Chapter # 6 Paragraph # 1 Study # 5
July 6, 2021
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
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Thesis: The roots of the panic of the hearers are the facts of His teaching and His contradiction of "that which 'Sabbath' possessed".
Introduction: In our last study I tried to make the case that Mark wanted his readers to focus upon what the Sabbath imposed upon those who attended the sessions of the synagogue. Since Jesus' "teaching" was contrary to first century Judaism, I thought it necessary to consider the impact that it made for Jesus to be teaching in the synagogue in the "patris" of Jesus.
When we considered Mark's use of "patris", we saw that Mark wanted his readers to consider the significance of Jesus as the supposed "son" of Joseph since it was Joseph who had established Nazareth as the "patris".
This evening we are going to look further into Jesus' heritage through the husband of Mary so that we might better understand why His teaching had the impact that it did in His "patris".
- I. The Interlocking Issues Of Jesus' Identities.
- A. Primary to Jesus' identities was His descent from David, the man to whom God had given an eternal covenant in regard to the throne of Israel (2 Samuel 7).
- B. Secondary to Jesus' descent from David, a descendant of Judah who was prophesied to sire a "Lion" Who would eventually sit upon the eternal throne, is the issue of "birthright".
- 1. The issue of "birthright" was the issue of being given the greater portion of the possessions of the "pater" as well as the position of the exalted heir.
- 2. The "birthright" of "Israel" was supposed to have been given to "Reuben" because he was the firstborn of Jacob, but it was not because of Reuben's sin (Genesis 35:22).
- 3. And, according to 1 Chronicles 5:2, even though Judah became more prominent among his brothers, he wasn't given the "birthright" either.
- 4. Instead, "Joseph", the favored son of Jacob, was given the "birthright".
- 5. Thus, though the husband of Mary was not a physical son of "Joseph" (he was a son of Judah), his name tied him to Joseph and, thus, to the "birthright".
- 6. And, though Jesus was not a physical son of Mary's husband, he was the "firstborn" in that household and, like his supposed 'father', inherited the "birthright, which, for "Joseph" was the inheritance of the "right" to sit upon the throne of David through Solomon.
- 7. In the tangle of these things, which was made worse by the curse God placed upon Solomon's offspring at the time of Jeconiah, what we end up with is: Jesus' real identity as a son of David through Nathan through Mary; his "official" identity as heir of the throne of the Kingdom through His "legal/Solomonic" connection to the household of Mary's husband; and his "birthright" identity as a "son" of a "Joseph", a "son" of a "Jacob" just as the original Joseph was a son of Jacob/Israel.
- 8. And, in addition, Jesus was an actual "firstborn" in God's Kingdom plans by being the first to be raised from the dead.
- II. Thus, The Panic Generated By His Teaching In The Synagogue.
- A. The "panic" was generated by the "authority" of Jesus' teaching (Mark 1:22).
- B. The "panic" was enhanced by the recognition by the inhabitants of the "patris" of three realities from the teaching.
- 1. The inhabitants of the "patris" were "hearing" with some level of understanding.
- 2. Those inhabitants, on the basis of their "hearing", raised three questions that had, apparently, become the critical issues in reaction to Jesus.
- a. From whence did this One get these "things" (His teachings) [Note John 9:29]?
- b. What is the "wisdom" which has been given to Him [Note John 9:16a]?
- c. How did these powers come into being through His hands [Note John 9:16b]?
- C. And the "panic" was "capped" by the awareness of the "official" position of Jerusalem as indicated in Mark 3:22 and the cost involved in rejecting that position [Note John 9:22] in conjunction with the reality that excommunication signaled a "forever loss"].
