Chapter # 7 Paragraph # 3 Study # 1
July 19, 2022
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
(Download Audio)
(323)
Thesis: Mark's record of Jesus' foray into non-Jewish regions was for the purpose of showing that Jesus was the same "Jesus" among the pagans that He was in Judea/Galilee.
Introduction: In our last studies, regarding the "Greek, Syrophoenician woman" we saw that Jesus' message regarding "repentance unto forgiveness" included the necessary attitude of "humility" and was "available" to anyone who possessed the required attitudes of "repentance".
This evening we are going to look into the next paragraph of Mark's record of Jesus' foray into non-Jewish regions.
- I. Another Look At Mark's "Pattern".
| Introduction |
| 6:14-29 | Leaven of Herod | 7:1-23 | leaven of Pharisees (from 8:15) |
| Inverted Pattern |
| 6:30-44 | Feeding of 5,000 | 7:24-30 | power story (exorcism) |
| 6:45-52 | "exceedingly astonished" | 7:31-37 | "utterly astonished" |
| by reason of His walk on water | by reason of His healing of a deaf mute |
| because of "no insight" | because of His "doing all things well" |
| 6:53-56 | power story | 8:1-9 | Feeding of 4,000 (healings) |
- II. Mark's Record Is Of Jesus' Activities Outside of Judea/Galilee.
- A. There is an "again" in the opening of this paragraph.
- 1. This points to another movement "into the regions of...".
- a. In the first record of Jesus' movement out of Galilee was into the regions of Tyre.
- b. In this "again" record, Jesus left the regions of Tyre and ended up in the regions of Decapolis.
- 2. The opening verse of this paragraph trace the movements of Jesus.
- a. He departed "out from within" (exelthon...ek) the regions of Tyre (where the record is entirely consumed by Jesus' dealings with the Greek, Syrophoenician woman).
- b. He went "through" (dia) Sidon (mentioned previously by Mark in 3:8); another area from which people came to witness Jesus' words and actions.
- c. He went "into" (eis) The Sea of Galilee.
- d. He arrived "above" (ana) the midst of the regions of Decapolis (mentioned previously as the area that heard the testimony of the demoniac of the Gerasenes about "what the Lord/Jesus had done for him).
- 3. Mark's overall point is that Jesus was moving through non-Jewish areas.
- B. Only when Jesus was "above the midst of the regions of Decapolis" did Mark record any specific event.
- 1. This "event" is the healing of a deaf mute.
- 2. As the singular "event", this healing has, in Mark's design, a parallel connection with Jesus' walk upon the water.
- a. In the record of the walk upon the water, we are told that the disciples initially identified Jesus as a "demonic" phantom and, afterward, were exceedingly astonished because, Mark says, "they gained no insight from the loaves because their hearts were hardened" (6:52).
- b. In this record, we are told that Jesus was sought after to heal a deaf mute and, after He did that, the people were utterly astonished because they could sse that He "has done all things well" (7:37).
- c. Mark does not tell us what "astonished" these people, but there is an implicit hint in that just as the disciples were astonished because they had misidentified Jesus out of a lack of insight, so these people were astonished because they had been told that Jesus was "of the devil" but He was "doing all things well".
- C. At issue in all of this is the "problem" of the "leavens" and the "solution" of the "feedings".
- 1. Because of the lack of insight regarding the "feedings", there was a necessity for something that would address that lack by addressing the "hardness of heart" that caused it.
- 2. Thus, the "walk on the water" and the "healing of the deaf mute" were designed to address the "hardness of heart".
- a. It was "hardness of heart" that caused the disciples to identify Jesus as a demonic phantom.
- b. It was "hardness of heart" that caused Jesus to be charged with being in league with the prince of demons.
- 3. These events addressed these roots of attitude.
- a. Jesus' walk on the water shocked the disciples into "recognition" of the point of the feeding of the 5,000 (Jesus is Master over "life/Life").
- b. Jesus' "doing all things well" contradicted the notion that He was from the devil in view of His prior exorcism of more than 5,000 demons from the man who was told to go into the Decapolis to tell his story.
- 4. The "bottom line" is in the records of the feedings.
- a. Mark makes the "problem" to be a pervasive attitude that determined the actions of the people who were "leavened".
- b. This "pervasive attitude" is addressed in the current story by the statement that Jesus told the people to not "tell anyone" -- strongly implying that Jesus was not seeking the "reputation" that His actions were generating, which is, itself, an implication that the "problem" was "seeking a reputation".
- c. The real meaning of the feedings.
- 1) Mark does not go into the details like the other Gospel writers did.
- 2) But those details focused upon the "problem" of "hardness of heart" at the level of "life vs. Life".
- a) In the above mentioned "pattern", this healing is set alongside Jesus' walk upon the water after the feeding of the 5,000: in this record, Jesus "does all things well", before the feeding of the 4,000.
- b) On the face of it, Jesus' walk upon the water is not obviously comparable to His healing of a deaf mute, but both cases are situations in which Jesus' dominion over the elements of creation is established beyond dispute.
- c) Since both "feedings" occur in spite of a radical absence of "food", Jesus' production of an over-abundance from an almost nonexistent provision is simply a great demonstration of His ability to provide for "life" at the level of "man shall live by bread".
- i. In the records omitted by Mark are the details of the temptation of Jesus by "Satan".
- ii. The "temptation" to turn stones into bread was, specifically, the temptation to put "physical life" above "the pursuit of the will of God at all cost" for the purpose of "Living" on the level of "relational Life".
- iii. When Eve was tempted to eat of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, the first issue was that the fruit appeared to be good for food: the backdrop was two-fold: she had no "need" to eat something for food (as though there was nothing else available); and she had the demand/warning of God to not eat that "food".
- iv. Alternatively, when Jesus was tempted to eat, there was nothing available but stones, and the only thing that Jesus had, in order to resist, was His awareness that if the Father wanted Him to eat, He would have answered His prayer to "give Me this day My daily bread".
- v. Thus, both "feedings" were massive demonstrations of a lack of any need to pervert the Love of God by pushing a "need for life" ahead of the "need to Live".
- 3) Mark's "point" is that "hardness of heart" exists where the "Love of God" is twisted so that it no longer dominates a person.
