THE SYNAGOGUE
[p. 31] THE SYNAGOGUE
Mark 1: 23, 39; Mark 3: 1; Mark 6: 2, 3; Mark 13: 9
The synagogue is mentioned in connection with the Lord and/or His disciples five times in this gospel. They are in chapter l: 23 where there was a man possessed by an unclean spirit, in chapter 1: 39 where the Lord was preaching, in chapter 3: 12 where there was a man with his hand dried up, in chapter 6: 2, 3 where the Lord began to teach and many were offended, and in chapter 13: 9 where the Lord speaks of the disciples being delivered up.
In each instance in the synagogue the Lord acts sovereignly. There is no request for deliverance or healing. It is an unsympathetic atmosphere, for they watched “that they might accuse him”. But the Lord will work therein compassionate tenderness of heart. Profession without faith is a very hardening thing: it dries up the power of appropriation and it resists the thought of that power being realised or conferred. But the Lord of the sabbath could not forget the original character of the sabbath. The fact that divine working was finished, and that “God saw everything that he had made, and behold it was very good” (Genesis 1: 31), was what made the sabbath possible. If they had thought of this they might well have asked, Are things “very good”? Is it all rest and blessing? Are things in such a state that God could pronounce them “very good”? Is it “very good” that a man should have his hand dried up (chapter 3: 1) so that he cannot take hold of blessing from God? The Son of man comes in as Lord of the sabbath to show that the sabbath was blessing and rest and liberty, and that it was for man’s benefit, not for [p. 32] bondage or to leave him without blessing from God. He would put everything right on man’s side that man might have the sabbath that it pleased God he should have. The new garment, the new wine, the cornfields (chapter 2: 21 - 28) all spoke of the “very good” things which would confer a true sabbath on man. But then man lacks the power to appropriate these things. The more he professes to know God without really knowing Him the less ability he has to appropriate.
The Lord brings to light the state of their hearts. They would have preferred things to remain as they were, the form of the sabbath without any of the reality. They did not care that the man’s hand was dried; they rather wished that it might remain so.
But the Son of man was there to serve God in serving man, and He goes on with His blessed service undeterred by the hardening of their heart, though angry and distressed thereby. He would in sovereign power give the ability to lay hold upon the blessing that was near, but not without calling for exercise on the part of the man. He calls him first to “Rise up and come into the midst”. He must move at the word of Jesus into a position which singled him out and brought his infirmity before all. The Lord does not do things in a corner. If a man has had a faithless profession, and the Lord is going to give him power to lay hold of the blessing that is available, it means that he comes into view as the subject of divine working. It is a great thing when a person is willing to be known as a subject of mercy.
Then the man is called on to “Stretch out thy hand”. He has to own in a very distinct way the truth of his condition, but he does it as one to whom Jesus has become “the Lord of the sabbath”. The stretching out of his hand expressed his deep conviction that the power of God was there in Jesus to command true sabbath conditions, to bring in all on his side that should be “very good”. A dried hand went out towards Jesus, but he took it back to him with a vigorous grip. The [p. 33] virtue lay in the One who was Lord to command the blessing and to command the man for the blessing. The secret of all lay in the fact that Jesus had become Lord of the sabbath to him. He was not that to them, but He was to the man who had power now to lay hold of all the rich and full provision that was available.
Now one would seek to gain some conception of how the Spirit of God would apply the teaching of this incident to ourselves. I suppose we all believe that there is very much available. Perfect righteousness, fulness of joy in the knowledge of the love of God, and all the harvest of the land of divine purpose in a heavenly Christ. But we feel how feeble we are in power to lay hold of it. The remedy would be, I gather from this incident, that we should give the Lord His place as Lord of the sabbath. He can command sabbath conditions; He can displace everything on our side which hinders us from laying hold of all that is in Himself. We have to stretch out our hand towards Him as owning that He alone can supply the ability to honour God by appropriating what His grace and love have provided. The apostle Paul puts it very beautiful when he says, “The grace of our Lord surpassingly over-abounded with faith and love, which is in Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 1: 14). The faith and the love have come from Him, and they are in Christ Jesus. Paul found everything in “Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me power” (1 Timothy 1: 12). He stretched out his hand to Him. We are welcomed to all that is in Him. The more effectually we learn how “dried” everything is on our side, the more ready we are to stretch it out to Him so that we may get a new ability which has its source and its strength in Him. So that in all things we “boast in Christ Jesus, and do not trust in flesh” (Philippians 3: 3). “Faith and love which are in Christ Jesus” is also in 2 Timothy 1: 13.
“His hand was restored”. There is then ability to serve as we have seen in 1 Timothy 1. This is the end in view, that one should be able to serve in liberty. All that we take hold of as [p. 34] provided for us is to give us strength for service. True Sabbath conditions are needed, rest and ability to lay hold of what is provided; then there is strength for service.
There is not only no sympathy in the synagogue but positive antagonism, and Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea. There is a vast field for service. We may have to withdraw from much that is in the place of profession, but that leads to enlargement as to the sphere of service. Things are restricted in the synagogue but at the “sea” there is a very extended sphere. The greater the sphere of service the more important that we should not be influenced by those we serve. That seems to be the thought in the “little ship”. It is that the crowd might not press upon Him. “Do I seek to please men? If I were yet pleasing men, I were not Christ’s bondman” (Galatians 1: 10); “Not as pleasing men, but God, who proves our hearts” (1 Thessalonians 2: 4). Barnabas and Paul would not be influenced by the men in Lystra (Acts 14). The Lord would not have the testimony of unclean spirits even though it were a true one.
The little ship, the rebuking of the unclean spirits, and the going up into the mountain all seem to show how separate the servant is to be. It is being taken apart to an elevation far above the level of the world in company with Jesus that we learn how to serve. Power lies in that.
There is sovereignty in the appointment of the twelve and in the special place of the three.
I think it may be helpful to see that the end in view in this section is that there are those sitting around Christ whom He can regard as His mother and His brethren. They were doing the will of God. Outside is religious hatred, the great outstanding feature of which is a speaking injuriously against the Holy Spirit, and, seen in His relatives, natural inability to understand Him.
A deeply interesting series of incidents follows in the cornfields, the synagogue, the sea, the mountain and the house.
[p. 35] These two Sabbath incidents are very instructive (chapters 2: 23 - 28; 3: 1 - 6). The harvest had come to maturity. It really set forth the complete provision of God for man in Christ. But man under the legal system was not at liberty to appropriate that provision: his hand was dried; such was the case with the Pharisees. In the cornfields we see liberty given on the divine side by the Lord of the Sabbath, but then power is needed on our side, and the Lord of the Sabbath undertakes to bring this in also. God come in to bless must meet everything. It is by the virtue that is in Christ that all is met on our side. What James said is still true, that “Moses, from generations of old, has in every city those who preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath” (Acts 15: 21).