4. Who Is This Man?

The Bible with Dr. Bill Creasy

Mark

Lesson #4Who Is This Man?(1: 16-45)

Review

In Lesson #3 we closely examined Marks Prologue (1: 1-15), and we learned that the Gospel according to Mark begins with a proclamation that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

Further, we learned that his dramatic entry into history was foretold 700 years earlier by Isaiah the prophet, and we learned that John the Baptist paved the way for Jesus mission, the inauguration of a new age: the Kingdom of God.

Against the background of the 1st state-sponsored persecution of the Church in Rome by the Emperor Nero (A.D. 64-68), Marks message is an urgent call to action addressed to a frightened community, a call to stand fast regardless of the cost.

Review, cont.

We also learned in Lesson #3 that Mark intensifies his message by employing a variety of rhetorical and stylistic devices:

Mark tells his readers who Jesus isthe Son of God, but he withholds that information from the main characters in his story, creating narrative tension;Mark uses the connective and repeatedly (of the 11,022 words in Mark, 1,084 are and);Mark uses the word immediately repeatedly (41 times, often in combination: and Immediately. In contrast, Matthew uses immediately only 5 times; Luke only once); andMark uses the historical present tense frequently (suddenly shifting a past event to the grammatically present tense, intensifying the sense of urgency).

Preview

Lesson #4 begins with the echo of 1: 14-15 still in our ears: After John had been arrested Jesus came into Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God and saying: The appointed time has been fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is fast approaching; repent and believe in the gospel.

Verses 14-15 strike a dissonant, ominous chord. We know that Johns arrest will result in his murder by Herod Antipas, and in these verses Jesus steps in and takes Johns place, not simply continuing Johns work, but expanding it from Judea north to Galilee, the 1st century hotbed of radical thinking and revolutionary movements.

Marks readers would have sensed the danger immediately, trembling at the inevitable conflict they knew would follow.

Preview, cont.

Once in Galilee in 1: 16, Jesus actions occur with rapid fire rapidity: Jesus calls his disciples and they immediately abandon their nets and their families; he preaches at the synagogue in Capernaum, people are astonished and demons cry out; hundreds are healed; a leper is cleansed; demons dot the landscape; crowds grow to dangerous size, following Jesus everywhere, crushing him in the throng: he cannot enter a town because of them.And the overwhelming question becomes: Who is this man who can say and do such things?

As we enter the main body of Marks gospel (1: 16 8: 26), Jesus initiates his public ministry in rural Galilee, 100 miles north of Jerusalem, far away from the center of political and religious power.

Arbel Cliff Jesus boyhood home Headquarters of Jesus public ministry

Dr. Creasy teaching on the Arbel Cliff overlooking the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Ninety percent of Jesus public ministry took place here.

Herod the Great, pronounced king of the Jews by the Roman Senate, brutally rules all of Judea, Samaria and Galilee as a Roman vassal king for 34 years (37-4 B.C.), murdering anyoneincluding his own wife and childrenwho threaten him;Upon his death, Herods three sons inherit his kingdom, Herod Antipas ruling as Tetrarch of Galilee and Perea, A.D. 6-39 (Herod Antipas murders John the Baptist and interrogates Jesus);In A.D. 6 Judas of Galilee, leader of the emerging Zealot party (the terrorists of their day), leads an armed revolt in response to a census imposed for Roman tax purposes; it is brutally crushed; The Emperor Caligula (A.D. 37-41) accuses Herod Antipas of planning a rebellion against Rome and exiles him, clamping down on Galilee.

Galilee was a 1st century hotbed of rebellion and radical thought!

This crisis under Caligula (A.D. 37-41) marks the first open break between Rome and the Jews, a break that will result in catastrophic, all-out war in 30 years;Two brothers, Jacob and Simon, lead a revolt against Rome, concentrated in Galilee (A.D. 46-48); it is crushed and the brothers are executed;Sporadic insurrections continue in Galilee and throughout Palestine until the outbreak of the Great Jewish War in A.D. 66; In A.D. 66 the Emperor Nero appoints Vespasian to crush the Jewish rebellion, and he begins at its origin, clearing Galilee of its insurgents.

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In the Gospel according to John, when Phillip tells Nathanael: We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets, Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth, Nathanael replies: Can anything good come from Nazareth? (1: 45).

Nathanaels response not only expresses his skepticism of the tiny, insignificant Galilean town of Nazareth, but also of the reputation of Galilee as a center of radical thinking and rebellious political movements.

Nothing but trouble could possibly come from Galilee!

With that in mind, lets drop into the text and have a look!

The Gospel According to MarkWho is this man? (1: 16 8: 26)

The first half of Marks gospel focuses on Jesus identity: Who is this man who can say and do such things? Here, our narrative moves rapid-fire from one scene to another, each scene further exposing Jesus identity, each scene adding to our narrative tension, and each scene amplifying the growing conflict in our story. Follow the movement:

Jesus calls his disciples (1: 16-20)An evil spirit attacks (1: 21-28)People are amazed (1: 27)Peters mother-in-law is healed; great crowds gather (1: 29-34)Jesus retreats to a solitary place for prayer (1: 35-39)A man with leprosy is healed (1: 40-45)A paralytic is healed (2: 1-12)People are amazed (2: 12)

The Gospel According to MarkWho is the man? (1: 16 8: 26), cont.

Levi (Matthew) is called as a disciple (2: 13-17)Johns disciples and the Pharisees attack: fasting (2: 18-22)Pharisees attack: picking grain on the Sabbath (2: 23-27)Pharisees attack: healing on the Sabbath (3: 1-6)Pharisees and Herodians plot to kill Jesus (3: 6)Large crowds gather (3: 7-12)Evil spirits cry out (3: 11-12)Apostles appointed (3: 13-19)Jesus is attacked (3: 20-35)Jesus family says that he is out of his mind (3: 21)Teachers of the Law claim he is possessed by Beelzebub (3: 22)Jesus mother and brothers want to take charge of him (3: 31-35)Jesus denounces his mother and brothers (3: 33-35)


Jesus teaches (4: 1-34)Parable of the sower (4: 1-20)Parable of the lamp (4: 21-25)Parable of the growing seed (4: 26-29)Parable of the mustard seed (4: 30-32)Many other parables (4: 33-34)Jesus calms a storm (4: 35-41)Disciples are terrified (4: 41)Jesus heals (5: 1-34)Demon-possessed man of Gaderene (5: 1-20)Jairus daughter (5: 21-24a; 35-43)Woman subject to bleeding (5: 24b-34)Jesus is rejected at Nazareth (6: 1-6a)


Jesus sends out the twelve (6: 6b-13)John is murdered (6: 14-29)Jesus retreats to a solitary place to pray (6: 30-44)Jesus teaches and feeds the 5,000 (6: 33-44)Jesus walks back home on the water (6: 45-56)Pharisees and teachers of the Law attack: eating with unclean hands (7: 1-23)Disgusted, Jesus leaves GalileeTyre (7: 24-30)Jesus encounters the Syrphoenician woman (7: 25-30)Decapolis (7: 31-37)Jesus encounters the deaf and mute man (7: 32-35)People are overwhelmed and amazed (7: 37)Jesus returns to Galilee (8: 1-26)

In this action sequence our narrative jumps quickly from one scene to another, and as it does we learn that:

Jesus days are packed with activity;With each day the crowds grow ever larger, hemming him in, creating a claustrophobic sense in the reader;Demons dog Jesus steps at every turn;The religious leaders flat out reject Jesus;Jesus own family rejects him;Opposition against Jesus intensifies;Jesus grows increasingly impatient with his disciples lack of understanding.

Now, lets take a close look at our opening scene, Jesus choosing his disciples, his inner circle.

Mark 1: 16-20(Dr. Creasys translation)

And passing along beside the Sea of Galilee he saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea for they were fishers and Jesus said to them, Come after me and I will make you to become fishers of men, and immediately leaving the nets they followed him.

And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother and they were in the boat mending the nets and immediately he called them and leaving their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants they went after him.

Notice in this literal translation that Mark continues the repetitive use of and and and immediately, moving the action forward quickly.Notice, too, that we are given no background whatsoever of a prior relationship between Jesus and Peter/Andrew, James/John. In Mark they appear to be complete strangers who instantly leave their business and families to follow Jesus.

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How odd.

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We know from reading the Gospel according to John, Chapters 1 & 2 that Jesus has spent considerable time with his potential disciples, even before he relocates from Nazareth to Capernaum;We know that Peter, Andrew, James and John are from Bethsaida, a village a few miles north of Capernaum, and that Peter and his wife, as well as Andrew, live in his mother-in-laws home at Capernaum;We know that Zebedee and his sons, James and John, are partners in a commercial fishing business on the Sea of Galilee with Peter and Andrew; andWe know that Salome, James and Johns mother, is Marys sister (or sister-in-law), making James and John Jesus cousins.

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So why does Mark omit all these details?

The Answer!

Mark carefully selects and arranges his material to suit his narrative purpose, which is to speed his story forward and to create an intense sense of urgency, not to give an unabridged account of Jesus public ministry.

Mark strips away all excessive detail, streamlining his story and focusing with laser-like sharpness on achieving his narrative purpose.


And they enter [note the historical present tense] into Capernaum and immediately on the Sabbath, entering into the synagogue, he taught and they were astonished at his teaching for he was teaching them as one having authority and not as the scribes, and immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit and he cried out, saying What have you to do with us, Jesus Nazarene? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you arethe Holy One of God! and Jesus commanded him sternly saying, Be quite and come out of him, and throwing him into convulsions the unclean spirit let out a shriek and he came out of him and they were all astonished so that they debated among themselves saying, What is this? A new teaching with authority and he commands the unclean spirits and they obey him! And the news of him went forth immediately into all the surrounding region of Galilee.

The passage opens with the historical present tense, suddenly shifting a past event into the grammatically present tense;Again, Mark uses and and immediately repetitively, driving the action forward;People are astonished at his teaching, asking themselves: Who can this be?;We meet our first (of many) unclean spirits or demons;Unlike the characters in the story, the unclean spirit knows precisely who Jesus is, as do we, his readers;The crowds astonishment grows;News of Jesus spreads like wildfire throughout Galilee.

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And immediately after leaving the synagogue they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simons mother-in-law lay sick with a fever and immediately they tell him [note again the historical present tense] about her and approaching her he raised her, holding her hand, and the fever left her and she ministered to them.

That evening after sunset they brought to him all who were sick and those who were demon possessed and the whole city was gathered at the door and he healed many who were sick with various diseases and he cast out many demons and he did not allow the demons to speak because they knew him.

Mark continues the repetitive use of and and immediately, as well as employing the historical present tense;Jesus casts out an unclean spirit in the synagogue and he heals Peters mother-in-law. News of this flies through the region, and by sundown the entire city turns out at Peters house, bringing with them the sick and demon possessed, all of whom Jesus heals;In this scene we begin to see the prominence of unclean spirits or demons that populate Marks narrativeand and we learn that Jesus has complete control over them, as he had over Satan in the temptation scene.

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And very early in the night, rising up, he went out and departed to a lonely place and prayed there and Simon and his companions hunted him and they found him and said to him, Everyone is searching for you, and he says to them [historical present tense], Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby in order that I may proclaim there also, for this is what I came out for and he came proclaiming in their synagogues throughout all Galilee and driving out the demons.

Notice in 1: 36 that Simon and his companions hunted him [Jesus].

The Greek word is katadiwvkw [pronounced, kata-de--ko], a compound of katav [the preposition after] and diwvkw [the verb to pursue, or to hunt], a very aggressive word.As when Mark says that the Holy Spirit drives Jesus into the desert after his baptism, rather than Matthew and Lukes more passive led him, here Peter and his friends hunt Jesus, rather the more passive went looking for.

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And a leper comes to him [historical present tense] begging him and falling on his knees saying to him, If you are willing you can cleanse me, and being filled with compassion he stretched out his hand and touched him and says to him [historical present tense], I am willing; be cleansed, and immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed, and sternly warning him, immediately he put him out and he says to him [historical present tense], See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded for a testimony to them, but he, going out, began to proclaim many things and to spread the news so that he was no longer able to enter a city openly, but he was outside in desert places and they came to him from everywhere.

As we end this opening scene (1: 16-45), Jesus has:

Assembled the inner circle of his disciples: Peter, Andrew, James and John;Cast out an unclean spirit on the Sabbath at the synagogue in Capernaum;Cured Peters mother-in-law on the Sabbath;Cured many who were sick and demon-possessed, later that evening;Traveled throughout Galilee, curing the sick and driving out demons; Cleansed a leper; andThe crowds have grown so large that Jesus is unable to enter a town.

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Notice that as Mark launches his story, all of these actions take place in a very short period of time, all of them in linear fashion, with trip-hammer rapidity.

This quick movement in a straight line will continue throughout Marks entire gospel, ending dramatically and abruptly at the empty tomb.

We have witnessed Marks sparse narrative with its noticeable lack of detail, deliberately crafted to propel the narrative forward;We have noticed, too, Marks carefully employed stylistic and rhetorical devices that drive the narrative ever-faster; andWe have seen how Marks narrator shares information with his readers that he withholds from the major characters in his story, creating escalating tension.

This is truly superb craftsmanship, and we have only just begun Marks gospel!

Now, let me share with you some photos of the places Jesus knew.

NazarethCapernaum

Jesus Journey from Nazareth to Capernaum

Capernaum

Photography by Ana Maria VargasEntrance to the archaeological site of Capernaum.

Photography by Ana Maria VargasCapernaums 4th-century synagogue, built over the remains of the original 1st-century basalt structure.

Photography by Ana Maria VargasFlooring of the original 1st-century basalt synagogue where Jesus taught.

Photography by Ana Maria VargasThe archaeological remains of St. Peters house at Capernaum.

Photography by Ana Maria VargasThe church built over the remains of St. Peters house.

Photography by Ana Maria VargasOlive Press, part of everyday life at Capernaum in Jesus day.

Photography by Ana Maria VargasSt. Peter, himself. Pope John-Paul II visited Capernaum in March, 2000.

Photography by Ana Maria VargasMorning on the Sea of Galilee.

Photography by Ana Maria VargasBoats on the Sea of Galilee.

Photography by Ana Maria VargasDr. Creasys colleague, Daniel Carmel, casting a net on the Sea of Galilee.

Photography by Ana Maria Vargas.

Jesus Calling His Disciples (mosaic), c. 1270. St. Marks Basilica, Venice.

Questions for discussion and thoughtWhy does Jesus relocate from Nazareth to Capernaum to begin his public ministry? Why not go to Jerusalem, the major urban population center and the center of both religious and political power?Why does Jesus choose Peter, Andrew, James and John as his first disciples?In our brief opening scene Jesus heals the sick and drives out many demons. Why does Mark emphasize this, rather than Jesus teaching, as does Matthew?Why does Jesus forbid the demons to speak? Why does he forbid the leper to speak? Why does the leper do so anyway?How does this opening scene affect your understanding of who Jesus is and what he means to you?

Copyright 2014 by William C. CreasyAll rights reserved. No part of this courseaudio, video, photography, maps, timelines or other mediamay be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval devices without permission in writing or a licensing agreement from the copyright holder.

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4. Who Is This Man?