READINGS ON MARK'S GOSPEL
READINGS ON MARK’S GOSPEL
Mark’s gospel was taken up in the same way that Luke’s was in London. We had the Lord Jesus, the Person, in His activities, and His manner; then the levite, as instructed and sent out by Him, until at the close of Mark there are educated, qualified levites. As in Mark, urgency marks this time; there is no thought of breakdown though we are in the midst of the breakdown. The contrast between the truth as living and the growing darkness around us was continually referred to.
The Levite had his novitiate for five years, following recognised leaders, then at thirty years he was commissioned, and sent out with definiteness; the Holy Spirit reserved the right of appointment (Acts 13 and 14 are the models). Three things were to be noted:- (1) The fundamental rights of the Head, and the Holy Spirit guiding according to the authority of the Head;
(2) The recognition of the fellowship of the brethren;
(3) Return to the Centre when the work is fulfilled.
God is not sending out people unprepared. The Father said, “My beloved son, in thee I have found my delight” — an accepted, approved path; a corresponding experience should precede the levites’ service, communion with God and giving Him pleasure; God’s eye is on you; others may make little of you, but God notices you, knows where you are and at the right time brings you forward. In Mark the Lord Jesus was driven out into the wilderness. What are you in the presence of the enemy, among wild beasts? What you are in the presence of the Father supports you there. In the governmental [p. 289] course that God has pursued the beasts’ mouths have been stopped, but they exist; we may as well accept it, the “mystery” of evil now, but the open character of the opposition will reappear. Men are held by the authority of darkness. The man with the unclean spirit was in the synagogue; the Lord attacked the evil there, then went to the house of one who was to be a great leading light and dealt with evil there. First the unclean spirit was seen entrenched religiously, then in the family. The Lord was dislodging the authority of evil, and teaching the truth. Next we see the leper, man just as he is; the paralysed man, and the man with the withered hand, hindrances to service overcome; and then the new thing (Mark 2: 21, 22). The Lord was outside the whole system and would draw man out; they came to Him from every side.
In chapter 3 we have the workman; the hand is dried up and must be restored; the man was not demon-possessed, but he had no ability to serve God. The Lord Himself was the Workman (chapters 1 and 2), but now He is bringing in workmen. In the next great feature the Lord goes up into a mount and calls whom He would to Him. Before the work, the workmen must come under divine selection; they must be with the Lord before they are sent out. The Lord takes what is His own out of the synagogue; everything of value is made part of the new system. He is readjusting things; He has title to interfere as to the sabbath and He brings the persons out. Man is of the greatest value to God; it is an immense loss that man is away from God; God attaches great value to men, because His Son has been pleased to come into manhood. Those who do the will of God are dear to Him (verse 35). In verse 13, with lordly authority He calls; He is the centre of interest: “Whom he himself would”, a very personal touch. The twelve were to be with Him. In [p. 290] the mountain you are out of the range of family influences. Verse 22 — the awfulness of that charge; how are you to face it? You must recognise the Spirit in your service; this is the thing you have to encounter; no one in christendom would recognise the position you occupy; the scribes came down from the headquarters, for those at the centre of official authority will not admit the choice of the Spirit. The Lord does not defend Himself but He defends the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the last witness, full and extensive. God will not admit of His being refused; His testimony is the last.
In chapter 4, there is the sea indicating death. It is well to have a crowd to listen to you, but death keeps you from their influences. The true levite is greater than his service, it does not intoxicate him; out in the midst of death there is nothing for the flesh.
Then the sowing; you must know how to bring in the crop. In verse 21 the lamp, if it is put under a bushel, is being used for selfish ends, but verse 23 indicates recovery, christendom is gradually losing what it had; those that have, are being added to. Verse 35, “the other side”, for the servant is not to settle down in any locality; in the tribe of Levi, all around the tabernacle, we have the principle that I go everywhere. The disciples were learning. Verse 36 — “as he was”; we would not alter anything; He would not alter things to satisfy man’s wish. If you take Him “as he was”, you get new light; you see the wind and the sea obey Him.
In chapter 5 there is demon, disease, and death. The Lord dealt with evil in all its phases before sending out His disciples; these three instances close with the testimony of life; His power in overcoming Satan in sin and death, brings in life. This completes the course of the disciples’ education; this is the point of recovery and the scene is cleared. Romans 5: 11, “Through whom now we have received the reconciliation”. In raising Jairus’ daughter the Lord excludes certain influences that interfere with His ways, and took with Him Peter, James and John, “those that were with him”, a selected company who are sympathetic. These three healings bring in man, woman and child, every range of humanity.
In chapter 6: 7 the Lord now sends out the disciples on their own responsibility; then after the action of Herod in beheading John the baptist, the next lesson is “Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place and rest a little” (verse 31). The disciples “related to him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught”. Put yourself alongside these twelve men; the brethren may say this and that about your service, but what would the Lord say? This takes away self-confidence and keeps a man balanced; your bit of levitical service over, you go and relate it to the Lord, all is exposed; you often go when you are not successful, but the twelve were successful; we are more apt to go to the Lord before we go out than when we come back. In verse 32 they go “apart into a desert place by ship”; we have told Him all, but He has not replied; the ship is the test; there is silence here to lead them to search things out, for in the Lord’s company in a desert place there is nothing for flesh; it is the value of self-examination; but the Lord showed His great sympathy with, and thoughtfulness for them. With many coming and going is a good time for levitical work, but no time for rest and food. Now they are in for a strenuous time, and the enemy would use the great stress laid on them and take advantage of it to damage the vessel, “Come ye”, not ‘go’; a delightful word; what are we in His company? The test develops as in verse 37; in the Lord’s presence could they succeed as when sent out alone? The solitude of the Lord’s presence tests one;
[p. 292] the ship suggests relaxation in the company of the Head; these things humble us, “Shall we go and buy ... ?”. It is a poor thing to go and buy, for in the most barren experience you have got everything; He says “Go and see”. He knew, but they did not. You find out your own measure; “a man is accepted according to what he may have”; the Lord distributed what they had; the bread multiplied under His hand; an important feature in our levitical instructions, for we learn how to do with what we have; no circumstance can arise too great for the Lord. Verse 45 — He cannot entrust the personal handling of the sheep to them yet, for they were not formed. He would give a parting word, that the sheep might go away with a sense of Himself; and then (verse 46), “he departed into the mountain to pray”. Verse 47, the evening came and found the disciples alone on the sea, labouring against the contrary wind; they were toiling in rowing, as they pulled together. The fourth watch is near the morning; He brings relief from satanic opposition. He comes like the morning star. Let us look for present relief in local matters, for when the ship seems jeopardised, He comes.
In chapter 7, we get the legal system, the exposure of man’s inward parts; the terrible character of what goes forth out of the heart of man. Verse 24 — “And he rose up”; He goes Himself, a different move from what is current; we cannot restrict Him in what He inaugurates, He has a variety of resources, He has public and private ways of His own. Verse 27 — “the children” are those already under His wing. He owns this link with Israel; this woman, like Ruth, came to trust under the wings of Israel’s God; she proved there were crumbs. The daughter “lying on the bed”, waiting for Paul to come along. In the next section (verses 31 - 37) the Lord’s wonderful sympathy comes out; having become man He identifies [p. 293] Himself with man, He groaned, He felt the thing; what came out of His mouth touched his tongue. He showed His sympathy even in the dialect He used; he is the true evangelist; and the result was the man heard and “he spoke right”.
In chapter 8: 22 - 26 the Lord takes the blind man away from the influence of the town; first there was a man who spoke and heard, and this man here who sees, but He does not honour the town by telling the news there. In verse 27, the disciples arrive in their levitical education at a definite knowledge of Himself; the confession of who the Lord is.
In chapter 9, the servant having profited by previous instruction has now to accept a path of suffering. The Lord descends from the mount to suffer. The glory is pressed upon their spirits (see 2 Peter 1: 16 - 18), the period when they were ‘with Him’. The coming power and kingdom is the next thing in their education. Peter says we are witnesses of the suffering and partakers of the glory; Paul says we are witnesses of the glory and partakers of the suffering; the glory was the stay of Paul’s heart in the path of suffering. We touch the transfiguration today on the principle of selection, “some of those standing here”; if I am not one of them, why not? I am at a great disadvantage if I am not one of them; the power of the kingdom supports you; you are supported by the saints and the presence of the Spirit, a wonderful bulwark. Verse 8, it is “Jesus alone with themselves”, a beautiful expression of the christian position. The next thing is a case of urgency (verse 14), “Bring him to me”; it is intended to humble us who are so privileged, as the disciples were, but have no power to meet the situation; we all come under His withering rebuke; we must face things as they are, our extreme weakness; fasting is the remedy. I have a vessel; my body; God is not using angels, but men; you’re usable; prayer is the [p. 294] place of intimacy, but what about fasting? You abstain from legitimate things. The Lord brings this out in the house privately; help is given in the house (verse 28); it foreshadows the house of God, there must be individual communion with the Lord; your body is the question; you are kept humble and insignificant in your own eyes. “Bring him to me”, the enemy seeks to destroy the young generation (verses 20 - 22), the future is gone if the young child goes. In verse 33, they are again in the house; the Lord tests them; what follows shows what was going on with them; they had been disputing by the way; the cause for weakness comes to light. In verse 36, we have the character of those who are to represent Him; He takes such into His embrace. Then in verses 38 to 41, we are to be guarded; the truth is the “us” includes all, “he does not follow us”; “Forbid him not”, the Lord says. The systems around us are a public scandal but the Lord uses whom He pleases in them. Verse 39 — we are thankful at least that such a one will not be able soon after “to speak ill of me”. This man would not go far; we could not trust him for long; it is not our business to shut men’s mouths; that is for the Lord to do; we are not to interfere; we recognise a divine power in such men; there is a check on infidelity, thank God for that! In verses 43 - 50 are hand, foot, eye, all snares to servants that hinder spiritual progress; the issue is eternal punishment for we are dealing with serious things; it may involve eternal banishment from God. In verses 49 and 50, fire is the judgment, and salt the testing; salt is purifying and we get a wholesome state of things.
Chapter 10 gives the way the judging and testing come in, marriage, children, earthly possessions. The Lord says in finishing the subject of earthly possessions (verses 29, 30), one who has made sacrifices for the testimony gets in a spiritual way what he [p. 295] loses in a material way, recompense, spiritual and material also. We are “not ... to trust on the uncertainty of riches; but in the God who affords us all things richly for our enjoyment”, 1 Timothy 6: 17. God gives for enjoyment, not to add to man here; the calling of God on high cannot be added to; if I have things here I share with the widow and stranger, and have a hundredfold for the present time. Verse 32 — it becomes a serious matter whether we are in the “way”. The Leader of our salvation must suffer; the followers must suffer too. The Lord began to tell them so that they might not be taken unawares. Every movement in connection with the testimony must involve suffering. Verses 35 to 45 show that the kingdom as connected with the future is less dangerous; now, any personal preference tends to division, ten against two; we must keep on mutual lines, Jesus only and ourselves. The Lord adjusts things by calling the ten to Him; He saves us from copying the nations, and doing what they do.
In chapters 11, 12 and 13 we have Jerusalem, with its accumulated guilt under the eye of the great King, who had a right there. So chapter 11: 11, is a solemn situation; He forms a judgment as to what professes to own God; He is not insensible to what is around. This is the central evil; He is inspecting it; it has to reckon with Him. The Lord found in Bethany what He should have found in the fig tree. He came into the city as its rightful owner, but He found no place to rest. ‘Ah! There is a Bethany’; He goes out there, where two or three are gathered to His name.
The instructions to the servants specially end in chapter 13. The first feature of chapter 12 is sympathy. The Lord says He is a man going out of the country; at the end of chapter 13, he gives authority to his bondmen and commands the doorkeeper to watch; this indicates the position now. Sympathy [p. 296] comes out at Bethany in those who had witnessed His works and participated in its benefits; then the feast of unleavened bread and institution of the Lord’s supper; this affords more for contemplation than for teaching; it is sacred ground where one can only feed.
In all the Lord’s reminders as to what they should suffer He adds, “And after three days he shall rise again”. He brings in the element of victory beforehand, the full assurance of victory for those who serve. The Lord’s position at God’s right hand secures His sympathy in their service.
In chapter 14 the devoted act in verse 3 brings out what was in the disciples; “some” (verse 4) are not named. But verse 9 shows how the Lord valued the act and the love that is behind this. This woman had fellowship with His sufferings but the atmosphere outside was heavy with the evil intent; her action has all this in view. She calls attention to His dignity; she has the Person before her, anointing His feet, in that He was going out, those same feet were coming in, in Luke 7. The “day” is arriving; hers was an intelligent priestly act, she knew what was coming. Her name is not given because the person was the flask; the breaking of the person brings out the fragrance, one who grasped the opportunity and was equal to the moment, a scent of holy perfection. She, sitting at His feet, had taken in that the Lord said He was going to die; He had poured in what she poured out; experience, an affectionate state in one who takes account of what He said, ‘My burial’, she knew the day had arrived. His own feet carrying Him out; He was not carried out. “What she could she has done”; sisters are of the greatest service in the way they follow with priestly sympathy. A man with a pitcher of water and a woman with a flask of pure nard are characters who know the importance of the moment; these two are [p. 297] closely allied in this movement. Notwithstanding the condition of things at Jerusalem, there is a house where the Lord has control, and a man is going there with a “pitcher of water”. The Lord has a place at Bethany, and a place at Jerusalem, “My guest-chamber” is where He has access. It was very humbling that the disciples had to be told about it. Today this man in verse 15 with the pitcher of water has ministry, what refreshes vitally, something sustaining and encouraging. In verse 17 we have a place where family feeling and affections and sentiments could be developed; in verses 22 to 25 there is the Lord’s supper, not yet separated from the passover, a part of the passover originally, for which the bread and cup were prepared; it was a whole loaf; the Lord did not take up a broken loaf, nor send out for fresh material. He used the loaf in relation to the passover; the links in the chain are kept up; the passover is displaced by the Lord’s supper. Where do we find these conditions today? If there is a guest-chamber then the situation is saved; hence the revival at the end of the age. The Lord would have a place for His guests, “with my disciples” (verse 14); not only that He is entertained there but His disciples with Him; He had a moral right there. The Lord’s supper is His own supper; the “room” must be His, free from all restrictions.
Chapter 16. The Lord said He would rise again; the servants were to have this knowledge in view of their sufferings. The third day, because the Lord had complete experience in death, as in Psalm 16: 10. The Psalms present the experience of the thing, it was more than tasting death. He continued three days in death. He died and was buried; death was felt by the Lord. He experienced death (see Jonah 2: 5, 6). It is of all importance that He was buried; we cannot undertake to say what that meant to Him when He utters the words “Thou wilt not [p. 298] leave my soul to Sheol, neither wilt thou allow thy Holy One to see corruption”. He knew what it was to be there; one — two — three days; the Lord would encourage exercises on our part as to His feelings, the reality of going into death. The psalms are important as an element of testimony for us to ponder over, what our souls may feed on as the Lord drew near to death, meeting God and meeting Satan, and then meeting death. His fame was heard of as He entered death’s domain; He experienced the thing, the Son of Man three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. He lay dead in the heart of the earth. He was there. Jonah was a type: the Lord had to experience the thing Himself not because of what He was personally, but He goes into death vicariously as the Victim. He could not have covered all we were under by going into death and being buried. He comes out without the grave clothes into a new condition, the grave clothes were there but He left them behind Him; there is One who has gone into a wholly new condition, fine linen, not grave clothes.