Lesson #8

Interlude
(7: 1 8: 26)
With the murder of John the Baptist in Lesson #7, Jesus faces
the stark reality that if he continues teaching, preaching and
healing in Galileeas he has been doinghe will face the same
brutal death as his cousin, John.

Understanding this marks a turning point for Jesus in the Gospel
according to Mark. Until now as readers we might question
whether Jesus fully understood the consequences of his
actions, whether he knew the ultimate price he would pay for
them, and whether he fully comprehended the implications for
himself and for his disciples.

After Johns murder Jesus night on the mountain there is no
longer any doubt: Jesus will go to Jerusaleminto the mouth
of the beastwhere he will confront head-on the religious
leaders and the Roman authorities, be arrested, tried and
brutally crucified.















His decision made, Jesus reengages the growing conflict that has
accompanied his public ministry in Galilee. As we enter Lesson #8 we
learn that Jesus activities in Galilee have attracted the attention of
the religious leaders in Jerusalem, for when the Pharisees with some
scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him . . . they
began to question him regarding details of the Law: Why do your
disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal
with unclean hands (7: 1, 5)?

Juxtaposed to the murder of John the Baptist and Jesus night on the
mountain, this otherwise appropriate question on a minor point of
the Law ignites a deep rage within Jesus: He responds, Well did
Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites . . . (7: 6), and he goes on to
savage the religious leaders, throwing gasoline on a smoldering fire.
When his disciples question him about the encounter, Jesus blasts
them, too: Are you likewise without understanding (7: 18)? Jesus
frustration and anger are visceral, virtually leaping off the page!

















Jesus then leaves Galilee and heads north toward Tyre (in
modern-day Lebanon), where he encounters a
Syrophoenician woman (whom he deeply insults!), and he
then heads back by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee.

Once home, nothing has changed.

With that, Jesus makes a pivotal decision. He takes his
disciples 43 miles north of the Sea of Galilee to Caesarea
Philippi, a Greco-Roman town at the southwestern foot of
Mt. Hermon, where the turning point in our story will take
place.




























As we saw the tone of our story change
entering Lesson #7 where Jesus seemed
deflated, so does the tone change again in
Lesson #8 as Jesus reengages the conflict in
Galilee.

In Lesson #8 we learn that the religious
authorities in Jerusalem have taken note of
Jesus, and he is now on their radar.

Jesus responds to the scribes from
Jerusalem like a pit bull going after raw meat!




















Why do your disciples
not follow the tradition
of the elders but instead
eat a meal with unclean
hands? (7: 5)





















Since God provides the food we eat, it is
holy. Therefore, we bless God for the
food he has provided, and we perform a
hand washing called Netilat Yadayim to
sanctify ourselves before eating the food
God has offered. It is a ceremonial
washing, having nothing to do with
hygiene.

We wash our hands with a special 2-
handled cup, pouring water 3 times over
the right hand and then 3 times over the
left hand, while reciting a blessing.

The Rabbi says . . .





















Likewise, in the Roman
Catholic Church when Mass
is celebrated and the gifts of
bread and wine are being
prepared at the altar, the
priest ceremonially washes
his hands, saying, Lord,
wash away my iniquity;
cleanse me from my sins.

The priests action descends
directly from the ceremonial
hand washing before meals
in Judaism.













The Greek word translated
hypocrites is uJpokritw:n
[hupo-kri-ton], a masculine,
plural noun meaning in classical
Greek a stage actor,
pretender, or dissembler.

It is a scathing indictment of the
professional theologians, the
religious leaders from Jerusalem,
and the most incendiary insult in
Jesus vocabulary.




























And then Jesus continues . . .
How well you have set aside the
commandment of God in order to
uphold your tradition! For Moses said .
. .

























Im outta
here!











Capernaum
Tyre
38 miles
34 miles
In one of the most difficult passages in
the synoptic gospels, Jesus clearly insults
the Syrophoenician womana gentile
who asks for his help by calling her a
dog.

There is no getting around it: calling someone
a dog in the Near East is an insult, both in
biblical times and today:
Golaith, insulted by David, says: Am I a dog
that you come at me with a stick? (1 Samuel
17: 43);
When evil king Ahab dies dogs licked up his
blood as its washed from his chariot where
the prostitutes bathed (1 Kings 22: 38); and
When Ahabs vile wife Jezebel dies, dogs
devoured her flesh and she thus becomes
dung in the fields (2 Kings 9: 36-37).






























But everyone
likes me!
Dr. Cs Buttercup (RIP)











Decapolis
Region
?


















Why does Jesus go
north to Sidon and
then back to Galilee by
way of the Decapolis?

Makes no sense
to me!













We need to look at this
scene very carefully.

After Jesus heated encounter
with the scribes from
Jerusalem and his frustrated
clash with his disciples, he
heads north to Tyre,
withdrawing from Galilee in
anger.

In Tyre he clashes with the
Syrophoenician woman, calling
her a dog, his frustration and
impatience again clearly
evident.



















If thats the case, one would
expect the Syrophoenician
woman to strike back at the
insult, but she doesnt; instead,
she responds with humility and
kindness.

Jesus seems taken aback!

He grants her wish, and then
moves on, not returning to
Galilee, but continuing north to
Sidon.

Where is he going?






Jesus continues putting another 30
miles between himself and
Galilee!

Once at Sidon, however, Jesus
seems to change his mind, heading
back to Galilee, but in a rather
circuitous route, entering through
the eastern region of the
Decapolis.

































Decapolis
Region
?













Could it be that having left Galilee
in anger and frustration, Jesus is
determined to give up the
fight?

And could it be that the
Syrophoenician womans
response gave him pause and
prompted him to reconsider?

And could it be that on his
continuing walk north to Sidon he
determined to go back to Galilee
and continue the fight?

And could it be that by taking a
circuitous route he had time to
think and to plan his next moves?





















Yes, that could
very well be the
case!
















Bartholomeus Breenbergh, Jesus Healing a Deaf and Dumb Man (oil on
canvas), 1635. Louvre Museum, Paris.
Jesus Multiplies the Loaves & Fish

Mark 6: 31-44 Mark 8: 1-10
Decapolis Decapolis
Late in the day 3 days later
5,000 men 4,000 men
(masculine, plural) (masculine, plural)
5 loaves 7 loaves
2 fish a few fish
12 baskets left 7 baskets left



































Possible site of Dalmanutha.
Map courtesy of Biblos.com
Dalmanutha











Sea of Galilee (Google Earth)
Decapolis
Heals deaf man
Feeds 4,000
Dalmanutha
Bethsaida
Heals blind man
1
2
3
Demand for Sign











Gioacchino Assereto, Christ Healing the Blind Man (oil on canvas), 1640.
Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA.
On three occasions Jesus
heals a person by spitting!

1. The deaf man in the Decapolis
He put his finger into the mans ears
and, spitting, touched his tongue (Mark
7: 33);
2. The blind man of Bethsaida
He took the blind man by the hand and
led him outside the village. Putting
spittle on his eyes he laid his hands on
him . . . (Mark 8: 23);
3. The man born blind in Jerusalem
When he had said this, he spat on the
ground and made clay with the saliva
(John 9: 6).




































How odd is that!
I have read countless explanations for why
Jesus spits in these three healings, from the
early Church Fathers to contemporary
biblical criticism, and I have yet to encounter
a convincing explanation.

Clearly, Jesus can heal in a variety of ways:
1) laying hands on someone (Peters mother-
in-law); 2) speaking to someone who is
present (the paralytic); 3) speaking about
someone who is not present (the
Syrophoenician womans daughter); and so
on.

I have no idea why Jesus spits in these three
healings.

(Dont let that get out!)


1. Why does Jesus react so aggressively when
the scribes from Jerusalem question him
about he and his disciples eating with
unwashed hands?
2. What is significant about the scribes from
Jerusalem asking him this question?
3. Why does Jesus go to Tyre and Sidon?
4. What does Jesus mean by calling the
Syrophoenician woman a dog?
5. Why does Jesus take such a circuitous route
back to Galilee from Sidon?






Copyright 2014 by William C. Creasy
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