Under the Oak

In our Sunday morning bible study here at West Mobile, we have been studying through a kind of synopsis of the life of Jesus. One of the things that I’ve been trying to emphasize as we go through is the development of the overall narrative. My studies of the gospels up to this point have tended to be episodic – studying a particular “episode” in the story and taking lessons from it independent of the context or looking at the immediate context only. We aren’t even very far in our study and I’ve already noticed things that I’d not paid much attention to in those prior studies.

For instance, I’ve found the theme of rebuke quite interesting. We are told that Jesus rebukes demons (Mark 1:25; Luke 4:35; etc), fevers (Luke 4:39), and the wind (Mark 4:39). On each of these occasions the object of the rebuke obeys. The demons are cast out and made to be silent (Luke 4:41), the fever flees (Luke 4:39), and the wind who he tells to “Be silent! Hush!” promptly stops howling such that the calmness of the sea is “great” (Mark 4:39; Note: Gr. siopa “to silence” perimoso “to muzzle”, note that the Greek word eirene “peace” is not in the original). Contrast that with the rebuke of the people in Mark 10:48 which is completely ignored by the demons. 

The incredible thing is that in the midst of this pattern of Jesus rebuking and the object of that rebuke obeying, his frequent rebuke of the disciples (E.g., Luke 9:55; Mark 4:40-41) seems to have little recognizable effect. On one occasion, Peter – bold Peter – had a mind to rebuke Jesus(!), but instead he receives one of the harshest rebukes found in the gospels (Mark 8:32-33). Ironically, some of the Pharisees, alarmed by the crowds present for the “Triumphal Entry”, call on Jesus to rebuke his disciples (Luke 19:39). He had been! Yet, even his closest disciples didn’t seem to get the message.

This theme of rebukes found in the narrative of Jesus is reminiscent of a theme found in the early chapters of Genesis where Yahweh speaks and everything from plant life to light itself springs into existence in response. This is followed in the narrative by what can only be described as a stunning non-sequitur. Yahweh speaks; Man disobeys.

What an important reminder to see from the full context of Jesus’ story. Yahweh comes and calls us to repentance, submission to a new covenant, and action in his service and we dare weigh the pros and cons of responding? What incredible patience the Lord has with his creation.

Yahweh speaks. . .