Four C’s Questions for the Entire Gospel:
Context: How has your understanding of first-century Judea and religious conflicts enhanced your reading of Mark?
Jesus is interacting and engaging with a world that is divided politically and religiously. And in those divisions, people are looking to assert a degree of authority and to establish some hope for those accustomed to enduring oppression and various forms of frustration. So, Jesus interacting in this with that degree of dynamic movement and action is fascinating to note with a greater degree of appreciation. Understanding that some uphold religious values that they’ve placed above God, whilst looking to be smart and trap Jesus, is very telling. Jesus does not fit any of those neat divisions. He offers something different from Roman rule and from the Jewish traditional and radical factions. What He calls His disciples to is something that people might trace through biblical pathways, yet it is still distinct from what the world of His day was experiencing. Thus, when He speaks of the cost of discipleship and of where He’s heading, even His disciples find what He’s saying out of sync with the culture of the time. That appreciation also helps us understand that what Jesus is calling for today does not fit what we expect or experience, despite over two millennia of Christian witness. We have to recognise that generations have not established a Kingdom culture that dominates the day and age we live in, despite what people say about the influence of Judaeo-Christian traditions in society.
Content: What are the major themes that run throughout Mark’s Gospel, and how do they develop?
Jesus is the Messiah – The Son of God: This is announced at the beginning, seen in His baptism, and affirmed by the signs and wonders He performs during His ministry. This identity is appraised at the cross, particularly where even a centurion knows that the man crucified truly must have been exactly who He said He was.
Jesus is the Suffering Servant to the point of the Cross: The suffering comes from the various negative responses to His works, as well as the way it ends up before the resurrection. This is highlighted after Peter confesses Him as the Messiah, when Jesus makes known the extent of suffering His task entails.
The outbreak of the rule of God: This theme runs throughout the ministry of Jesus, from His declaration that the rule has come near to the various demonstrations of the rule in acts of various kinds. The nature of the expression is also seen in the parables and hints that aspects of its presentation require people to go beyond the surface.
Jesus’ Authority: This is expressed in His teaching, His power over demons, disease, nature, sin, and death, and is very much linked to the arrival of the Kingdom. This authority is increasingly challenged and ultimately rejected by the religious leaders, which is the key factor behind their decision to kill Him.
Discipleship and the Order of the Cross: This is crucial to understanding what Mark outlines in the gospel account. From the call to follow Him to the interactions that gave the disciples insights not afforded to others. There are the final hours and the return to commission them.
Reactions to Jesus – Fear, Failure and Faith: The range of responses is fascinating. Mark records people responding with amazement, confusion, hardness of heart, shallow enthusiasm, and ignorance. Some respond with obedience and commitment.
Concept: How does Mark present Jesus as both fully divine and fully human throughout the narrative?
Jesus – the Divine. By stating that Jesus is the Son of God from the outset, Mark makes it clear to his readers that Jesus is divine. That is reinforced with the heavenly announcement after the baptism. The aspect of Jesus is further outlined by the authority with which He taught and by the actions that supported those teachings, actions that could have come only from someone divine. This was particularly clear in the rejection of Jesus by the religious rulers from the beginning, in their disdain for Jesus forgiving the man who had been paralysed for years. Jesus stood on the authority to forgive by dealing with man’s physical ailments. As Jesus acts with authority over nature as well as the demons and sickness, His divinity is on display, particularly to the disciples who are amazed by these demonstrations. The divinity of the Son is revealed in the transfiguration episode, where the disciples get the idea that Jesus is no ordinary man. The triumph of the Son of God is seen on the cross and the resurrection, where it cannot be denied any longer that He truly is the divine, only begotten Son of God.
Jesus – the human. As Mark affirms the divinity of Jesus, He is also clear that Jesus was fully human. Mark describes the man as known in his hometown as the son of Mary, whom they saw grow up in the neighbourhood. Hence, Jesus points out that a prophet won’t be accepted in His hometown. Mark records a man who grows tired and hungry, needs rest, and seeks solitude. Mark notes a man expressing a range of emotions, showing he’s in touch with his humanity. Whether He’s compassionate for the crowds, angry at the temple being abused, or distressed and full of sorrow in Gethsemane, Jesus is clearly a man who knows what it is to endure the range of human emotions and experiences.
Conclusions: How does the reality of Christ’s resurrection transform both your understanding of death and your purpose in life?
Following Jesus will cost us greatly. We will suffer from rejection and opposition from those in our hometown to those in positions of great influence and authority. Any thought of a settled, comfortable life when following Jesus is immediately thrown out when opposition arises, and it becomes clear that following Him takes us out of our comfort zone into the realm He leads us into as His ministers. To follow Jesus is to make a radical decision to no longer fit with the standards of the world and religious rituals that miss the heart of God. Following Jesus puts us at odds with the social, political and religious spheres. There’s just as much likelihood of someone seeking your dismissal as someone being grateful for your expression of care for the sake of the Kingdom.
The privilege, however, far outweighs any cost. To be called, appointed and commissioned by the Creator of the Universe and the King of the ages is tremendous. To know that the one who calls you equips you with supernatural power to accomplish is also something truly incredible. To appreciate that the One we follow has victory over sin, death and the grave underscores what a tremendous privilege it is to follow Him. We know that though People rejected him, He was embraced by His Father and empowered to do great exploits that revealed who He was and why He was sent. Following that, as experienced in the gospel of Mark, is something unforgettable and privileged, as nothing else can compare.
Final Reflection Questions:
Which passage in Mark has most challenged or encouraged your faith?
It’s worth addressing both, though they involve different scriptures.
The most challenging part of Mark for me is definitely Jesus’ outline in chapter 13. Reading it, understanding it, and seeing its application in the past and now are not things I absorb easily. It still takes me time to get a confident grasp of it and see how it applies to us today and why it’s a valuable part of the teaching of Christ.
The most encouraging part of Mark is not as easy to pinpoint, and there are a few contenders for that position. One part that sticks with me at the moment is the mission Jesus established: He was on a mission when He said He wasn’t here for the righteous but for the sick. This is found in Mark 2:17. That sense of knowing who He’s here for, and the time He spent with them to understand, appreciate, and respond to their situation, is a great encouragement to me. It encourages me to know that whatever condition I’m in, He’s here with and for me. It also informs me of the kind of mission Jesus calls me to in the episode I’m on currently.
How has Mark’s portrayal of Jesus changed your understanding of Christian discipleship?
Mark presents a dynamic approach to discipleship that is about understanding the mission and getting on with it, aware that we’ll be challenged from all sides in carrying it out. Jesus’ idea of discipleship in Mark is not about being soft and cuddly, or content with the status quo, or about endeavouring to comply. Jesus’ missional approach to discipleship sees those with Him on the move, so when He invites people to follow Him, it’s because He’s going somewhere. Where He’s going challenges all disciples to their core, because it asks whether we’re willing to die for Him who died for us. This dynamic, sacrificial, serving nature of discipleship challenges me where I am. Challenges me to consider if I am willing to die for Him, if I am willing to serve as He serves, if I am willing to make the sacrifices that following Him calls for. These are great calls on my life as a follower of Jesus. I’m not afforded any room for complacency or a comfortable discipleship that accommodates my convenience. Appreciating this portrayal of Christian discipleship reminds me so much of the radical nature of the call to follow Jesus.
Next time:
WIWO – Ephesians – Episode One: Book Overview
Learning, understanding, appreciating and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ is essential to the believer. The gospel according to Mark shares so much about the life and ministry of the man who would save us and give us new life. This an ongoing activity, something to always return to. This is why it’s our honour and delight to take His Word In so we can live His Word Out.
For His Name’s Sake
C. L. J. Dryden
Shalom
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