Faith in Mark's Gospel
Delivered on Wednesday 11 June 2003 in Magdalene College, Cambridge
© Ben Green 2003
Mark Series - Talk 7
We've reached the end of our series on Mark's gospel. As I said at the beginning of the term, throughout Mark the message is clear; make sure you respond to Jesus correctly. Wait until the end before you make your decision, before you respond to the good news.
Mark tells us right at the beginning that Jesus is God's only-begotten, beloved Son. This fact is hidden from the characters in the story until the very end, until Jesus dies, when the centurion who crucified him realises who he was. However there is more to Jesus than this - he is also human, he is the Son of Man, and he has come to suffer, die, and be raised from the dead. As chapter eight shows, where Peter rebukes Jesus for saying he must suffer, the idea that the Son of God must suffer and die seems stupid! Yet that is what happened, and that is why Mark tells us to wait until the end before responding to Jesus. If we cannot grasp what Jesus came to do, we will never understand who he was and is.
Mark's gospel is the story of how different people responded to Jesus. There is no one group who responds correctly throughout the gospel, rather we are given examples of specific situations where different people respond correctly. There is however one group who consistently oppose Jesus: the Pharisees. They are against him right from the beginning, as soon as he begins to challenge their authority and preach with his own authority and power. They even have the cheek to ask him for a sign after he has healed many people, fed thousands, cast out demons, all publicly. Judas rejects Jesus and betrays him to the authorities - his rejection becomes active opposition. These people have hardened their hearts, they refuse to see what is before them and believe. This is the most dangerous response to have to Jesus, for he cannot, or rather will not, do anything if you block him out of your life completely. As he says in chapter three, if you cut yourself off from the Holy Spirit you cannot be forgiven.
The disciples also abandon Jesus, but their rejection does not turn into opposition, they simply don't understand. They didn't listen to Jesus when he taught them, so when he was arrested they ran away. The first step to a correct understanding of Jesus is given by God himself in chapter nine. When Jesus is transfigured, God tells Peter, James and John that Jesus is his Son, and that they must listen to him. This is perhaps the most important imperative in the gospel - LISTEN TO JESUS. And what does Jesus say? That the Son of Man must suffer and die and be raised, and that we must follow him. Jesus calls us, we must listen and respond to that call like the disciples did, dropping everything and following him along the way, trusting in him. Jesus himself tells us that this will not be easy, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it." Following Jesus does not simply mean walking after him, it means doing what he did - obeying God's will and doing what the Father wants us to do. It means giving our whole lives to God, every nook and cranny, devoting everything to God. That is what Jesus did. He didn't give up when it got hard, but trusted in the Father for his strength. And doing that means denying ourselves, in other words, not being selfish; relying on another for our safety and security. It means taking up our cross, being prepared to suffer for Jesus and the good news. And above all it means having faith, believing rightly that God will help us through.
Faith is demonstrated throughout the narrative, almost always related to miracles. People come to Jesus to be healed, believing that he can do something to help them. When Jesus sees the faith of the people lowering the paralytic through the roof he heals him. When Jairus is informed that his daughter is dead, Jesus tells him, "Do not fear, only believe." When Bartimaeus is healed in chapter ten, Jesus says, "Go your way; your faith has made you well." Jesus commands us in 11.22, "Have faith in God." Having faith is the opposite of being hard-hearted; only through faith can we understand who Jesus is, and therefore only through faith can we respond correctly. And yet we need help even in this - in chapter nine the man whose son has an unclean spirit cries out, "I believe; help my unbelief!" We are assured throughout the gospel that Jesus will help us, that he will care for those he has called - look at the feeding miracles. Jesus is our shepherd, he will look after us.
Having faith means being completely reliant on God, and not ourselves. It means listening to God, not telling him what to say. It means following Jesus wherever he leads us, giving our whole life to him. And in doing that, in giving up our life, Jesus promises that we will find it, and receive it many times over. In denying ourselves we will find true happiness and perfect peace in God.
Lord Jesus, thank you for what you did on the cross for each one of us, enabling us to come close to God. We believe, Lord; help us when we don't believe. Help us to listen to what you have to say to us, and give us the strength and courage to go and do what you want us to do, in the same way that you did what the Father wanted you to do. Amen.
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