1 The Gospel According To Mark
Introduction FROM A GROCERY STORE AISLE TO A HOTEL ROOM, YOU CAN FIND A BIBLE ALMOST ANYWHERE. BUT AVAILABILITY DOES NOT MEAN ACCESSIBILITY, AND HERE WE MUST BE HONEST: AS A BOOK, THE BIBLE IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND. TO READ THE BIBLE AND TO UNDERSTAND THE BIBLE ARE TWO VERY DIFFERENT THINGS. THIS BOOK AIMS TO MAKE A SINCERE READING AND INQUIRY OF THE BIBLE AS EASY AS POSSIBLE. TO BEGIN WITH, WE VE NARROWED THE CONTENT TO SIMPLY THE GOSPEL OF MARK, JUST ONE OF THE FOUR GOSPELS AND TWENTY-SEVEN BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. A DIGESTIBLE PORTION, BUT SUFFICIENT TO UNDERSTAND THE MINISTRY AND MESSAGE OF JESUS CHRIST. SIDE NOTES HAVE ALSO BEEN ADDED TO PROVIDE IMPORTANT BACKGROUND INFORMATION: CONTEXT THAT WILL CLEAR UP A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF CONFUSION. AND LAST, AT IMPORTANT JUNCTURES IN THE GOSPEL, SUMMARY EXPLANATIONS WILL SERVE AS GUIDES TO THE MEANING AND DIRECTION OF THE OVERALL NARRATIVE. THE GOAL OF THIS IS NOT SIMPLY TO KNOW THE BIBLE BETTER, BUT TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE PERSON OF CHRIST WHAT HE SAID, WHAT HE DID, AND WHO HE CLAIMED TO BE. WE HOPE THIS APPROACH TO MARK S GOSPEL WILL SERVE YOU TO THAT END. 6
About MARK AS THE NAME WOULD INDICATE, THE GOSPEL OF MARK WAS WRITTEN BY JOHN MARK, A TRAVELING AND MISSIONARY COMPANION TO BOTH THE APOSTLES PETER AND PAUL. AS TRAVELING COMPANION TO THE APOSTLE PETER, THE CONTENT OF MARK S GOSPEL IS LARGELY PETER S HISTORICAL ACCOUNT AND SPOKEN MESSAGES. EARLY TESTIMONY TO MARK S AUTHORSHIP COMES DOWN TO US FROM PAPIAS, THE BISHOP OF HIERAPOLIS. WRITING EARLY IN THE SECOND CENTURY, PAPIAS STATES THAT HE RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING SOURCE ACCOUNT OF MARK S GOSPEL DIRECTLY FROM THE APOSTLE JOHN: WHILE SOME SCHOLARS DATE MARK S GOSPEL AS EARLY AS AD 55 56, THERE SEEMS TO BE STRONGEST SUPPORT FOR MARK S COMPOSITION BEING SHORTLY AFTER THE MARTYRDOM OF PETER, ROUGHLY AD 67. MARK, WHO BECAME PETER S INTERPRETER, WROTE ACCURATELY, THOUGH NOT IN ORDER, ALL THAT HE REMEMBERED OF THE THINGS SAID OR DONE BY THE LORD. FOR HE HAD NEITHER HEARD THE LORD NOR BEEN ONE OF HIS FOLLOWERS, BUT AFTERWARDS, AS I SAID, HE HAD FOLLOWED PETER, WHO USED TO COMPOSE HIS DISCOURSES WITH A VIEW TO THE NEEDS OF HIS HEARERS, BUT NOT AS THOUGH HE WERE DRAWING UP A CONNECTED ACCOUNT OF THE LORD S SAYING... HE WAS CAREFUL OF THIS ONE THING, TO OMIT NONE OF THE THINGS HE HAD HEARD AND MAKE NO UNTRUE STATEMENTS THEREIN. ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY, 3.39.15 EARLY CHURCH TRADITION LOCATES THE WRITING OF MARK IN ROME. THIS IS CONSISTENT WITH THE EARLY WITNESS THAT PLACES PETER IN ROME TOWARD THE END OF HIS MINISTRY AND WHERE HE WAS MOST CERTAINLY MARTYRED. IT IS GENERALLY AGREED THAT THE MARK WHO ACCOMPANIED BOTH PETER AND PAUL AND COMPOSED THE GOSPEL, IS THE SAME JOHN MARK SITED IN VARIOUS PLACES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. THE BOOK OF ACTS RECORDS HIS PRESENCE ON THE EARLY MISSIONARY JOURNEYS (ACTS 12:12, 25; ACTS 13:5, 13), WHILE BOTH PETER AND PAUL INCLUDE HIM IN THE CLOSING SALUTATIONS OF THEIR EPISTLES. PAUL, FOR EXAMPLE, WRITES TO TIMOTHY, GET MARK AND BRING HIM WITH YOU, BECAUSE HE IS HELPFUL TO ME IN MY MINISTRY (2 TIMOTHY 4:11). THE GOSPEL OF MARK IS A SUCCINCT, UNADORNED ACCOUNT OF THE MINISTRY, SUFFERING, DEATH, AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS. MARK 1:1 READS, THE BEGINNING OF THE GOSPEL OF J ESUS CHRIST, THE SON OF G OD. WHATEVER ELSE WAS OF PASTORAL CONCERN IN COMPOSING THE GOSPEL, MARK CLEARLY SETS THIS FORTH AS HIS THESIS: J ESUS IS THE M ESSIAH AND THE M ESSIAH IS NOT MERELY A MAN, BUT THE SON OF GOD. 11
The Gospel According To Mark 25 Be quiet! said Jesus sternly. Come out of him! 26 The evil spirit shook the man 40 A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, If you are willing, violently and came out of him with a shriek. 27 The people were all so amazed that they you can make me clean. 41 Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and LEPROSY IS A CHRONIC DISEASE THAT ATTACKS THE THE RITE OF EXORCISM WHILE CASES OF POSSESSION ARE NOT COMMON, THEY ARE NOT ANOMALIES EITHER. EACH YEAR CHURCH DENOMINATIONS REPORT HUNDREDS, SOMETIMES THOUSANDS OF INCIDENTS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. SUCH CASES CONTINUE TO DEFY STANDARD PSYCHOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION DUE TO THE ATTENDING SYMPTOMS asked each other, What is this? A new teaching and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him. 28 News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee. 29 As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of touched the man. I am willing, he said. Be clean! 42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured. 43 Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 44 See that you don t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them. 45 Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus NERVOUS SYSTEM, CAUSING LIMBS TO TWIST, SKIN TO LESION, AND EXTREMITIES TO ERODE, MAKING IT A PERFECT METAPHOR FOR SIN. AS A NEUROLOGICAL DISEASE, LEPROSY DEADENS THE SENSATION OF PAIN, AS SIN DOES THE CONSCIENCE, LEADING TO EVEN GREATER DAMAGE AND DESTRUCTION TO THE INDIVIDUAL. AND METAPHYSICAL PHENOMENA. THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, FOR EXAMPLE, HAS REQUIRED CANDIDATES TO DISPLAY KNOWLEDGE OF ANCIENT OR DEAD LANGUAGES THEY COULDN T POSSIBLY KNOW BEFORE AN EXORCIST IS ASSIGNED. Simon and Andrew. 30 Simon s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her. 31 So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them. could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere. JESUS IS DEMONSTRATING HIS POWER TO FORGIVE SIN THROUGH HIS POWER TO HEAL LEPROSY. THIS BECOMES CLEAR IN THE HEALING OF THE PARALYTIC THAT IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWS. 32 That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demonpossessed. 33 The whole town gathered at the door, 34 and Jesus healed many who had 2 A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he WHICH IS EASIER TO SAY? IN THE MINISTRY OF JESUS, HIS TEACHING AND various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was. had come home. 2 So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, MIRACLES CARRIED THE SAME MESSAGE, ONE REINFORCING THE OTHER. IN THE CASE OF THE PARALYTIC, JESUS ABILITY TO HEAL THE SOUL (FORGIVE SINS) COULD NOT BE CORROBORATED, BUT HIS ABILITY TO HEAL THE BODY COULD. IN 35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. 36 Simon and his companions went to look they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the HEALING THE PARALYTIC MAN, JESUS VALIDATES HIS CLAIM TO HEAL THE SOUL. for him, 37 and when they found him, they exclaimed: Everyone is looking for you! 38 Jesus replied, Let us go somewhere else to the nearby villages so I can preach paralytic, Son, your sins are forgiven. 6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 Why does this fellow talk like that? He s blaspheming! THROUGHOUT THE GOSPELS, JESUS PERFORMS MANY SUCH MIRACLES THAT DISCLOSE HIS UNIQUE IDENTITY AS THE SON OF GOD. THE there also. That is why I have come. 39 So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons. Who can forgive sins but God alone? 8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, Why are you OBJECTION RAISED, WHO CAN FORGIVE SINS BUT GOD ALONE? SHOWS THAT THIS MESSAGE WAS CLEARLY UNDERSTOOD. 16 17
The Gospel According To Mark THE REPEATED MESSAGE SIMILAR TO POLITICAL CAMPAIGNING, ITINERANT the sickle to it, because the harvest has come. MEANING BENEATH MEANING BENEATH MEANING BENEATH MEANING PREACHING MAKES USE OF A BASIC PALETTE OF MESSAGES, SLIGHTLY ALTERED AS THE OCCASION OR AUDIENCE REQUIRES. WE CAN PRESUME THAT JESUS 30 Again he said, What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in WITH IRONY, AS WELL AS SOME SARCASM, GOD S RESPONSE TO ISRAEL IS IN ESSENCE: YOU WAKE UP; I M NOT THE ONE WHO S FALLEN ASLEEP. BUT YOU, ISRAEL, HAVE GAVE VERSIONS OF THE SAME MESSAGE ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS, AND THAT PRESERVED WITHIN THE GOSPELS ARE ESSENTIALLY JESUS STOCK TEACHINGS. the ground. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade. LAPSED INTO SPIRITUAL AND MORAL SLUMBER. AWAKE, AWAKE! RISE UP, O JERUSALEM... AWAKE, AWAKE, O ZION, CLOTHE YOURSELF WITH STRENGTH. THE GOSPEL WRITERS ALSO SUMMARIZE WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN MANY HOURS OF TEACHING IN AN ABBREVIATED MANNER SIMILAR TO NEWS REPORTING. 33 With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. 34 He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he THE STORY OF JESUS CALMING THE STORM ILLUSTRATES THE IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDING JESUS ACTIONS WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. WITHOUT SOME KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES SAY, AND SPECIFICALLY WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT THE COMING MESSIAH, THE MEANING AND (ISAIAH 51:17; 52:1) TO UNDERSTAND THIS CONTEXT IS TO UNDERSTAND THE MEANING OF THE STORY. was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything. SIGNIFICANCE OF JESUS WORDS AND ACTIONS CAN BE LOST, LEAVING ONE TO GLEAN ONLY THE SURFACE MEANING OF THE STORIES. THE STORY OF JESUS CALMING THE THIS IS NOT THE STORY OF JESUS ASLEEP ON THE BOAT: IT IS THE STORY OF THE DISCIPLES ASLEEP ON THE BOAT. THIS IS NOT ABOUT JESUS WAKING UP, BUT THE THE WORKS OF JESUS (MARK 4:35 6:6) IN THIS SECTION, MARK HAS SEWN TOGETHER FOUR MIRACLE STORIES: THE CALMING OF THE SEA; 35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, Let us go over to the other side. 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There STORM IS A CASE IN POINT. OF ALL THE OLD TESTAMENT PROPHETS, MARK S GOSPEL GIVES THE GREATEST ATTENTION TO ISAIAH, PARTICULARLY ISAIAH CHAPTERS 40 60, WHERE THE PROPHET DISCIPLES AWAKENING TO FAITH. THEY HAVE BEEN OBLIVIOUS TO THE TRUE NATURE AND IDENTITY OF THEIR TEACHER, BUT THIS MIRACLE HAS ROUSED THEM FROM THEIR SLEEP (SPIRITUAL UNAWARENESS) AND BY THE END OF THE DRAMA THEY ARE SEEING JESUS ANEW, AS MEN AWAKENED FROM A DREAM: AND THEY WERE FILLED THE DELIVERANCE OF THE DEMONIAC; THE HEALING OF THE UNCLEAN WOMAN; AND THE RAISING OF were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over GOES INTO CONSIDERABLE DETAIL CONCERNING ISRAEL S FUTURE DELIVERER. WITH GREAT FEAR AND SAID TO ONE ANOTHER, WHO THEN IS THIS, THAT EVEN THE WIND AND THE SEA OBEY HIM? (MARK 4:41). THE YOUNG GIRL. THIS SWATCH OF MIRACLES HAS THE INTENT OF SHOWING THE ABSOLUTE AUTHORITY OF THE SON OF MAN. HERE, JESUS the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, Teacher, don t you care if we drown? 39 He IT IS WITHIN THIS CONTEXT THAT IN ISAIAH, CHAPTER 51, THE NATION OF ISRAEL CRIES OUT TO GOD FROM THEIR DISSOLUTE STATE AND ACCUSE HIM OF HAVING FALLEN ASLEEP: THE EQUATING OF JESUS WITH THE GOD OF ISRAEL IN ISAIAH 51 52, IS A JAW- DROPPING DISCLOSURE OF HIS TRUE IDENTITY. DEMONSTRATES HIS SOVEREIGN POWER OVER THE MOST ELEMENTAL OF DESTRUCTIVE FORCES: EVIL, NATURE, SICKNESS, AND DEATH. got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, Quiet! Be still! Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. 40 He said to his disciples, Why are you so afraid? AWAKE, AWAKE! CLOTHE YOURSELF WITH STRENGTH, O ARM OF THE LORD, AWAKE, AS IN DAYS GONE BY, AS IN GENERATIONS OLD. Do you still have no faith? 41 They were terrified and asked each other, Who is this? (ISAIAH 51:9) Even the wind and the waves obey him! 24 25
WORDS LONG WRITTEN DOWN WORDS LONG WRITTEN DOWN WORDS LONG WRITTEN DOWN SOMETIME AROUND 750 BC, THE PROPHET MICAH MADE A PRONOUNCEMENT ON GOD S BEHALF THAT THE MESSIAH WOULD BE BORN IN THE CITY OF BETHLEHEM. IT READS AS FOLLOWS: IN MARK, AS IN ALL THE GOSPELS, YOU LL FIND NUMEROUS ALLUSIONS AND CITATIONS FROM THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES, KNOWN COMMONLY AS THE OLD TESTAMENT. AS JESUS CLAIMED TO BE THE FULFILLMENT OF THESE SCRIPTURES, THIS CERTAINLY MAKES SENSE. BUT IN BEING SUCH AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT OF THE GOSPELS, SOME BUT YOU, BETHLEHEM EPHRATHAH, THOUGH YOU ARE SMALL AMONG THE CLANS OF JUDAH, OUT OF YOU WILL COME FOR ME ONE WHO WILL BE RULER OVER ISRAEL, WHOSE ORIGINS ARE FROM OF OLD, FROM ANCIENT TIMES. (MICAH 5:2) BACKGROUND ON PROPHECY, AND PARTICULARLY MESSIANIC PROPHECY, IS USEFUL. ALL OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, AS A COHERENT NARRATIVE, LEADS TO THE COMING OF THE MESSIAH. WHATEVER ISRAEL SUFFERED AND ENDURED, ALL THINGS WOULD BE PUT RIGHT ONCE THE PROMISED DELIVERER ARRIVED. THE PROPHETS NOT ONLY FORETOLD OF THIS FUTURE DELIVERER, BUT PROVIDED DESCRIPTIONS AND SIGNS THAT ISRAEL MIGHT RECOGNIZE HIS COMING. WITHIN THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES ARE WELL OVER THREE HUNDRED OF THESE MESSIANIC PROPHECIES AND ALLUSIONS, SIXTY-ONE OF WHICH ARE EXTREMELY SPECIFIC AND THEREFORE MOST OFTEN CITED BY THE GOSPEL WRITERS. ASTOUNDINGLY, AND PERHAPS THE STRONGEST PROOF FOR JESUS BEING THE MESSIAH, IS THAT HE FULFILLED ALL OF THEM. IN ORDER TO APPRECIATE HOW ASTONISHING THIS IS, ONE NEEDS TO CONSIDER HOW MANY PROPHECIES THERE WERE (IN EXCESS OF THREE HUNDRED), HOW LONG BEFORE THE LIFE OF JESUS THEY WERE WRITTEN (GENERALLY BETWEEN 750 BC AND 500 BC), HOW MANY HE FULFILLED (ALL OF THEM), AND HOW SPECIFIC THE PROPHECIES WERE (SIXTY-ONE ARE EXTREMELY SPECIFIC). IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, HOW MANY PEOPLE IN HUMAN HISTORY WHO COULD REMOTELY QUALIFY FOR THE TITLE OF MESSIAH, WERE BORN IN BETHLEHEM? AND THAT IS MERELY ONE OF THE PROPHECIES. YOU CAN BEGIN TO SEE THE PERSUASIVENESS OF THE CASE MADE BY THESE PROPHETIC PORTRAITS. MATHEMATICIAN PETER STONER CALCULATED THE ODDS AGAINST ONE PERSON FULFILLING JUST EIGHT OF THE SIXTY-ONE SPECIFIC PROPHECIES AT 1 IN 10 21. THAT S A LARGE NUMBER AND TO ILLUSTRATE JUST HOW LARGE, STONER GIVES THE FOLLOWING EXAMPLE: FIRST, BLANKET THE ENTIRE EARTH LAND MASS WITH SILVER DOLLARS 120 FEET HIGH. SECOND, SPECIALLY MARK ONE OF THOSE DOLLARS AND RANDOMLY BURY IT. THIRD, ASK A PERSON TO TRAVEL THE EARTH AND SELECT THE MARKED DOLLAR, WHILE BLINDFOLDED, FROM THE TRILLIONS OF OTHER DOLLARS. ASSIGNING ODDS IS ALWAYS A SPECULATIVE ENDEAVOR, BUT THE POINT IS WITHSTANDING. IN FOLLOWING THE NOTES THROUGH THE GOSPEL OF MARK, YOU LL FIND REFERENCE TO A DOZEN OR MORE OF THESE PROPHECIES AND THEIR FULFILLMENT. THIS SHOULD PROVIDE AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THEY MEAN AND WHY THEY ARE SIGNIFICANT. AND IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT THESE FULFILLED PROPHECIES WERE NOT JUST 5 They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. 2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. 4 For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones. 6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. 7 He shouted at the top of his voice, What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won t torture me! 8 For Jesus had said to him, Come out of this man, you evil spirit! 9 Then Jesus asked him, What is your name? My name is Legion, he replied, for we are many. 10 And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area. 11 A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12 The demons begged THE NEW EXODUS A THEME WITHIN JESUS TEACHING, REFLECTED IN MARK S GOSPEL, IS THE EXODUS STORY: THE ISRAELITES WERE LED FROM BONDAGE IN EGYPT, THROUGH THE RED SEA, AND ULTIMATELY INTO THE PROMISED LAND. ACCORDING TO THE PROPHETS, THE COMING MESSIAH WOULD LEAD GOD S PEOPLE ON A NEW EXODUS: A SPIRITUAL JOURNEY FROM BONDAGE TO SIN INTO NEW LIFE IN GOD S KINGDOM. THROUGH WORD CHOICE, MARK DRAWS A PARALLEL BETWEEN THE ARMY OF PHARAOH, DROWNED IN THE RED SEA, AND THE ARMY OF EVIL DROWNED IN THE HERD OF SWINE. SERVING AS AN EXAMPLE, CONSIDER THIS OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY CONCERNING THE BIRTH OF THE COMING MESSIAH: COMPELLING IN THE FIRST CENTURY, THEY RE COMPELLING TODAY. IN FACT, THE FASTEST GROWING SEGMENT OF CHRISTIANITY IS MESSIANIC JUDAISM (ETHNIC JEWS WHO BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST), WHO SITE THESE FULFILLED PROPHECIES AS THE Jesus, Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them. 13 He gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in FORCE BEHIND THEIR FAITH. number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned. 26 27