READ IT! - Introduction to Mark 5-11

Readings for this week

Monday: Mark 5

Tuesday: Mark 6

Wednesday: Mark 7

Thursday: Mark 8

Friday: Mark 9

Saturday: Mark 10

Sunday: Mark 11

Introduction to Mark 5-11

Chapter 5

Jesus and his disciples cross the Lake and arrive in the region of the Gerasenes. The text says that when Jesus got out of the boat, a man with a demon came running out of the tombs towards him. Jesus commands the demon to come out of the man who identifies himself as “Legion” – a host of demons. He begs over and over for Jesus not to send them out of the area. The demons request to be relocated to a nearby heard of pigs. Jesus gives them permission, and the pigs go crazy, and the whole heard jumps off a cliff and drowns in the Lake.

The Lake was also referred to as “the pit” by the people who lived near it, and they believed it was where Satan himself lived in chaos and darkness. So when the pigs jump into the Lake, the text is implying that even these “unclean animals” understood that these “unclean spirits” belonged in hell.

The man is restored to his right mind, and puts on some clothes. The pig farmers are afraid of Jesus, and beg him to leave the area. The people now act as the demons, begging for Jesus to leave them alone. The man now healed begs to go with Jesus, but Jesus tells him he should go home and tell his people just how much Jesus had done for him... which is quite the opposite command of the Messianic Secret that we normally see from Jesus when he's among his fellow Jews. The man begins to preach in The Decapolis (The Ten Cities) about Jesus.

Jesus crosses the Lake again and the crowds are waiting for him. A man named Jairus, a synagogue leader begs Jesus to come heal his sick twelve year old daughter.

On the way, Jesus is pressed by the large crowds. A woman is in the crowd who had been bleeding for twelve years. She believes that if she could only touch the “corners” or “wings” of Jesus’ garment, she would be healed. This thought refers back to the prophet Malachi, who said, “The Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings.” Jesus feels power go out from him and the woman confesses that she touched him. He tells her that her faith has healed her.

While Jesus is talking, someone shows up and informs Jairus that his daughter just died. Jesus takes his closest friends, Peter, James, and John, with him to Jairus’s house where there is a large crowd wailing. They laugh at Jesus when he says the girl is “only asleep,” and Jesus sends them away. Jesus goes in to see the girl, takes her by the hand, and tells her to get up, and she does. The parents and the disciples are shocked, and Jesus tells them to feed the girl, and to not tell anyone about what had just happened – it must be a secret.

Chapter 6

Jesus is rejected by his hometown, and he then teaches in various villages, and sends his disciples out in twos to go do what he’s been doing.

Mark lets his readers know that King Herod heard about everything Jesus and his disciples were doing. Some people were saying that Jesus was really John the Baptist come back from the dead, but Herod would have none of that nonsense.

Mark then backtracks here and tells his readers the story of how Herod had killed John the Baptist. Herod had married his brother Phillip’s wife, Herodius, and John had told him that was a wicked thing to do, so Herod locked John up in prison, and eventually beheaded him.

Jesus then feeds the five thousand and walks on the water.

Chapter 7

Jesus then tells his disciples that the stuff that goes into your body isn’t actually the stuff that makes you dirty, but rather the stuff that you choose to dump out of your body. 

Jesus and his disciples then travel to the pagan city of Tyre, and Jesus heals the daughter of a Syrophoenician woman from a demon.

Jesus then goes to the Decapolis (ten pagan cities) and heals a deaf and mute man. Jesus keeps telling people to stop spreading the word about him, but they keep doing it anyway.

Chapter 8

Jesus feeds 4,000 Gentiles and then warns his disciples about the “yeast of the Pharisees and Herod.”

Jesus and his disciples arrive at Bethsaida and the people bring him a blind man. Jesus secretly spits on the man’s eyes and asks him what he sees. The man says he says people that look like walking trees. Jesus tries again and this time the man can see everything clearly. Jesus tells him to keep this a secret and to even avoid going back into town.

The blind man can represent the people, who even after having seen the Messiah do not understand what they are looking at… but who will one day understand fully. This is one possible reason why Jesus insists on a temporary Messianic secret. Because the people don’t really know what a messiah is, and with their confused and ecstatic words they have been spreading a false gospel about Jesus.

Jesus and his disciples then begin their journey to Jerusalem.

Peter declares that Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus predicts his death, and then teaches about the Way of the Cross.

Chapter 9

Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up a mountain. His appearance changes in front of them and his clothes become bright white. Suddenly Moses and Elijah of long ago appear out of nowhere and begin speaking with Jesus. Peter doesn’t know what to say and he interrupts the conversation and volunteers to build three huts for them.

Mark writes, “Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: ‘This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!’” Luke’s version puts it this way: “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.”

This is a direct reference to three different passages from the three different sections of the Hebrew Bible – The Torah, the Nevi’im, and the Khetuvim – showing that Jesus is the focal point all of the Law (Moses) and the Prophets (Elijah) …and even the poets.

Through the poets God declares in Psalm 2:7, “You are my son, today I have begotten you.” Through the prophets God declares in Isaiah 42:1a, “Here is my servant, whom I support, my chosen one, in whom I take pleasure.” And through the Law of Moses God declares in Deuteronomy 18:15, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.”

Moses and Elijah are gone and Jesus tells Peter, James, and John not to tell anyone what they saw until after He was raised from the dead. They are confused about what he meant by rising from the dead… proving that they were not yet ready to spread the true Gospel of Jesus.

They also ask about Elijah’s return and Jesus’ opinion on that biblical teaching. Jesus responds with a question, “Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected?” He then indicates that Elijah already came back and the teachers of Law did whatever they pleased with him.

They come down the mountain and meet up with the other disciples who are in the middle of an argument with the teachers of the Law over a demon-possessed boy. The crowd is amazed when Jesus arrives, and Jesus just wants to know what the ruckus is all about. The boy’s father explains his son’s condition – how the demon tries to throw the boy into fire or water to kill him.

The disciples were unable to help the boy, so the man asks for Jesus’ help… if Jesus is able to help. Jesus is like, “‘If’? What do you mean ‘if I can help’? Everything is possible for the believer!” The father quickly changes his attitude, declaring, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

A crowd is running over to watch, so Jesus starts chewing out the demon, commanding it to leave and never return. The demon shrieks and violently shakes the boy and then comes out. Later, the disciples wanted to know why they couldn’t drive out the demon, and Jesus tells them that this kind can only come out by prayer and fasting.

Jesus walks his disciples through Galilee and teaches them. He predicts his death and resurrection, but they didn’t understand and were afraid to ask what he meant.

When they arrive at Capernaum, Jesus lets them know that he overheard them arguing about which one of them was the greatest. He sits down and once again turns everything on its head by saying, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” He holds a child and says to them, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”

John tattles to Jesus about some folks he saw driving out demons in Jesus’ name, saying they told them to stop. Jesus is like, “Why did you tell them to stop? We’re on the same team!”

Jesus goes back to the child, saying that it would better to die terribly than to cause a child to stumble. He then goes on to say if their hand or their foot or eye causes them to sin, they should cut it off and get rid of it. Because it’s better to be crippled and live, than to have two feet in hell (or Gehenna).

Some observations about "Gehenna" from this passage:

“All of Jesus’ references to gehenna are made to religious people, and are made in reference to sinful behavior. None of them are spoken to unbelievers or in reference specifically about unbelievers – and for that matter, none are made in reference to one’s lack of belief or orthodoxy.”

“All of the references to gehenna can be reasonably viewed as references to the literal location – a burning garbage dump, where bodies are filled with maggots (worms that, to the ancients, appeared to have come from nowhere and do not die – transforming, instead, into flies) and are consumed in the flames.”

“If we look specifically at the passage from Mark, which is the one most often quoted by those supporting a view of gehenna as a place of eternal, conscious punishment, Jesus refers to it as “where ‘the worms that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched.’” This is a direct quote from Isaiah 66, where the prophet describes the view of the fallen Assyrian army (in the Hinnom Valley… or ‘Hell Valley’ in rough English) ‘And they will go out and look on the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; the worms that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will not be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.’ It is a view of dead bodies on a funeral pyre, full of maggots, being burned to ash.”

Jesus then says, “Everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”

Chapter 10

Jesus then teaches about divorce.

People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. Jesus didn’t like this and said “…anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.

Jesus then teaches about the rich and the Kingdom of God, saying there will be both blessings and persecutions for those who give up everything to follow him.

Jesus then predicts his death a third time. James and John try to talk Jesus into giving them seats of power in heaven, but Jesus puts them in their place.

Jesus and his disciples go to Jericho and the crowds follow them. A blind man named Bartimaeus (or “the son of Timaeus”) hears that Jesus of Nazareth has arrived and he begins calling out to him, “Son of David! Have mercy on me!” Jesus stops and has the man brought to him. Jesus asks him what he wants, and he says, “Rabbi, I want to see.” Jesus says, “Go, your faith has healed you.” The man’s sight was restored immediately and he followed Jesus down the road. 

Chapter 11

Jesus comes to Jerusalem and many welcome him as King.

Jesus then curses a fig tree, comparing it to “fruitless” Jerusalem, and he clears the Temple Courts.

The authority of Jesus is questioned by the religious leaders.