Message preached Sunday, January 4, 2015 from Mark 3:7-12
Theme: The things that the disciples witnessed concerning the Lord show us that a great light has truly shined in this dark world.
(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
I enjoy watching movies. But I also enjoy watching movie trailers.
Theatrical trailers have become a vital part of the film industry. They are short, carefully edited extracts from a soon-to-be-released movie that are used to get people interested in seeing it when it comes out. Do you know why they call them trailers? It’s because back in the old days, they used to show them at the end of feature films—as something that “trailed” the movie. They quit doing that, of course, because people almost never saw them. Folks would to get up and leave as soon as the movie was over. The film industry got wise to this; and now, they show them before the movie starts—even though the name “trailer” is still used to describe them.
When we go to a movie theater, most of us try to arrive early enough to watch the trailers of the new movies that are coming out. Seeing the trailers has become almost as important, to some people, as seeing the movie itself. If they are well done, they can tell you just enough about upcoming movies to pique your interest. Often, when you sit in the theater with some friends, and you see the trailer for a film that will be coming out later that year, you might lean over afterward and say, “Think I’ll wait for it to come out on Redbox”; or “Yuck! Let’s not even bother with that one!” But more often than not, you might nudge each another and say, “That one looks good! Gotta’ be sure to go and see that when it comes out!”
Well; all of that is to let you know that when I come to this morning’s passage from Mark’s Gospel, I almost feel—if I can say this with the utmost reverence—that it’s a bit like watching a theatrical trailer of the earthly ministry of our Lord. It doesn’t tell us everything. But it tells us just enough of what we need to know—giving us just enough action scenes and just enough elements of the story—to reveal to us who this wonderful Person Jesus is, and to make us want to hear more about Him.
And as we will see shortly, it turns out that it was meant to help promote the whole story of Jesus—not just to us—but especially to those who would be officially commissioned by Him to tell that story to us!
* * * * * * * * * *
Now; this fast-paced passage is found in Mark 3:7-12; and the events of it occurred just after Jesus had performed a great miracle in the synagogue at Capernaum, near the northern shores of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus was in the synagogue on the Sabbath; and some of the religious leaders tried to trap Him into healing a man and breaking the Sabbath—all so that they could make an accusation against Him. Jesus, of course, did heal the man—but He also rebuked the hard-heartedness of the religious leaders and frustrated their plans at the same time.
Well; they had enough after that! Mark tells us that, as soon as the synagogue service had ended, the Pharisees immediately went out, and joined forces with their political enemies the Herodians; and they plotted together how they might destroy Him. And it’s then that Mark tells us—in the choppy bits and pieces of excitement that would characterize a movie trailer;
But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea. And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him. So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him. For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him. And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, “You are the Son of God.” But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known (Mark 3:7-11).
And again, I hope I’m not coming across as irreverent in this. But do you know how, in a movie trailer, the various clips of scenes would be interrupted or interlaced with the words of quotations or phrases that go floating or flashing or forming across the screen? I imagine that, in this biblical ‘movie trailer’, the words from Isaiah 9:1-2 would be used—showing you that the prophetic promises of that passage, given over seven centuries earlier, were being fulfilled in the things you were seeing.
I’m imagining that the first image would be of the Pharisees in an outrage as Jesus performed a miracle of healing on the Sabbath day. You would see Jesus leaving the synagogue with His disciples and a crowd of amazed people following; while the angry Pharisees stood scowling at them from the synagogue. You’d see the Pharisees turn away to go out to plot a scheme to destroy Him. You’d feel a sense of frustration at the heart-heartedness of the religious leaders toward Him. You’d feel a sense that something bad was about to happen. You’d have a sense of gloom. And then across the screen, as some deeply moving stringed music began to play, you’d begin to see the words;
Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed,
As when at first He lightly esteemed
The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
And afterward more heavily oppressed her . . .
Then, you’d be shown the images of people coming from all parts of the region—from around Galilee, and from Judea and Jerusalem, and from down south in Idumea, and from the countrysides and wilderness regions to the east of the Jordan River, and even from the coastal cities Tyre and Sidon along the Mediterranean Sea—all making their way to the northern shores of Galilee toward Jesus. The music would intensify with a pounding rhythm; and then, you’d read the words;
By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
In Galilee of the Gentiles . . .
You’d be shown the remarkable scenes of Jesus healing people of the diseases and afflictions that troubled them. And you’d see the people—in huge multitudes—massing around Him trying to touch Him; so many, in fact, that He had to command the disciples to get a small boat ready in case they pressed so hard that they forced Him into the sea. A huge mass of needy people pressing in on Him to be close to Him! You’d hear the shouts of voices crying out to Him as the music intensified. And then, you’d be shown the words;
The people who walked in darkness
Have seen a great light . . .
Then, the music stopped. You’d jump in your seat as you were startled to hear a horrible, hellish shriek; and would be shown the image of a man with an unclean spirit falling before Jesus in terror. You’d see the stunned and fearful looks on the faces of the people around Jesus as they realized that they were in the presence of dark and fearsome spiritual forces. Then you’d see our Lord step up to the man, look sternly into his eyes, and command the demon in the man to be quiet as it was frantically pointing at Him and crying out, “You are the Son of God!” You’d see the looks on the faces of the people as they grew less in awe of the demon possessed man, and more in awe instead of the Lord Himself.
And then, the music would play in a quiet hum; and you’d see the words,
Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death,
Upon them a light has shined.
This would make for quite a trailer, wouldn’t it? It would certainly make you want to know more about the whole story of Jesus! And of course, we DO get to hear the whole story. The Bible tells it to us in marvelous detail. But I believe that the short, compressed series of events that we find in our passage this morning was not just meant for you and me. It was primarily meant for the apostles—those who Jesus appointed to, later on, tell us that whole gospel story. They didn’t just see a ‘trailer’ about these things. They lived them! And these things were meant to permanently impress upon them—in a deeply personal and experiential way—just who it was that they were going to be declaring to us.
Do you notice that, in verse 7, we’re told that when Jesus left the synagogue, He “withdrew with His disciples to the sea”? They were with Him when He experienced the rejection and the hostility of the Pharisees. And do you notice how He had to tell those same disciples to keep a small boat ready? They were with Him to see the vast crowds coming and pressing in on Jesus—and to see the miracles He performed. And do you notice what happens as soon as this story is over? In Mark 3:13-19, we’re told the story of how Jesus called the twelve to Himself—with these remarkable scenes still fresh in their minds—and officially appointed them, by name, to be His apostles. They would be His chosen witness-bearers to the world of who He is and what He has done for us. They would tell the world all about the things they saw.
And that helps us appreciate why the compressed series of events in this passage is so important. The things that the disciples witnessed about the Lord in it show us that a great light truly has shined in this dark world—just as had been promised by God through Isaiah.
The testimony of the gospel we believe is not a bunch of myths and fairy-tales. This is no fictitious story that’s being reported to us! It is the eyewitness testimony of real events that actually happened in the world in which we live—true-to-life, historic events that, together, declare to us that a great light from God really has come and shined in the darkness of this world. Those who bore witness to our Lord’s story actually saw, for themselves, who He is. And it’s our privilege not only to believe the testimony they gave about Jesus, but also to pass that same testimony on to others in our own day.
* * * * * * * * * *
Now; let’s look a little closer at the individual vignettes that are pressed together in these few verses. What were the kinds of things that the apostles saw about the Person to whom they would later testify?
First, they saw that . . .
1. THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS HAD REJECTED HIM (v. 7a).
Think of what had happened. The Pharisees came to the synagogue where there was a man with a withered hand. And as Mark tells us in verses 2, “So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him.”
Can you appreciate the significance of that? They clearly knew that He had the power to heal; and because He was merciful, they also knew that He would most likely heal someone if the need was presented to Him. Yet, rather than believe the truth about what the evidence was clearly saying to them about Him—and rather than bowing down, as they should have done, to worship Him and receive Him as the promised Messiah—they sought instead to trap Him, and accuse Him, and bring discredit to Him before the people.
They failed, of course. They failed miserably! In fact, it was a truly historic fail! Jesus healed the man; and in the process, exposed their hard-heartedness to everyone in the synagogue. And what’s more, He healed the man in such a way that there couldn’t have been any possible way for them to connect Him to the charge of Sabbath-breaking. They not only failed to gain the accusation they wanted, but they ended up with egg on their faces! And yet—again—rather than repent and believe on Him, they went out and plotted how they might “destroy” Him.
When you read in verse 7 that Jesus “withdrew with His disciples to the sea”, it’s very probable that He was anticipating their plots against Him. He moved out of the crowded and confined streets of Capernaum—where they could have easily apprehended Him; and moved instead down the hillside to the spacious shores of the Sea of Galilee—out into the open, where crowds of people would be thronged around Him.
And I believe it’s very important to notice those words “with His disciples”. These few men—who He was about to appoint as His official apostles and witness-bearers—saw the animosity of the religious leaders. And because they were His followers, they also personally felt that animosity. This was something that they would always carry with them. Sometimes when He said that He was preparing to go to Jerusalem, they felt the need to remind Him of the danger. Sometimes when He said that He told them that He would be betrayed and arrested and crucified, they promised that they would stand and protect Him. They constantly felt the pressure following a prophetic Teacher who was fiercely hated by the powerful religious elite of the day. They would remember what Isaiah the prophet had said about the Messiah:
He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him (Isaiah 53:3).
And one of those disciples—John—would later affirm this in his Gospel when he told us;
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:10-13).
This, then, is the story of Someone sent from God that was rejected by the people who should have welcomed Him. And that’s exactly how the disciples would go on to tell His story to us.
* * * * * * * * * *
But just as the apostles were eyewitnesses to the the way the Pharisees and religious leaders where rejecting Him, they also began to see how it was that many were believing on Him and seeking Him. They next little vignette we’re shown tells us of how . . .
2. THE WORLD WAS HEARING OF HIS WORKS (vv. 7b-8).
Mark goes on to tell us that, as Jesus made His way to the sea, “a great multitude from Galilee followed Him . . .” The phrase that Mark used to describe the crowd was one that meant “a fullness” or “an amplitude”. But as if that wasn’t enough, Mark added the adjective “great”. So this was a “great amplitude”. Jesus left the confining rejection of the Pharisees, to encounter instead a whole ‘stadium-full’ of seekers! What a sight that must have been to the disciples! They never would have forgotten it!
Now; we’re told that the people were coming from the regions of Galilee. That’s where Jesus had been preaching before. That’s the regions around the northern portions of the land. It would have been at the borders of the Gentile world. But we’re also told that they came from Judea—which is the southern regions of the land of Israel. That would have been the place where many of the devoted followers of the law of Moses would have lived. And we’re told that they also came from Jerusalem—the center of worship for the Jewish people.
Perhaps the disciples would have been surprised to have seen people traveling so far to see Him. But they would have been even more surprised to see people coming from Idumea. That was the land way down south—the land formerly known for the Edomite people. In Isaiah 34:5-6, we’re told that this was the land of a people who suffered the curse of God’s wrath for judgment. No one would have expected the people from that land to seek the Messiah. And yet, even they were coming. And then, there were people coming from the far regions beyond the Jordan River—east of the land of Israel. Perhaps the apostles would have remembered that this is exactly what Isaiah said in his prophecy of Isaiah 9:1—that a great light has shined as good news to the land “beyond the Jordan”. Perhaps they would have been stunned most of all to see that people were coming from the cities of Tyre and Sidon—up along the northern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. These were cities that had become wealthy as busy sea ports. But their citizens were also known for their paganism and idolatry. And yet, they too came to see Jesus. Later on, in John 12:19, we’re told that the frustrated Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him!” And it seems that the world truly was doing so!
And do you notice what drew the people from these far-away places? It wasn’t that these various people groups had been sought out and invited. It wasn’t that they were persuaded by Jesus appealing to them, and preaching to them in such a way as to market Himself to them. We’re told very specifically that this “great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him” (v. 8). It was the testimony of His works—and what those works were saying about Him—that drew the people from everywhere out to seek Him.
Perhaps because of this, the disciples would always remember what He said about His own crucifixion:
“And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself” (John 12:32).
They would have remembered; and would have declared that His story is a story about a Savior to all people—a Savior who welcomes all who come to Him in faith. We should remember it too.
* * * * * * * * * *
Now; in the context of this vast crowd that had formed around Jesus, we’re also told that the disciples would have seen how . . .
3. THE POOR AND NEEDY WERE MINISTERED TO BY HIM (vv. 8-10).
We’re told that He had healed many of the people that were gathered around Him. If the disciples had been amazed at seeing Him heal the man in the synagogue, they would have gone on to experience yet more amazement piled upon yet more amazement! What had started off as the healing of one man’s hand soon became an enormous hospital-full of people who were being healed by Him. The apostles would have been eyewitnesses to healing after healing. Perhaps they even had to help some of the needy people as they made their way to Jesus.
Mark used an interesting word to describe their need. He said “as many as had afflictions”; and the word he used is one that meant a scourging—as if by a whip. It’s a powerful way to describe the agonizing afflictions that many of these people where under. But we’re told that “as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him”; and it very soon presented a dangerous situation. There was the possibility of our Lord being crushed by the mob—and perhaps the disciples being crushed as well. Perhaps as He kept backing away to make room, He was being forced closer and closer to the shores of the edge of the sea. Verse 9 tells us that He told His disciples that “a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him”.
And yet, Jesus didn’t turn them away. He met the needs as they were brought to Him. Can you imagine what a permanent impression all of this must have made on the disciples? One of them—the apostle Matthew—wrote about this event in his Gospel; and he said that it was the fulfillment of a passage from Isaiah 42:1-4, where God said,
“Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen,
My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!
I will put My Spirit upon Him,
And He will declare justice to the Gentiles.
He will not quarrel nor cry out,
Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.
A bruised reed He will not break,
And smoking flax He will not quench,
Till He sends forth justice to victory;
And in His name Gentiles will trust” (Matthew 12:18-21).
The story that the apostles would go on to tell us is a story of a Savior who graciously meets the needs of all who come to Him. He has risen from the dead and has ascended; and today, He is at the right hand of the Father. There’s no danger of crushing Him now. A whole world of needy people can come to Him by faith, and He can care for them all.
* * * * * * * * * *
So; the apostles saw that the needy people of the world—even people of the Gentile world—heard of Him and were drawn to Him. But there’s something else that we’re told that the apostles saw; and it’s that . . .
4. THE FORCES OF DARKNESS WERE TERRIFIED OF HIM (vv. 11-12).
We’re told of something that it seems didn’t just happen once, but perhaps several times. Unclean spirits would see Him and fall before Him—that is to say, the people oppressed by these demonic forces fell before Him; and they cried out saying, “You are the Son of God!” (v. 11). This would be very much like what had happened in the synagogue right there in Galilee not long before—but now, it seems that was happening repeatedly; every time an unclean spirit saw Him!
We’re told that Jesus sternly commanded the unclean spirits to be quiet and to not make Him known. Why would this be? Personally, I believe it’s because our Lord is holy; and He will not have Himself declared to the world in such a way as to be associated with the testimony of unclean spirits. But again—what an impression this must have made on the apostles! They would have obviously noted the power and authority He exercised over unclean spirits—sternly ordering them to be quiet, and to come out of their victims at His command. But neither they nor the other people around them could have helped but noticed the testimony of these unclean spirits—even as He sought to silence it; that the spirits recognized Him to be the Son of God in human flesh.
It’s sad that the demons were more willing to admit the truth about Him than the religious leaders, who should have welcomed Him. But the apostles recognized the truth. Later on, when Jesus asked Peter who he said that He was, Peter declared, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). And that’s the testimony that the apostles have declared to the world.
* * * * * * * * * * *
So, dear brothers and sisters in Christ; this is the story that has been passed on to us by the apostles. We have, as it were, seen the trailer; and know that their story is the story of the promised Messiah—the long-awaited King of kings. He came to His own people; but the leaders of the people rejected Him. But His works nevertheless testified of Him; and needy and broken people from everywhere came to Him. They came in numbers that were almost overwhelming; and yet, He met the needs of all who trusted Him. Even the devils recognized Him as the Son of God—and were terrified of Him.
What a story of hope we have to tell! Let’s repeat the message of those apostles that a great light truly has shined in this dark world!