The Eye of The Storm

Lesson #6
The Eye of the Storm,

Jesus Teaching, Preaching and Healing
(4: 1 6: 6)

In Lesson #5 conflict intensified dramatically: Jesus called Levi, a
hated Jewish tax collector, to become one of his inner circle; Jesus
ate dinner with tax collectors and sinners, enjoying their
company; Jesus disciples blatantly broke the Mosaic Law by picking
grain on the Sabbath, and Jesus defended them; after doing so,
Jesus deliberately provoked the religious leaders by healing a man
with a withered hand in the synagogue, on the Sabbath, resulting in
the Pharisees and Herodians plotting to kill him; the huge crowds
who followed Jesus continued to grow and become more
threatening; Jesus family arrived from Nazareth to seize him, for
they thought that he was out of his mind; and the Scribes
accused him of being possessed by Beelzebub.

All the while, as the tension and conflict increased, people were
astonished by Jesus, asking: Who is this man who can say and do
such things?
Unlike in Matthew where Jesus teaching, preaching and healing (spanning
nine chapters, 5-13) form a major component of Matthews gospel and
establish his credentials as Messiah, Mark presents Jesus teaching, preaching
and healing in a quick, 7-movement chiastic sequence across only two
chapters (4 and 5):

A parable of the sower (4: 1-20)
B parable of the lamp (4: 21-29)
C parable of the mustard seed (4: 30-34)
D calming the storm at sea (4: 35-41)
C healing the Gadarene demoniac (5: 1-20)
B healing Jairus daughter (5: 21-43)
A healing the woman with the hemorrhage (5: 25-34, imbedded).

Rather than accepting him, those closest to himthe people of Jesus
hometown of Nazarethtake offense at him and firmly reject him.


The Gospel according to Mark
focuses on establishing Jesus
identity as the Son of God;
hence, Mark emphasizes Jesus
healings and miracles, not his
teaching and preaching.

Consequently, Mark reports
only 9 parables, while Matthew
gives us 23 and Luke, 28.

The word parable is a compound of two
Greek words: parav (para = along side, as
in paramedic or paralegal) and bolhv (bol =
the verb to throw).

A parable is a succinct, didactic story thrown
alongside a common, ordinary truth to
illuminate that truth in a striking and
memorable fashion. Parables are meant to
illuminate, not to hide or obscure.

Jesus did not invent the parable as a
pedagogic device; rather, parables are a
type of mashalim, a form of comparison
used in the Old Testament, such as
Nathans story of the ewe-lamb in 2
Samuel 12: 1-7 and the story told by the
woman of Tekoa in 2 Samuel 14: 1-13.
Indeed, Greek rhetoricians used the term
to describe a brief fictional narrative used
for comparison, much like an extended
metaphor.

Although Jesus did not invent the
parable, he was a master at using it.
Jesus parables are clever and
memorable, often delighting his audience
with surprise and insight.

Parable of the Sower (fresco). Sts. Konstantine and Helen Orthodox Church,
Cluj, Romania.

Northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee, near Capernaum.
Photography by Ana Maria Vargas


1. Some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it (4: 3).
The person who hears the word and doesnt understand it; the evil one comes and
takes it away.
2. Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil . . . and when
the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots (4: 5-
6).
The person who hears the word, accepts it at once with joy, but has no root and it
lasts only a short time.
3. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked
it (4: 7).
The person who hears the word, but worldly concerns choke it off.
4. But some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit, a hundred or
sixty or thirtyfold (4: 8).
The person who hears the word, understands it and produces fruit.

But why does Jesus
teach in parables?
?

The mystery of the kingdom of God has been
granted to you. But to those outside
everything comes in parables . . .

A mystery *the Greek word is musthvrion,
mustrion+ is meant to be revealed; in contrast to
a secret, which is meant to be concealed.

When Jesus continues saying:

. . . so that they may look and see but not perceive,
and hear and listen but not understand,
in order that they may not be converted
and be forgiven . . .

he is paraphrasing Isaiah 6: 8-10, spoken by God to
Isaiah in a tone of scathing sarcasm, as Jesus does
here, himself!

Clearly, Jesus parables are meant to
reveal in a striking and dramatic way,
not to conceal, hide or obscure!

The Parable of the Lamp

The Parable of the Lamp further
illuminates why Jesus teaches in parables:
Just as a lamp is meant to be put on a
lamp stand to be seen, so is a parable
spoken to bring to light a mystery.

a

Ha, ha!


During spring and fall the Sea of Galilee is a way station for the migration of
over 500 million birds from more than 400 species; it is a Mecca for
Ornithologists!

Just as the birds eat up
the seeds on the path
in 4: 4, and just as
Satan is identified with
the birds in 4: 15, so in
the Parable of the
Mustard Seed are the
birds a negative image.
They are the evil
doers and the
hypocrites who will
come into the Kingdom
of God.


Calming the Storm at Sea

Sea of Galilee (Google Earth)
N
S
E W
Daily afternoon &
evening wind from
the Mediterranean

Sirocco winds originate in the Sahara Desert when a warm, tropical air mass is pulled
northward by low-pressure cells toward the southern coast of Europe. Siroccos peak in
March and November, with wind speeds up to 100 kph (55 mph). Although not in its
direct path, the Sea of Galilee sometimes catches the western edge of a Sirocco.

Rembrandt, The Storm on the Sea of Galilee (oil on canvas), 1633.
Location unknown. (STOLEN from the Isabella Steward Gardner Museum, Boston in 1990.)


The Healings

Healing of the Gadarene Demoniac
Gadara

Archaeological remains of Gadara at the high point of the city, near the western theater.

Christ Exorcising the Gadarene Demonic,
medieval illuminated manuscript.


The Healings

Mark brilliantly portrays Jesus raising
Jairus 12-year old daughter from the
dead as a frame for healing a woman
who had a hemorrhage for 12 years.

A Jairus pleads with Jesus to heal his
daughter.

B Jesus heals the woman with the
12-year hemorrhage.

A Jesus raises Jairus 12-year old
daughter from the dead.

As Jairus 12-year old daughter was
literally dead, so is the woman with the
12-year old hemorrhage dead as a
woman.

Raising the dead is the summit of
all miracles!

Paolo Veronese. Raising the Daughter of Jairus (oil on paper mounted on canvas), 1546.
Louve Museum, Paris.

In Mark 4: 1 5: 43 our story presents
a sample of Jesus teaching in three
parables, balanced by three healings,
with the final healing having Jesus
raise a dead child. The entire chiastic
structure pivots on Jesus calming the
storm on the Sea of Galilee,
demonstrating his authority over
creation itself.

With such evidence, one would expect
the crowds to accept Jesus as who we
are told he is, the Son of God
especially those who knew him best.

Yet, rather than accepting him, those
closest to himthe people of Jesus
hometown of Nazarethtake offense
at him and firmly reject him.

Nazareth today, with the Church of the Annunciation at photos center.

Nazareth and the Brow of the Cliff overlooking the Jezreel Valley.

Dr. Creasy teaching this very story on the Brow of the Cliff!

In this carefully structured
sequence of Mark 4: 1 6: 6,
rather than the tension easing
with the evidence of Jesus
teaching and healing, it
continues to rise as our
narrative speeds forward.

In Lesson #7 we will move out
of the relative calm of the eye
of the storm and into full crisis,
with the murder of John the
Baptist and Jesus response to
it.

1. The other synoptic gospels, Matthew and Luke, give us
numerous examples of Jesus teaching in parables
(Matthew 23 parables and Luke 28), yet Mark only
gives us 9. Why?
2. Why does Jesus teach in parables?
3. The birds resting in the shade of the mustard plant
is nearly always presented in a positive way. Why is
this an incorrect reading of the parable?
4. Why are the people of Gadara seized with fear
when they learn of Jesus casting out the legion of
demons from the man at the tombs?
5. If you were present in the crowds who witnessed
Jesus activities in Galilee, how would you respond to
him?

Copyright 2014 by William C. Creasy
All rights reserved. No part of this courseaudio, video,
photography, maps, timelines or other mediamay be
reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic
or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any
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Lesson #6

The Eye of the Storm,

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