Gospel of Mark ST. PAUL S

Transcription

1 Gospel of Mark 9AM ADULT FORMATION ST. PAUL S

2 Intentions for Series Compare the Gospel stories What is similar, what is different? What is the point the author is making? Who is the primary audience? Where does the action take place? Who are the main characters other than Jesus? How does the power structure come into play?

3 Background: Timing 4 BCE 30 CE: Life of Jesus CE: Letters of Paul CE: Mark 70: Destruction of 2 nd Temple CE: Luke, Matthew 95 CE: John 120 CE: Thomas, Peter, etc.

4 Reading the Gospels: The main point is that the stories that Christians told and retold about Jesus were not meant to be objective history lessons for students interested in key events in Roman imperial times. It is important then indeed, absolutely crucial that we allow each author to have his own say, rather than assume that they are all trying to say the same thing. (Bart D. Ehrman, The New Testament)

5 Similarities New wine in old wineskins Lamp under a bowl Mustard Seed

6 Differences As we read each Gospel look for differences: Mark John The Jewish Passover meal takes place on a Thursday evening. Jesus Last Supper is a Passover meal Jesus is crucified at 9am, the morning after the Passover meal was eaten. The Jewish Passover meal takes place on a Friday evening. Jesus Last Supper is not a Passover meal Jesus is crucified after noon, the day before the Passover meal is eaten.

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8 Gospel of Mark

9 What do these stories have in common? Jesus birth Good Samaritan Prodigal Son Golden Rule Mary and Martha

10 Who was Mark? There are various proposals: Papias, a Christian leader in the 2 nd Century proposed that Mark was a follower of Peter in Rome (1 Peter 5:13) Others say that he is John Mark, mentioned in the book of the Acts and in some of Paul s letters.

11 Who is Mark? Others state that he was a Greekspeaking Christian, presumably living outside of Palestine, who had heard a number of stories about Jesus.

12 Who was Mark? We don t really know!

13 We could look at the Gospel itself Devout Christian who believes in Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God (1:1) Writing for people who know the basic Christian message. Assumes that they regard the scriptures of Israel as the word of God Will understand what it means to say that Jesus is the Messiah.

14 Who was Mark written for? Depends on which theory you espouse!

15 Memory vs. Metaphor Some focus of each Gospel is to remember the life and death of Jesus. The 2 nd focus is metaphor: these metaphorical narratives combine memory and metaphor. They reflect an event that really happened, but the reason the stories were remembered and told is because they were seen as having more than historical meaning. (From Conversations with Scripture: The Gospel of Mark by Marcus Borg)

16 For example: Consider the story of Israel s exodus from Egypt. It is not simply a story of what happened. It is a story of bondage to Pharaoh, liberation by God, journey through the wilderness, and arrival in the promised land. a metaphorical narrative of the human condition and path of deliverance.

17 Questions: How does this interpretation make you feel? Do the Gospel stories show you ways to lead a better life?