Mark 9:14-50 - Desiring greatness
15/1/23
Preach
Scripture
Questions
A demon-possessed boy healed
14 And when they came to the disciples, they [poss. “he”] saw a large crowd around them and scribes arguing with them.
Where are the other disciples and the large crowd?1 Is this a mainly gentile or Jewish crowd?
15 And immediately the whole crowd, when they saw him, were amazed, and ran up to him and greeted him. 16 And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” 17 And one individual from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought to you my son who has a spirit that makes him mute [lit. “a mute spirit”2]. 18 And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down and he foams at the mouth and grinds hise teeth and becomes paralyzed. And I told your disciples that they should expel it, and they were not able to do so. 19 And he answered them and said, “O unbelieving generation! How long will I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him to me!”
Who from the immediate context are the “unbelieving generation”?3 How does this contrast with the welcome from the crowd?
20 And they brought him to him. And when he saw him, the spirit immediately convulsed him, and falling on the ground, he began to roll around, foaming at the mouth. 21 And he asked his father how long it was since this had been happening to him. And he said, “From childhood. 22 And often it has thrown him both into fire and into water, in order that it could destroy him. But if you are able to do anything, have compassion on us and help us!” 23 But Jesus said to him, “If you are able! All things are possible for the one who believes!” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe! Help my unbelief!”
Comment on the humility and faith of the father. How does this contrast with apostles [vv33-37]?
25 Now when Jesus saw that a crowd was running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him, and enter into him no more!” 26 And it came out, screaming and convulsing him greatly, and he became as if he were dead, so that most of them said, “He has died!”
The spirit leaves but not without seriously injuring the boy.
27 But Jesus took hold of his hand and raised him up, and he stood up. 28 And after he had entered into the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why were we not able to expel it?” 29 And he said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing except by prayer.”
Are the disciples humbled by this experience?
Jesus predicts his death and resurrection a second time
30 And from there they went out and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, 31 for he was teaching his disciples and was telling them, “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” 32 But they did not understand the statement, and they were afraid to ask him.
As in v12, Jesus is probably linking the son of man of Daniel 7 [especially vv13-14] with the “suffering servant” passage of Isaiah 52:13–53:12. Both Jesus [Luke 18:31-34] and Paul [1 Corinthians 15:14] speak of the resurrection being foretold in the OT. What is their “scripture proof”4?
The question about who is greatest
33 And they came to Capernaum.
They are now back in Galilee. Capernaum was a fishing port, multicultural5 and the home of Jesus [Mark 2:1]. It was also a place of trade, tax collectors and Roman soldiers6.
And after he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” 34 But they were silent, because they had argued with one another on the way about who was greatest. 35 And he sat down and called the twelve and said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he will be last of all and servant of all.” 36 And he took a young child and had him stand among them. And taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever welcomes one of the young children such as these in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me, but the one who sent me.”
At this late stage the disciples have not understood the nature of the kingdom. Their desire to elevate themselves is a consequence of their spiritual blindness above [v19].
Whoever is not against us is for us
John wants to change the subject but digs himself in further…
38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone expelling demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not prevent him, because there is no one who does a miracle in my name and will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40 For whoever is not against us is for us. 41 For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in my name because you are Christ’s, truly I say to you that he will never lose his reward.
This is still a “who is the greatest” issue for John. Should we attempt to silence other Christian ministry because it is not under out authority?
Temptations to sin
42 “And whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it is better for him if instead a large millstone is placed around his neck and he is thrown into the sea. 43 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better for you to enter into life crippled than, having two hands, to go into hell—into the unquenchable fire! 45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better for you to enter into life lame than, having two feet, to be thrown into hell!l 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out! It is better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than, having two eyes, to be thrown into hell, 48 ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not extinguished.’ 49 For everyone will be salted with fire. 50 Salt is good, but if the salt becomes deprived of its salt content, by what can you make it salty? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
Are these statements to be taken literally? How about hell [note v49]7? What are the warnings here?
More
Jesus ministry amongst the gentiles was extensive and deliberate. Gentiles were present at the Sermon on the Mount [Matthew 4:24-25]. Jesus performed many miracles amongst the gentiles…
Gadara/Gerasenes [Matthew 8:28–34; Mark 5:1–20; Luke 8:26–39]
Tyre and Sidon [Matthew 15:21–28; Mark 7:24–30]
Caesarea Philippi [Matthew 17:14–21; Mark 9:14–29; Luke 9:37–43]
Decapolis [Mark 7:31–37]
He was acting out, in his three years of ministry, the extent of the kingdom that was coming. The presence of the scribes indicates that many Jews were living amongst the Greeks. There is a scholarly view that some of the disciples and even Jesus were Greek-speaking8.
Jesus and the three have descended from Mount Hermon and must be headed to Jerusalem, via Galilee [v30], for the last time? This places them in gentile territory near Galilee [northern Roman Palestine].
We often read the demon passages imagining that the evil spirit speaks through the possessed person. It is possible that the spirits spoke themselves but this one wassilent.
The “unbelieving generation” is, from the context, the apostles. Jesus is lumping them together with the Jews, in general, and especially their leaders. There are twelve apostles are representationally the twelve tribes of Israel. Will they be Israel according to the flesh [Nehemiah 5:5 cf Romans 2:28-29].
Jesus links his ministry to the life of Jonah [Matthew 12:39-41, 16:4] and explicitly calls his resurrection on the third day “the sign of Jonah” [Matthew 16:4; Luke 11:29-32]. Jesus seems to suggest that he fulfils, as in sensus plenior, i.e. “how much more”, the story of Jonah. Further light on the significance of Jonah may come from the Malachi-Jonah sequence hypothesis which places Jonah at the end of the Tanakh so that it is not Malachi, as in our OT taken from the LXX, nor Chronicles, as with the MT, but Jonah which is the cliff-hangar at the end of the Tanakh as preserved in 4QXIIa.
"Capernaum had a diverse population due to its proximity to international roads, its fishing shoreline, and its rich soil." Cyndi Parker, “Millstones in Capernaum,” in Lexham Geographic Commentary on the Gospels, ed. Barry J. Beitzel and Kristopher A. Lyle, Lexham Geographic Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016), 308.
Vassilios Tzaferis, Excavations at Capernaum: Vol. 1, 1978–1982 (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1989), 202.
Paul also uses the concept of purification by fire for the believer [1 Corinthians 3:12-15]. Although Roman Catholic scholars may point to a future “purgatory”, Jesus’ command is that we are cleansed, as if by fire, in the here and now.
‘Did Jesus Speak Greek - Tyndale House’. Accessed 9 January 2023. https://tyndalehouse.com/explore/articles/did-jesus-speak-greek/.