Mark's record of the ministry of Jesus begins in the province of Galilee. This province was in the northern section of Palestine, to the west of the Jordan. It was comparatively small in area, some fifty miles long and thirty miles wide. The Jewish historian, Josephus, tells us that it possessed some two hundred and four cities and villages, the smallest of which numbered 15,000 inhabitants. It was an exceedingly fertile area and its life centered about the beautiful Sea of Galilee, whose waters furnished a bountiful supply of fish. There were nine fair-sized towns clustered around the Sea of Galilee, one of which was Capernaum.
Jesus chose Galilee for his extended public ministry of teaching and healing, for two main reasons...
First, while the Galileans in general were devoutly religious, they were not nearly so much under the domination of the religious and the political leaders of the day as were the people of Jerusalem and Judea. The highways of commerce ran through Galilee, with the result that the Galileans came in contact with a constant stream of travelers from Egypt, Arabia, Syria, and othe rplaces. With their larger experience and broader outlook, it was only to be expected that the people of Galilee would gladly hear what Jesus had to say to them - at least, more gladly than would their more conservative countrymen to the South.
Secondly, Galilee was the scene of Jesus's childhood. In going there, he was gong back home. He would give to Galilee the opportunity that Judea was not yet ready nor willing to receive.
It is quite significant that Mark begins his record of the events in Galilee by pointing out that they went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. (Mark 1:21)
The people were profoundly impressed on this occasion, not so much it would seem by what Jesus said, as by the way in which he said it.
The scribes, to whom they ordinarily listened, found their authority in the traditions of the elders. Jesus spoke as one who, himself, was the authority. They felt keenly that, of a truth, he know whereof he spoke.
The teaching of Jesus in the synagogue was abruptly interrupted by a man who was possessed of an evil (unclean) spirit. From the large place that Mark gives to the miracles of healing in the ministry of Jesus, it might be assumed that Jesus conceived of himself, in the beginning of his public work, to be primarily a healer.
This is not the case. Primarily he was The Redeemer.
As it was declared to Joseph, She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name of Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21)
As the Redeemer, Jesus addressed himself first of all to teaching, such teaching as had never before been heard. He had a startling new message for the people - startling new interpretation of what it meant to be a servant of God.
As Jesus well knew, his time was short until he would face the cross. He had much to teach, and he must take advantage of every opportunity to teach it. At first thought, it seems as though he was continually being diverted from his direct teaching ministry by the urgent appeal of human need, yet he used each case of need as a means of teaching. The physical condition of many of the people of Palestine in that day was appalling. Medical practice was crude at best, and what medical practice there was, was often thwarted by traditional religious regulations that were largely concerned with ceremonial cleanness and outward conformity.
As Jesus stood in the midst of human suffering, he could do nothing than to meet that need with the power that was his as the Son of God. Well did he know that many of the people who came to him came not to hear about the Kingdom of God, nor to discover how they might enter into it. They came to get rid of their infirmities, and always Jesus was moved with compassion and answered their appeal. So, in the synagogue, Jesus released the tormented man from the domination of an unclean spirit, but not before the unclean spirit had announced to the people of Nazareth that Jesus was the Holy One of God (Mark 1:24)
At this time in his ministry, Jesus did not publicly announce in so many words that he was the Messiah, the Son of God. He preferred that his hearers should come to this conviction for themselves in the light of the words that he said and the deeds that he demonstrated. Apparently, the people in the synagogue did not grasp the significance of this announcement, since they said no further word about it, though some of them may have recalled it later as Jesus's fame spread abroad.
Later in the day, Jesus healed Peter's mother-in-law, who was sick of a fever. She arose immediately and ministered to Jesus and her other guests.
The news of the healing of the man with the unclean spirit in the synagogue spread quickly throughout the community. By nightfall, as Mark records: The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was (Mark 1:33-34)
It did not take the people long to discover the presence of Jesus in their midst nor to realize that he had the power to rid them of their sickness and their infirmities. By the close of the first day of his public ministry in Galilee, his fame had already been heard abroad.
The following morning, very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed (Mark 1:35)
This practice seems to have been his custom. On occasions, he would spend all night in prayer. This he did, apparently, because he felt the need of quiet communion with the Father. In doing so, Jesus set an example for his disciples in every generation. The greater the stress and anxiety that life places on us, the busier we are, the more we need to make a place in our day for quiet communion with God.
Soon Jesus was interrupted by the disciples, who came to tell him that everybody was looking for him. In response, he set out on a preaching tour of the towns and villages of Galilee. At this stage of his ministry, he made it a practice to visit the synagogues wherever he went. In one of these synagogues, a leper came kneeling to him. With a word, Jesus healed the man and sent him on his way rejoicing.
At this point, it would not have been surprising if Mark had gone on to record that the religious leaders were glad that their people were being so greatly helped and encouraged. This was not the case, however. Immediately, the scribes and Pharisees began to sense a threat to their security and a challenge to their religious traditions. So, instead of praising Jesus, they began to criticize him.
The criticism of the leaders first became vocal when Jesus looked at the man paralyzed (sick of palsy), whose four friends had ingeniously contrived to bring him to Jesus by letting him down through the roof.
Jesus, seeing that the man's infirmity was rooted in sin, dealt first not with his physical sicness, but with his spiritual sickness, and pronounced him forgiven of his sins.
Right away, the scribes (teachers of the law) set up a protest. "Look here", they said in effect, "only God can forgive sins"
They were right! Their error lay in the fact that they would not recognize Jesus as the Messiah of God. The onlookers had more insight than their religious leaders, for they, at least, gave the glory to God (Mark 2:12)
Once begin, the opposition of the teachers of the law (scribes) and Pharisees steadily mounted. A little later on - just how soon we do not know - Jesus saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus (commonly known to us as Matthew) engaged in his work as a tax collector, or publican.
How the Jews despised the tax collectors! In the eyes of the Jews, they had sold their racial birthright for a bowl of pottage by agreeing to collect taxes from the Jewish people, on a commission basis, for the Roman government.
Jesus invited Matthew to follow him and, to make matters worse in the opinion of the leaders, Jesus accepted an invitation to a dinner attended largely by the tax collectors and sinners - people who did not comply with the religious tradition of the Jewish faith.
Jesus's association with Matthew and his friends was too much for the Pharisees, but they did not approach Jesus at that moment. They waited until they could challenge him on some other grounds. The occasion soon presented itself.
Some of John's disciples and the Pharisees noticed that the disciples of Jesus did not observe the Jewish regulations concerning fasting. To the Pharisees, this was unthinkable. Fasting was a significant part of their religious life. They probably reasoned that, if Jesus was in truth a religious prophet or teacher, he could not so lightly permit his disciples to set aside such a central religious tradition.
Jesus's answer was clear and straightforward. He did not come to enforce the outward forms of the old order, but to start a new order which would fulfill that which the old had foreshadowed (Mark 2:21)
To be sure, Jesus would at times fast, but for him fasting was not simply a religious act required by law. It was an affair of the heart. It was the natural outcome of his prior devotion to prayer and spiritual communion with the Father.
It was not long before the Pharisees were again voicing their complaint against Jesus for failing to observe their man-made traditions.
This time, it was his failure to observe the Sabbath. His disciples had plucked some grain while passing through a field on a Sabbath day. This was strictly contrary to the Jewish laws against sowing, garnering, or threshing grain on the Sabbath.
Jesus answered the criticism of the religious leaders with an illustration from their Scriptures, the Old Testament. He set forth the Christian principle for the observance of the Lord's Day as he said, The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. (Mark 2:27)
The Lord's Day was not to be a burden to be borne but a day of rest and worship to be used and enjoyed.
Jesus did not allow the criticism of the Pharisees to thwart him in his spiritual ministry in the least, for, when he again entered the synagogue on a Sabbath day, and saw there a man with a withered hand, a human being in need, he challenged the Pharisees with a look of anger and went ahead to restore the man's hand completely (Mark 3:5).
The Pharisees then began to make definite plans to kill Jesus (Mark 3:6)
The response to Jesus's Ministry was by no means wholly negative. There were a great many who were attracted by his works and his words. In the ensuing section of his Gospel, Mark goes on to describe the response to the ministry of Jesus in several specific instances.
The common people were, for the most part, greatly moved by the ministry of Jesus. They crowded around him wherever he went. Try as he would to get rest and to engage in fellowship with his disciples and in communion with the Father, Jesus simply could not get away from the surging throng. When he withdrew to the sea, they followed him, coming from widely scattered areas (Mark 3:7)
Mark notes that... he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him. Whenever the evil spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, "You are the Son of God". (Mark 3:10-11)
A chosen few turned to Jesus, not so much for what they could get from him, as for what they could give him. They sought him not simply as their benefactor, but as their Lord and Master. So, at last, when Jesus could get away from the crowds, He appointed twelve - designated them apostles - that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons. (Mark 3:14-15)
Throughout his earthly ministry, when so many people refused to commit themselves completely to Jesus, what a comfort it must have been to him to have at least a little handful who followed him because they loved him and desired sincerely to serve him.
Mark later tells us that there were still other faithful followers who mingled with the crowds that surged around Jesus. Among them were many women who gladly ministered to him and his disciples.
Unfortunately, the members of Jesus's family were not numbered among his faithful followers. The other members of the household of Mary and Joseph did not acknowledge Jesus's messiah-ship, nor did they sympathize with his ministry. They frankly sought to lay hold of him, apparently to take him back home with them.
Jesus took this occasion to inform his listeners that true kinship with him is determined not by the ties of family blood, but by spiritual union with him. All who have been born into the family of God through spirit and water (see John 3:5) and faith in Jesus Christ are Jesus's brothers, and no less, brothers one of another.
The religious leaders continued to oppose Jesus. They came forth to criticize him mercilessly. They accused him of being in league with Beelzebub the prince of demons. (Mark 3:22)
Much has been said concerning what Jesus meant by the statement, But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin (Mark 3:29)
This has commonly been referred to as the unpardonable sin, though that precise term does not appear anywhere in the Scriptures. How many people have lived in mortal fear that they have committed the unpardonable sin and have refused to accept Christ as Lord and as the Son of God nor put him on through baptism, because they believe that he will not forgive them!?!
Granting that the words of Jesus had a special application to the attitude of the scribes and Pharisees at that time (which is really an involved and difficult problem) we may see that the meaning for us would seem to be this: The sin that may not be forgiven is the sin of deliberate, persistent unbelief - the refusal to accept Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the Savior of men and the failure to recognize the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of God who alone can enter into human hearts to redeem them. There is no pardon for the man who will not enter into the family of God through faith and baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
From the practical point of view, there is in actuality no sin that God will not forgive except the sin of unbelief and rejection. No matter how low a man has sunk nor how grievously he has transgressed the laws of God, he may be forgiven - on one condition. He must believe that Jesus is the Son of God and be baptized into his death - see Matthew 10:32; Acts 8:37; Romans 10:8; Acts 2:38; Romans 6:3-5; Mark 16:16; Colossians 2:12.
Mark now turns, for the moment, from the miracles of Jesus to the teaching of Jesus, by parables. One definition of a parable is that it is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.
It is perhaps more accurate to say that a parable is a brief story told by way of comparison to present some central truth.
Jesus took the simple things of life, things with which all of his hearers were quite familiar, and used them to enforce profound and meaningful spiritual truths.
Who of Jesus's listeners had not seen a farmer striding through his field, scattering seed right and left? Some of the seed would fall on the pathway, to be eaten b the birds; some on the hard ground, to be scorched by the rays of the sun; some on a shallow layer of earth that lay on a bed of rock, so that there was no room for root; some among the thorns, only to be choked out; and some, of course, on good rich soil to bear an abundant fruit.
So it is always with those who preach the gospel. The spiritual fruit of the message they preach will quite largely be determined by the sort of response it finds in the hearts of those who hear it. How true this has been in all the centuries since the day in which Jesus first uttered these words!
Jesus's explanation to his disciples of the reason he used parables is, at first, somewhat difficult to understand. Mark is quite helpful at this point: While illustrating the truth to those who were spiritual and eager to know, the parable would make it difficult to understand to those who were unspiritual and unwilling to be taught. Our lord is speaking a few hours after the blasphemous accusation. The malignant opposition of his enemies had reached the height of outrageous insult and unpardonable blasphemy. To these, the parables will be a deserved judgment - while persons wishing to know can seek explanation.
Those who heard the parable of the sower may very well have asked, in their hearts, if many will not listen to our testimony concerning the things of god, why then should we go tot he trouble of bearing witness at all?
Jesus answered any such question in a brief parabolic illustration, saying, in effect, YOu have no choice. You must bear witness. You must let the light of God's grace and God's presence so shine that men who live in darkness may come to know and to embrace the true light. What a privilege to know, in one's own personal experience, the good news of salvation! And what a responsibility!
After all, Jesus went on to imply in his next parable, who is to say that men do not respond to our witness of the gospel? You never know. A word in behalf of Christ spoken today may not bear fruit for years to come and then, suddenly, a sinner is converted and he affirms that the message he received years ago has, at last, borne fruit. The growth of the kingdom is not observable. It is God's unseen work in the hearts and minds of men.
This parable would indicate that it is our business as the servants of Jesus Christ, not to measure the result of our witness or observance, but to sow the good seed. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up (Galatians 6:9)
Jesus went on to exhort his hearers not to be discouraged by small results, nor by seemingly slow progress in the growth of God's reign in the hearts of men and women. Perhaps he was thinking of his own earthly ministry. As yet, his name and his work were known only within the confines of the little land of Palestine. It was a comparatively small beginning, but there would come a time when his words would be cherished and his name adored and his quickening touch felt around the world. From the tiniest of seeds, a towering shrub would grow.
We do the cause of Christ a disservice wehn we belittle the influence of the gospel throughout the centuries. To be sure, evil is still with us on every hand. MUch remains to be done. But thanks be to God, much has already been done, in Jesus's name. Even in lands where our missionaries worked for years, only to have their work interrupted and the doors of further opportunity closed against them, we may yet see that their work has not been in vain. The seed of the gospel, faithfully sown, will continue to bear fruit.
Once more, Jesus decided to reture from the surging multitudes. He suggested to his disciples that they cross to the other side of the Sea of Galilee...
We are inclined to think of the beautiful Sea of Galilee as quiet and placid. Actually, it is subject to violent storms. As the wind comes rushing through the mountain ravines, it sometimes strikes the waters of Galilee with tremendous force. We are told that, until this day, a storm on Galilee is a terrifying experience for many a traveler.
That evening, when the storm came down upon the disciples, they were genuinely frightened, but they felt sure that Jesus could handle the situation, so they hurriedly awakened him from his sleep. At his words, the storm subsided. Then he gently chided them for their lack of faith.
Could this simple incident have been a portent of the things to come? Was Jesus quietly suggesting to his disciples that, in the days ahead, when the storms of opposition and doubt and fear would threaten to engulf them, they should in like manner, turn to him in faith?
Arriving on the other side of the lake, Jesus and his disciples soon came on a man who was in difficult straits. He was demon-possessed. He was so disturbed by his condition and torment that he felt he must be the victim of no less than a legion of evil spirits. It was a stubborn case. At first, it would seem, the demons refused to obey the command of Jesus. But, at last, they yielded, and the man was restored.
Questions have been raised about the stampeding of the herd of swine in connection with this incident. It is best, perhaps, to consider this as a part of the possessed man's complete cure. Perhaps his tormented soul needed the added assurance that he had indeed been released from the domination of the demons. The tragic end of the herd of swine would assure him of the certain destruction of the demons that had molested him.
If the destruction of the herd of swine was a source of comfort to the possessed man, it certainly was quite the opposite to the men who tended the swine. Fearing lest a further calamity might befall them and their possessions at the hands of Jesus, they urgently demanded that he leave the vicinity.
We can sympathize with these men at the financial loss that they (or their masters) had sustained. Yet, we cannot refrain from the thought that throughout the centuries since that day, some people have, at times, been too much inclined to put material value on things above human values. These swine-herders seem to have cared not at all that a poor demented individual had been granted a new lease on life.
When Jesus and his disciples returned to Galilee, they were met by a man named Jairus. He was probably the president of the synagogue and, as such, was responsible for the upkeep of the building and the oversight of the services. He was, therefore, a man of prominence in his community (probably Capernaum). But his social prominence was, at that moment, of little comfort to him, for his daughter was at the point of death. He sought Jesus to heal her.
As the little gorup journeyed to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, they were met with the news that the little girl had died. It was probably to minister comfort to the heart of Jarius that Jesus said: The child is not dead but asleep (Mark 5:39). By these words he was apparently signifying to Jairus that he had not really lost his daughter. He would again hear the ring of her laughter, and agian know the warmth of her affection. Her death would be but a brief sleep from which she would soon arise.
Alone at the bedside of the child, Jesus uttered words that were full of tenderness as he said, Little girl, I say to you, get up! (Mark 5:41). And immediately, she arose. This is the first instance of a resurrection from the dead in the New Testament and the only one (apart from the resurrection of Jesus) which Mark records.
On the way to the house of Jairus, Jesus was surrounded by a great crowd. They pressed him on every side. In the midst of the confusion, he was conscious of one touch that had a purpose. A woman who had been sick for twelve years sought healing. Mark points out that she has spent all that she had in an effort to be cured, but all to no avail (Mark 5:26)
She now felt that there was one last hope for her. With remarkable faith she thought, If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed (Mark 5:28). Her faith was fully rewarded as Jesus said, Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering. (Mark 5:34)
See also Matthew 13:54-58; Matthew 9:35-38; Matthew 10; Matthew 11:1; Luke 9:1-6.
Mark records that, after raising Jairus's daughter from the dead, Jesus went to his home town, that is, into Galilee.
Returning to Nazareth, Jesus, as his custom was, visited the synagogue. Many who heard him there were astonished at his teaching, but some were skeptical. They simply could not believe that the young man who had grown up in their own community, in the home of Joseph the carpenter and his wife Mary, could have the authority and the miraculous power that were attributed to him.
It is recorded that concerning the ministry of Jesus at Nazareth on this particular occasion that He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their lack of faith. (Mark 6:5-6)
Before he sent the disciples forth, Jesus invested the twelve with power over unclean spirits as well as with power to heal the sick. He commanded them to make their journey on faith, depending for food and lodging on the kindness of the people to whom they ministered.
For some time, the disciples had been constantly in the presence of Jesus as he taught and healed and brought other miracles. This period had been for them a time of training for the task they would eventually be asked to take over. How well had they learned the lessons that their Master had taught them? Mark records that they had indeed learned them quite well...
They went out and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and annointed many sick people with oil and healed them. (Mark 6:12-13)
With this report, Mark brings to a close the public ministry of Jesus in Galilee. Later he does give us a brief word which seems to indicate something of the satisfaction the disciples felt in making a report of their activities after the preaching tour in Galilee was over. And the apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. (Mark 6:30)