Reflecting on Mark's Gospel - Mark 3:7-12

Mark 3:7-12

Jesus came to make a difference, and that is clearly happening as we read of how he attracted attention. It is true that a crowd attracts a crowd, and this seems to be so in these early days of Jesus’ ministry. Mark tells us that people came from all the surrounding area in order to encounter Jesus. The media of the day will have been the grapevine, but it did its job, and folk came to hear Jesus preach and teach and, if they needed it, to receive healing.

The gathering place was the shore of the lake, a useful public space, and Jesus takes advantage of having the two pairs of fishing brothers in order to have a boat on hand so that he may use it to escape the crush of the crowd. His reputation as a healer is probably the biggest draw and it is recorded that he had healed many people.

Clearly people were talking about Jesus in a way that encouraged others to go and see for themselves. I wonder how we might do the same.

There is also an important reference to what are identified as unclean spirits. This is not language that we would use, nor reflecting the way in which we are likely to understand things. However, that does not mean that it should be ignored. The interesting thing, and we are in on the secret, is that, even at this early stage, these are the ones who recognise Jesus’ identity – you are the Son of God! Another interesting point is that he instructs them to keep the secret.

So, here we see the impact that Jesus makes and we have his true identity clearly stated. Surprisingly, the important recognition of who Jesus is comes from the unexpected source. As Denis McBride (The Gospel of Mark) comments – “the demons, the supernatural enemies of Jesus, readily recognise his true identity, while the religious authorities, his natural opponents, do not.”

As McBride adds – “Mark succeeds in keeping us focused as readers on the true identity of Jesus.” However, we are left wondering just what we would have understood if we had been there at the time. Jesus’ mission is under way. He is popular with the crowds, but causing concern to the authorities in a day when the religious and the political overlapped in significant ways. It is not clear who knows or understands what, except that Mark wants his readers to be clear about who Jesus is.