Reading the Bible: Mark 3:7-35
“Jesus’ way was intimately linked to obedience to God’s will. Therefore, the same experience of his family’s rejection of Jesus serves as a model for discipleship that may well cost others their family ties. “Robert Guelich
- In this pericopy.
- Mark re-organizes his stories in a very insightful way.
- Before continuing the story of Jesus.
- Mark provides a summary of the transition between what he has just told and what he intends to present (3:7-12).
- In this summary.
- We see the multitude following Jesus because of his fame (vv.
- 7-9) and the continuity of Christ’s ministry (vv.
- 10-12).
- The way Mark writes here reminds us a little of what he has already said about the beginning of Christ’s ministry (1:21-45).
This is all the more evident when Mark presents the call of the disciples (3:13-19) in the same way as the other times we saw our Lord invite people to follow Him (1:16-20; 2:13-14 However, Mark turns our gaze to these moments, without losing sight of the clear antagonism Jesus received from the religious authorities in the previous pericopy (2 : 1-3: 6) . What draws our attention here is the extension of this antagonism against Jesus, who now, in addition to the religious authorities (vv. 22-30), also includes Jesus’ own parents (vv. 20-21; 31-35).
And upon returning to these themes, Mark demonstrates once again that the vast majority of those presented in this gospel do not really follow Jesus, while the multitude is behind Jesus to gain something (1:28, 33; 45; 3:10), the family members are behind Jesus to arrest him (3:21) and the religious authorities are behind him to condemn him (3 : 6; 22; 30). And in the face of this fact, we begin to ask ourselves: who really follows Jesus in this gospel?And in the pericopy we read today, Marcos offers us this answer in a very interesting way.
First, Mark teaches us the difference between being part of the multitude and being a true disciple of Jesus, by presenting this pericopy to the multitude (??????Ochlos, 3: 9, 20, 32; ????? (Pl. Thos, 3:7-8), Mark uses similar terms to describe people as Jesus (see 3:7, 8, 9, 20) and true disciples (3:32). Moreover, it is quite possible that Mark has used the same verb to describe the disciples who follow Jesus (?????????, akoloutheo ?; 1:18; 2:14, 15) to describe the multitude that goes to Him (see textual variant, 3:7). This does not mean, however, that Mark does not teach us to perceive the difference between them.
First, the multitude follows Jesus for the wrong reasons (3:7-10). Does the crowd want anything from Christ and look for him because he had heard of everything he was doing?(3: 8). The way in which Jesus presents his authority over the supernatural world and sickness (1:27; cf. 1:24, 41-42) draws people’s attention to the point of multitudes (cf. 1:32-34; 45) Be blessed by Him. Jesus’ fame has spread, but not on the basis of what He taught, let alone on Jesus’ mission statement; in fact, it was his remedies and exorcisms that made him famous, and that’s why people rushed to touch him and get what they wanted from him: because he had healed a lot from him, so that everyone who suffered from disease would keep pushing to get to touch him?(3:10). They didn’t love Jesus and they didn’t listen to what he had to teach, they wanted to use Jesus.
In addition, this crowd is presented as going to Him without being invited. The phrase used by Mark to describe the attitude of the multitude to go to Jesus (????????????????Lthon pros auton ; 3:8) is used in other parts of the gospel in a negative way (1:45; 3:13). So far, at no time has Jesus invited this multitude to be with him (see 8:34). On the contrary, whenever he could, Jesus asked for silence from those who benefited from him (1:43-44) or when he was faced with demons who knew him very well (3:12; cf. 1:34). The impression we have is that Jesus did not want his fame to spread for the wrong reasons, because he knew that he would attract people for the wrong reasons, and that is exactly what happened: the fame of what Jesus did is what attracts people.
In other words, the motivation of the crowd to go to Jesus has little to do with who he was, in fact, for the crowd no matter who he is, what really matters is what he was doing. miracle-maker and that was enough for the crowd. The crowd doesn’t love Christ, they want something from him. They do not want to be with Christ, they want to use Christ. Moreover, the multitude does not go to Jesus because of his teaching (cf. 1:21-22; 32-34; 45; 3:10), the multitude addresses him in search of his own interests.
In fact, this crowd is presented by Mark with a subtle note of disgust. In describing the crowd approaching Jesus, our author uses a very interesting word game: while the crowd was playing with Jesus (?????????Epipipto?; 3:9) The demons played before (?????????? prospipto ?; 3:11). Although the attitude of the unclean spirits is completely devoid of worship, at least it was marked by recognition of the authority of who Jesus Christ really is. Now, the attitude of the multitude is truly despicable: it was not only an action devoid of worship. , was an action devoid of respect and recognition of the authority of who Jesus really was. In other words, the crowd behaved worse than demons.
Distinguished among the multitude, the true disciples of Christ are called by him: “Did Jesus climb a mountain and call those he wanted?”(3, 13a). The verb chosen by Mark to describe Christ’s action is often used in the gospel to describe the act of Jesus by calling his disciples to himself, either to teach them (8:1; 10:42; 12:43), or to send them to preach (6:7). This, it seems, is how Mark describes Jesus’ initiative by choosing for himself the people he wants close by; Indeed, when the crowd pressed him, it was for the disciples who he asked for help: “Because of the multitude, he asked the disciples to prepare a boat for him to avoid being compressed?(3: 9). While the crowd wanted something from Jesus, he wanted to be with his disciples.
Another detail that sets the true disciple apart from the multitude is that the disciples obediently respond to Christ’s call: “Who came to him?(3:13b). As the crowd comes to him (?????????????????Lthon pros auton; 3: 8; see 1:45; 2:13) For personal reasons, the disciples do the same (see ???????????????According to pros autonthon, 3:13c) in obedience to the Master’s invitation. And that makes all the difference. Although Mark does not tell us the reason for such obedience, or why they left everything behind (1:18, 20b; 2:14b), it is clear in demonstrating that the disciples obediently responded to Christ’s invitation (1:17; 20a; 2:14a). They wanted to be with Christ.
The true disciples of Christ are clearly invited to be with Christ: “Did Jesus choose twelve men to be with him?(3: 14a). For true disciples, Jesus Christ offers his presence, not his miracles. It is not that he cannot gracefully perform miracles that benefit them (1,29-13), but that his proposal is different, not only does he want to offer his power, he wants to make himself known on his journey to Jerusalem.
In addition, Christ entrusts to true disciples the perpetuation of the ministry he initiated: “Did Jesus choose twelve men to be with him and send them to preach and exercise authority over demons?”(3: 14b-15). Jesus approaches them with the intention of preparing them to send them to preach the gospel, so He models this ministry for the disciples and empowers them too, when the time comes, his disciples will be sent by him to perform the ministry without him. (see 6:7-13), and they will be known as the Apostles of Christ, that is, those who were sent by him (textual variant 3:14; 6:30; see 1 Peter 1:1; 2 Peter 1:1; Thu 1:17).
The second way Mark teaches us that the true disciple is in the contrast between the belief of the opposition and what a disciple is supposed to believe; in fact, this distinction is very subtle in the text, as is often the case in the Gospel of Mark. But as we observe the three statements about Christ made by Jesus’ opponents in this text, we realize what the author wants to teach us about our confession of faith in relation to Christ.
Jesus’ relatives, watching him work tirelessly, to the point that they could not stop to eat (3:20), went out to meet Jesus to stop him:?When his family found out, they went out to arrest him? (3:21 a). His vision of Jesus certainly was not positive: “He is out of his own!”To his loved ones, Jesus was a madman!
The scribes thought differently. Because they witnessed Christ’s exorcisms in person, they could not deny that the same thing had not happened; However, they had a reasonable explanation: for them, the miraculous powers acting in Jesus had their origins in Satan: “He is possessed by Beelzebul For the Prince of Demons, do you hunt demons?(3:22; cf. 3: 30) In other words, while his relatives considered him a madman, the authorities considered him a demon.
What is surprising, however, is that in all the statements made by Christ’s opposition, only demons were right: “Are you the Son of God?(3:11). This definition is presented to us at the beginning of the Gospel (1:1) and is not presented by a human until the end after jesus’ death (15:39). Apparently, throughout the Gospel only demons call it by this title (cf. 5, 7). To demons, Jesus was the Son of God.
This is another subtle parallel mark presents in his gospel, and here we realize that human adversaries were as bad as demons: while family members and scribes misled him without knowing who he really was, the demons were at least right (3:12) Yet, regardless of any truth in the demons’ claim Mark teaches us here that following Christ, in addition to the will to obey, is essential for the disciple to know and believe in who Jesus really is. very clear from the fact that the author begins and ends his Gospel by defending the divine filiation of Christ (cf. 1: 1; 15:39). And this is exactly what our author teaches us little by little: by telling the stories of Jesus, he teaches us who he really is.
Although Mark has not yet told us exactly what Jesus’ disciples thought, because of his firm decision to leave everything to follow Christ, we understand that they did not agree with the parents and religious authorities, that is, the true disciple follows him. Jesus for who He is, not for what He would like Him to be.
Finally, Mark teaches us to follow Christ by differentiating members of Jesus’ family from his true family. Among the members of the family (cf. 3:21), Mark tells us about the mother and brothers of Jesus, the people who were outside the house where Jesus was (3:31a). Almost ironic, on the outside, they call Jesus in the same way that Jesus calls his disciples (3:31b, ?????; kaleo ?; 3:14, ?????????; proskaleo?). Although members of Jesus’ family can naturally be part of Jesus’ family, Mark shows us that there is a big difference between those outside and those who are with him inside.
First, those inside are with Christ: “Was there a crowd sitting around him?”(3:32). This multitude was around Christ, in terms similar to the disciples who were called to be with Jesus (3:14); they are described as a multitude, but they belong to Christ’s disciples; In fact, looking at these people, he defines who his real family is: “Who is my mother and who are my brothers?”Then he looked at those who were sitting around him and said, Here are my mother and my brothers!Who does God’s will, is it my brother, my sister, and my mother?
The difference between the members of the family and the family of Christ was very simple: it was a matter of obedience. And here we see Marcos showing something that he taught us throughout this pericopia. Following Jesus is a matter of obedience. To be part of the Jesus Family, your disciples must be willing to obey God, and something great is happening here, after all, the much-despised crowd at the beginning of this pericopia is invited by Christ to live a life of obedience. The invitation to the path of discipleship with Christ is not limited to the twelve men, it includes an invitation to all, men and women who wish to live a life of obedience to God (cf 8, 34).
In other words, Mark teaches us very clearly the difference between being part of the crowd, being an adversary, or being a disciple of Christ. And for those who doubt his situation in this dilemma, Mark asks us two important questions: “Are you going to Jesus in search of benefits or have you been invited to be with him?The answer to this question makes all the difference, after all, true disciples are called to be with Christ and do not seek him out of self-interest.
But if doubt still persists, Mark offers us a second question: “Who is Jesus to you?If your answer is that Jesus is a way to achieve a desired end, perhaps you still belong to the multitude. If it’s crazy or demonic,” you belong to the category of opponents; On the other hand, if Jesus is truly the Son of God and you seek him as he really is, then you belong to the group of Christ’s disciples, who follow Him because they were invited to be. with him and be sent to preach the gospel.