Recognizing Jesus
In Mark, all men are incapable of recognizing who Jesus is. The only exceptions are John the Baptist and the
Roman centurion at Golgotha. Mark has threaded this theme throughout his gospel to make the point – The Messiah cannot be understood apart from his death on a Roman cross.
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| [Jesus - Photo by Myriam Zilles on Unsplash] |
At the outset of his gospel, Mark cited Scripture to demonstrate that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah of Israel, John the Baptist announced his coming, and at his baptism, and the “voice from heaven” confirmed him to be “my beloved son.” Later, the same demons that Jesus exorcised recognized him. Scripture, John the Baptist, a voice from heaven, and supernatural signs all attested that he was the promised Messiah, the beloved “Son of God.”
In
contrast, DESPITE his many miracles, men and women remained
confused about his identity. Even his family and closest associates failed to
recognize that he was the Son of God. Apparently, Jesus was just not the kind
of Messiah everyone expected.
After
the heavens were “rent asunder,” a voice from heaven declared him
the “Son of God.” “Rent asunder” translates the Greek verb schizō,
meaning “rend asunder, cleave, split open.” In Mark, it occurs only at his
baptism and when the veil of the Temple was “rent” at his
death. The “rending” of the heavens alludes to a passage from Isaiah,
where the prophet longed for Yahweh to “rend the heavens” and make His
name known throughout the earth - (Isaiah 64:1-2, Mark 15:38).
In
Capernaum, his first act was to cast out an “unclean spirit,” which recognized
Jesus as the “Holy One of God.” He commanded it to remain silent. The
men present were all astounded and asked, “Who is this?”
Despite his impressive deed, he remained unrecognized, though the demons certainly
understood who he was and the danger he posed to them - (“Are you come to
destroy us?”).
This
pattern is repeated in Mark. Though demonic spirits recognize the “Son
of God,” men and women consistently fail to do so, including members of his
own family and inner circle - (Mark 3:11-12, Mark 5:1-7).
Proximity
to Jesus did not guarantee recognition of who he was. The “scribes”
from Jerusalem could not deny his ability to cast out demons. However,
rather than acknowledge that he did so by divine authority, they charged him
with casting out demons by “Beelzebub, the prince of demons” - (Mark 3:21-30).
By
his word only, Jesus calmed a storm raging across the Sea of Galilee. In
great fear and confusion, his disciples asked one another, “Who is
this, that even wind and the sea obey him?” Even a tremendous
display of power over nature was insufficient for men to recognize the Messiah
of Israel - (Mark 4:36-41).
Jesus
healed the daughter of a local synagogue leader who was dying. He healed the
child, leaving the crowd amazed and dumbfounded, but still ignorant of his
identity. Even his ability to raise the dead was insufficient to convince anyone
that he was the Messiah of Israel - (Mark 5:21-43).
At
one point, he returned to his hometown and began to teach in the synagogue.
Many who heard began to question who he was:
- “Whence has this man these things…Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” - (Mark 6:1-6).
Rather
than rejoice that the “Son of God” was present in their village, the
people of Nazareth were “offended by him.”
When
Herod heard about Jesus, he concluded that John the Baptist had returned from
the dead. Other voices claimed he was Elijah or one of the prophets, but no one
suggested he was the Messiah and king of Israel - (Mark 6:14-15).
After
Jesus miraculously fed five thousand people, he went alone to pray on a
mountain. The disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee by boat,
struggling against a contrary wind. He appeared suddenly, walking on the water.
The disciples thought it was a ghostly apparition and cried out in fear. Jesus
identified himself, entered the boat, and caused the wind to cease. Previously,
they had seen him calm a great storm, yet this stupendous display failed to
convince them of who he was - because “their hearts were hardened”
- (Mark 6:45-52).
On
the way to Jerusalem, momentarily, Peter appeared to grasp his identity.
When Jesus asked, “Who do men say that I am,” he answered, “You are
the Christ!” He then admonished the disciples to silence, explaining that “the
Son of man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief
priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.”
To this, Peter objected. The very idea that the Messiah would be subjected to
suffering and death was beyond the pale - (Mark 8:27-38).
Whatever
insight Peter may have gained was lost when he was confronted with the reality of
the suffering Messiah. Nevertheless, his mission meant exactly
that - suffering, rejection, death. Jesus rebuked Peter, recognizing Satan’s attempt
to thwart him from his Father’s will - (Mark 8:31).
Likewise,
Jesus taught his closest disciples that he must be “delivered up into the
hands of men, and they shall kill him; and when he is killed, after three days
he shall rise again.” Once more, they could not understand his words.
When
he was tried, the High Priest demanded of Jesus, “Are you the Messiah, the
Son of the Blessed One?” He responded, “I am he. And you will see the
Son of man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of
heaven.” Before the priestly leaders of the nation, he identified himself openly
as the Messiah. Now, there could no more doubt. But rather than recognize and accept
him, the High Priest charged him with blasphemy, and the “chief priests and
the whole council” condemned him to death - (Mark 14:60-64).
Ironically, the Roman governor confirmed his very messianic status when he had “King of the Jews” inscribed on a board and nailed to his cross for all to see. Yet, as he was hanging on it, Jewish spectators mocked him - (Mark 15:26).
During
his death throes, the chief priests and scribes ridiculed him despite the
testimony of God, Scripture, his miraculous deeds, and his own sworn testimony
before them. It was clear to anyone with “eyes to see” that he was the “Son
of God” and the promised Messiah of Israel.
Paradoxically,
demons recognized him, but the Temple authorities refused to do so despite the overwhelming
evidence. Instead, they mockingly challenged him - “Let him come down now
from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Even the two brigands who
were crucified alongside him “were casting it in his teeth” - (Mark 15:26-32).
Only
at Calvary did a human voice declare Jesus to be the “Son of God.”
As death overwhelmed him, he uttered a loud cry and died. At that precise moment, “the veil of the temple was rent
in two from the top to the bottom,” and the centurion
declared, “Truly, this man was the Son of God” - (Mark 15:37-39).
Thus,
two related and significant events were caused by his death, the tearing of the
Temple veil and the confession of the centurion. This was the veil before the
Holy of Holies, the inner sanctum. Mark intends for us to connect the
tearing of the veil with the centurion’s confession - (Exodus 26:31-37, Hebrews
9:3, 10:20).
Just
as the “rending of the heavens” at his baptism produced a declaration
regarding his messianic status, so, too, the “rending” of
the Temple veil produced the same confession, only now on the lips
of the pagan centurion. Only as Jesus was crucified did a human
being begin to understand just who he was, and paradoxically, NOT
by any member of the Jewish nation or one of his disciples. Instead, it was the
Gentile officer in charge of his crucifixion.
When
Jesus revealed what it meant to be the Messiah, humiliation and death,
even his inner circle was horrified and rejected the very idea. Nonetheless, only
in his suffering and death on a Roman cross are we able to grasp the real
identity and mission of Jesus, and consequently, what it means to be his
disciple. As wonderful as miracles, signs and wonders are, the true
understanding of Jesus and his mission can only be found on Calvary.
