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A Prolific Work
Jesus' Galilean Ministry "And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him. Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel" (Mark 1:13-15). Regis Liberda The first nine chapters of the Gospel of Mark are dedicated to Jesus’ Galilean ministry. Beginning immediately after his baptism and subsequent temptation in the wilderness, it lasted for the first several months of his ministry. Jesus’ time in the Galilee area began at a time when he was least well-known and it ends with his rise to fame, mainly as a result of his miraculous healings. We will consider some of the lessons that Jesus taught without words in Galilee. His choice of location and the methods he used for choosing the first disciples will be examined. His insightful use of teaching props and the timing of his departures a little boat will be explored. In addition, let us consider some of the lessons he taught with words while in Galilee. Why does Mark tell us that Jesus often requested secrecy from the recipients of his miracles while in one instance, Mark notes that Jesus instructed the healed deaf man to go tell all those in Decapolis what he had done? It is important to remember that the Gospel of Mark is most likely a collection of Peter’s sermons which were targeted toward Gentile believers. As was noted in an earlier article of this Herald edition, John Mark, as Peter’s traveling companion and interpreter, wrote down what he heard from the Apostle Peter in journalistic detail and this record became the Gospel of Mark. In John Mark’s record, we are favored with seeing Peter’s emphasis and his personal point of view especially when we compare identical events in the other Gospels. Peter’s emotional engagement is seen loud and clear throughout the Gospel of Mark as an eyewitness testi-mony of the specific events of Jesus’ Galilean ministry. Choosing the First Disciples "Now as he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him. And when he had gone a little further thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets. And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him" (Mark 1:16-20). The Gospel of Mark account paints a peaceful and beautiful scene on the Lake of Gennesaret at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus was not yet known and therefore had the opportunity (in relative obscurity) to call these future "fishers of men" while they were engaged in their daily work. Walking along the shore, Jesus found Simon and Andrew in a boat casting a net into the sea while he found James and John in another boat mending the nets. While casting a net is indeed the most important job of a fisherman, mending nets was also critical for making them effective. Fishing was the metaphor used by Jesus to picture the greater work of catching new disciples. The work of "casting the nets" and "mending the nets" illustrates two aspects of the work performed by "fishers of men." Casting a net is the most visible part of being a fisherman. We may infer that Peter and Andrew verified the presence of fish before casting their net. Perhaps Jesus intended this to be a picture of the most visible task of a Christian’s work; preaching the Good News of the Gospel and testifying of Jesus’ love. Like fishing, Christian work requires the verification of potential disciples. It also requires much patience because a miraculous catch is sometimes preceded by a night of failure. So is the work of preaching the Gospel.Afterwards, Jesus met James and John while they were mending the nets in their boat. The need for mending nets results from the wear and tear of pulling them from the water and into the boat or onto the shore. This is hard monotonous work but is required in order to prepare the nets for fishing. Perhaps Jesus intended this to be another picture of the Christian work of preparing our minds with the knowledge of God and His plan. With understanding, the net of truth can be cast and the ready heart brought to the Lord. All four of these disciples successfully translated their fishing skills from the Lake of Gennesaret to become fishers of men. They accomplished a great work from a small beginning. They were the first fish Jesus caught at the beginning of his own ministry. Jesus’ choice of the Galilee, a region of humble and hard working men, is indicative of the humble beginnings in the types of fish he seeks. The Little Boat "And he spoke to his disciples, that a little boat should wait on him because of the crowd, lest they should throng him" (Mark 3:9 ASV). In this statement by our Lord, found only in the Gospel of Mark, we see an eye for detail regarding the props that would facilitate his ministry. He knew that a distance between him and the audience would be required for the most effective teaching. He used the boat to isolate himself from the crowds; perhaps also to rest and to pray but mainly to help manage the course of his ministry. Mark records that Jesus gave discourses from the little boat to a large audience on the shore (Mark 4:1). The lake of Gennesaret is a beautiful natural location for reflective teaching and inspiration. With our mind’s eye, we can see the peaceful scene of the lake surrounded by mountains and we can see Jesus preaching to mesmerized crowds (Mark 1:22). While he was already famous for his miraculous healings, he was now becoming famous for his powerful words. Jesus used effective parables and local metaphors in order to deliver the forgotten concept of the Kingdom of God. Jesus gave many lessons from his little boat. The crowds received many lessons from his sermons. His disciples were also favored to receive a few additional and very special lessons while out on the lake in their little boat with Jesus. In one experience, after having preached to a crowd, the little boat left the shore and that night a great storm arose. The disciples awoke him, and said unto him: "Teacher, carest thou not that we perish? And he awoke, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye fearful? Have ye not yet faith?" (Mark 4:38-39 ASV). Jesus displayed great trust in his heavenly father as he slept during the storm. Jesus used the tempest on the lake, his quiet confidence and his miraculous work of calming the storm to teach his precious disciples how to counteract the tempests in their own lives by putting their trust and confidence in the power of God. The experience was a fulfillment of God’s promise; "Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still" (Psalm 107:28-29). The disciples had embarked on a new life that would move them far away from earthly comforts and quickly become dangerous with religious persecution. They would need great faith to survive the storms that lay in their ministries ahead and Jesus was preparing them to for these with this faith-strengthening miracle. Sometime later, while they were rowing at night in the middle of the lake, they saw Jesus walking on the water. They were frightened because they thought he was a spirit (Mark 6:48). Once again, Jesus used the little boat to give them a very special lesson. Perhaps he was instilling in them the expectation of his personal presence during their future labors while they were fishing for men. Through this experience the disciples were learning that they could always trust Jesus to be nearby for their aid and comfort. The Gospel of Luke relates the experience of the miraculous catch of fish, another lesson Jesus taught with a little boat on the Lake of Gennesaret (Luke 5:4-9). This event occurred in the early months of Jesus’ ministry, just after he had chosen his first disciples. It was surely a lesson of confidence that Jesus instilled in his disciples. He illustrated their work as future fishers of men, showing that they could only succeed under his direction. With his guidance, his disciples, all the way down through the age, would find the fish that would be necessary to fill the Gospel net. It is interesting to consider the possible reasons why Jesus left the village of Nazareth, moved to Capernaum, and chose the Galilee region to call his disciples. It was in the Galilee area that Jesus found the good ground (in the hearts of simple, spiritually hungry fishermen) where the seed of his gospel would grow and multiply through their efforts. Jesus knew that the backdrop of the lake of Gennesaret would provide a teaching template for many engaging lessons. This early part of Jesus’ ministry, more than at any other time, shows how Jesus developed a non-verbal strategy, to communicate powerful lessons beyond the obvious. Jesus used the local topography not only as a classroom but also as a metaphor to teach wonderful lessons. These lessons were to give his disciples, and us, the confidence of his presence in times of uncertainty and trouble. A map of our Lord’s trips on the lake shows how portable and accessible Jesus’ ministry became by using the little boat to lead his disciples into the spiritual work. Jesus, with his disciples, quickly and easily traveled to villages, preached the Kingdom of God, performed miracles and then escaped the thronging crowds. It would have been nearly impossible for Jesus, with disciples in tow, to cover so great a territory by foot. The lake of Gennesaret was not only the vehicle for our Lord’s ministry, it also provided a natural barrier that he used to his advantage. Jesus surely appreciated his trips on the little boat for much needed rest as well an opportunity for teaching his precious disciples. The Messianic Secret There are no less than ten instances where Jesus requested
that his miraculous works be kept a secret (see table, next page). All of these
are in the first nine chapters of Mark. Additionally, in the middle of this
group of ten, there is just one opposite instance where Jesus actually told the
man healed of a legion of demons; "Go home to thy friends, and tell them how
great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee" (Mark
5:19)
Regarding the two competing requests, just as the parables of Jesus had practical and typical significance, his miracles did too. For instance, in a practical way, the one time that Jesus told the possessed man who was cured of the legion of demons to go to Decapolis and tell his friends meant that the man would be spreading the news of Jesus’ miracle in a city that was not in Israel. Decapolis was isolated from Israel, on the other side of the Lake of Gennesaret and therefore, the man’s witnessing would not expose Jesus’ ministry in Israel. The ten miracles where Jesus requested privacy were mostly performed in Israel and among the Jewish people who were favored of God. In a practical way, it would have been important for Jesus to keep his ministry from the undue attention of the Scribes and Pharisees because he had a harvest work to do before the time of his crucifixion. In a typical way, the hidden nature of Jesus’ miracles reminds us of "the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:" (Colossians 1:26). Perhaps these ten miracles among God’s people of the Jewish Age point to the miracles that the Gospel Age Church will someday perform: opening of spiritual eyesight in the blind, spiritual hearing in the deaf, a new life in Christ and more! The purpose of Jesus’ first advent was fourfold; judgment, harvest, sacrifice and the launch the Gospel Age. However, Jesus’ miracles seemed to serve only the harvest and the launch of the Gospel Age portion of his work. His miracles served to convince his disciples beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was the long-awaited Messiah. Great fame would have resulted from a wider spreading of the news of Jesus’ miracles and would have brought with it the potential to hinder the harvest portion of Jesus’ work. Therefore, secrecy was an important ingredient for the success of Jesus’ Galilean ministry, the very beginning of his work. Why was Jesus’ request for secrecy confined to the Galilean ministry? Perhaps secrecy was required during the incipient stages of his ministry in order to develop the faith of the Gospel in the hearts of his core group of disciples. Just as the little boat was used to sequester Jesus and his small group of disciples from the overwhelming crowds, secrecy would have had the same effect of shielding them from the greater multitudes of people (Mark 4:1). Jesus and his disciples were very busy in the Galilee and at times they needed rest. John Mark records Jesus’ words directing his disciples to rest shortly after the murder of John the Baptist. "Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while. For there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat" (Mark 6:31). Thousands of people were probably constantly waiting to see Jesus day and night. Therefore, secrecy would have at least reduced this popular demand on Jesus’ time. Why are the requests for secrecy only recorded in the Gospel of Mark? Perhaps they indicate that the Apostle Peter used them frequently in his evangelistic sermons. Perhaps Peter highlighted Jesus’ unusual requests in order to contrast them with the Great Commission; the work that Jesus asked of him and of the other apostles. Criticisms of the Pharisees and Sadducees The Pharisees and Sadducees were gradually losing their religious control of the people as a result of Jesus’ miracles in Galilee. The general population found a new faith and a new hope for life in the words and in the miraculous Messianic proofs Jesus demonstrated. By the end of Jesus’ ministry, the Pharisees and the Sadducees were helpless to counteract this revolution. But at the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry they tried to counteract it with their own blend of legalism and human reasoning. The Pharisees and Sadducees directed their criticisms toward Jesus four times during his Galilean ministry and toward the disciples another three times (see table below). Most of the criticisms against Jesus were for a perceived lack of respect for the Jewish law. This included keeping of the Sabbath, impure contacts with publicans and the subsequent required purification. Rest on the Sabbath day was the legal position of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is a Sabbath unto Jehovah thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work" (Exodus 20:8-10 ASV). Their human reasoning, due to the hardness of their hearts, blinded them from seeing that Jesus was actually releasing the people from their burdens on the Sabbath. The evidence for Jesus’ divine authority was so powerful it can only be assumed that they simply did not want to see it.Accepting Jesus as the Son of God was the test of the Jewish Age Harvest. It was a critical test that the Pharisees and Sadducees failed. The disciples passed this test, as is evidenced in their emphatic answer to Jesus’ direct question in Mark 8:29, "But who say ye that I am?" However, some of the Pharisees did see Jesus as the one who possessed the power that was prophesied in "Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases" (Psalm 103:3 ASV). Therefore, while the miracles of Jesus seemed to be primarily for his harvest work, their rejection by the Jewish leadership was a primary facilitator in bringing down God’s judgment.
"And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the Sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis. And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it; And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak" (Mark 7:31-37). It is quite possible that the group’s request for this miracle resulted from their witnessing the healing of the man from a legion of demons and then sending him to tell his friends in Decapolis. Notice that the people of Decapolis simply asked Jesus to "lay his hand upon him" (Mark 7:32 ASV). But our Lord did so much more. Jesus "took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue." Jesus wanted to be alone with this man, who himself was already alone in his silence. Jesus communicated with this man in a very special physical way, and in Jesus’ act we see an engaging and deep solidarity with the miserable condition of this man. Through Jesus’ physical contact he became "one" with this physically wounded fellow human being. Jesus looked up to God, which testifies as to the source of his healing power. Perhaps Jesus’ sigh suggests the action of the breath of the Almighty which restores our poor humanity to its original capacity as seen in Father Adam. This miracle is indeed a beautiful picture of the work of the second Adam, who will give life to the world of mankind by healing their eyes with spiritual eyesight, their ears with hearing the word of God and their tongue with purity of worship and communication. He will make the world of mankind "one" with God and with their fellow restored human beings.The loss of sight may, at first, appear worse than the loss of hearing. Yet psychological studies show that the suffering of the deaf far exceeds that of the blind. It creates a greater sense of isolation. The loss of hearing limits meaningful relationships because the suffering one is thrown out of the sphere of interpersonal exchanges. The ability of the deaf to speak is also greatly affected since they cannot verify what they say. The deaf often retreat into a terrible and lonely silence. This isolation often causes great sadness and bitterness of heart. The healing of this man in Decapolis freed him from his prison of isolation and allowed him to join the sphere of human relationships. All of Jesus’ actions are encapsulated in the Aramaic word he used, ephphatha, which means "be opened." Notice Jesus does not say "Let your ears open," but just "Be opened." In reality, it was the whole man whom was sick. The effect of Jesus’ healing on the man was instantaneous, "his ears were opened, and the bond of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain" (Mark 7:35 ASV). The response of the people gathered there was genuine. " He hath done all things well; he maketh even the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak" (Mark 7:37 ASV). These words echo the Book of Genesis: "And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good" (Genesis 1:31 ASV). Thus it will be in the Millennial Age. Each one will receive a new beginning, a mental and moral recovery when they come to Jesus to be healed. Mankind will enter a new era of human relationships and collaboration as they serve God with one voice (Zephaniah 3:9).Conclusion Jesus’ Galilean ministry is full of lessons, spoken and unspoken. After his baptism and temptations in the wilderness, Jesus focused on the work of catching men. To begin that work, he went to the Galilee. In his Galilean ministry he is the master fisherman finding just the right spot to catch his fish and develop a ministry that would feed the church during the entire Gospel Age. We may learn much about Jesus’ Galilean ministry by studying his choices, his powerful words and his miraculous works. Jesus packed so much wisdom and teaching into his daily life at Galilee that we are able to find beautiful things hidden in that ministry. If we too marvel at the miracles of Jesus, if we too see the prophetic proofs of the Messiah fulfilled in his ministry, then we know that the wonderful things Jesus did during his Galilean ministry are a foretaste of his future healing of the entire world. Jesus’ miracle of healing the man from Decapolis will become a reality for all, as promised in the beautiful prophecy in Isaiah. "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing; for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert" (Isaiah 35:5-6 ASV). |