Kingdom Disciples

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.

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 .”

Forgiveness links the call of the tax collector to the healing of the paralytic – Christ’s authority to discharge sin and restore men – Mark 2:13-17. When Jesus pronounced the paralytic’s sins forgiven, he offended the Scribes and Pharisees, and he alienated them further by showing mercy to “ sinners ,” those individuals considered especially unacceptable by the more religiously observant Jews. Seeing the Nazarene eating with “ tax collectors ” and other sinners, the Scribes and Pharisees insinuated that Jesus was also a notorious sinner – (Mark 2:1-17).

Jesus healed a paralytic. By doing so, he demonstrated the authority of the Son of Man to discharge the stain of sin – Mark 2:1-12. 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 from the Jerusalem Temple, especially regarding ritual purity and Sabbath keeping. There are parallels between the present story and the preceding passage about the cleansing of the man afflicted with leprosy.