to possess enough particulars that establish a pattern of coherence ("I am not skilled to understand what God has willed, what God has planned; I only know at God's right hand is One Who is my Savior...").
  • B. This "integration" simply means that it is legitimate to "connect the dots between specific truths" even when some of those dots are unspoken/unwritten.
    • 1. Every specific statement has an infinite number of dots to which it is connected, but the infinity of dots is "organized" with some dots closer to the specific statement than others.
    • 2. The task of understanding involves "connecting the closer dots" so that a pattern of harmony is established, beginning with the expressed "dots" and moving outward to the unexpressed that are most tightly connected.
  • C. The "danger" involved is this: sometimes people ignore too much of what is expressed and, as a consequence, "jump" to "dots" that are not actually present or implied [Illustration: the presentation of Job as a "righteous man" in Job. 1:1-5 in the light of the claim that Job was a "flawed father"].
    • 1. This is the majority problem with "systematic theology": men "connecting dots that are not a legitimate part of a pattern of harmony".
    • 2. The solution to this danger is to move very thoughtfully from the expressed dots to those which are unexpressed.
• II. The "Implied Meaning" Arising Out of Mark's Use Of "Again".
  • A. The expressed meaning, "again".
    • 1. It is consistently used to present an event (it is an adverb) that is a repeat of a previous event.
    • 2. It is used in our text to tell us that Jesus had done the action of the verb at least once before.
  • B. The implied meaning(s) of "again".
    • 1. Either that we as readers should look back into Mark's record to see when the prior "calling of the crowd to Him" occurred because an author typically points backwards to give a "pattern of harmony" record so that his/her readers will have a larger number of dots available to gain understanding [this principle is the very root of all of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries in that each detail revealed proves to be of some level of importance when the mystery is finally resolved].
    • 2. Or that we as readers should see Mark's use of "again" as "atypical" so that we get a major "point".
      • a. The fact is that there is no prior record wherein Jesus "summoned the crowd to Him" either where the main verb ("summoned") is used or where the root of the verb is used.
      • b. This means that the expressed "dot" is that Jesus had done such a thing in the past, but Mark did not tell his readers of that past event.
      • c. Thus, we are cast upon the necessity of attempting to discover what "Implied meaning(s)" is/are involved.
        • 1) Our question becomes: What does Mark's use of "again" strongly imply?
        • 2) The most probable "implied meaning" is that Jesus wished for the crowd to focus upon what He was about to say.
        • 3) And, a second "implied meaning" is that Jesus wanted to firmly establish the hypocrisy of The Pharisees and some of the scribes so that the people would have s solid basis for rejecting "the leaven of The Pharisees".
          • a) The danger of jettisoning the traditions of the elders is very real because it is, at least, superficially possible that those traditions were "from God".
          • b) But, that danger is balanced by another very real danger: that those "traditions" were, in no way, "from God" so that any who observe them are at great risk of going further into the darkness than they already are.
          • c) "Believing in Jesus", at its very roots, is the casting of oneself entirely upon Him and His "truth": to do that one must cast away any "faith" in a good outcome from the "established tradition".
• III. The Stated Meaning: Mark's Use of "Called".
  • A. The verb used is, at root, the word used when God "calls" someone to a predestined task (Romans 8:28 and 30).
  • B. But Mark added to that root the intensifying prefix "to" (pros) and then used the compound verb in nine texts of his record, each of which presents Jesus as getting certain people to gather around Him so that their lives will be altered by what He says/does in their presence.
  • C. The net conclusion, then, is that Jesus was about to say/do something which was going to directly affect "the crowd" in a lasting way.
  • D. The thing that He was going to say/do is given in three key words.
    • 1. He was "saying...".
    • 2. He was saying, "Hear Me...".
    • 3. He was also saying, "Understand Me...".

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This is article #308.
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