Kingdom Disciples

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

Jesus defeated Satan in the wilderness by rejecting his temptations and instead submitting to the will of God. The effects 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 where the Jews would gather to study the Torah and pray.

Jesus is the ‘Son of Man’ foreseen by Daniel, the Messiah with absolute authority over the peoples and nations of the Earth . After defeating Satan in the wilderness, Jesus began proclaiming “ the Good News ” of the Kingdom in Galilee – “ The season is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe the gospel! ” The term “ Kingdom of God ” is a summary statement that links Christ’s mission to the glorious “ Son of Man ” figure described in the  Book of Daniel .

Jesus delivered a demonized Gentile while traveling through hostile territory, demonstrating his vast authority over Satan  –  Mark 5:1-20 .  The declaration that Jesus had come to the “ other side of the sea ” links this next story to the preceding incident when he calmed the storm. His plan to crossover the Sea of Galilee set in motion the series of events that followed. Having calmed the storm, he next encountered the demonized man who had a violent “storm” raging within.

Despite his miracle of calming a storm on the Sea of Galilee, Christ’s disciples still could not recognize who he was  – Mark 4:35-41. After teaching the multitude, Jesus left the area to cross the Sea of Galilee, but a violent storm descended suddenly on the lake, frightening the disciples. Storms were common enough on that body of water, and several of the men with Jesus were fishermen familiar with the region’s weather. Their terror indicates this was an especially severe storm.

The Pharisees and Scribes objected to the looseness of Jesus to their Sabbath regulations, 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. Still, 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 ”).

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.