Recognizing Jesus
In the Gospel of Mark, the Son of Man is revealed and understood in his sufferings and death on a Roman Cross.
The identity and mission of Jesus cannot be understood
apart from his suffering and sacrificial death. By stressing this, Mark
establishes his identity as the “Son of God” and what it truly means to
be the Messiah of Israel.
From the outset, God confirmed that Jesus was His beloved
son. Demons recognized him and declared who he was. In contrast, despite his healings,
exorcisms, and even his dominion over nature, men and women remained confused about
his identity. Even his closest associates failed to recognize him. He was
not the kind of Messiah they expected.
- (Mark 1:11) – “And it came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized into the Jordan by John. And immediately, as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens rending asunder, and the Spirit as a dove descending unto him. And a voice came out of the heavens: You are my Son, the Beloved One; in you, I delight.”
At the Jordan, the Scriptures, John the Baptist, the
voice from heaven, and supernatural signs all attested that Jesus was the
Messiah, the Lord, the mighty one who would baptize in Holy Spirit, and the
beloved “Son of God.”
The voice declared him to be “My beloved Son” after
the heavens were “rent asunder,” which translates the Greek verb schizō,
“to rend asunder, cleave, cleave asunder, split open.” This term occurs once
more in Mark when the veil of the Temple was “rent
in two” at the very moment Jesus died. The “rending” of the
heavens alludes to a passage from Isaiah when the prophet longed for
Yahweh to “rend the heavens” to make His name known “to your enemies,
that the nations may tremble at your presence.” That prophecy
was fulfilled in Jesus - (Isaiah
64:1-2).
“You are my Son, the Beloved One; in you, I
delight.” The declaration from heaven echoed the second Psalm and another
passage from Isaiah, for Jesus was the promised Messiah:
- (Psalm 2:7) – “You are my Son; this day have I begotten you.”
- (Isaiah 42:1) - “Behold, my servant whom I uphold; my elect in whom my soul delights.”
Significantly, both passages included references to the Messiah
bringing justice to the “nations” or “Gentiles.”
DEMONS RECOGNIZE HIM. One of his first acts was to cast out an “unclean
spirit.” The demon recognized him as the “Holy One of God,”
but he commanded it to remain silent. On no occasion did Jesus give any ground
to demonic spirits - (Mark
1:23-27).
The men present were all astounded and asked one another,
“Who is this?” Despite his impressive deeds, Jesus
remained unrecognized by them, although demons understood who he was and the
danger that he posed to them - (“Are you come to destroy us?”).
This pattern is repeated several times in Mark during
his ministry in Galilee. Although demonic spirits recognized the “Son of God,”
men and women always failed to do so, including members of his own family - (Mark 3:11-12, Mark 5:1-7).
When his friends heard of his activities, they “went
out to lay hold on him, for they said, ‘He is beside himself’,” which included
members of his immediate family. Proximity to Jesus or even a blood
relationship did not guarantee recognition of who and what he was - (Mark 3:21).
The scribes from Jerusalem could not deny the ability of
Jesus to cast out demons. Ironically, rather than acknowledge that he did so by
the authority of God, they charged him with casting out demons by “Beelzebub, the prince of demons.” Demonic spirits could recognize the Messiah of Israel,
but not the nation’s educated religious leaders - (Mark 3:22-30).
Miraculous Testimony
Fails. By his word alone, Jesus calmed the storm that
was raging across the Sea of Galilee and threatening the disciples. In great
fear, they asked one another, “Who is this, that even the
wind and the sea obey him?” Even a tremendous display of power over nature
was insufficient evidence to recognize the “Son of Man” - (Mark 4:36-41).
Jesus healed the dying daughter of a local synagogue
leader, leaving the crowd dumbfounded. Even his ability to raise the dead did
not convince men and women that he was the promised Messiah - (Mark 5:21-43).
When he returned to his hometown, Jesus began to teach in
the synagogue. Many who heard began to question, “Whence has this man these
things… Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and
Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” Rather
than rejoice that the Messiah was present, “they were offended by him”
- (Mark
6:1-6).
When Herod heard about Jesus, he concluded that John the
Baptist had returned from the dead. Other voices claimed he was Elijah or one of the prophets. None
suggested that he might be the “Son of God,” the long-promised Messiah -
(Mark 6:14-15).
After he fed five thousand men from “five loaves and
two fishes,” plus women and children, Jesus went to pray alone on a
mountain. To join him, the disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee by boat, struggling against a contrary wind.
Then, Jesus appeared suddenly, walking on the water. The
disciples thought it was a ghostly apparition and cried out in fear. He
identified himself, entered the boat, and caused the winds to cease. Previously,
the disciples saw him calm a great storm, yet this display of authority over
natural forces also failed to convince them who he was, “because their
hearts were hardened” - (Mark 6:35-52).
Suffering Messiah. On the way to Jerusalem, Peter appeared on the verge of grasping his
identity. When Jesus asked, “Who do men say that I am,” Peter declared,
“You are the Christ!” Then he explained how the “Son of man
must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests
and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.” To this,
Peter objected vehemently. The notion that the Messiah of Israel would be
subjected to suffering and death was unacceptable - (Mark 8:27-38).
Whatever insight Peter had gained momentarily was lost
when he was confronted with the idea of a suffering Messiah. But his
messiahship meant exactly that - suffering, rejection, and death. Likewise, as
recorded in Mark
9:31-32, Jesus taught that he must be “delivered
up into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and when he is killed, after
three days he shall rise again.” Once more, the disciples did not
understand his words and could not perceive who he was.
Again, while “on the way up to Jerusalem,” Jesus
explained how he would be “delivered to the chief priests and the scribes,
and they shall condemn him to death.” To this, James and John responded by requesting
to sit at his side when he came into his kingdom. But he responded:
- “You know not what ye ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with…whoever would become great among you shall be your minister; and whosoever would be first among you shall be slave of all, for the Son of man also came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many.” - (Mark 10:32-45).
The way of his kingdom was self-sacrificial service, not
dominion over others or outward glory, a truth that he demonstrated by giving
his own life to ransom a great many others from bondage to sin and Satan.
When the High Priest examined Jesus, he asked, “Are
you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” He responded, “I am he.
And you will see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power and coming
in the clouds of heaven.” Here, to the highest religious authority in
Israel, he identified himself openly as the Messiah. There could no more doubt.
But rather than recognize him, the High Priest charged Jesus with blasphemy, and
the “chief priests and the whole council” condemned the nation’s Messiah
to death - (Mark
14:60-64).
Unintentionally, the Roman governor confirmed his
messianic status when he had “King of the Jews” inscribed and mounted on
his cross for all to see. Yet, as he was dying, Jewish spectators mocked him,
declaring, “You who were pulling down the Temple and building one in three
days, save yourself and come down from the cross.”
The chief priests and scribes also ridiculed him despite the testimony of God, Scripture, his miraculous deeds, and his own sworn testimony before the High Priest - (Mark 15:26).
When Jesus came to town, the demons recognized who he was
before he ever said or did anything, yet the temple authorities were incapable
of doing so despite the overwhelming evidence. Instead, they mockingly
proclaimed, “let him come down now from the cross, that we may see and
believe.” Even the two brigands who were crucified alongside him “were
casting it in his teeth.”
Testimony of the Centurion. Finally, and only at Calvary, Jesus was declared the “Son of God” by a human voice. As death overwhelmed him, he uttered a loud cry. At that very moment, the “veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom,” and the centurion in charge of the execution squad declared - “Truly this man was the Son of God” - (Mark 15:37-39).
Thus, two related events of great significance resulted
from his death: The tearing of the Temple veil and the confession of the Roman
centurion. This was the veil before the Holy of Holies, the inner sanctum - (Exodus
26:31-37, Hebrews 6:19, 9:3, 10:20).
Just as the “rending of the heavens” at his
baptism produced a declaration regarding his status, so
the “rending of the Temple veil” produced the same confession from
the mouth of a Roman centurion. Just as the prophet Isaiah hoped, his “enemies,”
demon spirits, recognized the “Son of God,” and the Gentiles would indeed
“tremble” at his presence after his resurrection, only in
repentance and submission. The Roman centurion was only the first of many to acknowledge
him.
Only as he was crucified did a human being finally understand
who Jesus was, and paradoxically, not by a devout Jew, the high priest, or even
one of his closest disciples. Not until his death did anyone understand the
identity and role of the Messiah – to “give his life as a ransom for many.”
Thus, his death defined his messiahship - (Mark 10:45).
Only in his suffering and death are we able
to understand the true identity of Jesus and the nature of his mission.
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