Mark 3:1-19
Q .1. Why were the religious leaders scrutinising Jesus in the Synagogue? What do you make of the questions Jesus asked? How was the attitude of Jesus different from that of the Pharisees? – (Mk.3:1-6)
The focus of Judaism was on rule-keeping. That focus resulted in attention on external behaviour, rather than heart obedience. The leaders were therefore checking to see if Jesus would break their Sabbath rules. Jesus exposed their misapplication of the Sabbath, by asking – Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill? (Mk.3:4). The Sabbath was given by God to benefit man and bring life. What Jesus was about to do, namely, to heal the man with the withered hand, was consistent with God’s purpose behind providing the Sabbath. In fact, Jesus was grieved by their hard-heartedness (Mk.3:5). They reacted by forming an alliance with their opponents, the Herodians, with all planning to kill Jesus (Mk.3:6). They neither had life themselves, nor gave life to others.
Q.2. Where was Jesus ministering? Why did the crowds travel to Him? How did Jesus minister to the people? Why did He need a boat? Why did Jesus silence the evil spirits? – (Mk.3:7-12)
Jesus left the town and began a ministry on the banks of the Sea of Galilee. He trained His disciples outdoors, not in a classroom. Crowds of people streamed from Idumea in the south of Judah, from east of the Jordan River, and from Sidon on the north coast, because they all heard what Jesus was doing (Mk.3:7-8). Luke told us the reason why Jesus wanted a boat in readiness. It was because – the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the Word of God (Lk.5:1 c.f. Mk.3:9). As well, He healed many, and cast out unclean spirits who shouted – You are the Son of God (Mk.3:10-11). As previously recorded, though the unclean spirits loudly acclaimed Him, Jesus would not allow them to bear witness to His identity (Mk.3:12 c.f. Mk.1:23-26). That role is reserved for His followers.Â
Q.3. Why did Jesus withdraw to the mountain? Who went with Him? What instruction did He give the Twelve? Why did Peter head the list? What nickname did Jesus give the sons of Zebedee? – (Mk.3:13-19)
Jesus had a mission to accomplish, beyond His brief ministry while on earth. Even as He ministered to the crowds, Jesus invested in those who would carry the Gospel into the future. The Gospel writers tell us that He spent a whole night praying, to gain wisdom concerning those who should be part of His mission team (Mk.3:13 c.f. Lk.6:12). To become part of the Twelve was not for anyone to apply, since Jesus – summoned those that He himself wanted, and they came to Him (Mk.3:13). What did He appoint them to do? Their first calling was – that they would be with Him (Mk.3:14). He would send them out to preach. He also gave them authority to cast out demons … but the priority was to stay connected with Him, because He was the source of their wisdom and power (Mk.3:13-14). All the synoptic writers gave the same basic list, as we would expect (Mk.3:16-19 c.f. Mt.10:2-4; Lk.6:13-16). All the lists were headed by Simon Peter who was given the keys to the Kingdom of God (c.f. Mt.16:17-19. He would be the spokesman, both before and after Pentecost (c.f. Acts 1:15-22; 2:14-40). In the books of Matthew and Luke, the list starts with the two sets of brothers – Peter and Andrew, James, and John (c.f. Mt.10:2; Lk.6:14). However, Mark placed Andrew in the next group (c.f. Mk.3:18). Mark recognized the inner circle of Jesus who witnessed a number of incidents, not seen by the others (Mk.5:37 c.f. Mt.17:1; Mt.26:37; Mk.9:2; 14:33; Lk.8:51). Mark also informed us that Jesus had a special name for the sons of Zebedee, James, and John. He named them – Boanerges, meaning the sons of thunder (Mk.3:17). Jesus clearly had a sense of humour, but also identified their tendency towards extreme reactions (see Lk.9:51-56).