Hello and welcome to the Women’s Weekly Bible Challenge! I’m Lisa Ann Spencer.
I’m glad you have joined me for part 4 of our series, When
Jesus Speaks to Women. Today we will consider the book of Mark.
MARK
Two of the accounts of Jesus speaking to women have already
been covered in our study in the book of Matthew:
- The woman with the issue of blood
- The Syrophoenician woman
That leaves only one account in which Jesus speaks to a
woman in the book of Mark.
But before we consider that passage, I hope you will click the link to read
Mark 3:31-35 (Compare Matthew 12:46-50).
In this passage, Jesus is in a house (v. 19) somewhere near the Sea of Galilee (v. 7). He is addressing a
crowd of His followers including men, women and children. He is not directly addressing a woman in this
passage, but it is of note because Jesus references His mother and His sister.
In CONTEXT, which you will find by reading the whole
chapter, there are 3 groups of people who have not received Jesus’s teaching:
- Verse 21 His friends think He is beside himself, which in the King James Bible means mad or insane (Acts 26:24-25).
- Verse 22 The scribes from Jerusalem think Jesus gets His power from the Prince of Devils.
- Verse 31 His brethren and His mother.
We understand from Jesus’s response that He is not going to
waste His limited time to minister on His family who were not presently doing
the will of God. When studying scripture, we do not see that
Jesus’s mother nor his brothers became believers in His deity until after His
resurrection.
JESUS SPEAKS TO A TWELVE-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER
We already mentioned this occurrence in our study in
Matthew. You may remember that when
Jesus was on His way to heal this twelve-year-old girl, He was interrupted by the
woman who had an issue of blood for twelve years; however, in Mark’s account,
we see Jesus speak to the young girl.
Read Mark 5:35-43
(Compare with Matthew 9:23-26)
Before we jump into this account, I want to back up to Mark 5:22 which says, And, behold, there cometh one of the
rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet.
Matthew
9:18 said that Jairus worshipped him.
📔NOTE: In every passage that we have encountered in our study,
WHEN JESUS SPEAKS TO WOMEN, everyone mentioned has first worshipped Him!
Here is a list of the accounts in Matthew and Mark where we saw Jesus being worshipped:
Matthew 9:18 Jairus (Compare Mark 5:22)
Matthew 15:25 A Canaanite Woman (Compare Mark 7:25)
Matthew 20:20 The Mother of Zebedee’s Children
Matthew 28:9 The Woman at the Sepulchre
Mark 5:33 The Woman with the issue of Blood
THE DEAD RAISED
This account in Mark chapter 5 is the first occurrence of the
dead being raised.
Mark 5:41 And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto
her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto
thee, arise.
The Damsel is called ‘the maid’ in Matthew’s account. Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines damsel as a young, unmarried woman. In scripture there seems to be a connection with the word ‘damsel’ being a ‘virgin’ (Deuteronomy 22). *If you study this for yourself, keep in mind that a woman can be married and a virgin, as was Mary, the mother of Jesus, when she was espoused to Joseph.*
When we understand the symbolism of a maid as it applies to the nation
of Israel, we know that God will restore Israel to the status of a virgin bride, though she is presently a
harlot (Jeremiah 3:1-6 cf. Isaiah 62:5;
Revelation 19:8). Also, you can read
Mark 12:23-27 for Jesus’s word to
the nation of Israel regarding being raised from the dead.
This is an actual account of Jesus raising a 12-year-old
daughter of Israel from the dead. It is
likely that He raised many Israelites from the dead that were not recorded in
scripture. John tells us that if
everything was written that He did, the world could not contain all the books (John 21:25). What we need to understand is WHY this
particular miracle is recorded for us?
We have already discussed that the significance of this
passage has to do with the nation of Israel.
The Old Testament prophesied of a coming kingdom when the dead would be
raised (Job 19; Psalm 49; Isaiah 25; Ezekiel 37;
Hosea 13; and many more). Jesus was
performing the signs of the kingdom to prove that He was the prophesied Messiah.
This is one of those signs directed to
Israel.
LUKE
You are probably familiar with the account of Mary, Joseph
and Jesus going to Jerusalem to keep the feast of Passover as commanded in the
Law of Moses, and on their return trip they noticed Jesus was not with the
company of travelers. They returned to
Jerusalem and after three days they
found Him in the Temple hearing the doctors of the law and asking them
questions.
📔NOTE: It is not a
coincidence that Jesus, being 12-years-old, went out of their site for 3 days. This is yet another sign given to the nation
of Israel.
Luke 2:48 And when
they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why has thou
thus dealt with us? Behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.
I would like to point out a few facts here:
#1 For 12 years, Mary has never spoken to anyone about the
truth of Jesus being the Son of God (Luke
1:35); instead she kept all these
sayings in her heart (vv. 19, 51). Compare that with Anna, the very aged
prophetess who lived in the Temple. Anna
spoke of Jesus to all them in Jerusalem
that looked for redemption (v.38).
Anna was a believer and understood the sign of the times; Mary was not yet a
believer.
#2 I have already pointed this out, but it bears
repeating: Mary was a liar. She referred
to Joseph as Jesus’s father. YIKES! Her unbelief had blinded her to the truth.
#3 Mary admits that she needs a Savior in Luke 1:47; she just does not know yet
that Jesus is God, her Savior.
JESUS CORRECTS HIS MOTHER
Luke 2:49 And he said
unto them, How is it that ye sought me? Wist ye not that I must be about my
Father’s business?
Although the text says that Jesus is answering them (and we know that ye is plural), we see Him correcting His
mother’s error by letting them know that He knew the identity of His Father,
God.
********
We will continue our study in the book of Luke next
week. There are many accounts of Jesus
speaking to women in the book of Luke.
It will likely take at least 2 more studies to cover them before moving
into John’s gospel.
CHALLENGE: If you
have not read through the book of Luke yet, you still have time to do
that. As you read, mark those passages
where Jesus Speaks to Women.
See you next week!
The material covered in this Blog can be viewed here:
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