Signs, Wonders, Mighty Works (Mark 3-6): Planned Song Service

Reading 1: Questions and Puzzles

Our histories of the earthly ministry of Jesus and the apostles describe many “miracles”: awe-inspiring demonstrations of supernatural power. We may still hear of self-promoting miracle-workers: who, unlike Jesus, have neither a new message to proclaim nor any documented record of success in the face of skeptics. Certainly Christians learn not to “expect a miracle” to solve day-to-day problems, and sometimes even the New Testament miracles seem to be more of a challenge than an aid to our faith. What place can--or should--they have in our life and worship?
Some songs simply recount a miracle story, perhaps from the point of view of an eyewitness. (I don't see how this would be useful at all in worship, and such songs have been omitted from “our” books, except for one about Mary of Magdala that probably survived only by being misunderstood). But miracles are not merely historical incidents: they are acts of God, that must reveal something about His nature, and about man through whom they were done; they are “signs&rdquo: that is, symbols that communicate, if we would only hear and understand. And our songs can remind us of these important things.

Reading 2: Stilling the Storm

Mk 4

sup>35When evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, "Let us cross to the other side of the lake." ³⁶They left the crowd and took him in the boat where he was sitting; and other boats came with him. ³⁷A strong wind and squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. ³⁸Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples awoke him saying, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” ³⁹He got up, and rebuked the wind, and said to the waves, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind died down, and it was completely calm. ⁴⁰He asked his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” ⁴¹They were amazed and asked each other, "Who is this, that even the wind and waves obey?"

Ps 93

³The seas have lifted up, O Jehovah,

The seas have lifted up their voice;

The seas have lifted up their pounding waves.

⁴Mightier than the thunder of the great waters,

mightier than the breakers of the sea--

Jehovah on high is mighty.

Ps 89

⁸O Jehovah, God Almighty, who is like you?

You are mighty, O Jehovah, and your faithfulness surrounds you.

⁹You rule over the surging sea;

When its waves mount up, you quell them.

Nah 1

⁴Jehovah rebukes the sea and dries it up;

He makes all the rivers run dry.

Bashan and Carmel wither

and the blossoms of Lebanon fade...

⁶Who can withstand his indignation?

Who can endure his fierce anger?

His wrath is poured out like fire;

the rocks are shattered before him.

Heb 1

²In these last days God has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe, ³He is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, and sustains all things by his powerful word. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. ⁸God speaks of the Son, saying

“Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever,

and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.” ¹⁰and

“In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,

and the heavens are the work of your hands.

¹¹They will perish, but you remain;

they will all wear out like a garment.

¹²You will roll them up like a robe;

like a garment they will be changed.

But you remain the same,

and your years will never end.”

Col 1

¹⁵The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. ¹⁷He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Reading 3: Feeding the Multitude

Mk 5: ¹Jesus and his disciples crossed the lake to the region of the Gerasenes.
Mk 6: ³⁴When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began to teach them many things. ³⁵Late in the day, his disciples came to him and said, "This is a remote place, and it is very late. ³⁶Send the people away, so they can go around to the nearby farms or villages, to buy themselves something to eat.” ³⁷But he answered, “You give them something to eat.” They asked, “Should we go and spend two hundred day's pay on bread to feed them?” ³⁸He said, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” When they found out, they said, “Five--and two fish.”; ³⁹Then Jesus commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰So they sat in groups of hundreds and fifties. ⁴¹Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up toward heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. ⁴²They all ate and were satisfied, ⁴³and they picked up twelve basketsful of broken pieces of bread and fish. ⁴⁴There were five thousand men who had eaten.
Mk 8: ¹⁵Jesus warned his disciples, “Be careful, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod.” ¹⁶They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread." ¹⁷And, being aware of it, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? ¹⁸Do you ‘have eyes but not see’, and ‘have ears but not hear?’ And do you not remember? ¹⁹ When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” They replied, “Twelve.” ²⁰“And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” They answered, “Seven.” ²¹He said, “Do you still not understand?”
Jn 6: ²⁴When the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. ²⁵When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him. “Rabbi, when did you get here?” ²⁶Jesus answered, “I know you are really looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. ²⁷Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has set His seal.”; ³²“Truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³For it is the bread of God that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. ³⁴I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.; ⁴¹The Jews grumbled, ⁴²“Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? Then how can he say, ‘I came down from heaven’?&rquo; ⁴³Jesus answered, “Stop grumbling among yourselves.” ⁴⁴No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.; ⁵¹I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”; ⁵²Then the Jews began to dispute sharply among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” ⁵³Jesus said to them, "I tell you truly, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. ⁵⁴Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”; ⁶⁰On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” ⁶¹Knowing that his disciples were grumbling, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? ⁶²What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before!”

Reading 4: Healing by Touch

Mk 3: ⁸When they heard all that Jesus was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. ⁹Because of the crowd he told his disciples to prepare small boat for him, to keep the people from crowding him. ¹⁰For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him.
Lk 8: ⁴³And a woman was there who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, but no one could heal her. ⁴⁴She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.; ⁴⁵Jesus asked, “Who touched me?” When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.” ⁴⁶But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.”; ⁴⁷Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. ⁴⁸Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has delivered you. Go in peace.”
Jn 10: ²⁴The Jews gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” ²⁵Jesus answered, “I told you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father's name speak for me” ..."; ³⁷Again, Jesus said, “Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. ³⁸But if I do that, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”
Jn 7: ³¹Many of the people believed on him, saying, “When the Messiah comes, will he do more signs than these which this man has done?”

Reading 5: Resurrection

Mk 16: ¹When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices to go and anoint Jesus' body. ²Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb, ³asking each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” ⁴But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. ⁵As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.; ⁶“Don't be afraid,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. ⁷But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.‘“
Rev 1: ¹²I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me, and I saw ¹³someone “like a son of man,”; ¹⁷And I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. ¹⁸I am the Living One: I was dead; and behold, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”
Rom 1: ⁴Jesus Christ our Lord was, through the Spirit of holiness, declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead.
Acts 17: ³¹God has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.
1Co 15: ¹³If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁴And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless, and so is your faith. ¹⁵More than that, we are found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified that He raised Christ from the dead... ¹⁷And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.
Rom 8: ¹¹But if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.
Col 2: ¹³When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ.; ²⁰Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: ²¹“Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? ²²These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings.

Reading 6: Conclusions

These events are surely some of the "facts to be believed" of the Gospel. Those who try to protect the historicity of the gospels by devising "natural" causes for each incident, only subvert the Gospel, of which the supernatural aspects form an inseparable part and essential foundation. We must rather face these awesome event expecting difficulty: after all, even the eyewitnesses found it difficult--either to believe or to deny: saying things like,
Mt 12: ²⁴“It is only by the power of Beelzebub the prince of demons that Jesus casts out demons.”
Acts 4: ¹⁶"It is obvious to everyone in Jerusalem that a notable sign has been done through [Peter and John], and we cannot deny it."
There is an old epigram concerning this, "I believe, because it is unbelievable." This paradox is logically sound: Someone hoping to be believed does not make incredible claims. When the apostles wrote to groups that could remember their works, would they risk being caught lying about the foundation of their teaching? Certainly Jesus and his his followers did not fear investigation--rather demanded it:
2Pet 1: Peter said, ¹⁶We did not follow cleverly devised myths, but we ourselves were eyewitnesses of His glory.
1Jn 1: John said, ¹What we heard, what we saw with our own eyes, what we watched, and touched with our own hands, ¹'we proclaim to you.
Acts 26: Paul said, ²⁶These things were not done in a corner.
We still have the right and duty to investigate, and to accept the truth we find: it is still appropriate in our songs to
Ps 105: ¹Proclaim God's deeds among the nations!
Some songs simply recount a miracle story, perhaps from the point of view of an eyewitness. (I don't see how this would be useful in worship, and they have been omitted from our; books, except for one about Mary of Magdala that probably survived only by being misunderstood). But miracles are not merely historical incidents: they are "signs"--symbols that convey meaning which we must understand. We have seen Jesus treat the misunderstanding of His disciples as tantamount to unbelief: will he regard it differently in us, who have been given the explanations in His word?
These works may signify God's approval of His chosen messengers:
Acts 2: ²²Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by mighty works, wonders and signs, which God did through him among you, as you yourselves know.
Jn 9: ³¹We know that God does not listen to sinners, but He listens to the man that worships Him and does his will. ³²Since Creation, nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. ³³If Jesus were not from God, he could do nothing.
2Cor 12: ¹²The signs of an apostle were worked among you with great perseverence: in signs, and wonders, and mighty works.
But there are differences between the miracles of Jesus and those of His followers.
Mt 9: ⁴So that you may know that the son of man has the power on earth to forgive sins.
Lk 11: ²⁰If I by the finger of God cast out demons, no doubt the kingdom of God has come among you.
Jesus claimed to imitate His Father's works; The apostles admitted that it was God who worked through them: Jesus performed unique works--quieting the storm and self-resurrection; the apostles suffered shipwreck, and eventually died in the hope that God would raise them. These differences are consistant with other claims of Jesus to be comparable to God.
Thus the work of Jesus constitutes part of God's self-revelation to the disciples, and, through their eyes, to us. By it we clearly see His invisible attributes: His power; His authority; His hatred of the ravages of sin, disease and death; His sympathy and pity for those burdened and terrorized by them; and, finally, His intention to fulfill His promise to create for us a place where no evil can enter.
These events also serve as "examples to be followed": not that we can expect to perform or receive miracles, but in the those who came to Jesus knowing that only He could provide what they needed, we see a pattern for our faith; and in Jesus' compassionate response, we see an example of the love that God expects us to show to others--even our enemies--by our works.
Often in our songs the problems overcome by miracles are symbols of the greater problem of sin, that also can be overcome only by an act of God.
Jn 8: ¹²I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness.; As we see ourselves in need of God's salvation, dependent on the death and resurrection of His Son, and (by the evidence of history) able to hope for our own resurrection, we will praise and obey Him who during His life made incredible things visible, in order to make His invisible work in our lives credible.
And we have these powerful works as evidence that His way is effective and ultimately successful, while other ways are doomed to failure.
Jn 5: ¹³”You are healed: sin no more, lest a worse thing come to thee”
2Pet 3: ¹¹Since these things shall be destroyed, what kind of persons ought you to be?
If we have evidence that the kingdom of God has come upon us, we are challenged to act: to accept God's authority, obey His royal law, follow his example, and prepare for His inevitable judgment. Will you do that tonight, while we stand and sing?

Notes

Structure

This began as a way of exploiting the many listings in my index for the subject Miracles. There were too many to use, so I concentrated on the miracles mentioned in three chapters of Mark (as a kind of counterpart to the teachings from three chapters in Matthew) plus the resurrection, the miracle par excellance. The outtakes may eventually coalesce into a sequel.

The songs, together with other Biblical verses that they juxtaposed beside the miracle stories, defined the points to be made, although Colin Brown's Miracles probably had some influence. (He well emphasizes that miracles were -- and must still be -- much more, and much less, than the apologetic tour de force we may carelessly mistake them for, though the apologetic is essential in its own way.)

One may notice that the reading from Luke 8 is parallel to a paragraph within this section of Mark. I was reading the section from Mark, carefully trying to condense the reading as much as possible while retaining the point, when it occurred to me that Luke had already done that. But the selection and arrangement of events is Mark's.

It has been noted that the outline of Mark presents a series of events, followed by a call: Jesus repeatedly calling his disciples to follow him further. It seemed fitting to retain the format in this lesson, reflecting the progress of the pathway of Jesus, from a indubitable historical event to an inescapable future demand.