Commonly Misunderstood Bible Verses by Rhodes Ron

Author:Rhodes, Ron [Rhodes, Ron]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780736931342
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers
Published: 2008-08-01T00:00:00+00:00

Mark

Mark 1:15—What is the distinction between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven?

The terms kingdom of God and kingdom of heaven are essentially interchangeable in the Bible. The Gospels of Mark, Luke, and John use the term kingdom of God (for example, Mark 1:15; Luke 9:2). Matthew, however, uses kingdom of heaven some thirty-two times but kingdom of God only four times. The apparent reason Matthew predominantly used kingdom of heaven is that he was a Jew writing to Jews and was showing sensitivity to the Jewish preference of avoiding using God’s name when possible to make sure one was not using this name in vain (since the third of the Ten Commandments prohibits this—Exodus 20:7). The other Gospel writers were not writing to a Jewish audience, so they used the term kingdom of God.

Mark 1:34—Why would Jesus not let the demons reveal who He was?

There are probably several reasons for this. First, Satan is called the father of lies (John 8:44; see also Genesis 3:4), and the demons who follow Satan no doubt reflect the character of their diabolical leader. Certainly Jesus would not want any testimony regarding His identity from a sinister, lying source. Moreover, one must keep in mind that some of the Jewish leaders associated Jesus with Beelzebub, the prince of the demons (Mark 3:22). Allowing testimony from lying spirits might add fuel to the fire regarding that claim.

A second possible reason for Jesus silencing the demons is that He was demonstrating that He has authority over them. This would be in keeping with other verses in the Gospels where this authority is openly demonstrated (Mark 8:33; 9:38; Luke 10:17).

A third possible reason for silencing the demons may relate to the popular misconceptions of the Messiah held by many in first-century Judaism. The Jews were expecting the coming of a glorious conquering Messiah who would deliver the Jews from Roman domination. If a demon prematurely blurted out that Jesus was the Messiah, the Jews who were present might interpret the term Messiah in this mistaken sense. Jesus may have silenced the demons from revealing His identity at this early juncture so that He could, in His own time, demonstrate by word and deed that He was the true biblical Messiah.

Mark 1:44—Why did Jesus instruct the miraculously healed leper not to tell anyone but instead to go to the priest to offer sacrifices?

There are two issues we must deal with here: Why did Jesus instruct the man not to tell anyone, and why did Jesus send him to the priest to offer sacrifices?

Jesus probably instructed the man not to tell anyone because of the popular misunderstandings that were floating around during that time about the Messiah. There was a very high messianic expectation to the effect that when the Messiah came, He would deliver the Jews from Roman domination. The people were expecting a political Messiah-deliverer. News that He was the Messiah would immediately excite people’s preconceived imaginations about what this Messiah figure was supposed to do.

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