Welcome to a very, Veritasian study of Mark. Here are a few tidbits to get you started and to help you along.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO PREPARE
- Read the selection before the discussion time
- Mark down questions/observations as you read.....write them in your Bible (God will let you)
- Reflect on what you read, insert yourself into the story and try reading as if you've never read Mark before
- Bring your study Bible
SOME POINTS TO CONSIDER
Mark is indeed a Gospel with a uniqueness of its own......
- Often ignored
- Shortest Gospel
- Date written: around 64-74 AD....Mark adds the phrase "with persecutions" in 10:30, which might reflect the persecution of Christians by Nero following the disastrous fire that destroyed half the city of Rome during AD 64......this phrase is not found in the Matthean or Lucan parallels
- "Maverick" Gospel
- No beginning or ending
- No Christmas story
- Tells "it" like it is
- First "Gospel"
- Gospel of ACTION.....("immediately" or "at once" or "then" occurs nearly 40 times in 16 chapters)
- Mark records fewer words of Jesus than the other Gospels
- Respected disciples appear dull and dense
- "Epitimao"- Greek word that appears 9 times....meaning to physically censor or "rap on the knuckles" or to rebuke......happens to: demoniacs; ocean; sea; disciples (including Peter) and even Jesus
- Includes a unique literary device called a Markan Sandwich where one story is split apart and another story is inserted as the "meat".....the outer stories interpret the inner ones.....most often a "toothpick" to connect them
- There are 6 mini gospels in Mark's one Gospel
- Mark is the only place where Jesus calls someone Satan
- Insiders are outsiders and outsiders are insiders
- There are 13 Controversy stories
- A theme called the Messianic Secret runs throughout, wherein Jesus refuses to disclose His identity
- "in the house" theme
- Role of the Sea: place of wilderness, separation and the abode of evil spirits......each time Jesus goes to Gentiles, a storm arises and He rebukes it......he comes back across after the feeding and has 1 basket left, signifying the unity of the Jews and Gentiles
- Many eating and feeding themes..."eat" 14 times; "bread" 15 times; "fasting" occurs one time
- There are no sermons in Mark
KEYS TO UNDERSTANDING MARK
1.We need to know the Story of Mark- From beginning to end
- We rely too heavily on the stories of Mark and not Mark as Story
- Observe the characters and their behaviors or lack of them
- Mark gives clues regarding the plot and its development
- Identify scenes of crisis and recognition and see the story's resolution in light of its logic
2. AVOID injecting MATTHEAN, LUKAN and JOHANNINE elements into Mark's Gospel
- There are differences....but these differences are what led Mark and the others into the canon
- Each Gospel was written by a different author in a different historical setting for a different audience. There are different cultural attachments, literary conventions and distinct social and political and religious conditions.
- Purpose: not present an historically accurate account but to present Jesus in a relevant way
Mark will give us a greater appreciation for the Suffering Servant of Jesus Christ and allow us to readily identify with the disciples in some rather unconventional ways. Strap yourself in and hold on...
