Keep It Simple When Answering Critics Of Our Christian Faith Series

GOOD NEWS PRESENTED BY MARK

Study of the Gospel According to Mark

As you read Mark, be aware that you are reading the very first written account of the ministry of Jesus – a fact well documented by credible Bible scholars. Quite naturally, we want to know who Mark was, and we find that he is mentioned frequently in the New Testament.

What we know about him is that he was the son of a very well-to-do woman in Jerusalem; her name was Mary, and her home became the center of early church get-togethers. So, you can imagine that Mark was there when Jesus’ closest followers came to his mother’s house for a “church council” meeting. Peter the chief elder referred to Mark affectionately as “my son.”

Mark was also the nephew of Barnabas who talked Paul into letting the youngster go with them on one of their missionary journeys - which, you may recall, resulted in Mark’s falling out of favor with Paul by leaving and going back home. However, it’s interesting to note that, years later, when Paul was in prison, facing execution, he asked Timothy to bring Mark with him, “for he is a most useful servant to me.”

I suppose Paul saw in this young man a Christian who had the ability to write; and, apparently having redeemed himself, he could now be counted on to carry out Paul’s wishes. This explanation is plausible because Mark had served as Peter’s scribe and, as such, had written much of what Peter related to him about his eye witness account of the ministry of Jesus.

MARK SERMON IX – MARK 12:13-34 . . .

KEEP IT SIMPLE WHEN ANSWERING CRITICS OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH

“Life is hard by the yard; by the inch it’s a cinch.” This old axiom serves as a reminder that, when life gets complicated, the simplest solution is usually the most effective. In mathematics, a complex problem is solved by reducing it to its lowest common denominator.

When answering His critics, Jesus was a master at stating complex issues in simple terms. Nowhere is this phenomenon more pronounced than Mark’s account of our Lord’s encounter with critics who opposed Him. According to Mark, as Jesus entered the final phase of His three-year ministry, sharp disagreements between Jesus and the Jewish rulers became intense and complex.

As you know, His enemies had constantly sought but failed to discredit this “teacher come from God” - by dispatching scribes and Pharisees to go wherever Jesus went to interrogate Him and try to trap Him into committing an act of treason – a sure way to get rid of Him.

Nonetheless, after all that He had gone through, Jesus arrived at the gate to the Holy City unharmed, but fully aware that a confrontation loomed on the horizon.

Time being of the essence, He wasted no time making His position clear as to His priorities: first, riding a donkey into the city symbolized His association with ordinary folks; overturning the money changers’ tables demonstrated God’s disapproval of hypocrisy on the part of the authorities who found fault with Jesus but allowed despicable activities to occur within the temple gates. Jesus’ actions fueled “the fires of hatred”!

So, now that “the powers that be” had this acclaimed leader of a new “Way” inside their jurisdiction, they escalated their attempts to “get” Him; they did so by changing strategy. Rather than setting a “theological trap” for Jesus - the Teacher - these “experts in the law” devised a “legal trap” - publicly invoking the name of Caesar into the “debate” and asking Jesus a “shrewd” question --- Mark 12:13-17 . . .

Don’t you suppose these guys “marveled at him” since Jesus had “turned the tables” on them? He answered their question with a question - one that was based on a very interesting bit of Jewish history:

Herod the Great had ruled all of Palestine prior to his death. Herod’s loyalty to Rome was such that he was allowed to rule with little or no direct supervision from Rome. Then, after the death of Herod the Great, Palestine was divided into three territories over which Herod’s sons reigned.

Two sons served successfully, but the third – the one who ruled over the southern kingdom - failed as a king – so his territory was divided into provinces overseen by governors appointed to act as Caesar’s “puppets.” One of the first actions of the first governor of Judea was to conduct a census so that he could hold every citizen accountable for paying tribute to Caesar and for paying taxes to the Roman government.

The Jews resented having to pay tribute to a foreign “god” because it was against their religion; they literally hated the poll tax because everyone from the age of twelve to sixty-five had to pay it for no good reason other than the fact that they existed.