Chapter # 1 Paragraph # 9 Study # 2
April 2, 2019
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
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Thesis:   Jesus' pursuit of His "ministry" was guarded by His Father because He had rejected the appeal of "the pride of life", but His disciples had not.

Introduction:   In our last study, we saw that there was a "hint" of significant "trouble" in Mark's record of the people of the synagogue seeking Jesus out "after" the Sabbath had passed. Their loyalty to the externals of the traditions regarding the meaning of "Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy" was intense, but superficial. Their "bottom line" was not fulfilling the commandment as a testament to their desire to be loyal to God (the commandment's sole reason for being); rather, it was cashing in on the opportunity to be rid of diseases and demons [Carefully note John 6:26]. This, of itself, was reason enough for Jesus to go out into the "desert" in order to deal with the difficulties that exist in human beings concerning the matters of "faith" in the Gospel at the "love" level.

Just a word here about coming to grips with Jesus' "doctrine": "tracking" with Mark as he presents Jesus requires that we focus on his "pointers" and not on our storehouse of the things we know from the Bible. And I say this in spite of my "already reference" to John 6:26 because I found the "problem" in Mark's record, but John's is a pointed declaration of what Mark simply pointed out by recording the facts.

This evening we are going to look at a second "hint" of the troubles involved in dealing with "people".

• I. The Whole City Had Been "Synagogued" At the Door.
  • A. Mark's choice of the verb "episunago" is subtle.
    • 1. This verb (used only by Mark in two places in his record) is an intensified form of a word that has, as its root, the noun "synagogue".
    • 2. Because of the prominence of the synagogue in our record (1:21, 23, 29, 39), we are compelled to think down the trail of the significance of "being synagogued".
      • a. In this record, "coming together as a synagogue" is determinedly focused by Mark on the "position" the synagogue had in the minds of the people in Capernaum.
        • 1) Most prominently, the notion of "going to synagogue" was to either learn the doctrine or be reinforced in that doctrine.
          • a) It was the place to which Jesus repeatedly returned to teach "His authoritative and new" doctrine.
          • b) It was the place where the "people" to which Jesus had been sent "religiously" gathered for "teaching" (and they did this whether, or not, the effort of gathering there was "work" on the Sabbath).
        • 2) The second most prominent issue in Mark's focus on the synagogue was the presence of "unclean", "demonic", "spirits" in that place with a "What have we to do with You?" mentality (1:23-24; and 1:39 where "healing" is noticeably absent).
      • b. Mark's "point" is that what happened "at the door" with the whole city present, forced the issues of the "synagogue experience" of that prior day.
        • 1) The "new" doctrine was "grace".
        • 2) The "old" doctrine was "law".
        • 3) Since the two are mutually exclusive; it is decision time.
          • a) The "city" was seeking to combine them, with the "doctrine" of "performance" and the "benefits" of "grace" in an amalgamation.
          • b) But Jesus would have none of it: the fruit comes from the root (one cannot live in one tree and feed on the fruit of a different tree).
    • 3. Thus, being "synagogued" by Jesus, "after" the Sabbath had passed, by compelling the people to come to Him for the benefits, was a summons to a "decision" [Note carefully John 9:22] that was of no small consequence.
  • B. The "Synagoging" was "of the whole city".
    • 1. Everyone was being inexorably drawn by their own desires to the "force" of the issues: it's Jesus or the demonic synagogue [Note Revelation 2:9].
    • 2. But, there is a second issue.
• II. After a Short Night, Jesus Arose Very Early to Pray.
  • A. Mark's records of Jesus' "prayer life" are exceptionally "few" (6:46 and 14:32-39).
  • B. That of the three references, two are in respect to the same sub issue (enormous popularity) and all three concern extraordinarily dangerous situations, has to mean that Mark is setting the stage early for his major thesis: Jesus' impact upon us will ultimately force us to decide the main decision.
    • 1. The "main" decision is this: would you rather have the approval of a multitude of men, or of God?
    • 2. This is the essence of "the pride of life" issue.
  • C. This issue is also "subtle".
    • 1. It is extremely easy to hide the motivation issues under "the name of Jesus".
    • 2. It is a subtle temptation to even attempt to gain the approval of God by "performance" (pride of functional ability).
      • a. Hudson Taylor's "spiritual secret" can be summarized as: I thought early that it was my faithfulness to Him that was key, but I discovered that it was His faithfulness to me that was key.
      • b. The focus upon "my faithfulness" boils down to "my performance", whereas the focus upon "His faithfulness" boils down to "faith in grace".
  • D. Peter's frantic search and declaration indicates the "problem".

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This is article #062.
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