Welcome
to my Gospel of Mark Series. During 2012-13, each week, I will write a
post about the Gospel of Mark as I review and explore each of the 16
chapters and how it may be applied in our daily lives. My goal is to
understand and pray the Gospel of Mark. I hope you will join me on this
journey as we travel through the liturgical season of Year B. In
today's post, we explore chapter 3:7-12 which is the crowds around
Jesus.
As
in the second part, a summary passage begins a third part of Mark’s
Gospel. This third part describes the work and mission of Jesus at its
height. Jesus withdraws again (1:45), this time to the shore of Lake
Galilee. Hearing from others about all He was doing, the crowds flock
to Him there from all over Galilee, and from Jerusalem and other distant
regions.
Hearing
the word, or the gospel, brought by Jesus a key theme recurring through
this third part of Mark’s Gospel. Until now the crowds have heard His
word from others, not from Jesus Himself.
In
this opening summary passage, the people crowds around Jesus with wild
enthusiasm, pressing tightly against Him. Those troubled with diseases
try to touch Him, for He has freed people from many different kinds of
evil. They sense a new power in Him. So many have come that there is
danger He will be crushed by the crowds. He asks His disciples to have a
boat ready on the lake. He may need to move from the shore.
Mad
people fall on the ground in front of him, shrieking that He is the Son
of God. Mark states again his strange view that the demons know the
truth which Christians believe about Jesus, and which the reader already
knows from the Gospel prologue,, but which the crowds and the disciples
have not yet discovered.
Mark
emphasizes again that Jesus silences the demons and will not let them
make known His true identity. The people and His disciples have not yet
experienced Jesus deeply enough, it seems, to believe what the title
“Son of God”’ really means.
Jesus
is truly known as the Son of God only by believers. Through their
faith they can recognise in his person and liberating service of others
God’s own life and action coming into the world.
In our journal and/or our discussion group we may wish to reflect on this passage as follows:
- Name the key points that you have learnt about the person of Jesus in this passage of scripture?
- Reflect on the keywords in this passage for they contain the substance and purpose of all the things Jesus said and did-
- Consider my relationship with Jesus in the light of this Gospel passage.
- Reflect on how it must have felt to be one of the crowd pressing on Jesus to touch him. Is there a desire to see Jesus so much that I want to crush Him?
- Try to feel something of what Jesus felt when He saw the attitudes of the crowds and those who were sick and were possessed by demons. Make a list of areas in my life that need a change of heart and develop an action plan on how this change of heart might occur. (eg name an area and name one/two changes that you will implement with God's help.
- What impact does Jesus’ teaching have on you (3:7-12).
- How has this passage spoken to you- what does it say to you personally?
It is important to remember that St Mark wishes us to know the person of Jesus.
What does this passage of scripture tell you about the person of Jesus?
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