Mk 3:13-19

The Mission of the Twelve

Jesus went up the mountain and summoned those whom he wanted and they came to him. He appointed twelve whom he also named apostles that they might be with him and he might send them forth to preach and to have authority to drive out demons: he appointed the twelve: Simon, whom he named Peter; James, son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James, whom he named Boanerges, that is sons of thunder; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son Alphaeus; Thaddeus, Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.

MOUNTAIN: Any time anything is portrayed as taking place on a mountain, the reader is being invited by the writer to take notice. So, when Mark situates Jesus on a mountain and Jesus summons and appoints the twelve (another text marker), the writer wants the reader to focus on this part of the Gospel.

            In order to get the point, three clues need to be considered. First, a mountain is a place of God’s revelation. Moses received the Law on the mountain. Later, in Mark’s account, Jesus will be transfigured on a mountain with Moses and Elijah being present.

            Second, “the twelve” indicate the beginning of a new group of people. It was out of the federation of the twelve tribes of Israel that God initially formed for himself a people. From these twelve (otherwise called apostles), Jesus will form for himself a new group of believers.

            Third, only Mark calls hi work a “Gospel.” Gospel is not a religious term; it is a political one. Literally, it means good news, and often is used to refer to the message regarding a victory in battle; the enemy has been defeated.

            By calling his work a “Gospel,” Mark is expanding the meaning of the word to cover the whole life of Jesus, and he is foretelling the victory that is connected to his theological narrative about Jesus. In a way, Mark’s Gospel is an extended homily, an act of preaching, a proclamation of “good news.”

            When these clues – the mountain, the twelve, and the Gospel – our all combined, the reader should be inclined to ask certain questions: What is the victory? Where is the victory to take place? Who will enable the victory to take place? Who is the victor? These are precisely the questions the writer wished to arouse in the hope that the readers would continue to look for the answers in his work.

Mk 3:7-12

The Mercy of Jesus

Jesus withdrew toward the sea with his disciples. A large number of people came from Galilee and from Judea. Hearing what he was doing, a large number of people came to him also from Jerusalem, from Idumea, from beyond the Jordan, and from the neighbor of Tyre and Sidon. He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him. He had cured many and, as a result those who had diseases were pressing upon him to touch him. And whatever unclean spirits saw him they would fall down before him and shout, “You are the Son of God.” He warned them sternly no to make him known.

SON OF GOD: One of the ways that Mark characterizes Jesus is an exorcist, one who gets rid of unclean spirits. It is important to note that unclean spirit is not equivalent to what today might be referred to as demonic possession. For Mark, any ailment – physical, psychological, emotional, etc. – that cannot be understood is an unclean spirit.

            Also, these so-called unclean spirits always know who Jesus is and call him “Son of God.” Mark continually contrasts the unclean spirit to the disciples, who should know who Jesus is but never seem to figure it out.

            In the first half of Mark’s Gospel, the designation “Son of God” by the unclean spirits is contrasted to the designation “Son of Man” in the second half of the Gospel. “Son of God” indicates power – the kind which is greater than of the unclean spirits, although there is never any “contest” between Jesus and the unclean spirits; they simply acknowledge defeat.

            “Son of Man” also indicates power, but it is power of a different kind. In the second half of Mark’s Gospel, Jesus’ power is made manifest in his powerlessness. Authentic power is found in weakness.

            For Christians to call Jesus “Son of God” is to declare one kind of power, a type which Jesus in the Gospel of Mark clearly rejects. To refer to Jesus as “Son of Man” is to indicate a kind of power which stems from powerlessness. It is in weakness – rejection, suffering, and death – that God’s power reaches perfection.

Response

How in your life have you experienced the power of the “Son of God”? In how many more ways in your life have you experienced the power of the “Son of Man”? Which was more effective?

Mk 3:1-6

A Man with a Withered Hand

            Jesus entered the synagogue. There was man there who had a withered hand. They watched him closely to see if he would cure him on the Sabbath so that they might accuse him. He said to the man with the withered hand, “Come up here before us.” Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?" But they remained silent. Looking around at them with anger and grieved at their hardness of heart, he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel with the Herodians against him to put to death.

HEALING: Throughout the first half of his Gospel, Mark portrays Jesus as an exorcist, a miracle-worker, and a healer. He portrays Jesus as a man with divine power. Later in the Gospel, after the scene with Peter near Caesarea Philippi, Mark will show another characteristic of Jesus and present him as the rejected, suffering, and abandoned Son of Man.

            In the story of the man with a withered hand, Jesus’ display of power while in the presence of the Pharisees and the Herodians and on the Sabbath, is more subtle. Mark never tells us that Jesus did anything except to tell the man to hold out his hand.

            In the world today, much healing can take place if people are just willing to reach out a hand to another person. The mother with children who seem to be constant problems can be healed by another, usually an older, woman who is willing to give a hand to help, to baby-sit, or to simply hold the other’s hand and listen.

            A few hours spent with a friend can be another way that one offers a hand to another. Sometimes a helping hand takes the form of a confrontation, a severe telling of the truth in love, which enables a person to see himself or herself more clearly.

            Every day presents opportunities for people to give and to receive a hand from one another.

            Much healing can be brought into the world this way.

Response

To whom have you recently stretched out your hand? Who has recently stretched out a hand to you?

Mk 2:23-28

The Disciples and Sabbath

As [Jesus] was passing through a field of grain on the Sabbath, his disciples began to make a path while picking the heads of grain. At this the Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry? How he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest and ate the bread of offering that only the priests could lawfully eat, and shared it with his companions?” Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”

MEETING NEEDS: Jesus points out that genuine human need takes precedence over the rules governing human life and conduct. David and his men broke the rules in order to satisfy their hunger; the very real needs of people are more important than rules.

            The purpose of the Sabbath – rest – was to imitate God, who after six days of creating took time out of a break. As Jesus states it, the Sabbath was made for the people. It is God’s gift to them.

            To turn it around and say that people were made for the Sabbath is to get it backward. People are not made to fit rules; rules are made to fit the needs of people. When rules no longer serve their purpose, then they are to be changed, abolished, or ignored.

            So often people cling to the rules because rules offer safety, security, and protection from change. However, such an enclosure does not necessarily serve the needs. When someone is hungry, no rule concerning the prophet time for meals is appropriate – as demonstrated by David and Jesus.

            Likewise, when someone is sick, no rule concerning the usual office hours of a doctor applies. When someone has been in an accident and is being rushed to the hospital, the rule about stopping at every red light no longer applies in deference to the suffering person. Common sense and prudent judgment, rather, must prevail.

Response

Do you place rules above people or people above rules?