Jesus calls us to follow

Enter the story

We first meet Jesus through someone who prepares the way for him. Read the passage and notice what John says about himself and about the one who comes after him.

Commentary

The first sentence grips me:

Mark begins by saying: This is good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. It began just as the prophet Isaiah had written. The gospel began in keeping with the prophetic word, as God had planned from eternity. Everything God had previously done and said pointed forward to this: good news about Jesus Christ. The prophets had prophesied about Christ, and now it has become good news, because the one who was to come has come. God’s plan reaches all the way back to the beginning of the world, but it is more than good wishes: it has become reality.

Isaiah prophesied about a messenger who would go ahead of the Messiah. He would prepare the way for him.

And so John the Baptist appeared, fulfilling the prophetic word. The NLT says that this messenger was John the Baptist. He was in the wilderness. A strange place to begin such an important ministry. He preached that people should be baptised to show that they had turned from their sins and turned to God so that they could receive forgiveness.

I notice that John baptised people in the River Jordan, rather than with water from the river. Being baptised in water means being completely immersed in it. There is a big difference between baptising in and baptising with.

I also notice that John stood out in the way he dressed and the way he ate. A rough camel-hair cloak with a belt, and locusts and wild honey for food. An unusual appearance and diet, but no obstacle to his work.

Matthew tells us that John the Baptist preached that the kingdom of heaven had drawn near, but Mark says that he preached that someone would come after him who was stronger or greater than he was. John said he was not even worthy to bend down like a slave and untie his sandal strap. That is how small and unworthy he felt beside the one who would come after him, whose way John was to prepare.

I notice that what made Jesus stronger and greater than John the Baptist was that John only baptised people in water, while Jesus would baptise in the Holy Spirit. John does not explain what this baptism in the Holy Spirit that Jesus brings involves. This baptism in the Spirit is the great difference between Jesus and John, and perhaps it is also the great difference between the old and new covenants? Perhaps we will learn more about this later in Mark’s Gospel?

Then I notice that in 1:5 the NLT says that he baptised them in the River Jordan, while in 1:8 it says that he baptises with water and that Jesus will baptise with the Holy Spirit. But here the NLT does something Norwegian Bibles do not do. It places an asterisk after with and adds a footnote saying: or in. The Greek preposition can be translated as either with or in, depending on whether it refers to the means or the location. The context clearly shows that the River Jordan is the location where people are baptised and immersed. This suggests that those who say “with” have infant baptism in mind, where water is the means, because water is poured over the child’s head.

But Isaiah’s prophecy about preparing the way for the Lord will not let me go. Perhaps we too are called to prepare the way for the Lord? To be a voice crying out? To set people moving towards Jesus and make it easy for them to find him?

Look closely

What distinguishes John’s baptism from the baptism Jesus will give? What does this tell us about who Jesus is?

Reflect

What do I need to turn away from, and what does it mean to turn to God?

Together

How can we make it easier for people around us to meet Jesus?

Live it out

Pray for someone you would like to meet Jesus. Take a simple step to open a conversation or show care.

Enter the story

At the Jordan, we hear the Father’s voice and see the Spirit come upon Jesus. Then the Spirit leads him into the wilderness. Read both events as parts of the same story.

Commentary

One day Jesus came to John and was baptised by him in the River Jordan. Jesus came to John, and John baptised him, plain and simple. Here we are given none of the details the other Gospels provide. Mark focuses on what matters most: Jesus was baptised, and as he came up out of the water, he saw heaven open and the Holy Spirit come upon him; the Spirit descended like a dove. Then a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; in you I find my delight.”

Before the Son had begun his ministry, before he had entered into the work he was destined to do, before he had done anything at all, his Father gives him honour and glory. The Father gave him his approval before he had begun his ministry. We human beings are rather slow to give honour, even to people who have shown through a long life of faithful service that they deserve it. The Father honoured his Son because he trusted him and saw what was within him. God honoured who Jesus was before his deeds revealed who he was.

Dear God, help me see the people I meet today as they are, for who they are, created in your image, even if I do not know their lives and deeds. If they are “a good tree”, sooner or later they will bear good fruit! Let me see the good in people before they have the chance to show through their deeds how good they are.

In 1:12, I noticed this little word, “immediately”. As soon as the Spirit had come upon him, the Spirit immediately drove him into the wilderness, where he was tempted by Satan for forty days. Immediately after receiving honour and glory and having the Spirit descend upon him, he faced temptation. He did not simply meet the Tempter: it was the Spirit who drove him into the wilderness to face temptation. That is strange to think about. He had been baptised in water, the Spirit had come upon him, he had received honour and approval from his heavenly Father, and immediately he was led into the wilderness, where he lived among the wild animals and was tempted by Satan. But was it after the temptation, or while it was happening, that the angels served him? Mark does not explain this, but Matthew does.

Look closely

What does the Father say to Jesus before his public ministry begins? What does the text tell us about the Spirit’s work?

Reflect

How can I rest in God’s love when I face temptation or a difficult time?

Together

What does it mean to see and honour a person before they have achieved anything for us?

Live it out

Give someone specific and truthful encouragement about something good you see in them.

Enter the story

Read these two verses slowly. Here we hear Jesus’ proclamation and his invitation to respond to the good news.

Commentary

These two verses contain a lot of dynamite, I think. As soon as John had been put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee.

He began his ministry by proclaiming God’s gospel, Good News from God. There are two central things in the gospel Jesus proclaimed, and there are two things we must do when this Good News from God is announced to us.

The first is: The time has come! The time God promised would come has finally arrived. The waiting is over. The time of fulfilment is here. These words must truly have been good news for those who heard Jesus proclaim them. They knew the prophetic writings. They carried a dream and a longing for the promised time the prophets described to come.

The prophetic writings of the people of Israel had given them hope, a dream of a time that would be completely different from the difficult situation they were going through. In Jesus’ day, the country was occupied by the Romans. The people were waiting for a deliverer who would free them from the occupying power and make them free and independent.

Then Jesus comes with good news! You do not need to wait any longer. The time has come. Today is the day when promises will be fulfilled.

The time has come for me too. I must seize the moment. I do not need to go on waiting for something that lies in the future. The time has come!

The second thing Jesus emphasises is that the kingdom of God has drawn near. When he speaks of the kingdom of God, his listeners must have made many connections with the prophets’ words about the king and deliverer who was to come. About the time when God would intervene and be King. When his good will would prevail on earth. About the kingdom that would put an end to every other kingdom and fill the whole earth. Their thoughts must have turned to Daniel, who prophesied, or rather gave a prophetic interpretation of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream about the great statue representing the great world empires that would come, only to be crushed by a little stone. It was not thrown by a human hand, but this little stone struck the magnificent statue and itself grew into a great mountain that filled the whole earth. Just think: the time has come, and this kingdom has arrived!

Look closely

What does Jesus announce, and what does he ask people to do? Find both repentance and faith in the Bible text.

Reflect

Where am I waiting for a future that keeps me from responding to Jesus today?

Together

How can Jesus’ message about the kingdom of God shape what we say and do this week?

Live it out

Choose an area where you know Jesus is calling you to repent. Respond with a concrete step today.

Enter the story

Picture the fishermen at work. Jesus meets them where they are, calls them to himself and promises what he will make them become.

Commentary

Once, as Jesus walked along the lake, he saw the brothers Simon and Andrew. I paused over this expression, he saw, because it tells me something important about Jesus. He saw, he was alert, he paid attention. He did not go through life recklessly or thoughtlessly. He saw. He noticed things. Lord, let me be alert and see everything you want me to see in my everyday life.

Jesus saw them. He saw that they were fishermen. He saw that they were casting a net into the lake. Then he spoke to them and said: Come and follow me! And I will make you fishers of people! At these simple words, they left everything they had and followed Jesus.

As Jesus walked on, he again saw some other brothers: James and John. He called them, and they left their father and their livelihood.

This makes an impression on me. Four strong working men leave their jobs and a secure life to follow a man they have just met! What is happening? What is it about Jesus’ words and manner that makes people act so radically?

He simply said: Come and follow me! How could they follow a man they did not know? What did they understand of his promise to make them fishers of people?

I also noticed that they left everything, leaving their father and their work to follow Jesus. Perhaps following someone always means having to leave someone behind?

Look closely

What does Jesus do, and what do the fishermen do? Who is responsible for making them fishers of people?

Reflect

What grips me about the promise that Jesus himself will shape those who follow him?

Together

What can it cost to follow Jesus in our everyday lives, and how can we support one another?

Live it out

Pause before a decision today and ask: How can I follow Jesus in this? Act on what you know he has taught you.

Enter the story

Jesus teaches, sets people free and heals. Read the whole passage, including what happens in Simon and Andrew’s house and the encounter with the sick that evening.

Commentary

Jesus and the disciples came to Capernaum, one of the larger towns by the Sea of Galilee. When the Sabbath came, they went to the gathering in the synagogue. There Jesus began to teach.

People were amazed at his teaching. It was different from what they were used to hearing from the teachers of the law. He taught them with authority in his words; the others did not. I wonder why? Perhaps they simply passed on theories or knowledge they had heard from others, while Jesus spoke with authority because he spoke words from God’s mouth?

In the synagogue there was a man with an unclean spirit. I get the impression that he belonged to the synagogue, that he regularly went to its gatherings every Sabbath, so in that sense he was one of the faithful attenders. Faced with Jesus’ authoritative words, he could not contain himself and began to shout: “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: God’s Holy One!” Jesus rebuked the spirit, commanding it to be silent and come out of the man. The spirit convulsed him violently before coming out with a loud cry. People were seized with fear and amazement, but did not properly understand what had happened. Yet they understood that Jesus had a power greater than the unclean spirit: it had to obey him and do what he said. It frightened them that a human being could have such power. News of Jesus spread throughout the whole area.

I noticed that the text says the man had one spirit in him, but when it spoke through the man, it spoke in the plural, as though there were many of them. Yet Jesus rebuked the spirit, and it came out of him. The spirit lied and gave the impression of being more numerous and stronger than it was. I also noticed that Jesus did not enter into dialogue with the spirit and commanded it to be silent. He did not do what some people do today: enter into dialogue with an unclean spirit and accept what it says.

After the gathering in the synagogue, Jesus went home with Simon and Andrew. Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed. She was ill with a fever. They immediately told Jesus, who at once went straight to her, took her by the hand and raised her up. The fever left her, and she attended to them. I noticed that Jesus was quick to meet needs, and that the woman who was healed was quick to serve!

Later that evening, many sick people and people with evil spirits came to him. The whole town gathered. What a commotion it must have been! Jesus healed many who suffered from various illnesses and drove out many evil spirits. Again, I noticed that he did not allow the evil spirits to speak.

Look closely

How do the people respond to Jesus’ teaching? What happens when he speaks to the unclean spirit, and what does Simon’s mother-in-law do after he has raised her up?

Reflect

What does this story help me discover about Jesus’ authority and care?

Together

How can we bring people with needs before Jesus in prayer and practical care?

Live it out

Pray for someone who is ill or suffering. Get in touch and ask what practical help they need.

Enter the story

After a busy day, Jesus goes to a solitary place to pray. The disciples look for him, but he knows that he must move on.

Commentary

The next day, Jesus was up early. While it was still dark, he went out to a deserted place to be alone in prayer. I noticed that he got up very early, before the usual time, before ordinary people got up. He went to be alone and pray. This is something very important, I think: being alone with God. Shutting out the world in a way, being in a deserted place where things are not happening around you all the time, where you can simply be alone with God. We all need a place like this to go to. It can be anywhere, but it must be somewhere we can pray without being disturbed.

Then I noticed that Simon and the other disciples looked for him and found him. They said that people were looking for him and wanted to meet him. Jesus could have had a great ministry and built a large congregation there in the town, but Jesus had a different priority. He knew why he had come and could not let people’s wishes direct him. He was certainly successful in Capernaum, this important town. But Jesus knew why he had come. He had been sent on a mission. He had to set priorities. So he said: Let us move on. We must not settle down in one place. It makes no difference that it is a large and important town. The small towns must also hear.

I like this expression, small towns. It reminds me of all the little villages, hamlets and fishing communities along the coast of our country. The small places need the gospel too. This encourages and challenges me. The small places around my own county also need a visit from Jesus. Do I set my priorities as Jesus did? Do I leave the large and visible places to bring the gospel to the small and unnoticed ones?

Perhaps I need to become more aware of why I am here? More aware of what I have been sent to do and whom I have been sent to?

Look closely

What does Jesus do before the others find him? What does he say about why he wants to go to other places?

Reflect

What directs my day: other people’s expectations or what I have received from God?

Together

How can we help one another make room for both prayer and the mission?

Live it out

Set aside a quiet time for prayer. Name the people and places God has laid on your heart, and listen before planning the rest of the day.

Enter the story

A man comes to Jesus with a question about his willingness to help. Jesus responds with both words and action.

Commentary

A man with leprosy knelt before Jesus and begged him to make him well: If you are willing, you can make me clean! I noticed that he believed Jesus could, but was not sure whether he was willing to heal him.

I like Jesus’ response. He was filled with deep compassion. That is something I need more of: hearing and seeing the people around me and having compassion for them in their situation. Yes, deep compassion.

I also like the short distance between compassion and action. Jesus immediately said: I am willing! Be clean! At once the disease disappeared and the man was clean. What an answer he received! I am willing! Just think: this is how Jesus meets us, even when we are not sure he is willing.

Afterwards, Jesus urged the man not to tell others about this miracle, but simply to go to the priests and have it confirmed that he was clean and free from leprosy. It strikes me that Jesus did not want publicity. I also noticed that Jesus wanted the miracle to be examined by the experts, and that the man who had been healed should receive a proper medical certificate!

The man could not keep the miracle to himself, but told everyone what Jesus had done for him. This made things difficult for Jesus, because he was recognised everywhere and people came to him from every direction.

I do not know whether there is such a thing as partial obedience, or whether everything short of complete obedience is really disobedience? But what struck me is that if we are not careful to do what Jesus says, we make things difficult for him. Lord, have mercy on me!

Look closely

What does the man say, and how does Jesus respond? Notice the touch and what Jesus asks the man to do afterwards.

Reflect

Whom do I find it easy to keep at a distance, and what do I learn from the way Jesus meets this man?

Together

How can our fellowship welcome people who feel excluded?

Live it out

Show care for someone who is often overlooked. Take a step that makes room for them in the fellowship.

Enter the story

Four men bring a friend to Jesus, but the house is full. Read what they do, and what Jesus says and demonstrates through this encounter.

Commentary

A few days later, Jesus returned to Capernaum, and people heard that he was at home. Here I discover that Jesus had a kind of home in Capernaum and that this was a place he often returned to. It is always good to have a home, a place to return to for rest and renewed strength for new journeys and missions.

But this time it does not seem that Jesus got any rest, because people heard that he was at home and many gathered. The house was overflowing, and many had to stand outside, including four men who arrived carrying a paralysed friend. But they did not stay outside. They went up onto the roof and made an opening. The NLT says that “they dug a hole”, and then I wonder what kind of roof this was. Building practices there must have been different from those in Norway, so I find it difficult to imagine how this happened.

But they lowered the mat with the paralysed man down in front of Jesus. Then it says that Jesus saw their faith. Our faith, or our lack of faith, is always visible, because faith always shows itself in deeds. Faith without works is dead, James says. Our faith can always be seen through the life we live, where what we say and do belongs together.

When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralysed man: “Son, your sins are forgiven!” I have often wondered why Jesus said this to the paralysed man. He needed healing. His friends had brought him to Jesus so that he would make him well, but he simply says that his sins were forgiven? Why did he say this first? Was it because he wanted to emphasise that forgiveness was the most important thing, greater than physical health? Or was there a connection between his sins and the illness that had struck him?

The teachers of the law reacted to Jesus’ words about forgiveness, because in their minds only God could forgive sin. Jesus immediately knew what they were thinking and asked them which was easier to say: that the sins were forgiven, or that the man should take his mat and walk. They had no time to answer before Jesus said to the paralysed man: Get up, take your mat and walk! He did this to prove that he had authority on earth to forgive sins.

When the paralysed man immediately sprang up, took his mat and walked out before everyone’s eyes, they were all completely overwhelmed with amazement. They praised God and said, “We have never seen anything like this!”

They saw a man do what only God could do! Forgiving sins was greater than healing a paralysed man. But performing such a miraculous sign showed that Jesus was more than simply a human being.

Look closely

What does Jesus see, and what does he say to the man first? What is the healing meant to show about the Son of Man’s authority?

Reflect

What does it mean to me that Jesus both forgives and heals? Whom can I help bring to him?

Together

How can we help people who cannot get there on their own?

Live it out

Contact someone who needs help and pray together. Offer practical support too, if you can.

Enter the story

Jesus sees Levi at the tax booth and calls him. Afterwards, he sits at the table with people the religious leaders keep at a distance.

Commentary

Once again, Jesus is out walking along the lake. Many people gathered around him, and he taught them. A pattern emerges early: Jesus preached and taught when he met people. But I also notice that he sees people. He sees the individual. He does not let large crowds dazzle him. He saw each person, as Mark tells us in our passage. As he walked on from the shore, he saw Levi sitting at the tax booth. Jesus said: “Follow me!” Just think: Levi got up and followed him. Two words were enough to make him leave his secure livelihood to follow this man into an uncertain future.

Later, Jesus was a guest in his house. Many tax collectors and sinners had gathered for a feast, and Jesus ate with them. No big deal for us, but it was for the religious leaders. It was unheard of for a holy man to eat, drink and celebrate with such people. The tax collectors were traitors who worked for the occupying power, and the sinners were people who lived immoral lives in various ways. Eating with them meant associating with them; indeed, it was on a par with making a covenant with them. In the eyes of the teachers of the law, this was unheard of and improper.

Jesus heard what the teachers of the law were saying among themselves. This confirms the pattern I notice. Jesus sees, hears and notices people and what they think and say. He is truly alert. He pays attention to what is happening around him. He did not live in his own bubble. He saw and heard; he engaged with people and their everyday lives.

Jesus revealed a simple but profound truth in what he said to the religious leaders, the Bible-believing theologians of that time: The healthy do not need a doctor, but the sick do! I have come for those who are hurting, those who struggle with sin, shame and exclusion! These simple words contain the whole gospel. This is good news for everyone who, in one way or another, is hurting and finding life difficult. Jesus cares about those of us who struggle and cannot cope with life! It was for us that he came. For those of us who are poor in ourselves and see that we need God’s grace and help.

In a way, Jesus does not waste his time on the successful and self-satisfied, yet he shows them enough respect to answer their objections. It makes an impression on me to see how he meets people.

Look closely

What does Levi do when Jesus calls? What does Jesus say about why he eats with tax collectors and sinners?

Reflect

Whom do I find it easy to keep at a distance? How does Jesus meet people who cannot cope with life?

Together

How can meals and hospitality make room for people who feel excluded?

Live it out

Invite someone to a conversation or a meal, especially someone you do not usually spend time with.

Enter the story

People ask why Jesus’ disciples do not fast. He responds with images of a wedding, cloth and wineskins.

Commentary

Fasting was common in Judaism. Originally, fasting expressed grief, either over a death or over sin, but it also became associated with earnest prayer. The only compulsory day of fasting for the Jews was the Day of Atonement. Some Jews nevertheless practised fasting twice a week (Luke 18:12). All the holy men and women in the Bible fasted. Fasting is one of the ancient, classic disciplines practised from time immemorial. When we fast, we abstain from food or other things so that we can spend more time with God in prayer. Fasting underlines the seriousness, the burden and the distress we carry as we come before God’s face to pour out our hearts to him.

Both the Pharisees and John’s disciples observed fasts. Fasting was a natural part of their religious practice. They lived sober lives and fasted regularly. People noticed this because it was a mark of a devout and God-fearing life. They had also noticed that this was not a distinguishing feature of Jesus’ disciples. They wondered about this, because it went against their expectations of devout and religious life. So they came to Jesus and asked about it. I notice that people were not afraid to question what Jesus said and did. I also notice that Jesus answered kindly and respectfully, while remaining clear and direct.

He often answered with a question of his own that helped people see with fresh eyes, a new perspective, new angles. Then the answer became obvious. Can wedding guests fast while celebrating with the bridegroom? Of course not, but when he was gone, they would fast. Notice that Jesus does not condemn their fasting. He simply teaches that it is not right for his disciples to fast at this time.

Jesus answers the question about fasting by telling three parables. He uses perfectly ordinary events and circumstances to convey his truth. The first parable begins with a rhetorical question that assumes a negative answer. It is entirely inappropriate to fast—and mourn—at a wedding. That is a time to rejoice and celebrate, rather than fast and mourn. The bridegroom refers to Jesus, and his bride is the church. A new time has begun.

The words about the unshrunk piece of cloth and the new wineskins are not as easy to understand, at least in terms of how they answer the question about fasting. So we should understand these two images in light of the clear reference to the bridegroom. What they have in common seems to concern what is fitting. It is not fitting to mourn at a wedding. It is not appropriate to put a piece of new cloth on an old garment. Nor is it appropriate to pour new wine into old wineskins.

Everything has its meaning and purpose, including fasting. The purpose of fasting is not fulfilled at a wedding. New cloth does not serve its purpose if it is put on an old garment. On the contrary, it would ruin both the old and the new. New wine does not serve its purpose either if it is poured into old wineskins. Here too, both the old and the new would be wasted.

Nothing should be placed alongside Jesus. This applies to traditional Judaism, the disciples of John the Baptist, nationalism and anything else they or we might want to add. Jesus is the new element; there is no room for mixing religions. Jesus makes the question larger than simply fasting. Christianity has its roots in Judaism in a sense, yet represents something entirely new. When the bridegroom has come, a new time has also begun. Many parts of the old are then no longer useful or able to fulfil their purpose.

Look closely

What does Jesus say about the bridegroom and the time for fasting? How do the three images help us understand what fits the new time?

Reflect

How can my spiritual disciplines serve fellowship with Jesus and the purpose he has given them?

Together

How can we make room for joy, prayer and fasting without making our own practice the standard for others?

Live it out

Set aside time for prayer and ask what helps you seek God now. Let a specific discipline serve that purpose.

Enter the story

The disciples pick heads of grain as they walk through the field. The Pharisees ask why they are doing what they consider forbidden.

Commentary

Jesus rarely sits still; he is usually on the move. Now he is walking along a field on a Sabbath. The Pharisees had many rules connected with the Sabbath: what people could or could not do, how far they could walk and what they should eat. This time he probably has not walked too far, because the Pharisees are there and see the disciples plucking heads of grain and eating as they walk. This provokes the Pharisees, and they ask Jesus why the disciples are doing things they are not allowed to do on the Sabbath.

Jesus answers the Pharisees’ question about breaking the Sabbath commandment with three arguments. First, Jesus answers by asking a question: “Have you not read what David did?” He had eaten something he was not allowed to eat, yet the high priest had permitted it because he and his men needed this food! It seems that he wants to point out that the Pharisees are inconsistent. They do not condemn David for what he did, yet they condemn the disciples for a much smaller infringement. The Sabbath commandment was about not working on the Sabbath, but the disciples were not doing that: they were simply hungry and ate a little of the crop in the field they passed. Jesus starts from the original meaning of the law and refuses to be bound by the Pharisees’ traditional rules and interpretations.

Jesus’ second argument concerns precisely this: the original meaning of the law. The Sabbath came into being for people, to meet a need they had. The Sabbath was intended to be a blessing for people, rather than a heavy burden. People are more important than religious customs or buildings. The entire law came into being for people’s good.

When rules and regulations prove to work against people, they should be abolished. Human beings are the foremost object of God’s love. God loves the world of people more than the Sabbath, Sunday, the physical world or the temple. God loves the world and does not seek his own good. So he acts for the world’s benefit, rather than for himself.

We too should work for the benefit of others, not simply for ourselves. We should love people and use things for people’s good, instead of loving things and using people to acquire even more. Are the rules and regulations we practise for the world’s benefit or only for our own? The church should exist for the world: that is, to seek and save those who have lost their way. Rules should serve people, not become bonds that restrict personal freedom.

The third argument Jesus uses against the Pharisees is that the Son of Man, Jesus, is also Lord of the Sabbath. Jesus’ disciples may do what the Lord of the Sabbath permits. So Jesus allows the disciples to pick heads of grain and eat the grain. The little word also shows that Jesus’ authority, already expressed through healings, the casting out of evil spirits and the forgiveness of sin, also extends to the law.

Look closely

What three answers does Jesus give? What does he say about whom the Sabbath is for and who the Son of Man is?

Reflect

What rule or habit have I allowed to become more important than the person it was meant to serve?

Together

How can the arrangements in our fellowship benefit people and make room for rest?

Live it out

Look at an expectation you place on yourself or others. Ask how it can serve people better.

Enter the story

A man with a withered hand stands in the synagogue. Jesus brings him forward and asks a question the others will not answer.

Commentary

Mark gives us this story as a follow-up to Jesus’ claim in the previous passage that he is Lord of the Sabbath. Once again, Jesus entered the synagogue. There was a man there with a withered and paralysed hand. The Pharisees were watching him to see whether they could accuse him of breaking the law of Moses by working on the Sabbath.

Jesus knows how they think and confronts them head-on. He asks the man to stand up and come forward into the middle of the room. Jesus issues a public and direct challenge to the Pharisees. He turns away from the man for a moment and asks the Pharisees: “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save a life or to kill?”

Put another way: “Is it lawful to heal a person (do good), or to refrain from healing (do evil)?” In their own interpretation of the law, the Pharisees allowed a farmer to help an animal in distress on the Sabbath. But the Pharisees, blinded by their opposition, nevertheless remained silent, despite what their own interpretation taught. They would not agree with Jesus that it is right to do good and not evil. And they could not disagree that it is right to do evil and not good. So they did not answer, but remained silent and held their anger inside.

Jesus was clearly angry and grieved. As he looked around, he became angry because their hearts were so hardened. Silence is not always golden. The Pharisees’ hearts were so hard that they could not give a reasonable answer. Jesus’ next words are directed to the sick man: he asks him to stretch out his hand. The man does so, and his hand becomes completely well again.

Mark does not tell us how the crowd reacted, but he tells us how the Pharisees reacted. They immediately leave and make plans with the Herodians to kill Jesus, not because of the miracle itself, the man being healed, but because Jesus has undermined their power through his direct challenge. What was true for Jesus’ listeners is also true for Mark’s listeners and for us. The good news about Jesus, about what he teaches and does, softens many, like the crowds who, filled with wonder, bring more people to him. But the good news also hardens some, like the Pharisees and Herodians, who have ears but do not hear, and eyes but do not see.

Another valuable application of this passage, perhaps not intended by Mark, concerns when we should not remain silent or fail to respond. Remaining silent about evil is not the right response. If we expect good to triumph, we should advance it in every way we can. If we expect evil to be overcome, we must fight it in every way we can.

Look closely

What does Jesus ask, and how does he respond to the silence? What happens to the man, and what do the opponents do afterwards?

Reflect

Where am I tempted to remain silent or refrain from doing good because I want to avoid opposition?

Together

How can we advance good and protect people when rules or power stand in the way?

Live it out

Do a specific good deed you have held back from doing. Stand alongside someone who needs support.