Reflections — Pastor’s Blog

How well do you know Jesus? The Holy Spirit inspired Mark’s Gospel so that you could grow in knowing him. Mark 6:45–52 unpacks, both for the disciples and for you, something of who Jesus is.

Trust the Lord who reveals himself to you. Appreciate the mystery of the Son of God praying. Herod and the people had wondered who Jesus was: a prophet? Elijah? John the Baptist raised to life? Mark moves on to describe the martyrdom of John without giving an answer. But he then describes the compassion of Jesus in feeding the 5,000, an echo of God’s wilderness provision for his people. The incident on the lake gives a further answer. Now he sends away his disciples (he is going to pray alone). He dismisses the crowd. John’s fuller description of the even makes explicit the reasons only implied in Mark. The crowd is over 5,000 men — more than the adult male population of Capernaum. The crowd (would ‘mob” be the right word?), had run around the lake on foot to be near him (Mark 6:32), and were like sheep without a shepherd. It would not take much to stir up the crowd to rebellion against Rome, or for it to try to force Jesus to be their king in that undertaking. Jesus is the King (and more than that), but his mission was a greater one than a guerrilla war for independence. He had come to die, but not for that cause. So he dismisses the crowd. Not only has Jesus’ activity in feeding the people shown his divinity, the theophany on the lake is about to underscore that. But Jesus, whom Mark introduced to you as the Son of God, needs to be alone to pray. He left, not just the crowd, but his disciples. He needs to be alone with his Father in heaven. (Take the time to be alone with God in prayer–and help make time for others to do so as well.) Mark presents us with Jesus praying at crucial points in his messianic work, 1:35 and 14:32. He is God himself, but he is doing the will of his Father. Appreciate the mystery of who Christ is as well as of what he does.

“Jesus was a man of constant prayer, and yet he also sought special times of fellowship with his Father, when the strategy of his life and ministry might be reviewed. We need to follow that pattern. We need to help others to do so as well. Not all mothers, for example, can send their little disciples away in order to have time alone with God! Not all husbands realize that their wives need such times, as they do themselves. At the very lowest level, our Lord’s example is an encouragement to build seasons of special communion with God into our lives, and to do what we can to help others do so as well.

Sinclair Ferguson, Let’s Study Mark, p. 96

Continue reading ““It Is I!””

Sheep, especially when lost and separated from the shepherd, are among the most helpless animals. In Mark 6:30–44 Jesus compared the crowd to sheep without a shepherd.

Jesus gives rest in the wilderness. Jesus leads his disciples to wilderness rest. The twelve returned from their busy mission. They had not only proclaimed the presence of the kingdom and commanded repentance, they had demonstrated the power of the kingdom in the miracles they had performed, Mark 6:12–13. Now they were being overwhelmed by the crowds. Jesus invites, then leads them by boat out into solitary place, verses 31–32. God provides rest for his people in the wilderness. It had been in the wilderness that God held out the hope of rest in the promised land, Deuteronomy 3:20; Joshua 21:44; Psalm 95; and Isaiah 63:14. The rest God gave Old Testament Israel, as well as the respite Jesus provided the disciples, looked forward to the heavenly rest into which God has already entered, and into which he invites us to come by faith, Hebrews 3 and 4. In a new Exodus, God is providing rest and salvation for his people. In the meantime we are a wilderness people.

Continue reading “Like Sheep without a Shepherd”

You hear of the imprisonment of faithful believers, and ask yourself, “Why?” The question comes even more loudly when you hear of Christians dying for their faith. In Mark 6:14–29, Mark jumps back in time to tell you of the death of John the Baptist. The account teaches you something about the call to repent. And it points you to one greater than John.

Repent! The preaching mission of the Twelve raised questions about Jesus. The disciples preached repentance, verse 12, and their preaching was accompanied by miracles of healing and casting out demons, verse 13. Mark gives some of the reaction to their work, see verse 30. The miracles made some conclude that Jesus was John the Baptist raised from the dead (perhaps with the miracles as indicators of his resurrection — there is no record of John working miracles. Others identified Jesus as Elijah, not surprising, given Malachi 4 and John’s own self-identification. Although in a different sense than some of those, Jesus also could identify John as the promised Elijah, Mark 9:12–13. Others just identified Jesus as some other Old Testament prophet. Jesus, now joined by his disciples, had been preaching the presence of the kingdom. That message was made visible as demons were cast out and the sick healed. But instead of recognizing the presence of the King, people go to lengths to identify him with someone else. The rejection of Jesus may be led by the national and religious leaders, but many of the people also fail to recognize him as who he is. In recent times we have some theologians questioning the deity of Christ, the virgin birth, etc. But perhaps the more serious problem is a tendency to view Jesus as someone to ignore most of the time, but to turn to when you get into serious trouble, or to see him as an inspiring teacher, as your pal (the way people view him varies), but fail to acknowledge him as your sovereign Lord.

“It was astonishing that, amidst the diversity of views which were suggested, the true interpretation did not occur to any one…. The Redeemer is at hand, who had been so clearly pointed out by the preaching of John, and who himself testifies respecting his office. They are compelled to acknowledge that some divine power belongs to him, and yet they fall into their own fancies, and change him into the persons of other men.

John Calvin, Commentary on the Harmony of the Gospels

Continue reading “The Death of a Prophet”

Is it possible to be too familiar with Jesus? The trust shown by Jairus and the woman in the last part of Mark 5 contrasts with the rejection of Jesus in his home town, Mark 6:1–13.

A prophet is without honor in his own country. Don’t let familiarity deceive you. Jesus returns to his own town, Nazareth, though the name is not given here. He is accompanied by his disciples, perhaps because what will happen to Jesus here helps prepare them for their upcoming mission. Jesus teaches in the synagogue on the Sabbath. (Possibly this is the same incident as is recorded in Luke 4, but it may well be a later visit.) While the people of Nazareth are amazed at his teaching, verse 2, they also take offense at him, verse 3. Their familiarity with him leads to contempt. The series of questions naming family members carry with them an unspoken, “Who does he think he is?” This is the place in the Gospels which names Jesus (not just Joseph) as a carpenter–which is how the people of Nazareth had known him. Describing him as the son of Mary (with no reference to his father, even if deceased) may contain a not too subtle innuendo. The rejection grows out of pride. Others may be taken in by this young rabbi, but they know who he really is. Mark summarizes their response: they took offense at him. Beware of allowing familiarity with Jesus to breed disdain for him. Though we might not allow our response to descend to the level of that of Nazareth, we who know the name, Jesus Christ, who have heard about him all our lives, who meet regularly in his name, run the danger of taking him for granted, of failing to appreciate as fully as we should his majesty and glory. Mark writes his Gospel so that you will know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, see Mark 1:1.

Continue reading “Are You Too Familiar with Jesus?”

Mark spends a good deal of time describing Jesus healing people. He introduces you to two in Mark 5:21–43. Through their interaction with Jesus, Mark shows you something about the Savior.

Come in faith. Trust Jesus to meet your deepest needs. Appreciate the trust Jairus had that Jesus could heal his daughter. Mark paints a picture of a father who dearly loves his daughter. Notice the diminutive Jairus uses as he asks Jesus to come, heal her. He believes that if Jesus lays his hands on her, he will heal her, verse 23. Mark has let you know of increasing opposition — to the point of seeking the death of Jesus, on the part of the leaders of Israel. He is a ruler of the synagogue, a man who is careful to keep himself ceremonially clean to carry out his responsibilities there. Yet this man is willing to come and seek the help of Jesus. The body language of Jairus said far more in his culture than we might realize. As a synagogue ruler, he was a man of some (at least local) importance. He might be expected to send representatives to Jesus, but he comes himself, and throws himself at Jesus’ feet — a gesture of deep humiliation. Mark has just described “Legion” in a similar posture at the beginning of the chapter. Mark is telling you that Jesus is one whom you can trust, one before whom you can and should bow. He is ultimately trustworthy. Jairus makes his request, and the curious crowd presses around to see Jesus perform another miracle in front of them.

“The new life in Christ, just like all natural life, must be nourished and strengthened. This is possible only in communion with Christ in the Holy Spirit and through the word of Scripture. Enlightened by the Spirit, believers gain a new knowledge of faith. The gospel is the food of faith and must be known to be nourishment. Salvation that is not known and enjoyed is no salvation. God saves by causing himself to be known and enjoyed in Christ.

Biblically speaking, faith is trust-filled surrender to God and his word of promise. In the New Testament, this trust involves acceptance of the apostolic witness concerning Christ and personal trust in Christ as Savior and risen, exalted Lord.”

Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. 4, p. 96

Continue reading “Only Believe!”