Kingdom Disciples

One day, after teaching the multitude, Jesus set out to cross the Sea of Galilee. But a violent storm descended suddenly, frightening the disciples. Storms were common enough on that body of water, and several of the men were fishermen familiar with its moods. Their terror indicated this was an especially severe storm.

The  Gospel of Mark  provides only a few examples of the many parables taught by Jesus (“ Apart from a parable he did not speak to the crowds ”). In them, the dominant theme is the Kingdom of God that invaded the Earth in the ministry of Jesus and continues to grow and produce fruit wherever the Gospel is preached. The “ Son of Man ” taught the Jewish people in parables, but only as they “ were able to hear ,” and this clause stresses the responsibility of the listener to hear and heed his words.

The  Parable of the Sower  provides the key to understanding the parables of Jesus. The story’s point is that the Kingdom of God began to invade the present age starting with the proclamation of the Gospel by the “ Son of Man .” That process commenced with his announcement of the Good News when he was in “ Galilee of the Nations .” Ever since then, the Kingdom has been advancing across the Earth though largely unnoticed by humanity and even by many of his followers.

A line is crossed when the activities of God’s Spirit in the words and deeds of Jesus are attributed to Satan – Mark 3:22-35 .  Christ’s statement about the “ unpardonable sin ” was in response to the scribes from Jerusalem who came to examine his conduct and teachings. In the preceding paragraph, his “ friends ” had concluded that he was “ beside himself .” In the present story, the representatives from the Temple accused him of being in league with “ Beelzebul ,” the Devil.

Jesus chose his Twelve Apostles from among a larger group of followers, including two surprising candidates  -  Mark 3:13-21 .  After preaching to the crowds near Capernaum, Jesus departed to a “ mountain ” and summoned his disciples, where he chose twelve men from among a larger group. The resultant company corresponded to the twelve tribes of Israel; effectively, he was reconstituting the covenant people of Yahweh, only now, around himself and not the  Torah  or Temple.

The crowds welcomed Jesus because of his miracles, only demons recognized him as the Son of God - Mark 3:7-12 .  Mark describes several incidents that occurred while Jesus was teaching in Capernaum. Eager to see his healing powers, the crowd thronged him to the point it became necessary for him to speak from a boat just off the shoreline. But in the middle of his preaching, demons began to declare that he was the “ Son of God .”

Religious leaders from Jerusalem objected to the looseness of Jesus to their Sabbath traditions, but he used the opportunity to demonstrate that the “ Son of Man ” is “ Lord ” even over that day. God ceased His creative activities on the seventh day, but its formal establishment as a regulated day on which no work could be done did not occur until the  Torah  was given at Mount Sinai (“ Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy ”).

When Jesus pronounced the paralytic’s sins “ forgiven ,” he offended the sensibilities of the scribes and Pharisees, the allies if not representatives of the Temple authorities in Jerusalem. Then he alienated them further by reaching out to “ sinners ” that were considered especially unclean by the more scrupulously religious men and leaders of Israel. The Nazarene summoned ordinary men to follow him, including fishermen and tax collectors. Observing him eating with the latter, his opponents insinuated he must be a notorious sinner.

The literary unit in chapters 1 and 2 of the  Gospel of Mark  includes five stories highlighting the authority of Jesus as the “ Son of Man .” It also shows the growing conflicts between him and the religious authorities based in the Jerusalem Temple, especially over issues of ritual purity and Sabbath regulations. There are parallels between the present story and the preceding one about the cleansing of the leper.

The touch of the Nazarene cleansed a leper from ritual impurity, restoring him physically  AND  religiously. Moreover, Jesus touched the leper  BEFORE  he was cleansed of his ritual defilement. Any concern over contracting “uncleanness” did not prevent the Messiah from healing a son of Israel. In fact, the Son of Man’s touch drove out the disease and the impurity - (Mark 1:40-45).

Jesus did not allow scruples over purity regulations to keep him from healing the sick and delivering the oppressed from demonic spirits. Neither Sabbath restrictions nor Levitical rules on ritual purity were intended to prevent human needs from being met, at least, not if the Messiah of Israel was present and implementing the Kingdom of God.

Jesus defeated Satan in the wilderness by rejecting his temptations and lies. The effects of that victory were demonstrated when he exercised authority over demonic forces in the village of Capernaum near the Sea of Galilee. The first incident occurred in the local synagogue, typically, a place where Jews would gather to study the  Torah  and pray.

The discipleship taught by Jesus differed from that of the rabbis of his day. His followers were called to leave everything behind if need be, and to dedicate their entire lives to his mission. And they were called  TO FOLLOW HIM . In contrast, students educated in rabbinical schools became disciples of the Torah and not of individual teachers.

All four gospel accounts apply the passage in  Isaiah  to John the Baptist, the messenger who called men to repent “ for the remission of sins ” in preparation for the Messiah. The passage identifies John as the forerunner who was expected before the “ Day of Yahweh ” to summon the nation - “ The voice of one crying, in the wilderness, prepare the way of the LORD ” - (Isaiah 40:3-5).