Final
Short Questions
1. What is the secrecy motif in the Gospel of Mark and why is it important?
- The secrecy motif is Jesus refraining from revealing why he himself is pleasing to God. There are many examples of this, including after the multiplication of the loaves of bread and fish. After this miracle, Jesus is called the Christ and he commands his disciples to “…tell no man of him” (Mark 8: 30). This Messianic Secret is not just reserved to the character of Jesus, but the text of the gospel too. He best example of the text not explaining who Jesus is, is during the wilderness account. The Holy Spirit “…sent him out into the wilderness, and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him” (Mark 1: 12-13). The account is concluded as fast as it is introduced and this is to keep the reader wondering as to how and why Jesus escaped the
This is equivalent to the virgin birth; “…what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit…, he will save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1: 20-21). Another important influence is that of Asclepius. Asclepius had the gift of healing, and, according to Harris, began “…devoting his abilities to curing the sick and maimed. When his skill became so great that he was able to raise the dead…” (Harris 293). Jesus gives sight to the blind (John 9: 6), heals a leper(Luke 17: 14), and of course, raises a girl from the dead (Mark 5: 42). Eventually, Asclepius suffered and died by Zeus killing him with lightning. Despite his death, he achieved immortality, and spread his benevolence to his followers. Like Asclepius, Jesus died and suffered, and he fixed the separation between God and man by saving man from
S: Well, as followers of Jesus we should fulfill the Jewish law; we should even take it as far and fulfill it better than the Pharisees and scribes. In my opinion, the Gospel of Matthew does not tell to abandon the Jewish law; it in fact, says the opposite. Jesus fulfills this Law and prophecy!
Ever since its release and subsequent #1 status on the New York Times' bestseller list, Dan Brown's novel `The Da Vinci Code' has refocused the attentions of scholars and the ordinary man on the historical accuracy of the life of Jesus Christ. The crux of the debate relates to the closure of what are referred to as the Canonical Gospels, namely Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
An example of the author portraying Jesus as more holy, or God like, occurs in Matthew 17.22. It says, “As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, ‘The Son of man is to be delivered into the hands of men, 17.23 and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.’ And they were greatly distressed. On the other hand, Mark mentions in the verses 9.30-9.32 that Jesus is speaking specifically to his disciples. It also states that they were afraid to ask him, and didn’t understand what was saying about his death. Matthew makes the first change to show that Jesus wants other people to know of his death. Most likely they were other believers and followers of Jesus. It almost like saying that Jesus was not selfish in just telling his disciples of his death, and that he wanted to share it with people who believed in him.
The beginning and ending of the Gospel of Mark really support the four main themes present within the Gospel. The four main themes in the Gospel are: Jesus as being enigmatic, Jesus as a sufferer, Low Christology and Apocalypticism present within the Gospel. The beginning and ending of this Gospel support Jesus as being misunderstood because in the beginning, there is no birth story of Jesus or any background information presented, Jesus is just there. This makes one question where did he come from and who was he born to? In the end of the Gospel, the tomb is described as empty and the last sentences of the Gospel in Mark 16: 8 says: “So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid” (1743). This ending of the Gospel is enigmatic because there is no mention of Jesus’ resurrection or whether anyone ever found out that Jesus had ascended to Heaven. The beginning and ending, not to mention the entire Gospel, leaves one wondering many things about Jesus, because his whole existence in Mark is very mys...
The Gospel of Matthew is an eyewitness story written for an audience of believers, under great stress, and persecution. Matthew develops a theological plot incorporating genealogy, speeches, parables, inter and intra textual references, common vocabulary, and fulfillment quotations, with a tension that builds as we are invited into the story. The crucifixion and resurrection bring us to a Christological climax that symbolically points beyond its conclusion to God’s Kingdom, bringing atonement, salvation and the ushering in the Eschaton. The extraordinary events surrounding the crucifixion act as commentary, adding important details concerning the death of Jesus.1
Mark does not include the miraculous acts listed above, but illustrates the change of location from earth to heaven through comparing the earthly Jesus, “the temple made with hands,” who was “given as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45) to the risen Jesus.2 The ripping of the veil in Mark, exposes the very face of God, splitting the heavens and opens a heavenly passageway, revealing God to all.3 “Certainly the significance of the fact that the torn veil reveals God's "face" in the face of one enthroned not on the ark or the cherubim, but on the cross, would not be lost on cultically sensitive and discerning readers!”4 The purpose of Mark’s Gospel is to reveal God. The first Gospel begins a Christological conversation that continues throughout the passion narratives and interrelated scriptures.
The word gospel occurs 101 times in 95 verses, in the King James Version of the Bible and even though the word gospel originally existed before Jesus and His followers used it; howbeit, they supposedly empowered it with unequaled authority. Perpetually, from Jesus preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God, (Matt 4:23), to the Apostle Paul’s establishing the mystery of the gospel; which was kept secret since the world began,” (Rom 16:25), the text overflows with enigmas. This analogy emerges as being prophesied by God’s prophets in the Old Testament (Rom 1:2). Calculatingly, scripture states that “the truth of this gospel occurs hid to them that are lost,” (2 Cor 4:3). Noticeably, there are implication that among this secret mystery, exists various talks concerning “not being ashamed” of something involving this gospel, (Mark 8:38; Rom 1:16, 10:11; 2 Tim 1:8) and although there may be shame, it tells us to boldly talk regarding “this mystery” (Eph
There are four Gospels in the new testament; Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Each one writing his perspective story about Jesus, his teachings, his works, his sacrifice, and his resurrection. At the same time, they each seem to elaborate on specific elements of Jesus. The gospel of Matthew writes about the bloodline, the ancestors of Jesus. The gospel of Mark, writes about Jesus as a servant to God. The gospel of Luke, writes about Jesus being the son of a human. The gospel of John, writes about Jesus being the son of God. Having an understanding on the focus of each gospel will help the reader know Jesus and his works better. However, this essay will concentrate on “The Gospel According to Mark,” written in Bruce Manning Metzger, translator of, The New Oxford Annotated Bible, Revised Standard Version with The Apocrypha (p. 1791). The gospel of Mark is documentation of
At the very beginning of the gospels the authors make their representation of Jesus known to the reader, but they rely upon different methods. Mark focuses on Jesus’ role as a servant is apparent as he quotes the prophet Isaiah: “Here is my messenger, whom I send on ahead of you!” (Mark 1:2) This is a rather simple statement, and the use of the word “messenger” connotes a sense of being under another’s command; Jesus is seen as an intermediary between God and man. John’s introduction to Jesus is much more majestic and poetic, devoting many verses to explaining his divine relationship with God: “In the beginning there was the divine word and wisdom. The divine word and wisdom was there with God, and it was what God was. It was there with God from the beginning. Everything came to be by means of it” (John 1:1-3).
incorporated it into his gospel. Perhaps most importantly, the gospel itself is anonymous; we receive no hints from
When Jesus asked his disciples about what people thought about him, they answered that some considered Jesus to be e prophet, some - John the Baptist. But Jesus wanted his disciples to understand his mission, the reason why God brought him to Earth. That is why it was important for him to make sure that people realize who he is and that his sayings are vital for the whole mankind. Jesus was the Messiah, the anointed one, above all other prophets. He was sent to suffer for the all human beings and the reasons why his suffering was necessary are described in Mark's Gospel 8:27-9:1.
Unfortunately for Christians, there is actually very little law in the Bible -- either Old Testament or New -- that is original. Consider the Torah of the ancient Jews. The laws of the Babylonians, Assyrians, Sumerians, Hammurapi, Eshnunna, Hittites, Mishnah, and Israelites all bear a striking resemblance to each other, due to widespread copying of laws. Shared social norms produced identical laws against sorcery, kidnapping, sale of an abducted person, false witness, business dishonesty, bribing judges, property right violations, shutting off irrigation canals used by others, etc. The complete list of identical laws and customs is quite extensive. & nbsp; Nor is the New Testament's approach to the law unique.
The Gospel of Mark is an extremely influential and important chapter for the Christian religion. Mark chapter 14 begins two days before the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. This is when the Chief Priests and scribes are making their plans to trap Jesus and kill him. They will do this before the festival because they do not want to provoke the large crowds and cause a riot. There was a dinner in the suburbs, and a woman anoints Jesus with a very expensive ointment which angers some people, because they believe it to be a waste. Jesus then defends the women for what she did, because he believed it to be kind. Meanwhile, Judas sneaks away and agrees to betray Jesus to the chief of priests, who promise him money in return for his
Many important themes arose while I was reading the Gospel of Mark. In my week 2 group discussion posts, the themes I listed were faith, power of prayer, forgiveness, repentance, optimism, gratitude and mercy. However there are more that I found in the chapter and I read through it again such as the healing power of God and standing for righteousness.