Chapter # 3 Paragraph # 2 Study # 1
October 1, 2019
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
(110)
1901 ASV
7 But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judaea,
8 And from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea, and [
from] beyond Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things he did, came unto him.
9 And he spake to his disciples, that a small ship should wait on him because of the multitude, lest they should throng him.
10 For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues.
11 And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God.
12 And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known.
- I. The Paragraph in its Place in the Narrative.
- A. One of the large issues: Jesus as "The Son of The God".
- 1. This was introduced obliquely with John's declaration of a Coming, More Inherently Strong, One than he.
- 2. Then it was explained and clarified with the Voice from Heaven after Jesus' baptism by John: "This is My beloved Son".
- 3. And now it is again declared at the end of a paragraph that has a kind of strategic position within the larger section of Mark.
- a. It is pretty clear from 2:1-3:6 that Mark wants his readers to understand the opposition to Jesus from the religious leadership of Judea.
- b. It is also pretty clear from 3:13-35 that Mark is fundamentally dealing with the three basic decisions that Jesus' identity as "The Son of The God" generated in the nation.
- c. Therefore, this paragraph serves primarily as a larger "summary" of the issues that have been the focus of the prior content.
- 1) There has already been a "pattern" to the material in which "evidence" is given to validate the claim regarding His identity and followed up with a record of the response (primarily of the religious establishment) that His identity-claims generated.
- 2) In this paragraph we have a return to a kind of "summary" of the issues involved and that is then followed by a more detailed record of "responses" (expanded beyond the religious leaders).
- d. That Jesus demanded that the unclean spirits refrain from making this aspect of His identity known was fairly important (He censured them greatly...).
- 1) It was not because He wasn't The Son of The God.
- 2) It was that such an identity at this point was beyond the grasp even of "disciples", not to mention all of the rest of those flocking around Him (John 16:12). It can be a stumbling block to be made aware of a truth that is so "out there" that it cannot be readily imagined.
- B. Another of the large issues: Jesus as "popular beyond imagining".
- 1. This is the critical "sticking point" with those leaders whose "leaven" has "leavened them" into "glory-seekers" to the point of "an intention to destroy".
- a. These "beyond the point of no return" people simply cannot stand the reality that they are losing the glory of the synagogue and its "teaching" mechanism.
- b. Seldom do men recognize that, for those fully leavened, in the final stage of loss, murder is settled upon as the way to regain what has been lost, but that is where this leads.
- 2. The level of "popularity" is deliberately described.
- a. A "much great number" (polu plethos in verse seven; plethos polu in verse eight; ton ochlon in verse nine; pollous in verse ten; and polla in verse twelve).
- b. The identification of many geographical places from which the "much great number" came.
- 1) Galilee (north of Samaria and Judea and on the west side of the Sea of Galilee).
- 2) Judea (centered in the land, west of the northern tip of the Dead Sea).
- 3) Jerusalem (the central focus of all of the entire region, and locus of the religious practices and doctrine).
- 4) Idumea (south of Judea; west of the main body of the Dead Sea).
- 5) Beyond Jordan (east of Judea on the east side of the river).
- 6) Tyre and Sidon (north of Galilee on the shore of the Mediterranean sea).
- 3. Then, it is repeated (in verse 9) in the phrase "on account of the crowd" (dia ton ochlon) and doubled down upon (in verse 10) with "many" (pollous) whose presence and pressure threatened to do to Him what the Pharisees and Herodians wanted (mindlessly trample Him).
- II. Mark's Points of Focus Beyond These Obvious Ones.
- A. Jesus "returns" to the sea.
- 1. This has already been presented as having three major theses.
- a. One is Jesus' habit of using the "sea" as a place to go to obtain disciples.
- b. Another one is the reality of the "sea" as a deadly environment that contains a "promise" of life that is delusional.
- c. And the third which makes "the sea" a metaphor for a great host of people who were to be sought out as a fisherman seeks out fish (a metaphor that endures unto the imagery of the Revelation of Jesus Christ; Revelation 13:1).
- 2. Now we have a further development.
- a. Jesus' "escape" from the threat of being trampled is the use of the "sea" as a barrier to the threat.
- b. He forces the vast multitude to have to face their fear of the sea (it keeps them from getting to Jesus).
- B. The masses are acting out their deep-seated narcissism as they mindlessly press their "wants" to a carelessly "murderous" level.