টীকা বর্তমানে শুধুমাত্র ইংরেজিতে উপলব্ধ। বাংলা অনুবাদ চলছে।
Mark 3 — He That Doeth the Will of God Is My Brother
In the synagogue Jesus heals a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath; the Pharisees plot with the Herodians to destroy Him. The crowds press in from every region. He appoints the Twelve — to be with Him and to be sent. Scribes from Jerusalem accuse Him of casting out demons by Beelzebub; He answers with the parable of the divided kingdom and warns about the unforgivable sin against the Spirit. When His mother and brothers seek Him, He extends His arm over the disciples — whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.
“For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.”
— Mark 3:35
- v.1-6 The man with the withered hand
- v.7-12 Multitudes pressing in
- v.13-19 The Twelve appointed
- v.20-30 Beelzebub controversy; the unpardonable sin
- v.31-35 Christ's true family
That they should be with him. Before they are sent, they are with Him. Discipleship is being-with before it is doing-for. The sending presupposes the company.
Many would-be servants of God reverse this — they leap to send forth and skim with him. The result is hurried, hollow ministry. The Twelve became apostles because they had first been companions; the work flowed from the friendship.
The most sobering warning in the chapter. The scribes were attributing the Spirit's work to Satan; they were calling the holy unclean. To do this with settled, persistent will is to put oneself beyond the reach of repentance — not because grace is insufficient, but because such a heart no longer wants it.
Those who fear they have committed this sin generally have not — the anxiety itself is the Spirit's tender pressure toward Christ. The sin is committed by the deliberate hardener, not the troubled seeker.
A redrawing of family. The bonds of blood do not determine nearness to Christ; the doing of the will of God does. He is closer to the obedient stranger than to the unbelieving relative.
For some this is hope (no one is excluded by birth from His family); for others a sober reminder (no one is included by birth either). The household of Christ is gathered by the will of God, not the line of nature.
Verse 14 is the discipleship corrective for the busy Christian — that they should be with him comes before that he might send them forth. If your time with Christ has become an offcut of your service for Him, the order has been reversed. Restore the order: friendship first, work flowing out. The apostles were apostles because they had been companions; you will be no different.
Mark 3 shows Christ's authority widening — over disease, demons, the calendar of religious leaders, the boundaries of natural family. He gathers a new people around Himself by His own choosing and His own definition. To be His brother or sister is not earned by blood; it is the gift of being among those who do the will of God — a doing that begins with believing on the One the Father sent.
With anger, being grieved. A holy emotion. The two are inseparable in Christ — He is angry because He grieves; the anger is the form love takes when its objects are being destroyed by sin. Sentimental Jesus is not the Jesus of Mark 3.
The man's hand was restored when he obeyed an impossible-sounding command. Christ's words carry the power to accomplish what they require. Stretch forth — and he could. This is grace: the command and the strength to obey come together.