Jesus departed with his disciples to the lake, and a great multitude from Galilee followed him; hearing all that he was doing, they came to him in great numbers from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and the region around Tyre and Sidon. He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him; for he had cured many, so that all who had diseases pressed upon him to touch him. Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But he sternly ordered them not to make him known.
3:7 Καὶ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἀνεχώρησεν μετὰ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ πρὸς τὴν θάλασσανκαὶ πολὺ πλῆθος ἀπὸ τῆς Γαλιλαίας ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῶ, καὶ ἀπὸ τῆςἸουδαίας
3:8 καὶ ἀπὸ Ἱεροσολύμων καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς Ἰδουμαίας καὶ πέραν τοῦ Ἰορδάνουκαὶ οἱ περὶ Τύρον καὶ Σιδῶνα πλῆθος πολύ ἀκούσαντες ὅσα ἐποίει ἦλθονπρὸς αὐτόν
3:9 καὶ εἶπεν τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ ἵνα πλοιάριον προσκαρτερῇ αὐτῷ διὰ τὸνὄχλον ἵνα μὴ θλίβωσιν αὐτόν·
3:10 πολλοὺς γὰρ ἐθεράπευσεν ὥστε ἐπιπίπτειν αὐτῷ ἵνα αὐτοῦ ἅψωνταιὅσοι εἶχον μάστιγας
3:11 καὶ τὰ πνεύματα τὰ ἀκάθαρτα ὅταν αὐτὸν ἐθεώρει, προσέπιπτεν αὐτῷκαὶ ἔκραζεν λέγοντα, ὅτι Σὺ εἶ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ
3:12 καὶ πολλὰ ἐπετίμα αὐτοῖς ἵνα μὴ αὐτὸν φανερὸν ποιήσωσιν
Mark 3:7 to Mark 8:26 is set framed by the sea (θάλασσαν). Inexplicably, the Anglicised NRSV has changed “sea” to “lake”!!! That some would call this lake a “sea” says a lot about how little such people travelled or even had a good image of the known world.
departed – ἀνεχώρησεν withdrew himself – withdraw because of some fear, some sense of being threatened. Remember, verse 6, the previous verse, concluded: “…how they might destroy him.”
There may be interest in the connection of the word ἀναχωρέω (anakhōréō) with the English words anchorite and anchoress – one who withdraws from secular society for spiritual reasons.
πολὺ πλῆθος (great multitude) in verse 7 are words reversed in verse 8 (chiasmus): πλῆθος πολύ (great numbers). Chiasmus highlights what is between these usages – the geographic areas.
There is anticipation of the “ingathering” summarised as “Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and the region around Tyre and Sidon”. That this ingathering is to Jesus (rather than, say, the Jerusalem Temple/Mount Zion/etc) is presenting a particular image of Jesus.
The boat – look out for the boat in the next several chapters.
Verse 10 begins with πολλοὺς – many; Jesus comes for the many. Many and all are closely connected: “all who had diseases …”
“pressed upon him to touch him” – an image repeated in Chapters 5, 6, and 7.
‘You are the Son of God!’ Cf Mark 1:1. I suggest you read Psalm 2.
Jesus sternly ordered them not to make him known – the “Messianic Secret” theme in Mark’s Gospel.
Mark in Slow Motion
This is the nineteenth post in a series – you can begin here:
Mark in Slow Motion 1
Mark in Slow Motion 2
Mark in Slow Motion 3
Mark in Slow Motion 4
Mark in Slow Motion 5
Mark in Slow Motion 6
Mark in Slow Motion 7
Mark in Slow Motion 8
Mark in Slow Motion 9
Mark in Slow Motion 10
Mark in Slow Motion 11
Mark in Slow Motion 12
Mark in Slow Motion 13
Mark in Slow Motion 14
Mark in Slow Motion 15
Mark in Slow Motion 16
Mark in Slow Motion 17
Mark in Slow Motion 18
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