Lesson 3 - Chapters 4 and 5

Jesus was the Master Teacher. He was often addressed as Rabbi, meaning teacher. This was recognised by the great leaders of His day, by His followers, and through the ages by the entire Christian and even non-Christian world, right up to today. If we recognise our calling to teaching, even though we might have been trained through methods courses or have come to our positions because of experience and years of study, what better way to gauge our teaching ability than by finding out how Jesus taught?

What methods of teaching did Jesus use?

(a) Jesus spoke with certainty and authority:

While on earth, Jesus utilised many different teaching methods during His years of public ministry. One approach He used was to speak by His own authority; He spoke with certainty. The Bible states, “they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes” (Mark 1:22). We find ourselves quoting other teachers or experts in our field of study, but Jesus did not have to do this. He spoke with His own authority, for He said, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:18).

(b) Jesus used storytelling, teaching through Parables:

The art of storytelling is one of the most ancient and universal means of communication devised by man. Long before historical events and codes of law were recorded, the customs of tribes and peoples were transmitted from one generation to another through stories and legends.

Jesus regarded storytelling as one of the best methods of making known the truths He wanted to impart. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine how some of His truths could have been imparted, to such good effect, in any other way. As it is, His stories are not only remembered; they are studied, again and again, challenging each generation afresh with the truths they contain. Here is a list of some of the Parables Jesus used in His teaching:

1. The house built on the rock, Matthew 7:24-27

2. The sower, Matthew 13:4-9

3. The wheat and the tares, Matthew 13:24-30

4. The unmerciful servant, Matthew 18:23-35

5. The labourers in the vineyard, Matthew 20:1-16

6. The wicked husbandmen, Matthew 21:33-43

7. The guests at the marriage feast, Matthew 22:1-14

8. The wise and foolish virgins, Matthew 25:1-13

9. The talents and their use, Matthew 25:14-30

10. The good Samaritan, Luke 10:30-37

11. A friend in search of bread, Luke 11:5-10

12. A rich man and his barns, Luke 12:16-21

13. The barren fig tree, Luke 13:6-9

14. Chief seats at the feast, Luke 14:7-11

15. The lost sheep, Luke 15:3-7

16. The prodigal son, Luke 15:11-32

17. Stewardship commended, Luke 16:1-9

18. Lazarus and the rich man, Luke 16:19-31

19. The unfortunate widow, Luke 18:1-7

20. Two men at prayer, Luke 18:9-14

Advantages of using Parables as a means of teaching:

• The stories were credible: they had nothing to dispute, so were accepted.

• His stories were contextual: people could relate to the subject matter.

• His Parables were imaginative and thought-provoking.

• These parables carried elements of surprise, catching the imagination of the people who heard them.

• The stories were purposeful, and not told for their own sake.

• The Parables were memorable and spread quickly by word of mouth, making the work of His disciples easy when they began their ministry.

What places did Jesus choose for teaching?

Wherever Jesus saw people gathered, He would teach. He taught in the Temple, in the synagogues, sitting atop a mountain, and sitting in the bow of a boat. Whatever Jesus did always carried a useful lesson, for the witnesses then and for us now.

1. Parable of the Sower (Mark 4:3-9)

Jesus told one of His first parables about a farmer’s field. The sower is the Son of Man, and the seed is the Word of God. Jesus describes four kinds of ground the seed fell on. Three are unfruitful: the wayside, where the birds ate the seed (the devil takes away the Word); the stony ground, where the sun withered it (those who let affliction and persecution turn them from God, having no depth of their own); and the thorny ground, where thorns choked it (those who let the cares of the world crowd God out). So many people today let the world shut them out from Him. Then Jesus describes what happened to the seed that fell on good ground: these are the ones who receive the Word and are saved.

His enemies had rejected His teaching, and the crowds had grown indifferent to spiritual truth; they were interested in miracles, but not in the spiritual lesson the miracles taught. So Jesus turned to parables to reach them. To those who were merely curious or hostile, the parables remained a puzzle; but to those who hungered and thirsted after righteousness, the meaning was opened to them. People understand what they are willing to understand - they must want the truth before it can be made real to them.

2. The Candle under a Bushel (Mark 4:21-22)

This next parable deals with light. Light creates responsibility: we are held responsible according to the light we have been given. You and I were in darkness until the light of the Gospel reached us. If we do not accept the Light - if we do not accept Him - we remain lost. This parable calls us to act on God’s Word, for faith is acting on what God has said. It also tells us that the knowledge of Jesus and the Gospel we have received is not to be kept to ourselves, but shared abroad to enlighten others too.

3. The Growing Seed (Mark 4:26-29)

This next parable is a bit unusual. Jesus speaks of how a seed grows into a plant of its own accord, the farmer neither understanding nor controlling it. Even today, for all our science, there is real mystery in how a single seed becomes a living, fruit-bearing plant. It is worth pausing simply to notice the sheer power packed into something so small: plant it in good soil, and day after day a shoot appears, then a plant, and in time it can become a great tree bearing fruit. This is a picture of the quiet power the Word has in our hearts and lives once it takes root. Our task is to sow the seed of the Gospel among the unreached; God the Holy Spirit will nurture it, and a soul will be saved.

The narratives that follow show us the authority and power of God the Son, Jesus Christ, over everything: nature, the elements, and even the demons.

Jesus Stills the Storm (Mark 4:35-41)

We must have undoubting faith in Jesus:

One day, once Jesus had finished teaching, He and the disciples set out across the lake. Jesus was tired and fell asleep in the stern of the boat. As they crossed, a storm blew in, with wind and waves so high that it threatened to sink the boat. These experienced fishermen woke Jesus and said, “Master, carest thou not that we perish?” Jesus rose and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, “Peace, be still.” And there was a great calm. Then He said to them, “Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?” Do you see what a wonderful thing this is? Jesus allows the storms of life to come so that we will draw closer to Him, and know Him better.

Mark 5 records three outstanding miracles, each one only an omnipotent hand could perform, each illustrating Jesus’ power.

1. Jesus overpowers the demons

The first miracle illustrates Jesus’ power over demons. When Jesus and His men got out of the boat, on the eastern shore of the lake - Gentile territory, which is why a great herd of pigs was being kept there - they were met by a man controlled by demons. He was violent and tormented, driven half out of his mind by the demons within him. Yet despite his condition, Jesus saw the man. He lived among the tombs, no longer welcome in the company of ordinary people, and because of the demons’ hold on him he had such strength that no one could bind him, even with chains. He was a wild, wretched figure, an object of both fear and pity, crying out and unable to speak sense.

Yet when the man saw Jesus, he ran and worshipped Him. At times the man spoke for himself, and at times the demons spoke through him - a vivid sign of how completely they had taken hold of him.

Jesus asked the man’s name, and the demons replied, “My name is Legion: for we are many.” The demons begged Jesus not to send them out of that country, but to let them enter the herd of pigs feeding on the hillside nearby. Jesus allowed it, and the demons went into the pigs - about two thousand of them - which then rushed down the bank into the lake.

The possessed man was completely healed, restored to his right mind and set free.

2. The power of Jesus over illness and death (Mark 5:21-43)

Here we learn of two incidents, one woven into the other.

(a) All of Galilee knew of Jesus’ miracle-working ministry, and crowds came to Him with their needs. Jesus was on His way to help the daughter of a man named Jairus, making His way through the throng, when He stopped and said, “Who touched my clothes?” It was a woman who had touched the edge of Jesus’ garment from behind, as He walked through the crowd. His disciples answered, “Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?” But Jesus knew that only one person had touched Him in faith for healing, and He brought the woman’s twelve years of suffering to an end.

(b) Meanwhile, Jairus’ twelve-year-old daughter had passed from light into the darkness of death. While Jesus was still speaking with the woman, Jairus must have been desperate for Him to hurry - his little girl was dying at home, and every moment mattered. Yet the Lord did not move any faster; He stopped and healed the woman first. While this was happening, messengers came from Jairus’ house and said to him, “Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further?” But Jesus said to him, “Be not afraid, only believe.” Only then did Jesus go to Jairus’ house. Some there did not believe, and He put them outside. Then He went to the room where the little girl lay dead. He took her by the hand and said in Aramaic, “Talitha cumi” - which is, being interpreted, “Damsel, I say unto thee, arise.” In other words: get up, little one - spoken as tenderly as any father waking a sleeping child. And immediately the girl rose and walked, to the utter astonishment of everyone there.

These three great miracles demonstrate the great message of the Gospel of Mark: Jesus is God’s own Servant, carrying the full power of God. He is a man of action, and He has come not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. It is time for us to hear “Talitha cumi” spoken over us. We are dead in sin, but with Jesus knocking at our door, we must wake to His call and let Him in.

FOR DISCUSSION AND REFLECTION

1. Of the three parables in this lesson - the sower, the candle under the bushel, and the growing seed - which one describes something you have actually noticed in your own life or in someone else’s? What happened?

2. Picture yourself on the boat when that storm blew in. How do you identify with the disciples in that moment of fear? What would you have said to Jesus - and what do you say to Him now, when life feels like that storm?

3. The demon-possessed man was an outcast long before anyone understood what had happened to him. Where do you see people today who are pushed to the edges the way he was, and what would it look like to see them the way Jesus did?

4. The woman with the issue of blood risked everything - pressing through a crowd, in a condition that made her an outsider - just to touch the edge of Jesus’ clothes. What is something in your own life that takes that same kind of quiet courage to bring to Him?

5. Jairus had to go on trusting Jesus even after the worst possible news reached him. Have you ever had to keep believing when circumstances seemed to say it was too late? What helped you hold on?

— End of Lesson 3 —