Mark unfolded for people who Jesus is by telling about His ministry. In Mark 2:1-3:6, he told five stories of conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders. At first, they questioned Jesus’ authority to forgive. Jesus realized the unasked questions they raised in their hearts and minds and replied to them. After that, He met with open opposition to His teaching, healing, casting out of demons, and forgiving people of their sins.
The reason the religious leaders challenged Jesus is that God ordained the tribe of Levi, their tribe, to be His priests. These priests were God’s intermediaries between Him and the Israelites. The rabbis and Pharisees taught and enforced God’s Laws, led holy services, offered sacrifices for the sins of the people, and were leaders in the community. For this, God provided them with a place to live, income, and food. The religious leaders enacted 633 laws based on God’s Laws to help the Israelites learn how to be righteous before God. Over time, these manmade laws caused the Pharisees to get a bloated sense of worth and righteousness. They ended up using the laws to broadcast their own piety. Putting their piety next to other people would show the sinfulness of the people. This standard made the religious leaders appear righteous to the Israelites. The religious leaders’ intentions had changed. God appointed the religious leaders to guide the Israelites to focus on Him. Instead, they focused on themselves.
After Jesus’ last encounter with the Pharisees in the chiasm in Mark 3:1-6, those leaders joined the Herodians to catch Jesus breaking the law. They wanted to arrest and kill Him. By doing this, these leaders would remove Jesus’ influence. They aimed to regain their own self-declared stature in the nation. These Pharisees considered their status and self-declared righteousness more important than killing an innocent man by crucifixion.
In the next section of Mark’s Gospel, Jesus’ ministry in Galilee reached its apex. Jesus continued to teach. He called the twelve disciples, and they began to understand better who Jesus was. The Pharisees and scribes hated Him more openly. More people were curious about Jesus and swarmed to Him, not having a deep understanding of who He is and what He came to do on earth. Whether or not a person believed what Jesus said, the crux for them and for people now, is that Jesus’ presence requires a response from each person.
The Multitude
7 Jesus withdrew to the sea with His disciples; and a large multitude from Galilee followed, and also from Judea and from 8 Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and beyond the Jordan, and the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon, a great number of people heard about everything that He was doing and came to Him. (Mark 3:7-8 [NASB])
Remember, Jesus summarized His preaching and purpose in Mark 1:14-15. He said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” After this passage in Mark’s Gospel, Mark showed Jesus’ ministry of teaching, healing, casting out demons, and forgiving people of their sins. He recalled Jesus said He is the Son of Man, as Daniel prophesied in Daniel 7:13-14. Of the other Jews who watched Jesus do these things, some trusted in Him as the Messiah. Other people still questioned if He was the promised Messiah. Another group of people resolutely sided with the Pharisees, deciding He was not the Messiah. With this new section of his Gospel, Mark tells his readers of the multitude of people who flocked to Jesus. They were like sheep without a shepherd.
Mark 3:7-8 provides answers to the questions of who, what, why, whom, and for whom. Mark established the setting in which Jesus ministered. Jesus, from this time, rarely entered cities and large towns. He avoided them because the Pharisees sought to charge Him with a crime and arrest Him. Jesus was willing to sacrifice his life for the sins of others. That time had not come yet, though. He did not flee from the cities and towns out of fear. Jesus did not go to these places because the Pharisees were in them and the time had not come yet for His sacrifice. More people must learn about Jesus first. Because of these two things, Jesus stayed in the places outside of villages, towns, and cities. He no longer needed to visit people. They traveled to Him.
Verse seven recalls, “Jesus withdrew to the sea.” The sea about which Mark wrote was probably the Sea of Galilee because of the closeness of it to Jesus’ “home away from home.” The Gospels record Jesus often going to a place away from people. Sometimes He wanted to pray and other times He wanted to refresh Himself or teach His appointed apostles. Mark does not explain why Jesus walked to the sea this time. Jesus may have gone there to retreat and refresh Himself. What questions are important in this setting who and by whom?
Jesus walked to the sea with His disciples. At this point in Mark’s Gospel, Jesus had not appointed His twelve disciples yet. Disciples followed Jesus. These disciples followed Him to observe and learn. Besides the disciples (people who regularly follow Jesus), a “large multitude” of people followed Jesus to the sea. Strong’s dictionary defines a “multitude” of people as a vast number of people. In the stories of Jesus’ ministry, the gospel writers often used “multitude” to refer to the 4000 and 5000 people Jesus fed on the hillside. Whether 100 or 5000 people followed Him that day, the important thing is people came to watch and listen to Jesus. This may have been their first or second time, but they had received information about Jesus and wanted to observe and listen to Him for themselves. Who led and taught this group? Jesus. To whom did Jesus address His message? The multitude of people.
Jesus’s reach grew. Mark wanted people to understand about Him. He wanted them to realize the good news spread beyond the borders of Israel. The curiosity about Jesus grew. Mark said a multitude of people came from Galilee, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan River, Tyre, and Sidon. If you study a map of Israel, Galilee is the northern part of Israel. Samaria is between Galilee and Judea. Judea is the southern part of Israel. Below Judea is Idumea. On the upper left border of Israel, Tyre and Sidon laid, both on the Mediterranean Sea. The other side of the Jordan included the nine cities of the Decapolis, Nabatea (Arabia), and Syria. Jesus drew people from these regions. To these people, He addressed His message, and they saw what happened. This answers the question of what.
Who were the people who traveled to watch and listen to Jesus? Galileans descended from a mix of Jews, Romans, and Greeks. People from other nations lived in Galilee because of the Roman road built through Capernaum. Judea was about 109 km (67.7 miles) from the Sea of Galilee. It was a Roman province, too. The people of Judea were mostly Jews. Jerusalem was 123 km (76.5 miles) from the Sea of Galilee. It was the capital of Judea and in it, the Jewish Temple stood. The ruler of Judea was a Herod whose lineage came from outside Israel. He ruled Judea, Idumea, and Samaria. (Note Mark did not include Samaria in this list from where the multitude came.)
Mark listed areas where people came from outside of Israel. Idumea was one of those areas. Herod Archelaus ruled over Judea, Idumea, and Samaria during the latter part of Jesus’ life. He came from the Edom/Idumean part of the Roman empire, which was south of Judea. Edom/Idumea was not part of Canaan that God gave to His people, Israel. How did Herod become a Jew and become acceptable as a leader to the Jews? During the rule of the Maccabeans (Hasmoneans) 165-63 BC, the Jewish leaders—Maccabeans/Hasmonians—coerced the Edomites to convert to Judaism and submit to circumcision. Because this made Herod the Great a Jew in the eyes of the Hasmoneans, Hyrcanus, a Hasmonian leader, approved the marriage of his daughter to the future Herod. This first Herod over Israel was Herod the Great. He came from Idumea. Herod the Great lobbied the Roman emperor so he could be the ruler of Israel in the Roman empire. The Roman ruler made him an ethnarch over the Jews. Herod the Great died and his sons and daughter inherited portions of his territory. Herod Archelaus, one of Herod the Great’s sons, ruled over the southern part of his father’s territory. The Romans renamed Edom to Idumea. From this region, Mark said people traveled to see and hear Jesus at the sea. These people walked for about 256 km (159 miles) to the Sea of Galilee.
Mark noted three other areas from where people came. People came from Tyre and Sidon. Tyre and Sidon were 63 km (39 miles) and 83.8 km (52 miles) from the Sea of Galilee. These two cities were located in Phoenicia. The people of Phoenicia made purple cloth and were sailors. They descended from early Canaanites, who occupied Canaan before God gave the land to the Israelites. Phoenician and Israelite royalty married each other and never warred against each other. Rome overthrew the Phoenicians and ruled them. The third group of people came from the other side of the Jordan River. These people came from Nabatea (Arabia) and descended from Ishmael. The east side of the Jordan included people from Syria, too. These people were not part of the Israelite promise from God. Yet, God sent Jesus to save all people. That includes the people of Ishmael.
Each person of that multitude came to listen to and watch Jesus. They sought the truth for themselves about what they heard from other people. Did some of them earnestly hope Jesus was the Messiah, or did they seek entertainment? Considering the distances which the people traveled to see and hear Jesus, one must wonder who would walk that far just for entertainment.
The Preparation
9 And He told His disciples to see that a boat would be ready for Him because of the masses, so that they would not crowd Him, 10 for He had healed many, with the result that all those who had diseases pushed in around Him in order to touch Him.
Jesus told His disciples to make a boat ready for Him. Why would Jesus need a boat? He did not fish. He did not say He wanted to get to the other side of the sea. Though, if Jesus wanted to get to the other side of the Sea of Galilee quickly, going across by boat was the quickest route. The width of the sea is 13 km (8.1 miles).
Jesus explained He wanted the boat to be ready for Him because of the multitude. He wanted to be able to separate Himself from the crowd. Did this mean Jesus wanted to run away from them? Definitely not. Jesus already told the disciples a few times why He came to earth. More towns and villages needed Him to visit so more people could hear about Him. Jesus did not want to flee this crowd of people.
Why would Jesus want the disciples to prepare a boat? Consider what Jesus had done so far. He had healed a paralyzed man and made a withered hand new. Jesus had healed Simon’s mother-in-law and cast out evil spirits from people. The people from Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem, the other side of the Jordan River, Idumea, Tyre, and Sidon came to observe Jesus. Some of the people may have wanted Jesus to heal them. Others may have just wanted to touch a part of Jesus’ clothing. The idea of touching, as Mark recorded it, conveyed the understanding that a person wanted to touch someone in a way that changed him or herself. They wanted to touch Jesus for a personal gain, such as healing. People in our time want to be near a person of influence, talk with him or her, and/or get his or her autograph and picture to say and prove they, themselves, are important to other people, too. This crowd of people around Jesus wanted something from Jesus, too. They wanted to understand if He was truly the Son of Man and if He truly healed people and cast out demons.
For this multitude of people from throughout Israel and the surrounding nations to be near Jesus, they would have had to crowd Him—push and jostle Him. Healing people, having people crowd around Him who touched and jostled Him, would have wearied Jesus physically and mentally. It might have caused physical harm to Him and other people. Jesus did not want anyone hurt. If Jesus found Himself tightly enclosed among the people, He might have found it difficult or impossible to teach this crowd. What do people do now to get a crowd of people to watch and hear them? They stand separated from the people, often on a raised dais, so the entire mass of people can look at and listen to them. So that the crowd would not crush Jesus and more people could watch and hear Him, Jesus told His disciples to get a boat ready.
Jesus would not flee people seeking Him. God spoke about seekers in the Old Testament. He said, “You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13 [NASB]). God spoke through Azariah in 2 Chronicles 15:2b when He said, “If you seek Him (the LORD), He will let you find Him.” David wrote in Psalm 34:4, “I sought the LORD, and He answered me, and rescued me from all my fears.” Instead of fleeing, Jesus brought the LORD near to them with His presence and His sacrifice. He stayed with the crowd but prepared to stand in the boat to teach them. Jesus declared who He is and made Himself ready for people to find Him, for those who sought the Son of God.
The Proclamation
11 And whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they would fall down before Him and shout, “You are the Son of God!” 12 And He strongly warned them not to reveal who He was.
Jesus desired people to seek Him and come to know Him as the Messiah. People sought healing and exorcising of evil spirits. More of them wished to see for themselves if what they had listened to another person saying about Jesus was true. Jesus took every opportunity to share with the people that God incarnate has come to save them. He came to earth to preach, teach, heal, and give freedom from sins and eternal death. This opportunity Jesus had with the multitude was no different.
During this time with the crowd, people observed Jesus. They listened to Him. Evil spirits inhabiting people saw Jesus. Though people tried to deny Jesus as the Son of God, evil spirits could not deny Him. Instead, they proclaimed who Jesus is. Mark records another of these instances in verses eleven and twelve. In Mark 1:23-26, and 34, unclean spirits declared Jesus is the Holy One of God and submitted to His authority. Mark 3:11-12 shows this once again, except the demons call Jesus something different. They shouted a genuine witness declaring Jesus’ divinity.
Based on what Mark said in these two verses, Jesus met people possessed by evil spirits. He wrote, “And whenever the unclean spirits saw Him.” This phrase connotes more than one encounter with evil spirits among this multitude of people. Satan’s minions were not more powerful than Jesus. They recognized when they met someone of greater power, as seen in verse eleven. The evil spirits—demons—fell prostrate at Jesus’ feet. The spirits controlled the people which they inhabited. They made the people fall prostrate before Jesus. These demons recognized who Jesus was. Because they inhabited people, the people would recognize who Jesus is—the Son of God.
The spirits declared this exact thing about Jesus. They shouted, “You are the Son of God!” Though no person so far in Mark’s Gospel declared this about Jesus, the demons could not silence themselves. They had to shout it just as Jesus said, even the stones would declare who He is (Luke 19:40).
The demons could not silence themselves from telling the truth. Jesus, though, had the power and authority to command them not to make Him known. In verse twelve, He “strongly warned them not to reveal who He was.” Jesus ordered these demons not to tell people who He is. Did this powerful and authoritative warning make the people even more curious and more determined to tell others about Jesus—what He did and spoke?
Jesus recognized the right time for people to listen to and accept Him as the Son of God. This time, when the multitude met Him at the sea, was not the right time. Because of that, Jesus commanded the demons to be silent. He wanted the changed hearts of people who trusted in Him for salvation. He did not need or want the confessions of the evil spirits.
Application and Conclusion
Luke 19:10 records Jesus saying, “The Son of Man has come to seek and save that which is lost.” Matthew 18:11 states this, too. Jesus did not come to seek one person to join Him for eternity in heaven. He wants all people to know Him and believe in Him for salvation. For this reason, Jesus traveled to many towns, villages, cities, and hillsides. He healed and cast out demons with divine power and authority. Jesus taught the Scriptures as one who was acquainted well with them and God’s intention for them.
Jesus did not flee from a crowded seaside. He did not run for fear of His safety. Jesus chose a way for all the people in the crowd to hear and see Him. His reach extended beyond the borders of Israel by this time. People from the entire area sought Jesus because they had heard about Him. People starved for more. They did not realize they starved for Jesus until they met Him.
Today, mass media allows the teaching of God’s word and His interventions in this world to be known when it happens. Still, many people from different tribes, nations, and languages have not heard about Jesus. At the time of Mark 3:7-12, Jesus realized He should appoint people to take His message to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. Since that time, every believer in Jesus has become His messenger in their own sphere of influence and thousands in other nations. Jesus declared this in Matthew 28:18-20, when He appointed the apostles to go make disciples and baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. After that, they were to teach everything He commanded them. Jesus reiterated this for every believer, as Luke recorded in Acts 1:8. Jesus said, “You shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and as far as the remotest part of the earth.”
What does this mean for you today? Ask yourself these questions.
1.
Do I believe Jesus is God’s Son and have I trusted
in Him and received from Him salvation from my sins and eternal life with God?
2.
Have I told anyone about Jesus and His love for
them?
3. If not, what keeps you from obeying Jesus’ command to each believer? How much do you hate someone not to tell them?
Jesus still heals even now. He gives freedom to people enslaved by people and things like unhealthy habits. Jesus casts out demons. He gives sight to the blind. Jesus loves you and wants you to be with Him in His kingdom for eternity. People are starving for hope. The gospel of Jesus fills each person’s need so they starve no longer.
It is time for you
to make a choice:
Are you starving for what the world does not offer?
Jesus will meet
you at your need.
He will fill you with what you crave and need.
God loves the people on earth so much that He sent His only Son, Jesus, to earth to die for their sins so that whoever believes in Him will not die eternally separated from Him, but to have eternal life with Him. (John 3:16 [my paraphrase])
