Let's just admit it, we all love being on the WINNING team. This is why it was so great being a Chicago Bulls FAN during the 1990's; it gave Chicago natives some relief from the Chicago Cubs' never ending World Series draught. During this timeframe, it was difficult (and expensive) to get good tickets to any of the Bulls games. Chicagoans were proud of THEIR team. WE were WINNING!
But then THEY started LOSING! Michael Jordan had hung up the towel (one too many times!) and the enthusiasm and the black market for tickets dried up. The FANS began to distance themselves from THAT losing team. And the only people left cheering were the faithful FOLLOWERS (and the businesses with sky boxes where games were never watched anyway!).
This is a common phenomenon in professional sports from which the term "fair-weather fan" has been coined. Unfortunately, Jesus also ran into his fair share of fair-weather FANS during his time. The Gospel of Mark tells us all about it. Let's take a look...
JESUS IS THE SON FROM GOD!
Right out of the gate, Mark tells us that he wants us to know something: Jesus is the Christ (heb: the Messiah). And then he clarifies what he means. Jesus is the Christ, the SON OF GOD (the two titles are in 'apposition'...google this!). You're probably thinking, "Thanks but no thanks for the clarification Mark! What on earth does the title SON OF GOD mean?" Well, it could mean 'God's Son' (a possessive genitive) or 'the Son FROM God' (a genitive of source or origin) or BOTH (the two are NOT mutually exclusive). So which one(s) is it? Well, Mark uses Jesus' baptism and miracles to try and clear up the matter.
At Jesus' baptism we learn that He is the beloved son of God with whom God is well pleased. And so Jesus' baptism communicates His divine ORIGIN and that His AUTHORITY is derived FROM God. Mark then further confirms Jesus' AUTHORITY by repetitively telling us (the readers), "The people were AMAZED at his teaching" (1:27; 2:12; 5:42; 9:15; 10:24; 10:32; 15:5) and "he taught them as one who had AUTHORITY not as the teachers of the law" (1:22; 1:27; 2:10; 3:15; 6:7; 11:28-33). Apparently the crowds also believed that Jesus was the Son FROM God!
But why were people so AMAZED at Jesus' TEACHING? Did He have a great delivery or use lots of voice inflections and hand gestures? NO. His TEACHING about the kingdom (1:15) was inextricably intertwined with His MIRACLES. Jesus' MIRACLES gave AMAZEMENT and AUTHORITY to His TEACHING and helped to establish Him as the Son FROM God.
And so it's no wonder that Mark recounts a litany of Jesus' MIRACLES (1:21-28; 1:29-34; 1:40-45; 2:1-12; 3:1-12): These MIRACLES establish Jesus' TEACHING AUTHORITY regarding the kingdom as well as His identity as the SON OF GOD. How do we know this for sure? Notice that the retelling of these MIRACLES in this first literary segment (1:1-3:12) are bookended (often referred to as an inclusio) with the claim that Jesus is the SON OF GOD (1:1; 3:11). And so Mark leaves no room for doubt. He wants us to know through the MIRACLES that Jesus is the Son FROM God.
JESUS THE ROCKSTAR
And so in His identity as the SON OF GOD, Jesus performs lots of MIRACLES. And so who wouldn't want to follow Jesus, the Son FROM God? Clearly the crowds did! Jesus was like a rockstar to them. Look how many times Mark refers to the 'crowds' (2:4, 13; 3:7, 8, 9, 20, 32; 4:1, 36; 5:24, 27, 30, 31; 6:34, 45; 7:33; 8:1, 2, 6, 34; 9:14, 15, 17, 25; 10:1, 46; 11:18; 14:43; 15:8, 11, 15). LOTS of people were chasing after Jesus! Jesus was healing people and improving their quality of living. And so following Him was a no-brainer! For this reason, it shouldn't surprise us that when Jesus calls his first disciples to follow Him, they "leave their nets AT ONCE." This was a privilege. It was like being selected to hangout with One Direction all day, everyday!
THE FOUR SOILS: NO FANS ALOUD!
But Jesus didn't come to gather a crowd of FANS. He came to coach and train a committed group of FOLLOWERS who would sacrifice for the cause of His God-AUTHORIZED mission. And so as the crowds continued to swell, Jesus tells the parable of the FOUR soils. What does this parable tell us? SIMPLE. Lots of people in the CROWD were willing to become FANS of Jesus BUT only a small group in the CROWD (the good soil group) had the type of soil it would take to FOLLOW Jesus and His kingdom teaching.
Only the good soil group had the right EARS to truly HEAR and OBEY. Jesus wanted to weed out (pardon the pun!) the other three types of people (pathway, rocky, thorny people) in the CROWD who would abandon Him anyway. These people would NOT be willing to do God's bidding when tribulation and persecutions arose or when the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choked out their desire to put Jesus at the center of everything.
Both Jesus and Mark knew that these consumeristic type people in the CROWD (who were NOT willing to do God's will if doing so required any inconvenience) would later confirm that they are NOT Jesus' authentic brothers and sisters (Mark 3:20-35). This is confirmed later in the gospel when Jesus begins to announce that He will be crucified! Notice that after this announcement, the crowds begin to thin out. This trend is made evident through Mark's declining references after chapter 9 to the CROWDS. And so in the parable of the four soils, Jesus was trying to weed out the FANS because he knows that FANS only follow when their team is WINNING!
THE BOTTOM LINE
So let me ask you: Are you a FAN or a FOLLOWER? Sure Jesus is the SON OF GOD and has the AUTHORITY to do AMAZING things. But is this the only reason you have an interest in Jesus? Are you looking for what Jesus will do for you or what you have the privilege of doing for Jesus and His cause? My prayer is that you will choose to be a FOLLOWER of Jesus and NOT just a FAN for the sake of God's mission and glory.
I wanted to make a quick observation to clear up a common misconception.
ReplyDeleteMany people think that Jesus' miracles prove that He was God. BUT the problem with this line of thinking is that Jesus' disciples also performed miracles. Are we to believe that they too were God? NO. The most that Jesus' miracles prove is that God's Spirit was working through Jesus (as well as His followers). BUT, according to Mark, Jesus' miracles did communicate something important about His identity: He fit the profile of the Messiah who would come to reverse the curses of Genesis and RESTORE all things. He was God's AUTHORIZED messenger!
How does Mark communicate this? In Mark 4:35-6:6, he provides a well crafted stream of miracles that literally answer the question, "Who is Jesus?" Notice that after Jesus calms the storm in Mark 4:35-41, his disciples ask, "WHO IS THIS? Even the wind and the waves obey him!" Jesus then rails on the disciples for their LACK OF FAITH (4:40). And then a few chapters later (6:2-3) when Jesus returns to his hometown, Mark once again emphasizes a LACK OF FAITH (6:6) as people are asking, "What's this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles! ISN'T THIS THE CARPENTER?" The answer: NO.
So how do we know that Jesus is not just a mere carpenter? Between these two strategically placed questions in the narrative (which form a literary inclusio), Jesus calms a storm (4:35-41), casts out a demon (5:1-20), heals a sick woman (5:21-34), and raises a dead girl to life (5:34-43). Mark is communicating that Jesus is clearly not just a carpenter or merely the son of Mary. So who is Jesus? He's the Messiah, the SON FROM GOD, who has the power to reverse the Genesis curses. He has power over nature, Satan and His demons, sickness, and death. Jesus fits the profile of the promised Messiah who would RESTORE God's GOOD creation!
John's gospel will further develop the idea that Jesus is FROM God!