Gospel of Mark – From Fear to Faith (4:35-5:43)
The NIV chapter break between 4 and 5 is in an unfortunate place. 4:1-34 is a distinct unit and 4:35-41 clearly fits together better with the miracles in chapter 5. There is a common theme in the four miracles in these verses. In each one people are afraid and each time Jesus points to the […]
Gospel of Mark – God’s Vineyard (Mark 4:1-34)
In Mark 3 we found Jesus being accused of all sorts of things and the source of his authority had been challenged. In Mark 4 we find one of the only blocks of Jesus teachings in the entire Gospel, which is probably a response to those attacks. All of the teachings have some connection with […]
Gospel of Mark – 12 Chosen and Jesus Accused (Mark 3:6-35)
In the first section of Mark 1:16-3:12) the setting was beside the Sea of Galilee. The next section (3:13-6:6a) begins on the mountain top. The third section in Mark (6:6b-8:30) starts with them going from village to village (considered a wilderness section by some – See Swartley, 49 and Witherington, 142). The geography (or topography […]
Gospel of Mark – Liberation by the Power of God (2:1-3:6)
Mark 2:1-3:6 is a very well defined unit with the theme of liberation. The question is liberation from what? There can be no liberation without conflict, no freedom without tension, and no in breaking kingdom without a breaking of the old system. In saying old system I am not so much referring to the Law […]
Gospel of Mark – A Day in the Life of Jesus (Mark 1:21-34)
The number of people change following Jesus’ call of his disciples by the Sea of Galilee. Prior to this point it was Jesus going here and there, Jesus being baptized, Jesus walking by the Sea. In Mark 1:21, “They went to Capernaum.” It was the Sabbath. Probably being in his early 30s Jesus had authority […]
Socio, Socio, Wherefore Art Thou Socio?
I have to hand it to Ben Witherington III. His Socio-Rhetorical commentaries are to serious study what N.T. Wright’s “For Everyone” series is for a lighter and more accessible study. I have worked through his Socio-Rhetorical commentary on Corinthians and I have just started working through the one on Mark. Both are excellent. I have […]
Gospel of Mark – Jesus Calls His Disciples (1:16-20)
One of the major themes in the Gospel of Mark is discipleship. What does it mean to follow Jesus? As the reader we follow Jesus and his disciples through the ups and downs, through the victories and failures, through the moments of misunderstanding and the “aha” moments where things finally clicked. In essence the disciples […]
Gospel of Mark – Theological Use of Location
In Mark and in the other synoptic Gospels, a large portion of Jesus’ ministry is spent in Galilee. The Galilean section of Mark spans 1:14-8:27 ending at the hinge of the Gospel with Peter’s confession and the journey toward the end (Jerusalem and the events that will unfold there). This is significantly different from John’s […]
Gospel of Mark – Authoritative Witness to Who Jesus Is (1:1-15)
Mark begins his Gospel by laying out a series of witnesses who testify to Jesus’ true identity: The first witness is Mark himself who tells the reader who Jesus really is, “the Son of God.” That title bookends the Gospel of Mark as it will not be said by another human in the Gospel until […]
Gospel of Mark – Introduction
I have recently started teaching the Gospel of Mark in our Men’s class. I am trying to work through the narrative more rather than pull it into little tiny pieces. Here are the highlights of the introductory material: I. Who wrote Mark? Mark – early tradition (120 AD) has it that John Mark (of Acts […]