Recap

So far in Mark, we've read the prologue, Jesus' early ministry in Galilee, and the section on the calling and training of the disciples. Mark's gospel open with the assertion that Jesus is the son of God and king that the Old Testament had been looking forward to.

Jesus declared the start of his new reign by fighting spiritual warfare in the desert. Then Jesus went out and began preaching that the kingdom of God is near. The kingdom of God has authority and power over the forces of darkness, and over sicknesses and disease. It makes unclean things clean as Jesus reached out and touched a leper. It doesn't control people. Instead, it leaves them free to follow or reject Jesus. The kingdom of God doesn't work like the people expected it to. It is a kingdom focused on those in need and cares more about people than laws. 

Then the book moved into the calling and training of the disciples. The king of God is a mystery that needs wrestling with to find and understand. We read how the kingdom of God has authority over the natural forces like storms. It expands to include Gentile, non-Jewish, lands. It includes men and women, young and old.

Yet despite these miracles, there are still plenty who don't understand Jesus and what he is doing. Jesus is rejected by his hometown. King Herod thinks he is John the Baptist, back from the dead. The Pharisees want a sign and evidence, despite his many miracles. His own disciples think he's a ghost when he walks on his water.

It's only the Gentiles, those that should be far from God, who seem to grasp who he is. He healed a Gentile woman's daughter after she demonstrated great faith. She declared that even a crumb of Jesus' power could heal her daughter. He healed a man who was deaf and unable to speak and fed a crowd of four thousand Gentiles. Repeatedly, we see that Jesus' ministry is to the whole word, not just the Jews.

We then had the miracle of a blind man being healed in two stages and Jesus' confession that he is the future king they've been waiting for. Peter was the first one to declare it. But then Jesus explained that, as the future king, he has come to suffer and die. Peter couldn't understand this and pushed back against what Jesus was saying. Like the blind man in the middle of his healing, Peter could see in part, but couldn't understand the full truth. 

Mark 9-10

Jesus takes his closest disciples, Peter, James, John up a mountain. When they reach the top, Jesus is transfigured before them. His clothes become white and radiant. Out of nowhere, Elijah and Moses appear and begin to talk to Jesus. And then a voice comes down from heaven and declares, "This is my beloved Son; listen to him" (Mark 9:7).

The whole story seems strange, but it serves a very specific role. Going forward, things are going to get bad for Jesus. Mark wants his readers to understand that they're getting bad because that's the plan, not because he has fallen out of favour with God.

On that mountain we see Jesus inline with Moses, who brought the law, and Elijah, one of the greatest prophets of the Old Testament. And we see God reaffirm that Jesus is his son. Whatever happens going forward, Jesus is very much inline with the Old Testament and the will of God. 

Coming down from the mountain, Jesus meets a man whose son is possessed by a demon so powerful it tries to drown him and throws him into fires. There are three key exorcism stories in Mark. The first was back in Mark 1, when Jesus started his ministry. This one was to show that the kingdom of God has authority over unclean spirits.

The second was in the land of the Gerasenes, against the hoard of demons who called themselves legion. That one was to show that the kingdom of God's authority isn't limited by the amount of demons it has to deal with.

Here we have the third one. It demonstrates that the kingdom of God has authority no matter how strong the demon. All the forces of darkness have to submit to the kingdom of God. Jesus casts the demon out of the child and hands him back to his father.

Next comes a long section of teaching. Jesus covers topics like what does it mean to be great in the kingdom of God, anyone who is for us can't be against us, the risks of temptation, divorce and more. This section of teaching is opened and closed by Jesus explaining to his disciples.

Two times Jesus unpacks for them that while he is the king they've been waiting for, he is heading to Jerusalem to be mocked, beaten, and killed. Then, after three days, he will rise again as their victorious king. The disciples can't understand what he's saying. They have no framework for a king who would suffer for his people.

We can see this in the reactions of James and John. They come to Jesus and ask if they can be on his right and left when he is crowned king. Jesus tries to explain to them that's not going to look like what they expect and are they sure they're willing to go through what he's going through. They insist, and Jesus tells them that the spots to his left and right are already taken. Then he reminds his disciples that the kingdom of God isn't about chasing after position and power. It's about serving others and laying down your life.

And so we come to the end of this section of the book of Mark, and what is often known as Jesus' public ministry. The final section is focused on Jesus' last days and his time in Jerusalem. But to end Jesus' public ministry, we get one more story of Jesus healing.

A blind man named Bartimaeus is sitting on the side of the road when he hears Jesus coming. Immediately he shouts, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" (Mark 10:47). In this statement, Bartimaeus is declaring his confidence that Jesus is the future king, from the line of David.

The people try to quiet him but, moved by compassion, Jesus comes to him. Asking what he wants, Bartimaeus responds, "let me recover my sight". At that, Jesus heals him, demonstrating that the Bartimaeus is right to see him as the future king. Mark wants his readers to know, just in case there was any doubt, Jesus is the future king. And the king is about to enter the royal city.

Psalm 83

The psalm is attributed to Asaph, one of king David’s musicians, and falls into the category of lament.

Psalm 83:1-8 - Complaint

Psalm 83:9-18 - Request

The psalmist open with a quick request that God no longer be silent before jumping into their complaint. Their enemies have raised their heads. Enemies who hate God. They plot and they plan to see the nation of Israel wiped out.

The different nations have all come together with this intention. Nations that were previously enemies are now united in their hatred of Israel. Edomites, Ishmaelites, Moabites, Hagrites, Ammonites, Amalekites, the Philistines and more.

So the psalmist makes their request of God. They ask that God defeat these nations and leaders like the ones God has defeated in the past. There’s Jabin and his commander Sisera we read about in Judges 4. And then there’s Oreb, Zeeb, Zebah, and Zalmunna, all kings that Gideon defeated in Judges 7-8. Each of these thought to destroy Israel and claim their lands but were defeated by God.

The psalmist asks that God burn these nations up and blow the ashes away with a great wind. May they realise the strength and might of God so that they would turn to him and worship him rather than try to destroy his people.

In this last section, we see the usual declaration of trust embedded in the psalmist’s request. God is powerful and mighty. The most high over all the earth. This truth gives the psalmist the confidence to make their request. Even when all the world is against them, God’s people can still cry out to him and be delivered.