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Pastor Rick’s Notes on John 7:37-43

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Pastor Rick’s Notes and Translation:

v. 37 Now during the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood up and, in a loud voice said, “If anyone is thirsty, let them come to me and drink.”

This is the last day as in the day after a seven-day Feast of Booths – representing the temporary housing in the desert as they moved toward the Land of Promise. It’s the Sabbath following the week-long feast of harvest and worship and this is significant. This celebration is noted for joy, abundance, relationship, future. And it was a reminder of God’s plan: He has a mission for His people.

Illustration: Have you gotten so caught up in the moment that you missed the mission? “One Job – that’s all I had to do.”

In the midst of the celebrations, and keeping of the laws and the feast, and checking off the boxes, the mission had somehow gotten lost. And here was the last day of the Feast.

  • First of all, everyone hung out for the eighth day since traveling distances was not permitted on the Sabbath. This made for a day to both recover and refresh on the eight day.
  • Second, there were special sacrifices and celebrations on this “afterglow” day. This was “celebration” without all the pomp. No trumpets accompanying the special promenades. No pouring out of the waters.
  • Third, this is the day that the prophecies of the “ingathering” culminate and are read when the Father will raise a banner over those who are lost and displaced and call them home. The redemptive time has come. The unveiling of God’s characteristics of joy and hope are unveiled. The Kingdom will be visible to the world. That’s the day Jesus stood in front of this throng and said – Come and drink! And our response is seen in the meal of the day: the plainness of matzah and the blended beauty of the wine. We respond with humility and joy. Redemption is here and God’s fulness is being spilled out on the world through His people.

The eight day, because it was a Sabbath, became the “mega-day of the Feast.” Literally. It was the feast of pouring out redemption, the second rain.

Jesus cried out in a loud voice. He was speaking to each person, to the nation, and down through the centuries, his cry is relevant. God’s Spirit is poured out as living water to the thirsty.

What does it mean to be thirsty for the Lord?

  • John 4:14 Life here. Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
  • Revelation 21:6 Life eternal. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death, or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

5He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

6He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.

  • Revelation 22:17 Life Offered. 17The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes, take the free gift of the water of life.

v. 38 “Whoever puts their faith in me, streams of living water will flow from deep within them, just like the Scriptures have said.”

All week long, for seven days, the crowd has watched as the water flowed to wash away the blood and grime of the offerings. But more importantly, the high part of the celebration happened when water was brought up from the Pool of Siloam to pour to the blast of trumpets and shouts the water over the altar.. But on the seventh day, this wasn’t the practice. The week of Booths, the offering is complete. Jesus stood in the place of the abundant water and offer clear, pure, living water, not to wash, not to pour, but to fill.

Joel writes in chapter two that “in those days, the father will pour out his Spirit on all flesh.”

It is more plenteous than we can hold, more powerful than we can stand against. Refreshing to all who get wet and drink.

Rivers plural.

The follower of Jesus can’t help but spill over onto others. The river doesn’t strain to spill water over the river rocks. It flows. Jesus does the same through His Spirit. We can choose to impede it or release it.

Ezekiel 47 Water ankle deep, knee deep, waist deep, flowed like a river. But where it came from and where it went is important. It flowed from the place of worship and it flowed toward the desert and the dead sea.

v. 39 Now, he said this about the Spirit whom those who placed their faith in him were soon to be given. But the Spirit had not been given to them yet because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

This aside is John’s perspective from the moment he heard the Savior cry out in these verses to the point where the Holy Spirit was poured out. In the Temple, the promise; in the Pentecost, the outpouring. Remember that he is writing His Gospel account later than the Synoptics, near the end of the century, and He has the most accurate perspective. He remembers what not being filled with the Spirit was; and he remembers Pentecost.

The Spirit comes in power when Jesus ascends to heaven. That’s the time line. Could he have done it differently? Sure. But while the Son is with the disciples, the Spirit awaited the time when he could be fully in them. Jesus to glory; the Spirit to fill, lead, and empower.

The order is essential, though. Jesus had to be rejected, arrested, tried, sentenced, and killed at the lowest point of any man; then the Father pointed toward His Son who has suffered such demeaning actions, and said “He is worthy, he is glory, and he is who will send the Holy Spirit.”

The Spirit is the source of living water; our willingness to drink is the source of water for thirsty people. Both sustenance and salvation included and intertwined.

v. 40 Out of all the crowd who heard him say these words, some said, “Surely this is the Prophet.”

Some were repeating what they’d heard before, “it’s the Prophet who will be forerunner to the Messiah.” Or perhaps the “prophet like Moses that was promised to come

v. 41 Others declared, “This is the Messiah, the Savior!”  Still other, however, claimed, “There is no way for the Messiah to come from Galilee.”

And others were opening their eyes to this incontrovertible evidence that Jesus brought when he demonstrated the kingdom. He is the Savior.

And others repeated the misunderstanding that Jesus was from Galilee. Not so; he was Bethlehem of Judah by birth. This was ignorance on the part of the Pharisees and the throng; but not on John’s part. He knew the story.

v. 42 “Hasn’t Scripture said the Messiah comes from the descendants of David and from David’s village of Bethlehem?”

This apparently is from the “narrative” the Pharisees are putting before the people according to the verses just after our passage. They were stuck with a Galilean messiah which, according to scripture, was not possible. And they were right. Again, Bethlehem.

v. 43 And a division, therefore, occurred within the crowd because of Him.

The word schism comes from this Greek work. They were passionately divided over who Jesus was.

PRT (Pastor Rick’s Translation)

v. 37 Now during the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood up and, in a loud voice said, “If anyone is thirsty, let them come to me and drink.”

v. 38 “Whoever puts their faith in me, streams of living water will flow from deep within them, just like the Scriptures have said.”

v. 39 Now, he said this about the Spirit whom those who placed their faith in him were soon to be given. But the Spirit had not been given to them yet because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

v. 40 Out of all the crowd who heard him say these words, some said, “Surely this is the Prophet.”

v. 41 Others declared, “This is the Messiah, the Savior!”  Still other, however, claimed, “There is no way for the Messiah to come from Galilee.”

v. 42 “Hasn’t Scripture said the Messiah comes from the descendants of David and from David’s village of Bethlehem?”

v. 43 And a division, therefore, occurred within the crowd because of Him.

Pastor Rick’s Study Notes Mark 8:27-9:1

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Pastor Rick’s Study Notes:

First Impressions:

Don’t miss that this passage is preceded by three miracles that extend grace to the nations and the Gentiles. Mark was subtle in positioning this here. Keep in mind that the Gospels aren’t designed to be a perfect chronology. They each crafted their unique Gospel accounts to their main audience: Matthew to the Jews, Mark to the Jews and the Roman world, Luke to the cosmopolitan nations, and John to the educated, to the Greek philosophical mind, and to the churches.

The scope of the Good News of the Kingdom is global in all ways. Jesus is Lord over every parcel, every place under the sun, every nook and cranny in the darkness.

Pastor Rick’s Translation (PRT):

8:27 And Jesus, along with his disciples, went from there into the villages near Caesarea Philippi; and along the way, he quizzed his followers, and said “Who do the people say I am?” 28 “Some,” they responded, “say, John the Baptizer and others say Elijah and still others say one of the prophets.” 29 And he asked them, “Then, who do you say I am?” Peter responded, “You are the Christ.” 30 Then he warned them to tell no one about these things. 31 And Jesus started to teach them that it is crucial that the Son of Man suffers many things, be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and religious legal experts and be killed; then, after three days, rise again.  32 And he spoke these words openly and clearly to them. But Peter took Jesus aside and started to lay into him.  33 But Jesus turned and looked at the rest of his disciples and rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan, for your thoughts are not on what matters to God but what matters to people.  34 Then, he gathered the crowd alongside his disciples and said to them all, “If anyone chooses to follow me, let him deny his own interests and lift up his own cross; then let him follow me. 35 In fact, whoever chooses to preserve his own life will lose it; but whoever loses his life on account of me and the Good News will save it.  36-38 For what benefit does someone get from having everything in the world and yet forfeit’s his soul.  Truly, if someone is ashamed of me in these adulterous and sinful times, then the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes back in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.

9:1 Then Jesus said to them, “Certainly, I tell you that some among you who are standing right here will not die until they have seen the Kingdom of God arrive with great power.

Verse-by-verse:

8:27 And Jesus, along with his disciples, went from there into the villages near Caesarea Philippi; and along the way, he quizzed his followers, and said “Who do the people say I am?”

The along the way is a thirty-mile journey along a remote section of the shoreline of the Jordan River. In the solitude, Jesus hoped to give his followers full attention. They would need it! Luke records that the disciples interrupted Jesus praying. He is discovered praying before key events; certainly, the point that the disciples declare Jesus the Messiah and Son of God would be one such event. The word for people is Anthropos as in men; but can be people. “Who are the guys on the street saying I am?”

This location is important since it’s out of reach of the Pharisees, well beyond Judea proper. Even though some of the crowd follow him this 30-40 miles along the Jordan, he has the disciples to himself. It’s the most important verses in Mark and the turning point in the story of the Gospel. Now the Savior is plainly and clearly revealed.

Interesting here, too, is the contrasting of what others have rumored and what Jesus taught and revealed. We are all products of those sources that inform our lives. Best to recognize that we are not immune to the influence of spurious voices, even in our best intentions to listen only to the Father’s.

v. 28 “Some,” they responded, “say, John the Baptizer and others say Elijah and still others say one of the prophets.”

These were the rumored roles Jesus was given. Jeremiah or one of the ancient prophets was one; another was John come back from the grave with his head intact; the other was Elijah who was prophesied to return one day. They must not have heard Messiah mentioned.

v. 29 And he asked them, “Then, who do you say I am?” Peter responded, “You are the Christ.”

Keep in mind that Mark wrote with Peter as his main source. Interesting that the confession and the honor Peter gives and receives are not included here. “You and the Messiah.” Simple. No keys to heaven. No gates of hell mentioned.

Note that this isn’t the first time Jesus as the Messiah has come into the confession of one or more of the disciples. This one is key because Peter’s confession starkly stands against all other confessions. No wondering aloud. No question marks at the end. Jesus is Christ, God’s Son. Period. Jury is in. They were not swayed by the temperature of the culture; they believed and were in.

v. 30 Then he warned them to tell no one about these things.

Still, Jesus warned them not to broadcast it about yet. The time will come when all nations are to hear the truth about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of the living God. In just a few months, the message surrounding the name of Jesus following His brutal death and the powerful demonstration of his Kingdom through this and the resurrection – Jesus is Messiah.

v. 31 And Jesus started to teach them that it is crucial that the Son of Man suffers many things, be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and religious legal experts and be killed; then, after three days, rise again.

And this opened up the point when Jesus began to unveil what Messiah, Son of Man, Son of God, Savior, etc. all entailed. He is all these things; yet for our benefit, he has to go to the cross.

It may be good to note here that the previous miracles pointed to the global aspect of this work.

After three full days? Or does Mark agree with Matthew, on the third day? The chronos view is three days as in Friday (partial), Saturday (all), and Sunday (brief and partial.) Jesus conquered death on the third day.

v. 32 And he spoke these words openly and clearly to them. But Peter took Jesus aside and started to lay into him.

Jesus began plainly to lay out to those who loved and knew him best what had to happen. He held nothing back. And it was too much for Peter. And the painful truth is, none wanted Jesus to suffer, die, leave them. But that was their interests, not God’s interests. So Peter pulls him aside and pleads with Jesus.

Here, Jesus is clearly explaining what John the Baptizer said about Jesus being the lamb that takes away the sins of the world, or that Jesus himself prophetically said “destroy this temple and I will rebuilt it in three days” or “I will be lifted up and draw all people to myself.”

v. 33 But Jesus turned and looked at the rest of his disciples and rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan, for your thoughts are not on what matters to God but what matters to people.

Peter took the heat for his overzealous rebuke of Jesus. And Jesus uses the same rebuke he gave to the Prince of Darkness – get behind me, leave me, Tempter. And rightfully so, as the Tempter used the same argument – save yourself.

Peter was looking out for his own interests with no thought of the Savior’s purpose.

v. 34 Then, he gathered the crowd alongside his disciples and said to them all, “If anyone chooses to follow me, let him deny his own interests and lift up his own cross; then let him follow me.

Interesting that, even in the remote places, people followed from a distance. They seemed to never leave, and Jesus was drawn to teach them. And he called them in close just like his disciples. And he calls each of us in close.

The word for will is choice, desire, resolve. Strong word; not for the namby-pamby. And here, Jesus foreshadows the way he will be “lifted up” or become the lamb of God.

Deny himself, as in “say no” to self and “yes” to the life Jesus created us for.

v. 35 In fact, whoever chooses to preserve his own life will lose it; but whoever loses his life on account of me and the Good News will save it.

This is important in Jesus’ teaching. When we build a life that is safe and preserves us, we run the risk of losing all Jesus wants to do in and through us. Our innate desire to insulate ourselves from risk and pain leaves us loveless and ineffective.

vv. 36-38 For what benefit does someone get from having everything in the world and yet forfeit’s his soul.  Truly, if someone is ashamed of me in these adulterous and sinful times, then the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes back in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.

This juxtaposition of all things and nothing, every pleasure to gain but without life and soul, is the picture of the emptiest person alive. Hollow and shadowy, without substance.

Is ashamed as in “your current declaration” is your present attitude.

This passage leads directly into 9:1 and forms one progression of things to come.

Here, Jesus is clear in his eschatological declaration for his Parousia. The Big One.

9:1 Then Jesus said to them, “Certainly, I tell you that some among you who are standing right here will not die until they have seen the Kingdom of God arrive with great power.

The words “Verily, verily, I say unto you” was the KJV way of saying Head’s Up, listen with all your heart. This is important. We hear such transitions today that we don’t even mind them. Even Certainly doesn’t capture it.

When did the Kingdom come in great power? Some consider this the Second Coming or the ultimate Parousia. But God’s Kingdom comes in power at the Transfiguration (just a few days away), the resurrection, and the ascension. His Kingdom broke in with power at the Cross, especially considering dead people were made alive and appeared around Jerusalem.

This verse ties in with the proclamation of the Messiah, the call to follow Him, and the need to see the Kingdom come in power.

8:38 and 9:1 Juxtapose the Second Coming (the Great Parousia) of the King of Kings with the coming of God’s Kingdom into our lives in power – the Transfiguration, the Cross, the Resurrection, the Filling of the Holy Spirit, and when the power comes and the Kingdom is displayed in Parousia experiences (see Ephesians) through Scripture and into our own lives.

Pastor Rick’s Study Notes Mark 7:1-15

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Pastor Rick’s Study Notes

The Power of a Moment: One Divide Mark 7:1-15

First Impressions:

This passage demonstrates the divide between earning one’s way into heaven and receiving the free gift of redemption. The priests were concerned about their dirty hands; Jesus cleanses dirty hearts. They want to keep the colon clean; Jesus wants to keep the lifestyle clean.

Illustration: The “traditions of the elders” are like most systems of tradition. Who knows why something is done except someone did it and they codified it? I’m reminded of the husband’s conversation with his wife as they were preparing to cook a roast. She cut about two inches off the end before she put it in the oven, and he asked why the waste? She had always done it but called her mom who had always done it and she called her mom. The grandmother confessed her pan was too short for a full roast, so she always had to cut two inches off to make it fit.

Pastor Rick’s Translation (PRT):

Mark 7:1-15

1 Some Pharisees and religious legal experts from Jerusalem got together and came to Jesus.  2 And they watched some of his disciples eating bread with ceremonially unpurified and unwashed hands. 3-4 (After all, the Pharisees and all the proper Jews are very careful not to eat unless they first wash their hands so that they maintain the traditions of the forefathers; and when they come from the market, if they do not wash they do not eat and this is along with other practices they embrace which were passed down like washing cups and cooking pots and dishes and tables.) 5 And the Pharisees and religious legal experts questioned Jesus about the reason why his disciples do not live in line with the traditions of the forefathers but eat bread with ceremonially unwashed hands. 6-7 Then Jesus said to them “Isaiah was right when he foretold about you hypocrites, that ‘these people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are absent and far away from me. And further, they worship me in hollow and fruitless ways, teach the rules of men as doctrines.’ 8 They walk away from God’s commands by holding dearly to the traditions of the forefathers.”  9 And he said to them, “You nobly discard the commandment of God just so you can carefully hang on to your traditions.” 10-12 “For example, Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’ and ‘The one who reviles and abuses his father or mother must perish in his death;” and you further say, “It is taught that when a man says to his father or mother, this gift belongs to God (meaning you say to them ‘it is a gift that you cannot benefit from)’, you no longer allow him the ability to give anything to his father or mother.”  13 “You invalidate and override the Word of God with your traditions that you’ve handled like handcuffs alongside many other things you do like this.” 14-15 Then Jesus called the crowd to pay attention and he said to them, “Listen up, everyone, and get this: There is nothing outside a person that goes inside that can make him unclean. It’s the things that comes out from the inside that make him impure.”

Verse-by-verse Notes:

1:1 Some Pharisees and religious legal experts from Jerusalem got together and came to Jesus.

These religious leaders set the rules. They demanded the respect because they wielded the rod of reprimand. They had a bunch of laws focused on outward behavior and heaven-forbid anyone threaten this power. Then came Jesus.

Got together could be that they colluded; but it could mean that they got together with Jesus. Either way, they got together in Jerusalem and came after Jesus.

They were quite a few miles from Jerusalem (120 miles) and had to wait until the Feast days would allow them to travel. They had plenty of time to think about what they would seek to trap Jesus in. And they got hung up on hand-washing!

This passage is the third in a series of rebukes of the religiosity. The first was about who you could associate with, the second about the Sabbath and worship, and this one about what makes one holy inside and out. The answer to all three is Jesus’ way of turning their world upside down. Hang out with who needs your compassion, hold onto worship all week long, hand your heart to the Father for his holiness.

v. 2 And they watched some of his disciples eating bread with ceremonially unpurified and unwashed hands.

I added “ceremonially” to the mix as this is what the phrase means. They snuck in to a gathering and spotted at least a few of the followers forget to wash up before they sat down. Clean hands is a good thing; making it a provision to being right with God is religiosity. The word is “unclean” – the same word a leper cries out as he or she approaches people.

The word for “unpurified” is “common as in koine.

vv. 3-4 (After all, the Pharisees and all the proper Jews are very careful not to eat unless they first wash their hands so that they maintain the traditions of the forefathers; and when they come from the market, if they do not wash they do not eat and this is along with other practices they embrace which were passed down like washing cups and cooking pots and dishes and tables.)

They had it down to a religious practice – the word actually means “to the fist.” So they wash up all the way to the joint where the fist meets the wrist. They would angle the hands made into a sort of fist so the water stayed on the hands and didn’t pass the wrist (presumably so the unclean-ness wouldn’t trek up the arm.)

And everyone knows that, when you rub shoulders with people in the open market, you’re bound to have the sinfulness of the world rub off on you. Unlike Jesus who took the Good News of the Kingdom to the marketplace.

This was a culture that ate with their fingers; of course the disciples cleaned their hands before they chowed down. But they didn’t do the full ceremonial act; and it ticked off the religious leaders!

Ablutions today are important in Islam. In fact, five times a day unless the ceremonial washing is done perfectly, the prayers are rejected.

The word for cooking pots and dishes is a Latin word that Mark pulls from the Romans – it means a reusable kitchen container, usually made of wood or metal. The clay ones were not reusable and binned.

The word for table means not just the table but the whole of the reclining, eating, banquet “design” – the couch, the cushions, the table, that was for reclining to eat at. Table fits the purpose here, but dining room might be more accurate.

Illustration: The Traditions filled in every nook and cranny that the Law wasn’t specific about. Just like today, legalists among the church take this beautiful symphony of freedom in Christ where there are definite notes of boundaries with open spaces in the score where our walk with the Holy Spirit fills in with the freedom of following Him – and they jam notes to their making or presumption and it becomes a wall of sound that allows no improvising or harmony.

v. 5 And the Pharisees and religious legal experts questioned Jesus about the reason why his disciples do not live in line with the traditions of the forefathers but eat bread with ceremonially unwashed hands.

Their issue wasn’t with anyone else but Jesus, so they attack his leadership of his followers by accusing them of not following (the word means “line up” or match the requirements) the elders’ traditions.

Eating bread was a colloquialism for eating food. But the word is clearly “bread” so I’ll keep it that. It means they ate food.

v. 6 Then Jesus said to them “Isaiah was right when he foretold about you hypocrites, that ‘these people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are absent and far away from me.’”

It’s clear that Jesus doesn’t address his disciples for not “obeying” the letter of the legal experts’ laws. He is good with his disciples’ actions. But he has clear issues with the Pharisees and scribes. They might have the right activity based on the OT and the laws; but they are so far removed from God that they aren’t even marked present. They are far from His voice, even as He speaks to them.

Note: we can be close, but inside far away. We can be in the seat, but absent from the room. We can have God’s message go in the ear, but never register in the mind and heart. We can lift our hands, we can make the activity match what others should see if we love God; but our hearts and souls are far away bowing to someone else.

Jesus uses a bit of sarcasm and/or irony here – Isaiah was spot-on to describe you as such. I carry this tone into the sentences following.

Illustration: We can take the actions that “show” people we are Christ-followers, make them a part of our personalities, and they become cover for an empty heart and callous over our hardness toward Jesus. We default to the outward to keep from giving our hearts away to the God who woos us.

vv. 7-8 “And further, they worship me in hollow and fruitless ways, teach the rules of men as doctrines, and walk away from God’s commands by holding dearly to the traditions of the forefathers like ceremonially washing cups and dishes and other such thing like you do.”

Their hearts make the acts of worship hollow and they bring no benefit to themselves, to those they lead, and to the nation they are to serve. They supplant God’s Word with man’s rules. They are so bent toward protecting their power that they chase down Jesus and others for breaking the rules; and that chasing leads them further away from a heart malleable to the Spirit.

v. 9 And he said to them, “You nobly discard the commandment of God just so you can carefully hang on to your traditions.”

Nobly is a bit of sarcasm but he seems to be drawing a sketch of what they project to the people. You act nobly before everyone in your traditions; but you discard God’s intent in His Word.

vv. 10-12 “For example, Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’ and ‘The one who reviles and abuses his father or mother must perish in his death;” and you further say, “It is taught that when a man says to his father or mother, this gift belongs to God (meaning you say to them ‘it is a gift that you cannot benefit from)’, you no longer allow him the ability to give anything to his father or mother.”

They might say, “you can take your riches and declare “corban” – or “for the temple” – over it; that means you don’t have to support your parents in their need and then can use it for your own or you can leave it to the temple. Then, if the son has a change of heart and wants to reposition his resources to help his parents, the Pharisee will say, “Oh no, your vow sticks. You cannot help your parents with this.”

The one who curses or reviles can also mean abuses them by action and words. And that person doesn’t just “earn” death – he dies the death.

The Pharisees looked backward to Moses as the source of the “unwritten” traditions; Jesus refers to Moses in his written Word from God to contradict and condemn them. The Jewish man would say, according to archeologist’s findings: All that a man may find to his profit in the ossuary is an offering to God from him who is within it.  In other words, if you want to profit from my stuff, you are taking it from God Almighty. Beware!

v. 13 “You invalidate and override the Word of God with your traditions that you’ve handled like handcuffs alongside many other things you do like this.”

The “traditions” was really a body of laws that were said to have been given verbally to Moses from God, but never written down back in the day. And it was passed down as the traditions. It became primary to God’s Word. After speaking so harshly to the Pharisees from all over who had come to trap him, he addressed the crowd directly. Although I believe they were hanging on the words Jesus was saying. And it all started because the disciples forgot to wash up like they were supposed to!

v. 14-15 Then Jesus called the crowd to pay attention and he said to them, “Listen up, everyone, and get this: There is nothing outside a person that goes inside that can make him unclean. It’s the things that comes out from the inside that make him impure.”

He gathered the crowd around him and got their attention.  It’s the heart issue that makes a person need Jesus. Jesus’ call to “pay attention” is in the form of a prophetic declaration to the people of God. Jesus takes the role of teacher and prophet in these fifteen verses.

This really is Jesus’ answer to the original scribal gripe. What makes a person unclean? And he answers this at the level the charge was issued. He answers his disciples before the crowd. The scribes invited this injunction.

Once again, the disciples (Matthew declares it was Peter) don’t quite connect the dots. They were raises on the outward religion as the means for inward cleansing. And they would never, ever eat bacon!

The next eight verses explain what he means about the heart:

  1. It’s not what you eat that corrupts (all food is good).
  2. It’s what we determine to do with what our hearts tempt us with – hatred, lust, greed, pride, foolishness – that makes us unclean.  The thoughts lead to desires that lead to intent that lead to action that lead to darkness that lead to death.

Pastor Rick’s Study Notes: Mark 6:30-56

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Pastor Rick’s Study Notes:

First Reflections:

Jesus moved from crowd to solitary place throughout Mark. Both were essential to his strategy to bring the Kingdom. In the “One Boy” narrative, these two strategies collide. Jesus takes his disciples away to pour into them and the crowds run after him. The five loaves and two fish become a link between the small and insignificant and the big and grand, the simple and behind-the-scenes and the bigger than life.

How many excuses can the disciples make: too late, too remote, too little, too many, too expensive, too far for the markets, too tired, and my favorite. Not my responsibility; not my job?

The young boy’s response. Here’s what I’ve got!

(PRT) Pastor Rick’s Translation:

6:30 Then the apostles drew in tightly to Jesus and they reported all they had done and the things they had taught. 31 And he said to them, “Come away with me to a quiet place and rest yourselves a little.” For many were coming and going so that the disciples had no opportunity to even eat. 33 But many in the crowd saw them leaving and, taking the trails from each town and village, they converged at that spot before the disciples arrived. 34 Then Jesus stepped out of the boat and saw the throng; and compassion welled up inside him for this great gathering because they were like a flock of sheep without the care of a shepherd. So, he began to teach them many things. 35-36 But by then, the hour was late, so the disciples came to him to remind him, “This place is desolate and it’s late in the day. Send them away so they might buy something to eat somewhere in the vicinity or villages.”

37 He answered them, “You give them something to eat.” But they said, “We could go to the market with several month’s wages and barely give this crowd any food.” 38 “See how many loaves you have,” He asks. And figuring it out, they said “Five, along with two fish.”

39-40 Then he directed them to have everyone sit down on the fields of green grass, group-by-group. And they sat down in bunches of fifties and hundreds. 41 And taking the five loaves and two fish and looking up to heaven, Jesus blessed it. He then broke the loaves into pieces and portioned out the fish and gave them to the disciples so they could set it before all the people. 42 And all ate and were satisfied. 43-44 Then they collected the leftovers, filling a dozen hand baskets with bread and fish. And the total who ate was five thousand men.

45-46 And right afterwards, he urged his disciples to get in the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side towards Bethsaida while he wrapped things up with the crowd. And after sending them off, he turned aside toward the mountainside to pray. 47-48 When evening came and the boat was in the middle of the sea and he was alone and ashore, he saw them struggling at the oars because the treacherous wind was against them. And in the early pre-dawn hours, Jesus came near them walking on the sea intending to arrive close to them. 49-50 Then, seeing him walking on the sea, they feared he was a ghost and screamed aloud; for what they saw terrified them. And at that moment, Jesus reassured them and said, “Be brave. Don’t be afraid. It’s really me.” 51-52 And he climbed up into the boat with them, and the treacherous headwind stopped; and more than ever the disciples were extraordinarily perplexed; for they had not even processed the loaves-miracle with their dulled emotions.

53-54 And the sailed over to the shore and arrived at Gennesaret and set anchor. As soon as they climbed out of the boat the people recognized Jesus. 55-56 Word travelled throughout the region that Jesus was back, and wherever they heard he was, they carried the sick on pallets.  And no matter where he went – the villages, the cities, the fields or the marketplaces – they laid the feeble and sick prostrate before him and pleaded only to touch the edge of his clothes; and whoever touched him was healed.

v. 30 Then the apostles drew in tightly to Jesus and they reported all they had done and the things they had taught.

The disciples had a brief mission trip around the region and they came back to report. This was the next level of training Jesus insisted on; the disciples are Plan A.

The tone is present and together they themselves jockey for position around Jesus to tell their stories.

v. 31 And he said to them, “Come away with me to a quiet place and rest yourselves a little.” For many were coming and going so that the disciples had no opportunity to even eat.

The plan was to rest, hear the stories, refresh for the mission ahead, get ready for the Passover. And the crowds showed up.

v. 32 So they pulled away by boat to a secluded place to be by themselves.

Jesus moved from crowd to secluded throughout Mark. He knew his main impact was helping the disciples grow, gain skills, process what they were experiencing.

v. 33 But many in the crowd saw them leaving and, taking the trails from each town and village, they converged at that spot before the disciples arrived.

The verb could be “they out-went the disciples and Jesus.” Surprise. There they were sitting on the shore waiting on Jesus.

v. 34 Then Jesus stepped out of the boat and saw the throng; and compassion welled up inside him for this great gathering because they were like a flock of sheep without the care of a shepherd. So, he began to teach them many things.

This is the pattern, too. Jesus is moved by the hurts and lostness of people. He teaches; he heals.

vv. 35-36 But by then, the hour was late, so the disciples came to him to remind him, “This place is desolate and it’s late in the day. Send them away so they might buy something to eat somewhere in the vicinity or villages.”

The day was spent, the hour was inclining. Idiom.

v. 37 He answered them, “You give them something to eat.” But they said, “We could go to the market with several month’s wages and barely give this crowd any food.”

v. 38 “See how many loaves you have,” He asks. And figuring it out, they said “Five, along with two fish.”

John stresses they were barley loaves, not the fine stuff of upper class, and notes that mom packed it for the little boy.

vv. 39-40 Then he directed them to have everyone sit down on the fields of green grass, group-by-group. And they sat down in bunches of fifties and hundreds.

The imagery Mark uses here is that of a patchwork of flower beds. The colors of Middle East were out in full. They were in parties or bunches of 50’s and 100’s. Translation: garden beds, garden beds.

v. 41 And taking the five loaves and two fish and looking up to heaven, Jesus blessed it. He then broke the loaves into pieces and portioned out the fish and gave them to the disciples so they could set it before all the people.

Like the father at the table with his children, he looked to heaven, said the blessing that a father would be accustomed to say, and God did the rest.

Jesus broke the bread in a verb that is instantaneous, and then continuously gave it to the disciples in a steady stream to give to 5000 men (and their family members.)

v. 42 And all ate and were satisfied.

There was a common belief that the Messiah would replicate in some way the miracles from heaven that Moses performed. The manna from heaven and the miracle of bread and fish parallel.

vv. 43-44 Then they collected the leftovers, filling a dozen hand baskets with bread and fish. And the total who ate was five thousand men.

The wicker baskets were normal food carriers like we might have for a picnic. It was designed to keep the food separate from the people pushing and bouncing around the crowds.

vv. 45-46 And right afterwards, he urged his disciples to get in the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side towards Bethsaida while he wrapped things up with the crowd. And after sending them off, he turned aside toward the mountainside to pray.

Some think that Jesus needed to be directly involved in helping the disciples get out of the crowd and get the crowd out of there because they were in a “messianic fervor” and would make Jesus, king.

vv. 47-48 When evening came and the boat was in the middle of the sea and he was alone and ashore, he saw them struggling at the oars because the treacherous wind was against them. And in the early pre-dawn hours, Jesus came near them walking on the sea intending to arrive close to them.

Jesus spent time with the Father on the hillside and then on the beach as he watched over the disciples’ progress.

vv. 49-50 Then, seeing him walking on the sea, they feared he was a ghost and screamed aloud; for what they saw terrified them. And at that moment, Jesus reassured them and said, “Be brave. Don’t be afraid. It’s really me.”

They weren’t sure who it was, but they didn’t think someone would be strolling by on the water. Sailors have all kinds of “myths” about phantasms on the water.

vv. 51-52 And he climbed up into the boat with them, and the treacherous headwind stopped; and more than ever the disciples were extraordinarily perplexed; for they had not even processed the loaves-miracle with their dulled emotions.

This is what happens when they don’t get time with Jesus in private conversations and a chance to process what was happening. They hadn’t even gotten a grip on the fish and loaves; and now Jesus walks on water, stills the waves.

vv. 53-54 And the sailed over to the shore and arrived at Gennesaret and set anchor. As soon as they climbed out of the boat the people recognized Jesus.

v. 55-56 Word travelled throughout the region that Jesus was back, and wherever they heard he was, they carried the sick on pallets.  And no matter where he went – the villages, the cities, the fields or the marketplaces – they laid the feeble and sick prostrate before him and pleaded only to touch the edge of his clothes; and whoever touched him was healed.

Pastor Rick’s Study Notes: Mark 5:21-24, 35-43

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Pastor Rick’s Study Notes:

First Impressions:

The Jerusalem team of legal experts had passed judgment on Jesus. He was a threat to their traditions and their power. When power is threatened, power becomes an adversary. When traditions are threatened, traditions become the default. Either way, truth is drowned out.

Apparently, the verdict from the legal experts had not trickled down. But it’s amazing how our approach to faith and to the Father shifts when trouble or tragedy happens.

Amazing in that the synagogue ruler was certain that God would give him a gift through the healing Jesus brought.

Amazing, too, that he was not deterred in that Kairos moment when Jesus’ desire met his willingness to believe, in spite of:

  • The messengers’ news.
  • The crowd’s pressures (do you think perhaps that’s why Jesus only took a few into the moment.
  • The mourners’ wailing (some in the community were professional mourners who earned income bringing the show home when it comes to mourning.)

v. 21 Jesus came back across the Sea of Galilee to the area of Capernaum. He had just traveled with the express intention to save the Gadarene who was gripped by demons.

vv. 22 – 24 Jairus was one of a group of elders or rulers in the local synagogue. He couldn’t have helped but to know people who had earlier been healed by Jesus. Luke reminds us that this was not only his little girl, but his only daughter. The life was ebbing out of her so rapidly that it was as if she was already dead (Matthew’s perspective.) Luke probably got the verb best: she lay dying with no hope of recovery. Jesus was quick to respond with compassion and attend to the matter right then. In spite of the “thronging” – that’s the verb – of the crowd, Jesus moved forward.

v. 35 – 36 Don’t trouble the Master with a wearying journey, since the little girl had passed. Jesus overheard the news and assured him she would be okay. This narrative beautifully captures the potential ebb and flow of faith. Something bad; God encourages. Discouraging word; Jesus assures. People without faith scoff; the Father directs toward the Kairos moment.

v. 37 Jesus often chose a few within the Twelve or paired them up. We will look that this a couple of weeks in Mark 5:6ff. The pattern seems to be 2’s, 3’s, and 4’s. That’s a good pattern for disciple-making. In this case, in part, he wanted the crowd to thin out and Jesus left most of his followers behind on the road to Jairus’ home so they could proceed, and this spiritual leader could believe.

v. 38-40 But even with the thinning of the tumult of the street crowds pressing and calling out with every need possible, when Jesus with Peter, James, and John and Jairus, arrived the mourners had already set up in strategic places to make the most impact with their wailing. The English language isn’t the only one to use onomatopoeia (like scuttlebutt or murmur) – this Greek word sounds like it means: alaladzontas means wailing. Clearly not people of faith as they made their living off the need for congregant mourning; they not only discouraged faith but laughed in its face. They jeered at Jesus. And the voice of the enemy could be heard in this solemn moment with laughter and jeering when faith is needed. Since the poorest of Jewish families were expected to have at least two flute-players and one wailing woman, a synagogue ruler probably hit the motherlode of mourners!

What does he mean with he says she only sleeps? This is the same thing he said to Lazarus’ sisters. He puts what we consider as the finality into perspective of eternity. In the light of the eternity, our separation from our loved ones is miniscule. If we are and they are a part of the people Jesus is building into a Kingdom, there is only a moment between the departure and our reunion from heaven’s perspective.

They went “where the child was.” We, as people of the Kingdom, often have to go where the hurt is, where the person is grieving, or, in this case, the room where death was – and take faith and hope and compassion. Our typical desire is to keep our distance with an attitude “I can pray from the comfort of my whatever” – Jesus moves us to be where He wants to bring the Kingdom. We have to leave the comfort zone to enter the Kairos moment when the Father’s will, and the willingness and obedience of people, capture the miracle and the signs and wonders of heaven.

vv. 41-42 Talitha cumi. To korasion egiere. Little girl, you arise. Aramaic, to Greek, to English. (Affectionate and in the language and tone of a little child, Jesus takes her hand – sweetie, get up now.) This was the miraculous sign like Lazarus and the young boy on the funeral bier, that declared to the heavenlies: The Kingdom of God is come and the final sting is removed from the enemy’s weaponry. Her spirit connects with the command of the Savior, and she obeys and arises.

The word for “astonished” is a double word. They were greatly amazed (mega-amazed). They were riveted in their place. Eyes in the room turn from the little girl to the daddy and momma, then landed back to Jesus. Faith as small as a grain of mustard, in the right subject, and the right Kairos moment, can do “the impossible.”

v. 43 Food for strengthen and food to display she was no ghost or phantasm. Keep it quiet for now.