Lesson 4

Conflict, Mountaintops, Redefinition

Mark 3:1–35

 

LAST WEEK IN REVIEW

Mark recorded four examples of great and defining works of Jesus during the early Galilean ministry, and how this led to conflicts between Jesus and the religious leaders of His day.  These religionists had so legalized their Judaism that the actual meaning and heart of the Law of Moses had taken a second place to their traditions.  Jesus addressed the heart of our need and the need of our heart to be right with God, not just leaning on external and empty ritual.  In each of the four examples, we also learned of four aspects about Jesus.  The following chart summarizes what we learned:

 

Passage	Event	Truth about Jesus
v. 1–12	Healing the paralyzed man	Power to forgive sins as the Son of Man
v. 13–17	Calling of Matthew and fellowshipping with sinners	The great Physician who alone has the cure for what ails us
v. 18–22	Jesus’ disciples not fasting	Our heavenly Bridegroom for whom we joyfully wait
v. 23–28	Jesus’ disciples picking the corn kernels on the Sabbath	The Lord of the Sabbath, and its Creator

 

 

DAY ONE:  Compassion and Conflict

Please carefully read Mark 3:1-6 and answer the following questions.

 

1.  As we mentioned last week, today’s passage is the fifth example of the growing conflict between Jesus and the hypocritical religious leaders that opposed Him.  We don’t know specifically when this took place, but what happened, and who else sought to be around Jesus on the Sabbath (v. 1, 2)?

 

NOTE:  The Greek word for Sabbath here is plural, Sabbaths, so it seems that they were spying on Jesus on a number of occasions, or watching him closely as the niv put it.  This is confirmed when we consider that the verb watching is in the imperfect tense, which means it was a continuous action of spying on Him.[i]

 

2.  What was Jesus’ reaction to the man’s plight, and how did He address the accusing thoughts of the Pharisees (v. 3, 4)?

 

NOTES:  Although the niv and nlt have Jesus saying, “stand up front,” the Greek phrase means to stand in the middle of everyone. Nowhere in this story did the man ask to be healed, and certainly he could have been healed the next day.  But rabbinic law (their own tradition) had so twisted the idea of working on the Sabbath that they said healing was only allowed if a life was actually in danger; the real issue wasn’t even compassion for a man who had suffered for years and had no hope, but for Jesus to further demonstrate the validity of His message and claims.[ii]

 

3.  What was Jesus’ two-fold response to these people?  What happened to the man, and what was the Pharisees’ reaction to this (v. 5, 6)?

 

4.  Jesus had three emotional reactions toward this situation.  The first was compassion to save this man suffering and ostracism.  Jesus’ use of “to save life or to kill” could be expanded “to save from danger, loss, and destruction, or to destroy either physically or morally, to deprive of spiritual life leading eternal misery in hell,”  maybe implying there was more at stake for this man than they knew from their limited viewpoint.  The second reaction was anger, which in Greek means not an outburst of wrath, but as a state of mind.  This is the only place in the Gospels where this word is used to describe Jesus.[iii] It is interesting that Aristotle said that this type of anger “is desire with grief,”[iv] for Jesus’ anger soon turned to grief, which means to be afflicted, grieved for another person, similar to the Greek word for sympathy, to feel pain together with another.  These men were on thin ice with Jesus, but we see that He chose to show grief and sorrow over their hardened hearts as He looked right through them, silencing them. 

 

We all experience these types of emotions in our lives.  What are some things you learn about them from the following passages?

 

Compassion (Psalm 111:4, 145:8; Lamentations 3:22, 23, 32; 1 Peter 3:8):

Anger (Nehemiah 9:17; Psalm 30:5, 37:8; Ephesians 4:26, 27):

Grief (Isaiah 53:4-6; 2 Corinthians 7:9-11; Ephesians 4:30-32):

 

Scripture Memory:  This week we will be memorizing Mark 3:34, 35.  Review the passage several times throughout the day each day this week, and by the end of the week, you should have it memorized completely.

 

And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers!  For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother.”  Mark 3:34, 35 (nkjv)

 

DAY TWO:  Multitudes and Mountaintops

Please carefully read Mark 3:7-15 and answer the following questions.

 

1.  In Mark 3:6, the Pharisees went to take council with the Herodians (a group of Jews who were sympathetic to and supported King Herod’s rule) about how they might destroy (Greek, as one would slaughter an animal) Jesus; ordinarily the Pharisees wanted nothing to do with this false ruler over the Jews, but “common enemies make strange bedfellows.”[v]  Even stranger to believe is that the Pharisees would later have to collaborate with the Sadducees, with whom they were in complete disagreement (see your Introduction about their conflict), for the Sadducees controlled the Sanhedrin (a sort of Jewish Supreme Court), and being collaborators with Rome, they alone would have the power to seek an execution of someone.[vi] 

 

This now lead to a shift in Jesus’ Galilean ministry, described by Mark in 3:7-6:13.[vii]  What did Jesus seek to do, but what happened as He did (v. 7, 8)?

 

 

2.  Jesus sought to withdraw to the Sea of Galilee after all these things.  The word withdraw is used only here in Mark, and it isn’t clear whether it meant being forced out of necessity to do so or just take a break.[viii]  But then there came a huge crowd (“a great throng, a vast multitude,” amp) not just from Galilee but from cities in the areas south, east, and northwest from there.[ix] What did they have to do in view of this large group, and how did Jesus graciously minister to these people (v. 9-12)?

NOTE:  The fickleness of this mob of people would soon be demonstrated.  Mark of course recorded what Jesus did much more than what He said, while the other Gospels demonstrate how Jesus taught these people extensively.  This group seemed to have little response to Jesus’ teaching, but focused on what He was able to do for them; it is ironic that the demons recognized Jesus to be the Son of God, but all the multitudes seemed to see is Him as a miracle worker to meet their every whim.[x]

 

3.  Jesus finally found a place to escape the crowds and distractions up on the nearby mountain.  Luke 6:12 tells us He spent all night alone in prayer about the monumental task He had to do.  What did He do in Luke 6:13-15, and for what three reasons did He select this group of men (you can actually find four if you use the kjv or the nkjv)?

 

4.  These men were quite an unusual bunch, as we’ll discuss tomorrow.  Of all those following Jesus, He ordained these twelve men, chosen according to His own will.  They came to Him but in no way did He force them to accept this challenge.[xi]  How can we gain insight about our calling to follow and serve Jesus, as well as reassurance about that, from the following passages?

 

Zechariah 4:6; John 15:1-5, 16

1 Corinthians 1:26-31

Philippians 1:6, 2:12-16, 4:13, 19

 

Scripture Memory:  Try to fill in the missing words in the blanks below, by memory if at all possible, and then review the passage several times today.

 

And He looked around in a _________________ at those who sat about Him, and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers!  For whoever does the _____________ of God is My _____________________ and My sister and mother.”  Mark 3:34, 35 (nkjv)

 

DAY THREE:  Disciples Are Designated

Please carefully read Mark 3:16-20 and answer the following questions.

 

1.  Jesus selected twelve men to have this special relationship with Him.  These were quite a motley crew.  No rabbi of Jesus’ day would have chosen such a mixed group?well, maybe except for Judas Iscariot, the only one who showed promise!  At the end of this day, examine the chart provided to learn more about these men.  Many of these names are nicknames, which were common in Jesus’ day, even to put on tombstones.[xii]  Using nicknames for someone shows a sign of closeness and even affection.  Jesus referred to them in terms that indicated He saw their potential, not just the rough raw material they were then.  What do the following passages tell us about the basis of Jesus’ choice of them, and encourage us about ourselves at the same time?

 

1 Samuel 16:7; Psalm 147:10, 11

2 Chronicles 16:9; 2 Corinthians 4:7

Isaiah 55:8, 9

 

2.  After this awesome experience in the mountains, like after many a retreat, reality was waiting for them at the bottom of the hill!  To what extent did ministering to these people impact Jesus and His men (v. 20)?

 

Mark’s List of the Apostles

How well do you know the Apostles?  We find them listed in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Acts 1:13, 26 (adding Judas’ replacement, Matthias).   The choosing of twelve men was significant, recalling the twelve tribes of Israel, yet here in the New Covenant that Jesus was establishing.[xiii] The following chart was designed to help us understand the men Jesus chose, what their name or nickname meant or designated, and what we know of their ultimate impact for the One Who called them.[xiv]

 

“Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach,  and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons” (Mark 3:14, 15 , nkjv)

 

 

APOSTLE	NICKNAME/MEANING	IMPACT ON THEIR WORLD
Simon Peter	Simon:  hearing	Always the first apostle mentioned
	Peter: a stone, fragment of a rock	Preached the first Gospel sermon
		First apostle to preach to Gentiles
		First apostle to perform a miracle and raise the dead
		Wrote two Epistles
		Mark's Gospel probably is based on his testimony
		Ministered in many areas of the Roman Empire or beyond
		Peter's wife was killed before him, and then he was crucified upside down
James	James: Supplanter	Present with Jesus in the Transfiguration and in the
	Son of Zebedee: my gift	Garden of Gethsemane
	Son of Thunder	Highly doubtful tradition that he went to Spain
		First apostle to be martyred, by Herod Agrippa in AD 44
		Left us no written or spoken word
John	John:  Jehovah graciously gives	Was a companion of Jesus with Peter and James
	Brother of James	Cared for Mary after Jesus' death
	The disciple whom Jesus loved	Leader in the Jerusalem church
		Moved to Ephesus for many years
		Wrote his Gospel, Epistles, Revelation
		Exiled to the Island of Patmos
		Only apostle not to be martyred
Andrew	Andrew: manly	Always introducing others to Jesus
		Possibly ministered in Scythia (Russia) and Greece
		Possibly spent time in Ephesus with John
		Martyred in Greece on an X-shaped cross
Philip	Philip:  warrior, lover of horses	Traditions about him unclear
		We never read of him after Pentecost
		Not the same Philip in Acts 6, 8
		Possibly ministered in France (Gaul)
		Probably died in Heiropolis
Bartholomew	Bartholomew mean son of Tolmai	Possibly ministered in Asia Minor, the east to India
	Many believe this was Nathaneal	Believed to have preached in Armenia, working healings
		Traditionally martyred in Armenia
Matthew	Matthew:  Gift of Jehovah	Traditions about him are unclear
	Levi: joined, adhesion	Perhaps went to Ethiopia, Macedonia, Syria, Persia
		Most likely wrote the Gospel of Matthew
		Possibly was beheaded in Egypt
Thomas	Thomas:  a twin	His so-called doubting led to some of the greatest revelations of Jesus
	Didymus his Greek name	Ministered in Babylon and regions eastward
		Probably ministered in India
		Martyred by being pierced with a lance, possibly as he knelt in prayer
James son	James: Supplanter	Traditions are unclear
of Alpheus	Alpheus: changing	The brother of Matthew; their mother stood at Jesus' cross and His tomb
	"James the small" or "lesser"	Was possibly a zealot
		Martyred, but unclear when or where as traditions have mixed up him
		and James the Just
Thaddeus	Thaddeus:  large hearted, courageous	Perhaps was a zealot
	Also referred to as Lebbaeus (man of	Traditionally ministered  in Armenia and Persia
	heart) and Jude (praise)	Martyred in Syria or Persia
		Not the same Jude that wrote the epistle
Simon the	Simon:  hearing	Possibly was a zealot
Canaanite	Canaanean is Aramaic for zealot or	Martyred with Jude in Syria or Persia
	zealous one	Some believe he made it as far west as Britain
		Most likely martyred in Persia, being sawn in two
Judas	Judas: He shall be praised