Chapter # 4 Paragraph # 1 Study # 1
January 14, 2020
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
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Thesis: Beginning with chapter four, Mark shifted from his focus upon evangelism ("fishing for men") to a focus upon the edification of disciples ("mending the nets").
Introduction: When we wrapped up our studies of the responses of men to the question of Jesus' identity last week, we concluded Mark's initial focus for his "Gospel" upon evangelism. When Mark "introduced" the major players in his record of "the main issue of the Gospel of Jesus Christ", he began with John the Baptizer because he was the "pivotal link" between God's promise of the coming of One Whose "might" would bring about the needed provision for "Life" (forgiveness of sins) and the fulfillment of that promise. John was the "pivot" from "Promise" to "Fulfillment".
Then, he turned his "introductory material" to the Person of Jesus of Nazareth as the Coming One Whose embrace of John's baptism (full embrace of the doctrine of "forgiveness" at the point of "repentance") resulted in God's audible identification of Him as "My Beloved Son". At this point, Jesus was presented as One upon Whom the Spirit of God descended to address the root problem of "sins" that needed "repentance" so that He was "driven" into the wilderness to "undo" the power of Satan's "temptations".
Then, Jesus moved to set "discipleship" in motion by 1) giving the essence of His message, 2) choosing the first four of those who would carry on His ministry after His departure, and 3) identifying the two major elements of that ministry ("fishing for men" and "mending the 'nets' by which they are 'caught'").
Mark then moved from "introduction" to the "main body of his record" by putting a strong focus upon the first of the two major elements of the ministry: presenting Jesus of Nazareth as The Object of Faith and "summoning" people to Him (evangelism). The "responses" to Jesus' "fishing for men" are recorded in chapter three and bring us to the "corner" in his "walk through the Gospel of Jesus".
Now, with the beginning of chapter four, we have turned that corner. The remaining content of his record is focused upon Jesus' spoken commitment to the original "four": He is going to begin "making them" to be both "fishers of men" and "menders of the nets". In other words, the rest of Mark's effort to present Jesus as he sees Him is dedicated to the revelation of Jesus as "Disciple Maker" with a strong focus upon Jesus as the Solution to the "root of sin's productions in men, especially 'disciples'" which Mark saw as an enslaving bondage to "the fear of the negative, and lust for the positive, opinions of men". There is a huge body of truth within the New Testament that reveals the power of men to control each other by the "giving" or "withholding" of "glory". Two examples are Jesus' pointed declaration in John 5:44 that "faith" is impossible to the one who wants human approval more than divine approval, and Paul's pointed declaration in Galatians 1:10 that the desire to "please men" at the expense of the truth will absolutely destroy the ability to be a "servant of Christ".
Thus, this evening we are going to begin to look particularly into Jesus' "discipleship training" of those whom He called.
- I. That We Are Dealing With a "Corner" Is Revealed by Mark.
- A. In 3:13-15 Mark told us that Jesus' purpose in "calling those He wanted" included a time for them "to be with Him".
- B. In that same place Mark told us that Jesus' purpose in "calling" also included a time for them "to be sent forth" to carry on His ministry among men.
- C. Since Mark records Jesus purposefully shifting to the edification of those "called" to the exclusion of the masses (4:11-12), and actually "sending forth" those who had been "with Him" in 6:7, we can confidently conclude that the material in 4:1-6:13 is "focused discipleship".
- II. Mark's Introductory Details in Mark 4:1-2.
- A. Jesus' "beginning to teach again by the sea side".
- 1. The "again" is tied backwards to 2:13 where Mark first told us that Jesus "was teaching the multitude by the sea side".
- 2. And 2:13 is tied backwards to 1:16-20 where Mark told us that Jesus called the original four as He was walking along the shore of the sea of Galilee.
- a. To make sure that we "got the linking" in the record, Jesus, immediately after the "sea side" activity, "called" the fifth "disciple": Levi.
- b. Thus, "teaching", "multitude", and "sea side" are all indications that Mark intends that we see the "point": Jesus is focusing upon His commitment to "make disciples" as He originally promise [a commitment revealed in 3:7 at the beginning of the "calling" of those whom He wanted].
- 3. Mark's words are "...and a great crowd are being led together (sunagetai; present tense, following on the heels of 2:2 and the "synagogue events of chapter one)..."
- a. "Authority".
- b. "New doctrine".
- c. "...taught them many things by parables ... in His doctrine".
- B. Jesus' resorting to "teaching from a boat".
- 1. The original "calling" included the "two" who were in a boat, "mending nets".
- 2. The deliberate move away from the multitude by getting into a boat and floating a short distance out into the sea accomplished one thing beyond doubt: He forced their attention to His "teaching" to have the backdrop of "the sea".
- a. Mark deliberately says this: Jesus "sat in the sea and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land".
- b. The reason's are not "obvious" at a cursory glance.
- 1. Below the surface, however, are these facts.
- a) The original four were seeking to derive their "livelihood" from a deadly environment.
- 1) All four were fishermen by trade.
- 2) The "sea" is presented as "deadly" by Mark: 4:37-38; 5:13; and 9:42.
- b) There is a significant revelation from Daniel 7:9-11 in comparison to Revelation 4:5 and 15:2.
- 1) Extending from the throne of God is a fiery stream that flows into a "sea" of "fire".
- 2) The "saints" can stand upon the surface of that "sea", but the wicked, when cast into that "sea", are swallowed up by it (Revelation 20:11-15).
- c) Jesus' ability to walk upon the sea was a real action that set forth a metaphor of "seas" and "survival" and "disaster": the saints are exempt from the Death to come.
- 2. The "point" is that Jesus forced those who would hear His "teachings" to face the "sea" while listening to Him.
- a) The writer of the hymn, "Brethren, We Have Met to Worship", caught this metaphor with precision: "Death is coming, Hell is moving ... "
- b) The "sea" is a subtle declaration that its environs are death, but the subtlety is a screeching demand when the "storm is upon us".
