6. the Eye of the Storm

8/11/2019 6. the Eye of the Storm

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Lesson #6The Eye of the Storm,

Jesus Teaching, Preaching and Healing

(4: 1 6: 6)


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In Lesson #5 conflict intensified dramatically: Jesus called Levi, ahated Jewish tax collector, to become one of his inner circle; Jesus

ate dinner with tax collectors and sinners, enjoying their

company; Jesus disciples blatantly broke the Mosaic Law by picking

grain on the Sabbath, and Jesus defended them; after doing so,

Jesus deliberately provoked the religious leaders by healing a man

with a withered hand in the synagogue, on the Sabbath, resulting inthe Pharisees and Herodians plotting to kill him; the huge crowds

who followed Jesus continued to grow and become more

threatening; Jesus family arrived from Nazareth to seize him, for

they thought that he was out of his mind; and the Scribes

accused him of being possessed by Beelzebub.All the while, as the tension and conflict increased, people were

astonished by Jesus, asking: Who is this man who can say and do

such things?


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Unlike in Matthew where Jesus teaching, preaching and healing (spanning

nine chapters, 5-13) form a major component of Matthews gospel and

establish his credentials as Messiah, Mark presents Jesus teaching, preaching

and healing in a quick, 7-movement chiastic sequence across only two

chapters (4 and 5):

A parable of the sower (4: 1-20)

B parable of the lamp (4: 21-29)

C parable of the mustard seed (4: 30-34)

D calming the storm at sea (4: 35-41)

C healing the Gadarene demoniac (5: 1-20)

B healing Jairus daughter (5: 21-43)

A healing the woman with the hemorrhage (5: 25-34, imbedded).

Rather than accepting him, those closest to himthe people of Jesus

hometown of Nazarethtake offense at him and firmly reject him.


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C parable of the mustard seed (4: 30-34)D calming the storm at sea (4: 35-41)

C healing the Gadarene demoniac (5: 1-20)




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The Gospel according to Mark

focuses on establishing Jesus

identity as the Son of God;hence, Mark emphasizes Jesus

healings and miracles, not his

teaching and preaching.

Consequently, Mark reportsonly 9 parables, while Matthew

gives us 23 and Luke, 28.


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The word parable is a compound of two

Greek words: parav (para= along side, asinparamedic orparalegal) and bolhv(bol=

the verb to throw).

A parable is a succinct, didactic story thrown

alongside a common, ordinary truth to

illuminate that truth in a striking and

memorable fashion. Parables are meant to

illuminate, not to hide or obscure.


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Jesus did not invent the parable as apedagogic device; rather, parables are a

type of mashalim, a form of comparison

used in the Old Testament, such asNathans story of the ewe-lamb in 2

Samuel 12: 1-7 and the story told by the

woman of Tekoa in 2 Samuel 14: 1-13.

Indeed, Greek rhetoricians used the term

to describe a brief fictional narrative usedfor comparison, much like an extended

metaphor.

Although Jesus did not invent the

parable, he was a master at using it.

Jesus parables are clever andmemorable, often delighting his audience

with surprise and insight.


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Parable of the Sower (fresco). Sts. Konstantine and Helen Orthodox Church,

Cluj, Romania.


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Northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee, near Capernaum.

Photography by Ana Maria Vargas


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1. Some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it (4: 3).

The person who hears the word and doesnt understand it; the evil one comes and

takes it away.

2. Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil . . . and when

the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots (4: 5-

6).

The person who hears the word, accepts it at once with joy, but has no root and it

lasts only a short time.

3. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked

it (4: 7).

The person who hears the word, but worldly concerns choke it off.

4. But some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit, a hundred or

sixty or thirtyfold (4: 8).

The person who hears the word, understands itand produces fruit.


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But why does Jesus

teach in parables?

?


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The mystery of the kingdom of God has been

granted to you. But to those outside

everything comes in parables . . .

A mystery *the Greek word is musthvrion,

mustrion+ is meant to be revealed; in contrast to

a secret, which is meant to be concealed.

When Jesus continues saying:

. . . so that they may look and see but not perceive,

and hear and listen but not understand,

in order that they may not be converted

and be forgiven . . .

he is paraphrasing Isaiah 6: 8-10, spoken by God to

Isaiah in a tone of scathing sarcasm, as Jesus does

here, himself!

Clearly, Jesus parables are meant to

reveal in a striking and dramatic way,

not to conceal, hide or obscure!


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The Parable of the Lamp

The Parable of the Lamp further

illuminates why Jesus teaches in parables:

Just as a lamp is meant to be put on a

lamp stand to be seen, so is a parable

spoken to bring to light a mystery.

Ha, ha!


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During spring and fall the Sea of Galilee is a way station for the migration of

over 500 million birds from more than 400 species; it is a Mecca for

Ornithologists!


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Just as the birds eat up

the seeds on the pathin 4: 4, and just as

Satan is identified with

the birds in 4: 15, so in

the Parable of the

Mustard Seed are the

birds a negative image.

They are the evil

doers and the

hypocrites who willcome into the Kingdom

of God.


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D calming the storm at sea (4: 35-41)C healing the Gadarene demoniac (5: 1-20)



Calming the Storm at Sea


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Sea of Galilee (GoogleEarth)

N

S

EW

Daily afternoon &

evening wind fromthe Mediterranean


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Sirocco winds originate in the Sahara Desert when a warm, tropical air mass is pullednorthward by low-pressure cells toward the southern coast of Europe. Siroccos peak in

March and November, with wind speeds up to 100 kph (55 mph). Although not in its

direct path, the Sea of Galilee sometimes catches the western edge of a Sirocco.


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Rembrandt, The Storm on the Sea of Galilee (oil on canvas), 1633.

Location unknown. (STOLEN from the Isabella Steward Gardner Museum, Boston in 1990.)


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The Healings


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Healing of the Gadarene Demoniac

Gadara


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Archaeological remains of Gadara at the high point of the city, near the western theater.


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Christ Exorcising the Gadarene Demonic,

medieval illuminated manuscript.


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The Healings


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Mark brilliantly portrays Jesus raising

Jairus 12-year old daughter from the

dead as a frame for healing a woman

who had a hemorrhage for 12 years.

A Jairus pleads with Jesus to heal his

daughter.

B Jesus heals the woman with the

12-year hemorrhage.

A Jesus raises Jairus 12-year olddaughter from the dead.

As Jairus 12-year old daughter was

literally dead, so is the woman with the

12-year old hemorrhage dead as a

woman.

Raising the dead is the summit of

all miracles!


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Paolo Veronese. Raising the Daughter of Jairus (oil on paper mounted on canvas), 1546.

Louve Museum, Paris.


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In Mark 4: 15: 43 our story presentsa sample of Jesus teaching in three

parables, balanced by three healings,

with the final healing having Jesus

raise a dead child. The entire chiastic

structure pivots on Jesus calming the

storm on the Sea of Galilee,

demonstrating his authority over

creation itself.

With such evidence, one would expect

the crowds to accept Jesus as who we

are told he is, the Son of God

especially those who knew him best.

Yet, rather than accepting him, thoseclosest to himthe people of Jesus

hometown of Nazarethtake offense

at him and firmly reject him.


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Nazareth today, with the Church of the Annunciation at photos center.



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32/35

Dr. Creasy teaching this very story on the Brow of the Cliff!



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In this carefully structured

sequence of Mark 4: 16: 6,

rather than the tension easingwith the evidence of Jesus

teaching and healing, it

continues to rise as our

narrative speeds forward.

In Lesson #7 we will move out

of the relative calm of the eye

of the storm and into full crisis,

with the murder of John the

Baptist and Jesus response toit.


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1. The other synoptic gospels, Matthew and Luke, give usnumerous examples of Jesus teaching in parables(Matthew 23 parables and Luke 28), yet Mark onlygives us 9. Why?

2. Why does Jesus teach in parables?

3. The birds resting in the shade of the mustard plant

is nearly always presented in a positive way. Why isthis an incorrect reading of the parable?

4. Why are the people of Gadara seized with fearwhen they learn of Jesus casting out the legion ofdemons from the man at the tombs?

5. If you were present in the crowds who witnessed

Jesus activities in Galilee, how would you respond tohim?


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Copyright 2014 by William C. Creasy

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6. the Eye of the Storm