As a way in, I used that modern preacher's favourite tool, Google. Type in the phrase 'Jesus was...' and hit 'search,' and the top ten returns include the following: Jesus was...
- Gay
- Muslim
- A vegetarian (and wanted the rest of us to be too)
- An only son (thank, Mr Springsteen)
- A *#@^ (can't actually write what one page claimed him to be!)
And that was just on the top page of returns!
So who does Mark claim Jesus is? Mark sometimes gets a bad press for being rougher round the edges than the other gospellers - all in a rush to get to Easter, so that he misses Christmas, always using the word 'immediately,' and generally only drawing the sketchiest of pictures of Jesus compared to Matthew, Luke and John. But Mark is actually building a rich tapestry of who Jesus really was, and to miss that as merely reporting the things he reports is to perform a great injustice.
Three things from this passage (which features some of the more famous miracles and stories) which Mark seems to suggest point to Jesus' mindblowing identity, and one significant problem.
Signpost 1 - Jesus is God's True and promised Shepherd
Throughout the OT, the picture of a shepherd for God's people again and again gets brought up. More than just a sandle-wearing, dung-smelling, woolly-jumper-making bumpkin, the biblical shepherd is put in place to care for God's people, to gather the lost sheep, to lead them in a way that kept them safe from destructive idolatry, to teach them the character and redemptive action of God. Moses and David were both pictured as prototypical shepherds. But by 1 Kings 22, we see the leaders of God's people are poor and abusive shepherds who effectively enjoy lamb kebabs every night.
And then in Ezekiel 34, God promises to punish the old shepherds for their failure, to gather in his lost and scattered sheep and to send 'King David' as the perfect shepherd - he'll keep them safe and lead them to safe, abundant pastures. For King David, read 'God's King'
So when Mark uses the phrase 'he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd,' he lifts a phrase right out of the OT (Numbers 27:17; 1 Kings 22:17, etc.). He's putting us on notice that something special is going on here. And what's his logical progression when he sees this? Does Jesus feed them? Yes, but not at first. His compassion on these lost sheep is to gather the people and to teach them. Jesus cares for people, he gathers them, he leads them, he teaches them. Jesus is God's promised true shepherd.
Signpost 2 - Jesus is Lord of the new Exodus
Three times, we're told that the people are in the wilderness. Jesus provides bread out of (practically) nothing. People are fed by 'God's Shepherd' and have more than enough to satisfy them. There are twelve baskets gathered up left over to remind the disciples of Jesus' provision. All of this points to something big going on. Mark is claiming that a new Exodus is happening here. And who's in charge? Who's Lord of it? Jesus.
A new people of God are being assembled, and they, as previously, are being provided for and rescued in the wilderness. But now, the Exodus leader is Jesus. He's rescuing a new people, providing God's avenue of redemption.
Signpost 3 - Jesus is God Himself come to rescue His people
Having sent the boys out across the lake, Jesus prays on the mountain, and, looking out, He means 'to pass them by' (note the use of Exodus language - see Exodus 15:16). So he walks out to them. Across the water. Understandably, they're freaked out. So how does he reassure them - what does he say is his identity? 'It is I.' But in Greek, he uses exactly the same form of words as Exodus 3:14 - 'I AM'. Jesus is claiming to be God.
So not only is Jesus someone special - he's someone extrodinary. Mark seems to be using Exodus language to point us to Jesus being God himself come to rescue His people. That's huge. We can't just write him off as a useful teacher, whose teaching we can pick and choose from.
We see a Jesus who's instigating a new rescue event. A Jesus gathering lost people. A Jesus who is the true shepherd, the Exodus Lord, God himself. We can't shrink him down. Mark is setting the agenda very methodically and rigorously - we can't use the phrase 'I've always thought of Jesus as...'
The Problem - hard hearts
Despite this picture, these signposts, the disciples are still confused. Mark gives us a pointer that the feeding of the 5000 should have woken us up to a bigger truth - it was meant to tell the disciples something of Jesus' identity. That's why he performed that miracle in the first place. We'll find out more in a chapter or two when the same thing happens again, and Jesus precipitates the crisis point for Simon Peter and the others. But for now, their hearts just aren't big enough to take in God's truth. They can accept some small part of who Jesus, but they're just not ready to see him as God himself come to rescue.
Tune in next time for more on that problem...
But for now, what do we do with this Jesus? How can we properly respond to a Jesus who's not just there to tell us how to be nicer or better ... but a Jesus who is God?
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