Mark 7 (substance disclosed)

One of the things I have learned about the CMS experiment is that I should write the outlines in pencil. Sometimes I get very myopic the longer I work on a particular chapter outline. So that when I step back to think about remembering the outline and how it all fits together, I wonder if this particular set of descriptors will endure.

Well, if you haven't guessed from my intro, this was one of those chapters. After I looked over my CMS in prep for doing this post, I took another couple days to re-think it. And re-think it I did. I like the outline better, but I like the chapter title worse. It's ok. I'll get there.

The Chapter Title for Mark 7 is (for now): Substance Disclosed (starts with an 's', second word starts with 'd'; which is how the outline worked out, too)

The Chapter Outline for Mark 7 is:

• Substitute dead traditions
  
• Sin defiles from within
  
• Syrophoenician "dog's" faith
  
• Speech and deafness healed
  

The key verse for Mark 7 is:

Mark 7:6 (ESV)
And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “ ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;

Brief Commentary

Substitute dead traditions
The Pharisees belie their own problem; they call these practices 'traditions of the elders'

What is the place of 'traditions' in this sense? Are these the same as 'bylaws', or 'church constitutions'. Or does it extend to unwritten practices in the church?
It probably could have a very broad application to any practice, personal or institutional, that usurps authority and primacy of the Scriptures.

In these passages we see the trap of religion. Religion is (in my own words) based upon what people can do to advance their own spirituality (at least in their own minds). Religion is made up of rules and requirements that drive the process of spiritual standing with God; e.g. if I do something religious, then I am more spiritual. It is the heart of legalism.

These Pharisees (the most devout-acting individuals of the day; very 'spiritual' in appearance) think they have trapped Jesus because of certain unbecoming behavior displayed by His disciples. They didn't wash their hands before they ate. I would consider this particular tradition to be very helpful and important (hygienically speaking). There is nothing wrong with washing your hands before you eat. Jesus did not even argue the validity of the rule itself.

What He does is discloses the substance of their objection; they are 'teaching as doctrines the commandments of men' (7). They have placed their own rules ahead of even the Scriptures. They are hypocrites and idolaters.

Jesus then uses an example from their own traditions to exhibit His point. One of the traditions of the Pharisees was to declare something (money, possession) 'Corban'. This means that it is forever dedicated to the service of the Lord and cannot be given to any other person. Although, the catch is that the money or item can continue to be used by the owner himself. This was apparently abused in relationship to caring for one's parents. Individuals would declare something 'Corban' so they could continue using it themselves and not have to use it in support of aging parents. So by following their tradition, they are breaking a commandment.

I can't find a commentary to back me up :), but it looks like Jesus says (in His gracious way) 'there's more where that came from; you want to go on?' We tease the disciples for being slow to learn, but the Pharisees were worse. They continued to challenge Jesus even after He totally crushes them time after time. This time, He disclosed the substance behind the traditions they had substituted for God and His Word.


Sin defiles from within
Jesus continues to preach the truth and disclose the substance of the issue. The Pharisees had it backwards; they thought that religious behavior (avoiding certain things, keeping the rules and traditions, restricting their diets, etc) kept them free from sin. But Jesus turns them on their head. "It's not the stuff that we see 'go in' that defiles you, it is what comes out of your heart'. It is possible to display acceptable behavior but have a defiled and idolatrous heart.

In His explanation to His disciples, He goes even farther with the example of food. "What you eat goes to your stomach and then out. It's not about the food. It's more about your deepest desires. Food in itself is not a sin. Sin comes from your heart and has many faces..." Then Jesus starts a list.

But this is not a list given to us so we can simply avoid these things and then be ok. He prevents this interpretation with His very first example; evil thoughts. 'Ever have an evil thought?' Sin. There's more, but the point is made.

Jesus is making a priority statement here. He is more concerned about the hearts and eternal condition of people than He is about how well they follow rules. There are rules, and He will work on that with them. But the Pharisees thought that 'the way in' was through the rules. Jesus discloses the substance of the sin that defiles from within.


Syrophoenician "dog's" faith
Ok, so I honestly felt a little bad about this outline title at first. I felt weird calling this woman a 'dog'. But Jesus does in this context, so I think I'm safe :) (plus, it fits the outline so well with the 's' and the 'd').

A Gentile woman comes to Jesus because her daughter has a demon. She begs Him to heal her, but His first response is 'what I have come to do is not meant for the dogs'. Huh? But there were several cultural issues here that must be remembered. This woman was a Gentile; Jesus was a Jew. This woman was a....woman, and Jesus was a Man. As a Rabbi, Jesus was restricted from having contact with Gentiles and women. But there she was.

By 'dog', Jesus apparently meant to put His mission into perspective. The Gospel was first for the Jews. But He left a door open by saying that the children should be fed 'first'. So, she didn't leave dejected after Jesus gave His first response. She pressed in with faith. With a full loaf of faith, she asks for a crumb. And Jesus was moved by it. He honors her faith in Him and love for her daughter and grants the request.

Until this moment, I haven' thought of this interaction as prayer. But that's what this woman was doing; praying to Jesus. And she was praying in faith. And Jesus responded in grace. What a precious and powerful thing prayer is. I need to remember that.


Speech and deafness healed
In the last section of chapter 7, we find Jesus showing mercy on a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment. In this case, Jesus took the man aside, put His fingers in his ears, spit, and touched his tongue. Then Mark records that Jesus 'sighed' before He said 'be opened'. And it was done. Then, even though Jesus told them not to, the people zealously proclaimed the work of Jesus in the region.

Although there are several curious things about this interaction, I was most drawn to the 'sigh' of Jesus. But when I dug into it I found 3 different explanations in 3 different commentaries :)

1. It was probably His strong emotion as He battled the satanic powers that enslaved the man
2. It expressed His grief over the suffering that sin brought on mankind
3. It expressed His incredible empathy and compassion toward the needs of this man.
   

The problem is that the text doesn't say. And I'm not smart enough to make a guess. So I leave it at what it says; Jesus looked up to heaven and sighed before healing the man. This is not the key to the 'formula' for healing deaf people. Understanding Jesus' 'sigh' and then recreating it will not somehow empower our prayer. Jesus was fully God and fully Man. He dealt with temptations, problems, stress, anger, frustration, fatigue just like we do. Yet somehow He did it all without sin. Because we do not know why He sighed, the fact that He did reminds me that He was fully dealing with His humanness. And I'm so glad He did.

Hebrews 2:17 (ESV)
Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

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Mark 6 (inexorable in mission)

So, this particular Chapter Memory Study is stretching the boundaries of my vocabulary.  In the past, I have given up to quickly with some outlines.  That is what led me to 'inexorable' for this chapter.  I don't mind expanding my (or my readers') vocabularies if it is appropriate.

The 'I' for Chapter 6 of Mark (based on the acronym "JESUS IS THE RANSOM") is Inexorable.  It means:

Not to be persuaded, moved, or stopped: relentless

Jesus and His followers are faced with obstacles and opposition in their ministry, but they remain steadfast and unmovable. Jesus models this character, and His men are learning to walk like Him.

The Thematic Outline for Mark 6 is:

• In His hometown
• In His discipleship
• In John's death
• In feeding the 5000
• In walking on water
• In healing at Gennesaret
  

(by the way, I adjusted the outline for chapter 1; see the sidebar for the update)

"Brief" Commentary  (you know you're in trouble when "brief" has quotes around it :)

In His Hometown
Jesus was not persuaded, moved or stopped from His mission even after being rejected in His hometown of Nazareth.  Even though some were amazed at His teaching, still others mocked Him openly about His 'questionable' birth, His family and His occupation.  So His ministry to His hometown was limited to some teaching and a little bit of healing.  "and He marveled at their unbelief".

In His Discipleship
Jesus was not persuaded, moved or stopped from His discipleship of His guys.  The training continued.  Now it was time for a test.  Jesus paired off the disciples and sent them out, with His authority, to teach, heal, and cast out demons.  For this particular mission, Jesus gave them specific instructions about what to bring, what to wear, and how to interact with people along the way (who either receive or reject them).  And off they went.  They preached repentance and the Gospel, they cast out demons and healed sick people.  Just as Jesus said they would.  If training was going to stick, there needed to be some 'field time'.  They had watched Jesus, they had heard Him preach, and they had seen Him minister to people.  With His power and authority, now it was their turn.  To be continued...

In John's Death
Jesus was not persuaded, moved or stopped by the tragedy of John the Baptist's death.  In this section,  Mark takes an opportunity to finish the story about John the Baptist.  Mark writes that Herod (not the same Herod that ruled when Jesus was born) heard about Jesus' name and activities and feared that John the Baptist had come back to life and was operating under immense spiritual power.  Then verse 17 begins a sort of 'flashback' to what happened to John.

Apparently Herod knew of John and feared/respected him because he was righteous and holy (even though John was speaking against Herod's marriage to his brother's former wife....)  The soap opera continues.  Herod's new wife hated John.  When her daughter was given the chance to dance for Herod, she did so in a very provocative way so that Herod promised her a great reward.  By her mother's counsel, she requested John's head on a platter.  It was granted, though Herod seemed to regret it.

This is the unglorious ending to a man who was indeed 'great before the Lord' (Luke 1:15).  Jesus Himself testified that John 'was a burning and shining lamb, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light' (John 5:35).  But, in accordance with his own stated mission, John had to decrease so that Jesus could increase (John 3:30).

In Feeding the 5000
Jesus was not persuaded, moved or stopped when He and His disciples were tired from ministry.  When His disciples returned from their mission, they reported all they had done.  But it appears that there was weariness in their eyes, for Jesus guided them to a desolate place because there had been people around all the time and 'they had no leisure, even to eat' (31). 

But it was not to be.  They were a conspicuous group now that they had taught, healed, and cast demons out of people.  People saw them and pursued them to their landing.  Jesus again leads His men.  Instead of being selfish and disappointed, He 'had compassion on them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd' (34).  And so He gave them all a big hug, right!?!  Nope.  'And He began to teach them many things' (34).  He starts with what is most important; their souls and their eternity.  He stays on mission by preaching repentance and the Gospel.  That, whether they realize it or not, was their greatest need.

When it got late, the disciples started fidgeting about logistics.  'Um, Jesus.  It's getting late and the nearest Culvers is a long way away.  We should let people go so they can get some chow' (translation mine:).  Jesus' response was not what they expected; 'you give them something to eat'.  Ok, so we don't know how much later in the day this was, but let's not forget from where the disciples just returned; from preaching, healing and casting out demons in Jesus' name!  They had no doubt seen and performed many miraculous things under the authority of Jesus that very morning!  And yet when it comes time to think about doing something miraculous for people, they clammed up.

Please don't hear that I'm mocking the disciples.  I have even preached a sermon (called Philip and Me) in which I stated confidently that I would have been the first to count the people, get on Googlemaps to find the nearest restaurants, calculated the average cost of feeding that many people, and shouted out from my abacus 'we can't do it, it would be too expensive!!!'  It's me.  I would have said the same thing.  So I cast no stones toward the disciples here.  My incredulity is at us; we who follow Jesus, see His mighty work, and then forget about it when something new comes up.  It's me.  It's us.

Jesus finds out how much food they have, miraculously multiplies it, and feeds all 5000 men (plus the women and children) with a full basket left over for each of His guys.  He had compassion on those who had no shepherd, and patience with the ones for whom He was their shepherd.  He was inexorable by tall odds and doubting friends.

In Walking on the Water
Jesus was not persuaded, moved or stopped by fatigue, weather, or His own disciples density.  After feeding thousands of people, Jesus was tired.  He sent His disciples across the lake and He went up the mountain to pray.  Apparently He could see very well from His spot, because He saw the disciples rowing very hard against the wind and waves.  Now this is astounding.  Jesus didn't go take a nap, He prayed...well past midnight until 'the fourth watch' (which is between 3am and 6am).  That's when He walked out (in very choppy water, remember) to meet and help His men.  They were freaked out and thought He was a ghost.  This imagery superimposed onto modern thought has probably helped picture Jesus as always wearing a long white robe all of the time.

I understand that in children's books and Bible stories that they need to somehow identify Jesus.  But it has taken (and will take) a lifetime for me to get the 'Sunday School poster' Jesus out of my brain.  I don't think that guessing what Jesus looked like is idolatry.  He lived as a man with a body, face, nose and ear hair.  We don't have a picture of Him, but an honest attempt to visualize a Jewish man from that time seems reasonable.  He still has a glorified body and will be recognizable when we see Him.  But many people have in their minds a humble, marginalized, Galilean peasant with long hippy-hair, sheep in one arm, child in another, walking around piously spouting off catch phrases like a fortune cookie writer.  That's not Jesus.  It wasn't Jesus.  It won't be the Jesus we see when He comes back (see Rev 19 for the Jesus whose side you want to be on).

Back to the study.  So the disciples saw Him and were freaked out.  Look what He does; 'take heart; it is I.  Do not be afraid'.  What He actually said was 'I AM'.  This echos the covenant name of God given to Moses.  And the storm stops.  And the disciples were astounded, again.  He simply speaks with the power and authority of God, and things happen.  I think He also wanted to remind them who He is.  And Mark points out that even Jesus' closest friends and followers still didn't totally get it.  But He didn't give up on them.

Healing at Gennesaret
Jesus was not persuaded, moved or stopped from His continued commitment to loving people and proclaiming the Gospel.  This is a short pericope at the end of Mark 6 that describes another instance of Jesus' healing ministry.  When Jesus and the disciples finally reached land at Gennesaret people recognized them immediately.  They flocked to Jesus to be  healed.  The astounding healing of the woman with bleeding (Mark 5) may have spread very quickly through the region because they sought to touch 'even the fringe of His garment' (36).  Jesus honored this act of faith and, by His own will, chose to heal people by that means.

I find it interesting in the account of Jesus' ministry that I don't read things like 'and after He healed many, they repented of their sin and believed in Jesus as the Savior', or '...and after He healed them, He preached a killer message and thousands came forward for the altar call'.

It is clear that He taught people.  A lot.  Just a few verses up, after He 'saw the crowd and had compassion on them' He didn't turn all the water into wine and the trees into disco-balls so people could have a party and feel better about themselves.  "And He began to teach them many things".  How many times, by word and action, did He come back to this primary mission; '...that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out' (1:38).

But He loved people and cared for their needs.  He healed them and gave them the Gospel.  He constantly sowed seeds of His message for those who would hear.  And He gave His guys a beautiful model of ministering to people and proclaiming the Gospel.