Sunday, January 27, 2013

Mark 1:13 Challenge

We find full accounts of the temptation of Jesus in the gospels of Matthew & Luke.  Mark also writes about the temptation of Jesus, but Marks account only takes up one verse.  Mark 1:13 says, "And He [Jesus] was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan.  And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to Him."  This verse occurs between the baptism of Jesus, where His ministry was commissioned (Mark 1:9-11) and the beginning of His ministry when Jesus proclaims the Kingdom of God (Mark 1:14-15)

Its interesting that Mark makes a note that Jesus was with the wild animals.  It is possible that the phrase could be just a bit of colorful description detailing the dangers of the wilderness.  However, Mark is written in a very concise style where every word is important and has meaning.  So given what we have learned from our study of Genesis 1-3 and the importance of the theme of the Kingdom of God, why might Mark have included this detail?

Here is a hint:  Mark is very influenced by the book of Isaiah.  The gospel of Mark begins with a quote from Isaiah 40:3.  Look at Isaiah 11 and see if you can make a connection between Genesis 1-3, Isaiah 11, and Mark 1:13.  

Throw out your ideas in the comment section to this post.  I think it will be fun to get a discussion going and see if we can get some practice in trying to view all of scripture as part of one story and seeing how it ties together.

10 comments:

  1. Gen.1-24 creation of living creatures, livestock, creatures that move along the ground and wild animals.And He saw that it was good.
    Isaiah 11: 6-9 The King returns and the wild animals revert to Eden like behavior . At peace with each other and man.
    Mark 1:12-13 The Spirit sent Him out into the desert and He was in the desert 40 days being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals and
    Angels attended Him.
    Trey, the common thread would seem to be God creating the wild animals, Jesus living in peaceful harmony with them in the desert and in the world to come. If we look at Mark 1-12 I think it sheds a different light. It reads "At once the Spirit sent Him out into the desert". So if we take verses 12 and 13 we see a parallel with four parts, two good, two something else. The two good,the Spirit sending and the angels attending. The two something else,Satan tempting and being with the wild animals.(Mark doesn't say the animals being with Him). I think being with the animals and being tempted by Satan are part of the same process of shaping His perfection through trials of fear and temptation. Dave

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  2. I like it Dave. We start from the peaceful harmony of creation in Eden. Sin destroys this relationship, but our God is a redeemer and He seeks to restore creation. Sin will not have the last word. The passage in Isaiah is a prophecy about the future of creation, when a righteous king will bring a new era in which even the animals will live in harmony. Mark anticipates this future by showing the King and the wild animals in harmony.

    I think you raise a good point in the second part by noting the wild animals and Satan are both hostile forces shaping Jesus through fear and temptation. Man was supposed to have dominion over the animals, but the very fact that they are wild proves he does not. Man was supposed to guard against Satan, but we saw how that turned out for Adam and Eve. Jesus, in His incarnate form, takes on this role of defeating Satan and also subduing the wild animals fulfilling the role man was to have in creation. That was not a connection I saw originally, but I think you are right on.

    So to continue the discussion, would anyone like to add to Dave's point or to challenge it? Do you think this goes beyond the evidence?

    Man was originally to have dominion over the animals. If we are right that in Eden before the fall man and the animals were in a state of harmony, how can dominion and subduing coexist with harmony?

    What do you think this says about the role of animals in redemption?

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  3. Trey, are you referring to Jonah 3:7,8 re: animals and redemption? Dave

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  4. I was not referring to that verse in particular. My questions is probably better stated, do you think the animals are redeemed?

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  5. Trey, since God did not breathe his breath into the animals to animate their souls I don't think they can be redeemed. However the only animal mentioned as being in heaven is the horse. So I think they are a created being in heaven.The animals in the book of Jonah being covered with sack cloth as were their masters was merely an extension of their master's desire to show God the extent of their obedience to his command for redemption.

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  6. Dave, I think the horse is probably a metaphor more than anything. I also think you are correct concerning the animals fasting and clothed in sackcloth in the book of Jonah. However, there is some evidence that animals are also given the breath of life. If you read Genesis 7:15 we are told concerning the animals, "they went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life." The phrase "breath of life" in Hebrew is ruach hayim and is the same phrase used in Genesis 2 with Adam. Psalms 104:29 & 30 also indicates, that animals have the "breath of life." Having said that, I want to emphasize that humanity, by its status as the image of God and the responsibilities given to them, is of a different status entirely from animals. I hesitate to use the word "soul" since that word conotes a more Greek and specifically Platonic idea which would be foreign to the Hebrew conception.

    However, I actually think the animals as well as the rest of the creation will be redeemed. My rationale is based on the points made in this discussion. The animals lived in harmony with man prior to the fall. However, after the fall, the relationship with man is broken and instead one of fear. In Isaiah 11 we are given a prophetic picture of the future Kingdom of God in which this relationship, along with other relationships, will be repaired. The result of Jesus' defeat of Satan at the temptation is that Jesus dwells in harmony again with the wild animals. I think this is actually anticipating the final consummation of the Kingdom of God in the same way that Jesus' healings anticipate the end of physical suffering.

    I would put forth that the whole creation, and not just man, will be part of the new heavens and new earth. This
    means that God's creation of the earth, man, and the animals is not a temporary creation that will be destroyed, but one that will be renewed in its entirety. If my assumptions are correct, then the animals would be redeemed as part of the new heavens and new earth.

    To try to keep the discussion going I am going to hold back a bit and ask a few questions to see if anyone else would like to jump in:

    Q. Can we find another place in the Bible that supports my conclusion that the animals will survive God's final judgment and be part of the new heavens and new earth?

    Q. Can you be an orthodox, doctrinally responsible parent and tell a child whose animal died that their beloved pet will go to heaven?

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  7. Trey, I guess for now I am the only partaker of this feast, so here goes. First a correction. On my post of Feb. 4th the last word should be repentance. Now the two new questions. In Rev. 5:13 " I heard every creature in heaven, on earth and on the sea" Rev.19, 11-14 "I saw heaven standing open. There was a white horse, the armies of heaven were riding white horses" Isaiah 65,17-25 describes the Millennium or the 1,000 year reign of Christ. Kind of heaven's front porch. " the wolf and the lamb feed together, the lion will eat straw".
    When God created the animals he saw that " it was good". As you so properly corrected me, God breathed his breath into the animals. If it was good then why not good later. God showers us with countless blessings, He gives us joy. He loves us. The Bible is silent on it but why not Fluffy in heaven. Dave

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  8. Good stuff. I think the overall point I want to emphasize is that all of creation will be transformed by God and not just humanity. We often take such a man-centered view of God's work that we forget that the project of redemption involves all of creation. God's good creation will not be destroyed in the final judgment and man will not be taken away into some sort of disembodied ethereal spiritual existence. This world is not some temporary construct to be done away with once God's purposes are fulfilled.

    It is interesting that God saves not just Noah and his family from the flood, but also the animals. If Peter is right in 2 Peter 2 to see Noah's flood as a paradigm for the final judgment, then I think we can draw the conclusion that the animals will be part of the new heavens and new earth. So I agree, that while the Bible is silent on the issue of a "doggy heaven", I think a parent can justify assuring a child that God cares about animals and that there will be animals in heaven. So why not Fluffy in heaven?

    Cats go straight to hell though.

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  9. Good stuff. I think the overall point I want to emphasize is that all of creation will be transformed by God and not just humanity. We often take such a man-centered view of God's work that we forget that the project of redemption involves all of creation. God's good creation will not be destroyed in the final judgment and man will not be taken away into some sort of disembodied ethereal spiritual existence. This world is not some temporary construct to be done away with once God's purposes are fulfilled.

    It is interesting that God saves not just Noah and his family from the flood, but also the animals. If Peter is right in 2 Peter 2 to see Noah's flood as a paradigm for the final judgment, then I think we can draw the conclusion that the animals will be part of the new heavens and new earth. So I agree, that while the Bible is silent on the issue of a "doggy heaven", I think a parent can justify assuring a child that God cares about animals and that there will be animals in heaven. So why not Fluffy in heaven?

    Cats go straight to hell though.

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