Back to the Gospel


Since we have already examined the other 3 Gospels in this venue, it is appropriate to take on the Book of Mark and round out the study. Mark is unique in the Cannon and specifically as one of the Gospels for a few reasons. It is believed that his is the first written account of the life of Christ, dating somewhere in the late 50s to early 60s ad. Because of the many mentions of Peter and a somewhat critical view of the 12 Disciples it is also believed that Mark used the preaching of Peter as the impetus for his writing, as Mark was not one of the 12 Disciples. Mark’s version is told with detail, (greater than some of the other Gospels) and with a sense of urgency. Jesus seems to be in hurry through many of the stories.

Mark portrays Jesus rather uniquely as well. We will find an emphasis on His power and authority.

In the Gospel of Mark, there are at least six specific ways in which Jesus is portrayed:

  1. A man of authority: His personal authority is such that Peter, Andrew (1:16–18), James, and John (1:19–20) all follow him from fishing, at his simple command. (Note how the scene in 1:16–20 is stark and lacking in causal explanation.)
  2. A man of power: In Mark, more than in any other Synoptic, Jesus is extremely powerful. He has power over disease, He has power over nature, and perhaps especially, he has power over demonic spirits
  3. Someone to be feared: Jesus is a man to be feared, especially in the first half of the Gospel.
  4. Someone who is divine: Jesus is clearly portrayed as divine in Mark, though in some ways less so than in Matthew.
  5. Someone who is fully human: As in no other Gospel, Jesus is portrayed as thoroughly human in Mark. The very human picture of Jesus in Mark must always be recognized and ought never to be underplayed or erased.
  6. Someone who is odd: There is no doubt that, similar to the previous point, Mark portrays Jesus as quite a strange individual, someone who, at the very least, may be called idiosyncratic. But there is one other way in which Jesus is seen as odd, a way that may be said to characterize the Second Gospel. Jesus is seen to be spirit-possessed (3:22), if not crazy (3:21). 
Voelz, J. W. (2013). Concordia Commentary: Mark 1:1–8:26. (pp. 41–42). St. Louis, MO: CPH.


Mark begins with John the Baptist and his ministry as the forerunner of the Messiah. Just as John leaves off the birth story (which is included in Matthew and Luke), so does Mark. Instead, Mark begins with “the Gospel of Jesus Christ” which will be his focus throughout the book. His purpose with these words is introduce us to the main character of his writing. He knows exactly where he wants us to focus our attention from the first words. He wants you to think about the question “who is Jesus?”

Mark 1:1-8
1The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, 3the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’” 4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

John’s story begins “in the wilderness”. This is the place where the story of God’s people, the formation of them as a nation set apart unto God, begins. During the Exodus from Egypt, God sets about building The Children of Israel into His holy nation and Jesus is the fulfillment of their role in the world. It was from this wilderness that they entered The Promised Land.

And so Mark brings us yet again to the story of Jesus and His divine work of redemption on our behalf. I look forward to spending some time in these pages learning of Jesus from yet another source. May the Holy Spirit walk with us through this study.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

יהוה שָׁמַר--Yahweh Shamar (God Watches)

Image
Psalm 121 1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. There are numerous passages I cling to when stress takes over my life. I would be hard pressed to declare a favorite, but this psalm would come close. So this morning I listened to Psalm 121 about 20 times as I meditated through the verses. First, I want to point out that the word or idea of shamar appears in every verse expect 6. The NIV uses the word "watch" while the ESV uses "keep". The...
Read more

Excusez-moi

Image
2 Kings 23:31-37 31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. 33 And Pharaoh Neco put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 34 And Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away, and he came to Egypt and died there. 35 And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, from everyone according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco. 36 Jehoiakim was twenty-fiv...
Read more

Narrow Door

Image
Luke 13:22-30 22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them , 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. 29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at tabl...
Read more