“The King is on the move”

 

“As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen.  And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.”  And immediately they left their nets and followed him.” (Mk. 1.16-18) 

     As we saw last time, Jesus proclaimed the arrival of the kingdom of God.  He also made the kingdom of God tangible through his actions.  As Mark tells his story of Jesus, we see a Jesus who is on the move, who is in a hurry to establish the kingdom of God before the forces of darkness catch up with him. 

     Following his public “unveiling” as the Son of God and his 40-day trial in the wilderness, the King of Israel began to tour his kingdom and to gather a group of apprentices (i.e., disciples) who would learn his ways and partner with him in his mission.  Jesus had a home in Capernaum (cf. Mk. 2.1; 3.19-20), and it seems that Simon and Andrew, along with James and John, were Jesus’ “neighbours” (cf. 1.21, 29).  Indeed, most of the action in chapters 1—3 takes place in/around Capernaum – either by the lake (1.16-20; 3.7-12), in the synagogue (1.21-28; 3.1-6) or in Jesus’ home (2.1-12) or those of his fellow townsfolk (1.29-34; 2.13-17).

     We don’t know what kind of relationship Jesus had had with Simon, Andrew, James and John (or indeed Levi) before “calling” them to become his disciples.  We do know that as inhabitants of the same town and attendees of the same synagogue, they would definitely have known each other, at least superficially.  Basically, what Jesus was asking them to do was to “drop” their daily routine of fishing and join him in a kind of “preaching tour” of the neighbouring villages (and sometimes further afield).  These sorties were often following by a return to Capernaum, the “home base” (Mk. 1.35—2.1).  Jesus’ activity in and around Capernaum consisted of both proclaiming and enacting the kingdom of God, i.e., preaching, performing healings/exorcisms and sharing meals with “sinners”.  This is a strange way of being a king, and these are strange people with which to populate a kingdom – fishermen and tax collectors, i.e., peasant labourers and social outcasts.  These are the ones whose company Jesus seeks out.  Through Jesus, the purposes of God are being fulfilled among the lower echelons of society – indeed, among those whom respectable Judaism considered to be pariahs, “untouchables” (the sick were often labeled religiously “unclean”: e.g. Mk. 1.40-45).

     One thing becomes very clear from the outset – to follow Jesus does not mean to play a passive role, but rather commits one to becoming actively involved in Jesus’ mission.  When Jesus had gathered 12 apostles (i.e., ambassadors, delegates), he commissioned them to perform the same activities as himself (proclaiming the kingdom and performing exorcisms: Mk. 3.13-15; cf. 6.7-13, 30-32).  Besides the official list of apostles in 3.16-19, most of the disciples are not named within Mark’s narrative.  The notable exceptions are the “inner ring” of Simon, James and John, who are often alone with Jesus at significant moments (cf. Mk. 5.37; 9.2; 13.3; 14.33).  However, though these 3 may have enjoyed a greater intimacy with Jesus than the rest of the 12, Mark never draws a veil over the moments when their complete and utter failure to understand Jesus’ message/be loyal to him is on full display (cf. Mk. 8.31-33; 10.35-40; 14.66-72).  The fact that Jesus chose 12 apostles is very meaningful, as it evokes the 12 sons of Jacob/Israel, who gave their names to the 12 tribes of Israel during the period of slavery in Egypt, the 40 years in the desert and the conquest/settlement of Canaan.  By gathering a group of 12 apostles, Jesus was symbolically reconstituting the nation of Israel, the people of God.

     Make no mistake – the first disciples had no clue that the man who had called them away from their fishing nets was their King.  They did not accept to follow Jesus because they believed he was Israel’s Messiah.  The category that Jesus’ contemporaries (including the disciples) used to understand his actions and words was that of …a prophet (cf. Mk. 6.14-16; 8.27-28).  Simon and the others knew the stories of Elijah and Elisha, charismatic prophetic types who had performed signs and healings and lived unconventional lives.  Perhaps, at the beginning, they assumed that Jesus had essentially the same mission as John the Baptist – to prepare the people of God for the arrival of the One who would lead the new Exodus and set Israel free from her enemies.  And so, Jesus’ covert kingdom-movement begins with a misunderstanding as a group of 12 Galileans proclaims the kingdom of God and performs healings/exorcisms (and draws great crowds), all the while provoking scandal by enjoying table fellowship with “sinners” and sitting loose to taboos such as Sabbath observance.

“They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, [Jesus] entered the synagogue and taught…he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was…a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” (Mk. 1.21-24)

     Although, as he began his public career, no human being recognized Jesus as the King, there was a group of beings who knew all too well who he was – the demons of Galilee.  The very presence of Jesus compelled the demons within those people in his vicinity to confess Jesus’ identity (Mk. 1.24-25, 34).  Far from being gratified by this recognition of his true role, Jesus is inconvenienced by the demons’ knowledge of his identity and does everything in his power to prevent them spreading the truth about him.  Jesus’ identity is dangerous to himself and to those around him; he has a mission to fulfill in a short lapse of time, and must leverage the element of subterfuge and surprise for as long as possible.  Jesus is “behind enemy lines” and must set the explosive charges of the kingdom of God in as many nooks and crannies of Galilee as he can before his cover is blown and his human adversaries become aware of just how dangerous (to them) is this threat in their midst.  Indeed, Jesus must wage war “in the open” even as he attempts to remain “anonymous”.  Jesus proclaims and embodies the kingdom of God and he is “the stronger man” who plunders the kingdom of Satan (cf. Mk. 3.23-27).

     As the King of Israel, Jesus has a mandate to defend the people of God against her foes; Jesus undertakes the defence of Israel against her true enemy – the age-old Adversary, the Satan (and his legions), the one who had tested the faithfulness of Job and who had accused Israel throughout her history (cf. Zech. 3.1-2).  Jesus’ faithfulness to God gives him authority over all forces of darkness, those powers who seek to co-opt human wills to their dark designs.  Jesus, whose will is perfectly united to that of God (cf. Mk. 14.35-36), is immune to all demonic devices and has authority to compel evil spirits to obey his word (Mk. 1.25-27).

     This first exorcism in the synagogue of Capernaum is how Jesus makes his name as a Liberator.  As soon as the Sabbath ends (at sunset), the entire population of Capernaum gathers around the door of Simon’s house and “entombs” Jesus in the lengthening shadows; Jesus performs healings and exorcisms all night long (Mk. 1.29-34).  The King sets people free from slavery to the forces of darkness, in the dark of night – both literal and metaphorical.  Sunrise on the first day of the week finds Jesus alone at prayer in a deserted place.  Simon and the others hunt him down, thinking to bring him back into the village, but Jesus leads them away from what is familiar in order to continue his campaign of liberation throughout Galilee (1.35-39).  “Follow me”, Jesus intimates, “and join the cause of the kingdom of freedom”.  The Messiah, as Isaiah had said, is the Prince of Peace (cf. Is. 9.6).  Jesus is bringing the shalom of Yahweh to the people of God.

“A leper came to him begging him, and kneeling he said to him,

“If you choose, you can make me clean.”  Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him,

“I do choose. Be made clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him,

and he was made clean.  (Mk. 1.40-42)

     Along with exorcisms, Jesus performs many healings of various physical ailments in the early chapters of Mark’s Gospel.  Jesus’ first healing is that of Simon’s mother-in-law (1.29-31).  With the restoration of the leper, we begin to understand the meaning of Jesus’ healings (and exorcisms).  The thrice-repeated word “clean” in the above passage reveals what is truly going on when the King restores the members of the people of God to wholeness.  Leprosy rendered its victim “unclean”, i.e., it proscribed that person from participation in the life of the community, of both civil society and the worship life of the people (cf. Lev. 13).  In the Hebrew Scriptures, as well as throughout the history of the people of God, holiness had been a question of separation, distinction, and exclusion.  Clean vs. unclean, in vs. out, us vs. them.  Holiness had been understood, on the one hand, as the drawing of clear lines which demarcated the frontiers between that which was worthy to exist in the presence of God, and on the other, that which was abhorrent to Yahweh and must be banished far from his face.  Holiness was bound up with the fear of being shunned, ostracized, of being condemned to a living hell of solitude and shame.  Holiness was something to be achieved, something to be guarded, something to be proud of – holiness, as understood by Jesus’ contemporaries, was social currency.  Simply put, holiness = status.

     The “unclean” – the lepers (both literal and metaphorical), the sinners, the collaborators with Rome (=tax collectors), the broken, the indebted, the destitute, the beggars, the crippled, the blind, the deaf, those possessed by “unclean” spirits – all these had no status, no place, were ascribed no value and were not only unclean but also unseen.  The multitudes of hurting people whom “the holy” people would rather not acknowledge flocked to Jesus, knowing that he had the power to make them “clean”.  These “unwashed masses” were the target of Jesus’ operation of kingdom-building.  The rule of King Jesus is a rule which restores.  Jesus’ approach to wholeness/holiness is radically different from that of, for example, the Pharisees.  Jesus “crosses the lines” between clean and unclean with seeming recklessness, not because holiness is unimportant, but because holiness is only possible once one has been embraced by unconditional love.  For Jesus, holiness is a gift to be given, not a possession to be hoarded.  Jesus betrays no fear of sin, uncleanliness or contagion.  Jesus “infects” the unclean with his wholeness/holiness.  As far as Jesus is concerned, holiness = healing. 

     Our king is still on the move.  Jesus’ kingdom work of healing and liberating continues.  Jesus is still calling us to follow him.  Will we take the risk of following and serving this strange king?  Everything depends on our response to this question.  Amen.