Mark 1:29-39 — Heralding and Healing

September 17, 2011

The last line of this section describes the ministry of Jesus in Galilee:  “he went into the synagogues everywhere in Galilee, heralding and casting out demons.” I call this “practicing the kingdom of God.” That is, Jesus announces that the kingdom of God has drawn near and demonstrates its presence through redemptive acts.  This is the basic message of Jesus (1:14-15) and the substance of his ministry–the presence of the kingdom in a broken world.

The story in this section is evidently told from the point of view of Peter which is not surprising if the tradition is true that Mark’s Gospel is a record of Peter’s preaching.  The story about Peter’s mother-in-law never names Jesus but focuses on Peter’s circumstances. The line that the whole city appeared at the door of Peter’s house (1:30) has the ring of an eye-witness. And Peter leads the other disciples in the search for Jesus when he is missing in the morning (1:36).

Whether or not this is the case, the three stories (Peter’s mother-in-law, the healing ministry in Capernaum, and Jesus’ early morning adventure) are progressive in character. We begin with a simple healing at Peter’s house which then explodes into an evening healing service that the whole city attends. The healing in the home is incidental but it solidifies Peter’s relationship with Jesus. The crowd at the door flows from his exorcism at the synagogue as people flock to him to experience wholeness in the bodies and minds.  In the morning we find Jesus alone in prayer, and perhaps that is a response to the busied activity of the previous day. When Peter (and others) find him, Jesus states his intention to go to other villages in Galilee because he has come to herald the appearance of the kingdom.

This movement underscores the importance of the message of Jesus in his healings and exorcisms.  We could focus on the compassionate nature of Jesus’ healing/exorcist ministry as a model of care and love (and the Gospels sometimes do this). We could also focus on the authenticating function of his healing/exorcist ministry (and the Gospels sometimes do this as in Mark 2:1-12). But neither of these are the primary function of his healing/exorcist ministry. Rather, it is a demonstration of the message. The word about the kingdom is put into practice or, better, the kingdom of God is realized or actualized through these redemptive acts. They reverse the curse present in the world.  The kingdom of God redeems brokenness.

This is exactly how Peter characterizes the ministry of Jesus in Luke’s summary of his words to Cornelius in Acts 10:38, “he went about doing good and healing all who were under the tyranny of the Devil, because God was with him.”

But Jesus did not want the healing ministry or exorcised demons to distract from the message. Jesus was not a sensationalist. The message about the kingdom had priority and the healings/exorcisms bore witness to the presence of the kingdom.  The good news must be heard and the healings must be understood through that lens. They are no mere “feel-good” events or popularizing  strategies. They are redemptive acts tied to the kingdom of God. He doesn’t even want the demons to speak because what they would reveal (i.e., his Messianic status) would distract people from his message about the kingdom of God.

Mark accentuates Jesus’ alone time in this account. It follows a presumably long evening of healings and exorcisms that involved the “whole city.” The crowds pressed around him and even the next day they were still looking for him. Such attention–which has the allure of approval, vanity and human glory–becomes itself a temptation. Jesus sought out a deserted place in the early morning to focus on prayer. The word “deserted” (desolate, or desert) is  the same word as the term for “wilderness” used earlier–place where Jesus was tempted by Satan.  Jesus returns to his desert experience in order to gain strength for ministry, resist the temptations of popularity, and focus his ministry.  He emerges from that alone time with a renewed sense of his ministry–”let us go to other towns to heard” the kingdom rather than feed the ego by remaining in Capernaum. Jesus knows his purpose; he knows why he has come. He cannot simply stay in Capernaum.

As we follow Jesus, we, too, must remember why we  follow Jesus, that is, to herald and heal. We announce the presence of the kingdom of God and we demonstrate its presence through redemptive ministry. By this we practice the kingdom of God. We engage in healing and reconciling acts that reverse the curse in the world. We called to embody the kingdom of God now, in both word and deed.  The ministry of Jesus, which we follow, enact and embody, is both the heralding of good news and the enactment of that good news in the lives of people, in the brokenness of the world.

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Posted by John Mark Hicks

Reading the Gospel of Mark

February 8, 2009

The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God (1:1).

Mark’s first words, in a Roman political and cultural context, are startling. 

“Gospel” was the term used to describe the joyous announcement of imperial news, that is, the Roman Emperor has secured peace, prosperity and security for the known world. “Son of God” was the language of Roman coins, e.g., Tiberius was the “son of God,” the son of the divine Augustus. 

Mark’s Gospel begins as a frontal assault on Roman confidence in their Empire. It is not the Emperor, but Jesus, who is God’s anointed Son. He brings “good news” rather than the Emperor. The narrative of Mark’s gospel unfolds the good news about Jesus the Messiah who is the true Son of God.

The first half of the Gospel of Mark (1:2-8:26) answers the question “Who is Jesus?” with the answer that “He is the Christ (Messiah), the Son of God.”  This means he is healer, forgiver, redeemer, etc.

  • The Father declares “You are my Son, whom I love” (1:11)
  • An evil spirit cried out, “I know who you are–the Holy One of God” (1:24)
  • Jesus said, “So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath” (2:27).
  • The disciples ask, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” (4:41).
  • Legion exclaims, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?” (5:7).
  • Two feedings of thousands declared his Messianic role (6:30-44; 8:1-13).
  • The people said, “He even makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak” (7:37).

The central confession of the Gospel of Mark is Peter’s response to Jesus’ question, “Who do you say I am?”  He answered, “You are the Christ (Messiah)” (8:29).

  • The narrative begins with this Christian confession: Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (1:1)
  • The narrative ends with this confession by a Roman soldier: “Surely this man was the Son of God” (15:39).

The second half of the Gospel of Mark (8:31-16:20) answers the question “Who is Jesus?” with the answer that “He is the Messianic servant who dies and rises for our redemption.” He brings a different kind of kingdom into the world. In contrast to the Roman obsession with power, control and violence, Jesus inaugurates a kingdom of service, sacrifice and healing.

  • Jesus began to “teach them that the Son of Man must suffer…be killed…rise again” (8:31).
  • Jesus forebade discussion of his transfiguration until “the Son of Man had risen from the dead” (9:9).
  • Jesus reminds the disciples that “the Son of Man will be betrayed…mock[ed]…flog[ged]…kill[ed]…he will rise” (10:33-34).
  • “For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many” (10:45).
  • The blind man asks, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me” (10:47).
  • The crowd praises God acknowledging Jesus’ Messianic entrance, “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David” (11:10).
  • Jesus cleanses the temple of God which is a “house of prayer for all nations” (11:17).
  • Jesus is the rejected stone of the builders who has become “the capstone” (12:10).
  • The Son of Man will “gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth” (13:26).
  • Jesus is the sacrificial passover lamb, “Take it; this is my body” (14:22).
  • “But the Scriptures must be fulfilled” (14:49).
  • The high priest asks, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?”  “I am,” Jesus replied (14:61-62).
  • Jesus quotes Psalm 22:1 from the cross (15:34).
  • The centurion confesses, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” (15:39).
  • “Don’t be alarmed,” the angel said, “Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified…has risen!” (16:6). 

 Some communities of faith, like Harpeth Community Church, encourage the use of the SOAP method of contemplative Bible reading.

Scripture reading–read the text, praying beforehand that God will give wisdom through the Spirit

Observe what is in the text, recognizing how something there captures your attention and your heart.

Apply that observation to your own life, seeking how it might change you.

Pray that God will work that application into your heart and bless your seeking.

As you read through the Gospel of Mark over the next three weeks using the SOAP method, permit me to suggest four questions that might help illuminate the significance of what you read. For every story you read in Mark–or every chapter (whatever your reading method is)–ask yourself these questions.

  1. What amazes or astounds you in this story?  The Gospel of Mark uses several words which denote amazement or astonishment. Twenty-four (24) times Mark stresses this response on the part of observers in the story. Something new has broken into the world; something is different; something has changed. God is acting in an astonishing ways through the ministry of Jesus. Watch for the astounding, marvellous works of God in Mark’s story. How has God amazed you?
  2. What is faith like in this story?  Sometimes faith is absent;  sometimes it is weak; sometimes it even amazes Jesus himself. The disciples are learning to believe throughout the Gospel–they struggle with understanding Jesus’ teaching, they struggle with their own assurance of salvation, they struggle with embracing their mission, they struggle with loyalty and courage, and they struggle with trust. They struggle to believe. We are each those disciples.
  3. Who is Jesus in this story? Every story in Mark contributes to the total picture Mark is drawing concerning Jesus. Each story tells us something about the identity and/or mission of Jesus. As you read each story,  Jesus asks you, “Who do you say that I am?” What you believe about Jesus, whether you trust in Jesus, whether you believe God is truly at work in his ministry, will shape your life. Who do you say Jesus is?
  4. What is the good news in this story? The narrative Mark writes is a “Gospel”–it is good news. It is the good newss about Jesus, or the good news that Jesus brings. This stands in contrast with the “good news” of the Roman Empire which claimed to bring peace and security to the world; it stands in contrast with the “bad news” of the human situation where disaster, disease and death reign, where sin and violence dominate. The stories about Jesus in Mark accentuate the good news–God has come to his people to forgive, heal and redeem. How is the story of Jesus good news to you?

The story of Jesus, through the words of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, still lives. His story bears witness to the God who loves, the God who heals our hurts, and redeems our souls. The story of Jesus is good news. It is God’s response to the bad news which surrounds us and infects our hearts.  Jesus is the cure; he is the Messiah, the Son of God.

If we would know peace, joy and healing, if we would know ministry and service, we will follow Jesus. 

Immediately after Peter’s confession and Jesus’ clarification that his mission involves sacrificial suffering and service, he offers this invitation–an invitation for all.

If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it (Mark 8:34-35).

***Sermon delivered at the Harpeth Community Church in Franklin, TN, February 8, 2009***

You can listen to the sermon here.

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Posted by John Mark Hicks

Another Example: Texas and Tennessee Clash

January 15, 2009

Foy E. Wallace, Jr. dubbed Harding College “an incubus of error” and “unsound” in the May 1941 issue of The Bible Banner.  Wallace’s assault against George Benson, J. N. Armstrong and Harding College is a good illustration of the tension between the Texas and Tennessee theological traditions within Churches of Christ. The emphases below are mine.

The testimony concerning George S. Benson. It has been brought out in direct testimony that after Brother Benson returned from China he taught that miracles were yet in force and that he was a witness to the casting out of devils in a man in China and, moreover, by a sectarian preacher! And it is also shown in this array of charges that until very recently Brother Benson admitted his premillennial views…Premillennialism is not all that is wrong at Harding. The byproducts of this theory are many. Brother Armstrong has been wrong on nearly everything, and has planted all of these errors in his schools in various locations, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas. We can furnish plenty of witnesses from Oklahoma. Brother Harper has already furnished them from Arkansas. His teaching on the work of the Holy Spirit has been contradictory to the fundamentals of the gospel, which accounts for his public statements that Bogard whipped Hardeman on the Holy Spirit debate-he is more in agreement with Bogard than Hardeman or any other gospel preacher. His teaching on miraculous answers to prayer in connection with direct special providence is carried to the worst sectarian extremes….Brother Armstrong has taught this kind of foolishness all of his life in all of his schools. He has been wrong on the sectarian baptism question, and would hardly baptize a Baptist, if he wanted to be. He was dead set against the Firm Foundation in all of these controversies of the past and has never strengthened any young preacher along any of these lines. The young men who have come from Harding strong in the faith, are strong in spite of the fact that they attended Harding College and not because of it….”Harding needs to get right.” Verily, it does.

It is significant that Wallace identifies the Firm Foundation as the journal that would take the opposite view on all of these questions.  Armstrong, a graduate and then teacher at the Nashville Bible School, followed his father-in-law James A. Harding’s theological trajectory.  The battle between the Firm Foundation and the Gospel Advocate in the 1890s-1910s extended into the 1940s when the last–for all practical purposes–holdout for the Tennessee tradition was Harding College.  The early 1940s saw repeated attempts to force Harding College to conform to the expectations of the Texas Tradition (e.g., fire all teachers who believed in premillennialism). E. R. Harper and Foy  E. Wallace, Jr. led the assault.

Theologically, some of the differences are apparent in the quoted paragraph.

1.  Tennessee did not see premillennialism as problematic; indeed, many of them believed it.  The Texas tradition was amillennial.

2.  Tennessee believed that miracles still occurred in answer to prayer (though miraculous gifts to individuals had ceased).  Texas believed providence operated by the laws of nature and miracles no longer happened.

3.  Tennessee believed that faith in Jesus was sufficient for baptism.  Texas believed that what one believed about baptism also determined whether a baptism was valid or not.

4.  Tennessee believed in the personal indwelling of the Spirit. Texas did not.

5.  Another difference, not mentioned in this litanny by Wallace, but would become a stinging issue within seven months is the war question.  Tennessee was pacifistic in varying senses, but Texas (particularly in the person of Wallace) was hawkish on the war.

As Wallace indicates, these are no small differences.  Armstrong, he thought, was wrong on “nearly everything.” These differences reflected a different orientation to kingdom life.  Whereas Wallace (and the Texas Tradition as a whole) operated out of order, law and human mechanics (e.g., “five steps of salvation” were all human acts), Armstrong (and the Tennessee Tradition as a whole) operated out of mystery, grace and divine dynamics. 

While they shared many views (e.g., on instrumental music, church polity, baptism for the remission of sins, etc.), these particulars were understood against two very different theological worldviews.  They could live together comfortably when there was a significant common enemy (e.g., Baptists, Christian Church, etc.), but when they engaged each other they both knew that the other had, as Luther supposedly told Zwingli at Marburg in 1529, a “different spirit.”

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Posted by John Mark Hicks

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