Chapter # 9 Paragraph # 2 Study # 1
February 7, 2023
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
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Thesis: Mark's use of the "descent" of the disciples from the mountain is a summons to his readers to prepare themselves to use God's "untypical" activities as an anchor for their faith.
Introduction: In our last study we considered the text in view of the disciples' extraordinary privilege in being shown the Kingdom of God after it had come in power. That this made an indelible impression upon them for the rest of their lives is revealed by Peter in
2 Peter 1:16-18. That this was the reason for the privilege is given a strong foundation in the fact that in the Old Testament the people of God are regularly summoned to "
remember" the extraordinary phenomena of God's deliverance of the nation from Egypt; an event that only that generation witnessed as it happened.
In our study this evening, we are going to see how this remarkable privilege was designed to "play out" in the light of the opposition of the "ordinary" to faith in God's revelation in words.
- I. Mark's Use Of The Descent From The Mountain.
- A. He put this "descent" into a present tense verb in a setting of hisorical narrative.
- B. His selective use of this verb (katabaino) reveals his intention.
- 1. In 1:10 it is used of the "descent" of the Spirit from the heavens in the form of a dove, attended by "a voice from heaven" identifying Jesus as "My Beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased".
- 2. In 3:22 it is used to tell of the "descent" of the scribes from Jerusalem to declare the "official" decision of religious Judaism regarding Jesus: "He has Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth He out devils".
- 3. In 9:9 (our current text) it is used of the "descent" from the revelation of the Kingdom of God, having come with power.
- 4. In 13:15 it is used to insist upon the necessity of flight from Judea to the mountains by those who "see the abomination of desolation...standing where it ought not...".
- 5. In 15:30 and 32 it is used by mocking witnesses of His plight on the cross and by the chief priests and scribes: "Save thyself and come down from the cross...that we may see and believe...".
- C. There is a pattern in Mark's record.
The "Descent" Texts in Mark
- 1:10 -- The Spirit descends from the heavens and the voice of God identifies Jesus as His "beloved Son".
- 3:22 -- The "official determination" regarding Jesus as empowered by Beelzebul "descends" from Jerusalem.
- 9:9 -- The voice of God identifies Jesus as his "Beloved Son" before the disciples "descend" from the heady experience of The Kingdom of God presented to their sight.
- 13:15 -- Those witnessing the Abomination of Desolation is the event that is to keep those in Jerusalem from "descending" into their houses to gather up stuff before they flee to the mountains.
- 15:30-32 -- The precursors of that Abomination as false teachers who determine Jesus is "of Beelzebul" (3:22) show up at the Cross to mock the "weakness" of "The King of Israel" as the "final" issue of "decents" in Mark's record.
The Issue
- Because "faith in Jesus as The Christ" is critical to a person's everlasting salvation, it is crucial that Jesus be established as that King in the "remarkable" events of His being identified by God's voice from heaven because the voices of the detractors will fill the days and weeks, months and years of everyone's "routine norm" while the voice of God from heaven remains silent.
