See Christs Power 01

6

Desperate Straits

Mark 4:35–6:6

Purpose: To explore how different kinds of fear and faith interact, and to learn how we can better turn our fears into faith.

This passage is long, but if you keep the group moving and focusing on the big picture, you can cover it in the time allotted.

“Don't be afraid; just believe.” These words may ring rather hollow when we, and not someone else, face a fearful or life-threatening situation. Yet in the face of real danger we discover just how much faith we have.

In this study we find a number of different people in desperate straits. Their experiences with Jesus can help us to trust him with the fearful areas of our own lives.

1.  Fear can be a very powerful emotion. What kinds of fear keep you from doing some things you think you should?

2.  Read Mark 4:35–5:20. In the first incident the disciples are quite naturally afraid of the storm and disturbed that Jesus seems not to be concerned about their drowning. Once Jesus calms the storm, however, they are still terrified. How does their fear after the storm differ from their previous fears?

3.  Who all in the next incident are afraid and why (5:1–20)?

Questions 3–4. Some group members may be disturbed by what happened to the pigs and will bring it up early on in the study. If so, don't hesitate to go to question 5 first and then come back to these.

4.  How do these fears compare with those in the previous incident?

5.  Many people find it hard to understand why Jesus allowed the demons to destroy the pigs. It could have been to prevent a violent exit from the man or to show him visibly that he was now free. Even if we can't pin down exactly why Jesus allowed this, what does the fate of the pigs show about what the demons were trying to do to the man?

What does this show about the value Jesus places on the man?

6.  At the end of this incident Jesus seems to reverse strategy. For the first time he tells someone to go and tell others about his healing. How is this man different from the others? (See 1:21–26; 1:40–45; 3:7–12.)

Question 6. The purpose of this question is to get people thinking about why Jesus sometimes works to conceal his identity and at other times encourages that it be broadcast. A definite answer requires looking at the whole Gospel, so people should only explore a tentative solution at this point. Geography and who he's speaking to are probably relevant factors. Here Jesus is speaking to a Gentile in a gentile area. In previous instances he has silenced either demons or people in Jewish areas. (This question ties into the issue that scholars refer to as the Messianic secret in Mark.)

7.  Read Mark 5:21–6:6. In 5:21–43 two stories are woven together—that of Jairus's daughter and the woman with a hemorrhage. What sorts of fears are involved in these two incidents?

8.  The word fear doesn't appear in the account of Jesus' return to his home-town, yet a kind of fear is evident here as well. What are the people afraid of?

Question 8. A little thought should convince the group that the questions people are asking and the offense they are taking are an outgrowth of fear.

9.  Which of the different kinds of fear that have been described in these incidents might we label as good fears and which as bad?

Question 9. This question is designed to get group members to see that fear, like other human emotions, is not something we can turn on and off like a water spigot. What matters is what we do in the face of fear. Do we back away from God in our fear, or do we turn toward him? So the same fear may be good or bad depending on how we respond to it.

10.  What are the relationships between fear and faith in each of these incidents?

11.  What keeps you from turning your fears into faith?

12.  Study two (Mark 1:14–39) emphasized Jesus' authority over a similar array of life's experiences. What new dimensions of Jesus' authority are shown here?

How can this authority calm your fears and strengthen your faith?

Question 12. Be sure the group notices the threat of death in each incident here.

13.  Thinking back to the parable of the sower, what kinds of soil can you find in this passage?

Question 13. This question is designed to help the group to keep tying the Gospel together. Their study will be richer, and they will be much better prepared for the summary study if they keep trying to see the Gospel as a whole as they go along rather than as a series of isolated units.

From Mark: Follow Me by James Hoover. Copyright 1985 by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship of the United States of America. Published by InterVarsity Press. One-time permission granted for user to make up to ten copies for group use. For information on additional use, click the Permissions button in the About Logos Lesson Builder dialog box.