Tuesday Night Group (TNG ) Notes
Stay up to date on our weekly study of the Gospel of Mark
Mark 7:31 – “Into the region of the Decapolis” – This is the same region where he exorcised the legion of demons from a man living in the tombs. Jesus sent the demons into a herd of pigs and the pigs ran off a cliff and drowned in the Sea of Galilee. The healed man begged to go with Jesus, but Jesus sent him home to tell everyone about what God had done.
Jesus had to travel, by foot, approximately 100 to 150 miles. If he could average walking 15 to 20 miles a day, this trip would take him 6 to 7 days. But, nothing in Mark’s gospel leads us to believe that Jesus could simply dead-head it from Tyre to the Decapolis. Without being waylaid by crowds of people wanting to hear him, see him and be healed by him.
Mark 7:32 – “There some people brought to him a man.” – These friends were interceding on his behalf. They were praying to Jesus, for this man. I guess some people, in this area, had gotten over pig-gate.
These friends see in Jesus a healer. We don’t know the deaf and mute man’s perspective of Jesus. But we do know that the friends believed. Since this is a Gentile community, they believed Jesus to be a miracle worker. And when the rubber meets the road, and you really need help, loyalty to ethnic, religious, political and economic affiliations go out the window.
“Who was deaf and could hardly talk” – Why these specific ailments? The fulfilment of the Messianic prophecy of Isaiah 35:5-6: “Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.”
Jesus was using a healing of a Gentile deaf and mute man, in the Greek community of the Decapolis, to announce that he was the Messiah. This signals the fact that Jesus would save the world, not just the Jews. That God’s love and kingdom are for all people, regardless of their origin or social standing.
Mark 7:33 – “After he took him aside” – There’s no overall agreement as to why Jesus did this. So, your guess is as good as anyone’s. All we do know is that this scene proves the fact that Jesus never healed two people exactly alike. He met every one he healed right where they were. This man obviously needed to be taken aside to be healed.
“Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue” – Maybe this is why Jesus needed to take this man aside. That’s just gross! Gross or not, this is the way that this specific man would receive his specific healing, from Jesus.
Mark 7:34 – “He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh…” – This was an inward groan. Jesus’ compassionate response to the pain and sorrow that was so prevalent in this sin-stained world. It was also a prayer to the Father. Romans 8:26 – “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” Remember, Jesus didn’t come just to save us. Jesus also came to show us what it looks like to live as someone who is saved.
“Be opened!” – Signifies being spiritually receptive to God’s will. Also, it represents the opening of spiritual ears that were previously deaf to God’s word and the releasing of tongues that have been made slaves to human vanity. The meaning of this statement is symbolic of Jesus’ entire mission to make humanity able to hear God’s voice and speak the language of love.
Mark 7:35 – “The man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened.” – When studying the Bible, it’s important to remember that the Bible was written during a time of oral tradition. No books, like we understand books. Everything was shared orally. Even if it was simply reading the one copy of a book that an entire community possessed.
The Greek word that Mark uses for a loosened tongue, is only repeated in the Bible one other time. You guessed it, in Isaiah 35:5. The same prophetic verse, about the Messiah, that we mentioned in verse 32. People listening to this story be told orally, would’ve recognized the oddity of this word and remembered that it was also used in Isaiah’s Messianic prophecy.
We begin chapter 8 with “The Feeding of the Four Thousand”. Which sounds a lot like “The Feeding of the Five Thousand”? Only Matthew and Mark include both of these miracle stories. “The Feeding of the Five Thousand” is included in all four gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Why does Mark include two feeding miracles? To emphasize an aspect of Jesus ministry, which would’ve been very important to Mark’s community in Rome.
Remember that Mark’s audience was a Gentile Christian community. The Feeding of the Five Thousand was a miracle for the Jewish people. This miracle uses numbers like five loaves and twelve baskets, which have symbolic connections to Jewish tradition. The five books of Moses – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Along with the twelve tribes of Israel – Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph and Benjamin.
The Feeding of the Four Thousand, which takes place in the predominantly Gentile Decapolis region, involves a different number. Seven loaves of bread and seven baskets of leftovers. The number seven represents perfection or completeness. Seven also represents the seven Canaanite Nations that God instructed the Israelites to drive out of the Promised Land, as listed in Deuteronomy 7:1 – Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.
The point? Jesus’ ministry isn’t limited to the Jewish people. Jesus is the Savior of the world, not just the Jews.
Mark 8:1 – “During those days” – Mark’s emphasizing the location. Jesus is in the region of the Decapolis.
Mark 8:2-3 – “I have compassion for these people” – A feeling of empathizing with someone’s suffering and feeling a strong desire to help. Empathy is the feeling of suffering with and seeing yourself in their shoes. Which is different than being compassionate. For being compassionate is the action you take in response to having compassion. It’s the thoughtful, conscious response to having compassion, that leads to action. You’ll always do what you do, because of what you believe.
So, Jesus is having compassion and is going to ask his disciples to be compassionate. You figure that this would be a no-brainer for the disciples. Since they’ve already experienced The Feeding of the Five Thousand.
Mark 8:4 – “But” – Enter the questions. Enter the doubt. Enter the bureaucracy. The disciples seem to have forgotten about The Feeding of the Five Thousand. They haven’t yet connected with the truth that Jesus’ past faithfulness is a promise to meet our current needs.
Mark 8:5 – “How many loaves do you have?” – Jesus asked the disciples to give up their own food. Instead of the food that someone else provided to them. This is teaching the disciples that they’ve been given everything that they need. It’s just you and Jesus, and that’s all you need.
This also represents the fact that in order for the Gentile’s to be saved, the Jews must first meet them, walk with them, impact their lives with the good news of Jesus and watch as God transforms them.
“Seven” – Refer to the above explanation of the significance of the number seven, when it comes to the feeding of the Gentiles.
Mark 8:6-10 – Basically the same miracle as The Feeding of the Five Thousand.
“The region of Dalmanutha” – A region on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. Its exact location is uncertain, but it’s likely the same as, or near, Magdala (also called Migdal). This area was a significant location for Jesus’ ministry because it was the hometown of Mary Magdalene.
message, sign of hope or confirmation from a higher power.” The Pharisees have tried tripping Jesus up with religious laws. Now they simply dare him to perform a miracle. A miracle by their standards. Not like any of the other miracles Jesus has performed.
Mark 8:11 – “A sign from heaven” – “A miraculous event or extraordinary phenomenon interpreted as a divine message, sign of hope or confirmation from a higher power.” The Pharisees have tried tripping Jesus up with religious laws. Now they simply dare him to perform a miracle. A miracle by their standards. Not like any of the other miracles Jesus has performed.
Mark 8:12 – “He sighed deeply” – This attack and the unbelief it demonstrated distressed Jesus. He was amazed at their unbelief and their audacity. His sigh was simply a physical sign of his spiritual pain.
Don’t ask someone what they believe, simply watch what they do. Jesus’ outward sigh was representative of the inward distance that had grown between Jesus and the religious establishment. Along with his astonishment at their unbelief in light of their impending doom, of which Jesus was well aware.
“Why does this generation ask for a sign?” – The demand for a sign stemmed from a lack of faith, skepticism and a desire for gratification rather than genuine belief. This reflects a spiritual attitude of testing God, rather than humbly accepting the truth already presented.
“No sign will be given to it” – Jesus would not be doing any signs for these Pharisees. The Greek word translated as “generation” can mean a group of people living at the same time, a specific family line or a particular type or “genus” of people known for a shared character or belief. Jesus will be dead and resurrected in less than three years, so generation means the genus known as Pharisees.
Mark 8:13 – “Crossed to the other side” – This is a transition passage. Yes, Jesus and the disciples are literally going to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. But also, this passage marks Jesus’ transition from public ministry in Galilee to personal ministry with his disciples. He needs to prepare them for his sacrifice and the new era that will follow.
Jesus prophesied that the Pharisees wouldn’t see any miracles. Yet, the miracle of the resurrection is right around the corner. Jesus’ prophecy isn’t about no miracles happening. It’s about the Pharisee’s inability to actually see any miracles that are happening right in front of them.
Jesus had to travel, by foot, approximately 100 to 150 miles. If he could average walking 15 to 20 miles a day, this trip would take him 6 to 7 days. But, nothing in Mark’s gospel leads us to believe that Jesus could simply dead-head it from Tyre to the Decapolis. Without being waylaid by crowds of people wanting to hear him, see him and be healed by him.
Mark 7:32 – “There some people brought to him a man.” – These friends were interceding on his behalf. They were praying to Jesus, for this man. I guess some people, in this area, had gotten over pig-gate.
These friends see in Jesus a healer. We don’t know the deaf and mute man’s perspective of Jesus. But we do know that the friends believed. Since this is a Gentile community, they believed Jesus to be a miracle worker. And when the rubber meets the road, and you really need help, loyalty to ethnic, religious, political and economic affiliations go out the window.
“Who was deaf and could hardly talk” – Why these specific ailments? The fulfilment of the Messianic prophecy of Isaiah 35:5-6: “Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.”
Jesus was using a healing of a Gentile deaf and mute man, in the Greek community of the Decapolis, to announce that he was the Messiah. This signals the fact that Jesus would save the world, not just the Jews. That God’s love and kingdom are for all people, regardless of their origin or social standing.
Mark 7:33 – “After he took him aside” – There’s no overall agreement as to why Jesus did this. So, your guess is as good as anyone’s. All we do know is that this scene proves the fact that Jesus never healed two people exactly alike. He met every one he healed right where they were. This man obviously needed to be taken aside to be healed.
“Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue” – Maybe this is why Jesus needed to take this man aside. That’s just gross! Gross or not, this is the way that this specific man would receive his specific healing, from Jesus.
Mark 7:34 – “He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh…” – This was an inward groan. Jesus’ compassionate response to the pain and sorrow that was so prevalent in this sin-stained world. It was also a prayer to the Father. Romans 8:26 – “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” Remember, Jesus didn’t come just to save us. Jesus also came to show us what it looks like to live as someone who is saved.
“Be opened!” – Signifies being spiritually receptive to God’s will. Also, it represents the opening of spiritual ears that were previously deaf to God’s word and the releasing of tongues that have been made slaves to human vanity. The meaning of this statement is symbolic of Jesus’ entire mission to make humanity able to hear God’s voice and speak the language of love.
Mark 7:35 – “The man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened.” – When studying the Bible, it’s important to remember that the Bible was written during a time of oral tradition. No books, like we understand books. Everything was shared orally. Even if it was simply reading the one copy of a book that an entire community possessed.
The Greek word that Mark uses for a loosened tongue, is only repeated in the Bible one other time. You guessed it, in Isaiah 35:5. The same prophetic verse, about the Messiah, that we mentioned in verse 32. People listening to this story be told orally, would’ve recognized the oddity of this word and remembered that it was also used in Isaiah’s Messianic prophecy.
We begin chapter 8 with “The Feeding of the Four Thousand”. Which sounds a lot like “The Feeding of the Five Thousand”? Only Matthew and Mark include both of these miracle stories. “The Feeding of the Five Thousand” is included in all four gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Why does Mark include two feeding miracles? To emphasize an aspect of Jesus ministry, which would’ve been very important to Mark’s community in Rome.
Remember that Mark’s audience was a Gentile Christian community. The Feeding of the Five Thousand was a miracle for the Jewish people. This miracle uses numbers like five loaves and twelve baskets, which have symbolic connections to Jewish tradition. The five books of Moses – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Along with the twelve tribes of Israel – Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph and Benjamin.
The Feeding of the Four Thousand, which takes place in the predominantly Gentile Decapolis region, involves a different number. Seven loaves of bread and seven baskets of leftovers. The number seven represents perfection or completeness. Seven also represents the seven Canaanite Nations that God instructed the Israelites to drive out of the Promised Land, as listed in Deuteronomy 7:1 – Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.
The point? Jesus’ ministry isn’t limited to the Jewish people. Jesus is the Savior of the world, not just the Jews.
Mark 8:1 – “During those days” – Mark’s emphasizing the location. Jesus is in the region of the Decapolis.
Mark 8:2-3 – “I have compassion for these people” – A feeling of empathizing with someone’s suffering and feeling a strong desire to help. Empathy is the feeling of suffering with and seeing yourself in their shoes. Which is different than being compassionate. For being compassionate is the action you take in response to having compassion. It’s the thoughtful, conscious response to having compassion, that leads to action. You’ll always do what you do, because of what you believe.
So, Jesus is having compassion and is going to ask his disciples to be compassionate. You figure that this would be a no-brainer for the disciples. Since they’ve already experienced The Feeding of the Five Thousand.
Mark 8:4 – “But” – Enter the questions. Enter the doubt. Enter the bureaucracy. The disciples seem to have forgotten about The Feeding of the Five Thousand. They haven’t yet connected with the truth that Jesus’ past faithfulness is a promise to meet our current needs.
Mark 8:5 – “How many loaves do you have?” – Jesus asked the disciples to give up their own food. Instead of the food that someone else provided to them. This is teaching the disciples that they’ve been given everything that they need. It’s just you and Jesus, and that’s all you need.
This also represents the fact that in order for the Gentile’s to be saved, the Jews must first meet them, walk with them, impact their lives with the good news of Jesus and watch as God transforms them.
“Seven” – Refer to the above explanation of the significance of the number seven, when it comes to the feeding of the Gentiles.
Mark 8:6-10 – Basically the same miracle as The Feeding of the Five Thousand.
“The region of Dalmanutha” – A region on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. Its exact location is uncertain, but it’s likely the same as, or near, Magdala (also called Migdal). This area was a significant location for Jesus’ ministry because it was the hometown of Mary Magdalene.
message, sign of hope or confirmation from a higher power.” The Pharisees have tried tripping Jesus up with religious laws. Now they simply dare him to perform a miracle. A miracle by their standards. Not like any of the other miracles Jesus has performed.
Mark 8:11 – “A sign from heaven” – “A miraculous event or extraordinary phenomenon interpreted as a divine message, sign of hope or confirmation from a higher power.” The Pharisees have tried tripping Jesus up with religious laws. Now they simply dare him to perform a miracle. A miracle by their standards. Not like any of the other miracles Jesus has performed.
Mark 8:12 – “He sighed deeply” – This attack and the unbelief it demonstrated distressed Jesus. He was amazed at their unbelief and their audacity. His sigh was simply a physical sign of his spiritual pain.
Don’t ask someone what they believe, simply watch what they do. Jesus’ outward sigh was representative of the inward distance that had grown between Jesus and the religious establishment. Along with his astonishment at their unbelief in light of their impending doom, of which Jesus was well aware.
“Why does this generation ask for a sign?” – The demand for a sign stemmed from a lack of faith, skepticism and a desire for gratification rather than genuine belief. This reflects a spiritual attitude of testing God, rather than humbly accepting the truth already presented.
“No sign will be given to it” – Jesus would not be doing any signs for these Pharisees. The Greek word translated as “generation” can mean a group of people living at the same time, a specific family line or a particular type or “genus” of people known for a shared character or belief. Jesus will be dead and resurrected in less than three years, so generation means the genus known as Pharisees.
Mark 8:13 – “Crossed to the other side” – This is a transition passage. Yes, Jesus and the disciples are literally going to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. But also, this passage marks Jesus’ transition from public ministry in Galilee to personal ministry with his disciples. He needs to prepare them for his sacrifice and the new era that will follow.
Jesus prophesied that the Pharisees wouldn’t see any miracles. Yet, the miracle of the resurrection is right around the corner. Jesus’ prophecy isn’t about no miracles happening. It’s about the Pharisee’s inability to actually see any miracles that are happening right in front of them.
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