Chapter # 1 Paragraph # 6 Study # 3
January 22, 2019
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
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Thesis: The snares of "the pride of life" are many, and escape from them is necessary for a person to become "profitable for the ministry".
Introduction: In our study last week I argued that Mark's use of the sea of Galilee is a second case of what I call "geographical metaphor" wherein a major theological reality is set before us by the use of a geographical set of facts that serve as metaphorical illustrations of the truth. Just as John, in essence, "forced" his audience to confront the geographical metaphor of the chaos of the desert by refusing to enter into the cities with his call for repentance, Mark here presents Jesus as "forcing" all those who would be His disciples to confront the geographical metaphor of the deadliness of "The Sea" if they would become disciples indeed.
There are many issues here and I want to address a few of them in our study this evening.
- I. The Impact of the Two "Geographical Metaphors".
- A. In our earlier study of this paragraph I argued that Jesus' use of the "setting" was a deliberate metaphor of The Church's Task.
- 1. The "fishing for men" was a metaphor of the ministry of evangelism: calling men to come "out of" their pursuit of "Life" in the deadliest of settings.
- 2. The "mending of the nets" was a metaphor of the ministry of edification: getting and using the correct doctrine of "progressive sanctification" in order to bring those swept up in the nets of "evangelism" to what Paul called "a mature man" (Ephesians 4:13).
- B. Now, because of this "method of Jesus" ("fishing" and "mending"), we are able to correlate the two major "geographical metaphors" with this "Metaphor of the Church's Task".
- 1. The core of "evangelism" is proclaiming those particular truths which will bring men to faith in Jesus Christ as the "bottom line" in bringing men into harmony with God's "Relational Creation".
- a. This "core" is at issue in John's proclamation that "Repentance Brings Forgiveness".
- b. Man's humiliation and turn in "faith" sets the stage for entrance into this Relational Reality which Paul calls "being reconciled to God" (2 Corinthians 5:18) and Jesus calls "being born again" (John 3:3).
- c. On the other side of the coin is God's "forgiveness of sins" that actually brings men into Relational Harmony (Peace) with God.
- d. Thus, the "geographical metaphor of the wilderness" as the backdrop for the preaching of "repentance" is the Big Picture issue of "fishing for men".
- 2. On the other hand, the core of "edification" is proclaiming those particular truths which will lead men out of their three areas of bondage (the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the arrogance of functional capacity) into the freedom of the children of God to be the "sons" of God.
- a. This "core" is at issue in Jesus' summons (identified as His "call" in 1:20): "Come after Me".
- b. This summons means "leaving" the "Sea" and its "promise of life" and "following".
- c. The "I will make you..." (fishers/menders) indicates the divine intention that is bound up in the relationship between Him and those whom He calls, the backdrop of which is "the Kingdom of God".
- d. Thus, the "geographical metaphor of The Sea" as the backdrop of Jesus' "teaching" is the Big Picture issue of "mending the nets".
- II. The Question of Mark's "Introduction" of "Disciples".
- A. There has come to be, in our day, a great debate over what has to be in the minds of those to whom the Gospel is preached for that preaching to result in "salvation".
- 1. Does a "grace" Gospel mean that there are no "obligations" that come upon those who wish to have grace applied to them?
- 2. Does a "grace" Gospel mean that any inherent "obligations" that may exist must be "in focus" before God will forgive the sins of those who "repent"?
- B. At least a part of the answers involved in this debate is given within the context of the "summons" to repentance and the promise of forgiveness.
- 1. The "summons" exists only within the framework of the insistence that a level highway be built through the chaos of the desert.
- a. Without this "insistence", the "summons" means very little.
- b. The essence of this "insistence" is that men get on God's wavelength: without a willingness to be a "road-builder", there is no point to a promise of forgiveness because the desire for "forgiveness" is too much about "escape from consequences" and not enough about "escape from bondage".
- 2. Thus, even without a direct focus upon a real relationship rather than a simple judicial decree, there exists a "sense" of the fact that it is relationship that is in God's mind and not merely relinquishment of judicial consequences.
- a. It is possible for the mental focus to be upon judicial consequences alone as far as man is concerned.
- b. But it is impossible for God to relinquish judgment in respect to men without a "sense" of relationship beyond the mental focus in the heart of the man.
- C. Mark did not write his Gospel without a "discipleship" goal in mind because it is a part of his introduction to include the issue.
- III. The Question of the "Subliminal" Sense of "The Sea of The Galilee".
- A. As the "desert" with its chaos created a "sense" in the people of an "impossible" requirement by God (build a level highway and keep it clear of obstacles), so "The Sea" with its deadliness created a "sense" in the disciples that the attempt to get "Life" from it might just be a fool's errand.
- B. The actual text emphasizes The Sea of The Galilee.
- a. The Sea points to the deadly environment with its "promise" of "life" within its depths.
- b. The Galilee points to the issues of "Galilee" in respect to Jesus' origins in Nazareth of Galilee.
- c. Jesus' summons of "disciples" to "come away after Me" gives them an either/or decision.
- d. The disciples' abandonment of their "tools of the trade" indicates that they, at the very minimum, "sensed" that their days of getting their "life" from The Sea were over.
- C. The parallelism with the geographical metaphor of the chaotic desert indicates that there is a relationship between the "desert" and "The Sea".
- a. The "desert" had to do with dealing with the magnitude of the problem of unforgiven sin: this is the beginning of relationship.
- b. "The Sea" had to do with dealing with the critical decision about the question of "Just where does 'Life' come from?": this is the perennial question of continuing the relationship: [Note 2 Corinthians 12:6-10 and 2 Corinthians 1:9].
- c. These two issues dove-tail around the "fishing" and the "mending" motifs in the paragraph.