MARK 6:1-6a

[R E LANGFORD JR]

Greetings!
Here is the beginning of Chapter 6. Let me remind you
that the Gospel according to Mark was originally a tale told
aloud. To catch some of the flavor of what Mark's first
auditors savored, it is better to read the tale aloud (of
course in a language you grasp). It will take perhaps an
evening of pleasant reading and reflecting. If you do your
story telling aloud in a circle of friends, it does work well
if each person has the same translation to read aloud, and
"with expression." 

 

--

1revd:	*MSG* it is time to begin!
1revd:	*MSG* Bible Study of MARK 6:1-6a for Christian Friendship chatroom @ TalkCity = 15 APRIL 2011
1revd:	*MSG* I entered the chatroom, and at 1:30 PM began the bible study. Let us pray: Blessed LORD, Messiah Jesus, open our minds and our hearts to the knowledge of your grace and truth, so that we may delight in your Holy Word, and find in it a light for our path through this dark and confusing world. We ask it, Lord Jesus, in your name and for your sake. Amen.
1revd:	*MSG* * * * Today's study begins with the first cameo in Chapter 6 of MARK. We will take it [ad seriatim] bit by bit as in the past.
1revd:	*MSG* MARK 6:1 He went out from there. He came into his own country, and his disciples followed him. |The Bible| "Country" here is properly translated "hometown." While Nazareth is not mentioned here, Cf. MARK 1:9, Jesus is a "hill country" fellow.
1revd:	*MSG* Anyone have any trouble with my "improvement" in the translation?
1revd:	*MSG* Ha!, no one here but minxy, me, and the bot! Sorry!
1revd:	*MSG* MARK 6:2 When the Sabbath had come, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many hearing him were astonished, saying, "Where did this man get these things?" and, "What is the wisdom that is given to this man, that such mighty works come about by his hands? |The Bible| Remember! He is in his hometown or environs where he grew up; these are people intimately acquainted with Jesus. Remember! These are not "big town" folks. There, in a big town like Capernaum by the Sea of Galilee, people knew him mainly as a stranger come into their area from elsewhere, and being received by settled business people in Capernaum, (Andrew, Simon, James, and John). Remember! This event follows directly upon Jesus' trip into the arena of the "Ten Towns" [Decapolis] where most of the folks were Gentiles.
joegabe1:	*JOIN* Entered room.
coffeebot:	*MSG* joegabe1 Welcome to The Coffee Shop, we are glad you could come.
coffeebot:	*MSG* 4Administrator: joegabe1. Type !x to view coffeebot's Control Panel.
1revd:	*MSG* hello joegabe1
joegabe1:	*MSG* yo
1revd:	*MSG* do you wish to begin again?
joegabe1:	*MSG* did you start aLready
joegabe1:	*MSG* if you did its ok
1revd:	*MSG* yup, hope that doesn't offend
joegabe1:	*MSG* ok
1revd:	*MSG* ok
joegabe1:	*MSG* carry on
1revd:	*MSG* OK, notice that the people in Jesus' "hometown" area already know somehow that he can do "mighty works that come about by his hands?"
1revd:	*MSG* So far, Mark has not told us that Jesus did any works at all in or around Nazareth. No healings, no casting out of filthy spirits.
1revd:	*MSG* No driving out evil spirits, no control over weather, absolutely no "mighty work." Yes?
joegabe1:	*MSG* ywa
joegabe1:	*MSG* yes
1revd:	*MSG* :)
1revd:	*MSG* So Mark has to be implying that the news of what Jesus had been doing, in his ministry thus far - as Mark has reported it to us - has been passed by word of mouth to his hometown area.
1revd:	*MSG* They have expectations!
1revd:	*MSG* What's the first noteworthy thing Jesus does? "When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue." Mark reports. His first effort is at teaching. Consider this: immediately after Jesus is baptized, immediately after being tested in the desert, immediately his first activity elsewhere was what? Well, let's let Mark remind us? MARK 1:15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand! Repent, and believe in the Good News." |The Bible| Preaching!
1revd:	*MSG* That's not how Jesus starts in his hometown environs.
1revd:	*MSG* In his own hometown Jesus begins by teaching in the synagogue. It doesn't seem like too much diff to us, 21 centuries later, but it's a huge diff to the people of that era, and of those small communities. We are always at a disadvantage in trying to capture the "mindset" of the people who were receiving the GOOD NEWS Jesus came bringing. Consider the fact that even in Capernaum, after Jesus had come preaching \ proclaiming the immanent arrival of the kingdom of God, after Jesus had been well-received by some established business folks in Capernaum, (Andrew, Peter, James, and John), MARK 1:22 They were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as having authority, and not as the scribes. |The Bible|
1revd:	*MSG* Here Jesus begins by putting his preaching aside, for a time, and begins with teaching. My suspicion is that although he knew his former near neighbors fairly well, in this critical juncture he misjudged just how much they needed to hear him preach - as much as the strangers in Capernaum.
1revd:	*MSG* Hearing good news is welcome! IMO, teaching about good news, presuming someone has already heard it, may not be something people are ready to welcome.
1revd:	*MSG* Nothing much has changed! Good news is always acceptable, especially if proclaimed or announced. Teaching remains a different and a difficult matter. It's hard to do in such a way that people can hear the teacher. It's even harder to do in such a way that the people can "wrap their heads around" the astonishing ideas presented.
1revd:	*MSG* That's true in today's society and also in the churches. Betcha you have run into this, maybe?
joegabe1:	*MSG* yes
1revd:	*MSG* Any questions? Any doubts?
joegabe1:	*MSG* n
joegabe1:	*MSG* no
1revd:	*MSG* OK
1revd:	*MSG* It's far, far harder to do if a teacher does it with "authority." The folks in Jesus' home town know him, or think they do. So, when he comes teaching, without first having proclaimed the GOOD NEWS of the kingdom, but begins immediately with teaching in the synagogue (and, I put it to you without a doubt) Jesus does it in his accustomed style: "with authority," not like a scribe or pharisee or the customary "on the one hand - on the other hand" style of a rabbi of his day, no wonder Mark tells us:
1revd:	*MSG* MARK 6:2 When the Sabbath had come, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many hearing him were astonished, saying, "Where did this man get these things?" and, "What is the wisdom that is given to this man, that such mighty works come about by his hands? |The Bible|, and, MARK 6:3 Isn't this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judah, and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?" They were offended at him. |The Bible|
1revd:	*MSG* "They were offended at him!" Think of that!
1revd:	*MSG* Their expectations had not been met. That is a dangerous thing to run into, I promise you, as a pastor who has run into such assumptions and expectations in congregations from time to time.
1revd:	*MSG* Clearly the local folks have heard about Jesus' "wonder working" elsewhere! Clearly they are, at the very least, "put off" by his testimony and behavior when he comes to his own home town. IMO, the clause, "They were offended at him," is a clear report by Mark, the story teller. It may be a reflection of the opinion of the disciples, who would surely have been painted by the same brush that marked out Jesus.
1revd:	*MSG* Any problems? Questions? Doubts?
joegabe1:	*MSG* no
1revd:	*MSG* OK, good
Minxy__FR:	*MSG* no
Minxy__FR:	*MSG* i am following along
1revd:	*MSG* OK, good, Minxy, = = Now a side trip, briefly. Remember Socrates? About 390 years before Jesus comes on the stage of history? A great philosopher, commonly known through the whole ancient Greek speaking world of that time; and he was a common laborer, a stone cutter, a stone dresser who worked with his hands.
joegabe1:	*PART* Left room.
joegabe1:	*JOIN* Entered room.
coffeebot:	*MSG* joegabe1 Welcome to The Coffee Shop, we are glad you could come.
coffeebot:	*MSG* 4Administrator: joegabe1. Type !x to view coffeebot's Control Panel.
1revd:	*MSG* wb joegabe1
joegabe1:	*MSG* ty
Minxy__FR:	*MSG* wb
joegabe1:	*MSG* ty
1revd:	*MSG* :)
1revd:	*MSG* BTW, MARK as the earliest text, let alone the earliest oral tale of the good news of Jesus, says: Jesus is a carpenter! You and I have to be careful about reading too much into this remark. Here the koiné Greek can refer to a stone mason or a metal smith. It's usual sense "wood worker" might also be the reference. However, if the question reported is derogatory, then, I put it to you that it's a typical example of the animosity of his former near neighbors. "Is this fellow not a common worker with his hands like the rest of us?" is the gist of the question, as I see it in such a case. Not over much ought be made of the idea that carpentry as a trade today requires education and training, whereas the Greek word might simply mean a day laborer who is, to put it crudely, a "wood chopper."
1revd:	*MSG* MARK 6:3 Isn't this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judah, and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?" They were offended at him. |The Bible|
1revd:	*MSG* If we ought understand "Isn't this the carpenter?" to mean in a derogatory, disparaging sneer "Isn't this the uneducated, untrained, unskilled wood chopper?" then, we've a serious lack of trust to note. We have to be alert to how Jesus deals with his former near neighbors.
Minxy__FR:	*MSG* joe will brb he is outta order lol
1revd:	*MSG* :)
1revd:	*MSG* OK
1revd:	*MSG* ty Minxy
1revd:	*MSG* In such a case, Jesus is not skilled. He is not trained beyond what his father was able to teach him. He needed only an axe, and such "carpentry" implies no great wealth, education, nor training. This perspective fits well with Jesus' obvious familiarity with the plight of day laborers; it arose, in his case, from personal experience.
1revd:	*MSG* I put it to you::: Jesus responds, not to the questions, but to the "atmosphere" MARK 6:4 Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and among his own relatives, and in his own house." |The Bible| It's a well known quote, and has become a cliché in many varied spiritual communities. It also reads as a verdictive. That is, it stands as a judgment, a verdict on the home town folks and their inability to receive teaching from someone otherwise well-known to them.
1revd:	*MSG* What I personally find intriguing is that this is the first, in MARK, and also the only early reference, to what Jesus thought of himself and his mission as God's chosen or anointed Messiah.
1revd:	*MSG* Questions? Problems? Any doubts, at all?
joegabe1:	*MSG* no
1revd:	*MSG* good
1revd:	*MSG* It's an important point. Many modern people will ask, "What did Jesus think of himself? Who was he; what ideas did he have about his mission or ministry?"
joegabe1:	*MSG* he was the messiah
1revd:	*MSG* Here's a chief, clearly stated idea. Jesus himself said to his formerly near neighbors "I'm a prophet." OK? Joegabe?
ladybugz12:	*JOIN* Entered room.
coffeebot:	*MSG* ladybugz12 Welcome to The Coffee Shop, we are glad you could come.
1revd:	*MSG* joegabe1, you put it in the past tense? If Jesus **was** the messiah, only you and I and Minxy know that because Mark is telling us. Oh, yes, the demons, the unclean spirits, and the weather also know that. But, and it's an important point::: the people "inside" Mark's tale have not yet twigged to the point.
1revd:	*MSG* hi ladybugz12 welcome
ladybugz12:	*MSG* hi
1revd:	*MSG* now ladybugz12 also belongs on the list.
joegabe1:	*MSG* yep
1revd:	*MSG* Remember that the people in Jesus' hometown environs do not think of him as "MESSIAH," but only as "the wood chopper," and besides they would say, "we know him inside out because we know his blood relatives."
1revd:	*MSG* For ladybugz12's sake, I add that "the carpenter" = "the wood chopper" in the POV of the folks in and around Nazareth.
1revd:	*MSG* We, however, are hearing the good news from Mark.
1revd:	*MSG* We, however, are learning that this "carpenter" who works with his hands, is redefining for the people of his era what the term, "messiah of God," means!
1revd:	*MSG* What an insight! The Messiah thinks of himself, at least at this stage in his ministry, as a prophet. I put it to you that this is no simple case of an "all knowing" story-teller looking into the mind of Jesus and reporting to us (and to all who hear his tale) what Jesus thinks of himself. No! These disappointed words, reflecting the inner realization of Jesus at just how hard will be the task he is set, smack of reality. Mark, IMO, has woven into his tale a well-remembered and perhaps well-reported oral event in Jesus' home town.
1revd:	*MSG* That Jesus thinks he is like a "prophet," means that Jesus thinks of himself as "telling forth" news of things as they have been, as they are, and a conditioned view of how they may soon be, all from the perspective which God alone has! Sometimes we moderns think only that a prophet predicts the future. That misses completely the sense of what a biblical prophet is all about: the POV of the Most High!
1revd:	*MSG* Any problems, doubts, questions? Any at all?
joegabe1:	*MSG* no
ladybugz12:	*MSG* no
1revd:	*MSG* OK good
Minxy__FR:	*MSG* no
1revd:	*MSG* Good, Minxy, = = = = = [ASIDE] The church typically thinks of Jesus as Messiah, as LORD, as Son of the Most High God, and remarks upon his works as those of "prophet, priest, and king." This is one clear root for this teaching \ opinion. Someone asks you, "Where do you get the idea that **Jesus is a prophet**? You can answer, from Jesus' own words about himself. [ASIDE ends here]
1revd:	*MSG* Moving on!
1revd:	*MSG* MARK 6:5 He could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people, and healed them. |The Bible| Now how come? Was he lacking power? Was he lacking authority? Or was he running up against people with hardened hearts and closed minds? Even in such an "atmosphere," Jesus did help a few sick people, lay hands on them, and heal them. So some very few, a very, very few people must not have been fooled by the rest of the folks in the hometown area.
1revd:	*MSG* IMO
1revd:	*MSG* but just my POV
1revd:	*MSG* We have run into this perspective, POV elsewhere also, in Mark's tale. We're not amazed. It is not people who know Jesus well who trust him. It is not disciples who go about with him constantly who trust him. It is not authorities, rulers, leaders, high "muckety-mucks" who think they have the insider's perspective on what Jesus is really like and what he's up to who trust him. No! We have already heard well how it is the poor, the downcast, the outcast lepers, the truly sick, unclean women, and dead children who respond to him with trust. People that society considered "unclean" or "possessed by a filthy spirit" put their trust in Jesus.
1revd:	*MSG* How about us?
1revd:	*MSG* I put it to you, do you and I trust Jesus today? Think of this! Ponder it! Now consider the very next thing Mark tells us. MARK 6:6 He marveled because of their unbelief. He went around the villages teaching. |The Bible| Just the first half of that verse is what I wish to highlight today! Do you want to astound Jesus? Cause him amazement? Make him marvel? Mark reports to us Jesus was amazed by the lack of trust among his own former neighbors and friends. Wouldn't it be neat to surprise our Savior, and cause him to marvel at us because of our absolute and total trust in him? We cannot manage that without first acknowledging our pitiful helplessness and need for a healing that can come only from the Most High.
1revd:	*MSG* Most of us like to think we've a 'free' will. We like to dream that we know Jesus well enough that we can "choose" to trust him. HAHAHA! What a mistake! We've no better off than the people of his hometown folks. They also thought they knew him. When push came to shove, they sneered at Jesus because he didn't meet their expectations. How dare we dream that we would not do the same?
1revd:	*MSG* Surely you also have met people who think Jesus is easily comprehended and grasped? People, especially sin filled people, like to day dream that they would put their trust in Jesus if only this or that were true. Basically, such folks are wanting some parlor tricks to be done for them. It doesn't happen when Jesus visits his hometown folks; I assure you it will not happen, and you never will get to show just how much in bondage to sin your supposed "free" will is. Teaching can only be accepted. Yes?
Minxy__FR:	*MSG* yes
1revd:	*MSG* grand Minxy!
1revd:	*MSG* Any questions? Doubts? Problems, anyone?
Minxy__FR:	*MSG* no
ladybugz12:	*MSG* no
1revd:	*MSG* OK, maybe joegabe1 will read this later :-o :-o :-o
joegabe1:	*MSG* no
1revd:	*MSG* WOW! wb joegabe! We're about out of time; I've already gone past the agreed 50 mins!
joegabe1:	*MSG* sorry i was occupied
1revd:	*MSG* not a problem, I was just teasing you.
joegabe1:	*MSG* lol
coffeebot:	*MSG* ACTION smiles...
1revd:	*MSG* :)
1revd:	*MSG* Next time I'd like to begin with a comment about MARK 6:3 "Isn't this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judah, and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?" They were offended at him. |The Bible| I wish to comment on the translation of the terms: "brother of" and "his sisters." This, IMO, is no church dividing issue; but, then again, my remarks may offend some.
1revd:	*MSG* And that will draw to a close the bible study today.
joegabe1:	*MSG* ok
1revd:	*MSG* Joegabe1, will you lead us in prayer?
joegabe1:	*MSG* Dear Lord,
joegabe1:	*MSG* Let us give thanks for all you do for us
joegabe1:	*MSG* we do not really deserve all you do for us
joegabe1:	*MSG* but help us to be better people for you so that we may try to repay you
joegabe1:	*MSG* we give you thanks for our health and our wealth because without you in our lives we would be no where and homeless
joegabe1:	*MSG* so lets be grateful for that
joegabe1:	*MSG* we ask this in jesus almighty name
joegabe1:	*MSG* amen
Minxy__FR:	*MSG* amen
1revd:	*MSG* Amen.
ladybugz12:	*MSG* Amen,
1revd:	*MSG* TY joegabe1

--

PEACE in this happy POST-EPIPHANY SEASON! Good
will to you, and yours,
 
The Rev'd R E LANGFORD JR, FAPC, ELCA pastor   
! retired !
My clarity of conscience and my purity of heart are undisputed

evidence that my memory is failing me.
         .          .                    

`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸..·´¯`·...¸><(((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸><((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.· ><((º>