Comments on Mark 1-2 The majority of the material in this chapter has already been covered in preceding lesson material. As such, I will only be commenting upon material that is unique to Mark in these two chapters. v1:35-39 This section, in conjunction with Luke 4:42, makes it clear Jesus was avoiding sign-seeking crowds. In v. 35 Jesus is resorting to a solitary place to pray, and v. 37 indicates everyone was looking for him. Jesus did not want popularity, he wanted spiritual converts, which most of these people searching for him were not. Verse 39 is unique in that it states Jesus was casting out evil spirits. v1:45 The unique material here is that the healed man disregards Jesus admonition and spreads the word about his healing all over the place. v2:15 Mark's account states that Jesus had many followers among the "publicans and sinners". Which is what the Pharisees attack him on. They are insinuating that Jesus is popular among these "low-life" because he is "low-life". v2:23-28 This section of text was not covered in previous installments of the LDSS. Matthew's account of this text is more verbose, cf. Matt. 12:1-7, but v. 27 of Mark's account is unique. If we insert Matthew's unique material into Mark's account, it would read as follows: And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn. And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful? And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him? How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him? Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless? But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple. But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath. The overt subject is keeping the Sabbath holy, the underlying subject is that of fault-finding. The Pharisees are looking for any excuse possible to fault Jesus, and in so doing indict themselves. Jesus and his disciples walk among corn fields on the Sabbath and pick some ears to eat them (v. 23, cf. Lev. 23:22). The Pharisees accuse them of violating the Sabbath (v. 24). Jesus then discourses on the nature of the Sabbath and makes it clear they do not understand it (v. 25-27, see also Matt. 12:5-7 for additional unique material). Jesus concludes his statement by pronouncing himself Lord of the Sabbath (v. 28). The discussion in v. 25-27 is more clear when fleshed out by Matt. 12:5-7. Jesus is saying the Sabbath was created as a blessing for mankind, and so it is inferior to the man, it was created for him. Thus, there are certain Laws which are above the Sabbath Law, such as circumcision, and obviously maintaining life by eating. The accusation of harvesting on the Sabbath, which is prohibited by the Law, is simply overinflated nonsense. Had the Pharisees understood what the phrase "I will have mercy, and not sacrifice" (cf. Hosea 6:6) means they would not have accused Jesus and his disciples of violating the Sabbath. Jesus' quotation of Hosea 6:6 at the Pharisees is a scathing attack on their hypocrisy as the context of Hosea 6 is the condemnation of those who focus on the physical act of sacrificing while all the while violating the Law. Thus, using imagery of Hosea 6, Jesus is casting himself in the role of the prophet who is slaying with the word of God, and the Pharisees are the hypocritical Israelite (i.e., Northern Ten Tribes) sacrificers who are about to be smitten. They are nit-picking him on the unscriptural Sabbath rules only in an effort to detect flaws and accuse him, and in so doing they violate the Law. Verse 28 presents the replacement theme of the Law for the Gospel. This is made clear in Matt. 12:6 when Jesus states there is one among them who is greater than the Temple, also cp. John 1:51. Such statements emphasize the ignorance of the Pharisees in perceiving what these physical acts and edifices represent, they do not grasp the spiritual meaning because they are not spiritual. They are carnal men who focus on physical worship because they do not spiritually worship. Being Lord of the Sabbath also has larger theological implications as well. Jesus is the Creator and therefore Lord of the first Sabbath day wherein all mankind was created and is thereby Lord over all mankind, cf. D&C 77:12. So, if the Lord is greater than man, and man is greater than the Sabbath, then the Lord is greater than the Sabbath. Copyright © 2002 by S. Kurt Neumiller . All rights reserved. No part of this text may be reproduced in any form or by any means for commercial gain without the express written consent of the author. Digital or printed copies may be freely made and distributed for personal and public non-commercial use.