Monday 07 February 2011

Background

This week's theme is "Christ for All", and these few versesclearly demonstrate that. Jesus had left behind over 5,000 stunnedbut nevertheless satisfied people after the miraculous feeding onthe other side of the lake (Mark6:30-44). Shortly after this his disciples witness the evenmore amazing events during a storm in the night (Mark6:47-52). And then he arrives in Gennesaret to be immediatelygreeted by crowds of people in need of his help. The fact that thepeople kept coming suggests that time and time again Jesus wasindeed meeting their needs. Just imagine how his disciples' mindsmust have been spinning at what they were witnessing and being partof.

Whatever Mark's profession, he wasn't a geography teacher. Earlierin verse 45 Jesus' destination was said to beBethsaida, which is on the north east shore of Lake Galilee.However he lands at Gennesaret, on the north west shore, just southof Capernaum. Perhaps the wind on the lake led to a change of plan,but we are told that Jesus calmed the storm (Mark6:51). It's more likely that Mark has combined differentstories at this point and constructs a series of stories thatmirror the later episodes in chapter 8 describing a furthermiraculous feeding, followed by a crossing and then a healing (Mark8:1-26). Repeating the stories in this way underlines howimportant Mark felt they were.

Jesus was making himself available for everyone, reaching out toall those in need. Even his clothing was acquiring healingproperties; those seeking to touch the fringe of his cloak perhapshaving heard about the woman with a bleeding disorder who had beenhealed when she touched Jesus' cloak in the crowd (Mark5:27).

To Ponder

Imagine you were one of Jesus' disciples. Howwould you have felt looking back over the last 24 hours?

How much do you think healing depends on thefaith of the individual and how much on the power of Jesus?

Can inanimate objects, like a cloak, have healingproperties? Why?