Lesson #5

The Gathering Storm

(2: 1 3: 35)
In Lesson #4 Jesus launched his public ministry in the wake of
John the Baptists arrest, not simply continuing Johns work, but
expanding it from Judea north to Galilee where he draws huge
crowds who witness his teaching, preaching and healing. In
Lesson #4 we learned that Jesus not only proclaims the gospel; he
is the gospel, the long-awaited good news.

In Lesson #4 the opening scene moves Jesus rapidly from one
encounter to another, prompting the ever-growing crowds to
react in astonishment to his words and deedswhile unclean
spirits or demons cower at his feet in fear.

All the while we sense a growing opposition to Jesus, a rumbling
beneath the surface of the text that will erupt as our story
progresses.











As we enter Lesson #5 the inevitable conflict that we
sensed taking root in Lesson #4 ignites: surrounded
by a massive crowd, Jesus says to a paralytic, Child,
your sins are forgiven. The Scribesscholars in the
Mosaic Lawrightly point out that only God can
forgive sins, triggering Jesus to heal the man
instantly, and the crowds to gape in astonishment,
saying: We have never seen anything like this!

































As our story progresses the conflict intensifies: Jesus calls Levi, a hated
Jewish tax collector (and a Levite, at that!), to become one of his inner
circle; Jesus banquets with tax collectors and sinners, breaking bread
with them and enjoying their company; Jesus breaks the Law by picking
grain on the Sabbath (recall the young man in Numbers 15: 32-36 who is
stoned to death for gathering wood on the Sabbath, a similar action); after
being chastised for picking grain on the Sabbath, Jesus deliberately
provokes the religious leaders by healing a man with a withered hand on
the Sabbath, resulting in the Pharisees and Herodians plotting his death;
the huge crowds following Jesus continue to grow and become more
threatening; demons flee before Jesus; Jesus family arrives from Nazareth
to seize him, for they think he is out of his mind; Jesus rejects his family;
and the Scribes accuse him of being possessed by Beelzebub.

All the while people are astonished by Jesus words and actions, prompting
countless people to ask: Who is this man who can say and do such
things?













In our first four lessons I illustrated how
Mark uses a variety of rhetorical and
stylistic devices to speed his narrative
forward and to build an increasing
sense of narrative tension. I did so
using my own translation of Marks
Greek text, emphasizing and
highlighting Marks prose style. Mark
continues using these devices through
16: 8.

Having made my point, we now turn to
the New American Bible (revised
edition) translation in The Catholic
Study Bible.













Mark 2: 1 3: 35 presents a series of eight
vignettes with increasing opposition to Jesus,
all of which take place at Capernaum:

Healing the paralytic (2: 112)
Calling Levi (2: 13-17)
Fasting (2: 18-22)
Picking grain of the Sabbath ( 2: 23-27)
Healing on the Sabbath (3: 1-6)
Healing large numbers (3: 7-12)
Calling other disciples (3: 13-19)
Intense opposition from Jesus family (3: 20-35)













Photography by Ana Maria Vargas
Entrance to the archaeological site of Capernaum.











Photography by Ana Maria Vargas

Peters house
where our first vignette
takes placeis only 37
yards from the synagogue
at Capernaum!
Peters house











Artists impression of a 1
st
-
century house in Palestine.
Reconstructed courtyard of a 1
st
-century house.











Photography by Ana Maria Vargas
Archaeological remains of St. Peters house today.













So, lets turn to our story in
Mark 2: 1-12, the first of
eight vignettes that
illustrate increasing
opposition to Jesus and his
message.



















Harold Copping, Jesus Heals the Paralytic,
c. 1910.
Unable to get near Jesus
because of the crowd, they
opened up the roof above him.
After they had broken through,
they let down the mat on which
the paralytic was lying.

(Mark 2: 4)
But that you may know that the
Son of Man has authority to
forgive sins on earth he said to the
paralytic . . .
(Mark 2: 10)

Does Jesus address v. 10 to the Scribes
or is it a parenthetical remark addressed
to Marks readers?
(You is grammatically a 2
nd
person plural.)

Son of Man recalls Daniel 7: 13-14; it is
a self-referential title used only by Jesus
in referring to himself.
(Mark uses Son of Man 17 times: Matthew
uses it 29 times, Luke 29 times and John 12
times.)












a




















Mark 2: 1 3: 35 presents a series of eight
vignettes with increasing opposition to Jesus,
all of which take place at Capernaum:

Healing the paralytic (2: 112)
Calling Levi (2: 13-17)
Fasting (2: 18-22)
Picking grain of the Sabbath ( 2: 23-27)
Healing on the Sabbath (3: 1-6)
Healing large numbers (3: 7-12)
Calling other disciples (3: 13-19)
Intense opposition from Jesus family (3: 20-35)

















Caravaggio, The Calling of St. Matthew (oil on canvas), 1599-1600.
San Luigi del Francesci, Rome.
[Painted for the Contarelli Chapel where it still hangs today, this painting is placed between two
other Caravaggios, The Martyrdom of St. Matthew and The Inspiration of St. Matthew.]












Mark 2: 1 3: 35 presents a series of eight
vignettes with increasing opposition to Jesus,
all of which take place at Capernaum:

Healing the paralytic (2: 112)
Calling Levi (2: 13-17)
Fasting (2: 18-22)
Picking grain of the Sabbath ( 2: 23-27)
Healing on the Sabbath (3: 1-6)
Healing large numbers (3: 7-12)
Calling other disciples (3: 13-19)
Intense opposition from Jesus family (3: 20-35)

















Likewise, no one
pours new wine into
old wineskins.
Otherwise, the wine
will burst the skins
and both the wine
and the skins are
ruined.
(Mark 2: 22)












Mark 2: 1 3: 35 presents a series of eight
vignettes with increasing opposition to Jesus,
all of which take place at Capernaum:

Healing the paralytic (2: 112)
Calling Levi (2: 13-17)
Fasting (2: 18-22)
Picking grain of the Sabbath ( 2: 23-27)
Healing on the Sabbath (3: 1-6)
Healing large numbers (3: 7-12)
Calling other disciples (3: 13-19)
Intense opposition from Jesus family (3: 20-35)

















Pieter Coecke van Aelst, Disciples Pick Grain (oil on wood), c. 1502-1556.
Private Collection.
In Judaism, Shabbat (or the
Sabbath) is the holiest day of the
week, and it has three purposes:

1. To commemorate Gods creating the
universe, and then resting on the 7
th

day;
2. To commemorate the Israelites
redemption from slavery in Egypt;
and
3. To foreshadow Olam Haba, the
Messianic Age.
Pious Jews consider Shabbat as a
bride or queen and honor God
by honoring her.










a





























I observe Shabbat because:

1. No one should be a slave to work;
2. G-d said to honor the Sabbath,
therefore I do it, and by doing so I
honor Him!














In Leviticus 24: 5-9 we
learn that only a priest may
eat the consecrated bread
in the tabernacle, and he
may only eat it in a
consecrated place.

In 1 Samuel 21: 1-8, the
priest Ahimelech gives the
consecrated bread to
David, who is an outlaw on
the run. Read the story!





















Why would
Ahimelech do that?
?





















Since Davids life was at risk, it was
proper to give him the consecrated
bread, for human need takes
precedence over ritual law. Not so
with Jesus: his disciples simply
wanted a snack!
Jesus was wrong in this case.




















What should be
Jesus punishment?















A man was found picking up
sticks on the Sabbath? This
man shall be put to death; let
the whole community stone
him outside the camp!
(Numbers 15: 32-36)












Mark 2: 1 3: 35 presents a series of eight
vignettes with increasing opposition to Jesus,
all of which take place at Capernaum:

Healing the paralytic (2: 112)
Calling Levi (2: 13-17)
Fasting (2: 18-22)
Picking grain of the Sabbath ( 2: 23-27)
Healing on the Sabbath (3: 1-6)
Healing large numbers (3: 7-12)
Calling other disciples (3: 13-19)
Intense opposition from Jesus family (3: 20-35)

















Man with Withered Hand (glass mosiac), c. 1180.
Cathedral of Monreale, Palermo, Sicily.
In this 5
th
vignette, which follows the
picking grain on the Sabbath incident,
Jesus deliberately antagonizes the
religious leaders by publically healing a
manin the synagogueon the Sabbath.

The religious leaders watch Jesus closely,
anticipating his actions;
Jesus brings the man front and center, so that
everyone can see what he is about to do;
The tension builds;
Looking around at them with anger, Jesus
heals the man [met= ojrgh: = (met org),
with wrath or intense passion];
The religious leaders walk out and
immediately [take] counsel with the
Herodians [the supporters of Herod Antipas] .
. . to put him to death.












a





























Once again, Jesus is wrong!
As I stated before, human need takes
precedence over ritual law, but the
man had a withered hand for many
years, and he will continue to have a
withered hand for many more years.
Jesus could properly heal him before
or after the Sabbathbut not on it.












Mark 2: 1 3: 35 presents a series of eight
vignettes with increasing opposition to Jesus,
all of which take place at Capernaum:

Healing the paralytic (2: 112)
Calling Levi (2: 13-17)
Fasting (2: 18-22)
Picking grain of the Sabbath ( 2: 23-27)
Healing on the Sabbath (3: 1-6)
Healing large numbers (3: 7-12)
Calling other disciples (3: 13-19)
Intense opposition from Jesus family (3: 20-35)


In vignettes 4-6 Jesus works on the
Sabbath, clearly breaking the Mosaic Law
and the traditions that develop from it.

In vignette #4 Jesus allows his disciples
to pick grain on the Sabbath, simply
because they are hungry, and he defends
their actions before the religious leaders;
In vignette #5 Jesus deliberately
antagonizes the religious leaders by
healing a man on the Sabbathin the
synagogue even though his condition is
chronic and not life threatening; and
In vignette #6 Jesus publically heals a
very large number of people on the
Sabbath, deliberately intensifying his
conflict with the religious leaders.










a























Jesus Heals Many!












Mark 2: 1 3: 35 presents a series of eight
vignettes with increasing opposition to Jesus,
all of which take place at Capernaum:

Healing the paralytic (2: 112)
Calling Levi (2: 13-17)
Fasting (2: 18-22)
Picking grain of the Sabbath ( 2: 23-27)
Healing on the Sabbath (3: 1-6)
Healing large numbers (3: 7-12)
Calling other disciples (3: 13-19)
Intense opposition from Jesus family (3: 20-35)













Synaxis of the Twelve Apostles (tempura on wood), early 14
th

century. Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow.












Mark 2: 1 3: 35 presents a series of eight
vignettes with increasing opposition to Jesus,
all of which take place at Capernaum:

Healing the paralytic (2: 112)
Calling Levi (2: 13-17)
Fasting (2: 18-22)
Picking grain of the Sabbath ( 2: 23-27)
Healing on the Sabbath (3: 1-6)
Healing large numbers (3: 7-12)
Calling other disciples (3: 13-19)
Intense opposition from Jesus family (3: 20-35)


In vignette #8 opposition against
Jesus reaches its climax when his
own family arrives from Nazareth
to sieze him, for they say, He is
our of his mind! (3: 21).

Structurally, Jesus family arriving
at Capernaum frames the Scribes
most serious claim that Jesus is
possessed by the prince of
demons, Beelzebub.









a





















In this series of eight vignettes
we see opposition against Jesus
mounting, scene by scene. The
Scribes plot with the Herodians
to kill Jesus, and Jesus own
family travel to Capernaum to
seize him, for they are
convinced that he is out of his
mind.

By the end of Mark 3 our storys
escalating tension and conflict
totter on the edge of crisis.

What will happen next?




1. We have seen how Mark drives his narrative forward,
using a variety of rhetorical and stylistic devices. Why,
in chapters 2 & 3, does Mark introduce eight
vignettes, all of which portray Jesus as a radical who is
rejected by the religious authorities and even his own
family?
2. We have seen Jesus gather his inner circle of Peter,
Andrew, James and John in 1: 16-21, and we see him
call his other disciples in 3: 13-19. Why does Mark
isolate the calling of Levi (Matthew) and insert it
separately as the 2
nd
vignette in this series of 8?
3. Are Jesus disciples right in picking grain on the
Sabbath?
4. Why does Jesus heal the man with the withered hand
in the synagogue and on the Sabbath?
5. What is the motive for Jesus familyincluding his
mother Marygoing to Capernaum to seize Jesus?






Copyright 2014 by William C. Creasy
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