23rd March, 2010

NILS VON KALM

One of the striking features in Mark’s Gospel is how often Jesus tells people not to spread the word of what He has done. Why does He do this? Isn’t ours a missionary faith? Weren’t the 12 told to go throughout all the world and make disciples? Indeed they were, but it was only after Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection that they were told to do this. And that is the whole point of what Mark is trying to get across.

Jesus' suffering, death and resurrection are critical to how we understand Him. PICTURE: Kriss Szkurlatowski (www.sxc.hu) "Jesus’ point was not that He was the Son of God because He worked these amazing deeds, but that He came to die, and then to rise again."

Listen to what scholar Larry Hurtado says: "One of (Mark’s) major points is that Jesus’ crucifixion was his key work and that all else - even the exorcisms, healings, and other miracles - was only an incomplete hint of Jesus’ true nature and meaning. This is why no one is allowed to acclaim Jesus openly as Son of God or Messiah, for any acclamation uninformed by the crucifixion is misleading and invalid. This is why, also, the people and the disciples are presented in Mark (much more than the other gospels) as bewildered and even stupid. In Mark’s view, no one could understand the true meaning of Jesus and his work until Jesus had actually completed it by his death as a ransom for others (10: 45). Thus, there is a theologically profound reason for the emphasis on secrecy, mystery, and the dullness of crowds and disciples." (emphasis added)

Jesus’ miracles (or mighty deeds) cannot be understood apart from the context of His suffering. His mighty deeds were not the main point of His ministry. There were many other wonder-workers in those days, and Jesus was emphasising that He was different, because the main point of His life was suffering and death, and then resurrection.

Jesus’ point was not that He was the Son of God because He worked these amazing deeds, but that He came to die, and then to rise again.

And that is where this relates to us. In a day when there is still much emphasis on the feel-good factor in worship, we need to hear the call of Jesus again through Mark - that if anyone would follow me, he must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. For the people who heard Jesus say this, and the people to whom Mark was writing, this meant nothing les than a willingness to physically lose one’s life. And for us today, even I our comfortable lifestyles which cause us such numbness, the call is much the same. Any worship of Jesus cannot be done apart from the context of his suffering. There is no resurrection without death. 

Alan Cole says it well: "Part of the reason for Jesus’ reluctance to reveal his true identity was that he did not wish to be known as a mere wonder-worker. Perhaps this is a word of warning for us today, in the midst of times of spiritual renewal in which we all rejoice, for such times bring their own danger. Jesus saw his task rather as that of bringing the good news about God and his rule, and that is why he warned healed people not to tell of their healing. It also explains why he escaped the crowds when there was a danger of his mission becoming a mere ‘healing campaign’ and no more."

We live in a society where life is all about comfort and avoiding pain. But the way of Jesus is the way of the cross. Read Mark’s Gospel right through in one sitting and you will understand this. As Hurtado again says, “Mark was concerned to emphasise that the cross was not only the key work of Jesus but also the pattern of discipleship”

Jesus was not just a wonder worker; He was the Man of Sorrows, acquainted with grief. We simply cannot enter the joy of knowing Him without being willing to lay down our lives. Greater love has no one, than to lay down one’s life for their friends. This is what it means to follow the crucified One. We only enter into the resurrection life when we enter the life of the One who came and died, to give His life as a ransom for many.

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