We were discussing Rabbis and Disciples last time, and if you’re ready, let’s see what Part 2 brings us. (How many parts? I’ll let you know. These things have a way of getting out of hand.)
First, a bit of recap. This is all a result of my sudden realization a while ago that in John chapter 3, John the Baptist was called Rabbi. I was aware that he taught and preached and baptized, and that he had a number of disciples around him, but somehow it had escaped my attention that he was called, at least this once, Rabbi. That word, as we know, means Teacher, and John was that. But it carries with it the assumption that John was an educated man, having earned the title through an accepted course of study. No doubt he wore the traditional garb of a trained and credentialed Rabbi. As did Jesus.
I began to look a little closer at the first three chapters of John’s Gospel, and discovered another apparently closely-guarded secret: the brothers Andrew and Simon were both disciples of John before Jesus came on the scene. Then, as Jesus began His ministry, He also taught and preached and baptized, just like John. In fact, John’s disciples got miffed, thinking that Jesus was encroaching on John’s territory. John set them straight, saying, “I must decrease, and He must increase.” It was for this purpose, to introduce and promote Jesus, the Lamb of God, that John’s ministry existed at all.
Now let’s take a look at the first three chapters of Mark’s Gospel. Here we find Jesus’ ministry beginning with John’s baptism, then His temptation in the wilderness, and moving on into His calling the twelve disciples and preparing them for their discipleship.
I want to take a bit of time-out here, before we head into discipleship, to look at a couple of words. I’m going to be brief, and try not to fall down the Greek rabbit hole, but I want to look at the word “power”. In the New Testament, there are two words that are translated into “power”, and this tells us that there are at least two kinds of power. On the one hand, power can mean strength or physical might, and on the other, it means authority. There is an old, well-worn illustration that I like: a traffic cop, wearing a blue uniform and a badge, holds up his hand and all the cars stop. He isn’t physically able to hold back the traffic with his body; any one of those cars could run him over, or at least push him aside. But because of his authority, as a representative of the local police, and by extension, the municipal Government, the drivers choose to obey his hand signals. But if you put that same cop in a tank, he not only has the authority, but also the might, to affect the flow of traffic.
I bring this up because in looking over the first three chapters of Mark, I noticed that the words authority and power used, twice each. The first two times, chapter 1, verses 22 and 27, the word authority is rightly translated. Then in chapter 2, verse 10, as well as chapter 3, verse 15, that same Greek word is translated power. This is not really a mistranslation; in English, the word power fits well. It is interesting, though, to notice the subtle difference the word authority makes in context.
In chapter 1, Jesus teaches with authority, and demonstrates His authority over unclean spirits. His authority is so unusual, so uncommon, that the local people are astonished! How unusual, then, is it in Chapter 2 when He heals the man with palsy, and does it to prove that He also has authority to forgive sins! But He doesn’t stop there. Chapter 3 recounts how Jesus gathers His twelve disciples together and sends them out to preach, equipped with that same authority to heal the sick and cast out devils.
It’s beginning to look like there’s more to discipleship than just “following” Jesus. In fact, there is a lot more, but I’m going to save some for Part 3. Don’t go away, we’re getting to the good stuff.
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Cheers, and God Bless,
dlh
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