|
| |
| Mark
1. Kingdom (Mark 1:1--4:34) |
PDF (Adobe Portable Document Format) and
.doc files (Microsoft Word format) of the
overheads used in this presentation are available from the
Exploring
the Gospel of Mark Page or the
Download
page
|
Jesus preaches about the coming of the kingdom of God. What is the kingdom of God? How did Jesus challenge the people of his time? How does he challenge us?
|
Topics Note:
This material is taken primarily from Hearing
Mark. A Listener's Guide,
Elizabeth Struthers Malbon,
Trinity Press International,
Harrisburg, 2002. ISBN
1-56338-379-9, with additional
material from: Augsburg
Commentary on the New Testament:
Mark. Donald H.
Juel.
Augsburg, Minneapolis, 1990.
ISBN 0-8066-8856-4
In
the notes below, *
Indicates
material is from Malbon, and ** Indicates
material is from Juel.
1.
Some Preliminaries
1.1.
Assumptions About Mark
1.2.
Assumptions About the Audience
2.
Opening Words (Mark 1:1)
2.1.
Gospel
2.2.
Jesus
2.3.
Christ
2.4.
Son of God
2.5.
The beginning
3.
Jesus and the Kingdom of God (Mark
1:1-45)
3.1.
John the Baptizer (Mark 1:2-8)
3.2.
Jesus' Baptism (Mark 1:9-11)
3.3.
Jesus' Testing (Mark 1:12-13)
3.4.
Jesus' Preaching (Mark1:14-15)
3.5.
First Disciples (Mark 1:16-20)
3.6.
Teaching and Casting Out a Demon
(Mark1:21-28)
3.7.
Healing a Fever (Mark 1:29-31)
3.8.
Healing Many (Mark 1:32-34)
3.9.
Praying and Preaching (Mark 1:35-39)
3.10.
Healing a Leper (Mark 1:40-45)
4.
Jesus and the Traditional Community
(Mark 2:1--3.6)
4.1.
Healing a Paralytic (Mark 2:1-12)
4.2.
Calling Levi and Eating with Sinners
(Mark 2:13-17)
4.3.
Question about Fasting (Mark 2:18-22)
4.4.
Plucking Grain on the Sabbath (Mark
2:23-28)
4.5.
Healing a Withered Hand (Mark 3:1-6)
4.6.
Reviewing Mark 2:1--3:6
5.
Jesus and the New Community (Mark
3:7-35)
5.1.
Healing Many (Mark 3:7-12)
5.2.
Naming Twelve (Mark 3:13-19a)
5.3.
Jesus' Family (Mark 3:19b-21)
5.4.
Jesus and Some Scribes (Mark 3:22-30)
5.5.
Jesus' Metaphorical Family (Mark
3:31-35)
6.
Jesus and Parables of the Kingdom (Mark
4:1-34)
6.1.
Parable of the Seeds (Mark 4:1-9)
6.2.
Parables and Mystery (Mark 4:10-12)
6.3.
Interpreting the Parable of the Seeds
(Mark 4:13-20)
6.4.
See What You Hear (Mark 4:21-25)
6.5.
Parable of the Seed Growing of Itself
(Mark 4:26-29)
6.6.
Parable of the Mustard Seed (Mark
4:30-32)
6.7.
Hearing the Parables (Mark 4:33-34)
References
1.
Some
Preliminaries
1.1.
Assumptions About Mark
-
*
It
was written long ago - about 70 A.D.
-
*
It
was written in a different culture
-
*
It
was written anonymously
-
*
It
was written with an agenda - "from faith to faith"
-
* It
was written in the form of a story
-
*
It
was written to be heard
-
**
Mark
was not a popular gospel to study until the 19th century
-
**
It
was characterized as the unsophisticated gospel
-
**
According
to tradition, Eusebius quotes Papias as saying that Mark transcribed Peter's
memories of Jesus
1.2.
Assumptions About the Audience
-
You
have some familiarity with Mark
-
You
have access to a Bible in a good translation
-
You
are willing to commit to reading the biblical text as the primary text
-
You
understand chapter and verse references
-
You
have some relationship to a Christian tradition
-
You
will be reading Mark and Hearing Mark silently and alone
2.
Opening Words
(Mark 1:1)
The
beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of
God
(Mark 1:1)
2.1.
Gospel
-
*
Good
news of Jesus and the good news about Jesus
-
*
Same
term used to refer to the Roman emperor's appearances, legislation, and
military victories
-
*
A
possible challenge to imperial prerogatives
2.2.
Jesus
2.3.
Christ
-
*
A
title, not Jesus' last name
-
*
Christos
in Greek
-
*
Mashiah
in Hebrew
-
*
Means
anointed, Christ comes from the same Greek root as Crisco
-
*
Anointing
in Jewish traditions has ties to the monarchy, the priesthood, and prophecy
-
*
Indicates
that a person has been designated by God to serve in some special capacity
-
**
Use
of this title without explanation suggests that Mark was writing for a Jewish
audience, or at least those who understood their traditions
2.4.
Son of God
-
*
Not
synonymous with a claim of divinity in the early days of Christianity
-
*
Meant
someone who was obedient to God
-
*
As
a son is obedient to his father, so the righteous man is obedient to God
-
*
In
Hebrew Bible could mean all of Israel, the king, or any righteous man (Hosea
11:1, Psalm 2:7, Wisdom of Solomon 2:18)
2.5.
The beginning
-
*
Because
we don't know the ending yet
-
*
Mark
expected the apex of the story to occur with Jesus' return with power, but even
this is not the ending (Mark 13:31)
3.
Jesus
and the Kingdom of God (Mark 1:1-45)
3.1.
John the Baptizer (Mark 1:2-8)
-
*
So,
the beginning of the gospel of Jesus is a prophecy of Isaiah about John the
Baptist
-
**
This
quote is a combination of Malachi 3:1
and Isaiah 40:3 with a hint of Exodus 23:20
-
*
We
are given specifics about what John wears and eats
-
*
Mark
assumes that his audience knows the Bible, that is the Hebrew Bible
-
John
dresses like Elijah (2 Kings 1:8, Zechariah 13:4)
-
Elijah's
return is associated with the last days (Malachi 4:5)
-
Jewish
scholars expected that the "messenger sent to prepare the way" of Malachi 3:1
was Elijah
-
*
Mark
points to Isaiah, Isaiah points to John, John points to Jesus and Jesus is the
one who comes
-
*
Jesus
is the one who comes to John to be baptized for repentance
-
**
Washing
rituals are an important feature of Jewish worship, especially for priests
about to enter the temple, where they would enter the presence of God
-
**
Mark
begins in the wilderness, not in Jerusalem, where one would expect to find
baptism for repentance of sins
-
**
To
the historians of the day, John is a more important figure than Jesus
-
**
John's
preaching promises baptism by fire, a baptism superior to water baptism (Jesus
is superior to John)
3.2.
Jesus' Baptism (Mark 1:9-11)
-
*
Jesus'
baptism elicits a divine response: the
heavens are torn apart
-
**
Juel
notes that this kind of violent tearing is not easily repaired
-
*
The
boundary between God and human beings has been breached
-
**
"God
is on the loose"
-
* The
Spirit descending like a dove is another indication that the gap between God
and humans is narrowed
-
**
Literally,
the Spirit descends into Jesus, suggesting a picture of Jesus as Spirit-
possessed by the Spirit of God
-
*
A
voice says "You are my son"
-
*
By
now the audience is clued in that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God and
expectations are set up for the coming victory, or...
3.3.
Jesus' Testing (Mark 1:12-13)
-
*
Now
the Spirit "throws him out" into the wilderness
-
**
This
is the same word used for driving out demons
-
*
Later
Jesus will be throwing unclean spirits out of people, but first the most clean
Spirit throws Jesus out
-
*
Jesus
is in the wilderness for 40 days
-
*
Who
else was in the wilderness for 40
somethings?
-
*
Jesus
passes the testing in the wilderness and is ministered to (or
deaconed) by
angels
-
*
Right
at the beginning of Mark we know that Satan is allied with the forces of evil
and that Jesus has clearly sided with God and the forces of good
3.4.
Jesus' Preaching (Mark1:14-15)
-
*
"The
time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe in
the good news."
-
*
Chronos (or clock) time vs.
Kairos
(or quality or right) time
-
**
This
is a time of crisis, or decision, or tipping point
-
*
In
Jesus' and Mark's day, people thought that evil was so prevalent that the end
times must be near
-
*
Jesus
announces that the kingdom of God is breaking into time
-
*
"Kingdom
is not a place; kingdom is an activity of God as ruler."
-
*
Our
response is to repent and trust in God
3.5.
First Disciples (Mark 1:16-20)
-
*
The
kingdom of God is such a big concept that it requires additional workers
-
*
So
Jesus begins by calling 2 brothers Simon and Andrew
-
*
Next
Jesus calls James and John who are with their father, whom they leave behind
-
**
The
charge of Rome against Christians was that this destruction of family ties was
antisocial
-
*
Maybe
our usual roles will have to be rethought
3.6.
Teaching and Casting Out a Demon (Mark1:21-28)
-
*
Back
in Capernaum, on the sabbath, Jesus goes to synagogue where he teaches with
authority
-
**
In
Mark, Jesus begins his ministry in "a holy place on a holy day"
-
*
The
people notice that Jesus' authority is different from the authority of the
scribes
-
*
In
the synagogue, there is a man with an unclean spirit who calls Jesus
"the Holy
One of God"
-
**
The
unclean spirit is out of place, "an unholy thing in a holy place"
-
**
No
human will ascribe to Jesus the title Son of God until his trial
-
*
Take
note that the spirit world, whether good or evil, knows things that ordinary
people do not know
-
*
The
unclean spirit also seems to know that Jesus' arrival signals their demise
-
*
Jesus'
exorcism of the unclean spirit is connected by the people with Jesus'
authoritative teaching
-
*
There
is a pattern here, or a "sandwich"
-
A
reference to teaching
-
A
reference to exorcism
-
A
reference to teaching
-
*
Together
they tell us that the coming kingdom of God is signalled by the defeat of
Satan's forces
3.7.
Healing a Fever (Mark 1:29-31)
-
*
After
the synagogue incident, Jesus goes to Simon's house where Simon's mother-in-law
is ill
-
**
Note
that it is still the sabbath
-
*
Jesus
heals her and she ministers or "deacons" them
-
*
2
healing stories
-
Man
healed in synagogue, a public space
-
Woman
healed at home, a woman's space
-
Demonstrates
that gender and social location are no barrier to Jesus
3.8.
Healing Many (Mark 1:32-34)
-
*
Mark
tells us that the 2 preceding healings are just examples of the many people
Jesus healed
-
*
Jesus
instructs the demons to keep silent
-
Known
as the Messianic secret
-
Mark's
audience, like the demons, know the secret
-
*
So
far we know that Jesus is a powerful healer and teacher
3.9.
Praying and Preaching (Mark 1:35-39)
-
*
Jesus
retreats to the wilderness to pray
-
*
Simon "tracks him down" because so many are waiting to be healed
-
*
Jesus
agrees to go with them, but to the next town where he can proclaim his message
to others
3.10.
Healing a Leper (Mark 1:40-45)
-
*
Leprosy
is any one of a variety of skin conditions, all of which isolate their victims
-
**
With
this healing, Jesus begins a pattern of breaking down ritual boundaries
-
**
These
boundaries were established by the Torah, as a means to protect life and
community, not as a means to salvation
-
*
Jesus
has pity on the leper and heals him
-
**
The
Greek here suggests an exorcism; literally it says,
"And snorting at him in indignation,
Jesus cast him out."
-
**
It
is difficult to understand Jesus' anger here
-
*
Then
astonishingly, he asks the leper not to tell, except he can tell the priest to
be restored to the community
-
*
Implied
is that the healing, and thus Jesus' power, can be attributed to God
4.
Jesus
and the Traditional Community (Mark
2:1--3.6)
4.1.
Healing a Paralytic (Mark 2:1-12)
-
*
The
paralytic's friends lower him through the roof of Jesus' house
-
*
Impressed,
Jesus says to the paralytic, "Your sins are forgiven"
-
Note
the passive voice
-
Passive
voice is a circumlocution for God
-
**
Juel
notes that, for Mark, there is something inherently evil about physical illness
that links it to sin
-
*
Scribes
are offended by Jesus' blasphemy
-
*
Jesus
retorts that "the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"
-
In
Mark, only Jesus uses this title
-
Associated
with the end times (Daniel 7:13-14)
-
Aramaic
version of phrase is self referent
-
Jesus
is claiming the right to speak for God
-
**
Result
of healing the paralytic is that the crowd glorifies God
4.2.
Calling Levi and Eating with Sinners (Mark 2:13-17)
-
*
While
teaching by the sea, Jesus sees a tax collector named Levi and calls him as a
disciple
-
*
Levi's
name identifies him as Jewish, but he is working for the Romans
-
**
Juel
notes that since Levi is in Galilee, he is actually working for Herod Antipas
-
*
While
feasting at Levi's house, some people call attention to the fact that Jesus and
his disciples eat with sinners
-
**
According
to the Babylonian Talmud, tax collectors are so sinful that they are not
allowed to come to the synagogue
-
*
Jesus
does not dispute their sinful state, but notes that he has come
"to call not
the righteous, but sinners"
-
*
Once
again, the kingdom of God is breaking in and it is disruptive
-
**
The
scribes and Pharisees were interested in preserving order; Jesus was interested
in restoring the outsider to the community
4.3.
Question about Fasting (Mark 2:18-22)
-
*
John's
disciples fasted, but Jesus' disciples do not
-
*
Jesus'
response: "The wedding guests cannot
fast while the bridegroom is with them...The day will come when the bridegroom
is taken away from them"
-
"No
one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak"
-
"No
one puts new wine into old wineskins"
-
Jesus,
like the new wine, is apt to burst some of the old containers of society
-
*
Jesus,
the bridegroom, will be taken away at his death, but now it's time to party
4.4.
Plucking Grain on the Sabbath (Mark 2:23-28)
-
*
Issue
here is whether plucking the grain and rubbing the heads together is work
-
*
That
the disciples are eating the grain harvested in this manner is implied
-
**
Deuteronomy
23:25 explicitly permits this activity
-
*
Jesus'
response to the Pharisees is guaranteed to make them even more unhappy with him
than they already are
-
*
"If
breaking this law is all right for David and his men, then it's ok for me and
my disciples"
-
*
Then
Jesus ups the ante by adding, "The sabbath was made for humankind, not
humankind for the sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the
sabbath."
-
**
The
view that sabbath is for people is found in the traditions associated with
Hillel and his disciples
-
*
Once
more the kingdom of God is breaking in, and it's disrupting the present order
4.5.
Healing a Withered Hand (Mark 3:1-6)
-
*
Next,
Jesus goes to synagogue where he meets a man with a withered hand while being
observed to see if he will heal
-
*
Jesus
asks, "Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the
sabbath, to save life of to
kill?"
-
*
It
would be fair to ask, "Why not wait for one more day?"
(The man has had the withered hand
for ages; couldn't it wait until
office hours on Monday?), but Jesus insists that
the healing must occur now
-
**
"If
a man has a pain in his throat they may drop medicine into his mouth on the
Sabbath, since there is doubt whether life is in danger, and whenever there is
doubt whether life is in danger this overrides the Sabbath."
(Mishnah)
-
*
Jesus
asks the man to stretch out his arm and merely observes that it is healed; no
work is done by Jesus or the man
-
*
But
immediately the Pharisees go out to conspire against him
4.6.
Reviewing Mark
2:1--3:6
|
2:1-12 |
healing
a paralytic |
useless legs |
|
2:13-17 |
calling
Levi/eating with sinners |
eating |
|
2:18-22 |
not
fasting |
eating |
|
2:23-28 |
plucking
grain on Sabbath |
eating |
|
3:1-6 |
healing
on the Sabbath |
useless hand |
-
*
At
the very center of these stories are the sayings about new and old things
-
*
Central
question at issue: How does the new
relate to the old?
-
**
Note that
the fact that authorities asked Jesus questions implies that they value his
response
-
**
Intense
discussion about the law is a valued part of Jewish tradition
-
**
Juel
notes that Jesus is more similar to the Pharisees than any of the other groups
in Mark
5.
Jesus
and the New Community (Mark 3:7-35)
5.1.
Healing Many (Mark 3:7-12)
-
*
People
came from the entire region, from Judea, Jerusalem,
Idumea, beyond the Jordan, Tyre, &
Sidon, to hear Jesus and be healed
-
*
The
places named constitute the land of Israel at the height of the empire under
David
-
*
Once
again, the unclean spirits clearly identify Jesus and are told to keep silence
-
*
Mark
exhorts the reader to wait until they have all the facts before they speak
5.2.
Naming Twelve (Mark 3:13-19a)
-
*
Out
of all the disciples, Jesus now appoints twelve men to that group who will be
known as the apostles, or the "sent out"
-
*
Twelve
is an important number because it is associated with the twelve tribes of
Israel
-
*
Jesus
performs this task on a mountain, just as Moses ascends a mountain to talk to
God and receive the 10 Commandments
-
*
The
apostles are sent out to preach and to cast out demons
-
*
We
are told a little about these men
-
Simon
has a nickname, Peter, that means rock, sort of like Rocky (keep this in mind
as we approach the end of Mark's account)
-
James
and John are the "Sons of Thunder"
5.3.
Jesus' Family (Mark 3:19b-21)
-
*
Even
at home, with his family, the crowds are so great that the family can't eat
-
*
While
at home, the family attempts to restrain Jesus, having heard talk that he is
crazy
-
*
Literally,
Jesus' relatives come to seize (krateo) him
5.4.
Jesus and Some Scribes (Mark 3:22-30)
-
*
At
this point, some scribes from Jerusalem begin to assert that Jesus is indeed
crazy, like a fox, as Malbon says
-
*
They
claim that Jesus power over demons derives from his alliance with the power of
evil
-
*
Jesus
responds that this is not logical, because the forces of evil are being
defeated, thus demonstating his allegiance to the kingdom of God
-
**
As
the One who proclaims the imminence of the kingdom of God, Jesus' exorcisms are
like an invasion of alien territory
-
**
Note
the language Jesus uses of his own task; he has come
"to bind and plunder",
hardly civil discourse
-
**
Later,
Jesus will be crucified as a bandit
-
*
It
is the false claim of the scribes that Jesus is an associate of Satan that is
blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, because Jesus' power to teach and heal comes
from the Holy Spirit
5.5.
Jesus' Metaphorical Family (Mark 3:31-35)
-
*
Now,
it is Jesus' family standing outside who must send a message inside to him
-
*
Jesus
asks the question, "Who are my mother and my brothers?"
-
*
Jesus'
answer: "Whoever does the will of God"
-
*
Malbon
thinks this is Jesus, the gifted teacher, who is talking
-
*
We
know with certainty that the church in Mark's time did become the family for
many whose allegiance to Christ had broken their ties to birth relatives
6.
Jesus
and Parables of the Kingdom (Mark
4:1-34)
-
*
Parable
derived from 2 Greek words that mean "to throw along side of"
-
*
They
usually take a concrete, everyday image and use it to elucidate an abstract
idea
6.1.
Parable of the Seeds (Mark 4:1-9)
-
*
In
the parable, the sower appears to be quite careless; note where the seeds fall
-
On
the path
-
On
rocky ground
-
Among
thorns
-
Finally,
on good soil
-
*
Surely
the harvest will be disastrous
-
*
But
no, the yields are astounding
-
*
Farmers
of the day expected an 8-fold yield
-
*
Parable
can also mean "riddle", so "let anyone with ears to hear listen"
-
*
This
kingdom of God is going to grow!
6.2.
Parables and Mystery (Mark 4:10-12)
-
*
Jesus
tells his disciples, "To you has been given the secret of the
kingdom of God"
-
*
The Greek word here is mysterion, or mystery
-
*
Then
Mark makes an allusion to Isaiah 6
-
*
Mark
expects his audience to know their Hebrew Bible
-
*
This
paraphrase of Isaiah 6 is so important to the early Christians that every
gospel plus Acts (Luke, Part 2) contains it
-
*
When
the first Christians felt that no one was responding to their message from God,
they knew they were not alone. Isaiah
had experienced this too.
6.3.
Interpreting the Parable of the Seeds (Mark 4:13-20)
-
*
This
is an allegorical interpretation of the parable of the seeds
-
*
In
an allegory, each thing in the story stands for some specific thing, e.g. The
seeds are the word
-
*
Most
scholars think this was an interpretation added after Jesus' time
-
*
The
problem with allegories is that they limit the meaning of a text to a very
specific one
6.4.
See What You Hear (Mark 4:21-25)
-
*
Parables
may require interpretation, but they are intended to be understood
-
*
"There
is nothing hidden, except to be disclosed; nor is anything secret, except to
come to light."
-
*
"Pay
attention to what you hear" literally
says "Look what you hear" in Greek
-
*
Together
with "For to those who have, more will be given; and from those who have
nothing, even what they have will be taken away"
suggests that this section is pushing the limits of language
6.5.
Parable of the Seed Growing of Itself (Mark 4:26-29)
-
*
The
kingdom is like a seed, that once sown, grows without human intervention
-
*
God
is behind the growth of the seed, and behind the kingdom
-
*
Like
the seed that is already growing, the kingdom is already here in some ways
-
*
Soon
the harvesting will need to begin, harvesting that is a picture of the end
times in apocalyptic Judaism
6.6.
Parable of the Mustard Seed (Mark 4:30-32)
-
*
The
mustard seed, a tiny seed, when planted, will grow into a large shrub
-
*
Ezekiel
31 and Daniel 4 speak of nations that are like large trees
-
*
But
God's kingdom is like a shrub
-
*
Mustard
is really kind of a weed
-
*
A
better translation for our day: The
kingdom of God is like a dandelion seed
-
*
God's
kingdom is not under our control
-
*
God's
kingdom is spreading and won't be eradicated
6.7.
Hearing the Parables (Mark 4:33-34)
-
*
Jesus
uses parables a lot to speak to the crowds, but he explains them to his
disciples
-
*
This
suggests that the disciples are insiders
-
*
Who
are the outsiders?
-
The
Jewish leaders?
-
Gentiles?
-
*
What does it mean to be an insider?
References
-
Hearing
Mark. A Listener's Guide,
Elizabeth Struthers Malbon,
Trinity Press International,
Harrisburg, 2002. ISBN
1-56338-379-9
-
Augsburg
Commentary on the New Testament:
Mark. Donald H.
Juel.
Augsburg, Minneapolis, 1990.
ISBN 0-8066-8856-4
|
