The Gospel of Mark
And…Action!
Immediately, coming up from the water…
Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness…
Immediately, while He was speaking, Judas, … with a great multitude
with swords and clubs…
If you were looking for dynamic reading, then look no
further than the Gospel according to Mark. Of all the four Gospels, Mark
emphasized action. His writing is a paratactic style, “stringing
together short, loosely connected episodes, like pearls on a string” (Just).
Mark’s Gospel is the shortest of the four, filled with a sense of immediacy as
noted above (1: 10, 12; ,14:43). In fact, his sense of immediacy rings clear in
the use of the word “immediately” (Gk. “euthys”) thirty-nine (39) times, along
with the word “and” (Gk. “kai”) five hundred and nine (509) times according to
the New American Standard translation.
It was during the early years of the church – first century.
It was commonplace for Christians to “pass on the story of Jesus orally as
isolated stories, short sayings collections and some longer narrative, such as
the passion” (Hollman, logos). According to Hollman, most scholars believe that
Mark “wrote with the needs of the church in mind, addressing the typical
concerns pertinent to his generation”. We know that he was a disciple of the
Apostle Peter (1 Peter 5:13; Acts 12:12,25;15:37,39). Church fathers Justin
Martyr called Mark’s Gospel the “memoirs of Peter” around AD 150, and Irenaeus
called him “the disciple and interpreter of Peter (AD 185) as well (MacArthur).
The Gospel of Mark was written to Roman Christians, about AD 55-65, when Rome
was under the rule of Emperor Tiberius Caesar. It is said to have been written
after the Apostle Peter’s martyrdom in order to “address the crisis in the
church around the intense persecution they were experiencing” (Theopedia).
In this fast-paced Gospel, the writer aims to prove that
Jesus is the Messiah, by emphasizing “what Jesus does, rather than what He
says” (Mappes, D.).
This is obvious from his numerous omissions of lengthy
discourses such as the Sermon on the Mount and Jesus’ birth narrative. Instead,
the author majors on miracles, healings (1:21-45), passion predictions
(8:31-10:45), controversial stories and dialogues (11:35-12:44). He aptly
describes a Jesus in action. The author under the inspiration of God, applies a
brilliant strategy for his intended audience. He writes in hopes of bringing
the reader along the journey, recording the human emotions of Jesus such as
compassion (1:41), sighing (7:34), indignation (3:5), distress (14:33-34); all
the while showing Jesus’ response to amazement (1:27), criticism (2:7), fear
(4:41), bitter hatred (14:1) [Theopedia].
From the beginning of Mark’s Gospel, we see his purpose – “The
beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (1:1). The reader is
aware at the onset that Mark will be telling the story of no mere human;
rather, Messiah! God in the flesh. He painstakingly shows Jesus as the
suffering servant, going against long held Jewish expectations. Jews held preconceived
notions that Messiah would be a politician and military ruler (Lea & Black,
144). Not so for Mark – He makes it very clear that this God-man “came not to
be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” (10:45),
not to mention declaring the standard for discipleship – “If anyone would come
after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me” (8:34) [Theopedia].
Finally, Mark uses a variety of literary devices to bring
the text alive as seen in the following examples:
·
Detailed Narratives – The healing of the
demoniac (5:1-20)
o
The Historical Present – 1:12, 21
o
Realism about Jesus’ emotions – 1:43; 10:21
o
Realism of His family’s opposition – They think
He’s crazy 3:21
o
Realism of His disciples’ weaknesses – Peter’s
rebuke 8:33
|
·
Literary Echoes (retrospectives or
foreshadowing)
o
In 1:14 “After John is arrested” / detailed in
6:14-27
o
In 14:26-31 Jesus foretells the desertion of
the disciples and Peter’s denial/ detailed in 14:50 -52;66-72
o
In 13:2 – Destruction of the temple
o
In 10:38-39 – The deaths of James and John
·
Three-fold patterns
o
Three witnesses react to Jesus death
(15:29-30, 31-32a, 32b)
o
Three times Jesus speaks to the disciples
about sleeping (14:32-42)
o
Three times emphasis on his suffering, death
and resurrection after three days (8:31; 9:31; 10:32-34)
o
Groups of three (Peter, James, John 9:2;14:33)
& (Jesus, Moses, Elijah 9:4-5)
·
Intercalations (sandwiching)
o
A – Paralytic man brought to Jesus 2:1-5
B – Dispute over Jesus’ authority to forgive sins 2:6-10
A – Jesus heals the paralytic man 2:11-12
(Just)
|
Considering that Mark was not an eyewitness of the unfolding
events, the power of the Holy Spirit does a masterful job of Mark’s penning as
if he was present. The “omniscient narrator reveals lots of inside information
to include people’s private thoughts, feelings and plans (1:41; 2:6-8) and
details about events which none of the disciples were present“ [Just] (3:6;
14:1-2). No doubt, this Gospel, directed to a predominant Roman audience and a
benefit the universal church depicts Jesus Christ, the Son of God as constantly
moving about doing ministry, an example for all to follow, as He serves,
sacrifices and saves (Nasb). True to the Markan style, the author ends in suspense
(original manuscripts) – “They went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling
and astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they
were afraid” (16:8). Interestingly, the longer ending (16:20) also ends in
suspense – “And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked
with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed”.
The Gospel of Mark…The Story Continues…
Bibliography
Just, Felix S.J.,Ph.D. The Gospel According To Mark:
Literary Features & Thematic Emphases. Accessed May 3, 2018: http://catholic-resources.org/Bible/Mark-Literary.htm
Theopedia. The Gospel of Mark. Accessed May 3, 2018: https://www.theopedia.com/gospel-of-mark
Dockery, David S., Trent C. Butler, Christopher L. Church,
Linda L. Scott, Marsha A. Ellis, James Emery White and Tenn.) “Mark”. Hollman
Bible Publishers (Nashville, TN: 1992)
Thomas D. Lea, David Alan Black. The New Testament: Its
Background And Message. Nashville TN: B&H Publishing (2003)
John MacArthur. The MacArthur Study Bible. United States.
Thomas Nelson Publishing (1997)
Life Application Study Bible. La Habra, CA: Zondervan (2000)
Written by Pastor Kevin A. Hall (May 3, 2018)
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