Inductive Bible study (SOAP) is an approach to God’s Word focusing on three basic steps that move from a focus on specific details to a more general, universal principle. Through these three steps, we apply inductive reasoning, which is defined as the attempt to use information about a specific situation to draw a conclusion. The steps are observation (what does it say?), interpretation (what does it mean?), and application (what does it mean for my life?). Inductive Bible study is a valuable tool in understanding and applying the principles of God’s Word. In an inductive study everyone participates. We will be working through as much of a chapter of Marks Gospel each week, taking turns to do the following:
SOAP Meathod
S: SCRIPTURE: Read a section of scripture, then summarise in your own words (What does it say? What verse stuck out to you most?).
O: Observation: Read the related Companion material below, then summarise one point/observation in your own words (Is their an issue being addressed?)
A: Application: How do you apply this truth to your life? What does it mean for us today?
P: Prayer: Following the study we will spend time in small groups praying. How do you implement this verse into your life.
In chapter 3, Mark has recorded five incidents in the ministry of Jesus. The first and fourth resulted in Jesus having to defend himself against the opinions of the scribes and Pharisees, and from which important teaching was gained. The second incident was similar to those in Chapter 1 where crowds pressed in on him for healing and where unclean spirits cried out his identity. The third incident was the formal appointment of his apostles. And the final incident concluded with one of the most unexpected and wonderful statements about people who followed Jesus and their subsequent relationship with God.
Mark 3: 1 – 6 Healing and the Sabbath
Even though this incident is frequently referred to as the healing of the man with the withered hand, in some ways the man is incidental to the story. This is one of the healing miracles in which the man who is healed shows no sign of requesting healing or demonstrating any obvious expression of faith. It is as though the withered hand is an object lesson in the ongoing confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees.
The incident took place, most probably, in the synagogue in Capernaum. The key issue was whether one can heal on the Sabbath. Now, the Mosaic Law and the Traditions of the Elders allowed for urgent medical treatment to be given on the Sabbath. Especially if this was lifesaving. But medical treatment of a longstanding medical problem was forbidden because the healing treatment could just as easily be given on an alternate day. Thus, such medical treatment was work; and work was forbidden on the Sabbath.
(By the way, because of the on-going debate between Jesus and the Pharisees about what is lawful on the Sabbath, many Bible commentators place this healing miracle continuous with the previous incident. And, in this way, conclude the previous section at Chapter 3:6.)
So the Pharisees watched Jesus very carefully. Jesus knew what was going on in their hearts. He requested the man to stand. Jesus asked a very interesting question. “On the Sabbath do you do good or evil?” Then, he followed that question with what appeared to be a parallel question but isn’t, “Do you save life or kill?”
Now these questions are a bit tricky. “To save life or kill” is easy. Clearly, we are to save life. And saving life was permissible on any day of the week, including the Sabbath. The first question, “To do good or evil,” is also easy. We are always to do good, regardless of the day of the week. We are never to do evil! So is doing good considered work? Well, “Yes” and “No.” Specific tasks would appear to be work while the natural expression of a caring heart would not. Could one delay doing some good works and move them from the Sabbath to another day? Yes, if they weren’t cosidered lifesavingly urgent. Did Jesus have to heal the withered hand on the Sabbath? No, the man could have approached Jesus on any other day.
So Jesus was really pushing the Pharisees here. His concern was to break with the old law-based living and to bring the Pharisees into the new Kingdom of God. The newly revealed Kingdom of God was one based on compassion and love. Jesus’ compassion was in direct contrast with the Pharisees’ hardness of heart. Their rule-based living allowed for no mercy or compassionate love. They had no sense of the ghastly, disfiguring workmanship of Satan that was destroying God’s sacred creation. Jesus, on the other hand, saw the disfigurement of the man and was filled with compassion; and he had come to undo the works of Satan. Undoing the works of Satan is far more important than a literal observance of the prohibition to work.
The restoration of the hand was a direct challenge to the Pharisees. They now needed to ignore this man Jesus, agree with him or stop him. They chose to stop him. They began the process of planning how to do this and the first part of this plan was to talk with a secular pro-Roman group called the Herodians.
Herodians are only mentioned in the gospels of Matthew and Mark. They are not found as a group in any other non-biblical literature. They were, therefore, most probably a loose collection of people who lived in Galilee and who supported the current Herod: Herod Antipas. Herod Antipas was a Roman government appointee, and the Herodians were persons who supported Rome and encouraged the development of Greek culture in Galilee. They were likely to be persons who benefited financially from the Roman occupation of Palestine.
Mark 3: 7 – 12 The Popularity of Jesus
These verses condense many months of Jesus’ life. While ministering mostly in Galilee, using the lake as a means of transport and physical protection, his reputation spread far and wide. People from all over the regions of Judea, Idumea, and the Transjordan heard of him. They believed what they heard and brought their sick loved ones to him. Even people from the more prosperous towns of Jerusalem, Tyre and Sidon came with their sick.
The significance of this summary statement was the frequent demonic identification of Jesus as the Son of God.
Mark 3: 13 – 19 Jesus Selects His Apostles
Mark tells us that Jesus went up a mountain. We can assume that this was for prayer, at which time he received clarification from his heavenly Father about the importance of this ministry as well as the names of those chosen by the Father. It is worth remembering that the plan of God for the redemption of mankind required the sacrificial obedience of his one and only son. But for it to be truly effective upon mankind, the news of his son’s death and subsequent resurrection needed to be broadcasted far and wide. So the choosing of apostles was crucial for this important task. And these apostles needed to be the right people. For God knew the extreme opposition they would all receive as the decades and, later, the centuries rolled on.
It is interesting to note the purpose that Jesus had for his apostles. It was a three-fold purpose: to be with him, to be sent out to preach and to have authority to drive out unclean spirits. This purpose is so very similar to that of Jesus, himself. Jesus was with his Father, he was sent out to preach and he had authority over unclean spirits. From this we can be certain that the message of the apostles was exactly the same as the message Jesus preached. It is for this reason believers today should become really familiar with the message Jesus gave and should emulate it.
This is, in fact, what Apostle Peter did. What Peter preached is recorded by Mark. Peter is telling the crowds of listeners exactly what he heard Jesus teaching.
Jesus also gave his apostles the authority to drive out unclean spirits which, of course, is exactly what Jesus did. The message of Jesus about the Kingdom of God seems to cause a strong reaction from unclean spirits and the apostles were given Christ-like authority to drive them out also.
Mark lists the names of the 12 disciples Jesus chose to be trained specifically as his apostles.
Mark 3:20 – 30 Is Jesus Beelzebub?
In verse 20 we encounter a very common experience: Jesus entered a house and a crowd gathered. On this occasion Mark mentions a personal personal touch of Peter’s: that Jesus and his disciples were unable to eat. Could this incident also have occurred in Peter and Andrew’s house – the roof having now being fixed?
On this occasion some family members of Jesus, and we’re not told which ones, are nearby. They saw the commotion out the front of the house. They overheard the things the crowd were saying about Jesus and they decided they should take charge.
The use of the phrase, “He is out of his mind.” or better still, “He is beside himself,” doesn’t necessarily mean his family thought he was mad. It could mean they thought Jesus had got himself into such a situation he didn’t know what to do and, therefore, they needed to rescue him. Or they were possibly so concerned about the family name and reputation, they felt it was their duty to remove Jesus from public view.
Scribes had been sent from their headquarters in Jerusalem to check out this man Jesus. When they saw unclean spirits being driven out of people and people being healed, they drew the conclusion: for Jesus to do this he must be the boss of all demons. Hence, the name Beelzebub.
It is worth imagining the scene that confronted the scribes. They were familiar with the religious scene in Jerusalem: quiet, peaceful and orderly. Everything was done decently and in order. Now, they are in Galilee. They approached the house where Jesus was. They found a noisy excited crowd. In fact, it seemed chaotic. Confusion reigned. It was a madhouse! So they quickly deduced from what they saw that Jesus must be in some kind of demonic trance. Hence, their conclusion.
Verses 23 – 30 contain Jesus’ answer. It was essentially a commentary on the power of the Kingdom. A kingdom is only strong if it remaines united. Division and infighting within a kingdom will render that kingdom powerless to withstand external threats and attacks.
Verse 26 states an important truth: If Satan opposed himself, his end had come. So, if Jesus was operating by the power of Beelzebub, Satan’s kingdom was ruined.
Jesus told a brief parable. The only way to rob a powerful man was to first immobilise him. Jesus implied that because he was able to cast out unclean spirits, he had effectively bound and immobilised the power structure of the demonic kingdom, even if at that time it was only temporary. The ultimate defeat of the kingdom of darkness will be at the cross. And this was where Jesus would soon be headed.
This section ends with some puzzling words of Jesus.
Verses 28 – 30 “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”
When this statement from Jesus is seen within the context of the teaching on the Kingdom of God, it helps us to understand it. But firstly note, it contains the wonderful fear-quelling promise that whatever sin or blasphemy is uttered that sin or blasphemy will be forgiven, enabling entry into the Kingdom of God for everyone.
But then comes what appears to be a confusing, if not contradictory, statement: “whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness.” But within a triune God of unity, how could one blaspheme against the Holy Spirit and not blaspheme against God himself? Or how does one target only the Holy Spirit with blasphemy without also targeting the other persons of the godhead?
Perhaps what Jesus was alluding to here is that for any sin to be forgiven, there must first be repentance. Remember, in the opening summary statement of Jesus’ ministry in Chapter 1, Jesus taught the crowds, like John the Baptist did, that they should repent. Now, true repentance requires a conviction of sin and Jesus taught in John’s gospel that one of the ministries of the Spirit was to convict the world concerning sin. If anyone does not yield to the conviction of the Holy Spirit, their resisting would lead them to deny the word of the Spirit. If we deny the word of the Holy Spirit by our words and actions, we are saying that the Spirit is wrong. Hence, we are blaspheming the Spirit. Without repentance, then, there is no forgiveness of sin and no entry into the Kingdom of God.
However, given the first statement Jesus made, it is necessary to add this: if someone comes to their senses and does eventually agree with the Holy Spirit that they need to repent and believe in the Word of God, they would not be excluded from the Kingdom of God.
Mark 3: 31 – 35 Jesus Real Family
I’m not sure if this incident occurred at the same time and place as the previous incident. There, it was stated that the family of Jesus came to take charge of him. Here, we are specifically told it is his mother and brothers who came to visit him. It seemed a polite request.
Verse 33 Jesus asked a rhetorical question: “Who are my mother and brothers?” and then he proceeded to answer his own question: “Whoever does the will of God is my family.” I imagine Jesus eyeballed the crowd as he said this and looked deeply into the hearts of those around him. He’d have noticed those persons who had surrendered their will to the will of God. Those were his family. Because Jesus was fully surrendered to his Father’s will, his true family members must also be those who are truly surrendered to the will of his heavenly Father.