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MARK: WORKING MESSIAH THIRD DIVISION: WHERE DOES THE MESSIAH ESTABLISH HIS KINGDOM? 4:35-7:23 THIRD SECTION: THE UNIVERSE 4:35-5:43
(The corresponding PowerPoint® presentation is Mark 3rd Division 1st Section THE UNIVERSE or click on Mark Third Division The Universe PP on the 'home page' for the Mark studies.)
The Outline:
I. The Storm Struggle: Power Over The Elements Of Wind And Sea 4:35-41
II. The Battle With “Legion”: Power Over Thousands Of Demons 5:1-20
III. Hemorrhaging And Sleeping: Power Over Sickness And Death 5:21-43
Questions To Aid In The Study Of This Section, Mark 4:35-5:43
Do I Count For Anything In A World Of Six Billion? How many of us feel very small in a world of 6 billion people? Does what I am or do count? Who cares? Do I have meaning or don't I have meaning? And what about the really big storms of life? Will I survive when the big storms of life hit me? Will I ever suffer a nervous breakdown, bankruptcy, or cancer? On one occasion I was making telephone calls around the country to various friends. I began to realize as I listened to them how many people were facing difficult challenges and decisions in their businesses and working lives. Enormous storms pass over us that rob us of all sense of security. We feel small, weak, trampled, and threatened by attacks on our persons, values and even our most cherished beliefs. Demotion And Other Painful Memories I had a friend who was a detective on the police force of his city. My detective friend discovered that a lawyer friend of his was implicated in a case of embezzlement. Because they were close friends the detective did not want to turn the lawyer in. But he had a terrible battle with his conscience and eventually decided he must inform the authorities. The lawyer happened to be a good friend of the mayor of the city. So what happened? My detective friend was demoted in rank, from detective to uniformed policeman. He had to return to uniform and they put him on the desk at reception. His salary was reduced. He only had two years before retirement so this reduced his pension. It was obviously a revenge organized by the mayor. The mayor was angry that my friend the detective had turned in his lawyer friend. However, my respect for my detective friend grew immensely! I knew a person whose boss would not pay him. He would only give him paychecks when he wanted to. You can't feed a family under those conditions. Fortunately he found another job and a job which used his specialty. Another friend worked 29 years as a teacher and the school retired her before she reached the 30 years, in order not to have to pay her the higher pension. A friend who owns an industrial cleaning business keeps the business small because he can supervise more directly. Occasionally an employee is tempted to steal and another might be tempted do a sloppy job. It does not take much to ruin the reputation of a business so he maintains a small well supervised business. Others have laid off their jobs because the business was sold or even because someone in the business was envious of them. We have been talking about the business world but there are trying situations in other areas of life that ‘rattle our cages’ and leave us flattened with fear and exhaustion. Maybe some have suffered terrible physical pain. Some may have passed whole nights pleading with the Lord to give them relief or grace because of the pain that racks their bodies.
In Their “Element” But why emphasize the problems and storms of the business world? Stop and think about where the disciples found themselves that day after Jesus had preached the gospel through the parables of the sower and seeds. In chapter 4 verse 35 Jesus told the disciples to get into the boat and sail for the other side. In the boat on the sea they were in their element because some of them were fishermen. It was their ‘business environment’. In this context so familiar to them a storm blew up! We have already suggested that the Gospel of Mark divides cleanly into 7 divisions. The division we are looking at now is the third, where the author is answering the question, "Where does the Messiah want to establish his kingdom?" In the first three scenes we see the Lord Jesus demonstrating his unlimited power over enormous destructive elements in the universe. I. The Storm Struggle: Power Over The Elements Of Wind And Sea 4:35-41
Twister! In this story on the Sea of Galilee we have Mark's version of the movie, "Twister"! These fishermen, experienced seamen, were terrified by the violence of the storm on Galilee! They were afraid they were going to drown. It wasn't a hurricane we experienced one day in northern Nigeria when I was 12 years old, but it was a powerful storm! There were lightening bolts, thunderclaps and torrents of water! I was playing with my brother in our room. He had a metal toy in his hand and was barefoot so when the lightening struck it threw him on the floor. The lightening touched down at the top of a tree next to the house. We saw the burnt branches and bare top of the tree the next day. An African friend was with us, leaning against the wall, and he didn't have his sandals on. He said he felt like a huge bag full of bricks had been dumped on him, when the lightening bolt struck. The force of the storm frightened all of us. The following day we not only saw the burnt branches at the top, but a dead bird at the foot of the tree. Weary And Tired But in that storm on the sea, Jesus was asleep. He was exhausted after days of work, ministering to people and teaching them. Now we know that God does not tire. Listen to the words of Isaiah 40:28, Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable (NAS95). But the Son of God became man, was made like us and submitted to human experiences such as weariness and tiredness. Hebrews 2:14-17 says, 14 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. 16 For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham. 17 Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people (NAS95). Is God Asleep? But someone may have gotten the impression that God was asleep. It seems that our lives are going from bad to worse, and God isn't doing anything about it! What can we do? We can pray just like they did in the boat. Maybe you just want to scream, "Listen, God, don't you care about me? I am drowning in my problems!" Those men prayed to Jesus asking him to save them. Another Kind Of Fear Jesus rose and calmed the winds and the sea. Then there was a great calm. Now another emotion overcame the disciples. It was reverential fear. Terrified by what they had just seen Jesus do, they said, "Who is this that even the winds and the waves obey him?" Now they gazed at him with increased respect. He not only healed the sick but showed an even greater power over the storms at sea. When the Lord calms life's storms for us will we respond in the same way? Will we feel the same respect and fear, worshipping him for his great power? The Lord seems to do it so easily, with just a word. But this should not surprise us. He made the heavens and the earth by the word of his mouth. Genesis 1:1, 3, 11, 14 and 15, 1 ¶ In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 3 ¶ And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. 14 ¶ And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so ( AV/KJV). Paul reveals the mystery of the person of Jesus Christ in Colossians 1:13-16, 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him (NIV). The Lord controls all things just as the psalmist declares in Psalm 135: 5 and 6, 5 For I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord is above all gods. 6 Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places. AV/KJV It became very clear to the disciples that they were in the presence of not just a prophet but someone greater than a prophet. In fact the answer to their question, "Who is this that even the winds and the waves obey him?" is given by someone we meet in the following story. What is surprising is that the one who answers is not a theologian. It was not doctors of the law from Jerusalem who answered. This question was answered by a demon-possessed man in the next story. The Last Hours Of The Ship Logos But let's stop and think about other cases of shipwreck. Here the Lord calmed the tempest. The apostle Paul suffered several shipwrecks and was rescued from them, but he had to suffer through them, with all that a shipwreck could imply. The gospel ship Logos also suffered shipwreck. It remains in view, above water, its belly pierced in three places by a rock in the Beagle channel, at the southern most tip of South America. The ship left port at night in stormy weather and the pilot requested transfer to his boat earlier than regulations called for. The launch that was carrying the pilot was bulky and not so easy to maneuver and the skipper was putting pressure on the pilot to get off the Logos. The captain of the Logos finally gave him permission because the sea was rough and the gale was increasing. The pilot showed the captain of Logos where to go down the channel but there was a strong current in the channel which the captain of Logos knew nothing about. After finally getting the pilot into the launch, after three attempts, the ship drifted onto a submerged rock. The rock was part of one of the two islands they were trying to navigate between. As the Logos captain tried to make head way the current prevented any advance, so the ship drifted on to the rocks and remained there all night. The crew waited till morning hoping a swell in the tide would raise the ship enough to free it from the rock and allow them to limp into port. But it was not to be. The movement of the ship against the rocks, with the tide, was like a can opener. The movement back and forth ripped three holes in the belly of the vessel, into the two holds at the bow, and into the engine room. They had to abandon ship but all the crew was rescued. The fact that they held regular safety drills on Logos stood them in good stead when the need finally arrived to use them. The Lord was good and saved them from death. The Logos Story by Elaine Rhoton unfolds the gripping account of God’s help and mercy to the crew and staff. (The Logos Story, Elaine Rhoton, OM Literature and Gabriel Publishing, 1988, 170-185.) II. The Battle With “Legion”: Power Over Thousands Of Demons 5:1-20
Tomb Raiding When Jesus and his band of disciples reached Gadara a ‘specter of a man’ out of the tombs met them. He was unusually powerful. People had bound him with chains and fetters but he broke them to pieces. He screamed out and raked himself with sharp stones. But when he saw Jesus he ran to him, fell down before him and cried out, "What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not (Mark 5:7 AV/KJV).” This slave of ‘unseen powers’ had answered the question of the disciples after Jesus had calmed the wind and the sea, "Who is this that even the wind and the waves obey him?" This wretch was not a theologian but he knew who Jesus was. The voice was his but the knowledge was that of Legion, the demons who were in control of his body. Those demons revealed the identity of Jesus. They called him the Son of the most high God, and added that they knew he could do them terrible damage. Where And Which Information Desk? We need to emphasize that neither Jesus nor his disciples sought information from these demons. These revelations about Jesus blazed out of the mouth of the demon possessed, but this is neither example nor permission to search for revelations from demons and familiar spirits, whether they seem innocent or not. God has revealed to us in the Bible all we need to know about Jesus, God, angels and demons. We are not to depend on revelations via angels or spirits because even the devil disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). He can look good, easily confusing us little by little with his lies, usually mixed with a healthy portion of ‘truth’. No, they did not seek information from demons, it spilled out as they went about the ministry and met those ‘possessed’ face to face. Without doubt these demonic angels were terrified by Jesus. They also knew that the life of this one man was more important to Jesus than the thousands of pigs grazing nearby, so they asked Jesus to send them into the swine. When the demons reached the pigs they rushed over a cliff and into the sea. The townspeople ran out and found Jesus and the demon possessed sitting there in his right mind. They learned about the herd of pigs and asked Jesus to leave their region. Possessed and Possessions Jesus had done a great favor to that man who was trapped in a hopeless situation. But the people of the area were more concerned about their possessions than about the possessed. The Gadarenes had never seen such power as that shown by Jesus. They did not stop to think about all the sick, other demon possessed, and those with great needs whom Jesus could have helped. As David Gooding commented on one occasion, “Some of them (people of the district), as we have noticed, had been willing to help the man when it was a matter of chaining him up; but if a man’s deliverance was going to cost a whole herd of pigs, that was a different matter altogether. A herd of pigs represented an enormous amount of food and money! They decided they must ask Christ to depart before, perhaps, he started saving any further demoniacs.” (According to Luke, David Gooding, IVP and Eerdmans, 1987, 146.) They were thinking about other demon possessed out of whom he might cast more demons, and the unbearable possibility that they might lose more pigs! In other words, forget the people; save the pigs! Ah, this is getting close to “home”! Have I decided in favor of possessions over people? The Answer Is, “No”! The disciples had prayed to Jesus out in the storm on the lake and now this man, delivered of demons, also prayed. He asked Jesus to allow him to join him and his disciples. But Jesus told him he may not follow him from place to place. Has this happened to you? God answers you with a ‘no’. The Lord had other plans for him who had been Legion. Then Jesus explained to him that he wanted him to stay in Gadara to testify to the people of that region what great things and what great mercy the Lord had shown him. Who better than this man to remind the people of his former life as the ‘living dead’ amongst the tombs! Who better than he to remind them of his terrible power that broke chains with bare hands! Who better than he to remind them that it was Jesus' mercy and power that overcame Legion and released him from a ‘living death’. Different Strokes For Different Folks There is something else here. Who did the people of Gadara fear more, Jesus or the man called Legion? It is a curious fact that they feared Jesus more than the man who had been possessed. They had not asked the man released from demons to leave their land, but rather they asked Jesus! Think about this next time you witness. If Jesus were to come to your town the people might fear him more than they fear you. Just as that man could be a more useful witness in his area than Jesus, so might we. The people may fear far more the great and mysterious power that controlled demons than someone who comes simply speaking about mercy. In any case we know that the Lord is dealing with different people groups around the world in different ways, and if it were not the case, then the world would be completely uniform, and it is not. But there is another element here which is not known for sure. Was it Jesus’ fault that the herd of pigs ran into the sea and drowned? Was it the fault of the demons? Did the demons do it in order to destroy the property and give Jesus a bad name in that region? Do we really know? A Terrible Ignorance What about the mercies of God to all of us? Even though the apostle Paul was not demon possessed before his conversion, he was in another "prison", in the grip of other powers. Let's listen to his words in his letter to Timothy. 12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; 13 Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. 14 And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. 15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. 16 Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. 17 Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen. 1Timothy 1:12-17 AV/KJV Just as the Gadarene had lived in ignorance, so did Paul. We have all lived in our ignorance until Jesus had mercy on us. Paul ends with praises to the God who reveals himself, the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only wise God. To him be the glory for ever and ever. Amen. But the rejection Jesus and his band suffered here will grow three scenes later. So Jesus and his followers left the region. III. Hemorrhaging And Sleeping: Power Over Sickness And Death 5:21-43
Things Got Worse Before They Got Better! Now Jairus came kneeling to Jesus and begged him to come to his home for his daughter was so sick, she was about to die. The prayer of this man was answered but not right away! Another person interrupted and made him wait. A woman ‘jumped the queue’ as they say in Britain and made the Master delay. In fact before Jairus' prayer to heal his daughter was answered she died. When Jairus made his petition, things actually got worse before they got better. Has this ever happened to you? The Master says, "Yes", to your prayer, but he does not act right away. You had to wait! Have you had your prayers answered like this? You are in desperate need and you ask God for help. He starts helping you but then you notice that someone else seems to be getting help faster than you do. It looks like they are receiving more help than you are. In fact your situation gets so bad you lose all hope. Your hope dies! Things get worse before they get better. Do you remember when Moses went to Egypt and challenged Pharaoh to let God's people go? Instead of letting the people go he put more pressure on them! God allowed Pharaoh to make his slaves work harder. Before that time they made bricks with straw and the straw was provided. Now the Pharaoh decreed that they had to go out and find the straw themselves and come up with as many bricks in the same time period. The Israelites complained to Moses that things were now worse. They thought Moses would kill them if he fought any longer for their liberty (Exodus 5:6-21). God was doing two things at once. He was preparing Pharaoh to finally and completely let them go, and he was preparing the Israelites to finally and completely want to go! Until that point was reached neither group was ready. Your burden may be reaching a point at which you feel desperate. It seems the Lord is helping another more than you. He may allow the situation to get quite out of your control. Allow him the privilege of being God! On the one hand the Lord wants us to be sensitive to the wounds of others. On the other hand he may want you to see him as the God who raises the dead, not just the God who heals (John 11:21-23, 43, 44)! He wants to be more glorious in our eyes than we can imagine. He doesn't want to be your tiny Savior. He wants to be your great and glorious Savior. JB Philips wrote a book on this issue and entitled it, Your God is Too Small! That title says it all! In the world of business where the ‘rule’ may be that you ‘don’t talk about religion in a positive way and Jesus is taboo’, you will need a great Savior who can open doors of witness for you. Ask him to do it! The Lord may allow a crisis in your office or business that will encourage people to reach out to God. They will see how great God is. “Get On The Bus!” The paragraph above was written long before the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. In the midst of the destruction at the World Trade Towers the Lord had his people mentoring others. In 2002, I heard on cassette tape, explained by the pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle, the testimony of one young lady who was witnessing to a colleague and her code for following Jesus was "getting on the bus." Then the day arrived when the plane struck their tower and they had to try to escape. They reached the ground and got disorientated but hung on to each other. Finally the pair made it to a bus where others were gathering to escape the dust hanging in the air that was suffocating them. The Christian heard her colleague say to her the words, "I guess it's time for me to get on the bus." Together they prayed and the colleague asked Christ to come into her life that day. If you are the only Christian in your ‘world’, remember how great God is and ‘hang on’ to God in prayer. The Lord may be preparing the ideal circumstances in which he can show himself to them. He may do it through you. Many people are concerned about spiritual matters and are looking for the truth lived out in our lives. Maybe you are someone who has virtually no non-Christian friends. In fact there is no one you know who is not a Christian. But look, the Lord can give you a friend who does not know him yet, someone to whom you can be an example, encouragement and mentor. The worker, who carries a burden for a particular people group, can persevere in prayer for the group. He must remember that there may be response in other groups before he sees a response in the group where he works. In fact things could even get more difficult in his chosen people group before they get better. Changes Keep in mind what has happened in one country. People have prayed for years for a positive response to Jesus as Savior in that land. I remember praying with the OM team in 1967 for the country of Iran. I was there nine months learning the language and distributing Bibles and Christian books. The majority religion of the Middle East held the religious power, but there was relative freedom to share the Good News about Jesus. Then the revolution came and so much changed! Things got more difficult with much confusion and persecution of believers. Pastors were martyred. But this all led to the growth of the church. There was a response on the part of those of the majority religion who were seeking answers and responding to salvation in Christ. They even attended churches of a Christian minority! This was most unusual. (From an oral report by H. Norrish) Again we would never desire the persecution of others but the Lord allowed, in his wisdom, certain things to take place in that country. Many other countries have known the gospel and it has been preached widely, but not so there. Then when blessing was what was really needed, it seemed as though a “dark period” came upon the country. But after the “darkness” God brought blessing. Waking Up The Dead The Lord eventually reached the house of Jairus and raised his daughter from the dead. He had everyone ushered out and said the girl was only sleeping. Those present probably thought that was a bad joke at the wrong time! But is not death like sleep and sleep like death? The little girl's death was like sleep to Jesus, because he could do something we can't do; he could wake the child up. I can wake you up if you are sleeping … I may have a shoe thrown at me! But I can't wake you up if you are dead! Jesus can wake the dead so he called it sleep. He Won’t Steal Your Job Praise God! Jesus "woke up" that child! But then he turned the work back over to those who could do it. He asked that she be fed! Jesus is not going to take things away from you that you can do. Isn't that wonderful? And isn't it wonderful that he does the enormously great things he can do in our universe? But Jesus desires to go deeper. He will go deep into the problems and needs of society in the next three stories. Jesus has demonstrated overwhelming power over 3 great areas of the universe, the physical elements, thousands of demons and sickness and death! In light of all the good he and his colleagues are doing you might expect people everywhere, in every place and at every level of society to welcome him unconditionally with open arms. Not so! No way! We will find as we enter 3 places, Jesus’ home town, various cities and Herod’s court that Jesus, his disciples and his herald John the Baptist will face rejection (6:1-29). But why? The last 3 scenes, in Mark 6:30-7:23, will tell us why. Questions To Aid In The Study Of This Section, Mark 4:35-5:43 1. 1. What were the 3 major areas in which Jesus demonstrated his power? 2. 2. What physical dangers have you faced? What did you do in response? Did you pray? What happened then? 3. 3. Whom did the Gadarenes fear more, "Legion" or Jesus? Why? 4. 4. Why did Jesus send the man delivered from demons back into his own society to tell them about the great things and mercy God had shown him, rather than allow him to join the band of disciples? 5. 5. What are some of your worst fears? Those of your family or friends? Those of your Bible class or congregation? 6. 6. Describe those occasions when you saw things get worse before they got better, as you prayed. 7. 7. What has the Lord done for you that you could not do for yourself? 8. 8. Find another Bible event when the Lord did marvelous things for those who prayed to him. Use it as a sermon or Bible study illustration. 9. 9. What verses of the Bible about prayer are your favorites? Check out the following passages: Matthew 7:7-117 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? 10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? (AV/KJV) John 14:13 and 14 13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. (AV/KJV) John 16:23b and 24 23b Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. 24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. (AV/KJV) Philippians 4:6 and 7 6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (AV/KJV)
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