Summary The Pharisees conspire with the Herodians against Jesus because
he heals a man's withered hand on the Sabbath. Questioning their legal and ritualistic
piety, Jesus challenges them: "Is
it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to kill?" The fame
of Jesus has apparently grown because Mark next records him as being surrounded by a
throng near the Sea of Galilee; because the press of the crowd is so great, he asks his
disciples to take him out upon the sea in a boat. Unclean spirits fell down before him and
proclaimed "You are the Son of God!" Jesus admonished those healed not to
make him known. From the sea, Jesus goes up into the mountains where he appoints the
twelve:
16 So he appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave
the name Peter); 17 James son of Zebedee and John the brother of James
(to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); 18 and Andrew,
and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and
Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
He next returns home with a
crowd following him. His family describes Jesus as having gone mad; the scribes say he has
been infected by Beelzebul and demons. Jesus points out to the scribes that it is
illogical that he would be infected by Beelzebul at the same time that he is casting out
Satan; a divided kingdom, Jesus reminds them, is a kingdom which will not stand. This
section concludes with a warning about blasphemy of the Holy Spirit:
28 "Truly I tell you,
people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; 29
but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness,
but is guilty of an eternal sin"— 30 for they had said,
"He has an unclean spirit."
This chapter concludes with
word that Jesus' mother and brothers are asking for him; Jesus responds by saying that
everyone gathered there are his brothers and sisters: "Whoever does the will of
God is my brother and sister and mother."
In this chapter, as everywhere in Mark, Jesus is active:
a favorite word in Mark is the
Greek word meaning immediately or at once or then, which occurs about
forty times in sixteen chapters. On the other hand, Mark records fewer words of Jesus than
does any of the other Gospels; it contains one collection of sayings in the form of a
discourse (Mark 13) and a few parables (e.g. Mark 4).
Oxford Handbook
Jesus continues teaching,
preaching, and healing in Galilee, and in going about his work, he continues to tangle
with the religious establishment. The first controversy is over the Sabbath, with the
Pharisees conspiring with the Herodians. We will recall that what is done on the Sabbath
has already been an issue in the second chapter of Mark: The Pharisees
observed Jesus' disciples eating corn in the fields on the Sabbath and attacked Jesus
through their act. Jesus demonstrated superior scriptural knowledge and reminded the
Pharisees that David himself had suspended the rules and eaten from the bread of the
Presence. Jesus clearly did not ascribe to any rules ethic where the rule always holds
regardless of circumstance; he clearly sided with the act and reminded his critics that
the Sabbath is for humankind, not humankind for the Sabbath. In this round, Jesus asks,
"Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the
Sabbath, to save life or to kill?" His critics are silent. Jesus is clearly doing
good by healing the withered hand. Jesus, acting by the principle stated in Mark 2.27, equates acts to meet human need with acts lawful . . . on the
Sabbath (Oxford Annotated).
With a multitude now pressing about him, Jesus seeks solitude and
distance in a boat on the Sea of Galilee. He has done the good work of healing many with
diseases and unclean spirits:
"Spirit" translates
words that in both Hebrew and Greek mean "wind" (Genesis 8.1;
cf. Genesis 1.1) or "breath" (Genesis 6.17; Ezekiel 37.5), as well as vital essence. Biblical writers do not normally combine the
two terms to designate the totality of human nature. The body/soul dichotomy that so
fascinated Greek philosophy is not generally presupposed, even when the two terms occur in
close proximity; thus, Matthew 26.41 is not a real exception to this rule (Oxford
Companion).
The unclean spirits recognize
the one casting them out as the "Son of God." Jesus rebukes them not to
make him known, reminding the reader once again that Jesus sees his mission as different
from that of the expected Messiah; he is the servant walking among and healing humankind,
reaching out with a gentle touch, a caring heart.
Next, Jesus appoints the twelve:
13 He went up the mountain and
called to him those whom he wanted, and they came to him. 14 And he
appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, † to be with him,
and to be sent out to proclaim the message, 15 and to have
authority to cast out demons. 16 So he appointed the twelve: † Simon
(to whom he gave the name Peter); 17 James son of Zebedee and John the brother of James
(to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); 18 and Andrew,
and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and
Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
Concerning his disciples, Oxford
Companion reminds us of their humanity:
The somewhat amorphous group
called disciples constitutes a vital feature of all the Gospel narratives, but the authors
used the term to communicate different aspects of being a follower of Jesus. In Mark the
disciples are agents of instruction for the author, but as negative examples. They teach
the audience or readers, but mostly through the things they do wrong or fail to
understand. The constant questions and concerns of the disciples, particularly in the
central section of Mark’s gospel, provide an opportunity for the author to explain
the purpose of Jesus’ mission and the hidden meanings of his teaching. Discipleship
in Mark involves fear, doubt, and suffering, as Mark 8.31, Mark 9.31, and Mark 10.33 make explicit; nowhere is this more poignantly
captured than in the character of Simon Peter. The disciples in Mark, whomever this broad
term may include, never fully understand and never quite overcome their fear and
apprehensions. There is actually the hint in Mark that the disciples’ fear is in some
sense the beginning of wisdom.
A question asked by Oxford Companion is significant: Did Jesus
consciously act as if he were establishing the new Israel by selecting twelve
representatives? The symbolic significance of the number twelve is difficult to miss.
Readers will want to look at the complete number symbolism described in the Oxford
Companion; concerning twelve, it says the following:
Twelve,
like seven, is
a number of completeness and perfection. This number in particular must not always be
taken literally. Israel always comprised more tribes than the twelve that were actually
counted, and the counting of the twelve was not always uniform (Genesis 49; Joshua 13–19; Revelation 7.7–8), but the twelve meant "all Israel." It
was regarded as important that there were twelve apostles and that their number should be
complete, but the lists do not quite tally (See Twelve, The). The
twenty-four elders (Revelation 4.4) clearly represent all Israel and the whole church.
The twelve cornerstones and gates of the new Jerusalem not only link the city with the
tribes of Israel and the apostles, but also signify its divine perfection, as do its
measurements of 12,000 stadia square and its walls of 144 cubits. The 144,000 of Revelation 7 and Revelation 14 in each case mean that the number is complete and
not one of the elect is lost; in Revelation
7 John hears the 144,000 from Israel
(all Israel) being counted, but sees "a great multitude that no one could count, from
every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages" (the redeemed gentiles).
These twelve live intimately
with Jesus, adopt his mission and his way of life.
In this chapter's final section, Jesus reveals the cost of his
mission. His mother and brothers, concerned for his safety given the intense emotions
which have been aroused around him, also begin to fear for his sanity. The Pharisees have
previously recognized his powers but attributed them to Beelzebul or Satanic forces.
The Phoenician god at Ekron
consulted by King Ahaziah (2 Kings
1.2–18). The name in Hebrew means
"Lord of Flies," but no evidence exists for a Philistine god who either drove
off flies or gave oracles through their buzzing. The Hebrew form is probably a derogatory
transformation of Baal-zebul, which appears in Ugaritic texts meaning "Lord
Baal," but could also be understood as "Master of the Heavenly House" (cf Matthew 10.25). In Aramaic, Beel-zebul may have been construed as "Lord of
Dung," Beel-zebub possibly as "Enemy." During the Greco-Roman period,
Beel-zebul came to be used for a leader among the demons opposed to God. Jesus denies that
he casts out demons by authority of Beelzebul, the ruler of demons (Matthew 12.24–27 par.). Some translations employ Beelzebub in the New Testament
passages, following the text of 2 Kings. Christian interpreters identified Beelzebul with
Satan on the basis of the Gospel passages (Oxford Companion).
Jesus, aware of his mission to humankind as
more pressing than his family's concern, replies "Who are my mother and my
brothers?" 34 And looking at those who sat around him, he said,
"Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does the
will of God is my brother and sister and mother."
