Mark 1:21-45

21 They went to Capernaum; and when the Sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. 22They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 23Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, 24and he cried out, ‘What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.’ 25But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be silent, and come out of him!’ 26And the unclean spirit, throwing him into convulsions and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. 27They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, ‘What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.’ 28At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.
29 As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. 31He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.
32 That evening, at sunset, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. 33And the whole city was gathered around the door. 34And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.
35 In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. 36And Simon and his companions hunted for him. 37When they found him, they said to him, ‘Everyone is searching for you.’ 38He answered, ‘Let us go on to the neighbouring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.’ 39And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.
40 A leper came to him begging him, and kneeling he said to him, ‘If you choose, you can make me clean.’ 41Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, ‘I do choose. Be made clean!’ 42Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. 43After sternly warning him he sent him away at once, 44saying to him, ‘See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.’ 45But he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word, so that Jesus could no longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter.


It is sometimes said that the verses in this lesson outline Jesus’ first day of ministry. Written in Mark’s breathless pace, this passage seems to cover only about twenty-four hours. But within these twenty-four hours, Jesus has already amassed such a following that he has to retreat – not once, but twice to escape the crowds! Just what is it that Jesus has done? It seems this first day bears a closer look. Jesus’ first action of the day is an exorcism. This is exactly the kind of passage that makes us moderns a bit uncomfortable. It helps a bit to place ourselves into the mindsets of the people that would be hearing this story from the mouths of the apostles, although the differences in culture will never allow us to get a complete understanding.

The Greeks and Romans believed that the world was inhabited with thousands upon thousands of demons. They were much more numerous than people on earth. They inhabited specific places, animals and sometimes people and were susceptible to magic. In Acts 19:19; there is an account of a public burning of magical books worth fifty thousand silver pieces. These books most likely contained magic formulas for containing and controlling demons. Demons were blamed for everything from worn clothing to sore feet. Jews understood demons as negative, evil spirits opposed to God. Thus, an exorcism would prove spiritual power not only to a Jewish audience, but to a Roman and Greek one as well.

The common way for a demon to be exorcised would be to call it out in the name of a god. It was expected that the demon would struggle to stay where it was, but the more powerful the god cited, the less the demon would struggle. Notice that Jesus himself calls out the demon. There are no formulas or incantations. Jesus is not a magician. Indeed, his ability to call out the demon without naming another god shows that he is indeed God, something that the demon immediately recognized. Thus this account shows both the Jews and the Gentiles that Jesus was not just a skilled magician or holy man for another god, but Jesus Christ, the Son of God.Before we leave this incident, there is another observation to be made. People responded to Jesus’ teachings as ‘one with authority.’ Vs 22 says that he taught ‘not as the scribes.’ Scribe refers to an occupation dealing with reading and writing, a skill that was not common in Jesus’ time. Every government or religious official would most likely have a scribe – it is perhaps easiest to think of a scribe as a secretary. However, the scribes connected with the synagogues also were considered legal experts. It was their job to interpret religious Law. Thus, any discussion of religious Law by a scribe would be similar to a legal secretary interpreting law – certainly not writing it but only explaining the meaning of existing law. Jesus’ teaching was different because he was not interpreting strict understandings of the fine points of the law, but rather teaching the intent and purpose of the law – something a scribe could never do. It is also interesting to note that this healing occurred on the Sabbath. No work – even healing – was allowed on the Sabbath by the scribal interpretation of religious law, so even the very action of helping this man was a challenge to accepted authority.

Therefore this very first incident of Jesus’ ministry in Mark taught Mark’s listeners that Jesus has authority not only over demons, signifying the spiritual realm, but over human understanding as well. Jesus is the king of Heaven and of Earth, and with his first act, he establishes that position – not in a palace or a temple, but in a simple synagogue in the backwoods region of Galilee.

After this healing, he immediately – there’s that word! – goes to the house of Peter and heals his mother-in-law of a fever. She immediately gets up to serve Jesus. As a woman who obviously had at least one daughter, and probably servants, the matriarch of the family serving Jesus herself was an act of high respect and gratitude.
Because Sabbath ends at sundown, the crowds waited until evening to bring all those that needed healing to Jesus. Jesus had a very busy night! The concluding words: “He would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him,” are part of a famous mystery in the book of Mark that scholars refer to as the “Messianic Secret.” Why would Jesus want to hide his identity? Different interpreters cite different reasons. Some say it is because it was demons who were naming him. Some others say it was because fame of his healing ability would make it difficult for him to move about the countryside and teach. Others, including Raymond Brown, say that the identification of Jesus as the Son of God at this point does not encompass the entire meaning of who Jesus is and who Jesus will become to humanity. There is yet to be suffering and death, and then new hope through resurrection. Jesus has not yet revealed himself to the world in his fullness, and it is not the work of others to do so.

Slipping out in the morning, Jesus returns to the desert (or deserted place) to pray. The original word in Mark indicates the desert, but there are no deserts around Galilee. Mark, in his careful narrative, is alluding again to the place of wilderness, and the desert that Jesus retreated to before when he was tempted, and then ministered to by angels. Simon Peter hunts him down – indeed, the Greek verb here is quite strong. “Get back to the people!” Peter tells him. “They’re looking for you!” No doubt more have arrived seeking healing. But Jesus tells Peter that they will leave for other towns. “I came to proclaim the good news, “ he tells Peter.There’s a tension here that speaks to our own spiritual life. Many times we feel torn as to where to focus our energies. Do we pray? Or study? Or care for others? Do we evangelize? This passage speaks of balance in our Christian walk. There were still people that were seeking to be healed but Jesus moved to the next town. These verses confront the difficult choices we face as people of limited time and resources.

The last passage in this week’s study speaks of a man whom Jesus healed from leprosy. Although the word used for leprosy in the New Testament could refer to a number of skin ailments, all made the person unclean. An unclean person had to wear ragged clothing and disheveled hair, and call out “Unclean!” whenever anyone approached them. Merely touching them made a person unclean themselves until they were ritually washed. Lepers were forced to live on the outskirts of town, shunned by the rest of society. The leper said to Jesus, “If you choose, you can make me clean.” Pheme Perkins, in his commentary, says that “the ability to ‘make clean’ if one chooses should technically only apply to God.” Jesus echoes this offer of choice to God later in the garden of Gethsemane. (Mark 14:36) The leper is stating his recognition of Jesus as the Christ in his request for healing.

Jesus heals him, but then sternly commands him to go to the priests to be cleansed. In order for a person to be made clean after being healed from leprosy, they had to be consecrated by the priests. Since leprosy was a fatal disease, this would only happen in the case of a miracle. The ritual for cleansing after leprosy is outlined in Leviticus 14. I believe it is significant that the ritual for cleansing after leprosy very closely follows the ritual in Leviticus used for consecrating a high priest. Only in these two ceremonies, the priest places the blood of a sacrificed lamb on the right ear lobe, thumb and big toe of the one to be cleansed or consecrated, followed by holy oil in the same spots. The extremities indicated consecration of the entire self, and the blood represented life. This ceremony is a passage between the common and the holy, an entering into a new, dedicated life.
But the man did not go to the priests, but instead went out and told everyone what Jesus had done. The man praised Jesus, yes. But he did it without first dedicating himself. He was not fully, completely God’s. His witness became superficial – and his praise was about what he gained, and not about the one whom he was serving. The healed leper no doubt believed he was doing a ‘good thing’ by praising Jesus, but his act was one of disobedience. And after this man spread the news, Jesus was again swarmed by the crowds looking for what they could get from Jesus instead of intending to be disciples of his.

 

Discussion Questions

1) Why do you think Jesus’ first act of healing was an exorcism in a synagogue during Sabbath? What aspect of Jesus did Mark want his listeners to realize in that passage?
 

2) Why do you think Jesus warned the demons (and later, the healed leper) against telling anyone who he was?
 

3) How do you feel about Jesus leaving before he healed all the people that wanted to be healed? What conflicts to you face in your own discipleship?
 

4) Why did Jesus sternly tell the healed leper to go to the priests for cleansing? What was the result of his disobedience? When can doing ‘good things’ become acts of disobedience?
 

5) What is the difference between the crowds that followed Jesus in Mark 1:45 and discipleship? To which group do you belong?
 

Additional Reference Resources for this study:
Ferguson, Everett Demonology of the Early Christian World, 1980, Symposium Series Vol 12, NY, NY, The Edward Mellon Press

Nilson, Martin P. Greek Piety, 1969, Translated by Herbert Jennings Rose, NY, NY, W&W Norton and Company Inc.

9In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."
12And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness, 13He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts, and the angels waited on him.
14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe in the good news!"
16As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea - for they were fishermen. 17And Jesus said to them, “Follow, me and I will make you fish for people." 18And immediately they left their nets and followed him.
19As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, mending their nets. 20Immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.


As soon as John foretells it, who should arrive on the scene but Jesus! But unlike in the gospels Matthew and Luke, John does not announce Jesus in the book of Mark. In fact, the singular nature of the pronouns in Jesus’ baptism story seem to make this a moment between Jesus and God alone. In the Gospel of Mark, no one else sees the dove and the sky tear open. No one else hears God’s voice. True to the secrecy about Jesus in the rest of the book of Mark, this moment speaks of individual blessing and individual call. From a reading of the book of Mark alone, one could think that Jesus was baptized along with all the others at the Jordan River that day and no one at all was aware of his identity but God.

The question could be raised as to why Jesus was baptized at all. If John’s baptism was a mark of repentance, and Jesus was sinless, what significance would Jesus’ baptism have? Matthew attempts to address this question in Matthew 3:15. There, John initially refuses to baptize Jesus, telling him that Jesus ought to baptize him. Jesus convinces him otherwise, stating “it is proper in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” In other words, Jesus’ baptism demonstrates his willingness to follow the commission of God. But Mark may hold a further, more subtle answer. While Jesus was baptized with water by John, a preparatory act, Jesus was also baptized with the Holy Spirit from God, the first to be so baptized. This is the moment that begins Jesus’ ministry, the moment that calls him into active work for the kingdom of God. So while all baptisms before were tilling the soil and preparing for the one to come, the baptism of Jesus reflects the first words of Jesus in the book of Mark: “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe in the good news!” Pheme Perkins writes that the baptism of Christ in the book of Mark is “central to the Gospel’s Christology.” It is this first baptism of the Holy Spirit that allows a glimpse of the forward moment of Jesus Christ – towards the very kingdom of God.

Immediately, the Spirit sends Jesus out into the wilderness. Mark’s account of the temptation of Christ is one short sentence. While he was tempted by Satan, he was also ministered to by angels, and was with wild beasts, presumably peacefully. While Satan was in the desert, God was there also.

Jesus arrives back from the desert, calling all to listen to the good news. But even as he gathers followers, there is the first ominous note in the book of Mark. John has been arrested. Following this wilderness king does not come without a cost.

As the first words of Jesus in the book of Mark, vs 1:15 bears close attention. Both Greek verbs; is fulfilled (perplerotai) and has come near (engiken) are in the perfect tense. This means that the action had begun previously, and is still going on. The time, then, is in the process of fulfilling itself, and the kingdom of God surrounding us more and more completely – but there is much more to come. This statement is seen as the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. One could imagine Jesus standing on a mountaintop, pointing to the good news of the coming dawn, the light seeping along the horizon. The day is beginning, the light is visible, but there will be so much more! It is a statement of anticipation and of great hope. Jesus has picked up on John’s teaching and expanded it. Now he’s saying the time is here – are you ready to join in with us?

After his statement, Jesus begins to gather his disciples. First he calls two brothers, Simon (Peter) and Andrew. Then he calls away John and James, also brothers, who were fishing with their father and hired hands. This fishery was a family business, and not a small one, either. They had employees. Their father, who stayed behind, had no doubt raised and trained them into the family business. We know that at the very least, Peter had a wife, because Jesus heals Peter’s mother in law in Mark 1:30-31, in Peter’s own home. The image of impoverished disciples who had nothing to lose by following Jesus just is not true. There was a great cost for these disciples.

As we have seen, the beginning of Mark is rich with Old Testament references. From Malachi and Isaiah comes the image of the imminent arrival of a king from the wilderness. The wilderness itself echoes back to Exodus and Moses’ wanderings. John is dressed like Elijah. And now, the disciples answer a call from God in a way very similar to the prophet Elisha, who dropped his plow in the field to follow God. (1 Kgs 19:19-21) The author of Mark is taking pains to show those who are listening that Jesus has been prophesized, and that his story is a continuation of the stories that they have heard in the past about humanity’s relationship with God.

Discussion Questions:
1) How does the baptism we receive today relate to the baptism of John? To the baptism of Jesus? What do you think your own baptism signified (or would signify?)
2) Already, the costs of discipleship are being revealed in the book of Mark. What were some of these costs? What are some of the costs of being a disciple today? 3)Why do you think that the author of Mark made certain that his listeners connected the story of Jesus with prophesies and stories in the Old Testament? Is there still relevance in the Old Testament, even with the coming of Jesus Christ?

1:1 The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
2 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,
“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way;
3 the voice of one crying out in the wilderness;
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.’ “

4 John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And the people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8 I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

What a beginning to this Gospel! While the other two synoptic Gospels (Matthew and Luke) begin with Jesus’ genealogy and a recounting of his birth, Mark states up front immediately that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. We’re so used to hearing those words that perhaps we underestimate the impact of these titles to the first listeners. “Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” Christ means ‘the anointed one or messiah.’ To people in Rome, a city of emperors that named themselves deity, this title immediately raised Jesus as someone profoundly different than other, self-proclaimed gods. In a culture where family was key to determining a person’s standing both socially and economically, the only genealogy that Mark offers is the only one that really matters – Son of God. Thus while Matthew and Luke take pains to place Jesus within a human history, Mark, from the very beginning, tells his listeners that this is the story of the person of our salvation, the very Son of God, who has been eagerly anticipated and longed for.
Mark does tie this proclamation to human history, however, by quoting prophesy. While he cites Isaiah 40:3, he also quotes Malachi 3:1. The prophesy, seen in verses 2 and 3, speak of a messenger coming out from the desert. In ancient days, a messenger would go out before the entourage of a king, removing large rocks from the road to make sure that the way was smooth. More importantly, he would alert the people along the route that the king was coming, so that they would be ready to properly honor him. Matthew and Luke make clear that this messenger is John the Baptist, a conclusion that Mark allows his listeners to draw themselves.
Think about this imagery for a moment. The area around Jerusalem is harsh and barren. The wilderness is an unforgiving, threatening place. Yet it is from this wilderness that the messenger emerges, announcing the eminent arrival of the king! This king is not coming from a place of safety or comfort. This is a king that knows challenges and hardships. This king, while offering salvation, is a king that understands the harsh reality of the world.
Yet there were strong expectations of what this king might accomplish. The Jews in Palestine were under harsh rule from the Romans. Just a few years after Jesus’ birth, forty promising young men were burned alive under King Herod’s orders for pulling down a golden eagle, the symbol of Roman sovereignty, from the temple. They believed that death was better than the desecration of the temple. The people longed for a new age of political peace and freedom under the direct rule of God through his messiah. According to their beliefs, the king to come would wipe away all foreign oppression. Salvation was understood as salvation from the tyranny of Roman rule.

How did the messenger, John the Baptist, fit into all this? I must admit that I have always found John the Baptist a curious figure. He seems some sort of wild man, clothed in strange clothing and eating strange food, baptizing multitudes in the Jordan River. Just what was the significance of his actions?

Only Mark mentions John’s dress and diet, but they are important to understand John’s significance. In Mark 9:3, Jesus refers to John as Elijah, an Old Testament prophet who was to restore the people’s hearts to God and to one another. 2 Kings 1:8 states that Elijah was “a hairy man with a leather belt around his waist.” And like the faithful in the book of Daniel who mourned their people’s separation from their homeland, John did not drink wine nor eat meat. Both his dress and diet mark John as a prophet concerned with restoration of God’s people to God.

In some desert communities around the Dead Sea, the devout purified themselves with ritual cleansing. This was a symbol of repentance, and a desire to be washed of sins. It was a backwards-looking action – ie a shedding of the old as one strove to re-orient ones life. It created a fresh palette for God’s actions. Like our Lent, John’s baptism was a call to re-examine lifestyles and to reconcile to others and to God. Even as God, in the person of Jesus Christ, was arriving on the scene to point the way to a new life, John was cleansing those in the desert of their old, sinful ways, tilling the soil so that Jesus’ teachings could take root.

John recognized that his role was mere preparation. Slaves would untie the sandals of guests in household, bathing their feet after travels on hot, dusty roads. John’s statement in 1:7 places him as less than a slave in relation to Jesus, even though his identity as a prophet has been well established. His baptism is only a precursor to the baptism of the Holy Spirit – a baptism that ushers in the New Covenant. It is a baptism that looks forward, that irrevocably changes those it blesses. No longer preparation, a baptism by the Holy Spirit is a joyful entering into the family of God.

Discussion Questions:
Why do you think Mark skips the birth narrative when it is so important in the other synoptic Gospels?
What does ‘wilderness’ mean to you? Have you ever felt as though you were in the wilderness?
What significance did John’s baptism have? What are our rituals and understandings of preparation and how can we practice them today?
How can we "prepare the way of the Lord" in the various wildernesses we encounter?