Learning from Christ's Ministry | Mark 3:7–12
Learning from Christ's Ministry | Mark 3:7–12
Shaun Marksbury | Morning Service | 22 April, 2017
This passage gives us a review of all that we’ve seen in the ministry of Christ until this point. It will serve as a launching point for the disciples in the next passage, for Christ is about to send them out in His Name. Just as they still had to learn from His ministry, so do we, if we are His disciples. We will see the wisdom of our Lord, the wonders of our Lord, and the warfare of our Lord.
Notes
I.
Introduction
II.
The Wisdom of Our Lord’s Ministry (vv. 7a)
III.
The Wonders of Our Lord’s Ministry (vv. 7b–10)
IV.
The Warfare of Our Lord’s Ministry (vv. 11–12)
V.
Final Thoughts
Shaun Marksbury | Morning Service | 22 April, 2017
Video:
Notes
Sermon Notes
Learning
from Christ's Ministry | Mark 3:7–12
Shaun Marksbury | Morning Service | 22 April, 2017
Shaun Marksbury | Morning Service | 22 April, 2017
I.
Introduction
Steve Lawson, preaching on this text, notes that this is the
midst of the year of popularity.
1:1–1:15 covers His first year, which was spent in obscurity. From 1:16 until chapter six is His year of
popularity. The end of six through the
rest of this gospel is the third year.
So, this gospel is back-loaded, and we’ll spend more time not only in
His final year, but in His final week.
Here, though, we see the Lord reaching the height of
popularity. He’s known on earth and
hated by the scribes and Pharisees, the object of curiosity for others, and
hope for a few. We’ll see the demons
know Him as well, and He silences them.
Of course, since the Son came to earth, He’s known in heaven. As Martin Luther famously said that he was
well known in heaven, on earth, and in hell, so is our Lord, and that is a
perfect model for ministry.
This passage gives us a review of all that we’ve seen in the
ministry of Christ until this point. It
will serve as a launching point for the disciples in the next passage, for
Christ is about to send them out in His Name.
Just as they still had to learn from His ministry, so do we, if we are
His disciples. We will see the wisdom of
our Lord, the wonders of our Lord, and the warfare of our Lord.
II.
The Wisdom of Our Lord’s Ministry (vv. 7a)
7 Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea,
It seems He withdrew because He knew there was a plot
against Him. Remember v. 6, “The
Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him,
how to destroy him.” The Herodians were a political party in Israel that
supported the Roman-appointed King Herod.
As such, the Herodians were Hellenist Jews, those who embraced the Greek
and Roman world around them, not practicing separation like the Pharisees. The Pharisees would typically not engage in
work with these compromisers, so animosity against Jesus is making strange
bedfellows.
We talked about that last time. We also highlighted that Jesus chose to do
good on the Sabbath, not evil through inaction.
The Pharisees, on the other hand, pursued
evil on the Sabbath through conspiracy to murder. This shows just how lost and hypocritical they
were.
Matthew 12:15 thankfully reveals that Jesus perceived this
plot. So, He and His disciples retreated
according to this verse. We’ll talk
about why in just a moment.
We mentioned the disciples, some of whom have already been
named. Jesus He had more disciples
beyond that. He’ll name twelve in the
next verses, but passages like this show that He had a good number of people
following Him. Unfortunately, many would
eventually leave (Jn 2:2:23–25; 6:66).
The fact that they are with Jesus now, though, indicates a
shared danger. One commentator notes, “With his disciples, placed emphatically
before the verb in the original, suggests that they intimately shared His
alienation from the Jewish leaders.
Their association with Him in the withdrawal seems to have prepared them
for a larger position in the work soon to be assigned to them.”[1]
The world hates Jesus, and it will hate them—and you and I
must always remember that we’ll never be greater than our master in this regard
(Jn 15:18–20). I’m not saying that we
shouldn’t take care not to give undue
offence, but neither should we strive for acceptance in the world. We certainly should never love the world (1
John 2:15–16). “Do not be unequally
yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with
lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?” (2 Cor 6:14). Such is reality.
Still, we might ask, “Why
did He and His disciples withdraw at all?”
He certainly would not react out of fear of man; this merely
demonstrates the prudence in retreat. In
other words, He operates just like He did in the temptation, where He quoted
from Dt 6:16—“
You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” He did not passively wait. He did not “let go and let God.” With the boat ready, He had a strategic exit
for Himself and His disciples if an attack should come or if too many people
press them.
We should follow His example—not tempting the Lord, but
using our God-given brains. That’s why Christians
buckle their seatbelts when they get in the car. They look both ways before crossing the
street. That’s why they get immunizations,
insurance, and savings accounts.
Beloved, it’s not more spiritual to fly by the seat of your pants and
trust God for the outcome. And in the
case of persecution, He gave instruction in Mt 10:23, “When they persecute you
in one town, flee to the next.”
Now, His wisdom is seen in much more here. For instance, the openness of the seaside
provided an area for the large crowds that the narrow streets of Capernaum could
not. Clearly, He has planned and chosen
the optimal location for continued ministry.
So, this is hardly defeat for our Lord—it demonstrates His wisdom.
Job 12:13 says, “With God are wisdom and might; he has
counsel and understanding.” Romans 11:13
says, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How
unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” In fact, Romans 16:27 calls Him “the only
wise God.” He’s the only source of
wisdom, which is why James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask
God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”
III.
The Wonders of Our Lord’s Ministry (vv. 7b–10)
and a great crowd followed, from
Galilee and Judea 8 and
Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon.
When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him. 9 And he told his
disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush
him, 10 for he had
healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him.
A lot of people have confusion about the Bible, especially
in recent years. Some have thought it to
be unreliable concerning the events it reports.
They’ve thought, for instance, that the later disciples of Christ made
up stories about Him. They’ve wondered
if, perhaps, Mark is smaller because it has earlier, less fantastic stories
about Jesus. It indeed has eyewitness
testimony, but it records signs and miracles throughout.
The level of detail
here points to eyewitness testimony.
The areas in vv. 7–8 are all geographically located around the area in
which Christ is ministering and historically verified. In fact, the text gives two groups—those who
followed Him in Galilee and those who traveled from afar to see Christ.
Indeed, Mark shows Christ obscuring John the Baptist’s area
of impact while recording this. Idumea
is an area south of Judea populated in the past by Edomites; the point here is
that people traveled almost 100 miles north to see the Lord. They also came from the east, from what would
be today the Transjordan. Tyre and Sidon
are north, Phonecian cities, in modern-day Lebanon. There are perhaps thousands and tens of
thousands coming to hear Him; Mark 1:5 says that John the Baptist was pulling
mainly from Judea and Jerusalem.
The writer also has other eyewitness hints. He remembers not only that Jesus had a boat ready,
but a “small boat” as the NKJV correctly translates v. 9 (later, in 4:1, Jesus
stands in a regular boat). Mark even
knows that Jesus had arranged all this beforehand!
Note also the level
of the testimony of the miraculous. In
v. 8, they came because they “heard all that he was doing,” and in v. 10, they
sought to touch Him in hopes of being
healed. This hints at Jesus somehow exuding healing power. Later, the woman who suffered with blood
discharge was healed by secreting a touch (5:24–34). Anywhere He went, people received healing who
sought to touch even the fringes of His garments (6:56). It’s clear that Mark presents an omnipotent
Jesus Christ.
This is, of course, a disorganized throng trying to get to
Jesus, falling over themselves to touch Him.
Such worship is seen in other situations—how the crowds fall onto
doorbusters on Black Fridays, for instance.
What a contrast with those of v. 6—some sought Jesus, and others sought
to kill Him.
It’s worth noting that, regardless of the healing, people
didn’t come because of what Jesus was teaching.
They’re hoping for a miracle, just like many people opening the Bible
for the first time. It’s trustworthy,
and so is the Christ it presents.
However, what Jesus has to say is far more important than any miracle He
imparts to the crowds.
The reason for the healing ministry of Christ
was to prove His preaching ministry.
Remember the healing of the paralytic in Mark 2:10—He healed “that you
may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” His message never wavered; “Jesus came into Galilee,
proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and
saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and
believe in the gospel’ ” (1:14–15).
If you want to hear
the voice of God, open the Bible. Read
the Scripture, mediate on it, repent, and believe in the gospel. As Colossians 3:16 says, “Let the word of
Christ dwell in you richly.”
IV.
The Warfare of Our Lord’s Ministry (vv. 11–12)
11 And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they
fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” 12 And he strictly
ordered them not to make him known.
Popular cinema and other forms of media have portrayed
spiritual warfare as a mystical extension of human conflict. Humans fight with swords and fists in the
mud, while angels might do so in aerial displays of grace and power. Christians are taught to involve themselves
by speaking words binding evil spirits until supernatural authorities can cart
away the tempters. When compared to such
rhetoric, true spiritual warfare may not seem as spectacular, but it is far
more effective.
It’s the presence of
Jesus that brings demons to their knees.
True spiritual warfare is fought by Christ and His Word. That is why we are commanded to “be strong in
the Lord and in the strength of his might” (Eph 6:10). We can stand only in the armor He provides us
(vv. 11–13). Our only weapon is the
sword of His Word (v. 17), and we must always be in prayer to Him (v. 18).
Demons know Who Jesus is.
However, here we see that Jesus isn’t going to allow the demon to reveal
too much about Him too soon. Jesus knows
many Jews have the wrong idea about what it is to be the Son of God and the
Messiah. If He does not control the flow
of information, He might be prematurely crucified, or He could inadvertently
spark rebellion against Rome. As such,
this is Christ exercising divine control over the spiritual realm. He has a great deal of teaching remaining,
and He ensures everything proceeds according to the definite plan of God (Acts
2:23; 4:28).
It isn’t our ability
that wins spiritual battles—not our standing and fighting, our testimony,
our declaring or binding. As the Sons of
Sceva learned, it isn’t even saying
the name “Jesus” that’s enough to drive out demons (Acts 19:11–17). Again, it isn’t our ability that wins spiritual
battles.
Instead, the Lord with and residing in His children causes
demons to fall (cf. 1 Jn 4:4—“for he who is in you is greater than he who is in
the world”). In fact, the imperfect
tense of the verbs in the Greek here indicate that the demons kept falling down
and He kept rebuking them. He muzzles
them like He quelled the storm (4:39). Remember
that Jesus’s authority over the demonic realm astonished the people (1:27), and
we should be resting in His authority.
Those indwelt with the Holy Spirit have the Spirit of Christ
(cf. 1 Pt 1:11)—and Christians must prayerfully rest in His strength and Word
to win the spiritual victories of the day.
V.
Final Thoughts
We’ve seen a model for ministry today. We could say that, if we want a ministry like
our Lord’s, we should also plan to be prudent in our dealings, work miracles or
be wonderful, and engage in
battle—but such an application would be to make a hash of Scripture. The Bible is about Jesus and His kingdom, so
we must see that wisdom, wonder, and warfare all belong to Him. We will not have ministries pleasing to Him
if we make them about ourselves or the people we serve—we must make our
ministry about the glory of God (1 Cor 10:31).
It starts with knowing Him, with exalting Him for all the
work He has already accomplished. Just
like the disciples had to know Christ and learn His ways, we too must sit at
His feet with Bibles and prayerful hearts open.
We must also learn dependence upon Him—seeking Him for wisdom to apply
His Word and leaving the wonders and the warfare to Him. May we walk in obedience as we seek to serve
in whatever capacity He providentially has for us, to His glory.
