Untitled Sermon (2)

I. Introduction

a.

II. Mark 3:7-12 – the withdrawal

a. What happens – Jesus withdraws to the sea

i. Withdrew. Mark alone notes no less than eleven occasions on which Jesus retired from his work, in order to escape his enemies or to pray in solitude, for rest, or for private conference with his disciples. See 1:12; 3:7; 6:31, 46; 7:24, 31; 9:2; 10:1; 14:34.[1]

ii. An act of prudence on the part of Christ

iii. While he has picked his times for confrontation, he is now pulling back

iv. The crowd though grows and continues to press

1. The word great is descriptive

v. The listing of places is notable

1. Jerusalem

2. Idumea – south of Judea

3. Beyond the Jordan

4. Tyre and Sidon

5. Mark 3:7–8

6. What is not mentioned?

a. Samaria

vi. “make sure a boat is ready”

1. The scene is more chaotic than others

2. This particular throng has a specific idea to it in that

a. People were pressing

i. Falling over each other to attempt to touch him to be healed

b. It wasn’t orderly – it was a demanding environment

c. Note – do these verses record any actual healing in the passage?

3. What is the response here?

a. Of the people

i. Demanding healing

b. Of the demons

i. Declaration of who he is

c. Of Christ

i. To the demons he told them to be quiet

ii. To the rest he is withdrawing

[1]Marvin Richardson Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament, vol. 1 (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1887), 175.