Douglas Williams Blog, Mark, Theology

Mark 2:13-17: Jesus calls Levi and Eats with Sinners

Tax collectors in Jesus’ day were those who had crossed over to work for the oppressive Roman empire. They were seen as unclean because their job required that they entire the homes of non-Jews in order to collect taxes, and their income was generated by over-taxing. So, to call Levi as a disciple was, in and of itself, a counter-cultural and incredibly subversive decision. This was someone, regardless of his piety or devotion, that others would not have accepted as working to inaugurate God’s kingdom. Yet, when called, Levi drops everything in order to pursue life with Jesus.

The presence of Levi among the disciples had to cause some internal grumbling. There’s reason to think that Levi might have been the person collecting taxes from James, John and Andrew. Even in the calling of disciples, Jesus is working on putting back together the fragmented society in which these men live.

After calling Levi, Jesus goes and eats dinner at his house, socializing and putting himself on equal terms with “sinners”. Those in religious power, the teachers of the law and Pharisees, saw this happening, they asked Jesus’ disciples why Jesus ate and drank with sinners. It’s interesting that they religious elites didn’t ask the disciples why they ate with sinners. Possibly the Pharisees and teachers regarded Jesus’ disciples as part of the group of “sinners” with whom Jesus was dining.

Unable, or unwilling, to answer for themselves, Jesus speaks up and tells the leaders that he has come to be with those in need of grace, not those whose access to God is used to  create barriers to prevent others from accessing it.

How do churches or Christian organizations respond to this text? Aren’t they the ones who are ‘righteous’? How do I respond to this text as someone from the perspective of the pharisees and teachers of the law than the “sinners”?

Any ministry taken up by the church must keep in mind that is mission, as given by Jesus, is to reach those on the margins. Jesus made those who were part of the religious establishment uncomfortable by calling those on the outside to be his disciples. Jesus’ ministry was directed to those on the outside, and those on the inside grasp and complain because their position of power has been ignored.

What’s most surprising and subversive about this text is that Jesus puts himself on the same social platform as those the pharisees decry as “sinners”, and suggests that his ministry that the Kingdom of God has come near is about calling those you wouldn’t expect to champions of his Kingdom message.

Douglas Williams Blog, Mark, Theology

Mark 2:1-12: Jesus Heals a Paralytic and Forgives Sin

 

healing of a paralytic

Mark opens this scene with a crowd breaking down the doors to get a view of Jesus. Jesus is at home, preaching to the crowds, and four men come along carrying a paralytic on a bed. Unable to draw close to Jesus because of the crowds, the four men come up with a humorously absurd plan. They’ll drag their paralyzed friend on top of a roof, cut a hole in the it and then lower the man down in front of Jesus in order to be healed.

Mark’s humor is not our humor. However, if we envision four men dragging a paralyzed man up the side of a building, it doesn’t take much imagination to speculate on the yelling, near falls, and commotion this would have caused. Then there’s Jesus giving a sermon in the midst of this commotion, even as the four men break through the roof and lower their friend down to be with Jesus. Mark tells us that Jesus saw in this activity their faith, and its from their posture of faith that Jesus heals. This healing occurs because of faith, not to produce it in others.

Jesus’ initial response to their actions is to forgive the man of his sins. This probably wasn’t what the men had in mind when they began executing their plan. However, this statement sparks the conflict that propels the narrative along. It is in response to this forgiveness that the scribes, the religious experts begin to scoff. “Who does Jesus think he is? Who has the ability to forgive sins except for God alone”

It’s clear that the religious elite are having trouble making sense of Jesus’ claim. Feeling out the room, Jesus tells the scribes that he’s going to do something to make it known that he has the power to forgive sins; he’s going to tell the man to stand up, take his mat and walk. Jesus then refers to himself as the Son of Man, a reference to the powerful character described in Daniel who is given power and authority over “all peoples, nations, and languages.”  Jesus mimics this language from Daniel, wanting to show his own authority over sin and disease. The man is healed, picks up his bed and goes on his way. Others see this and are amazed at what’s happened. 

While reading this healing, I can’t help but think about Jesus baptism in the first chapter of Mark and the similarities. Mark tells us that the heavens are ripped open and the spirit of God descends on Jesus like a dove and a voice comes from the heavens saying that Jesus is God’s son. The four men rip open the roof and lower a paralyzed man to Jesus. At the heart of both of these stories is a question of identity. Jesus hears God’s voice claiming him as the Son of God. In Mark 2, Jesus refers to himself with another messianic title, the Son of Man. These two stories are woven together with identity and titles of Jesus lordship, and caught up in all of this are the scribes.  

In a sense the scribes are just as paralyzed. When they hear Jesus make his statement about forgiving sin, they are paralyzed in their faith, unable to see that Jesus is the one to whom their scriptures point. The paralyzed man has a faith that is free and active, and the scribes have a faith that is a limp as the paralytics legs. It appears that Jesus’ activity is already sparking various reactions. Some will dramatically climb to a roof in hopes of lowering a paralyzed friend into Jesus’ presence. Others will scoff at Jesus’ claim to forgive sins, revealing the rigidity and frailness of their faith. We’re left with the story urging us to make our own sense out of it.

 

Douglas Williams Blog, Mark, Theology

Mark 1:40-45: Jesus Makes a Leper Clean

Leviticus 13 goes into great detail outlining the various skin diseases and lesions which would make a person unclean. As with most of the purity codes in Leviticus, leprosy was a disorder that made a person an outcast physically, socially and religiously. When we say leprosy, we are typically referring to Hansen’s disease, which includes symptoms of open sores, disfigured extremities, loss of feeling and even paralysis.

In Jesus’ day, leprosy could refer to any number of skin disorders, even those that could appear and disappear in a few days. Whether or not the man suffered from Hansen’s disease, or a minor skin irritation as outlined in Leviticus 13, is not central to the interpretation of the passage. If the man was in full obedience of Leviticus purity laws, he would have been confined to living outside of the community and tasked with avoiding all physical contact (Lev. 13:45). What’s interesting about the leper in Mark is that he appears to be defying these restrictions and boldly petitions Jesus to be healed. However, Leviticus clearly instructs those suffering with leprosy to visit the priest in order to be properly declared clean or unclean. Perhaps the leper views Jesus as serving in the role of a priest, but with the ability to not simply declare him clean but make him clean (v. 40).

Upon hearing the request of the leper, Mark gives us insight to Jesus’ thoughts concerning the scene. Jesus is described as “filled with compassion”. Some variations of the text might be translated, “filled with anger”. This alternate reading is important to consider because it gives Jesus a sense of righteous indignation at the demeaning aspects of leprosy. Compassion and anger seem to be working together as Jesus is concerned for the man’s physical well-being and angry at the rejection he has experienced in the community.

Jesus acts in a surprising way. His righteousness causes him to draw near those in suffering and pain, while the righteousness of others encourages them to push away those who are “unclean”.  In the process of healing the man, Jesus makes himself ritually unclean, but then he goes to the trouble of telling the healed leper to go to the temple to offer sacrifices as commanded by Moses (Leviticus 13). Jesus seems to have no concern for showing others that he is willing to go through the same process in order to be declared clean. In this passage, Jesus doesn’t simply relate or befriend those on the fringes of society. He becomes one of them, while also restoring the person to their rightful place in the community.

Mark concludes the account with details on the response of the cleansed leper. Instead of going to the priest and keeping his mouth shut, he begins to freely explain Jesus’ actions. Mark uses this to create tension in our minds about whether the man is being religiously rebellious or overflowing with joy, much like the tension created with Jesus’ compassion and anger. The final outcome is that news about Jesus spreads so quickly that he’s unable to stay in towns. Jesus is forced dwell in lonely places.

This last piece of information is not provided to simply further the narrative, nor is it to be considered as a throw away or transitional phrase. Instead, it’s part of the masterful storyteller at work. Jesus takes a leper, who was on the outside of society in “lonely places,” restores him to his community and, as a result, takes on the experience of the leper. Jesus is now no longer able to enter a town openly.

Mark’s tightly woven narrative creates tension, while also speaking to the nature of God, answering questions about Jesus’ identity. We are put in the position of deciding what this means. What kind of a tale are we being invited to join?