Chapter # 6 Paragraph # 5 Study # 3
February 15, 2022
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
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Thesis: A significant sub-theme of this record is Jesus' deliberate refusal to intervene "before the time".
Introduction: In our last study we saw that Mark inserted into his narrative three aspects of the disciples' problematic attitudes (the blindness created by the darkness; the false confidence created by the disciples' familiarity with their boat; and the overwhelming threat of death generated by the very nature of the "sea" as an opposition to any who depend upon the ability to breathe air in order to "live"); and the "deliberate Jesus" Who is seeking out those who are to be "The Second Eve" as He is "The Second Adam" (
1 Corinthians 15:45).
In our study this evening we are going to consider Mark's focus upon "the deliberate Jesus" Who acts, when He acts, to address the necessary issues of "disciple transformation".
- I. Issues of "Deliberation".
- A. The "deliberate" refusal to allow what is "seen" to prompt an "immediate rescue".
- 1. The verb translated "seeing" is actually "having seen" and it indicates that Jesus "had seen" the disciples' struggles, but did not "go to them" immediately, waiting until the fourth watch of the night.
- 2. This reality is established as a pattern in biblical revelation.
- a. The woman with the issue of blood for twelve years (5:25).
- b. The woman with a disease caused by a "spirit" for eighteen years (Luke 13:11 and following).
- c. The man born blind in John 9 for the particular reason that "the works of God might be displayed in him..." (9:3 and 24).
- d. The long delay in Abraham's life between the giving of the promise and its fulfillment in Isaac.
- e. The even longer delay between the giving of the promise in Genesis 3:15 and its fulfillment some 4,000 years later.
- f. Etc., including the promise of Jesus' return for His church.
- g. The entire point of this "process" is the "solidification of faith" because it is the major reason for the "rejection of faith" (Note the "scoffers" of 2 Peter 3:3-4 and the "evil servant" of Matthew 24:48 and Luke 12:45).
- B. The description of what Jesus "saw" early to which He responded late.
- 1. The verb translated "straining" is used in only two of Mark's texts: 5:7, where it is not "straining"; and 6:48 (our current text).
- a. In 5:7 the verb is "active" so that Jesus is being pictured as "imposing an unwelcomed situation" upon the "legion" of unclean spirits.
- b. In 6:48 the verb is "passive" so that the disciples were not "straining", but were being subjected to 'having to strain' because the situation was significantly oppositional.
- c. Mark's point is that the disciples were having no success in their efforts to "go to Bethsaida" in spite of the fact that they had a long history of being able to compel their boat to go where they wanted it to go.
- 1) These efforts were not minor; their muscles were being pressed to their limits; being subjected to the storm after a very long day and starting out tired to begin with ... and they are being forced to labor for many hours.
- 2) There is a pattern: Jesus had, earlier that evening, given them a demand that they "do" something they could not "do" ("You give them to eat"); and now He has given them a task that they do not see as "impossible", but they still cannot "do" what He told them to "do".
- 2. The verb translated "at the oars" is not even translated as a verb.
- a. The verb is only used five times in the New Testament and it always means "attempting to force an action upon someone/thing".
- b. The issue is not "the oars"; it is the disciples' attempt to force the boat to do their will as "disciples of Jesus Who has told them what to do".
- 3. At issue in Jesus' "deliberate" refusal to intervene immediately is the biblical reality of the need for a legitimate foundation to be in place before "demand" and "success".
- a. The preacher who preached, "Just do it".
- b. The tension of Scripture.
- 1) Paul's "boast", "I can do all things through Him Who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13), makes discipleship failure inexcusable.
- 2) Jesus' declaration, "Without Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5) makes it necessary for disciples to never seek to do anything independently.
- c. The necessary foundation is the firm conviction that both are true and neither are easy to "believe".
- 1) Earlier in the day, there was no question of the disciples' inability to feed the crowd.
- 2) Now, late into the night, the disciples are finding that they can't even row their boat to Bethsaida.
- 4. The "winds" were oppositional; just as they had been in chapter four.
- a. There are two major shifts in the situations.
- 1) In the former storm, the disciples were in fear of their lives (the situation was clearly out of their control), but in this storm, the disciples are not fearful, but determined.
- 2) In the former storm, Jesus was in the boat asleep, but in this storm He is nowhere around, and hasn't been, for hours.
- b. In Mark, there are only three contexts of "winds" and they are all "oppositional" and raise the possibility that they are under an opponent's control.
- C. Jesus' "intention" to "bypass" the disciples in their labor.
- 1. No other Gospel writer includes this statement that Jesus "was willing to bypass the disciples and their boat".
- 2. Mark's inclusion indicates that, if the disciples do not respond properly to His appearance, He will simply "walk on by".
- II. The Issue Of Human Response To Impossible Divine Imperatives.
- A. Almost always, humans are revealed to be "accusatory" ("Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died"): this is the automatic fault of human beings under "Law" without ability.
- B. Building the foundation of "confidence" in the accomplishment of the impossible is no small endeavor.
