Following Jesus in the Gospel of MarkSample

FOLLOWERS AND OPPONENTS

Look Closely: Jesus continues to gather a crowd, and the lines between followers and opponents are becoming more clear. Jesus chooses His 12 disciples to follow Him closely and prepare to continue His mission. This is reminiscent of the twelve tribes of Israel from the Old Testament. Just as the Israelites came from one man and impacted the world through the 12 tribes, Jesus is one man who is beginning to multiply His effect through the 12 disciples. Mark is once again showing how Jesus is bringing in a new Kingdom.

The scribes recognize this connection that Jesus is making, and they don’t want to accept it. They are opposing the things that Jesus is doing because they are not willing, or maybe not able, to see who Jesus is. So, they attribute it to Beezebul or Satan. Jesus points out the challenge of this statement and talks about the Strong Man (Satan) who needs to be overcome by a Stronger One. Who is Jesus implying is the Stronger One? Himself, of course! He has come to plunder Satan’s kingdom and bring freedom to the captives (see John 10:10). We don’t know how the scribes reacted to this story specifically, but based on how they continue to act, they are choosing to keep opposing Jesus.

Mark gives examples of people who make choices to believe in Jesus and follow Him or to oppose Him to help His readers understand that they, too, need to make a decision about who Jesus is and what they will do about it.

Pause to Pray: Ask Jesus to make it clear if you have truly chosen to follow Him. If you are following Him, ask for patience in dealing with those who oppose Him, as it still isn’t too late for them! For example, even though Jesus’ brothers were opposing him here, eventually, they came to believe in Him.