:: in.a.mirror.dimly ::

Continuing my series of meditations on the Gospel of Mark…

By the time we reach Mark chapter six we have a pretty good idea of who Jesus is and what he’s capable of doing. He has calmed a storm, raised a dead girl, healed on the Sabbath, healed a woman with a bleeding problem, and allowed his disciples to “work” on the Sabbath.

In addition, we know that Jesus has a committed but uncertain inner circle, a wide range of popular (but uncommitted) support, and a hardening group of resisters. People generally aren’t sure what to make of him because he hasn’t fit their expectations for the Messiah and stands at odds with the religion scholars of his day, but his good deeds are undeniable.

Jesus has been teaching them through parables, stories, and his works rather than telling them outright that he is the Messiah. Based on the measure of their faith people are able to receive from Jesus, and that is played out when Jesus meets a very disappointing time of ministry in Nazareth where very few believe in his teaching or power.

It’s easy to forget that Jesus had bad days. While the disciples of Jesus today should certainly take responsibility for their own walks with God and live by faith, it is possible that our ministry may be limited sometimes by the faith of others. We can be faithful to pass along what God has given us and still meet limited results because of how people respond.

However, Jesus didn’t remain in Nazareth trying to win them over. He sought out those willing to accept his message, which is something we should do under the leading of God. Keep in mind that Jesus once said that he came for the sick, not those who presumed to be healthy.

In a chapter where Jesus met rejection and then sent out his disciples to preach and to cast out demons, it’s interesting to note that we also find out about the fall of John at the hands of Herod. In one sense, we have a foreshadowing of what is coming for Jesus at the hands of the Roman authorities, and therefore he continued to train his disciples to continue his work.

In addition to that, Mark doesn’t give us too many clues here, but I wonder if John has gotten into a situation that is over his head by challenging Herod. Jesus was no fan of Herod for sure, but we don’t read about Jesus openly confronting any government officials. He operated on the margins among those willing to listen and to repent. Is it possible that John reached too far by openly challenging his king? I could be completely wrong here, but the contrast between John and Jesus is striking enough to make me speculate.

While the contrast between John and Jesus is debatable, we shouldn’t miss the differences between Jesus and Herod. Jesus heals, raises, and restores. Herod fears, commits adultery, and murders. Jesus is about to raise a girl from the dead later in this chapter, while Herod takes away lives.

Jesus also meets resistance and rejection with calm confidence in his calling and position with God even though he has little physical evidence of his true power and glory. Herod on the other hand needs validation and legitimacy and fears any threat to that. By taking his brother’s wife for himself, a princess from the Jewish royal line of Hasmoneans, he has sought to win greater support for his kingship.

By killing John he revealed how pathetic and weak he truly was. That Herod could not suffer the embarrassment of reversing a drunken oath at a dinner party shows us his true weakness.

One king lives in fear and breaks lives, while another king lives in love and compassion, bringing restoration and wholeness. Today we may think of the two as co-existing after hundreds of years in Christendom, but Mark shows us that the Kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this world are not only opposite but opposed to each other.