Day 11: Mark 4-6. Preaching parables, stilling storms, and more

The first thing I noticed when I started reading today is that Jesus is preaching these parables from a boat.  Why have I never noticed this before?  And why do I think that it's sort of cool?  So here Jesus is, telling the story of the sower and the seeds, and he's speaking from a boat, to all the people gathered on shore.

I know that there's a parable and then there's Jesus' secret allergorical explanation of it, but may I say that I think the original parable is way more interesting?  The focus in the original is on the sower and the fantastic yield at the end, despite all of the obstacles in the way.  In the later explanation, all of the sudden the focus becomes on the different types of soil.  that's okay, but for good endings, an 100-fold yield can't be beat (and impossible to believe, by the way....)

Though I am liking Jesus in Mark, mostly, there's a little verse I'm going to have to wrestle with a bit more, in Mark 4:24.  "Those who have will receive more, but as for those who don't have, even what they don't have will be taken away from them."  This seems to be extremely harsh, and I'm not sure what the point of it is (although it does remind me of the poor servant with just one Talent, in Matthew's Parable of the Talents.) I'll let you know after I've wrestled a bit more.

There are two storms stilled next:  the first, the storm on the sea, the chaos that threatens the disciples, and the second, the storm inside the Geresene demoniac.  The storms are Legion, inside and outside, then and now, and Jesus kicks them out.  So, Jesus is Lord over the storms, the chaos, the demons, whatever you care to call them.  But, how does it matter to us now?  How is Jesus Lord over storms for you?

Then, the stories of the bleeding woman and the twelve year old girl intertwine in Mark.  The woman has been suffering for twelve years, the whole time this girl has been alive.  In Mark (who is known for spare language, but also for the telling detail) the woman has spent everything trying to get relief from many doctors, and instead of getting better, she has gotten worse.  I can imagine the second, the third, the fourth opinions, and the money taken from her by people who didn't help her.

By the way, Mark often employs a "sandwich" approach to storytelling.  Here the story begins with Jairus' asking Jesus to heal his daughter.  The bleeding woman is the middle of the sandwich.  After that story is resolved, Jesus goes on to raise the 12 year old from the dead.  But, always pay attention to the middle of the sandwich.  That's where the meat is.

In chapter six, we have Jesus going back to Nazareth, where he doesn't really do well.  They are underwhelmed by him, and he can't do any miracles or great works there.  We also learn the sad story of what has happened to John the Baptist. 

And finally, the chapter ends with the feeding of the 5,000, and Jesus walking on water. 

Some of these stories may start sounding familiar.  How are they different, and what do they have in common?  The different gospel stories lift up different details in the same event.  One thing I noticed here is that at the end of the story of Jesus walking on water, the disciples "did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened."

You will see again and again, in Mark, that the disciples do not understand. 

Comments

  1. Jesus is Lord over my storms because it is only through Him that I may find strength and comfort and peace. I always think of the trials in my life as a storm. There are a lot of details different between the gospels. Matthew didn’t “sandwich” the healing of the girl and and bleeding woman. The Parable of the Lamp under Basket was not in Matthew (I don’t believe). And Mark did not include the Parable of the Leaven. These are just a couple differences of course. I have a horrible memory. The scripture saying that the disciples hearts were hardened also stuck out. Why were they hardened? Just because they didn’t understand? Or maybe, now that I think about it, hardened means not accepting. The disciples did not understand, and just like today, when we don’t understand something many times we don’t accept it.

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